Sevillanos Lifestyle: Eat, drink and enjoy your time! Past Review

By A student (Communication- Journalism, Villanova University) - abroad from 01/14/2013 to 05/10/2013 with

CIEE: Seville - Communication, New Media, and Journalism

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

I gained an innumerable amount of knowledge from my host family, school and new friends. I learned about a whole new culture and became almost fluent in a new language. Each day I was constantly learning in order to communicate with everyone else.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	It was a great program, I was just unsatisfied with one of the two core courses that I was required to take.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	It was run very well. Everything was taken care of for us and we were completely immersed in the culture of Spain. I only wish they could've prepared us more for the special Catholic Holidays that take place during the spring.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	Housing was amazing. I loved the family I lived with. Food was delicious and the family was so nice!
* Food:	LOVED IT!
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	I only wish it would have been easier to make spanish friends. It's hard to interact because we are foreigners. I wish there were more integrated classes etc.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?	I never had one, but my friends that did said it was fine.
* Safety:	It was a city, so there were risks, but I never felt unsafe.
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)	I had saved up money so it was easy for me, since all my meals and housing was already paid for.
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	Maybe $20 at the most.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	I would just say make sure to save up as much as possible. The more you save, the more travel you can do.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language? 0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language
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?	Intermediate Levels
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?	Make sure to practice it as much as possible.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Host Family
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Host Family
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Local Students Americans International Students
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with?	10+

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?	Language family friends
* What could be improved?	classes my practice before I went abroad
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	I wish I knew more spanish before I went!

Reasons For Studying Abroad

To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you.	The Outright Urbanite A social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	New Media and Audiovisual
Course Department:
Instructor:	Pedro Jimenez
Instruction Language:	Spanish
Comments:	The class was good and I learned a lot. I was exposed to many different Spanish and european ideas and groups. I only wish that there was a computer lab or somewhere that we all could've had access to the same programs in order to learn more technical things.
Credit Transfer Issues:	I don't know yet.

Course Name/Rating:	Literature and Sevilla
Course Department:
Instructor:	Maria Jose Osuna
Instruction Language:	Spanish
Comments:	It was a wonderful class, I only wish it was a little smaller. The field trips were great and made it easier to learn the information. We were graded on our exams during the year.
Credit Transfer Issues:	I don't know yet.

Course Name/Rating:	Magazine Writing and Reporting
Course Department:
Instructor:	Oscar Ceballos
Instruction Language:	Spanish
Comments:	It was challenging, but only because we didn't know what was expected of us. I wish that the teacher had more experience in the magazine world. I wish we could have developed the magazine further besides just writing it. I participated in class about the same. We were assessed by our articles.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Metamorphosis of News
Course Department:	Journalism
Instructor:	Juan Carlos Blanco
Instruction Language:	Spanish
Comments:	It was challenging. The field trip we went on was fun to see an actual news paper office. The teacher was very knowledgable and should've taught more classes! I participated more than I would have at my home institution. We were assessed by our papers and our participation.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Intensive Course
Course Department:
Instructor:	Magdalena Marfe
Instruction Language:	Spanish
Comments:	This class was amazing. The way that Magdalena teaches made it very easy to learn. We learned way more than any of the other intensive classes because she pushed us to know about the culture of Spain. Through that we learned the jargon that is Sevillanos. We took field trips which were wonderful. The teacher was very well prepared everyday. I did not participate as much as I did in the other classes. We were assessed by our papers and homework and participation.
Credit Transfer Issues:	I don't know about this yet.