A Spanish Experience Past Review
By Ann Furbush (Stonehill College) - abroad from 08/25/2016 to 12/23/2016 with
UFV Madrid / Universidad Francisco de Vitoria: Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I learned to deal with other cultures and how it can be frustrating when things do not go the way you planned due to cultural differences. I improved my spanish skills and was able to travel and explore different cultures. It was a great overall experience just not a great internship experience.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
|
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
API was incredibly helpful and nice. The staff was always available and helped with literally anything and everything we needed. |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The residencia was very nice and clean and the food was good. A few things were frustrating, like the laundry service which was very difficult and sometimes lost clothes or the constant construction on the building. The overall experience was very good though. |
| * Food: |
|
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
It was hard to make friends with the spanish students. I don't know if it was a cultural or linguistic issue but found the people here closed-off and clicky. |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
| * Safety: |
Very safe city! I never felt at all unsafe. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
I would DEFINITELY chose API again. They were wonderful and everything with them was great. I would not, however, work with UFV again. Although the people were very nice, the UFV internship program was very unorganized. I was under the impression I would have an internship ready when I finished the intensive Spanish class but they hadn't even sent my CV out yet. I had almost 2 weeks of waiting to hear back from businesses and ended up taking the first internship I heard from because I was afraid I wouldn't get any others in time. I wish they had been more organized so I could have had more options because I don't like my internship here very much and it is not what I was expecting. They also did not have good organization or communication when registering for classes. Class registration was all done by hand and took 4 hours. It was very confusing and frustrating. Due to a miscommunication with the international office, a bunch of international students also traveled all the way to campus on a day that there were no classes. |
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? | Very little because food was included for me. Maybe $10/week |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Budget your trip before you leave so you know how much to have to spend each week. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
|
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
It was very easy to just speak English all the time in school, in the residencia, and most other places. My Spanish improved and I did practice but not as much as I had hoped. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 6 years of spanish classes |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Take classes in Spanish, live with a host family, and make friends with locals if you really want to learn the language. |
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
|
| * What could be improved? |
|
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I wish I knew that UFV had not planned ahead for my internship. It might have been better if I just found one on my own. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
