Single best semester of my college career Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I took five courses instead of the usual four I take at Wellesley, and it was fine.

On-site administration of your program

SU did a great job of letting all the students know of all the cool things going on in the area, and they also arranged a bunch of meet-and-greets and activities with local Spanish students. There were also a good number of optional day trips to places like the palace, Segovia, Toledo, etc...

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My host family was amazing and I was in a fantastic location (near the Arguelles metro stop)-literally a 2 minute walk from Zara, MNG, Blanco, El Cortes Ingles (a big Spanish department store)

Tortilla espanola is not a Mexican tortilla, it is a mixture of eggs and potatoes and looks kind of like a quiche. Spanish people are also really proud of their ham.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

It seemed to me like a lot of the students on my program mostly hung out with each other, but it wasn't hard to meet Spanish people. SU set up meet-and-greets with local Spanish students-my favorite was the tapas crawl, but there were also sports games and stuff. Living with a host family was really key for getting to know the local culture. When I went abroad, I had only taken 2 years of Spanish, and I really feel like I learned a lot when I was abroad. My host family was also really patient with me and my roommate and were more than happy to answer questions and such. If you are really trying to meet locals, I would suggest going to bars rather than clubs. Personally, I really liked the Malasana and Arguelles neighborhoods.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

One day a week, students could sign up to meet with the nurse if they were having health issues. Depending on the case, they could also be referred to a doctor.

Madrid is notorious for pick-pocketing, and it's true that a number of students did have things stolen, but during orientation, SU staff had an actual skit where they showed everyone the most common pick-pocketing tricks. Really, you just have to be vigilant-make sure you're bag is always in front of you (especially on the metro), and if you don't need your important documents, like your passport, leave them at home.

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

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

5, because most of my classes were in Spanish, and I spoke only Spanish with my host family.

Select all that apply

• Host Family

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• Americans
• Host Family

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• Americans

• My host family, my teachers, traveling, field trips, the city, everything

• not sure