Barcelona, beyond my expectations! Past Review
By A student (Duke University) - abroad from 08/27/2016 to 12/17/2016 with
IFSA: Barcelona - Design Thinking, Business, and Liberal Arts
I gained some career development from my internship and gained a ton of confidence in my Spanish abilities. Personally, I learned how to be bold and try new things just because I wanted to.
Review Photos
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. |
I enjoyed and learned a lot in all of my classes, but didn't have to do too much work outside of class - exactly what I was looking for in studying abroad! Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona has a great program for students abroad. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The on-site staff were always available to us and really helped me navigate a problem with making sure my credits would transfer. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The whole housing situation was awesome! My host mom and I were on the same page as far as how integrated I would be into her family. The on-site staff made sure that I would be living with a trustworthy host family in a safe neighborhood, which it was! |
| * Food: |
I partly have my host mom to thank and partly have the entire city of Barcelona to thank for the amazing food. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I was glad I had my host family and internship in a local small business, because I was not very confident in myself as far as getting to know many locals. The "Exploring Barcelona" core course helped me feel like I really got to know the city. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I never had any major health problems while abroad. |
| * Safety: |
I felt safer in Barcelona than I do on campus at my home university half the time. There is virtually no violent crime in the city, and as long as my friends and I watched our purses and made sure to take normal precautions as far as looking out for one another, we were completely fine. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I really loved having the internship and "Engage Barcelona" core course, plus the opportunity to take most of my classes in English and learn Catalan while I was there. |
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) |
I ate two meals a day with my host family and tried to buy groceries and pack lunches for myself. I found that groceries were fairly cheap in Barcelona, and when I went out to eat, it was easy to find meals in about the price range I would expect to pay for a meal in the States ($15-20 for a fairly nice meal). |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $30 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Try to limit yourself to a couple of restaurant meals a week. Groceries really are pretty affordable in Barcelona, so it's easy to live well on a tight budget. |
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 |
We weren't required by IFSA Butler to practice language, but my professors and on-site staff encouraged us to practice. I usually spoke Spanish or Catalan with my host family and at my internship. I learned a lot of Catalan, which I'd never even heard of before I arrived! |
| 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? | 300-level, which is advanced at my school |
| 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? | People are generally encouraging to anyone practicing the local language with them. I found that Barcelona locals often liked to do English/Spanish or English/Catalan language exchanges with me, which was a fun challenge. People seemed to really like when I made an effort to use Catalan since it's the local language. |
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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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
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 really wish I had made more of an effort to make more local friends, rather than focusing on getting in contact with friends back home. That's important, but it limited my time and energy to be with locals. |
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! |
