I knew that I wanted to study abroad since well before I came to college. I looked into programs freshman year (which really wasn’t necessary) and then started the application procedure at the end of the fall semester sophomore year. I knew that I was limited in the number of off campus classes I could take so I chose to study abroad in Spain, since I could place out of most of the language requirement. If you decide to travel to a non-English speaking country you’ll need to take two years of college level language courses beforehand, something that is impossible for most Mudders unless you can afford summer school. I chose to go to Salamanca, Spain with IES.

The program I went on was a Spanish-only program, something really important to me, since I wanted to become as fluent as possible. They arranged a host family for me to stay with and sent me instructions to help me get my visa and plane tickets. Once I was in Salamanca I liked the program a lot- all of the people working in Salamanca are terrific and really willing to help with any problems. We went on a few organized trips with IES and there was a three-week orientation period where we got to see the city and have intensive language classes before our real classes started. We had the option of taking University classes and/or IES classes, both taught by university professors.

I would highly recommend Salamanca and IES to anyone considering going to Spain. Salamanca is a great town. It’s basically a university town, with over 30,000 students from all over Spain and the rest of the world. The nightlife anywhere in Spain is incredible but it Salamanca it’s even better. People stay out until at least 5 am (for the Americans) and even 8 or 9 am (for the Spanish). Because the city is so small and so many people are out at any time of night it’s generally very safe. The Plaza Mayor in Salamanca is considered the most beautiful in Spain and the rest of the city is just as nice. Walking every day to class on cobblestone streets and then having class in a building hundreds of years old is like nothing you could experience in the US. All of my classes were next to the New Cathedral (so called because it’s only 400 years old, while the Old Cathedral is 900). The Croissanteria (Croissant store) on Rua Mayor has the absolute best pastries ever and the hot chocolate at pretty much any café is addictive. It’s so thick in some places that your spoon can stand up straight in it.

Transportation around Spain is pretty reasonably priced and efficient and I would definitely recommend travelling as much as possible. The classes aren’t too difficult (especially compared to what we’re used to at Mudd) so spend the extra free time getting to see everything you can. Madrid is only about two hours away by train and it’s very easy to get there. Hostels in Spain are cheap and not much different from a hotel. The Let’s Go travel guide is probably one of the most useful things you can bring, especially if you plan to travel. Pack as little as possible- you will definitely end up with way too much after a semester no matter how little you bring.

Wherever you study, make sure that you experience the culture firsthand. To get the most out of your experience, don’t just spend all of your time with other Americans in the “Foreigner’s” clubs- go where the Spanish are. In the end you’ll make a bunch of great friends and probably learn the language ten times better than if you spend all your time with other Americans.