My Picturesque Life in Bilbao Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Workload is light. There are possibly a few projects and in my experience, only an exam. Teaching is mostly lecture, but you should always attend class. All my business classes were taught in spanish. Teachers do not hold office hours, but you can go talk to them if needed. They do not make themselves available like professors do in the US.

On-site administration of your program

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

At first I lived with a host family which was assigned to me through the host uni. I quickly moved because of cleanliness and privacy factors, to a much more expensive but better located piso with a middle aged woman. It was a better experience.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

In February is Carnival. It's like halloween, but for the entire family and lasts for days. It is dressing up, dancing in the streets, parties, parades, and a ton of fun! The young people go to discos a lot, out for wine or drinks, to the beach not far, shopping. Bilbao is beautiful, you can hike in the mountains surrounding the city, take cheap bus trips to cities around Spain...it is wonderful.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I had to go to the hospital while I was there for an extremely deep cut. After waiting in the waiting room for 3+ hours, they gave me a bandage because it was too infected to stitch. Then charged me 140 euro. Dont get sick.

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

Most people do speak english, but you should definitely speak spanish with them. Practice with spanish students. There are programs to practice with spanish students also. Yes, you speak spanish everywhere.

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• Host Family
• Apartment

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• Host Family
• Other

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• Local Students