One of the best experiences of my life Past Review
By Maria T (Architecture., University of Texas - San Antonio) - abroad from 02/02/2012 to 04/27/2012 with
University of Texas - San Antonio: Architecture in Spain
Every penny that I spent was worth it. I grew up as a person, as a student, faced things in my life that I never would've imagine. Architecture wise, I learned so much, saw things that most of my classmates back here would never get the chance to see. I gained knowledge from the culture of another country, history, architecture, food, music, even dancing. I met unforgettable people, and not only Spanish people, but even my classmates, which if it wasn't because we all went together to this program probably I wouldn't even have met them, I learned about them too. Everyday that I spent there, was a new day to learn something new.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | IaaC- Institute of advanced architecture at Catalonia |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
It was great! |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
Not my favorite type of food, but I tasted different types of foods which it was a very nice experience. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Since I come from Mexican heritage, I did not had any difficulties integrating to Spanish culture, it was very similar. What I did noticed was that other students with other cultures, if they weren't open minded they did had a lot of difficulties integrating with society and culture of Barcelona. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Before coming to Barcelona, they said that the rate of robbery was really high, to take precaution of our bags, bagpacks, wallets, purses, etc. In my personal experience I had no problem with that. The only issue that I had was in Paris, France where they actually stole my wallet from my purse. Don't be confident that because in the city that you are staying nothing has happened, while traveling to other cities would be the same. Be cautious all the time. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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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| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | No |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 100 dlls |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Not really, I mean you could go to the market and buy things so you could eat at your apartment, other than that, eating at cheap places, but good food will definitely be more expensive. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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 did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Maybe not that I wasn't informed before that we were going to walk so much, but actually understand that means of transportation in other countries is totally different than ours. Also that people from other countries have different ways of treat their customers, or students. |
