Beautiful City, Fantastic Program, Unforgettable Experience Past Review
By A student (Macalester College) - abroad from 01/07/2012 to 05/18/2012 with
AIFS: Salamanca - University of Salamanca
It was tremendously worthwhile. I met so many fantastic people, Spaniards and Americans, had the chance to speak Spanish every day, lived in an impossibly beautiful city, saw so much of the world, ate amazing food, gained confidence in my ability to live independently, and truly experienced life in another culture.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The classes were considerably less rigorous than what I was used to, but everyone knows you learn far more outside of the classroom during a semester abroad. The opportunity to take all my classes in Spanish was what I wanted, and I certainly learned a lot about Spanish culture. As a rule the AIFS professors were excellent and the academic adviser Carlos Cabrera is phenomenal. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Everyone in our program was happy with their host families, but no question mine was the best :) |
| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| 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) |
I spent the most money on travel and unnecessary expenses. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | Yes |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $25 |
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 |
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| 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? | 309 |
| 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? | Definitely live with a host family and try to get set up with an intercambio. |
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 can't think of anything...just that it goes by so much faster than you can possibly imagine. |
