Barcelona: i HAVE to go back. Past Review

By (Sociology., University of Arkansas - Fayetteville) for

Arcadia: Barcelona- Arcadia in Barcelona

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
it was extremely worthwhile, i definitely feel ALOT more independent now than i did before.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The spanish class was very helpful. It was definitely the best spanish class that i have ever taken. the catalan culture class was great because we went on field trips and got to experience alot of things. i was not pleased with the photography class at all. though i know that i learned some things about a camera from that class, i definitely did not learn as much as i expected.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

They were very helpful with things like telling us where a post office or just ordinary things like that, they also did alot of cultural activities with us that i really enjoyed, the only thing that i was unhappy with was the photography class.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

my host family lived fairly close enough to the center of the city. my family was very nice but they did not speak any english at all, which i guess ended up being helpful, but if i had gone into it with zero spanish skills then it would have been a disaster.

* Food:

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Finances

* 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)

Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? be careful with your money at first, and then once you figure out how much you spend each week than you can budget and start buying extra things that you may want

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? intermediate II
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

Language acquisition improvement?

We were spoken to in spanish for most of the time, but since we were in school with all americans, i ended up speaking english most of the time.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
* Who did you live with?

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  • Host Family
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans