Academic and Personal Growth in Madrid! July 28, 2025

By A student (Political Science, Middlebury College) - abroad from 02/07/2025 to 05/31/2025 with

Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Getafe

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

I learned like about nationalism, but in a good way, people we’re proud to be Spanish, which was refreshing because in the US, we all kind of feel ashamed to be Americans sometimes especially with our president.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	I could’ve picked easy classes but I chose niche classes in topics I didn’t know much about, where the final was worth 60% of my grade, which made the class challenging and engaging.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	The staff for Madrid was extremely helpful, I felt like could help me at any given moment, and attentive during our monthly meetings.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	Loved my host family but hated how far I was from everyone else, I got a family that was more on the outskirts than the rest of my friends host families. It was just inconvenient to meet up with friends or get to class.
* Food:	Loved trying new food, but my taste buds unfortunately just aren’t a huge fan of Spanish foods, I don’t love ham and potatoes got old within like a month of getting to Spain.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	I felt pretty integrated because I was speaking only Spanish and grocery shopping myself and using public transportation and attended a Spanish university. I wish however that Spanish kids would’ve been more friendly, it would’ve helped me integrate better.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?	Very well, I did have experience with healthcare, however it was dental care so it was not covered by my school insurance.
* Safety:	I felt safe walking home at night time. It was always clean, I loved my residential neighborhood.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes I would choose the same program, but I would be more strategic about times of classes so that I have the least amount of travel time possible.

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)	Food was cheaper than in the US and going out a few times a week was not hard to budget for.
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	50 euros
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	Use public transportation as much as possible. If you’re traveling, use Skyscanner to book, it’s legit and easy to use.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language? 0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language
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?	300
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?	Music

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Host Family
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Host Family
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Local Students
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?	Madrid is such a good host city! The freedom and independence My host sister
* What could be improved?	Host family should be closer to campus Better communication on visitor policy when living with host family Better orientation regarding phone plans prior to arriving
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	I should choose classes about Spain, learn about the culture of youre host country!

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 Avid Adventurer The wardrobe you packed was better suited for a semester of camping than club hopping. Outdoorsy, you might forgo a crazy night out for an early all-day adventure. You'd rather take in the rich culture of an old town than the metropolis of a modern city, but for you getting off the grid is ideal.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Politics and History of Islam
Course Department:	Political science
Instructor:	Carmen Alvarez
Instruction Language:	Spanish
Comments:	It did make great use of location as we went on a fieldtrip to visit sites were Islam was super prominent. However the grading was hard, the exam in the end used language that I had not been exposed to, the professor basically rephrased the language of the questions a bit, which as someone not completely native to Spanish exams and wording or questions, I felt a little caught off guard even though I had studied.
Credit Transfer Issues:	No