Sevilla, que Maravilla Past Review
By Raven F (Linguistics; African American studies, Harvard University) for
SSA Education Abroad: Seville - Semester, Year or Summer in Seville
I recommend study abroad to anyone that can afford it. I needed the time away from Harvard, I had the opportunity to live elsewhere, travel, and stretch myself.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The class I took enrolled at La Universidad de Sevilla was very challenging and opened my eyes to the education system elsewhere, and I learned that logical and analytical skills are not valued as highly in this university. That is, one final exam was 70% of my grade, and this exam held two questions in which I had to explain all that I knew about certain concepts of the course... It felt like a memorize then regurgitate situation. However, my classes at CC-CS were more balanced. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Weakness: communication about when to leave the country, when housing would end, the final exam schedule, and grae/credit transfers Strength: Everything else, especially the cell phone lease program. I had friends in other study abroad programs in Seville, and they had difficulties finding their own cell phones AND many of their homes didn't have internet access. To be able to have a Blackberry in a foreign country was such a blessing (and the gps was so helpful!) |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
Food was delicious. Bar Esclava and The (El?) Duplex were great tapas restaurants. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I appreciated the free trips (which there were more!) |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
It is a safe city; always watch your bag or your stuff will get stolen. |
| 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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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | If you travel while abroad, always have extra money in case something goes wrong (the need to take an extra cab at night, missed flight, etc) |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Spanish 40 |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I needed to use my second language in all facets of life: at school, on the streets, and at home. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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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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