An explosion of culture Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The courses I took were all in Spanish, so even though it was slightly difficult in the beginning, it got easier to understand and keep up with the speaking pace. The work load was pretty easy compared to my home institution though, which will probably be an issue when I return to the institution. I loved learning about the culture and history and the professors really wanted you to learn. The learned was really interactive and everyone spoke and participated. There were 2 exams taken - the midterm and the final. The rest of your grading centered on participation and attendance.

On-site administration of your program

The administrators really wanted to gauge our feelings towards our courses and our daily living. They let it be known that we could ask questions, though sometimes there would be slight language barriers.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The living area and home was really nice and well-kept. The host family was very welcoming at first, but about a month and a half in, the host mom did start to become really uptight about things and seemed very different from when I first arrived.

Spain is all about their Iberian ham, which personally, I didn't really like at all. But honestly, I didn't like a lot of meat before going to Spain anyway, so I guess it just put me off a little when all they mostly had was meat I didn't really enjoy much of.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Though I felt like I got to know the culture pretty well, I couldn't really say I felt like I completely belonged there because I didn't actually get to meet a lot of Spaniards while in Spain. In my courses, there were no Spaniards, just mostly Asians. I guess if I had come in contact with more Spaniards, I would have felt like the integration experience would have been higher.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Madrid had pharmacies on almost every street, probably multiples on every street. The program also offered a lot of money towards healthcare. I had already taken all the vaccinations for Spain when I went to the doctor before going to Spain, so it was just normal vaccinations needed in the states.

Personally, Madrid seemed pretty safe to me. I never really felt threatened while staying there. I never really got pick-pocketed either while staying there, though I heard a lot of stories of some other international students from the states getting things stolen from them right out of their hands or off their necks, it never happened to me.

Just because the excursions for the program I chose didn't really take us anywhere outside of Spain and it also didn't really take us anywhere that we couldn't have just did a day trip to. I guess I just wanted to explore more of Europe, though I did appreciate the trips around Spain. Maybe if we could have gone to places that were hard to go to around Spain or that tourists don't usually go to, it would have been a bigger experience

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

It was slightly difficult when wanting to travel as well, but I think I managed it.

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• Other
• Host Family
• Hostel

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• Host Family
• Other

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• Americans
• International Students

• The study abroad advisor
• How they actually cared about whether I was settling in okay
• The professors at the university I attended

• The excursion choices
• Being about to give out more information to the students on what to expect, because sometimes the students don't think to ask certain questions until it's already too late

The Nearly Native or Trail Blazer