Spring Semester in Segovia Spain Past Review

By Marilee G. Humason (The Evergreen State College) - abroad from 01/19/2017 to 04/20/2017 with

IPSL: Segovia - Study Abroad + Service Learning in Spain

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

I have a best friend now in Spain. She came to visit me in the U. S. this last spring. We skype every week if possible, and I am staying with her next summer. I gained so much from this program, but my friendship with her is priceless.

Review Photos

IPSL: Segovia - Study Abroad + Service Learning in Spain Photo

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	6 months+

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	There were only two of us students from IPSL, so we got a lot of personal attention. My professors were all incredible and were constantly working to improve our experience.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	Our teachers dealt with all our problems. The actual administrator, did very little. I only saw her 3 or 4 times the whole semester.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	I was right down the street from the aquaduct! It just doesn't get any better than that!
* Food:	Awesome, Awesome, and more Awesome! My host family and instructors made sure I had the opportunity to try traditional dishes.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	I was a foreign exchange student to Mexico for my senior year of high school. Although it has been many years, I felt at home and had no culture shock issues.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?	no health care needed.
* Safety:	I felt absolutely safe. The teachers gave a safety presentation because, of course, this was a different country from our own But honestly, it is all common sense wherever you go.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes I knew I would love Spain!! I would like to work there eventually, and will be going next summer for vacation. I enjoyed studying abroad a learning so many wonderful things.

Finances

* 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 only had 200.00 a MONTH not a week. I didn't have parents to send me money. I missed out on extra trips because of lack of funds.
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	I was only able to spend about 50.00 a week on personal expenses and eating out.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	If you can save extra for excursions or entertainment it would be worth your while. I didn't go out much because I couldn't afford it.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language? 0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language	My Spain program had us sign a contract that we would try and speak only Spanish while we were there.
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program?	Intermediate
How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program?	Intermediate
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure?	I have only had two classes in my life. One in Argentina for fall semester and one in Spain for Spring semester. I learned my Spanish from people when I was in Mexico 40 years ago. I went from a low intermediate to a high intermediate.
How many hours per day did you use the language?	10+
Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants?	Make friends! This is still the best way to learn a language. They will help and correct you. Classes will help with verb tenses etc. But most people use slang or abbreviated versions of their own language. I believe immersion, speaking or attempting to speak the language 100% of the time is where you will really learn or improve your language skills.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Host Family
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Host Family
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Americans
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?	I loved my professors I loved all my classes I loved seeing the sites of Segovia
* What could be improved?	I think if I had not recently been in Argentina, so my language skills were fresh and improved, I woukd have had trouble getting myself from the Madrid airport to Segovia. My program gave detailed instructions, but a student with less langue skills and considerably younger than I, would have been scared of the whole process. I think the students should be picked up at the airport and delivered to their host family.
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	I wish I could have saved extra money before I left so I could have traveled more.

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 Linguist You 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!

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Beginning Arabic
Course Department:	Language
Instructor:	Khadia Mhand
Instruction Language:	Moroccan Arabic
Comments:	This was difficult course, but my teacher was awesome! It was challenging by itself, but more so because Khadia did not speak English! She taught it in Spanish! We still learned quite a lot and was one of the highlights of my studies. She gave two exams, and part of the program included our teacher taking us to Morocco for the last week of our semester.
Credit Transfer Issues:	The issue was purely on Evergreens side. I knew they wouldn't accept transcripts in Spanish, but I didn't know how or when the transcripts were received. They didn't tell me they had rejected my transcripts. When I finally found out, IPSL worked hard to fix my problem as quickly as they could. My suggestion to other students is this, find out how your transcripts will be done, will they be in another language? Do they use numbers or letters for your grades? Yes, it makes a difference! Find this out in advance, and follow up. Do not wait months to find out there was a problem. For me I found out I was 1 credit short of graduating, I almost missed the deadline for registering for summer quarter. My international advisor kept telling me to relax, but was very surprised when the issues came out. He had not dealt with these problems before.