DEPARTURE NEWSLETTER & Summer Terms 1 and 2 2017 Alicante internship/service Learning Summer Terms 1 and 2 We hope you are enjoying the anticipation of your upcoming program in Spain. This newsletter, which complements the Handbook and Cultural Guide (/materials), contains important supplemental information and a list of students who have confirmed their attendance in the program. If your name does not appear on this list, please contact our U.S. office immediately at (413) 256-0011. Be sure to review the Handbook and Cultural Guide and take them, along with this newsletter, with you. You will receive an orientation packet upon arrival in Alicante. ALICANTE ONLINE PLACEMENT EXAM You should have already taken the Alicante Online Placement exam. If you have not already done so, you will need to complete it by May 15th. It is required of all students who study at the University of Alicante to take the placement exam in order to enroll in classes. You can find the exam at the following link: http://web.csidiomas.ua.es/tests/web/test_espanol.asp Please complete the test on your own, without anyone s help, as indicated in the instructions. The score you get on the test determines whether you qualify for the course(s) you sign up for; so please take it seriously. As a reminder, your professor will further assess your language level within the first two days of class. You can take the exam a total of 2 times. Please submit all scores to Spanish Studies via your pre-departure materials tab located in your online portal. HEALTH INSURANCE ABROAD A couple of weeks before the start of the program, you will be enrolled in the CISI Health Insurance. Once enrolled, you will receive an email from CISI letting you know of your enrollment, as well as providing you with log-in information to access your account and print your insurance card. It will be in your best interest to print out this card before your travels so that you will have documentation of this insurance in hand, if needed. Once you receive this email, you can go to www.culturalinsurance.com to view/print/email your ID card, coverage brochure, or claim forms, as well as explore your online health insurance portal. PASSPORT Make sure that your passport is in order. If your passport is not in order, the airline will not allow you to board. TRAVEL TO ALICANTE Please submit your arrival information to the U.S. office via your online account so that the staff in Alicante will be advised as to when you will arrive. You may also email this information to the U.S. office at: info@spanishstudies.org. NOTE: Flights from the U.S. to Spain are typically overnight. Please take this into consideration when booking your flight so that you arrive in Alicante on orientation day before 3:00 pm. If you have any delays or last-minute changes in your itinerary, please be sure to let Spanish Studies and your parents know. The U.S. office of Spanish Studies Abroad can be reached at +1 (413) 256-
0011 or info@spanishstudies.org. When the U.S. office is closed, there is an answering machine, which will record your message and give you additional emergency contact numbers. In the event of an emergency, you may also contact the Resident Director, Pepa Vives, in Alicante at: 011 34 690 774 830 from the U.S. 690 774 830 from within Spain. This number is to be used for emergencies only. CHECKING YOUR BAGGAGE AND YOUR CARRY-ON BAG Check your bags from your departure airport all the way through to Alicante. Since there is always the possibility of one of your suitcases not arriving on time, we suggest that in your carry-on bag you include your medicines, a change of clothes for the following two days, and any important items you may need during your first days in Alicante. Please contact your airline regarding upto-date travel regulations and baggage weight information. Make sure the name, address, and telephone number of your host family in Alicante are on all of your suitcases. If you lose your luggage, you must file a claim at the lost luggage desk in the airport. You should have them send your luggage to your home in Alicante. You will be provided with your address 1 week prior to your departure for Spain. ARRIVAL IN MADRID AND ALICANTE Most students will enter Spain through the Madrid airport. If you are flying on Iberia, you will arrive at Terminal 4, and your connecting flight to Alicante will depart from the same Terminal, though you will have to change gates. If you are flying on another international carrier, you will arrive in Terminal 1, and will have to transfer to Terminal 4 to connect with your internal flight. You will go through passport control in Terminal 1, but not customs, since your checked bags will be transferred to your final destination. Once through passport control, you will exit the airport to board a shuttle which will take you to Terminal 4, which handles all internal flights, as well as Iberia international flights. You will see signs directing you to shuttle stops. There is no charge, but the shuttle transfer will take you from 15 to 40 minutes, so make sure that you have sufficient time between flights. Once you are in Alicante, Spanish Studies Abroad staff will be waiting for you at the café at the Arrivals Gate in the airport of Alicante, holding a Spanish Studies Abroad sign, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm on Saturday, June 3rd. Students arriving for Summer Term 1 programs: If you arrive earlier than 10:00am, please wait at the Arrivals Gate for the Spanish Studies Staff for assistance and instructions on how to get to your host family. If you arrive later than 2:00pm, you should go directly to your host family using the detailed instructions given to you in this newsletter. The cost for a taxi to the center of Alicante is fixed at around 22 Euros between 7am and 9pm on weekdays. From 9pm to 7am, and on weekends and holidays, the cost is around 24 Euros. There is no extra charge for your luggage. Keep in mind that you will need cash to pay for the taxi, so be sure to exchange at least $100US for Euros before arriving to Spain. Please see the taxi instructions on the last page of this newsletter for more information.
Note: When you first arrive in Alicante, you will be very busy with Orientation, adjusting to the new culture and moving to your home. Please let your parents know that you will not be able to call immediately after you arrive due to important Orientation events. The U.S. office will have information on the safe arrival of students. ORIENTATION On the day of arrival, the Spanish Studies Abroad group will meet at 8:30 PM at a centrally located hotel to have a brief welcome meeting and to enjoy tapas together. In case you arrive at the airport later than 2 PM and were not greeted by Spanish Studies staff, your host family will also have instructions on how to join the group for this first meeting. The day after you arrive in Alicante, you will have a concise orientation to get acquainted with one another and take care of some of the important introductory meetings before settling into the program. Your Spanish Studies Abroad group will meet at a centrally located hotel in Alicante to give you important information about the program. After that, you will take a bus tour around the main sites of the city. The group will also visit the Universidad de Alicante campus following the same itinerary the public bus does every single day, to help familiarize yourself with the bus schedule. After the tour, you will then join your host family for lunch. FACEBOOK PAGE While you may have already liked the Spanish Studies Abroad Facebook page, students should also plan to join the location-specific page for Spanish Studies Abroad in Alicante by following the link in your acceptance e-packet. The link can also be accessed here: www.facebook.com/spanish- StudiesAlicante This page is for alumni, current students, and prospective students, so it can be a great resource to you as you begin to prepare for your program and meet fellow Alicante students. For all programrelated questions for Spanish Studies staff, please email info@spanishstudies.org. UPDATES/ADDITIONS/REMINDERS Receiving packages in Spain is a very lengthy and costly process, and we do not recommend that students receive packages from home unless it is of the utmost importance. It can take approximately two months, a lot of paperwork, and an additional 35 fee (or more) to receive a package from the United States. There are American food stores and other stores in Alicante where you can buy everything you need. Like your Spanish friends, you will be taking the bus or tram often while you are in Alicante to reach the University (approximately a 20-minute ride) and to explore the attractions of the city. You will learn the details of the buses and trams available at various times during Orientation. We suggest that you follow changes in the dollar/euro exchange rate in the business or financial section of your newspaper or by Internet at www.xe.com. NOTE: Plan to buy and drink bottled water during the first 10 days you are in Alicante. There is nothing wrong with the water in Spain, but the change in water between one country and another often upsets the stomach. To avoid this, plan to buy and drink bottled water at the beginning of your stay. A two liter bottle costs about 1 Euro and is NOT supplied by your Alicante family.
TAXI RECEIPT INSTRUCTIONS Before getting a taxi, make sure you have the address of your homestay/family. Tell the taxi driver the address or show it to him. 1. When you get in the cab, the taxi driver will start the meter. 2. At the end of the journey, ask the driver for a taxi receipt. The reason for requesting this receipt is to avoid possible fraud, and to facilitate recovery of anything you may leave in side the taxi. Me da un recibo por favor? a. Taxi number: This number is imprinted on the invoice and corresponds to the taxi license number. b. A trip from the airport to any point in Alicante and vice-versa costs 22, from 7 am to 9 pm on weekdays. From 9 pm to 7 am, weekends and holidays the fee is 24. c. Normally, the charge in the city can vary from 5 to 10 depending upon the distance, traffic, etc.
BUEN VIAJE! ENJOY YOUR SUMMER WITH SPANISH STUDIES ABROAD! Student List Kjerstin Nelson Luther College 2017 Alicante Internship Summer Terms 1 & 2 nelskj01@luther.edu Maya Kilcullen Temple University 2017 Alicante Internship Summer Terms 1 & 2 maya.kilcullen@temple.edu Abdul Mazagri Marshall University amazagriq@gmail.com Alex Hupman William Jewell College hupmana@william.jewell.edu Connor Hudson Niagara University chudson@mail.niagara.edu Haley Hines Morningside College heh002@morningside.edu Sebastian Espinosa Columbia University sme2140@columbia.edu Ashlyn Rulis Saint Ambrose University rulisashlyna@sau.edu Charlene Skillett Doane University charlene.skillett@doane.edu Charles Stoll Gannon University charlesmstoll@gmail.com Charlotte Coben Columbia University csc2188@columbia.edu Evangeline Hoff Luther College hoffev01@luther.edu Laura Joy Tiedeman Bard College at Simon s Rock ltiedeman16@simons-rock.edu Ruzheng Li Lehigh University yizhongsara@hotmail.com Stevie Schweitzer College of Saint Rose schweitzers250@strose.edu