ESADE Business School

I chose to live with two Americans, thinking that it would be convenient and the easiest option. Looking back, I regret not living with Spanish-speaking roommates because my Spanish did not improve as much as some of my friends did whose chose to live with native Spanish speakers.

I spent a little more on most things because the exchange rate between the U.S. Dollar and the Euro is so bad. I was paying 1.3 as much for everything. Traveling was cheap compared to flights in the states and food, even with the exchange rate, was very reasonable. You get a lot of food for your money in Spain, whether it is at a fancy restaurant, a cafe, or the grocery store. Drinks at clubs are extremely overpriced (5 euros for a beer, and 6-10 euros for a mixed drink).

You have to choose 4-5 courses from a list of about 25 and half of them conflict so your options are very limited. Most teachers love to interact with international students, but a few can be hard to contact and unhelpful. Local students prefer to interact with other local students for the most part, therefore the international students interact with other international students. All of the international students are extremely friendly and very open to making as many friends as possible while studying there.

I thought the grading was unfair in two of my five classes. When I tried to contact the teachers for the grades that I received they were hard to get in touch with and didn't explain their grading procedures sufficiently. I was disappointed by the amount of subjective grading in those two classes, but the other three seemed reasonably fair.

Looking back, there's so much I wish I would have known. But if I would have known it, I don't think it would have been the same experience that it was. I think everyone wants to know a lot before they go to a different place, but it's almost good to go there without knowing everything, because then you don't know what to expect. If there's anything I would suggest, make a list of things that you want to do, and make sure you do them. Plan them either before or after you get over there, but be open to change. For once, go with the flow and see where it takes you. Other people will know of great things to do as well, so don't be set on doing everything that you read in travel guides. You may find something even more amazing. And odds are that if you're doing something in a travel guide, everyone else who reads that travel guide is going to be doing it too.

I recommend studying there and living with native Spanish-speakers. Meet international students and try to interact with the local students as well.