It's hard to meet Spaniards, but I did it Past Review

By Catherine C (Transportation and Logistics, University of Arkansas - Fayetteville) for

USAC Spain: Alicante - Spanish Language, Linguistics, European, Mediterranean, and Gender Studies

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

It was definitely worthwhile. It was really cool to realize that it is possible to function in a different society. When I was getting ready to leave, I really didn't want to because I wanted to see how much better my Spanish could become and how many more friendships I could develop.

Personal Information

The term and year this program took place:	Fall 2009

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	Even though I know it was not the norm for other students in my program, my host family worked very hard to make me feel like I was truly a part of their family. <br /><br /> It had an excellent location. It was about a 15-20 minute walk to the Barrio--the main location for nightlife--but that was nice because at night my neighborhood was very quiet.
* Food:
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:
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)
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	I kept a small notebook that I would write down my expenses in when I was in Alicante and when I travelled. This was helpful because I could keep better track of where my money was going and it kept me mindful of how much I was spending in the first place. It was also helpful when travelling because then when other students in my program travelled to the same places I could tell them how much they could expect to spend on food and transportation and stuff like that.