STUDY ABROAD EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME Past Review
By gmweller (Telecommunications Management., University of Florida) - abroad from 01/26/2012 to 05/18/2012 with
ISA Study Abroad in Salamanca, Spain
I definitely improved my Spanish, which is a big plus. I am no where near fluent, but Im still working on it. I do believe the trip was worth while! It actually made me grow as a person.
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 truly had the time of my life. ISA was absolutely amazing in every way. The people in my group were great and the ISA staffers were so helpful and personable. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The ISA staffers were so helpful and were family to me by the end of my study abroad experience. I was able to cry on one of their shoulders if I was feeling home sick or I was able to just go spend time in the office if I had time. They were very welcoming when we first arrived in Spain and they grew kinder through the entire program. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived in a residencia and didn't have the best experience. I did like having the freedom of coming and going whenever I liked, but there were other incidents (which I wont mention) that hindered my residencia experience. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I did feel integrated, because it was a college town, but there were times when the locals could definitely tell that I was an American and it made me feel segregated. I understand that they have Americans that come and go, but I didn't want to be looked at like a monster. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| 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) |
There wasn't that much need to extra spending, other than traveling which is a personal choice. So you could decide on whether or not you wanted to spend money during the week. Considering that food was included in your host family/residencia food wasn't in a high demand, unless you got sick of having the same food after 3 months. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | No |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $75 |
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 |
ISA did set us all up with "intercambios" if we wanted. These are local students that are looking to learn English and you as a study abroad student would improve your Spanish. It worked out well. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| 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? | A second level Spanish class |
| 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? | Find a Spaniard that is trying to learn English and help them as much as possible. The more you are FORCED to use the language, the more it starts just coming naturally. And when it comes to being embarrassed about "messing" up on words, people do it in English all the time. Be confident in yourself, you can improve even if you mess up a few times! |
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 wish I had known how fast time was going to fly! I was abroad for 4 months and then suddenly Im back in Florida. I wish I would have savored my time more and done a lot more fo the things I wanted to. |
