Tuscaloosa, Hollywood, and Disney World have a child- it's called Sevilla. Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The professors were fantastic. What a wonderful academic experience it was.

On-site administration of your program

They were so helpful and were great about emailing us pertinent information, responding to any and all of our inquiries, and they were friendly to us in the office. They would stop work just to chat with us.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived in to residencies. At first, I was placed with a woman who smoked, and I had requested to be placed with a non-smoker. However, when I talked to the program, they promptly found another house for me and moved me quickly. Spanish Studies Abroad quickly fixed its mistake and accommodated to my original request of living in a non-smoking household.

The food was good. I did not get as much much meat as I would have liked, though. Then again, I could have told my host-mom that I wanted more meat but I never voiced my carnivorous dietary propensities to her. Therefore, I ought not hold this against the program or her.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I met some locals. Most of my friends were either Americans I met through my school or European Erasmus students/Americans who I met through the local church I joined. However, I chose to spend time with these people- so I met few local Spaniards. I will say- Spanish Studies Abroad did a wonderful job encouraging us to meet locals as well as provide us with social opportunities for us and our local conversation partners. I wish I had chosen to meet more locals.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I had to go to the dentist once, and SSA was super helpful. Soraya even accompanied me to the dentist.

I felt safe overall. However, once I was in Parque Maria Luisa one day sitting on a park bench talking with an old man. We were practicing Spanish and just chatting. During the conversation, he reached his hand over and touched my upper leg with sexual intent (after telling me that he regularly comes to this part of the park for sexual encounters with other men). I neither appreciated nor liked the way in which he touched me. In fact, I was offended by it and found it a bothersome intrusion to my body that violated my sense of privacy. I would have liked to have known that this certain part of the Parque Maria Luisa is unofficially a meet up spot for homoerotic behavior. Had I known that fact, I would have avoided this part of the park and not been touched in this way.

I absolutely loved SSA. What a tremendous program. The classes were great, the weekend trips were great, the students were great, the staff were great. I LOVED it. My friends in the program loved traveling internationally, nationally, and staying local. They were smart, enthusiastic about the coursework, ready to practice Spanish, and open to learning about Sevilla.I felt like the students who studied here really knew the Spanish language well and sought to improve. The vast majority of students came from small liberal arts colleges, much like Birmingham-Southern. So, we were prepared to engage in class discussions. What a marvelous program!!!!!! I would also recommend students check out ISA (Institute for Study Abroad) and TCC (Trinity Christian College). ISA is bigger than SSA, yet smaller than CIEE. My friends who did ISA absolutely loved it. ISA students seem to get out and travel internationally a whole lot, too. It seemed to draw more large state school students. I did know a lot of students at ISA who took English based classes at UPO, a local university. If a student who does not speak great Spanish and is interested in business wants to come to Sevilla, he or she ought to consider studying with ISA and taking business classes at UPO through ISA. TCC, or Trinity Christian College, is a unique program catered to Christian students that allows students to study a different part of the world both alongside and through their protestant Christian worldview. The students I met in this program were perhaps not the ones who would delve into the nightlife and bar scenes as much, but these students seemed passionate about the local culture and the few I met seemed to love Spanish in the same way that my SSA cohorts did. I wish I had at least been aware of this program from the start- though I do not have one iota of regret about choosing Spanish Studies Abroad.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Since all of my meals were provided through the homestay, I was able to save money. I did travel some, which was quite expensive. But if I had not traveled, I would have saved money.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

They were adamant about us using Spanish. I loved it.

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• Host Family

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• Americans

• Wonderful classes
• Passionate professors
• interested and intelligent students

• get more guys in the program
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The Avid Adventurer