Códoba: A small city with a large offering Past Review

By (Middlebury College) - abroad from 01/31/2018 to 06/17/2018 with

Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Cordoba, Spain

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Language improvement. A new sense of autonomy and ability to be independent

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 6 months+

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

* Food:

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? No

Córdoba is a small city, which is nice in some aspects, but confining in others. Also, a lot of the people have basically never left their homes, both among locals and European study abroad kids (for whom this was their first time leaving home)

Finances

* 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)

depends on how much traveling / eating out I did. Traveling will cost a little more, as will eating in restaurants, but everything was generally pretty cheap

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

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 course
How many hours per day did you use the language? 10+
Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? Speak it. At every opportunity. Meet people and speak the language that you want to learn

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Apartment
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
  • International Students
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?
  • beautiful city
  • language component
* What could be improved?
  • communication with the Sede Prim
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? To not be so invested in the daily occurences of the classes – that it's ok to be confused, that everything will be ok, and it's ok to do other things

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 Linguist
You 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!

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

La historia de Al-Andalus

Course Department: Historia
Instructor: Margarita Cabrera Sánchez
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: Completely focused on daily life in Al-Andalus; lecture-based with one final exam and one paper, which together were the entire grade.
Credit Transfer Issues: N/A
Course Name/Rating:

Literatura hispanica de siglos XX y XXI

Course Department: Filologia Hispanica
Instructor: Juaquín Roses Lozano
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: A lot of reading, basically a book a week, but really interesting literatura and a great professor. A difficult class, but in the end the grading was not that hard if you had done the reading
Credit Transfer Issues: haven't tried yet
Course Name/Rating:

Historia del arte

Course Department: Filologia hispanica
Instructor: Jose Alvaro
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: Interesting general overview of western art, covering a lot of time periods. Not an interactive class. Very little work – class is powerpoint-lecture based with only a couple writing assignments and a final at the end
Credit Transfer Issues: Not trying for credit