Cordoba- A Wonderful Experience Past Review
By Nirali S (International Relations-Political Science, Wellesley College) for
PRESHCO: Study Abroad in Córdoba, Spain
I learned a great amount about the Spanish and European culture. I loved living there for 4 months, but I definitely now have a bigger appreciation for the US and its culture/lifestyle in terms of work ethic and motivation.
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. |
Academically, it was overall very good. All of the professors were engaging, interesting, and knowledgeable but wanted us to experience the cultural aspect as well. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
They were all wonderful. Very supportive, knowledgeable, organizated, etc |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I loved my host family, apartment, and location which was close to other students and the university. |
| * Food: |
Overall the food was fine. It is a different type of cooking all together so that took some time to get used to, but I had no troubles. My host mom was very nice and made sure I got a well-balanced meal. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Our program arranged many trips during the semester and we have different cultural classes we could sign up for every week- sevillanas dancing, guitar, flamenco, horse-back riding, cooking classes, and more. It was all very great. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Health- I got a little cold and told the office and they immediately scheduled an appointment with a doctor, and took me to the office and stayed during my appointment. They were extremely helpful and caring. Safety- It is generally a safe city but still need to be alert at night like any other city. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Maybe around 40/50 at cafes, ice cream, night life (but not including trips over weekends) |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | n/a |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Span 241 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
All of our classes were in Spanish and we were only allowed to speak Spanish at our host houses which greatly helped. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | This program is great for a student who is looking to learn more Spanish, have a cultural experience, and to have fun! |
