Madrid, Spain gave me a chance to discover a new me, learn lots and have a blast at the same time. Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The workload was almost non existent until the last two months of the program. The grading system is typical European out of 10 points. The quizzes and tests counted for more than anything else and there were 8 over all not including final exams and projects. Note taking was not generally encouraged. It was very verbal auditory learning based and it was very common to have a new teacher every two weeks and new classmates every week. Teaching by some professors was very interactive and others it was much less. You are expected to speak up they will not remind you of it as much as Clark professors will. Not many explanations are written down nor is homework so if you don't understand something you should ask them to repeat it or ask if they will write it down the majority of them will. Expect the class schedule to be flexible and change rooms, dates and starting times depending on what other classes are going on. Deadlines for handing things in are much more laid back than at Clark, you can hand something in up to a week late and not get marked down for it, I would not recommend doing that though because it builds up by the end of the semester. It is considered very rude to eat in the classroom and there is a rule prohibiting it. What I really liked is that in discussion you actually discuss real world topics and issues you deal with every day. That is something I do not find happens often at Clark. You do actually practice talking in class there is no way to avoid it and everything is in Spanish. The professors are very nice and helpful and really try to help you if you put in the effort.

On-site administration of your program

I found the size of the program to be a bit smaller than I was accustomed to and surprisingly except in my non grammar classes found that this made it harder to concentrate. There was a free tutoring service that I did not choose to use but seriously considered it at one point. The scheduling of some after school cultural activities/ trips and classes in general got to be quite disorganized and disruptive at one point. Particularly that we were moved to a completely different classroom during the middle of two of our final exams. The professors knew quite a bit about American Higher Education and liked to compare it to Spanish discussion. All papers and exams were graded very quickly and returned back to us without a problem. Unfortunately my expectations were not met because of two main reasons. The first being that I was re-taught for the first 2 months of the semester what I already knew in a completely new way with different terms for verb tenses which completely threw me off and was very confusing it was also a bit boring to have to learn the majority of it again. I started to learn the last two months and then the work load was incredibly heavy after almost being non existent. My second reason was the disorganization of the program in general. I tend to be schedule oriented and very organized and ran into quite a few problems with my host family because my schedule kept changing so suddenly and I either went without a lunch or had to eat very, very late. Quiz and test dates were also moved a few days before being given which personally caused me a lot of stress not knowing when to start preparing heavily for them. Also having days of classes alternating and switching every week got to be quite confusing. In some cases classes were over scheduled and we had to change classrooms 3 times in one hour.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I was about 20 minutes from the school and 25 from the center of the city and night life by metro. Walking it took me about 45 minutes to get from my house to the school. The neighborhood was clean, more quiet than the center and very safe. I was a 15 minute walk away from a nice park. Lots of restaurants and places with wifi plus shops were very near to me. The people were very friendly and I never felt like I had to be watching my back after I got out of the metro. When I went out for the night life I always took a taxi home unless I left before 1:30am then I'd take metro. The taxi at the most expensive cost me 10.15 euros. My family was non smoking and the only items I had to buy was soap and shower stuff. Everything else was provided for me. I was treated very much like a family member and was never excluded from what was going on unless I chose not to participate. I had full access to the fridge and microwave just not the stove.

I was very satisfied with the food that was prepared and given to me. I do not happen to be a food person but most of the time I never had a complaint about what was served. It was never too salty or too oily and usually tasted pretty good. They also served me all of the traditional Spanish foods so I got to have a really good cultural experience. My only complaint was the amount of food they served me. I do not eat much in general but I got a very big portion of food at lunch and dinner. The eating times were also late the earliest would be 10pm at night for dinner and 2:30pm in the afternoon for lunch. For future students definitely go to small lesser known bars and order calamares which is fried squid. Sounds disgusting but it was one of the best foods I tried my first semester in Madrid and in Spain in general so far. Good restaurants VIPS, O'connels irish pub close to Puerta del sol, it is hard to list specific restaurants because all of them are pretty good usually. For really good paella take the metro L10 dark blue to San Bernabeau and follow signs for TGIF's and go to the small restaurant to the right of it. It has the best paella in Madrid that I have tasted. In general try to avoid going to restaurants right in front of El Palacio Real or to either side of it. I went to one which was horrendous and extremely expensive. As an insider's tip always ask if bread if they give it to you is "incluido" if they say no ask them how much it costs or just have them take it away. Some restaurants are really bad and will charge you up to 5 or 6 euros for bread especially if they think you are a tourist. As long as you don't touch it they should if they are a decent restaurant take it off the bill if they even put it on there. PANS is a nice restaurant to eat in and can be found on calle Gran Via. If you want to try the typical liquor of Madrid go to a restaurant called El Madroño it is located on the calle la cava baja in metro stop La Latina. Other than that I did not eat out to much so I recommend just going bar hopping or using those places. In general only complaint I have about Spanish food in general is that it is very, very rich. If you are not used to that it may take a while and if you have cholesterol issues they like to eat a lot of shrimp and sea food and bread.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

All trips to museums, bars, and other towns done by the school were a lot of fun and very informative. The protests in Madrid are amazing try to see one if you can. It is worth going out and experiencing the discotecas and night life at least once even if you are not into it. The night life in Madrid is unique and special and a lot of fun if you can warm up to it, at first it can be a bit overwhelming. If you don't like to do that I find going to the movie theaters here is a lot of fun. Even just going out to VIPS which stays open until almost 2am can be considered night life or hanging out with friends at a local bar that isn't super crowded. Museums, libraries, stores, parks especially El parque del Retiro are all other possibilities if you like to do things a little bit more laid back. You should see "El museo de Cera" or the wax museum in Madrid. It is located at metro station Colon and it is fabulous. If you stay until January 6th see the 3 Kings day parade. There is something similar to Carnival and a national festival combined with a parade which was a pretty cool event to watch. Just the street performers and musicians are memorable cultural attractions. Go to Karaoke arranged by Tandem it is a blast even if you are a bit shy in social situations with new people as I happen to be. Go to the big street market El rastro it is super fun with super prices and is also in La latina.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Madrid is one of the safest cities I have ever lived in. There are always people around and there are a lot of police wandering around. Be more careful at night mostly due to a high amount of drunk men and women wandering around. Be very careful on the metro especially at night the beggars will come right up to you just ignore them and in 99% of the cases they go away. I never personally had problems with them. Watch out for pick pocketers. They are really fast, determined and good. People lost a new camera out of their pocket so never ever keep things in front pockets unless they are really tightly fitted. Never answer surveys or sign anything or ever take out your identification unless the police ask you to. I was pickpocketed out of a good sum of money when I took my wallet out to show my I.D. and they took the money from wallet which was underneath the paper I was holding and signing. Don't catch anything thrown at you, and avoid people especially men with jackets hanging over their arms because they will drape it over your purse and your wallet will be gone. If you get followed in the metro which happened to me the first week pull over with your back against the wall and wait until the person passes. Ladies it sounds stupid but even if you have to wear your purse backwards always keep your hand on the zipper, it is easier if you have a long strapped purse that you can wear across the front of you. If someone rams into you on the metro hold onto the purse or wallet even if you fall down. That is unusual and they are trying to pick pocket you happened to my Mom. If you fall down people will help you up again they are nice in Madrid. If you have expensive jewelery or watches not a good idea to wear it super visibly when walking alone or if it's gold. If you have a camera put it around your neck because people have been known to cut the strap if you put it on your shoulder. When eating in restaurants always put your purse or moneyholder on your lap and check it to make sure it hasn't been opened. Watch out for street vendors who come into bars late at night they usually pick pocket too. Never accept anything that is free except if you are walking buy a restaurant and it is free. If two people ask you for directions don't answer or keep a very tight hold on your belongings. Never leave a phone on the table they are known to disappear especially outside. It may sound really bad but you get used to looking out for this and recognizing it really fast. Eventually you'll tune it out and just be aware of your surroundings. The pickpocketers never actually touch you or have contact with you if they can avoid it so it is a bit safer than America you won't get mugged over here. Lastly never ever carry more than 40 euros on you unless you need to break a 50 or are traveling. Never carry your actual passport only a photocopy. Leave the extra money and passport in your host family's house. I only got seriously ill once but did not think to go to the hospital what I believe happens is that they make an appointment for you at a private British medical clinic.

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

I practiced speaking with my host family, my professors and administrators at the school. I attempted to practice with other students but most of them all knew English and preferred to speak that or their native language outside of class. I absolutely had to use the language every day when interacting with people I learned more grammar and words from being outside of class than being in it sometimes. Most of the students spoke English outside of class but the majority made an attempt only to speak in Spanish.

Select all that apply

• Host Family

Select all that apply

• Host Family

• Living in Madrid
• Meeting professors who talked about real life and cleared up many language mysteries for me.
• The cultural activities

• Organization
• Interaction with native Spaniards
• Orientation