Great location, great accommodations in a Residencia Past Review

By (Management, Providence College) for

CIEE: Barcelona - Business & Culture

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
My study abroad experience was one of the, if not the best experiences I have had in terms of learning about myself. Not only did I become more confident, but I learned what it is that I want in my life and how I want to live my life. I am now a lot more aware of what my life goals are and how I would LIKE to achieve them.

Personal Information

The term and year this program took place: Fall 2009

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I think that the Spanish system of grading didn't adequately reflect my learning/performance, nor was it conducive to me learning the most. I found it very difficult to get an A by the Spanish grading system, yet very, very easy to get a B and so I didn't feel the need to push myself. Also, I felt that the lessons/lectures were much more dumbed down than in the US.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

The program directors were easily accessible and very easy to talk about. I could tell that they genuinely wanted to help the students.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived in a residencia. I had a room/bathroom to myself, but I shared a kitchen with a Spanish student. The residencia was a mixture of international, Spanish and American students. Because of this, it wasn't essential to know Spanish. <br /><br /> Great location, great accomodations.

* Food:

I could make whatever I wanted.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Great night life.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

Pick pocketing was the only issue.

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? The metro gets expensive, so plan for that and the prepaid cell phones get expensive- plan for that!

Language

Language acquisition improvement?

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? It's important to realize that CIEE is more academically focused than other programs. While certainly isn't the same as being at PC, it is not a blow off semester. As long as you know this ahead of time, you won't be shocked. I would also advise students in this program to get to know their Guardian Angels. I wish I would have interacted mroe with mine because I feel like then I would have had a bigger/better cultural experience.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Advanced Spanish

Course Department: CIEE
Instructor: Nues Penealba
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: Great class. This class was through CIEE. The class was small and the teacher was excellent. The only complaint was that we didn't learn about the culture.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

International Management

Course Department: CIEE
Instructor: Aidan King
Instruction Language: English
Comments: While the teacher was very knowledgable, I felt that at the end of the day he didn't really care if we learned. We were given a good amount of reading that was conducive to our learning, and midterm and final papers that adequately tested our knowledge in the class.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Catalonia and Spain Through the Arts (Spanish)

Course Department: CIEE
Instructor: Alicia
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: Great, great class and excellent teacher. I feel like I know Spanish art and history. The field trips were great and were an essential part of my learning.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Business Ethics/Deontologia

Course Department: ESCI Deontologia
Instructor:
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: Very, very difficult because it was through the Spanish University. I don't think that it should be offered to American students because it was extremely difficult for even the American students who were considered "native speakers." Also, no American did better than a 6.5 in the class, despite talking with the teacher after the midterm, and studying exactly what we were told to study.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Marketing Management I

Course Department: ESCI Marketing Management
Instructor:
Instruction Language: English
Comments: The class was not difficult, but reading material certainly would have helped.
Credit Transfer Issues: