Past Review

By (Management, Providence College) for

CIEE: Seville - Business + Society

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I cannot put into words how worthwhile my study abroad experience was. I grew so much intellectually, personally, and in my Spanish speaking skills.

Personal Information

If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: Universidad de Sevilla
The term and year this program took place: Spring 2009

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

I could go on for days talking about CIEE. The program went beyond my expectations for a study abroad program. I absolutely loved the administration that worked with my program. I would hands down recommend this program (of course Business and Society) to anyone looking to study business in Spanish.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived in a homestay with a grandma, a mom, a 13 year old boy and a 13 year old girl (twins). I loved my home stay food, the location was just okay, and my family was nice. I lived in Nervion, which was close to the business school but a long walk from downtown. <br /><br /> I liked my family but they didn't really talk to me like I had hoped. I just did my thing and they did theirs and they food was terrific, but I didn't always feel super welcome at home.

* Food:

I was always given amazing food and my senora always offered me more than I would ever want. The down side to living at a homestay is that I didn't hardly ever dine out. Many times I would want to eat out, but I already paid for all of my meals through my program.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I LOVED Sevilla. I know that everyone is biased to their study abroad location, but to be honest, I think that Sevilla is the ideal study abroad location for students looking to go to Spain. I visited all over Spain, and I found that Granada would have been too small and Madrid and Barcelona seemed to large. Sevilla was big enough to have to take the whole semester to discover all of the areas, while it has a small city feel that is manageable to walk. I was around for Feria, the holiday week in April, and that was definitely something I was glad to see. Also the ambiance of the going out scene is something that you would never know until you studied abroad in Sevilla for a semester. The Spaniards know how to have a good time.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

I felt safe all of the time. I took cabs home from bars and clubs with friends if it was really late, which I recommend just for general safety. Otherwise, when going out at night I would meet up with my friends (4 of us) and we would walk from Nervion all the way to the bar area (25 minutes minimum) and that was safe to do at 10 pm. As for health, I actually ended up getting really sick twice during the semester. I went to the doctor in Sevilla and luckily I was fluent enough to explain my symptoms and get medication. My program was really good about helping me with missing classes. The healthcare was a lot worse than that which I am used to back home. For example, in April I was very sick and I had looked up my symptoms on an online medical website, and I thought that I might have mono. I went to the doctor and explained my symptoms to her, and she told me to take amoxicillin. I told her that I thought that I might have mono and I would appreciate if I could get tested. She said she didn't think that I had it, but she sent me to get tested. Ended up that I did, in fact, have mono. Moral of the story: be your own doctor when abroad, and if you can give your opinion to your doctor, it might be the only way to get better.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? No

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? Unanticipated expenses: CELL PHONE! Phones in Spain are not like cell phones that we are used to in America. It is a pay as you go system, where I probably ended up spending around $250 to have. I probably spent the least out of most people. Sending a text message costed about 50 cents, and making phone calls were expensive. I only used my phone when absolutely necessary, which I limited to only a few times a week, and I still spent a lot of money on it. BE READY! Besides that I guess you don't realize how much you spend on everyday expenses, like treats. The euro definitely makes your money go fast!

Language

Language acquisition improvement?

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
* 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? Get ready for the best semester of your life. Also, get ready to eat more ham, oil, potatoes, and bread than you ever thought possible.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Intensive Spanish for Students of Business and Economics

Course Department: SPAN 3503 CSCS
Instructor: Antonio Rodriguez
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: The course was definitely a great start to the semester. There were 5 different classes with about 17-20 students per class. We were divided into classes according to our Spanish proficiency coming into the semester. I was placed in the highest level class, which was probably because of my previous study in Mexico, as most of the students in this class were already fluent or close to it. The class was two weeks long. ALthough it was intense with all new Spanish vocabulary to prepare us for our semester of business in Spanish, it definitely paid off when I could understand my classes to follow. It was especially challenging in that we had to write many papers, and a lot of them required us to go to Spanish businesses and do a lot of outside study. I participated more in class than I would have at Providence College. I also gave a group presentation on two Spanish businesses, which was the first of many presenations for the semester, which definitely helped me be prepared for those.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Services Management

Course Department: BUSI 3005 SEBS
Instructor: Antonio Ruiz
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: I really liked this course. Definitely my favorite of the semester. The professor was exceptional. He brough a few Spaniards into our class to take it with us, which was good. The class was fun and required a lot of participation, which helped improve my language proficiency. There were two exams and a big presentation, where we had to work in groups. I participated more than I would have at P.C.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Managing Cultural Diversity

Course Department: BUSI 3102 SEBS
Instructor: Mercedes
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: This course was just okay. The professor wasn't the best, but I liked the subject matter. The exams weren't difficult, but they were extremely time consuming. I participated more than I would have at P.C.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Strategic Issues in International Manufacturing

Course Department: BUSI 3003 SEBS
Instructor: Machuca
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: This course was okay. It was an afternoon class so most people were pretty exhausted since it followed the Spanish siesta. The professor was a nice guy, but the subject wasn't very exciting.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Introduction to Spanish Linguistics

Course Department: SPAN 3101 CSCS
Instructor: Lucia Quintana
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: I liked this course. It was definitely my most challenging course of the semester, especially since I had never taken a linguistics class before, even in English, so taking it in Spanish was definitely hard. I really liked the professor and I learned so much in this class. We had to go on a field trip to a presentation at another institution, which was really good.
Credit Transfer Issues: