Program Reviews

Florence is the perfect place to study abroad. I have missed it since the second I left. Every morning, I would wake up, stop at a cafe for a cappuccino and walk by the Duomo on my way to classes in the Piazza Repubblica. I would walk by the leather market, through the crowds of tourists wishing they could stay longer than their one week vacation is allowing them too, and finally up the stairs of a gorgeous building behind a theater house, where my small classes would take place. It was a dream.. only it didn't end for four months. Every weekend I traveled, four of my trips with API that were always enjoyable. I'd take advantage of Siesta some days with a short nap and others I'd meet up with my roommates to go out for a delicious lunch at the never-ending choices of restaurants. Florence is the only choice for a study abroad experience that will give you memories, and new friends, forever.

The school is great; modern, classy and located 5 minutes walking from the beach. What else could you ask for? The professors are nice and all genuinely concerned with your academic experience while there. Keep in mind, they know you're going to party and have crazy nights (very hard to avoid with the wild night life that permeates the Spanish/Catalan culture) but at the end of the day, they want you to to be able to reproduce what they taught you. If you are able to take integrated classes, do it, it will be a humbling experience for you. The Spanish students are very nice and welcoming, but you have to approach them first, as they will not go out of there way to do so. Just so you know, you will be that quiet, foreign kid (that sat in the back of class and never spoke up) your first few days as you take in all of the new scenery, teaching styles and language (even if you already speak Spanish) but it will absolutely change the course of your life and you will be better for it.

I am going to keep this short: You have the rest of your life to live in the States and do American things. However, you only have 1-12 months to live in Spain and might never make it back.

So...

Go out, talk to the locals (even if you feel your level of Spanish is low, the only way to improve your oral skills is to practice), do what the locals do, imitate their pronunciation and body language, read the metro (free newspaper) while riding the metro, read Sombra del Viento on the beach, read Don Quijote wherever, speak only Spanish as much as possible (do not revert to English), try new foods (even if you have never tried a certain vegetable and "hate it" the Spanish cuisine have a way of making everything taste good), book flights to other countries ahead of time to save money, watch Spanish news and TV shows, drink café con leche, listen to passerby's conversations (be nosy and try to figure out what they're saying), drink Spanish wine, admire Gaudi's architecture, eat at Bo D Be and try not to realize how fast the time is flying by.

The main thing I'd change was how our excursions were run. One trip we took to Tortuguero and stayed at an ecotourism hostel...which included poisonous snakes and frogs and mosquitos that were impossible to keep out of the rooms. I have no problem with camping, but that was a stretch for me. I did not feel safe there and ended up with hundreds of sand flea bites that took months to completely go away.

Other than that, the program itself was awesome. All the other excursions around the country were beautiful and an amazing learning experience. My host family was great and their cooking was to die for. I'm still in contact with them, and API did a perfect job of matching me with such a patient family as my Spanish was quite shaky.

The university was about 25 minutes away walking from my apartment and the walk there was beautiful so I walked there everyday! The university was also a metro stop in itself so that was convenient. I would eat at the cafeteria everyday and stay at the university's library until my last class which would at 7 pm everyday. (unfortunately) I had a very bad schedule since I did not have time to enjoy the day as much as my other friends did and then I would go home and have to do homework! So I would recommend DO NOT take a bunch of night classes make sure that you have free days so you can go explore. Barcelona is probably the most beautiful place I have been on earth and it has many great things to offer, the culture is amazing and every single thing about the city has beauty. Don't let the opportunity go to waste and make the most of it. Don't waste your time sleeping in or doing things you would do in America-go out and try new things and see new things, you will not regret it after.

I enjoyed the night life in Barcelona- it is ridiculous, the most fun you'll have in your life.

Also- GO TO BO D BE they have the best food in Barcelona and I am pretty sure anyone who has been to Barcelona knows what it is and would agree with me.

That's about it, it was a wonderful experience I hope you take my word for it and have the time of your life. I wish I was you.

During my program was rebajas month in Spain, so it was more difficult to not spend a lot of money during the week since I enjoy to shop. So if you like to shop, be prepared for that if you travel there over the summer. Make sure you get a good bank account with no overdraft or over seas fees. Even if you have to open up another account with a different bank and then close it when you get home, it will be worth it. Don't bring showering items, soaps, toothpastes because you can readily by them in the local shops and it just takes up space in your luggage for things you might want to bring to Spain and bring home. BE OPEN; to anyone and everything. Push yourself to do everything because you don't want to miss out. And do not sleep when you get there, if you stay active, you won't get hit by jet lag as much.
During the week, we would wake up at 8, walk to class, have classes until 1pm, go back to our resedencias for lunch and then hang out in Salamanca at either the shops, restaurants, the local pool (there are 2), or go to the parks and relax. At night we would either have dinner at our resedencias or go out to one of the many, many restaurants in town. Then it was a fun night out with all of the new friends I had made while staying there. There experience overall was fantastic.
The teachers were very helpful and understanding and really wanted you to learn the language by engulfing you in it. The classes were easy and I learned the language easier than I would in the states. The trips we went on with API, whether day or weekend trips were so much fun. A group of my friends and I even went on a trip on our own during an off weekend to Valencia, which was great.
Besides the great experience I had with the API program, we all really lucked out with the time we chose to go. We were in Spain to experience all of the World Cup and Spain's win! Being able to be in a country that wins something that means so much to all of the people is amazing. That feeling and experience is something I can't really explain in words.

There is not a thing about this program that I did not absolutely love. Barcelona is one of the most beautiful cities in the worlds, full of life, history, passion, and infinite things to explore. Everywhere you turn it there is another historic site, or something to do. Finding your way around is so easy, not only because of all the landmarks, but because it is set up to be easily navigable. No matter what, you are always within a short walk of a metro stop - a system that is extremely easy to use. You will hear a lot of talk about pick pockets in the city, but if you keep your wits about you, you will have no problem at all. Other than that, the crime levels are extremely low. At no point in my abroad experience did I ever feel unsafe. Even walking alone at night, I felt secure. I could talk about this magnificent city forever, but it's something that you truly need to experience, so I will explain a bit about the school and the program. La Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona is a great school. The academics are not extremely rigorous - they are challenging enough that you will certainly learn from all your classes, but will not spend hours working outside of class. As a matter of fact, I had very little work to do outside of my classes. My professors generally had us do mainly in-class assignments. The classes are long, but most professors give a break halfway through. As for API the program itself, I could not have asked for more. Not only were the directors some of the most fun people I have ever met, they are genuine, caring, and really enjoy what they do. The best example I can give is that while I was abroad, I needed some minor medical work done within the first month I was there. Marta (one of the directors) treated me as if I were her son, making all of my phone calls to schedule appointments, coming with me to them (or at least making sure that another director could come with me to help translate), and was constantly checking up on, making sure I felt okay. I also joined a gym while in Barcelona, and after I returned home, the gym continued to bill me. I contacted API to see if they could help, and they did not stop until the matter was settled, and even managed to get the gym to reimburse me for the charges I had incurred after leaving. API also includes several trips and cultural activities in the tuition, all of which are incredible, from traveling to Paris, to seeing Montserrat, to learning to cook authentic Barcelona cuisine - all just so incredibly fascinating. Anyways, as I said, I could rave about this program for hours and not even begin to scratch the surface of just how perfect it is. You'll just have to take my word for it and see for yourself- there IS NO OTHER WAY to travel abroad besides API Barcelona.

This program was absolutely amazing! API's staff in Madrid were wonderful and helped make the transition incredibly smooth. The first few weeks we were there they coordinated lots of social and sightseeing activities. Throughout the semester we went on three weekend trips through API and there was usually at least one organized activity a week if you wanted to participate. They also hosted a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner for us, it was so nice to get to celebrate even while abroad! The residencia I lived in was very nice. Our meals were all cooked for us and the quality was well above dorm food. There were senoras who cleaned our rooms,made our beds, and washed our clothes. The school was good as well. It was difficult once I got back to have my classes count at my home university but eventually it all worked out. I felt like my Spanish improved tremendously both from my classes and my living experience!

API did an incredible job setting up excursions to see different cities in Spain. The program directors were the very best part of the program as a whole. WHENEVER we needed them, they were always there to help us. Not only that, but it was clear that they wanted to help us. They did not do it just because it was their job. Quique and MariaAngeles couldn't have made me feel more at home. They were welcoming and answered every single question I ever asked. They also helped me out when my home University was having problems transferring my credits. Madrid is the best place in Spain to learn Spanish. It is the capital of the country where the language is not too difficult to understand. It is also a city of students from all over the country. I would never go with another program abroad.

I loved studying abroad in Roma! Api was one of the reasons I had such a great semester. The program leaders were always there for you. One day, my roommate and I thought we had a gas leak. We called one of the program leaders and she called maintenance and got someone to come over that day. She also checked up later to make sure everything was ok. The Api excursions were great! They were very planned out but still gave us time to explore on our own. I wish everyday that I could relive the 4 months I spent living in Italy!

After getting to know a bunch of other exchange students at Belgrano, I found that many of them had mixed emotions about their study abroad programs. Some felt as though their program was too big (80 people or more) and that they found it hard to feel connected to their program and a specific group of people. Others were disappointed with their homestays or felt that their programs did not do enough to support them. I could not relate to other student's problems at all because API greatly exceeded my expectations. My group was not so large as to make me feel like a number and I felt as though I had a new family in addition to my wonderful host family that API placed me with. Our resident program director helped us with our student visas, organized cultural activities, checked in with us often to make sure we were doing OK, and also opened up her home to us for API program gatherings. She went above and beyond to make sure that we were enjoying ourselves and getting a lot of our experience studying abroad. I also felt very safe knowing that I had someone reliable that I could contact should anything bad happen. Although I had API as a basis for my experience, it was also very easy to be independent--I certainly did not have to rely heavily on API's services and did not feel confined to my API family and had many other friends, both local and international, that made my experience that much better.