Good experience, but not for learning Spanish and not for going to school!!!! Past Review
By Francis Free (Metropolitan State University of Denver) - abroad from 09/25/2018 to 12/20/2018 with
Spain Study Abroad Reflections: Comprehensive Reviews of Past Programs
I learned how important friendship and honesty is. I have learned exactly how important my gender identity is to me and exactly to what lengths I will go to keep it that way. It was a very worthwhile experience, but not for the reasons that normal study abroads have.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Maybe Spain is just lazy? The coursework is next to nothing. Hardly learned a thing. Complete waste of time. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Really amazing people, there to help me through literally everything! |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Roommate was good, host family was good, but again I got almost no Spanish interaction because they were a quiet family and my roommate was from America. Which sucked. I did not expect that. |
| * Food: |
She was a single mom, so she couldn't make nice foods and we got pre-cooked food or low-effort food like eggs, and not a lot of it. I went hungry for the majority of my time there. |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Thankfully my roommate and other friends dragged me out to experience the culture and walk the streets almost every other day. |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
It was pretty good. I should've had my wisdom teeth removed while there though. |
| * Safety: |
Wonderful, caring, careful host family and host directors. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
I would go by myself. From what I understand, all programs do the same thing, and I do not want to be put into a class where my Spanish is not challenged. |
Finances
|
* 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) |
The program took care of all of that. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $100 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Ummm, do not spend your money on tea. The tea in Spain is bad. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
|
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
When they were around us, they usually encouraged us to speak in Spanish unless they couldn't understand and it was important. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Fluent |
| 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? | 4000 level. |
| 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? | Go out to the bars! Talk with strangers! (Safely, of course, with your study abroad buddy.) |
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
| 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? |
|
| * What could be improved? |
|
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I really wish I had known that study abroads have changed so much since my parents and grandparents. I didn't know that I would be so un-challenged. This experience is more for people who like traveling and less so for people who like learning. |
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! |
