Amazing Host Family Past Review
By b m (Smith College) - abroad from 08/24/2018 to 12/18/2018 with
PRESHCO: Study Abroad in Córdoba, Spain
-Spanish comprehension skills -some speaking skills -confidence in traveling alone -confidence to find and make friends
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. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My host parents were amazing , very caring and sweet people. They were definitely the best part of Spain for me. |
| * Food: |
Not anyone's fault but everyone who considers studying abroad in Spain should know that the food is generally very bland. If you are used to eating spicy food daily (or even food with a tiny bit of spice/flavor), it will definitely be a big adjustment. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Some people were very rude/racist, but I think that is the case of any place. Didn't end up making any friends through the conversation partners, but, I ended up finding a great group of Spanish friends on my own. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Received flu vaccine (optional) in Spain. Program directors helped us to figure out how to go about getting vaccine. |
| * Safety: |
I never had any incidents. Cordoba is a pretty safe city. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I'm not sure if it was this specific program itself, but I am so happy with all the people I met. My host family was so caring and sweet to me, they really felt like family towards the end. All the other students in the program were great and we all became really good friends. Also made friends with some nice Spaniards, which helped me to practice my Spanish. |
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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $20 |
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 |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 300 level spanish class |
| 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? | make Spanish friends! you can make friends in classes, on tinder |
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? | -Spanish food is very bland and there isn't much variety |
