Mi Vida Granadina Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The workload was much less than I was used to at my home university, but it was nice to have less academic responsibilities since I wanted to travel a lot while abroad. The only grades in most of my classes were the midterm and final exams and only one of two of my classes ever assigned homework (and those that did only assigned simple worksheets). I was okay with this method of teaching and learning because I am a good test-taker, but many of my friends did not like the system because they struggle with taking tests and didn't feel it was unfair. The grading system was really hard to get used to because it was much tougher than the one from my home university that I was used to. The general teaching style was to simply lecture for the entire period, although most teachers didn't provide any type of visual aid and only one of my professors used PowerPoints to aid his lectures. I don't mind lectures and am used to them from my university, but I didn't particularly like the lack of visual aids because it made it harder to learn when all I could do was listen and didn't have anything to look at while I learned.

On-site administration of your program

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My homestay was farther away from school than I was originally informed by my program. It was a 25-minute walk each way, which turned out to be okay. It was a little closer to nightlife, which was nice. Most of my peers were also placed in homestays somewhat far from the school and nightlife, so I'm guessing most families live more on the outskirts of the city than near the center. My neighborhood was really safe, from what I could tell, so I was satisfied with that. My program set up all the housing and took care of everything. When my roommate and I requested a move about 2/3 of the way through the trip, my program was awesome about it and took it into their hands to do everything. They sought out new families, even though it was so late into the Spring, and tried to meet as many of our requests about families (no smoking, etc.) as possible. Then, they allowed us to visit each of the possible families to see their homes and meet them and we were able to choose which family we would like to live with. It was a great experience and I'm so glad the program worked so hard to meet my needs and resolve my housing situation to try to make my experience better.

The food at both of my homestays was mediocre. There wasn't very much variation, so it got pretty boring pretty quickly and then got hard to eat on a daily basis because I was so sick of it. The Spanish diet also has a lot of legumes, beans and lentils in it, which was really hard on my stomach and I had a stomachache from it for most of the duration of my trip. The quality of the food was a little cheaper than the food I'm used to, but again, it was okay. The quantity was fine, and both of my host families constantly asked if I was full or if I wanted anything else and were willing to try to provide anything else that they could. However, know that most of the host families push the idea of cleaning your plate because it's a part of the culture and they do not waste food. They also want you to like what they make, so constantly ask if you like the food and what you do and don't like (even though my first host family still cooked a lot of the foods I told her I didn't like and expected me to eat them).

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I enjoyed the bull fight, advertised by my program and also really liked the trip to Mallorca, sponsored by my program. The day trip to Ronda, organized by my program, was also very memorable.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

My host city was very safe overall, although there were one or two young people (citizens of my host city) reported missing during my trip. I would advise that you always go out in groups and never walk alone, even during the day. Also, make sure to carry your bag or purse close to your body and in front of you and always be aware of your surroundings. I didn't need any specific vaccines for my program, but I was advised to get a Hepatitis A shot to travel to Europe, just to be on the safe side.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

I practiced my language with my host family, professors and peers (American, Spanish and from other countries around the world). I definitely used the language in everyday interactions and I think it would be hard to get by in my host city without knowing Spanish because there is not a ton of English immersion (or at least not as much as in most other European cities). The majority of people in my host city did not speak English and for this reason, the language aspect of my study abroad experience was huge.

Select all that apply

• Host Family

Select all that apply

• Americans
• Host Family