SSA: Sevilla, Spain

This was literally an unforgettable experience. I met a lot of friendly people from the same programs. I met a lot of local spanish people. The teachers were so helpful and encouraging.I WOULD RETURN!

Spending a semester in Seville became much more than academics. I was able to live like the locals and enjoy the famous annual Feria de Abril. This is an event that I could not fully understand until I actually experienced it. It was a lot of fun and I loved the fact that almost all of the women wore flamenco dresses.

Overall this program is very good with plenty of experience and people to help both in the USA and Seville. The office/school is centrally located, making it ideal for exploring an old, historically important city. Very good points include the school itself, the homestay, and cultural activities including travel. The professors are all native speakers from Spain and very dedicated to their work there. It's very important that you meet them halfway; you must understand that you're here to STUDY abroad and they'll help you as much as they can, but if you're not willing to try, why bother? They'll pick up on your attitude and you'll leave Seville without learning a thing if you don't care. Homework was substantially less than I was used to (this could be positive or negative, haha). The homestays are handled very carefully and I have yet to hear of anyone (again who actually TRIED to communicate and spend time with their family) having big problems. Me and my roommate will be in touch with our family for years to come, they are absolutely wonderful people. This leads to cultural stuff too, because your family can introduce you to great things in the city like art and restaurants. I cannot stress enough that if you want a truly rewarding learning experience you must live with a host family and at least ATTEMPT to communicate and spend time with them. You will be amazed at how much you'll learn! CC-CS provides numerous opportunities to see the city, from the mandatory trip to the Cathedral to the optional trips to various museums. Furthermore trips to places like Granada and Córdoba can be very informative and exciting. Travel in general is something that a lot of people look forward to doing while they live abroad, and CC-CS can help with that too from their personal travel agent to program-only trips to places like Morocco and Portugal (I highly recommend both of these!) so you can see the world and hang out with your program friends.
The administration itself needs lots of help being more communicative. We were not given our class schedules nor a firm schedule of events for the semester until we arrived in Seville. Meaning that any attempt to reserve hotels/flights for visiting family members or for your personal travel had to wait until practically the last minute... and anyone who knows anything about travel knows that reservations should be made as far in advance as possible to get good deals, that means this is a HUGE problem for the program overall because it ends up costing students and their families a lot of money over time. Furthermore communication about obligatory meetings, etc. would be very last minute ("Tomorrow is the meeting with X" oh really well I wish I had known that two days ago...) which can be difficult for students and host families alike. Miscommunication galore made for lots of problems.

My time in Sevilla was one of personal growth, relaxation, and friendship. The people are kind and the professors are excellent. Sevilla is a beautiful city which fosters community because there are many places to meet up with friends, and the city is structured for walking or riding a bike (Sevilla has a cheap bike rental which I highly recommend).

The program took us on many trips to see important and interesting parts of the city as well as to different prominent cities around Andalucia (some were free, some with a fee). I hear the housing is hit-and-miss, but I had an awesome host family who I miss very much and plan to see again.

If you go in the Spring, you will get to be there during Semana Santa (Holy Week before Easter Sunday) and the Feria (April Fair, a week long of flamenco dancing and partying - I recommend taking the dance class offered by the program so you can have more fun dancing with people during the Feria!). Two thumbs up!

I was placed in magnificent host home and surrounded by lovely neighbors. My classes pushed me to excel in my spanish and using it day to day greatly improved my overall understanding of the language. I would recommend 2 months abroad to anyone striving to truly learn and understand another language.

I studied abroad in Spain with little Spanish speaking abilities. The course work during the J-term was pivotal for my academic foundation. For that first month of classes, I was privileged to have a grammer class with only one other student and the professor. It was the one-on-one attention that was necessary for me to grasp Spanish (even if just a little bit). The rest of the semester provided equally as wonderful. The classes were challenging but professors were always willing to help you along the way. My host family became my family there. My host mom would patiently sit with me every night as I practiced presentations, studied for tests, and wrote compositions. I have remained incredibly close to the family visiting them after I graduated college and hosting one of the daughters on two different occasions at my house in the States. The program's design was just what I needed to learn Spanish and come home conversational. The relationships I built with my host family are lifelong relationships. It was an incredible program.

I studied abroad in Seville, Spain in the fall of '09. I went because I wanted to learn Spanish, but also because I wanted to experience another culture and learn more about other parts of the world. During my semester abroad, I visited Morocco, Barcelona, Caceres, Trujillo, Merida, and various other cities in southern Spain. Each of these trip taught me different things about Spanish (and Moroccan) culture, but the best memories I have of study abroad are from the time I spent in Sevilla.

I lived with a house mother named Carmen. It was just the two of us in the apartment, so we had to learn to make conversation and be respectful of each other's schedules/personalities. We certainly had some bumps in the road, but living with her was one of he most enriching learning experiences for me. She only spoke Spanish, so I had to constantly be practicing my language skills. Also, she had a much different perspective on Spanish culture than the Spaniards I met who were my own age, so I was able to get a fuller picture of Spanish life.

Most days, I would wake up, take the bus/tram to school, and have my morning class. Then I would spend some time with friends, go home, eat lunch, and go back to school. Then I would have an afternoon and/or evening class, then go back home for dinner. The school's classes were conducted only in Spanish, so they were definitely challenging. We were encouraged to discuss our classwork in Spanish and to participate as much as possible. The Center also had internet access and several computer labs to facilitate not only homework, but also keeping in touch with family and friends from home.

The Center also had excellent teachers and staff who made adjusting to Spanish life much easier for me. I got sick several times while abroad, and they were all incredibly understanding and helpful in getting me to a doctor and helping me with insurance. Getting sick while abroad is very difficult because you are without all the comfort and amenities of home, so it was great to have a support system like the one at CC-CS.

Ad far as free time, I did a lot of walking from place to place, and most of my memories with friends from study abroad are from walking around the city and stopping in a random cafe for a coffee of glass of wine. Sevilla also has a vibrant and exciting social world, full of clubs and cafes/bars to explore. Spanish culture focuses on being out and about in the city, rather than inside the home. So, it is easy and fun to meet Spaniards who are generally understanding about grammatical errors/cultural faux pas made by abroad students.

Overall, my experience was fantastic. I call upon knowledge and experiences that I got while studying abroad every day, and I am thrilled that I chose CC-CS as my program.