Past Review

By Claire F (Art History, Criticism and Conservation., Clark University) for

Tandem Madrid: Madrid - University Spanish Program

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

Totally worth it, I gained in depth understanding of a different culture and really got to understand what it is like to view a place as a non-native. My spanish improved dramatically and it is one of my most prized skills now.

Personal Information

The term and year this program took place:	Fall 2008

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	A great way to seriously improve your spanish, lots of close instruction time and really helpful teachers
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	In general met my expectations
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	I lived with a spanish host family that also was housing other american girls, they were incredibly friendly and lived in a great, central location
* Food:	Generally healthy and good tasting, there was always enough food and my host mom was accommodating of any food requests
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	It would have been nice to have access to meeting more native spaniards, although i made a lot of great international friends
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes

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)

Language

Language acquisition improvement?	The immersion in combination with a lot of class time was a huge help for me. I was able to apply what I was learning in class to my interactions in daily life.