Salamanca--Not to be Confused with Salamander Past Review
By Stephanie J (Spanish Language and Literature., Trinity University) for
IES Abroad: Salamanca - Advanced Spanish Immersion
I feel like I have a better understanding of both Spanish and U.S. culture now.
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
There's less work at the Spanish university, which is great because it leaves more time for independent exploration instead of cramping students with excessive assignments. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program was very well organized, and the staff was really helpful and accessible. I honestly don't have any complaints. Everything ran smoothly. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My host parents treated me like a daughter, and I had everything I needed in the apartment. The neighborhood was very safe and quiet, and the location was pretty good. I loved my homestay. |
| * Food: |
My host mom was not a very good cook, but she tried really hard to make things I liked and introduce me to traditional Spanish foods. There was always plenty to eat, even if it wasn't always the greatest quality. She did buy good fruit though, and there was always lots of it. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
My program organized a trip to Andalusia. We saw the Alhambra and a flamenco show in Granada and visited the cathedral in Seville. Our trips to Segovia, Zamora, and Toledo were fun too. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I felt really safe in Salamanca, and I never had any problems. Just like anywhere, common sense is a good thing to have. Don't get careless with your purse or wallet, and you should be fine. Walking with friends at night is good too, even though there are usually lots of people out, and things are generally well lighted. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Maybe 20 euro, but it was all voluntary stuff, like buying ice cream and souvenirs or going to a movie. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Life's a lot cheaper if you don't spend a lot of time in bars, but most people aren't willing to make that sacrifice. Basically, just spend money on what's most important to you. I tended to save up my money for weekend trips and just spend a little during the week on pastries. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I spoke only Spanish with my host family and in my classes, as well as with most of the people in town. When I went to visit bigger cities, some people saw my blond hair and immediately started speaking English to me, but there wasn't so much of that in Salamanca. The students in my program tended to speak English amongst ourselves, even though we really shouldn't have. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | This is a great program for students who want to actually speak Spanish around town. Salamanca is smaller and less touristy than a lot of the other cities in Spain, so people are a lot less likely to randomly speak English to you. It's also good if you like walking better than dealing with metros. You'll get lots of exercise, and you won't feel lost and squished. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Historia del Arte del Siglo XX en España |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Laura Muñoz |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | Laura made the course really interesting, and it was so cool to go to museums and see the things I had learned about in class. I was spewing fun facts to my friends whenever we saw something I had studied. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Tópicos de Gramática Avanzada, Composición y Sintaxis I |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Emilio Prieto de los Mozos |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | Emilio is hilarious, and I learned a lot in the course. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Gramática para la enseñanza del español I |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Juan Felipe García Santos |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | This was a course about teaching Spanish grammar. Even though I'm not planning on becoming a teacher, it helped my understanding of Spanish grammar when I learned about it from the point of view of a teacher. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Cultura Hispanohebrea |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Carlos Carrete |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | I learned about the history of the Jews in Spain, and it made my trip to Toledo more interesting because I had learned about some of the things we saw there. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Religión Comparada |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Juan Francisco Blanco González |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | Paco's really friendly and knows a lot of random things. He seemed genuinely interested in what he was talking about, so we were interested too. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
