Granada: No Hay Nada Pena en la Vida Como la Pena de Ser Ciego en Granada Past Review
By Andy T (Political Science And Environmental Studies, Tufts University) for
Arcadia: Granada - Arcadia in Granada
Yes, I became much more independent, and it made me want to go travel and immerse myself in a different culture after graduation
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. |
Arcadia classes were slightly less challenging than Tufts classes, but were rewarding for the most part. Classes at the CLM were quite easy, with litte work. In some of these classes, I learned a great deal, in others...not so much. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Everything was great, program leaders, program size, etc. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Location could not possibly have been better, right in the center of everything, everything was provided, though the apartment was a bit small. Felt like a guest for a while, but came to feel like a family member in the end. I had a roommate who was another american student on my program. |
| * Food: |
quality and quantity were good, but I pretty much eat anything. Tapas bars were also great |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Lots of trips, tours, walks, etc that were all great. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I felt entirely safe the whole time I was there(I'm also 6'5'' and 220 pounds, so I dont often feel unsafe). There were a couple of incidents of students getting mugged, but they were uncommmon and the program encouraged us to be safe/not walk alone in certain areas at night. Healthcare was good and readily available at pharmacies EVERYWHERE |
| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Probably 30 euro or so, but every meal is provided at the host family, and much of this was on drinks/tapas. This excludes travel expenses, but I did do A LOT of travel and that got expensive. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | can't think of any, but you can pretty much spend as little or as much as you want with the host family. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Spanish 22 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Most people in the city did not speak english, and the program encourages host family stays to improve students' language skills. They also have "intercambios" available, in which an american student working on his/her spanish is paired with a spanish speaker hoping to improve in english. |
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? | It was a great program, the people on the arcadia program itself(it was small) were not necessarily all the MOST social, though I got along well with everyone. Classes are, however, at a school that consists mostly of other americans studying abroad, so you meet people from many different programs. |
