I would do it again, just to meet the people, the university teaches a lot, the people more. Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

To start with, I was studying at a different campus than the main one, however I dont think there is much diference. This university is public, so the teachers are not required to be there, they are not really on a contract and if they are they can choose another school if they are given a better offer, so for my first semester, I had two classes without professors for a while at the start, one for about a month, and I did not get a professor for one of the classes until mid november, so that was ridiculous. the over all system at least in the psychology program is you have a final worth at least 60% of your grade and the other forty percent is usually one or two big projects and maybe some group work every other week. they have one or two good teachers, but in general they are very normal, some even bad, but not many. I thought overall it was very normal, though I did not ask for much help from the teachers. They all seem more than willing to help foreign students however, there are plenty of options if you don't understand them all that well or feel nervous about what you can contribute to a group project.

On-site administration of your program

They were always willing to help and asked questions and informed of group study abroad trips and things of that nature, I personally didn't interact much with my coordinator here, but I know others who did and they got a lot of things through her.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

alright, so, the first half of the year, I had an apartment to myself, and I do not recommend that, you do not interact with the people and it is expensive and its just a bad idea all around, do not get an apartment by yourself and when you are looking for an apartment, look for natives. friends of mine stayed with others from their own country and at the end of a year there a few of them could still hardly speak a word of spanish. my second semester I moved into the dorms, and that was the most amazing decision as far as interacting with the students and getting a better grasp on my language. you have to interact with the students every day, they have meals included so you go and eat with them in a cafeteria and you hear just tons of people speaking spanish which is great on helping you identify one person and focus on their words and really helps with comprehension. and you are with classmates all the time, its just amazing. they are a bit expensive also, but cheaper than an apartment by yourself, you get your own room and bathroom. they are a bit annoying in some of their services to students such as laundry and internet and study room, but as it was my dormitories first year (colegio mayor pablo serrano is its name) there were still some first year new construciton kinks to work out which is understandable, but prices will be going up for future years for this dorm, so be aware of that. and they are awful about returning the safety deposit. set something up with them about returning the deposit as soon as you sign up with them, I waited until I moved out thinking the normal return of a deposit is a month max, but they told me they have until the 31st of october to give it back... I moved out june 28th...

they use a lot of oil here, and I mean a lot. but it all tastes good. expect to gain a bit of weight, they love their carbohydrates and like I said just a bit ago, oil as well. Bocadillos are a signature thing, basically sandwiches on french baguettes, but they are pretty good. and in zaragoza iberic ham is very popular, especially from teruel, its one of the things they are known for. mercadona is a cheap market, and there is a flea market every thursday in teruel. if you stay in the dorms, food is included in the price of the dorm, though a lot of students enjoy going to a local cafe named noahs for their 2.50 bocadillos.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

the people here are amazingly friendly and will try to include you in tons of things and they will take you out with them whether you know them or not, I have gone out on some nights with one group and ended up eating breakfast with a different group who I hadn't met until a few hours before that breakfast. they have two big festivals in teruel, their mideival festival in february, the whole town goes oldworld and everyone wears costumes and all the get up. and then vaquillas in july. that is something you can't miss, no matter where you live at in spain, you have to go to teruel for vaquillas. the big festival in Zaragoza are the fiestas of Pilar. their patron saint. that is in september I believe or october, early in the year, but a huge thing there. other than that, there are several erasmus trips, some coordinated by the coordinator, others you have to find by yourself, but look up erasmus trips with the university in valencia, they organize HUGE erasmus trips for students all over spain that are amazing and you get to know a lot of people

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

my town is amazingly safe people go walking home at night after bars all the time and nothing ever happens to anyone, you might have a crazy driver here and there, but the place is really super safe. as for zaragoza, I assume its like every major city, I only went there for a weekend and it was alright, didn't seem super shady, but just be careful like you should always be, I would not walk around alone at night. my health issues were all caused by me, I twisted my ankle twice during the last semester in spain, and when I went to the hospital, they were not super helpful, but they did give me something, they did help with the basics, gave me a bandage wrap and pain pills. since it is a socialized system, when you show your insurance that you have to have before you come, you basically just go in and the insurance companie pays for everything, I have been there I think three times and have not had to pay a thing at the hospital.

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

That is one thing I loved about being in the Teruel campus of the University of Zaragoza, Nobody speaks English except for your coordinator, so you are forced to speak in spanish every single day for every single thing, and my spanish has improved soooooo much. In the larger campus, officially they do not have english taught classes, but as it is a larger city, you will find other erasmus/study abroad students and will probably end up speaking in english with them, so watch out for that, but Zaragoza is not a very big tourist city so you wont find many people at supermarkets or anything that speak english and you will still have to learn there, even if it may not be as much as you would have to in the town of Teruel.

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