Alicante, Spain- I Want to go Back! Past Review
By Bailey M (Spanish & Psychology, University of Wisconsin - LaCrosse) for
Spain Study Abroad Reflections: Comprehensive Reviews of Past Programs
I feel much more outgoing now after being forced to try hard and communicate in another language all of the time, and also because I knew no one in this program when I signed up. Everyone wants to meet new people and everyone is in the same position- so just be friendly and you'll be fine! I also realized how different Spanish culture is from American culture, and wish everyone here would relax a bit more like they do over there. My academic interests haven't really changed from this experience, but I have decided that I would love to travel for work! And that is something I thought I would hate to do before I had this experience. You also learn a lot about yourself.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Workload was very appropriate for the time frame. I was never worried about homework and was able to learn a lot more from just being in the country. I do not know exactly how the grading system works; they were very vague in explaining it it us, they mostly just said our grade was dependent on our attitude, class attendance, effort and the final exam. We still do not know our overall grades. Teaching methods were similar to class here but the grammar class seemed to be more about reading comprehension than grammar. We did not actually study at the university since we were only there for a month so I cannot comment on the differences there. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Our faculty-led program was led by Melissa Wallace. She always said she was available for us whenever needed, but we rarely saw her. She did not go on many excursions and was hardly ever at class. The program size was great, and my expectations were met. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I did not have to buy anything, my host mom provided everything in the home. I was a 15-20 minute walk to class, and about 25 minutes to walk to the barrio/night life area. I felt safe walking alone except I was a little apprehensive at night walking home alone, but nothing serious. My host mom was great except she didn't like it when I didn't eat all of my food- which was impossible to do because she fed me so much. |
| * Food: |
WAY TOO MUCH OLIVE OIL ON EVERYTHING! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Trip to Madrid. Trip to Granada. Mini-excursions to surrounding cities and sites within Alicante. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
No safety issues. |
| 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 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Speaking as much Spanish as possible: in class, with host family, with locals. I wish I would have spoke Spanish with my classmates more but it was a nice break to speak English once in a while. Hardly anyone spoke English outside of the people we went with. |
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 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? | It is a great program, especially for students who do not have time to commit to a full semester abroad. Students of any language ability benefit because you can take SPA 304 or SPA 330 there, along with everyone taking SPA 306. Host families are very helpful in explaining things and improving your everyday, conversational Spanish. If you decide to do this program, you will probably feel like you don't know anything about what's going to happen. Don't let that bother you because everyone did seem a bit disorganized. We did not know who our host families were until they met us at our hotel the day after we got to Spain- but do not worry because all of the host families were wonderful to all of us! Armondo is friends with all of the people who volunteer to be host families. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Medical Spanish |
| Course Department: | SPA 306 |
| Instructor: | Cynthia |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish, some English |
| Comments: | Many field trips. Teacher was well-prepared other than almost always being late to class. I participated more here because the environment was a lot more relaxed and everyone took turns participating. There was a ton of vocabulary, and the day to day learnings of the class were much more difficult than the final exam was. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Advanced Syntax and Grammar |
| Course Department: | SPA 330 |
| Instructor: | Armondo |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish, some English |
| Comments: | It was fairly challenging, but I think that's because we didn't really learn grammar in this class. It's hard for their to be field trips for a class like this, but our professor went on all of our excursions with us! The teacher was knowledgeable but was a bit confusing in explaining some grammar rules to us. Everyone participated fairly equally because we were called on in sequence to give responses, and because of this I participated more. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
