Learning to Accept and Appreciate Past Review
By A student (Graphic Design, Virginia Commonwealth University / VCU) - abroad from 01/04/2016 to 04/28/2016 with
SAI Study Abroad: Barcelona - Elisava, Barcelona School of Design
I learned to be patient with others, taking time to understand where people are coming from. It's easy to make assumptions and judgements of others from the girl in your class to the man at the supermarket, but with patience you can understand why others might think or act the way they do. I also learned to take advantage of moments and say yes when I might be scared and think it's easier to say no. Appreciating where you are in the moment has also been a vital part of my experience. Learning to be grateful for what is as opposed to being regretful for what could have been.
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. |
ELISAVA had a definite different style of teaching than my school back home. Teachers were often hard to understand and would expect you to carry out their ideas. I also had to work a lot in group projects which I was not as used to. I think with these challenges I was able to work with students from different design backgrounds and learn to communicate my ideas better. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The SAI Barcelona director was incredible, always willing to help and made us feel very comfortable. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The living arrangements were really great! I loved the area my apartment was in. The only thing that was difficult was sharing such a small room with someone else and a bathroom with 3 other girls. |
| * Food: |
I cooked for myself mostly in my apartment. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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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
My program provided me with a small community of students that were also studying abroad. The weekend trips and day trips that SAI planned were always really nice and well planned.The support they gave me whenever I had any questions about anything at all was incredible. Having the housing situation resolved was also a great help. Some programs have hundreds of students and no one is able to get to know each other, but SAI did a great job of bringing us together and is usually a group of at most 20 people in Barcelona. |
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? | about 40 euros |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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? | 0 |
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? | I wish I knew how stressful planning weekend trips could be. |
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 Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
