Stay in Seville, Spain Past Review
By Kayla Phelps (Wartburg College) - abroad from 02/01/2018 to 05/12/2018 with
SSA Education Abroad: Seville - Semester, Year or Summer in Seville
I have a better understanding of the language and my personality changed. I'm more relaxed (I was pretty uptight), I'm willing to try more things, and it was amazing.
Review Photos
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. |
I got a challenge in my classes but it wasn't too overwhelming. Our teachers implemented the concept of teaching one level above our zone of comfort in order to challenge us and help us learn without being too much. I loved my professors and my classes were great, especially my education classes. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The on-site administration was always there to help and we were able to always go to them when we needed help, had questions, were sick, anything. They were all really nice and fun to be around. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I LOVED my homestay. My family was incredible, the food was good and I was in a great area (Los Remedios). We ate almost all of our meals together and we would talk, eat, and watch tv. I miss them all. |
| * Food: |
Food in general over there was amazing. I actually went being a decent eater but somewhat picky. When I got there I tried everything I could and there wasn't really anything I didn't like. It was different but good and helped make my experience a great one. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I was integrated great. I would talk with locals (my intercambio, my family, strangers, everyone) and go on walks but I could have done more. Get out and explore, some of my favorite memories come from doing that. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I personally didn't get sick at all so I didn't have to worry about this but I watched some of my classmates get sick or have problems and it was taken care of really well. |
| * Safety: |
Seville is a great city and I always felt safe, even walking home by myself at 2 in the morning. If you travel and you're a female, I don't necessarily recommend going by yourself. I did that and it was fun/turned out really well but just be aware of your surroundings and e careful. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I cannot say yes enough to this. My experience was life changing and amazing, I highly recommend it. |
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) |
It is affordable over there, host families make a lot of food over there so you don't necessarily have to spend a lot on that which helps. Travel is also relatively "cheap." I personally took out a loan so I could travel and be on the safe side but I had a huge cushion even after all my food, souvenirs, and traveling. |
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 |
We had a Spanish only policy and if we didn't follow it, we could get potentially get a lowered grade or had the possibility of being asked to leave the program. Outside of the school it was kind of up to us but Spanish was strongly encouraged. |
| 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? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Intermediate Spanish |
| 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? | Just focus on the communication part of it, don't be worried about being perfect. The more you push yourself to talk quickly and just say it, the better you get. I was so focused on being correct but the more I let go of that, the better I got. |
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? | The paper there is bigger than in the U.S. so I brought folders/notebooks from the U.S. but it's different. It's a little thing but my papers kept getting torn so I just bought cheap folders over there and I really like them, I brought them home with me. |
