Barcelona: expierence of a lifetime that i would repeat differently if i had a chance Past Review
By Chloe G (Business Marketing, Colorado State University) for
ISA Study Abroad in Barcelona, Spain
totally worth it, the only thing that was a damper was my living situation which made everyday life hard. i have so many life expierences that i will never forget and it has taught me that i can do anything anywhere and not be afraid, i am excited to push myself further and be open to new expeirences and cutlures.
Personal Information
How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
classes were pretty easy, i didnt learn a whole lot that was applicable to real life. |
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
loved the people that were there to help in the office, they cared and showed concern for anything and everything. they were absolutely fantastic! |
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
my living situation was HORRIBLE! i dont think i had one good nights rest becuase my roomates were the rudest poeple i have ever met, they went out and drank, did drugs and partied every night, i hated living there and didnt have anything in common with any of them, i am sincerely dumbfounded on how i ended up with them. i talked with a conselor about it but i didnt feel like my situation was bad enough to be moved, i shold have pushed for it, though looking back, it could have made a big difference. they were just plain aweful and the most filthy people i have ever met, due to them i lost some of my deposit on the apartment, i am still frustrated by the fact that i was placed with them in the fisrt place. |
* Food: |
fed myself because i lived in an apartment, i wouldnt reccomend it, i didnt get into the culture and just ate like an american. |
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
had fun on the outing with my ISA group when they let me be with the homestay people, i had much more in common with them, since my rommates and other apartment dwellers were very dissimilar from me i was able to change the days of my outings and go with homestay. i hated that they separated homestay and apartment kids so strongly, they should have mixed us up. |
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
* Safety: |
i was sick for over a month when i got back from the morrocco excursion, they should have given us giudelines for if we felt sick, im glad i went to the doctor but not until i had spent weeks thinking i wasnt sick enough to warrent a visit. I eat dairy multiple tmies a day and that was making my sickeness worse, they should let us know if we feel sick no dairy or fruit, that would have been insanely helpful. |
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
|
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) |
|
Language
* Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
Language acquisition improvement? |
didnt practice much, i had opportunites but was apprehensive since i had just started learning spanish, also in BCN they speak catalan so that was kind of pointless. i got by with the little spanish i knew |
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
|
Other Program Information
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
A Look Back
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | considering homestay, it is the cheapest and best way to get the most out of your expierence. i think anyone who is curious about doing study abroad should do it, also plan ahead and save money so you dont have to limit yourself on activities- remember this is a once in a lifetime opportunity! if you go in the fall make sure to pack extra warm clothes for traveling later in the year. |