Spain is now a home to me Past Review
By Cassie R (International Studies, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater) - abroad from 12/28/2014 to 01/17/2015 with
UW-Platteville Education Abroad at the Spanish-American Institute of International Education (SAIIE)
I learned a lot about myself while studying in Spain. It was not a country that I had always wanted to go to desperately but it has since become a home to me in many ways. The people in Spain are incredible! The culture focuses on the daily joys of life as well as the stimulation of the senses. Spaniards live to love life, whereas Americans live to work. The biggest lesson I took from this trip was learning to focus more on the daily joys of life and the people surrounding you. This life is short and the people you choose to surround yourself with make this life more enjoyable than any job can. The second biggest lesson was at the end of the day we are all people. I speak broken spanish and am not excellent at the language. With that being said, my spanish Mom and I would have lovely conversations. I could connect on topics with her better than I could connect with some of my friends on. Even with a small language barrier I could still relate on a level with someone with a different culture and native tongue. That was fascinating to me and a very valuable experience.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| 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. |
I really enjoyed the class on architecture of Cordoba, Granada, and Seville! The trips were awesome and the professor was excellent. I would highly suggest taking a class with Reda! He knows his stuff. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The staff was super friendly and awesome. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My host Mom Mari Carmen was the best! She was so sweet and caring. I loved practicing my spanish with her. Our conversations were the best. |
| * Food: |
The food was delicious! I loved everything I tried. I am a foodie so please take that into consideration. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I felt really comfortable with the culture. The first week was an adjustment but the last two weeks of the program were awesome. I had adjusted more and knew a bit more of what was expected of me socially. The culture is fun to get to know and the people are friendly and helpful. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I had a mild flu for one day during the program and everyone was so helpful and great about helping me recover as fast as possible. I spent the day in bed and recovered fast. My host Mom was really sweet and SAIIE gave me information on what the best medicine was to use. |
| * Safety: |
I felt very safe the whole trip. We were smart and used the buddy system when we were in new places but it's a very safe feeling city. Some days I walked to school alone and even then I felt completely safe and confident of my surroundings. |
| 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) |
It was very easy to save money if I wanted to. On the days that we weren't provided meals we were able to easily find affordable food and such. It's easy to cut down on expenses over there. I chose to spend a lot of money on going out with friends for tapas and drinks. It's fun and cheaper to go out there than it is in the states. You get more for your money |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $100-$150 due to drinks |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Create a budget for going out to bars and tapa places. It's an amazing cultural experience that you don't want to miss out on because you're "financially tight." |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
They were very encouraging when it came to us practicing our spanish. Especially the professor! He was awesome and would sympathize about how hard it can be but was very positive. He inspired me to really challenge myself with the Spanish language. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Intermediate Spanish |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Force yourself to speak it and be confident about it! I was shy sometimes about speaking it with locals but the last week of the program I had gained some confidence and before I knew it native speakers were telling me that I spoke really good spanish. Also don't let one rude local deter you from furthering your spanish speaking skills. I had one instance where a waiter was a jerk to me but I had to brush it off if I wanted to ever become fluent. |
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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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
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? | I wish I would have known that no matter how short your trip is, you can still experience a small amount of culture shock. Deal with it and move on. Don't let your culture shock keep you from enjoying the culture and time abroad. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
