My Semester at Universidad de Alcalá (UAH) in Madrid Past Review

By Amir M (Biology, General., Tufts University) for

Tufts Programs Abroad: Tufts in Madrid

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

Very worthwhile. I got to perfect my Spanish (which I have, unfortunately, since lost). I traveled all around Western Europe and got to live in a foreign country. Incredible experience.

Personal Information

The term and year this program took place:	Fall 2007

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	I definitely learned a lot -- grammar, history, film, but again the university course was difficult. The other 3 courses I took were through the abroad program and taught by our faculty (though all in Spanish) but with Tufts students, so it was easier to follow.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	Miguel Angel and Sergio were the greatest and helped us with whatever problem we had.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	Amazing. The one thing I regret was not staying in touch with them after abroad (i did at first, but it was hard). They took me to their beach house in the south of Spain in the first week....i was eating paella on the deck overlooking the med. sea... <br /><br /> The only bad thing was my host family lived far from the center (like 20 min walk) but by no means would i have preferred to live with a different family.
* Food:	I'm Jewish and semi kosher (no pork and seafood) so Spanish food wasn't my favorite. But my host mom did a great job catering to my needs and prepared fabulous meals that I could eat.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	I traveled frequently and went out a lot in the area, which was really fun.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	I felt pretty safe -- but you do have to be careful in general. As a male, i didn't feel as threatened and would try to accompany the female students on their walks home late at night.
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)
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	A lot...Europe was expensive. But you get a lot from the program (as you would hope since you are paying the same price)
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	I had to go to the dr once and traveling, things come up.

Language

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program?	Intermediate
Language acquisition improvement?	I was anxious before arriving about my speaking ability, despite having learned Spanish for many years. I had never had an opportunity to truly speak Spanish. At first it was difficult adjusting, but you learn quickly to do so and things fall into place. I wish i had made more Spanish friends, so I could have practiced more. But I was a little nervous leaving the "comfort zone" of the Tufts students.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Host Family
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Americans

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	Embrace it and take advantage of every opportunity you have to travel, see something unique, meet new people and so forth.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Historia de Americas
Course Department:	History
Instructor:
Instruction Language:	Spanish
Comments:	I don't remember the instructor's name but she was very kind. The lecture style in Spain was much different than the US. She would just read her notes from her desk, as if it were a book and all the foreign students would copy her verbatim -- as if it were a textbook. I relied heavily on my tutor and the few other Tufts students in the class to study. It was a year long course, but we were given permission to take it just for one semester, which consisted of one exam for us -- lots of pressure. I ended up only getting a B+, but i think she graded us like foreign students, which is frustrating. The course was essentially about the colonization of America by Columbus, so it was fascinating. It was difficult because there was no textbook to supplement class. But the class never lasted the hour or two (depending on day) that it was supposed to. But missing a class would hurt you greatly because you would have really no idea what was going on. Overall, I wouldn't recommend the class because it was difficult, but if you need a world civ credit and nothing else works, i would say go for it.
Credit Transfer Issues:	It counted directly to my GPA but also i got it to count as a world civilization credit by petitioning it -- which wasn't difficult. I just had to translate the syllabus, which i had help from the program director. The class probably shouldn't have counted, but it did because of the syllabus. In the semester I was there for, we barely left North America in our discussions. But that doesn't matter, it should still count.

Course Name/Rating:	Screenwriting
Course Department:
Instructor:	Jose Lozano
Instruction Language:	Spanish
Comments:	Great course. Jose decided to offer it exclusively to us in the Tufts program because of the high interest. We watched movies (English ones) and analyzed them then wrote our out screenplays. The worst part was he wasn't the most organized so we had to finish our work after the semester had ended, i.e. while we were at home back in the US. But it counted as an art credit, which was clutch.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Spanish 121 equivalent
Course Department:
Instructor:	Miguel Angel Lera
Instruction Language:	Spanish
Comments:	Great spanish grammar class because Miguel Angel is the man.
Credit Transfer Issues: