API Study Abroad: Universidad Pablo de Olavide

I studied abroad in Seville, Spain during the spring semester of 2019. I will cherish those memories for the rest of my life and I am so grateful for all of the time I was able to live abroad!

Living with a host family was the highlight of my experience. I lived with a older woman and her husband, but her husband was typically away living at their beach house. She only spoke Spanish- and my Spanish was not great upon arrival! We ate lunch and dinner together and that made my Spanish improve dramatically, as well as allowed us to bond. The Spanish people are very direct. I would say that it is more offensive to be wasteful of food and say you like it, than to say you don’t like it or don’t prefer it. To have a good relationship I think it is important to keep your room and area clean, to communicate directly, and to occasionally bring home little treats from travels (my host mom loved that!)

For a typical school day, I only went to school from 9-6, two days per week. I would have four classes throughout the day. They were blocks of about an hour and a half I believe! I would sit and eat lunch with my friends outside or run the track at the university.

The API excursions happened every so often, and were so fun! We got to stay in amazing places, like a Montessori! They provided educational and informational tours as well. They also arranged fun things for us to do in Sevilla, like go to the movies or attend a tile painting class.

I traveled outside of Spain quite frequently! I went to about 8 different countries, like Morocco, France, and Hungary. I would take the bus to the airport (it cost 4 euros) and then hop on a flight out of Sevilla! The flights were generally very inexpensive (like round trip to Italy for 30 euros).

I always felt safe in Sevilla. I would walk to and from my house very late a night with my roommate, and although we were on guard just in case, I never felt like I needed to be. Sevilla has more petty crime, like stealing bike tires, as opposed to violent crime. API was also so helpful when it came to safety and health. I was sick for about a week and needed to go to the doctor when I was there. My host mom called API and they arranged for a translator to be on the phone with me at the hospital. My host mom held my hand the whole time and I felt at peace because of the support around me provided by API.

Sevilla became my home, and it will always have a special place in my heart.

I chose API based on the value and they did not disappoint! Everything from initial interactions with the staff in the US to my homestay to the unique excursions they offered was incredible.

From day one I felt as through my program manager wanted the best for me and I didn't feel like another number. The on-site staff in Sevilla were equally helpful and ensured we were getting the best cultural experience as possible. In fact, one of the resident directors spent an hour explaining the different neighbors, what to do and see and drew me a map of Barcelona before a weekend trip. They really go above and beyond.

My host family was great. I lived with my host mom, host brother, and another API student. My program included 3 meals a day at my house, laundry and my room was cleaned every other week. I loved living with a host family because I feel like I was able to say I truly lived in Spain. I completed small tasks with my host mom such as getting bread from our local bakery in the morning, grocery shopping, and visiting her grandkids. It definitely helped with my language skills.

The academics were more challenging than I anticipated, but still very manageable. The professors really challenge you to think in the perspective of a new culture and help to immerse you to the Spanish culture. Pablo de Olavide, the University, is outside the city so I needed to take the metro to class, but it was only a 15 minute commute. Classes are generally Monday through Thursday.

With the program I had two spring breaks, they feel on two cultural festivals: Semana Santa and Feria. I would highly recommend studying in Sevilla (in the spring) to experience these two weeks.

The city itself is safe and full of rich Spanish culture. I really enjoyed the size because it felt like a city, yet was small enough to walk almost everywhere. There is never a shortage of things to do from walking around and taking in the architecture to sitting by the river to enjoying a nice cafe con leche with friends!

Overall, my experience with API studying in Sevilla was phenomenal and I would recommend this program to all that want to experience a very rich Spanish culture.

Studying at Pablo de Olavide in Sevilla through API was such an incredible opportunity. API is a fantastic program in so many ways. They provide activities and excursions that help you get to know the people in your program and see various places in Spain and Europe, ensure that students are housed with great families, and are always open to questions and concerns. One of my favorite things about the program was living with my host family, which gave me welcoming people to come home to every day and allowed me to improve greatly in my Spanish speaking abilities. I also loved the challenge of taking all of my classes in Spanish to gain confidence with the language. Sevilla is a beautiful city and the resources provided by API allowed me to feel comfortable exploring with friends or on my own. I would highly recommend this program in a heart beat!

From living with Máma Concha on Calle Pureza in Triana, to learning about my new city and other cities throughout Spain; from improving my language proficiency, to meeting numerous invaluable friends from around the world, I have to say that going to Sevilla with API was the best decision I ever made. Not only did I grow tremendously in an intellectual way, but I also had lived an incredibly social, fulfilling, and fun life day-to-day. Sevilla itself made that possible - although it is a big city, it is manageable and extremely safe (not to mention GORGEOUS). With so much history and culture embedded in its essence and so many people (especially young people), Sevilla always offered me an opportunity to learn more about myself from learning about my environment and those in it. Also, the program (API) with whom I traveled made me and my peers so comfortable - we became a family through our shared experiences and memories. Juan and Marta made everything exciting and interesting, and they were ALWAYS there for each and every student, regardless of what time of day/night it was or how busy they were with other tasks. The excursions that are included with the program further enhanced the quality of my abroad experience, for they enabled me to branch out more inter (and intra) culturally. I would recommend this program to ANYBODY and EVERYBODY. You will fall in love with the city, the program, and the people you meet. (My API "family" aka friends, had a reunion earlier this month after being apart for 6 months. It was honestly one of the greatest weekends - 45 of us (from ALL OVER THE USA) came together in South Carolina to celebrate our friendship and reconnect. If it wasn't for API/my abroad experience, I would have never been able to say that I am so blessed to have such an invaluable group of people in my life).

The API Program at UPO was absolutely fantastic and I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

If you decided to study abroad in Seville, make sure you're prepared for a very hot semester. Seville is known as the "frying pan of Spain!"

UPO is a great school with some really awesome teachers. Be sure to challenge yourself and at least take one class in Spanish. It's great to do if you really want to become fluent and learn the Spanish language better.

I've heard nothing but great things about host families through API. My host family was awesome and went above and beyond taking great care of me. They actually became a second family to me and I still keep in touch with them.

Overall, this is a fantastic program and I would highly recommend it.

Host family was great. API has high standards for host families. Mine was awesome. Food was great. Learned lots of things through my family.

The university is a little far from center of the city but in general very nice. Courses aren't hard. Professors are nice. Should take advantage of the intercambio language partner activity to meet some spanish friends.

Traveling with API was awesome. Staff and directors are very attentive and responsible. Great people.

I gave it 9/10 overall.

API is a wonderful program provider. I went with them to Costa Rica and loved them so much that I used them again for Seville, Spain. You start off with an orientation in Madrid and then get bused to Seville, where you meet your host family or residencia. I went with a host family, which was great because they cleaned, did your laundry, fed you, and you got a chance to really connect with another culture.

API takes you on small cultural trips to orchestras, hikes, and more. Make sure to take advantage of them all. GREAT FUN!!!! The program directors are amazing and such nice people.

Door to door my commute to school was probably 40 minutes. You take the metro or bus to get there. You don't have class on Fridays, which means there's plenty of opportunities to travel to neighboring cities and countries.

There are endless things to do in Seville. You can walk for hours and never get bored of the amazing architecture. The food is delicious, everyone is always in the streets socializing, and the party scene is great too. Seville is one of the more traditional cities, so it's great that it's not a HUGE club scene, but still available if you like it.

Like any city, there are good neighborhoods and bad neighborhoods. You have to go out of your way to get to the bad neighborhoods, so as long as you stay in the main city area, you will be fine. I never felt like I was in danger at all. Keep your wits about you, and nothing bad will happen.

Studying abroad in Sevilla, Spain with API is more than you will ever imagine. Within the first few days of landing in Spain you will meet 50-80 amazing friends and soon will be taken in by a loving Spanish family. It's extremely possible to balance academics and traveling. Sevilla's social scene and nightlife is one of the best!