Spain: the beautiful country beyond the classroom Past Review
By Cassie v (English, Columbia University) for
Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Madrid
Absolutely. It was completely invaluable to me - my goal was to improve my Spanish, and I gained so much more.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Workload for most classes was excellent - for 2, however, it was absolutely ridiculous. Educational system was virtually the same. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Accessibility varied dramatically between different members of the administration. Overall, the experience was embarrassingly bad. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Loved the people, struggled with closeted smoking habits. |
| * Food: |
Missed fresh vegetables and larger breakfasts. Could have used more variation. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Las fallas, Semana Santa - incredible. Making Spanish friends outside the program helped me enormously. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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) |
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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
Fellow students, teachers, administration, friends. Host language was a necessity. Most people spoke Enlgish. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Explore and take risks if it means you will meet people and experience things you've never been exposed to before. |
