Granada: My Summer Experience with a Pomegranate Scent! Past Review
By Mi Sun J (International Management, University of New Mexico) for
University of Granada: Granada - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I am more self-aware and confident. After this trip, it was hard for me to point out the specific lessons I learned from it. However, as I am immersing myself in 'real life', I can feel my improvement in patience and people skills. I am more respectful towards myself. I try not to be petty and waste my time on things that are not important to me. I can distinguish my own priorities and goals more clearly now. I want to travel more because even though it was lonely in the beginning, I connected to myself and took the step to go outside of my comfort zone. I proved to myself that I could meet new people and really enjoy their company, even though I had only known them for a few days. I trust myself more and am more daring now. It really made me reconsider what I wanted to do in the future. My goal was to travel for work but now, I am wanting to travel for pleasure. It would be a hard and lonely life, traveling for work without a home. I appreciate the concept of home a lot more now. Even though I'm still not sure about my future, I feel more confident and comfortable not knowing. It really made me get closer to myself. I am extremely grateful for everything I gained from this trip.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Participation was forced because of all the course material that needed to be taught. Conversations were encouraged within the day's grammatical lecture, which did not help with daily conversational skills. A lot of useful phrases and slangs were taught, however. Professors exposed us to different music, culture, and colloquialisms. Also, a lot of discussion regarding the cultural difference and explanations of the different way of life. Use of technology (internet & stereo equipment) was prevalent and added greatly. Small classroom size helped with comfort level in order to improve speaking skills. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The lines for the Secretaries were long, especially in the beginning and the end. They were not clear on what exactly needed to be done when we first got there. I would not have known that I could have received my student card and registration packet earlier if I didn't get there just to scope it out a day prior to classes. No individual attention to foreign students, sometimes felt as if they didn't really care. Some secretaries were unfriendly. However, the outside-classroom activities, such as mountain biking, day trip to different cities, were well-advertised and organized. I would recommend going to other cities on your own because when I went to Sevilla with the program, I did not get to experience everything because of the time limit. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Neighborhood was safe but far from the Centro de Lenguas Modernas. It was a clean, 3-bedroom apartment. The owner only lived there during the weekends and I had two weeks there myself. In the summer, it's hard to find students to rent rooms to so it was pretty cheap. Everything was provided for, including sheets, cookware, furniture, etc. Wifi, cable, and phone were all included. An international student from Bulgaria moved in for my last two weeks and that was really great. She was friendly, we got to practice our Spanish together. The owner of the apartment, even though I didn't see him much, was gracious and always concerned about my comfort. It was extremely close to one of the biggest clubs in Granada and a lot of different restaurants. |
| * Food: |
Restaurant culture is extremely different in Spain. Waiters don't really wait on you, you wait on them. You can expect to sit there for at least 2 hours because service is slow. Granada was awesome about the free tapas with drinks. Paella is great, lots of different tapas to try, and the drinks always keep flowing. Very laid-back dining atmosphere. La Bella y la Bestia bodegas are great for tapas, Los Italianos is a must for gelato, and all the small teterias in the Albayzin are phenomenal. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I met a lot of great friends (most of them Americans) and the weekend trips were the most memorable. The beaches in Spain are beautiful and so much fun. I went on a mountain-biking excursion organized by the CLM which was amazing. A great view and the leader of the program was so friendly and awesome. My last weekend there, I went to Barcelona with one of the friends I made from Granada and it was an experience of a life time. Try to take advantage of the weekends to travel. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
It's a pretty small city and there are a lot of people walking around during most of the day so it feels quite safe. Once again, the late night/early morning hours are the most dangerous so I would recommend walking with a group. I did not get sick or need any medical assistance on the trip. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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Finances
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* 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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I would say I spent about 100 euros every week. I did eat out very frequently, however. Food is pretty cheap in Granada but it was difficult to resist snacking throughout the day, especially at night because lunch is the biggest meal and dinner is not very filling. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I flew to Milan for a weekend for about 120 euros roundtrip and it was definitely worth it. Barcelona tickets were around the same price. No unexpected expenses. Maybe shopping.. Spain has a huge sale from July 1 to August 30, all the clothing stores are trying to sell their old season stuff. Also, I would suggest gift shopping before the day you leave in order to find the best deals. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
The professors always spoke Spanish and demanded students speak to each other in Spanish. It was a Spanish Intensive Course but the majority of classmates were American. It was hard to get away from American students and when I did interact with them outside the class, we mostly spoke English. However, daily interaction with natives required Spanish and that was a good way of breaking out and using all the Spanish knowledge I had. A lot of natives did understand English so if it were an emergency situation, I would have been fine. However, going abroad to study the language really helped me break out of my shell and get over my fear of speaking Spanish. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Direct Enrollment |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | The nightlife in Granada is great. Those who like to stay up late and have a lot of fun. During such a short-term stay, it's hard to completely master Spanish but the exposure to another culture and language was a great maturing experience. |
