MADRID, EXCITING, WILD, AND VERY MEMORABLE. Past Review
By Stephanie A (PSYCHOLOGY, University of California - Riverside) for
University of California EAP (UCEAP): Madrid - Language & Culture, UC Center Madrid
Culturally, I gained a lot. I acquired so much knowledge about Spanish culture, which made me love Spain even more. I learned a lot about art in spain, and I think I learned more about the spanish people than actual Spanish in my Spanish class(again, no structure in that class, just random conversation about anything that came up-in Spanish). I liked what I learned about the culture, but sad that It was so hard for me to actually learn the language.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I never had a problem with Spanish classes I had taken at my University (UCR) but the class I took in Spain was extremely difficult. I was really surprised. I was struggling every day, and at first I asked to move down a level (even though before getting there, I felt I was placed into the highest level correctly since I had taken Spanish 1, 2, and 3 and had received As in all of them before getting there) but the program directors would not allow "ANYONE" to move levels (even though I know a few other people that had switched levels in my program)(obviously we all talked to one another). I did not mind having homework every day and we had a good amount of quizzes and tests, but the grading was ridiculously hard, and there was no structure in class so I was confused as to what we were supposed to be learning a lot of times. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I thought it was great that we had such organized and well-thought out meetings to attend and things like that before we left. However, everything was so general. We had an EIGHT HOUR orientation before leaving with ALL of the other EAP students going to different countries, and after leaving I did not feel any more informed than I felt before going. Noone in the study abroad office ever knew details about the program and what we will be doing there or where we will live or anything that useful. The orientation was pretty much about traveling to another country in general. We talked more about pick-pocketing and such than the actual program. It wasn't completely worthless because interns had studied abroad and shared some experience too(again-about European culture and stuff-not the actual program) but it definitely did not need to be 8 hours. I went into my host country very nervous because I had no idea what to expect about my living situation, my classes, or the set-up of my program. It was frustrating. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
my apartment was extremely far from my school and extremely far from the city center and nightlife. We had to take a metro every single day no matter where we wanted to go(except the supermarket-that is the ONLY place where we did not have to take a metro). I felt this was EXTREMELY unfair because many students in my program were able to walk to school which saved them A LOT of money, not having to use the metro every day. We had to buy metro passes for a month which was 50 EURO. The monthly metro starts the first of every month, so the beginning o the program(mid june) and the end of the program(beginning of august) we did not have passes, we had to pay every day. Not only did we have to take the metro every day, but our apartment was not even close to the metro station. We had to walk 10 min to metro and then take the metro for about 25 min to school and even longer to go to the city center. Other than that, the actual apartment was nice to live in. we didnt need to buy sheets and cookware either(nut no one in my program did) |
| * Food: |
I did not have a problem with the food in Spain, I cooked my own food a lot of times that I got from the market. There are good tapas bars to eat, like el tigre. Cien montiditos is good and cheap(especially wednesdays). Everything on the menu wed is 1 euro and its very good(small portions but a couple euro for a meal is not bad). I had a couple friends in my program who were vegetarian and they were in a home stay. In Spain, it is rare for Spaniards to be vegetarian, let alone understand exactly what a vegetarian is. In Spain, if you go to a restaurant and order something vegetarian, there will be chicken in it. so I recommend if you are a vegetarian DO NOT stay in a home stay. stay on your own and cook your own food because you will be very unhappy with the food. This goes for any picky eaters actually. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Trip to galicia was nice, we stayed in a nice hotel. I can understand why they took us on the trips they did, because they had a lot of history and such, however some students found galicia and segovia boring. I didnt. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Safety was not a concern for me during my stay because I always felt safe and even though we did not have insurance, I know students who had to see a doctor and pay up front cash but later at home were supposed to be reimbursed from their own insurance. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I practiced with my roommates and friends in my program. Yes I needed to use the language everyday because not very many prople spoke english there. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I think if you are about fluent in Spanish (from SPAIN, not mexico) you will do great. I think the lowest level classes were very easy for students(mostly received As, so I would say students who dont know ANY spanish would benefit which is true, but it is very hard to navigate around Spain without knowing any spanish because they dont speak much english anywhere there(which is a common misconception, everyone told me that everyone speaks english in Madrid before I got there-they were very wrong) |
