How to cram as many adventures as possible into 4 months in Europe! Past Review
By A student (Psychology/Spanish, Wellesley College) - abroad from 01/31/2014 to 05/26/2014 with
PRESHCO: Study Abroad in Córdoba, Spain
My Spanish fluency massively improved, my love of travel grew, and I generally had a relaxing semester! It was good to take a break from Wellesley to get some more cultural exposure and re-charge my brain!
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The academics were good - though they were not very rigorous, class discussions were very interesting and informative and I definitely learned a lot! Also, the fact that they were not all that rigorous was a good thing since it left plenty of time for traveling on the 3-day weekends. The one thing I didn't like was the class from the University of Cordoba; the professor was disorganized and I felt unengaged and uninterested in the class. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Chris Shelton, Eva Sanchez, Maribel, and the other administrators were fantastic! They worked so hard to make our stay the best it could be and their work really paid off! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I was near the center of the city - walking distance from everything. The house I was in was beautiful and the host family I was with was welcoming and kind. |
| * Food: |
Whenever we went on PRESHCO trips, they always had us eating at top-notch restaurants. And my host mother was an amazing cook. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I felt more and more integrated with the local culture as time went on. The hardest part was understanding the local accent. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I assume health issues would have been addressed well while I was there, but since I never got sick during the program, my 5-star rating is based only on speculation. |
| * Safety: |
Cordoba is a very safe place; I had to walk home at 4am by myself a couple of times and I never had any problems. |
| 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) |
Cordoba was a very cheap city! I could spend 5 euros on a night out and easily have a good time! The hardest part of budgeting was probably travel. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 300 euros a week, but that included travel expenses (I went crazy on travel) |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Don't go shopping in the city a lot - save your money for travel! Oh, and book your flights a few weeks in advance, they're cheaper that way! Also, stay in hostels rather than hotels when you travel. |
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 made us speak in Spanish in all our classes and on all program trips. We had to speak Spanish with our host families since they spoke no English. I had lots of days where I spoke no English at all. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 300 (most advanced) level Spanish at Wellesley |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 10+ |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | The program will make you practice your Spanish most of the time. Try to talk to other American students in Spanish (rather than English) if you can, though. |
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? | The University of Cordoba classes were not very engaging or interesting at all. Everyone in the program was complaining about how they never knew what was going on in their UCO classes. Just have people take PRESHCO classes in the future, those were wonderful! |
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 Avid AdventurerThe wardrobe you packed was better suited for a semester of camping than club hopping. Outdoorsy, you might forgo a crazy night out for an early all-day adventure. You'd rather take in the rich culture of an old town than the metropolis of a modern city, but for you getting off the grid is ideal. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Mujeres Solas en la Sociedad Española |
| Course Department: | PRESHCO course |
| Instructor: | Soledad Gomez Navarro |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | It was challenging and it definitely expanded my view of the historical and current situations of women in Spain. I was assessed on participation, papers, and tests. The grading was very fair and the professor was very engaging. I highly recommend this course to future PRESHCO students! |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | no trouble, as far as I know... |
