Dream-come-true experience in my favorite country Past Review
By A student (English Literature (British and Commonwealth)., Wellesley College) - abroad from 09/03/2012 to 12/15/2012 with
Middlebury Language Schools: Spanish Language School
I learned that I should have gone with at least one friend that I was familiar and comfortable with. Since I was the only non-Middlebury student in the program, it was very difficult for me to make friends. This was the only negative part of my experience, and I just had so much fun and learned all my Spanish back. I tasted food that I wouldn't be able to taste if I wasn't in Spain, met Spanish people and began to understand their way of life, which is very different from the ways of life that I am accustomed to. It was more than worthwhile; 'worthwhile' doesn't begin to explain how amazing my experience was. It's always great to travel to different countries that have different values from the ones you are accustomed to.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
As it was a program provided by a U.S. college, the curriculum and general style of classes was very similar to Wellesley in terms of rigor. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I was very disappointed by the way the program administrators decided to execute events and such, and they definitely weren't what they said they'd be. The administrators were generally extremely disorganized, uninformed, and wishywashy. Although I took the initial application form very seriously, as I would any application form for any institute, I had to re-fill out everything after I arrived there, which was ridiculous. Before the program started, the website specifically mentioned that we'd be able to participate in extracurricular activities of great variety, such as dance, cooking, knitting, pottery, and all kinds of sports. However, the truth was that all they did was give us URL links to local businesses, such as a local dance studio, local cooking class, etc. that were very expensive and unaffordable by the average college student. I, as well as all the other students that I befriended, was unable to participate in any of those activities. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
It was unfortunate that the schools didn't provide housing, but that seemed to be the general system of all Spanish universities. The program did mention three "dorm"-type residences in a handbook PDF that they e-mailed to all the students, but they were also extremely pricey and not satisfactory. Since I literally had no other choice, I did stay at one of the "dorms," but I had to pay a significant amount of money. |
| * Food: |
The program did provided occasional snacks, maybe three times for the whole semester. The food I consumed in Madrid was local food in local restaurants that I paid for, which was exquisite. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I still don't feel that I was very integrated with the local culture, but I did only stay there for three months. Also, because the program was all-U.S. college students, it was rarely the case that we still speak Spanish outside of class. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
We were given a serious lecture on the first day of the program during orientation that was extremely helpful. The administrators told us stories of actual study abroad students from previous semesters who were unfortunately involved in horrible accidents. This gave me a really good idea of how bad things can get, and made me cautious at all times, which I really liked. |
| * Safety: |
Madrid was extremely safe, as long as my friends and I didn't foolishly roam around in the unsafe areas. The scary thing about Madrid is that the very unsafe "slums" that are the drug-dealing meccas are very well integrated with the safest, urban city areas that are the most populated with tourists. As long as students don't decide to be in those unsafe areas at unsafe hours, they will not be in an unsafe situation. Most of the times, my one girl friend and I, or even I alone, would walk around at night at 3-5AM and we never felt unsafe. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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) |
The best thing about Madrid is that, while there are restaurants, bars, and shopping malls that are pricey, there are very very cheap places also. With a little exploring during the beginning of the program, students will never have to feel that something is overpriced or that they are being overcharged. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Maybe 140 euros on average, sometimes much less and sometimes more. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Explore different areas (safe ones) that are relatively close by at the beginning of the program. There are bars and restaurants with amazing deals, such as 5 euros for a drink and tons of food. Also, Madrid has fashion-sensitive areas that are filled with little nameless shops that don't mass-produce anything they sell. These little boutiques had the best things out of all the things I bought in Madrid, and they were much cheaper than mass-produced name-brand clothes. |
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 were told many times to always be aware of speaking only Spanish. |
| 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? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Spanish 253-Latin American Short Stories |
| 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? | Because it is very awkward to speak Spanish with your english-speaking friend that you planned the study abroad session with, try to at least be outside the dormitory, out in the city with locals. It's okay to speak some English with an English-speaking friend, but then don't put yourself in situations where you and your English-speaking friend(s) are alone by yourselves where you're all only speaking English. At least go out, go to bars or restaurants or go shopping where you are forced to interact with locals in their language. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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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? | That I would have to try very hard to fit in with the students and that I would always need to have an extremely open mind to approach other students first. |
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 Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
