Variety is the spice of life.... Spain lived up to that! Past Review

By (Criminal Justice and Corrections., University of Texas - San Antonio) - abroad from 05/14/2012 to 05/24/2012 with

University of Texas - San Antonio: Comparative Public Policy in Spain

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I learned that people have different ways of life EVERYWHERE and that one must adapt to it as one goes along. Not a whole bunch of things were new to me as I'm Hispanic and there was not a lot of differences between that of the culture in Spain and in Mexico. The trip itself was worthwhile! I got to see Spain!!!!! That was very exciting!

Personal Information

If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: n/a
How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? None

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The fact that it was so disorganized and handled so unprofessionally really really made this not as good as an experience as I would've hoped for.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

The University's we visited were very friendly and overall enthusiastic about what they wanted us to know about them.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

* Food:

I didn't like that they had meals already planned out for us. Some of us don't have the same dietary needs so when they started bringing out food that we didn't know or like or were allergic to, it was kind of hard to not be rude and tell them you didn't want it. They should let us pick our own food and give us a budget so we don't go over it when we're ordering our food.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I LOVED Spain! Very beautiful!

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

n/a

* Safety:

The places we visited seemed to be pretty safe.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? No

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)

I balanced my money pretty well I think.

* Was housing included in your program cost? Yes
* Was food included in your program cost? Yes
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? 200 euros
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? no

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? No
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?

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

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Hotel
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
  • Other
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? 0

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • The culture
  • The people
  • The language
* What could be improved?
  • Who's in charge of the program
  • Management of time
  • Food
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? To bring my tablet.