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Program Information
This program is designed for students at the intermediate level of Spanish language study. Students interested in furthering their language skills and in learning about Spain will find that this program provides an ideal option.
Program Snapshot:
- Advance your Spanish sk... More
| Provider: | CIEE |
| Location(s): | Alicante, Spain |
| Year Founded: | |
| Website | Take me there! |
Review By:
Jason C. (Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin) on July 27, 2010
Overall Rating
Personal Information
| * Start Date: | 2010-06-14 |
| * End Date: | 2010-07-23 |
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | Universidad de Alicante |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program was readily available to any needs of the students. I experienced no problems, but some of my peers had difficulty getting medical attention if they were sick. But they were very knowledgeable, were excellent tour guides, and very nice. |
| * Housing: |
Habitacion de Santo Domingo in San Blas. It was an apartment. <br /><br /> The program set up students with host families. My neighborhood was safe, I never felt threatened. It was a bit of a walk to the nightlife but not too bad. My host family was VERY nice. I had my own room/ bathroom and they respected my privacy. They provided 3 meals a day every day, and they were delicious. They provided everything I needed for daily living except personal toiletries. |
| * Food: |
My host mother was an excellent cook, I rarely ate out. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The first week, the festival of Las Hogueras was crazy. I was in Spain when it won the world cup, also crazy. And program organized field trips to Guadalest, Altea, and Granada were all well done and lots of fun. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
There were no safety incidents reported during my program. Safety wasn't really an issue, basically as long as no one acted like an idiot there were no problems. I had no issues with healthcare, but some of my peers seemed to have some difficulties. I can't comment on healthcare personally because I never needed it. |
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* Home Institution Advising:
How well did The University of Texas at Austin prepare and support you for your time abroad? |
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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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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I wouldn't eliminate anything. It's easy to spend euro's without keeping in mind the conversion rate. In general, walking/public transportation is way better than taking cabs, and look out for drink specials. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | none officially, I took three years of Spanish in high school but didn't attempt to transfer credit |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I could practice with my host family, the local student helpers, my peers, and any daily interactions with locals. Most locals spoke only Spanish. |
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
| * If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same program? | Yes |
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I would say do it, I really loved it. It wasn't hard to adapt, any student could enjoy his time in Alicante |
| * What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile? | My study abroad experience was very worthwhile. It was my first time in Europe and I feel like I got a good feel for Spanish culture. I wish I could have stayed longer and learned more Spanish. I learned that the world's a bigger place than I previously thought and I have much more to see. |