Salamanca: Challenging, Amazing, and International Past Review
By Hannah K (International Relations and Affairs., Carleton College) for
IES Abroad: Salamanca - Advanced Spanish Immersion
It was incredible.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
It was a lot easier than Carleton, but that's good. You don't go to Spain to have a Carleton workload. Some of the professors didn't understand that US kids like to get good grades because grades matter less in Spain (if you fail, you just take the class again), but the majority were very in tune to cultural differences. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The internship was the only negative. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
The quality and quantity of food depends on your budget. Do not eat on the Plaza Mayor unless you are okay paying a lot more. Spain does not understand vegetarianism, but IES does a good job placing homestays. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
IES trips are great, and if you want to meet Spaniards, you can. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Salamanca is pretty safe, but don't be stupid. It's still a city. Spain is a developed country with awesome socialized healthcare, so if you do get sick or hurt, going to the doctor is both cheap (and you get reimbursed)and convenient. The IES staff is very supportive regarding safety. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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? | It totally depends on what you plan to eat. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I wish I had budgeted for food and for the shopping I did. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 200 level |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Talk to whoever you can in Spanish, don't stress out about making Spanish friends - even if you're not in a host family you use Spanish every day, and most people in Spain don't speak English very well. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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