Cádiz: la ciudad que sonríe Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The workload was frustrating at the end since I had to take all of my final exams and complete the requirements for the class before leaving since I studied abroad in the fall. But usually the classes do not require tons of work in contrast to the US where usually classes require lots of reading and assignments to hand in each class. Class many times were not based off of any books, but the teachers recommended a list of books that may help with the class. The professors do not require essays that are concise and short, usually they are really long papers (sometimes over 10 pages). Some of the professors really do not like Erasmus students (european students) since there are so many and so many times they are not really friendly with foreign students in general.

On-site administration of your program

I was really disappointed with the program here. Upon arriving I had to figure everything out for myself. The only thing that the university did for us was hold a presentation for the Erasmus students with a slideshow and powerpoint but not with any specific helpful information as in how was our advisor or how to choose our classes. Our ¨advisor¨ was really unfriendly and rude. The coordinator in the International Relations office (Inmaculada Otero) was extremely unhelpful when I came to her with my problem about having to drop a class and was actually quite rude as well. It was not my fault, but rather the unwillingness of the professor to adapt to the way that the program was set up. I liked the program size and that we were placed in classes in Spanish along with Spaniards. My main grievance is the lack of support by the host University. They could have been a lot more helpful and less rude.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Finding housing in Cádiz is quite simple and there are lots of options. I think that only living with a host family for 2 weeks was good for me, but some people really enjoy it. The apartment were I live I found on easypiso.com and there are many other websites like it. I live with a Spaniard and I think it was the best decision I made overall. Personally, I would reccommend living with local students. The neighborhoods are all very safe and the city is extremely easy to get around. If you live in the old part of the city (where the university is and lots of the nightlife) you can walk anywhere. But the new part of the city manytimes has views of the ocean, but is further, many times students use bikes or the bus to get to class and a taxi to get home at night. Rent in an apartment is usually between 200 and 300 euros per month.

They cook with lots of oil. LOTS. But the quality of the food is great. especially in the Public Market where there is fresh seafood.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The university did not organize any trips and social events occurred, but I was never told or invited to them so I´m not really sure how they are.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

A lot of health related things are very inexpensive and it is really easy to get into a doctor is you have problems. I never had any problems, but a few friends had stomach problems but that was it. I did not have to get vaccines, but I think the visa required something... TB? The city is very very very safe. I had no problems walking home alone at night after being out and theft is not really common.

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

I practice Spanish with my Spanish roommate and almost all of the foreign exchange students here speak Spanish with eachother. Also with a few Spaniards that I met here I spoke in Spanish with them. Yes, you have to use Spanish in everday interaction because VERY few people speak English or other languages here. It´s pretty difficult to get around without Spanish. Most people do not speak English.

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• Host Family
• Apartment
• Hostel

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• Local Students
• Host Family