Salamanca, Spain: The Experience of a Lifetime! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

All the professors were very nice. :) They all gave insight into the culture as well as teaching their subject matter. An exam was given prior to classes beginning to establish what level of courses I was to enter. There was minimal homework, otherwise it was study as necessary for your own comprehension. They have a categorical grading system in Spain instead of giving A's, B's, etc. But ISA converts them into letter grades (ie: sobresaliente is equal to an A) to transfer back to your university. All the courses I took in the Spanish Language and Culture program were exclusively in Spanish.

On-site administration of your program

Our resident directors were literally available 24/7 if we had an emergency and readily available during the week at the ISA office if we needed anything in general. They also had e-mails to contact them by for less urgent things when the office wasn't open. The staff is there for as much or as little help or support as you want. They are awesome!!! They are residents of Spain, but fluent in English. It is their job to work with American students, so they are aware of our culture and what are needs will be in a new country. There were about 40 students in my summer program. I was really impressed by how smoothly everything was run. The directors also made sure to inform us about cultural events that we might want to check out and even gave us admission tickets for a couple of them. :)

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My roommate was another girl in the ISA program, which it was nice to have someone there to talk to in English once in a while. We shared a room in the host family's apartment. There was also a student from France living in the apartment with us. Everything was set up for us: desks, beds, wardrobes. We were in an apartment building very close to the center of town and the university, very convenient. I never felt unsafe in the neighborhood at all. We were treated partially as guests, partially as part of the family. We were given a key to come and go as we pleased and not allowed to help with the dishes or anything of that sort. But we were expected to follow a few rules and always be on-time for meals. It was a nice balance that made us feel very welcomed.

Spanish food is very different from what I was accustomed to back home. But I ended up really liking it. Our host mom tried to cater to our likes and dislikes as much as possible. I'm not a picky eater at all, but my roommate wasn't a fan of things like tomatoes. So our mom would always put them on the side. There are lots of restaurants and bars to go to for a "tapas crawl". I was never disappointed wherever I went. The best advice I have is to be daring and expect the food to be different. Try new things even if you think you might not like them.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

For most of June, Salamanca had an arts festival going on. Every day and night there were things to go see: performances, plays, concerts, poetry readings, etc. There was also a bull fight in celebration of the day of the patron saint of the city. Our ISA directors helped us buy tickets for that. The directors also gave us tickets for a Picasso art exhibit at a local museum. Our orientation weekend in Madrid and Toledo was unforgettable. We saw famous artwork in El Prado, toured the royal palace, and toured many historic sites in Toledo. Then later on, we had excursions to the northern coast to Santander to spend a weekend on the beach and learn to surf if you wanted. We also went to Segovia to see the Roman aqueduct and el Alcanzar, the castle that inspired Disney. We visited a couple of little Renaissance towns on that trip as well, which were a lot of fun. A small group of us exploring Salamanca found a man renting rowboats by the river and spent a couple of hours one afternoon viewing the city from a different perspective. The cathedrals in Salamanca are also necessary to tour. They are not only historically fascinating, but taking a second tour to the top gives you a fantastic view overtop of the city. The World Cup was also going on at the time, so there was overwhelming Spanish pride in the streets and plazas every night there was a game. So much fun!

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

When you are in an unfamiliar area it is always important to be aware and not take any unnecessary risks. Having said that, Salamanca is a very safe town. I never felt endangered or unsafe in any way, but even still took normal precautions such as not walking alone at night. It's just the smart thing to do. As for the healthcare system, you do automatically get insurance coverage from attending the university. To what extent, I am not sure because I did not have to use it. But I'm sure it at least gets you in for a checkup without cost if you have a problem. Spain has a universal system with minimal costs and Spaniards go to the doctor for everything!! My roommate got a little cold and our Resident Director told her to go see a doctor. To us that seems silly because you can just go to Walmart and pick up some Nyquil, but they don't have medication on shelves in grocery stores to self-medicate. My host mom was baffled when I explained that to her! I had a bad case of allergies while I was there, mainly due to all the smoking I believe. I had to go to a pharmacy to buy allergy medication. But you do not need a prescription to get drugs at the pharmacies, which are basically on every corner by the way. And if you need help, the Resident Directors are happy to go to the pharmacy with you to make sure you get what you need. Spain is a developed country, so no major illnesses are prevalent. It was suggested I make sure I was up-to-date on my vaccines, but other than that, nothing specific was necessary.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

I lived with a host family who did not speak English, so I was required to communicate in Spanish. My roommate was at a lower level so I was able to help her, which also helped me. The resident directors organized conversation pods once with locals to help us practice Spanish. Just living in Salamanca, going into shops or restaurants or cafes allowed me to practice speaking. Of course other member of the ISA group and our directors were also willing to speak Spanish. The majority of people do not speak English. A few have very broken English and even fewer know it fluently. It is not critical to know the language fluently to get along day to day, but it is definitely very helpful and you get a lot more from the experience if you use the host language.

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• International Students
• Americans
• Host Family