Salamanca Study Abroad Past Review

By Ellen E (Spanish, minor in Religion and Psychology, Samford University) for

University of Salamanca: Salamanca - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

It was worthwhile times 20! I gained knowledge of Spanish, independence, more confidence, much more wisdom. I would not have traded this trip for anything else. Samford really knows how to do these trips right, and another cliché one could add to this is, "You get what you pay for." Although these trips are pricey through Samford, they really provide the best for your entire experience.

Personal Information

The term and year this program took place:	Summer 2009

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	I learned a valuable amount of Spanish that I was able to bring home with me and use in the Samford Spanish courses.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	This was excellent.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	Host Family. Could not have been better. <br /><br /> I had the best housing in both Madrid and Salamanca.
* Food:	Delicious!!
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	I could not have had a better experience!
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	I could not have been any safer.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes

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?	This is none of your business. However, I will say that you should expect to only be in Spain once, so don't be stingy with money.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	Always keep an extra stash of money at your host family's house just in case of an emergency.

Language

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program?	Fluent
Language acquisition improvement?	As far as using my host language, I didn't want to use my host language at all, because I was there to learn Spanish. If someone wanted to practice their English, I would help them, but I mainly just spoke Spanish.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Host Family

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	GO!!!

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Conversation Comp Grammar
Course Department:	SPAN 301
Instructor:	Marina
Instruction Language:	Spanish
Comments:	I very much enjoyed this course and was glad to learn from the professor. However, a few grades outside of this course were added into my actual credit that I received from the course itself and unfairly lowered the grade I was supposed to receive.
Credit Transfer Issues:	None.

Course Name/Rating:	Advanced Career Studies
Course Department:	SPAN 340
Instructor:	Maria
Instruction Language:	Spanish
Comments:	This course was excellent! Sometimes it could be a little to chill. For example, we would be calmly working on a calm assignment in class, and our professor would say, "Ok class, let's do something much more relaxing." This made the class a little boring.
Credit Transfer Issues:	None.

Course Name/Rating:	Study Abroad/Adv Span II
Course Department:	SPAN 352
Instructor:	Maria
Instruction Language:	Spanish
Comments:	I'll give the same response here from Course 2 because the same lady taught this course as well. Sometimes it could be a little to chill. For example, we would be calmly working on a calm assignment in class, and our professor would say, "Ok class, let's do something much more relaxing." This made the class a little boring.
Credit Transfer Issues:	None.

Course Name/Rating:	SPAN 353
Course Department:	Lang Study Abroad-Culture
Instructor:	Ado
Instruction Language:	Spanish
Comments:	This was my favorite class while in Spain! The professor could not have been any greater. I wish she could come over to the states and teach at Samford.
Credit Transfer Issues:	None.