Spanish Institute for Global Education

This semester I spent with SIGE has been wonderful. The program is smaller then most others in Sevilla however that does not limit your ability to get to know other study abroad students. SIGE has wonderful staff who is like your family here in Sevilla. They also have a wonderful homestay program where its one student to a house. The homestay are located about a 40 minute walk from the center and is not located where most other Study abroad students live but that is not as big an issue as you might think. The excursions through out Andalusia are pretty cool and all included in the program. You get to talk classes at the university of Sevilla with tuns of other study abroad students and you get to know them well. SIGE does a good job of both giving you freedom and keeping you accounted for and safe. SIGE also keeps you informed with things happening in Sevilla and helps you connect with Spanish students you can get to know. All in all I really liked SIGE especially when comparing it to some of the bigger more factory like study abroad programs that are run in Sevilla.

My experience thus far in Spain has been nothing short of exceptional. I owe this to SIGE and the people there who make living in a new country both easy, informational, and fun. Over the past few months, I've been able to enjoy many new experiences including traveling around Europe, taking classes at the University of Sevilla, making new friends, eating Spanish food, and talking to locals. Taking classes at the University has allowed me to meet many people, my host family is perfect, and SIGE has equipped me with everything I need to enjoy study abroad. Overall, I feel like I've been able to both improve my command of the Spanish language and grow as a person.

As a pre-med student who is still in the process of applying to medical schools, deciding to go abroad could be viewed as very risky. It is custom for such students to spend every semester of their undergraduate career taking rigorous classes, doing research, and shadowing doctors. Instead, I decided to go to Spain on the basis that I wanted to become as close to fluent in Spanish as possible. I accomplished this goal with flying colors thanks to the wonderful people at Spanish Institute for Global Education, as well as the knowledgeable professors at la Universidad de Sevilla. I am eternally grateful for this experience that I was provided with, and will never forget what SIGE did for me. Furthermore, my living situation was ideal for the goal that I set forth for myself. My host mom was extremely sociable and talked to me as if I was a native. That is to say, she did not slow down her lexicon to the degree that she would with a typical foreigner. Thus, every time that I talked to her I improved. Additionally, her and I became so close that I know I could visit Sevilla in a decade and still have a place to stay.