A great semester in a great city! October 09, 2022
By A student (Middlebury College) - abroad from 02/01/2022 to 06/18/2022 with
Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Cordoba, Spain
I definitely improved my Spanish, and I think I grew as a person simply by being in a new place with new people. It was very worthwhile.
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. |
My classes were all pretty interesting and fun, and none were that difficult. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
There was no on-site administration, which we knew going in. However, the Middlebury administration in Madrid was not very helpful during the semester and did not assist us very much with the adjustment to Spanish life and the problems we found living there. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived in a shared apartment with 2 other international students and I loved it! |
| * Food: |
I enjoyed the food! It was pretty similar food the whole time, but it was very affordable and I liked it. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I felt somewhat integrated, but I was happy with this amount. I got lots of opportunities to interact with the local cultures in festivals and day to day interactions, but I also got to spend a lot of time with other Americans on the program and other international students. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I did not really have any health issues so I am not sure. |
| * Safety: |
The city felt safe overall but it is always good to be in a group especially at night! But I felt comfortable walking alone as a woman most of the time. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I wanted to be somewhere speaking Spanish with a vibrant local culture and kind local people and that was exactly what I got. |
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 found it pretty easy to live in Córdoba because most food is very affordable, so I think that my main expenses were for travel (both within Spain and to other countries). |
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 |
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| 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 at Middlebury |
| 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 in Spanish with the other students on the program, and try to talk to Spanish people in your day to day life. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
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? | Classes will not be stressful or very difficult as long as you show up and pay attention in class, and people are not judging your Spanish! |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Lenguajes Artísticos |
| Course Department: | Gestión Cultural |
| Instructor: | Alberto Años Lara, Juan Carlos Galiano Diaz |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | The class was not very difficult, and I found it interesting. The first half was about film and photography, and the second was about music, with a focus on music production. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | No issues |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Clase de Lengua |
| Course Department: | Idiomas |
| Instructor: | Maria Jesús Jurada Cortado |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | The course was not too challenging; it mainly consisted of small worksheets and exercises to learn Spanish grammar and a few writing assignments. It was a class of only 5 students (all on the Middlebury program), so we participated a lot. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | No issues, I got created for my Spanish minor. |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Antropología Audiovisual |
| Course Department: | Cine y Cultura |
| Instructor: | Begoña Escribano Salmoral |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | I found this course to be very interesting and the professor was really well-versed in the field of anthropology. There were very few international students in the class but it was not too difficult to participate. The professor was also very kind! We were graded with a few assignments throughout the semester and a final exam. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | There was no issue transferring this credit. |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Historia de la Música |
| Course Department: | Cine y Cultura |
| Instructor: | Diego Garcia Peinazo |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | The teacher was very good and well-prepared and the class was enjoyable and not too hard. There was a lot of memorization in the final exam, but other than that the methods of assessment were fair. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | Nope, no issues. |
