Amazing time in Barcelona, never wanted to leave Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I enjoyed the teaching method of Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. I had Toni for most of my non spanish classes and I enjoyed his teaching and the content of the classes. The workload was not too hard but required us to do enough so that we were still learning a great deal. The Spanish language classes were more demanding, as they should have been. Maria was awesome and tried to make class as entertaining and educational as possible, Pilar had a different style of teaching but I learned a lot in each class. I received a D in my 300 level spanish class prior to studying abroad and ended up being one of the best spanish speakers in the class. I think that sheds light on the american way of teaching language.

On-site administration of your program

The excursions were good but I really did not have much contact with the university's study abroad program all that much while I was there.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Senora Cristina Maragaya was extremely nice and accomodating. The location was adequate and close to the metro. It was a small apartment as they tend to be in Spain but of course enough room.

I enjoyed the food in Spain a lot. I like egg and tuna and other seafood which seems to be included in many meals. If you did not go to tourist restaurants, the pricing was very comparable to NYC area suburban life.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The excursions were good but did not get a sense of community off the bat with the other students. I did love Toledo but wish we could have done more there.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Sense of safety in any city is going to vary from each person's experience. I knew a lot of people that had been mugged/pick-pocketed, mostly in the metro. However, it was almost always done "peacefully" as in they were robbed without knowing it. There was one instance where a friend of mine was mugged at knifepoint but was left unharmed. Such experiences are going to happen in a large city. Much safer than US cities.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

I used the Spanish language every day. I lived in a host apartment and spoke Spanish to my Senora and to store attendants, etc. If you needed, some people did speak some english but I always tried to speak spanish to them first and if they knew english they would speak it to you.

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• Host Family

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• Americans
• Host Family