Nazareth College Valencia program: Summer 2004 Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

As stated earlier, the school in Valencia where I studied in 2004 is not the same school where current abroad students are attending. I had a poor experience at my school, yet this is likely why they changed schools. The workload was very minimal which was great for exploring the country, yet the academic experience itself overall was poor. I came to Spain with an early intermediate level of Spanish, but all 3 classes were taught in 100% Spanish by Spanish teachers. It was very difficult to retain any information taught because I wasn't a proficient enough speaker to understand much of what was being taught. The teachers spoke very little English as well so communicating was not an easy experience. However, one positive aspect academically was the fact that there was an Assistant Director who was American and a graduate of Nazareth College. She was great and was always able to help us with anything needed. She lived in Spain so she knew the city well, yet also went to Nazareth in Rochester so was very helpful in all aspects of the program. She didn't teach any courses, but coordinated all of our classes and was always present at the school. She also led and supervised weekend excursions. The hours we went to school were also very nice as we were only there from 8:00 am until 1:00 pm and had all of our afternoons free.

On-site administration of your program

The host country program administration was very good. I was given all the information necessary before I left and had a thorough pre-departure orientation. There were no professors or staff that travelled with us to Spain, but the Assistant Director in Spain met us at the airport and coordinated all of our classes and homestays. She was American and had gone to Nazareth so she worked for the school, in country.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My housing experience was excellent. I stayed with a host mother who was an older woman that had many abroad students staying with her at one time. Her daughters also lived in the same building so we were able to get to know them as well. I was also able to room with another Nazareth College student who had actually been on the program before so she was an excellent guide and way to help me settle into the country. She already knew the city, and had stayed with the same host mother before. I was very lucky to have her and it made a huge difference in my experience. Our large apartment was very comfortable and we didn't need to provide anything for ourselves. Our host mom cooked all 3 meals for us and cleaned our room and did our laundry. She was great, although I wouldn't say that I felt like a family member, definitely more of a guest. There were other international students coming and going through her apartment since my roommate and I were no the only people she was hosting. That made me feel a bit more like a guest, but I was still treated well so it didn't bother me much.

The food was very good overall. Since our host mother cooked 3 meals a day for us, we never had a reason to eat out too much. I would say that I enjoyed about 90% of the meals that she cooked. The food outside of our house was also excellent when we did go out and there were many places nearby our school and apt to get food if needed.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Socially and culturally, the program was very good. Since my program was a summer semester, instead of a traditional 3 month semester there weren't as many weekends / time for cultural learning yet it was still very good overall. During the week we would be in school from 8 am until 1 pm and afternoons were free for our own exploration. We typically went shopping or to the beach each afternoon. 3 of the 4 weekends we had planned cultural excursions to local sites and small cities outside Valencia. For our one free weekend, my roommate and I traveled to Seville which was an amazing experience. Unfortunately, because there weren't enough weekends in the program, I didn't have the opportunity to travel to many other cities in the country.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I luckily never had any health issues while I was on my program so fortunately didn't get a chance to see how they would have been addressed. Valencia was a very safe city and I always felt safe everywhere I went.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

The program was 100% immersion so speaking the local language was necessary for daily life. All of the classes were in Spanish and my host mother spoke very little English. Luckily, my roommate was a very proficient speaker so she was able to translate anything I wasn't understanding. My language skills developed greatly over the course of the program by attending my classes every day and speaking with my host mother at home.

Select all that apply

• Host Family

Select all that apply

• Host Family

• Home Stay
• Assistant Director who was American and worked for Nazareth College was very helpful

• Academics - classes should be tailored for different level of spanish speakers