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Program Description
Aspire by API - Summer Program at the University of Salamanca, Spain
Ratings and Reviews
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Aspire by API: An Incredible Experience
100%Overall
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2 of 3 people found this review helpful
So much fun
90%Overall
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This program was really fun. I loved how it was a small group of students and we all got to know each other pretty well. The curfew was pretty early but I felt really immersed with the culture.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
Amazing experience!
100%Overall
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So much fun- really felt immersed in Spanish culture and daily life. Everyone that works for Aspire is amazingly helpful and personable- especially Marc! Would recommend this program to anyone!!
2 of 4 people found this review helpful
Experience of a Lifetime!
100%Overall
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After coming back from Salamanca, Spain with the Aspire by API I wished it didn't have to end. Our group leader was fantastic and tried to integrate fun activities with learning. The weekend trips were amazing, one weekend we took surf lessons, which was SO much fun. Throughout the month I was there the I did so many things I never thought I would ever do, they made sure we soaked in the differnt cultural differences. Our other leader who lived in Spain, was very helpful in helping us understand what the locals were saying, as well as just the different day to day differences. The housing Aspire by API provided us with was amazing, my host family was absolutley wonderful, and I didn't want to leave. Never once when I was there did I once question my safety. If I had the opportunity, I would definetly travel with Aspire by API again, no questions asked.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Couldn't have been more amazing!!
100%Overall
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I loved this program and I know you will too! The staff is very fun and chill. The people in the city are nice and welcoming. The host families are great (especially the food). Night life is full of events. I have meet people that I will stay in touch with forever. I really recommend this program and this destination. You will get so much out of it!! Good luck.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful
Activity Plans and curfew
90%Overall
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Most of the activities we did after school were excellent, like kayaking in a river and taking a bike tour of Salamanca. However, there were some activities that could have been better planned. For example, we did an interchange with a few high school students from the area and it was slightly awkward... we weren't sure what to talk to them about, and the students didn't seem all too interested in talking to us as much as they wanted to talk to each other. We also took a trip on the weekend to Santander, which included a visit to the Alta Mira Caves museum. The real caves were closed and the real trip was on the whole a disappointment.Many of the students would have preferred to have spent another day learning to surf (which we did the day before)rather than visit the museum. Besides that, spending time walking around cities with our group leader was excellent, and if you were willing to explore, there was always something to do in Salamanca. The only limit to this was the curfew, which was far too early in a country that tends to just be eating dinner at 10:00 PM!
1 of 3 people found this review helpful
If you are looking for a fun time abroad...CHOOSE ASPIRE BY API!
100%Overall
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This was a great program and I really had a great time. Being in a new country, meeting new people, being immersed in a new culture, and speaking a different language were all things that I will remember for a lifetime and have helped me even after the trip. Even the walk to school makes you feel like you are in a place completely new and interesting, and it has to be one of the best experiences that I will ever have, and I will never forget my time in Salamanca with the people I met.
And the food is amazing!
I participated in Aspire by API's University of Salamanca summer program in 2011, and the summer before that I joined Aspire by API in Paris.
Salamanca is an amazing city, especially for young students studying abroad. It is small and safe, and Aspire by API gives the right amount of supervision to allow for independence while also ensuring security. Nearly every afternoon, API has great cultural activities planned daily to allow for students to get acquainted with the city before they explore on their own. API took us out to tapas restaurants, salsa classes, museums, cafes, and even to see the Spanish release of the seventh Harry Potter movie.
API offers the option to live in either a residencia or host family. I loved living in the residencia because it gave me the opportunity to become great friends with students in other programs and have a ready-made group of friends to explore the city with. However, the students in the host families also had great experiences and enjoyed having their very own Spanish mother. Many of them lived in the same building or on the same block so they were also able to travel the city together.
The University of Salamanca has an incredible summer language program. On the first day of class you test into one of a wide range of levels. The teachers are amazing, the classes are small, and you really get a good handle on grammar, writing, and comprehension. One month after never having taken Spanish before and I tested into the 3rd semester of Spanish at Notre Dame. Additionally, API staff were there every step of the way, ensuring that we were placed into the right classes and had a handle of the Spanish University system.
Finally, weekend excursions were amazing: we stayed at nice hotels, ate out at nice restaurants, took surfing lessons, etc. We traveled to Spanish beaches, specifically Santander. We made it over to Oporto, Portugal and took a wine tour. Then, we explored Madrid and Toledo. Nearby our hometown, Salamanca, we went kayaking and then took a long hike which ended in the adorable ciudad Rodriguez. I have several friends that studied or traveled abroad through similar programs to API and have come to conclude that API is a great deal and a great program. I have traveled with API twice now, and will be studying abroad with them again this summer. I think that this in itself speaks to how much I enjoyed the program.