Salamanca was my favorite city in Europe, hands down! Past Review
By Raquel S (Biology & Spanish, The College of New Jersey) - abroad from 01/22/2014 to 05/16/2014 with
ISA Study Abroad in Salamanca, Spain
It was absolutely worthwhile. There is a lot you learn about yourself during an experience like this, which for a lot of young adults helps shape who they want to be.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The courses itself were not of the same difficulty I was used to with my TCNJ Biology courses (because they're usually so so hard), and also I mostly took history/art/culture/language courses while in Spain. The most important part is that I learned a LOT in these courses without the pressure of memorizing all the details/doing well on exams. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The ISA staff was absolutely wonderful. They were there to aid us in all of our needs, whether that was finding a cool restaurant for when the parents came to visit, or if we were sick and had to go see a doctor, the ISA staff was ALWAYS available to us, and they were extremely down to each and friendly. Loved all of them! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My host parents were extremely accommodating. I lived with a roommate (which I recommend) because then you at least have a buddy going through the whole thing. Living in a home stay forced the both of us to speak a LOT of spanish, especially because our host parents did not speak a word of english. My roommate and I made a pact to only speak spanish amongst us, and our spanish improved so much compared to a lot of others in the group. |
| * Food: |
Spanish food is amazing, end of story. Tapas is my new favorite thing. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
It was a little difficult to integrate with the other spaniards of our age. The best way I found to do this was to simply go out to bars at night and just meet people. Our courses were not with Spaniards, which I regret, because I feel as if that would have been an easier way to meet more spaniards of my age. There is an option to take "courses with locals" but you need a lot of credits under your belt in order to take them. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I went to see the doctor a few times while I was there and they were very understanding and helpful. ISA staff was with me the entire way. |
| * Safety: |
Salamanca felt like an incredibly safe city, even walking home at 6am after a night of socializing. |
| 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) |
I lived off of Tapas. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Maybe 30 Euro, if not traveling. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | The cost you pay with ISA includes every single meal for every single day. The only time it does NOT include meals is if you travel and you aren't at your home stay/dorm for the day, they're not going to ship you food, or reimburse you for food. We would often have tapas in the mid-afternoon and then go home for dinner at 9pm, then go out again for beers or wine after dinner so we wouldn't spend money on actual meals. |
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 |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | SPA 216, a 200 level course that is about current events around the world. |
| 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? | Find spanish friends/significant others, spend time with your home stay parents or other students in the dorms. Don't only spend time with people from your own country because then you will only speak in your comfortable tongue and you will rarely actually practice spanish. |
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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| 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? | I wish I knew that even though I did not have enough credits under my belt, there was still a way to possibly take courses with locals. One of the girls in my program learned spanish as her first language but was not taking it at her home university. She did a phone interview to prove that she could in fact understand and communicate in spanish and was therefore able to take courses with locals. I wish I knew this was an option because although I had not taken a lot of courses at TCNJ, I had a high-intermediate level of spanish and could have excelled in a class at the university. |
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 Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
