study abroad

[seXieleXie]

i wanna do it. no, not studying broads. i do plenty of that already.

i want to go to another country for a summer or a semester or something. has anyone here ever done anything like that?

i would have to go to either a spanish speaking nation or an english speaking one because of the restrictions my school puts on studying abroad.

 

[Pyper]

Hi! I just got back from studying a year in Spain. What do you want to know?

 

[Mischka]

What do you want to know?

I wanna know how many hot Spaniards you did the lambada with. *wink wink nudge nudge*

 

[Pyper]

I wanna know how many hot Spaniards you did the lambada with. *wink wink nudge nudge*

Hundreds. Oh, you mean sex...

 

[seXieleXie]

Hi! I just got back from studying a year in Spain. What do you want to know?

everything!

where did you study? what did you study? what year in school were you when you went? do you feel like you missed out on making connections at your US college because you were away?

 

[perks]

I liked the broad idea better. Which class was that again?


As for studying abroad. I did one year, however it was an American International School in Nigeria, and it was kindergarten.

I'm not sure it is what you're looking for.

But the broad part, you may study aannnnnnnnnnnnny time, sugah.

 

[Pyper]

I went to Granada, in the south of Spain, and studied at the University of Granada there with regular Spanish students. I had to put my major, which is Writing, aside because they didn't offer it and I studied mostly general literature instead. I went my third year, which was the norm at my university.

To be perfectly honest, I felt I was a bit cheated academically. The grading system varied radically depending on how sympathetic the professor was to non-native students, and a lot of the classes I took counted for nothing but electives. There are options in Spain to study at American colleges and be separate from the mainstream students, which of course has the advantage of being much easier, but the disadvantage of being cut-off from Spanish students and culture.

More than anything, my study abroad experience was not about studying, but about integrating into another culture and becoming fluent in a foreign language. I lived with other Spaniards my age and was lucky that they were so eager to share their life and culture with me.

In short, if grades and academics are really important to you, it might not be a good idea. It could put you behind an entire semester, like it did to me (luckily, I was already ahead a semester, so I will graduate on time). But if you want true fluency in another language, to experience another culture, and to grow as a person, it's for you.

 

[seXieleXie]

that's why i think i want to go for a summer. that way i won't fall behind.

growing as a person is important to me, but so are grades and academics. i want it all, damnit!

 

[Pyper]

My personal experience was that I fell behind. Most of the other Americans I studied with did too, but we were all in the same program. I felt that we were herded over to Spain with empty assurances that our academics would go well.

Get specifics. What classes does the host university offer? Will these classes definitely count toward your graduation? Will these classes definitely be offered? What language are the classes taught in, and are allowances made for non-native speakers?

These are some of the questions you need answered if you want to stay on top. Also, talk to returning students who have gone abroad in your university's program, because they can give you lots of answers on how your specific program works.

 

[seXieleXie]

did you like grandada? did you get to see other parts of spain? other parts of europe? how long before you felt fluent in spansh? how long did you study spanish before you left?






(hehehe.... i made this thread hoping to catch pyper's attention and she's fallen into my clutches! *mwhahahahahaha*)

 

[Pyper]

Granada is the city of my soul. It's got this strange pull that's indescribable, but everyone who visits talks about it. It's provincial and international at the same time, hippy and conservative, it's small but it bustles, it's multicultural and truly Spanish.

I basically saw all of Spain. My two favorite cities, besides Granada, were Sevilla and Barcelona. Sevilla is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and Barcelona is so cosmopolitan. I didn't really like Madrid, it's crowded and the architecture is sort of boring. Cordoba, though considered a major city, is so totally suburbia.

I travelled a bit (I don't like to do it much, stresses me out). I loved Morocco, a not-to-be-missed experience while in Spain because the two countries are so close. London was great, even though it was drizzly, it has Ask For More in it, so it's all good! Rome was, for a lack of better word, ghetto. I was disappointed by it's lack of bustle in non-touristy areas, but the cappucino is good and the people are so friendly.

It took about three months for me to become fluent. I have so much sympathy for immigrants now. I had studied Spanish since I was eleven, but when I got to Spain, I barely understand a word anyone was saying! (The people in the south speak a dialect called al-andalus. I met a Mexican guy who claimed he couldn't understand Spaniards at all.) But don't worry, if you can understand Southern Spaniards, you can understand anyone!