Wonderful Chaos Past Review
By A student (Wellesley College) - abroad from 08/23/2017 to 12/18/2017 with
PRESHCO: Study Abroad in Córdoba, Spain
I gained more confidence in myself and my Spanish ability. It was definitely 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. |
The academic rigor of UCO and the PRESCHO courses was not quite as tough as Wellesley courses and in general there was significantly less coursework. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The equipo was great, very attentive and willing to work with me to resolve problems. They were an amazing resource to have in country and definitely made the whole experience more enjoyable. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I loved my host family! They were so welcoming and attentive, they truly made me feel at home in Spain and I never felt like I was intruding. i had my own space and a large amount of freedom despite living with a host family. My host mom was extremely caring and aggressively mothering when I got a cold at one point in the semester- I am so grateful I had the opportunity to get to know them. |
| * Food: |
My host mom was a great cook! In general though, food in Spain could be pretty heavy with a lot of oil and carbs which was an adjustment. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I joined a sports team in Spain and that was great for social integration, though it was difficult to keep up with going regularly as I was traveling on a lot of the weekends when there were games. Aside from that it was difficult to find a way 'in' to the local culture because in classes students weren't very welcoming and already had formed friend groups. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I personally didn't have an advanced experience with healthcare, just a couple of times when I got a cold and my host mom gave me some over the counter meds. |
| * Safety: |
Cordoba was a relatively small city and I never felt unsafe walking home alone very late at night. The biggest concern would probably just be pick pockets while on the tour at the beginning of the program, but in Cordoba there were no problems. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
Despite the academic struggle of enrolling into the local university system, I loved the PRESCHO program and the experiences I had, and the friends I made. |
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) |
Living with host families meant not having to worry about paying for meals regularly and Cordoba was a very affordable city. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 20 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Make friends with the ERASMUS kids and learn where/when they have events because there are generally really great discounts at those events for food and drinks. |
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? | SPAN 272 |
| 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? | Really make an effort to make Spanish friends in class, it will likely be hard to maintain speaking the target language with American friends. |
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? | Be ready to go with the flow because things are not going to work out how you expect them to and it might be the most disorganized semester you have, but it will be really beneficial. At times it will suck and you'll wonder why you ever thought going abroad would be a good idea, but those will only be a few times and other times you won't be able to imagine your life back at your home university. |
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 LinguistYou 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! |
