Study abroad has changed my life forever, in ways I never imagined! Past Review
By A student (Elementary Education And Spanish, University of Wisconsin - LaCrosse) - abroad from 01/29/2012 to 05/11/2012 with
CEA CAPA Education Abroad: Seville, Spain
Too much to even explain in words and more than worthwhile! I want to go back NOW!
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | La Universidad de Sevilla |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Classes were not challenging and quite honestly were kind of a joke. I don't feel like I learned what I needed to learn from my classes, considering a finished my Spanish major over there. I learned SO MUCH outside of class but not much from my classes. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Excellent!! NO complaints! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My host senora was a complete saint! I loved her to death and will for sure be keeping in touch with her, hopefully for a long time. |
| * Food: |
Not quite what I expected but very good! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I didn't feel very integrated because my appearance stuck out so much. At times I really did feel like an outsider. For the locals that I met there and spent time with, I felt very included but not to strangers at all. Usually felt like a foreigner walking around. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I got an infection while I was there and it was taken care of immediately. CEA was amazing and I felt like their number one concern while I was sick. I was given a prescription for an antibiotic and I was feeling 100% better 2 days later! |
| * Safety: |
I always felt safe while I was abroad, especially in Seville! |
| 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) |
Living in Seville was very easy, totally manageable! Traveling got pretty expensive but there are so many ways to find deals and make them cheap! |
| * 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? | Less than $75.00 |
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? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Level 300 |
| 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? | Go out to dinner with friends and force each other to use the language. It is harder to use it when you hang out with all Americans. Speaking English is just so much easier. But encourage each other to use it! Also, get an intercambio or find a group of locals to make friends with. Not only will you learn the language better but you will also learn so much more about the local culture, which is the best part! |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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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? | That you have to validate your tickets when traveling on the trains! - I had to pay a 50 euro fine on the spot because of that :( |
