Sunny Spanish Granada Past Review
By Monika S (BA Spanish Education, Illinois State University) for
CEA CAPA Education Abroad: Granada, Spain
great city, great host mom, great travel, pretty good school, pretty good classmates, decent program (CEA).
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. |
Teachers were very opinionated. Their opinions were facts. Easy grading school. Turned in homework late for full credit. I hardly studied for midterms and finals. Easiest set i've had in all of college. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
horribly unorganized. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
safe neighborhood. |
| * Food: |
my senora tried to sneak foods into our dishes. (meat into the girls' dishes who dont like it. i'm slightly allergic to carrots and apples...she'd just chop them up into little pieces....) she acted like we were children, not four 20-year-old women who knew what she was doing. otherwise she would not make dishes we did not like. she was a fantastic cook!! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
barcelona was fantastic. i also love traveling, so flying around was perfect :) |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
healthcare seemed about the same. very, very safe city. |
| 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? | 10 euro on food. maybe 5 euro on alcohol/discotecas (i didnt go out much). food was already included in my homestay...i would just buy pastries and other goodies. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | i got otitis (inner ear infection). so that was 100 euro i had to have up front (insurance paid me back later). alcohol and grocery store runs added up as well. and clothes!!! i bought a lot of clothes |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 213.15 (advanced spanish grammar at Illinois State University) there are 4 courses required before it. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
my host mom only spoke spanish. her children did not speak much english. most of my other language experience was in teh classroom. i dont put myself out there very well, so i did not make local friends with which to practice. |
Other Program Information
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | go with ISA, not CEA for programs. and open mind and at least a basic knowledge of spanish will go a long way. |
