Amazing and Immersive Experience in Madrid August 09, 2023

By A student (Neurobiology, Neurosciences, Middlebury College) - abroad from 01/18/2023 to 05/20/2023 with

Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Madrid

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

I gained a lot of independence from the program and learned how to navigate a new city on my own. My Spanish language skills improved significantly. It was definitely a worthwhile experience going abroad in general and helped expand my worldview.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	6 months+

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	I thought the classes were appropriate in terms of difficultly, and it was great to have a wide variety of courses at Sede Prim that all related to Spanish culture/history/etc. and made for a very immersive experience. Most of the professors were fantastic and incredibly helpful and made it clear where we could get academic help. Classes were overall a lot less organized than mine back at Middlebury.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	I loved my host mom and had the best time living with her. She was incredibly welcoming and kind and sweet and made me feel right at home. I loved having dinner with her every day and getting to catch up at the end of the day and enjoying our shows together.
* Food:
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?	While I did not have any health issues that needed to be addressed during my time abroad, I definitely know people who had some issues accessing healthcare when they really needed it.
* Safety:
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	No

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)	Easy if you are buying all your own groceries/cooking and not traveling too much, but sometimes that could be sacrificing your social life since friends will want to go out to eat, travel together, etc. so those will definitely be bigger costs.
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	Probably 50 euros on food (15 for lunch groceries and the rest eating out) and then another 50 or so on toiletries, clothing, going out. If I was traveling, I was spending much more than that on flights, hotels, food, and tickets.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	Planning trips ahead of time, especially for busy travel times (such as Semana Santa and the holiday at the beginning of May) can help save a lot of money! Also groceries are relatively affordable so cooking more meals for yourself would be great and I definitely would have done so more if I had a kitchen.

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?	Advanced
How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program?	Advanced
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure?	Completed a 450+ level course at Middlebury
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?	Living with a host family is a great way to practice Spanish since that's the only way to communicate with them, and you just get practice through daily interactions and mealtimes. Otherwise, joining some kind of group or club or language exchange is a great way to use Spanish

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	Americans
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?	Location of Sede Prim Diverse class offerings Cultural activities!
* What could be improved?	More travel opportunities for the class as a whole Adjusting orientation activities based on the season/time of year Vetting host families
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	One thing I wish had been communicated was that in choosing to live with a host family, I would not have access to a kitchen and that for a two-meal plan would be breakfast + lunch or breakfast + dinner (so lunch + dinner was not a possible combination). I loved my host family experience, but I would have considered a different living option if I knew I would not be able to cook for myself.

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 Nearly Native or Trail Blazer Craving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.'

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Blogging in Spain
Course Department:
Instructor:	Armando Figueroa
Instruction Language:	Spanish
Comments:	I thought this class was super interesting in helping me keep up with current events in Spain, especially since a lot of the news in Spain we don't hear about at home. We went on interesting field trips and improved our writing through a lot of research and analytical pieces. It was, however, super unorganized and we never really knew which assignments we had to complete and their due dates, which could get confusing.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Gender, Sexuality in Spain
Course Department:
Instructor:	Esther Ortega
Instruction Language:	Spanish
Comments:	I thought this class was super challenging because of the topics we covered, and a lot of the concepts were ones I wasn't even familiar with in English. However, that meant that I did learn many new things in this course, and we went on an interesting field trip to the Reina Sofia. Esther is clearly very knowledgeable and passionate about the topics covered in class.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Superior Spanish Syntax
Course Department:
Instructor:	Beatriz Del Valle
Instruction Language:	Spanish
Comments:	I learned so much about Spanish grammar in this class and covered topics that I never even knew/realized existed, which was great in having a better understanding of the Spanish language. However, I did not enjoy the instruction of the course and found the professor to be condescending, and a lot of our questions were not answered. While the professor is super knowledgeable about the subject, I think there are some changes that could be made in the form of instruction. We did have a lot of work in this course, mostly with daily homework assignments and outside of the class excursions/papers.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Spanish Art 20th Century
Course Department:
Instructor:	Ruth Gallego
Instruction Language:	Spanish
Comments:	I absolutely loved this course and found it to be a good challenge in expanding my vocabulary and learning to talk about art in Spanish, and Ruth was very helpful in giving feedback. This class really took advantage of the Sede's location, and we went to the museums in the area on a weekly basis.
Credit Transfer Issues: