The Best 5 Months of all Time Past Review
By A student (BCS, University of Rochester) - abroad from 01/04/2015 to 05/23/2015 with
Spain Study Abroad Reflections: Comprehensive Reviews of Past Programs
I learned to never settle into a routine, and explore my surroundings to get the best out of any situation I'm in.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The month long curso intensivo was arduous at the time but very helpful and got my Spanish to where I wanted it to be. When I started taking the two actual classes, they were both fun, new and challenging in their own way. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Rocio and Maria Jose were both very helpful, nice and knowledgeable. I was able to do and see everything I wanted to thanks in part to them. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Beautiful house, incredibly accommodating family, great home-cooked meals and a sense of independence and ability to live at my own schedule were some of the highlights of living with Teresa and her family. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Thanks to the internship I felt like I was actually living in the city of Madrid rather than just studying for a couple months. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I had no issues with my health while abroad |
| * Safety: |
Madrid is the safest city in the world. Given how massive and densely populated it is, the sense of absolute safety at any given moment or place is astonishing. |
| 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) |
Madrid is cheap for a capital city so it's very doable to live affordably and still enjoy the city, but it's also very easy to spend exorbitant amounts on any given night or weekend. Travelling gets very expensive as well, relatively speaking. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 125 euro |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Find a program equivalent to Canterbury English and tutor kids. My commitment was only 2 hours per week and I made 26 euros per week which was extremely helpful. |
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 |
I spoke Spanish all the time except when I was with American friends I had met abroad. |
| 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? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | SP 200 |
| 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? | In the beginning, watch a lot of TV and movies in the native tongue with subtitles on. Easy channels would be ones with cartoons because they often have subtitles. |
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? | Travelling throughout Europe is comparatively cheap but still expensive. |
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 Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
