When it doesn't quite click... Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

University classes are okay, but I couldn't understand 90% of what the professors told me (and I completed a semester beyond the six-semester language requirement). CIEE provides academic tutors, which were very useful for me. I took classes at the University of Seville (instead of Pablo Olavide). There were a lot of Americans and the Spanish didn't interact with us too much. Classes at the university aren't hard per se, but they become very stressful because it isn't uncommon or problematic for Spanish students to fail a class, whereas it's a big problem for American students.

On-site administration of your program

CIEE seemed to really have it together. Events were well-organized, resources were prepared for us, and staff were very receptive with students. Only drawback is that some services (i.e. having a Spanish intercambio) were a bit hit-or-miss in terms of their quality.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

First living arrangement was bad. Homestay mother only let me shower for 5 minutes a day (CIEE says all students get 10 minutes/day), complained about my vegetarian diet, and fed me meager portions of food. I changed halfway through the program and the second arrangement is a lot better. In general, however, people were very mixed about their living arrangements. Some homestays were great and others seemed okay at first and then got progressively worse.

My (second) homestay mother is a cook and always prepares delicious vegetarian dishes for me. Servings are plentiful and I was effectively given open-fridge access.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I definitely felt like an American in Seville. Seville has a lot of foreign exchange students, so there were a lot of American among the general population and we were easily identified. However, a lot of Seville residents don't speak English, so we had to use Spanish to communicate, which was nice.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

CIEE directed us to a clinic in Triana called Urmesa for health ailments. I went there with a cough, saw a doctor within 10 minutes, and was given a prescription for a couple of meds (turns out I had bronchitis). The medications were immediately filled at a nearby pharmacy and weren't too expensive. The whole process was very simple.

I generally felt safe in Seville, but it might be different for female students. Women are definitely objectified here, much more so than in the U.S. A couple of female students independently told me that Spanish men had grabbed their asses. Also, a number of people had their iPhones stolen here.

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

Almost everything is included with CIEE's cost, so any money that I spent was on "wants" rather than "needs" (pastries at a bakery, eating at a restaurant, souvenirs, trips around Europe). Even better was that CIEE has a refund program for Adv. Liberal Arts students: they refunded the cost of any cultural activities within Spain up to 250 euros for the semester (including transportation, but excluding food).

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

When I decided to change my homestay, I asked to speak with CIEE staff in English to explain my problem. They said "no, you're an ALA student and you always have to speak Spanish."

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Local Students
• Americans

• Free academic tutors from CIEE
• Very approachable staff
• Cultural reimbursement program

• University of Seville
• Late end date in June
• Homestays (in general)

The Academic or Linguist