Madrid: Time of My Life! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The teaching methods above par without a doubt. Its a private school. Small classes. They focus more on each individual student. The days of going to Spanish class without speaking are gone. They don’t mind how many times you mess up. As long as you leave now knowing that conjugation or phrase everyone is happy. I give the intensive course, prior to the start to the semester, 5 stars and completely back it. I recommend it. Do it. Outside of the quality of the course itself,it gives you extra time in Spain where you can spend evenings getting adjusted to culture and the time zone difference. Why 4 out of 5. The way they break down grades in Europe or in Spain at least is different than the states. At Nebrija it was 33% Exams 33% Homework 33% Attendance and Participation. If you miss more than three days you would lose 15-20% of your overall grade coming from your attendance and participation alone. Its strict but you definitely learn Spanish when you are required to participate verbally.

On-site administration of your program

Things got done. Good people.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I had a host mom. She was originally from South America. She could change between the Spanish accents on the fly. She had Wi-fi! and a small dog. Overall great person. Her daughter husband and grand daughter visited on a regular basis. So exposure to family and culture was an everyday thing. Also had three American roommates who attended school with me. We all became close friends. Prime location. I was down the street from a Gold's Gym, the Real Madrid stadium, bars, cell phone store*, high class restaurants and in walking distance of subway Line 6 and Line 1. Two sets of doors gate and buzzer. One block from a nice shopping street where the city bus took me to class. The bus ride was short and it was often enough that if i missed one I still wouldn't be late to class. There were three supermarkets. You get the picture. Was not allowed to cook so no cookware. She cooked and cleaned the provided sheets for us. She treated me and my roomies like sons. Some times with tough love but more often than not with a geat heart. *Cell phone contracts in Spain are for 18 months so i was depended on the stores with my pay-as-you go phone.

Awesome. Keep in mind the Spanish food schedule. Breakfast are light. Like Coffee toast or Coffee and yogurt. Lunch are pretty light too Juice and a sub. Dinners are late and are huge. Two plates including a main and a side with dessert. My metabolism picked up a lot to the point where I purchased extra food at the grocery store for myself for both lunch and 4th meal. Commodities are pretty cheap. Fresh bread for a Euro or so. The food was very healthy. Most guys I know said they lost a lot of weight and oddly enough girls stated that they gained. Seafood Paella, 100 montaditos on Wednesday, bocadillo de calamares....

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Walking Tours and Excursions. Do all that you can.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

The city of Madrid is safe. No physical violent muggings you would see in my home city of Chicago or New York. Pick pockets were more common and i just strongly suggest that ladies you watch your drinks during your nights out. The health system is different. Might want to look it up if you are not familiar.

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

I was able to practice Spanish with everyone. My roommates, classmates, and people from the city. There are cultures in the world where they just have built in kindness and hospitality, the Spanish culture is one of them. Everyone was more than willing to help me out or hear what I had to say even on my off days when I just couldn’t formulate a sentence correctly. Big thing, Nebrija offers ‘Intercambios’ where every Thursday after class and dinner both foreign and local students meet back up and practice Spanish and English. I made a lot of Spanish friends here and from the nightlife. What was really surprising how much practice I got in using Facebook chat and txt’n with my new Spanish friends. I used the host country language everyday without a doubt. It became second nature. I had a roommate with a lower level of Spanish. He had not taken Spanish in a year or more but he was able to get around no problem by the second month and improved to the point that I interrupted one of his conversation the last month and told him that I was proud of him.

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• Host Family

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• Americans
• Local Students
• Host Family

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• International Students