challenging, rewarding, and amazing experience Past Review

By (Wellesley College) - abroad from 08/26/2019 to 12/21/2019 with

Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Madrid

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
learned a lot of spanish, how to be independent, how to travel, how to manage my money, how to work academically with people of other cultures, how to live with people of other cultures, learned a lot of spanish culture, how to live in a city - very worthwhile!!

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

definitely more rigorous than a regular abroad program, did have work to do and generally challenging classes, especially difficult because it was all in spanish, under a language pledge (stars refer to level of difficulty/intensity of classes)

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

the majority of the administration of my program was very helpful and nice, however i felt in some cases they were overbearing/unnessecarily strict for an abroad program

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

lived in a "student dorm" (residencia) - first year of management of this dorm, so was very new - had a lot of problems with wifi and lived with younger international students who were very loud - rules were not very enforced such as smoking outside and quiet hours, was very hard adjusting from a wellesley living situation

* Food:

the food in my housing was not good - was catered by a local spanish restaurant and delivered for lunch/dinner; however the food in the country itself (outside the residencia) was very good, cheap prices for high quality food

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

i felt very integrated with the local culture through the language pledge, living with other spanish people, and taking classes at a spanish university

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

did not have any health issues abroad

* Safety:

madrid is very safe, people are always outside all hours of the night, never felt unsafe - biggest risk is getting pick-pocketed or items stolen, as long as you are careful this will not happen

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

even though the language pledge was very hard and in many cases overbearing, and middlebury programs themselves are very challenging, it was very rewarding to come back with a much better level of spanish - very satisfying to come back with actual skills in a target language along with travel experiences

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)

very hard to live on a students budget and still travel, go out and eat out a lot - madrid is a relatively cheap city but for the amount of activities I did I used almost all of my savings from my summer job

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? around $100-200, depending on social activities and traveling
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? make money in the summer and accept that you will be spending more money than you think when you are abroad - plan to spend much more money than the budget you are given, and make an agreement with your friends to pick the cheapest option for most things in order to still participate in abroad activities, however it is not a bad thing to skip out on something every once and a while if it is too expensive

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

we were under a language pledge so we were required to speak the language "at all times" - however this mostly meant speaking in the language in classroom settings and speak english outside of this - however was very very encouraged

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? spanish 241, however started learning spanish at wellesley so did not have much experience
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? do not be afraid to speak it even if you are not good! was very insecure coming into the program with only 2 years of language experience amongst fluent and near fluent speakers, however everyone only wants to help you and will not judge you for your lack of skills, as it is not your fault! language is hard and accept that you will make a LOT of mistakes, don't let this discourage you from speaking because it is the only way to learn!

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
  • International 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? 0

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • opportunity to travel (madrid is very accessible in terms of traveling)
  • friends met in the program
  • spanish learned
* What could be improved?
  • get rid of the 1% off grade if you are absent for a class - we are abroad, we are here to travel!
  • not make the language pledge so overbearing and intimidating - yes, we only have 4 months to learn the language, but we also only have 4 months to make relationships with other people and enjoy our abroad experience
  • make finals less crazy! i understand that academic rigor is necessary but instead of enjoying my last two weeks in madrid, i was stuck studying for hours each day (i came to madrid to take a break from that!)
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? to not be so intimidated by the language!! embrace it, embrace the culture, you are going to miss it when you get back also - accept that the classes are going to be a lot less intellectually stimulating and structured as wellesley classes - instead of worrying and trying really hard all the time, it is okay to not do as well and not worry - you can do plenty of that back at wellesley!

Reasons For Studying Abroad

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The Outright Urbanite
A 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.