Go to the Basque Country, but not with USAC!!! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I went to Bilbao to complete my Spanish minor. As such, I only took classes in Spanish. The level of difficulty was pretty comparable to that of US university language programs. If you area serious student, however, you will be underwhelmed. Even in upper level courses, almost no work required critical thinking. My instructors were friendly and helpful. If you get the chance, I recommend that you take a course with Estela or Juan--they're great!

On-site administration of your program

Abysmal. The office staff are friendly (for the most part), but ultimately will not help with serious problems. They placed me in an apartment instead of with a homestay, they botched up my internship, and then were unwilling to do anything about it. They refused to address issues or listen to complaints. When students brought things to their attention, they were often criticized or ignored.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I wanted a homestay, but my program placed me in an apartment instead. When I arrived, it was filthy. There was rotten food in the fridge and there were moldy plates in the dishwasher. The floors were sticky and covered with grime. Once I cleaned the place, my roommate and I found out that our hot water heater broke on a regular basis. We reported this to the landlord and the program, but they did not respond promptly. The apartment itself was much larger than I had been expecting. There were three large bedrooms, two bathrooms, and separate kitchen and living room. The place was fine when it was warm, but once the temperature dropped, we discovered that our apartment was very poorly insulated. There were electrical radiators in each of the bedrooms and one in the living room, but they were not sufficient to combat the cold. It took my radiator one month to warm my room up to the temperature of 70 degrees.

The food in Spain is not bad. It doesn't have a lot of flavor, and spicy food does not exist, so it gets boring after a while. I loved going to bakeries and eating tapas (or 'pintxos'), but there is not a lot of variety in Bilbao. Just be prepared to eat lots and lots of bread, potatoes, eggs, and ham.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I do not feel like we were provided with a lot of opportunities to integrate. There are teaching and tutoring jobs available through the program, but I wouldn't go so far as to call that 'cultural immersion.' There wasn't even a real effort to introduce students within the program to each other. There were many that I never met, simply because they were not in my classes.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Healthcare is the one thing that the USAC Bilbao program really has down. They have an arrangement with a local doctor such that you can visit, and she will wait for payment from your study abroad insurance program. The Bilbao office sends a translator with you, so there are no issues with language. The Bilbao office will arrange appointments for you in a flash and even walk you to the pharmacy afterwards.

Bilbao is ranked as one of the safest cities in Europe. Not once did I feel in danger in any way. The downtown and residential areas are all very well-lit at night, and Spaniards are out late. There was a frontpage newspaper article while I was there about how just over 100 families and business in the residential town Getxo (population 83,000) had installed security alarms, because it was such a novelty.

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

Food is cheap in Spain. Rent and utilities are not cheap in Bilbao.

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

In Spanish classes, we were of course encouraged to use the language. Outside we had the option of having a local conversation partner. But if a student was not motivated to learn the language, there was absolutely no pressure. I had a hard time getting other students to speak with me in Spanish.

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