Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

Past Review

By (International Management, Hamline University) for

ISA Study Abroad in Sevilla, Spain

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Confidence, more independence, a great experience, and a wonderful way to meet new people

Personal Information

If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: Menandez Pelayo International University
The term and year this program took place: Fall 2009

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

There wasn't a lot of choices for classes which was a little downer but overall I thought the program as well as the classes were what I expected

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

The directors in my program were very helpful, and went out of their way to help us understand what we had questions about.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived with a working woman about 45 years old, she was an amazing cook, very friendly, and was open to giving advice on just about whatever you wanted to know. <br /><br /> My location was about a 30 minute walk from school, however the walking wasn't a bad thing at all. The neighborhood was full of apartment buildings and after dark the streets were pretty quiet which made it a little eerie but I felt very safe in the neighborhood. I had no troubles with anything in my neighborhood at all.

* Food:

My host mom was an excellent cook, made a lot of healthy meals and wonderful desserts. Cafes were pretty cheap we would usually order various tapas then go out at night and then hit up the churro stand when we were on our way home. The food is pretty normal compared to the US just a few extreme differences but overall great!

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I know a few people saw soccer games I was a little bummed that I ran out of money towards the end and couldn't see one. We had a lot of excursions planned and they were very helpful in understanding the culture.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

I felt very safe in my program

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)

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? I brought with me about $3000 and was able to go to Portugal and Italy for a weekend; and then a 5 day trip to Morocco. I mostly ate my meals at home which were free and ate out maybe twice a week depending. I was very price conscience when choosing meals.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Out of my planned amount I did have to pay for a doctors visit (which I had to fill or paper work to get reimbursed for) but overall that was the main unexpected expenses I had.

Language

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? Intermediate
Language acquisition improvement?

Being in a group with a lot of Americans it was a little difficult to stay away from speaking English however I started out not very confident in my Spanish and wanted to change that and so i talked a lot with my host mom about Spanish history, culture, food, etc. She knew very little English and so we had long conversations in Spanish during/after lunch and dinner.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? use common sense be smart but get lost in the city you're in, you will find so much more and enjoy your time a lot more!

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Intermediate Spanish 1
Course Department: Spanish
Instructor:
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: Was a good class, teaching style was different; seemed like there was more busy work and lectures than the class practicing spanish. More on students' shoulders to learn.
Credit Transfer Issues: My transcript hasn't been sent back to me yet. I have talked with the program directors and they said it would arrive around the beginning of March.
Course Name/Rating:

Practicar
Course Department: Spanish Language
Instructor:
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: It was a good course to take to help practice speaking. We talked a lot about the normal things we encountered outside of class for example how to get directions, restaurants, etc. Learned more of the Spain spanish words/slang for example other words used to describe feeling sick, cultural norms, etc
Credit Transfer Issues: Haven't received transcript yet.
Course Name/Rating:

International Marketing
Course Department: Business
Instructor:
Instruction Language: English
Comments: We compared a lot between the US consumers and Spanish consumers, advertising, cultural norms, transportation, the overall day to day living of Spaniards.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Internationl Business
Course Department: Business
Instructor:
Instruction Language: English
Comments: One of my harder classes however it wasn't too bad, learned about international trade, how a company can go international, we did a group power point presentation on a country and how we were going to market a product in that country. Learned about transportation and infrastructure differs from country to country and the importants of knowing a culture, social norms, religion, cost of living, and laws before entering that potential market. Overall it was a very interesting class and probably my favorite.
Credit Transfer Issues: