Viva La Espana! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Based on a language and cultural course, you definitely have to come prepared with the chosen language in mind because with me, classes are only spoken in Spanish so instructions and class in general can be very difficult.

On-site administration of your program

Inma and Loly are amazing on-site administrators. They literally tend to our every needs and everything we have a problem, want advice or suggestions, they have always led us the right way. They definitely made our trip abroad more pleasant.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Coming abroad, I would definitely recommend staying at a homestay. Living with a family abroad can be a scary thought , although what's not scary about traveling abroad in general. Go in with an open mind and enjoy the families company. With homestay, meals are prepared for you everyday so you never have to worry about being hungry and on top of that, you get to taste the authenticity of a home-cooked instead of reheated meal you would get in a restaurant. Only thing I did not enjoy too much was having only one "little sister" because I'm so use to having a big family and also, because she was so young, I really did have to censure a lot of the things I'm use to or want to talk about. Other than that, my homestay was a very wonderful experience.

Food in Cordoba, Spain is delicious. Only complaint I'd have is that they do not eat spicy food. If you are a spicy food lover and want to come to Spain, bring your own tabasco sauce !

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Cordoba, Spain is such a small city so it was easy to figure out the culture here but what helped most is having "intercambios." Intercambios were people who wanted to learn English, so we were paired up and exchanged English for Spanish. It was a great system and enhanced our travels because we were always recommended the best places in the city.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

In this program, we were given insurance and if you were to get sick, our administrators were right now it to find you the closest doctor or pharmacy. Although, the only negative I could think about with the health care is that, when you need to go to the doctor, you have to pay out of your own pocket first, then keep the receipt and go through a process to receive your money back. Since this was the case, when I was sick, I did not want to go to the doctor because I had no strength to go to the process after I got well. I also did not want to go to the doctor because that money that I have to pay with my own pocket first could have affected my travels, so it was a turn off. This was the case for me, others saw it differently. There were no health issues in my host city and did not need any specific vaccines.

Before coming to Cordoba, Spain, I was scared shitless! I came here already wearing my money belt around my waist, thinking the city was going to be sworming with gypsies, but after living in Cordoba for a couple of weeks, it felt like home, if anything, more safe than home. Cordoba is a small city so everyday, I saw familiar faces which was nice because everyday, you felt closer to them even through they were random by-walkers. Also, because Cordoba is such a small city, people mainly walked everywhere so being in the street alone did not feel so lonely. I never had anyone try to steal from me, attack me, or harass me during my stay in Cordoba. Although, an advice for people of Asian decent, you would definitely break a lot of necks and get many stares, possibly some name calling, but try not to take it offensively, understand that it is just the lack of exposure they have with other ethnicities. If you think about it, take it as a compliment because for the time being here, you've become a celebrity.

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

HOMESTAY = EASY (5) ! Doing homestay made it the most affordable to stay on a student budget. Everyday, the money you would have spent for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you saved and was able to use it towards traveling because meals were always available from your host family.

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

In this program, you could not NOT use the language. Spanish was only allowed in class and when we went out, everyone mostly only spoke Spanish so you were forced to try and communicate if you wanted to get by. It was a challenging but fun experience. Also, intercambios did play a good part of helping us speak better Spanish because they taught us words that were only used in that city.

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Americans

• The small city made it feel comfortable and easy to get around.
• The people were always very welcoming and wanting to help.
• The food was delicious.

• Structure of the class schedules because it made it a little bit difficult to plan trips because we had such a short weekend.

The Outright Urbanite