Study Abroad in Cordoba, Spain Past Review
By Nia P (Political Science & Spanish, Wellesley College) for
PRESHCO: Study Abroad in Córdoba, Spain
I think that my study abroad experience was definitely worthwhile! I learned to love a culture and country that I did not know much about prior to studying there. I think that it helped impact my cultural awareness, and helped broaden my already established interest in Europe's history and politics. This experience guaranteed that I wanted to definitely double major in Spanish at Wellesley. I am also now considering possibly working or studying in Europe again and hopefully using my language skills to help me in a career. I hope to return to Spain again and am happy that I decided to study there in the spring. It was definitely one of the best experiences in my life!
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Overall, the workload was very different than Wellesley. The balance of work was not the same as in the USA. For example, the majority of the work for my classes was at the end of the semester. Some courses required a significant amount of memorization which is very different from what I was used to at Wellesley. I think that the most helpful part of my educational experience was having all my classes in Spanish. This helped with my listening comprehension. The grading system is a little worrisome because most professors did not write letter grades on assignments. The Spanish system considers a 'C' to be a good grade, so it was sometimes difficult to understand what my professors meant when I asked them if my exam was 'good' or not. This was a little frustrating. Nonetheless, I think that I did improve my Spanish language skills which was one of my major goals for the semester. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The only reason why I gave my housing situation four stars is because I had over a 30 minute walk to class. The majority of the students in my program lived closer to the university, so it also made it difficult to meet students in my free time. Only one other student lived in my neighborhood, and this living situation could have been awkward if we were not friends and often walked to class, extra curricular activities, and other events together at night. Other than location, my host family was amazing. I felt like a member of the family by the end of the semester. My family did a great job at taking care of me and making me feel at home. I easily got over 'sounding silly' in Spanish because my host family was encouraging (and corrected my speaking errors at my request). |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| 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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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Use your reembolsos! Although PRESHCO has this, it is important to have our own money, especially if you want to travel within or outside of Spain. Make sure that you register for a Carnet Joven. This card is about €6 and will provide you with great discounts across Europe. It lasts until you are 31, so it's a great investment. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Upper 200 level Spanish |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
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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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