I went for the neuroscience. I was not disappointed. Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

There is a lot of reading and note-taking involved in the courses themselves. The normal Spanish courses are pretty easy. The Drugs & Behavior course is really what you make of it, although if you slack off, you will get behind, making the course more difficult. I heard the auditory course was more difficult and required more attention. The primary focus of this study abroad is the courses and you will not be given any slack for skipping class or sleeping. You will need to find a balance between engaging in the local culture and studies. Take note, you are also going to walk a lot! Think about how much you walk on campus, now double it, possibly more. Bring a good pair of shoes because your courses are on opposite sides of the dormitories and you need to go to both areas every day.

On-site administration of your program

There was an issue with room allocation at the beginning of the trip (1 day). I was scheduled to have a room, but when we arrived, the students who lived there from the previous semester had not moved out yet. Thus, we were placed in a different building (large, westernized apartment-ish, with a kitchenette). The staff was very kind and had us placed in the correct rooms within 24 hours. In general, the front desk was patient and helpful when international students had trouble communicating through Spanish as they did not speak English.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

You can choose a single or double room. The private room was spacious, had a closet with drawers, a single bed, bookshelf backboard, a large desk (4x2/5x2), and personal toilet. The only frustrating accommodation was how long it took to shower as the shower had a spray hand (~5'5'' up the wall). A maid comes once a week to tidy up, but you are required to wash your own sheets. The building and room entries were normal (different) metal keys. I thought the housing was great. It exceeded my expectations.

The dorm food was not the best, although it can fill you up. If you do not like/eat beef, your options will be limited as the cafeteria is something you would consider small. There was some chicken/fish at meals, but it was mostly beef-based dishes. Vegetable portions were fairly small. For this reason, I give a low rating. Other food sources were delicious and mostly cheap. There are two markets you can access in your walking area. One is next to the neuroscience institute, where you can go after class to get household items, food items, and food souvenirs. The second is a smaller market next to the dorms, which is much smaller, although you can buy food items and your laundry detergent/dryer sheets here. There is an open fruit market around the corner of paseo san vicente and avendida de los maristas. The fruit is always fresh, but you will need to check for hours. Any food/drink next to the Plaza Mayor is delicious if you want to spend some money (pretty cheap, especially if you share). The Don Quixote cafe was popular for our group as it was on the route to/from classes.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

If you go out with some friends around the Plaza Mayor, you will see a lot of the local Salamanca culture. But, if you stay around the dorm areas, within the group area, you will not see anything. A balance of studying and pro-activity is the key here. I didn't go out at all, but did very well in the courses. I wish I had gone out more to see the culture, although I did see a lot when traveling on weekends.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I did not have any health issues, but the dorms are directly located next to two hospitals.

Salamanca felt pretty safe to me. Walking at night around the dorms was not irregular there. Around the plaza, there are always a ton of people. I did not encounter any safety issues, although I was very mindful of potential pick pockets. Spain is known for non-violent petty theft. Just keeps your items close. A lot of people went running early in the morning and didn't have any safety issues.

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

Everything is paid for prior to arrival, unless you forget detergent/dryer sheets (get the pods). If you want a snack like churros con chocolate a couple times a week, you can bring some loose change with you. Otherwise, you have everything you need. You do have the option to travel on the weekends, which can be price-y, but it is entirely do-able. Otherwise, there is still a ton to see and do in Salamanca itself on the weekends.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

Outside of class, you interact with other students studying various levels of Spanish. Thus, you may not necessarily by encouraged to speak in Spanish outside of class.

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• Dorm

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• Americans

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• Americans

• neuroscience education, research facility tours
• Travel ability on the weekend
• group parties with tapas and local cusine

• dormitory food