An amazing overall experience with a disappointing educational program September 09, 2022
By Emily M (Spanish, Stephen F. Austin State University) - abroad from 06/02/2022 to 07/03/2022 with
Estudio Sampere: Madrid - Language School in Madrid
Cultural differences. Yes.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
It was nice to repeat stuff that I had already learned, but the professor didn't seem interested in answering questions or teaching. He was short-tempered and was quickly irritated when a student didn't understand a topic. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The hosts seemed very kind but all over the place. The program seemed new in a sense that there wasn't protocol in place for when something went wrong. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Host family was extremely kind and welcoming |
| * Food: |
I got lucky but some people's host families seemed to give the cheapest (and grossest) food possible. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
They had a group of American's meet outside of a church that fed homeless people. Girls in the group were harassed by one of the homeless men and the program leaders seemed annoyed to have to "handle the situation". |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I loved the experience overall. |
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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 150-200 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | watch money spent on food |
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? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Spanish 3 |
| 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? | Ask specific subjects to study prior to departure |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
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? | I wish that someone had said that people were not advanced in the language would miss out on the tours given. When we went on tours, there was options to receive English tours, but they did them in Spanish. Not everyone was advanced enough in the language to understand the history being explained. I understand that it was a Spanish program, but no one warned us ahead of time, and we were all approved for the trip. We all paid the same amount of money but only the advanced students got the most out of the guided tours. This was an on-going problem throughout the trip. |
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 Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
