Happy in Salamanca (Feliz en Salamanca) Past Review
By Katrina (Pomona College) - abroad from 09/01/2016 to 12/21/2016 with
IES Abroad: Salamanca - Advanced Spanish Immersion
Very worthwhile experience. I definitely grew and learned how to take care of myself and learned a lot of money management techniques. My Spanish speaking improved and now I have this great world experience under my belt.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Great professors with reasonable work load. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Administrators were very kind and helped students to the best of their abilities (some things like class schedule conflicts were not able to be helped). |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I had a homestay. My host was an abuela and she was very kind and welcoming. The food she made everyday was amazing and she kept the house spotless (the sheets in my room were changed out every week which was such a nice experience as a college student). |
| * Food: |
I loved the food. My host for the semester was an awesome cook so I got the full Spanish immersion menu. Eating out and going out for tapas was reasonably cheap and always tasted good too. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
In Salamanca, very few people speak English so I was forced to practice speaking Spanish all the time (but I'm better for it). It's a student town so there are plenty of opportunities to go out and hang with students on the weekends or grab a coffee every now and then. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I never had a healthcare issue so I never had a reason to use any healthcare services. |
| * Safety: |
I always felt safe walking around. Sometimes on the weekends I would be walking home very late at night/early in the morning and I never had any problems with people or felt too unsafe. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
I would want to experience a new city and new culture if I had the opportunity to travel and study abroad again. |
Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
I lucked out and had a homestay. The IES Salamanca program mandates that homestay hosts provide every meal for the student(s) staying with them so all me meals were provided for and I didn't have to spend any money. When I did go out with friends or with a class tapas were very cheap (or there was menu del dia which had a first course, second course, drink and dessert ranging from $15-$20 if you want more food). So really, the only things I spent my money on was shopping (grocery and recreational), traveling to other places in Spain/Europe, and entertainment (movies, books, etc). |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $20-$50 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | BUDGET! If you're not rolling in dough it's very helpful to track what you're spending so you have a general idea of how much money you're left with at the end of the week. This is helpful when you're trying to plan ahead for trips, you want to be sure you have enough money for those as well as enough money to last you until the end of the program. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
Full immersion. The only time I spoke English was when I was with other students in my program (from America). Otherwise, classes were in Spanish, social life was in Spanish, homestay was in Spanish. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Intermediate |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Try not to talk to your American friends in English all the time. I feel I would be even more advanced in Spanish right now if I had refused to speak English as much as I did. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | You'll struggle at first but once you're there for awhile things get better. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
