My daughter wants to study abroad a fall semester (learning Spanish language and culture) in Spain, and she's deciding between studying at the University of Salamanca, or the University of Granada. She is a high achieving, fair skinned, blond beauty of a Texan. Which location will provide for the best experiences? Also, as her dad, I want to know about any security concerns of one over the other. Granada includes a 4 day excursion to Madrid and Castile, a 3 day excursion to Gibraltar, Seville & Cordoba, and an optional 3 day excursion to Tangier and Tetuan, Morocco. Salamanca includes a 4 day excursion to Andalucia, a 2 day trip to Madrid and Toledo, and optional excursions to Lisbon, Portugal; and/or Marrakech, Morocco. She decided against studying at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) since the students stay in a residence hall, and she prefers the homestay experience available in Salamanca & Granada. Having never been to Spain, we could use some good advice.
Thank you.
Posted by
Medical Lake, WA, USA
45 posts
I studied abroad in Salamanca last Spring. It has a great college-town feel and is very safe (I am a fair-skinned American that walked alone at night frequentlyI can't stay out as late as many of the people I hung out withand never felt unsafe). It is also in the heart of Castilla y Leon, which is where the most traditional Castillan Spanish is spoken. The biggest downside is the HUGE number of Americans that are thereit makes meeting Spaniards there difficult as they tend to find Americans annoying. I visited Granada, and it was beautiful. It is further south, so she could experience the Andalusian culture, but is a bigger city. The culture feels richer, and the people are "warmer." Men in southern Spain tend to be more aggressive, and Granada has a larger "Roma' (gypsy/beggar) population that can be aggressive. There is also more to see in Southern Spain, which is easier to visit from Granada, but Salamanca is a cheap 3 hour bus ride from Madrid, that makes for easier international travel. I saw most of Spain from Salamanca, and then stayed for 2 weeks at the end when my mom came over and saw Southern Spain. I wouldn't worry too much about the excursions, as she will love whichever she goes on, and have lots of opportunities to travel on her own. Feel free to message me if you have any questions about studying abroad, Spain, or a college girl traveling alone! Also, I have studied abroad with both ISA (Chile) and API (Spain), if you are still looking at what company to go through.