Sweet Briar JYS In Sevilla is an Amazing Program--I Highly Recommend it and Wish I Could Go Again! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at the Universidad de Sevilla, coordinated by Sweet Briar JYS. During my months there, I took 5 courses. 2 of those classes (one on Latin American literature and the other on Spanish history) were not targeted for visiting American students, and I found myself in the classroom with native Spaniards from all over the country, as well as other parts of Europe. The teaching methods and ability of the teachers to stimulate and challenge me in those 2 regular courses was fantastic--I loved every minute of them. I very much appreciated Sweet Briar JYS allowing me the opportunity to enroll in these 2 harder courses--it truly made my experience there. While my other 3 courses that were targeted for American students (although conducted entirely in Spanish) were good, I did not feel as challenged. Overall though, taking courses entirely in Spanish for a semester really accelerated my knowledge of the language, and I was able to leave the Sweet Briar JYS program confident that I was fluent in Spanish. Having studied Spanish in high school and 1 year of college, my Spanish was strong but not perfect. I definitely don't think I would have the fluency I have today (nor would I have majored in Spanish upon returning to my home university) if it hadn't been for the academically challenging "regular" university courses I was allowed to attend in Sevilla.

On-site administration of your program

The Sweet Briar JYS staff was excellent. They were always readily available to us, and worked above and beyond to help make our stay run as smoothly as possible. Their support for issues (ranging from problems with host families to bureaucratic difficulties at the university) was very good. However, one of the biggest disappointments I had was that we were supposed to abide by a "Spanish speaking only" code throughout our stay there. Unfortunately, this was not enforced as well as it could have been (especially inside the Sweet Briar office). But, I know that my stay there was during a time when there was an interim director who was not very effective in leading the program--I know that Celeste does a great job with running things now. Another thing I wished is that they screened applicants more thoroughly. When I was enrolled there, there was a huge group of students from Northwestern who appeared to be there only to party and live it up in Sevilla. Many of them were not academically focused, and these students were the biggest problem when it came to speaking too much English during group activities. However, thankfully this was balanced by having an exceptional group of students from Brown University who were focused on learning as much as they could about Spain.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Sweet Briar JYS arranged for me to have a room in a 3 bedroom apartment with an elderly widowed Spanish woman, her elderly (invalid) sister, and another Spanish student from Northern Spain spending the semester in Sevilla. It was really great because having another student my age really allowed me to learn more about Spanish culture, and I was able to get lots of good practicing of my Spanish done during our dinners together every night. Sweet Briar JYS made adjusting to the living arrangements very easy for me. They had arranged for my host "mom" to be waiting at the airport for me upon my arrival. From there we took a taxi to her apartment. I was fortunate to live in a great neighborhood there (Los Remedios), and I was thankful that several of my new friends from the program were also placed nearby. It was great to have that sense of community.

My host "mom" provided me 3 meals a day. She was really accommodating when I expressed a desire to not eat as much fried food (a discussion that the Sweet Briar JYS staff started on my behalf, thankfully), and she also packed me a bag lunch every day because I had a class scheduled so that I couldn't go home every day for lunch. The food was pretty good. I was able to try a range of traditional Spanish food (paella, gazpacho, churros con chocolate, etc.), as well as other delicious dishes (pasta and hamburgers). I rarely ate outside my home stay, except for when I would want an afternoon snack or when I was traveling on the weekends.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Sweet Briar JYS was great in planning a lot of weekend excursions for us. They organized a trip to Galicia and Granada, as well as other locations on the southern coast. The staff was also really helpful when my friends and I planned a trip to Morocco. I also enjoyed the special dining events we had, such as our welcome dinner, our Thanksgiving dinner, and our farewell dinner. I felt very well taken care of.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Sevilla felt very safe for me. I walked late at night with my friends on the streets after going to bars and clubs, and I never once felt scared or unsafe. The program was really good in helping to point out areas of the city we should stay clear of late at night, as well as with providing us local safety phone numbers.

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

Our program encouraged us to meet and speak with local college aged Spanish students as much as possible. I believe there was a program to set up "intercambios" to practice speaking with a native speaker.

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

• The love of Spanish culture and language it gave me.

• Too many students spoke English all the time.