It was all about the smiles, excitement, and sangria! Past Review
By karla cervantes (Oklahoma State University - Stillwater) - abroad from 01/10/2018 to 05/12/2018 with
ISA Study Abroad in Valencia, Spain
I've gain a lot of new close friends, amazing memories, a deeper understanding of the Spanish culture/history. Personally, for me it was worth while simply living in a new culture. Being surrounded by different mentalities has definitely shaped the way I think and even behave. I can honestly say that my self confidence has improved. This was a well needed experience that not many people get. What one of my friends learned through a book, I actually got to go and see it and experience it.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The professors really seemed to care about what they taught. They also really made an effort to make your experience abroad a great one. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
These human being were honestly very incredible and very involved. There was never a dull moment with them. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Everyone was very caring and extremely kind. They really made me feel at home. They were also very flexible with my schedule. |
| * Food: |
Food in Spain is very healthy and pretty darn good, but be prepared to eat a lot of pork and fish. And for the most part I feel as though they only had ham flavored chips, sadly I do not like jamon (ham) flavored chips. But still, very healthy food! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Spaniards are very open and honest. I remember I was on the bus heading towards the city center, and a lady missed the bus by like 5 seconds so she proceeded to scream at the bus driver, banged on the door and chased after the bus. The bus driver just laughed and drove off. Honestly I was impressed that the lady did that |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I personally never had a reason to go to a clinic or thee hospital, but I did have close friends that did and they were well taken care of. |
| * Safety: |
Valencia, Spain is a very safe city. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
I absolutely loved and will always cherish my time in Valencia, Spain, but while I was studying abroad I had the opportunity to visit different cities and there was one specific city I instantly fell in love wish and wished I had more time there. |
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) |
It was pretty good, I got to go on a lot of side trips while abroad with the budget that was stated, but I did have to do a lot of research for cheaper prices. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $50 probably even less. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Really try to budget yourself at the beginning of the trip. I tried to do all the lower costing things first and really think about what I needed and really wanted to do as oppose to things that I wasn't really interested in. I found that by doing this I got to spend a lot more money on my final trips, also throughout Valencia. |
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 |
I used it everyday. Even though I already knew Spanish, I did find that my vocab in Spanish really grew, and my accent improved as well. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Fluent |
| 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? | 3000 level. |
| 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? | Surround yourself by fluent speakers. Listen to music, watch movies in that particular language. |
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? | Really take time to research where you want to go. Also, try to place side trips ahead of time. |
