Semester Study Abroad with ISA: The ONLY Program that this Perfectionist Planner will EVER Recommend Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The teachers at la Universidad de Sevilla were fantastic, very friendly and knowledgeable. As a student pursuing my Bachelor's Degree in Spanish, in my final year of university, I must say that the difficulty of the classes was not always what I would have expected. The system for classifying the classes as "Advanced" and "High Advanced" at the university in my experience did not necessarily seem as difficult as the senior-level classes at my home university. Before we officially selected our classes while in Spain, advisers had suggested that these classes would be VERY challenging and I found them to be slightly less so than what I might have expected. Also, the university method on deciding which classes will officially be offered was strange for me. They don't actually decide before classes begin and then simply regulate the number of students who can enter a class, instead the university waits until the first week of classes, finds out how many students actually show up to each class and then eliminates the classes with too few students and divides into sections the classes with too many students. I was a little disappointed by this procedure because I had selected a couple of classes that to me seemed very interesting, but because the were "high advanced" not as many students registered or showed up, so the classes were canceled.

On-site administration of your program

The administration abroad for ISA in Sevilla is ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! Honestly, the people that worked for the program were most definitely what made the trip a success in my opinion. They are easily accessible, immensely helpful and just generally dedicated to what they do and to making the experience the best it can possibly be. During my time in Spain, I came to very much respect the balance of responsibility and organization of the administration along with their friendly and helpful demeanor. They were always nice and happy to help and also very sympathetic to the concerns of the students. They knew more about what each of us would feel as we went through this process than we did; they knew when home-sickness would set in and what we would need to feel secure and still enjoy our time there. I really can't say enough good things about the staff that I had the pleasure of working with. I'm an absolute perfectionist, especially when it comes to details in planning and they surpassed even my high expectations for trips, activities both on trips and in Sevilla and with their organization and preparedness.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

ISA arranged a host family situation for me and it was absolutely perfect for me. I was living with a single woman in an apartment in the city with one other American student. We each actually had our own rooms which were set up basically like a small dorm. The rooms were small, considering that we were in the city, but it had enough space for me and was very clean and comfortable. I didn't have to buy any household things because the host family provided the room fully furnished, including sheets, blankets, towels, etc. The neighborhood felt very safe although it was clear we were in a slightly older part of the city (it was in the historic district called Triana). The only real inconvenience with my host placement was that it was a good forty-five minute walk from my university (but the walk was very pretty and the other girl I was staying with went to the same school so we could walk together). There was also a good public busing system which was not too expensive as well as a system of rent-able bikes which had spots to pick-up and drop-off all around the city which were fantastic and very convenient. In the end, I actually appreciated the distance from the school because it was still walking distance and my walk became my favorite time and manner to just enjoy the city and immerse myself in the local culture (there were shops and restaurants all along my way which became some of my absolute favorite haunts with friends both before and after classes), plus it helped me keep in good shape. My host-mom was a wonderful woman who had been taking in students for 10 years. She was quiet and very clean and organized but she also was just very helpful and knowledgeable about the city and other European cities where she herself had traveled. She also made us lunch and dinner everyday and provided fruit, cereal and yogurt for breakfast since she started work early in the morning. I haven't been so spoiled or well taken care of since high-school when I was still living at home, and even then my Mom didn't cook as much as my host-mom did. Also, the apartment had unlimited wi-fi, which was absolutely fantastic and had probably been my number one concern for being able to keep in touch with everyone back-home.

My host-mom cooked lunch and dinner every day and provided food for breakfast and she was a good cook. Overall, it was everything that I needed and saved me a lot of expense not needing to eat out or ever grocery shop. I got a little tired of a couple of dishes by the end of my trip because there were a lot of meals that were repeated, but that wouldn't be any different from what I remember of dining hall food on campus my freshman year. There was almost always too much food and my host mom always thought we should eat more, so I really never had to buy my own groceries. Most of the other students in my program were definitely missing certain favorite foods from back-home by the end of our stay, but overall there was a good variety of restaurants and the small, local places were definitely the best (they do have American chains in Sevilla like McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC and at least 3 different Starbucks). While the American places were kind of nice if you felt a little home-sick, I would really suggest that you try to avoid going to them on a regular basis because the local places really are more interesting and unique.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

We got to travel to cities all over the south of Spain as well as to Lisbon, Portugal with ISA and these trips were definitely the highlight of my trip. Portugal and Granada were probably my favorite places to visit. We were in Portugal for a long weekend and the city was absolutely beautiful to see, we did a bunch of walking tours (so be sure to bring good walking shoes for during the day, I made the mistake of wearing sandals and my feet were killing me by the end). The hotel in Portugal was absolutely fantastic (but all the hotels we stayed at were VERY nice), you always stay at hotels that provide you with breakfast on the trips you take, which was especially nice for me since I'm a morning person. This hotel had a breakfast buffet and the best coffee I've ever had (which is saying something), so I would wake up an hour earlier than we were supposed to leave and go down to the dining room and enjoy my coffee, read a newspaper and write in my journal. Also, their beds were really comfortable and it was located in a very central part of the city so we were walking distance to a bunch of places like shops, restaurants and clubs. In Granada, the first night we were there, ISA took us on an evening walk through the city which was probably my favorite out of the ones we visited and our walk ended at a little restaurant with a Flamenco show as well as a night-time photo spot which over-looked El Alcazar and the city while it was all lit up, it was phenomenal and I'll never forget it. This was probably my favorite individual activity with ISA although the tours and museums we got to visit in Madrid especially are also fantastic.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I didn't have any health-care related problems while I was there, but the staff was so helpful and organized with everything I would have had full confidence in their assistance had I required it. In terms of safety, I used basic common sense and never felt in the least bit unsafe. There are little things that you can do to make sure you don't have any problems and the people who work with the program will give you a very thorough briefing on do-es and don't-s abroad that if you follow you will not have any problems at all. The biggest problem that anyone I knew of had was having a purse or wallet stolen, and that only happened when (they admitted) they had left in unattended or set it down in a public place. Also, in this instance, the staff was very quick to offer help (one of the directors even offered to loan my friend money so that she could still take a trip she'd been planning because he didn't want her to have to miss out on anything while she waited for her new credit card).

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

I did use the host country language everyday because my host-mom did not speak any English, I also used it in all of my classes and had the opportunity to meet a Spanish conversation partner who was studying English so we had the chance to meet weekly and practice our Spanish and English together. The vast majority of the other students who studied with my program spoke English amongst themselves which was a little disappointing because the American students who studied in the Spanish university almost always spoke English, because all of the other students in the "Cursos Concertados por Extranjeros" were also Americans. I found this rather disappointing and probably would have been more satisfied if I would have been taking classes with Spanish students. As a result, the majority of my daily interactions were still in English, but I at least had the chance to seek out opportunities to use my Spanish. I would say though, that it took a bit of effort and a more out-going nature to really meet Spanish students and be able to use the language frequently.

Select all that apply

• Host Family
• Apartment

Select all that apply

• Americans
• Host Family