Universidad de Sevilla (US)

One cost saving tip would be to take large amounts (at least a few hundred) euro out of the ATM at a time to avoid the international and bank fees (which added up to about $3-7 each transaction). I would suggest that you do this only if you feel comfortable keeping money around in your home and if you won't spend it all at once. Also, check the currency conversion on the internet before doing it. When I was in Spain, the exchange rate fluctuated pretty regularly and some days I could en up with about 10 euro more per 100.

Overall, I am lucky to say that I had an incredible study abroad experience. I lived with a great family, learned a lot, partied a lot, met my future husband, became fluent in Spanish, and am now looking to move back for a few years. I was the best 6 months of my life!

The options for taking classes through my programs were to take large classes with international students at the University or to take smaller classes with all American students in the building next to the University. In the end, I am glad I took the smaller classes because, after talking to my friends in the other classes, I learned more and had more opportunities to participate because of the small class size (15-25 people). No matter how much I tried beforehand, I learned more once I met my boyfriend in Spain. We are still together one year later and through always speaking to him in Spanish, I have become fluent.

I was impressed with how CIEE handled housing. I was very happy with my homestay but others were not, and CIEE made every effort to accommodate all students. Overall, I thought CIEE Liberal Arts in Seville was a great program and have recommended it to other students wanting to study abroad in Spain through Penn State.

A great place to begin the acclimation process is to go to some of the larger clubs where you are likely to meet many international students - clubs like Doblon on Thursday nights, Boss or Caramelo on Wednesday nights. After that, I enjoyed spending time with my Spanish friends and going to smaller clubs in the Viapol area, like Sunset and Voule Bar in the evenings. Plaza de Espana (right across from where I lived when I stayed for an extra month in the summer) is still one of my favorite places.