By Andrea Monk

Thomas Jefferson School of Law

There are three things I learned from my Study Abroad program trip in Spain.

1. It’s the height of insanity for anyone who needs eight hours of sleep a night to function to even consider living in a dorm full of 20-something students who have just survived the stressful first year
2. Despite the dire warnings to the contrary that almost every participant received, most Europeans do not hate Americans or assume that we all agree with the present administration. Most people in Madrid are eager to learn English – signs advertising English “schools” and private lessons were everywhere
3. If you have a poor sense of direction and are constantly getting “turned around,” this will be 10 times worse in a foreign country

Putting such problems aside, it would be very hard to spend month in Madrid and not have a great time. Along with about 60 other American law students from across the country and a few Spanish law students, I studied civil law and comparative constitutional law last July through the Summer in Madrid program offered by the College of William and Mary School of Law. Other courses offered included Legal System of the European Union, International Environmental Law, Human Rights in Europe, and others.

Classes were held in the morning, while students used the afternoon for shopping, visiting cultural attractions, or getting a head start on Madrid nightlife. Students sampled Spanish tapas and sangria and also found Mexican, Peruvian and Middle Eastern restaurants, as well as a variety of music. One woman even caught a Bruce Springsteen concert as he stopped in Madrid during the middle of his European tour. On the weekends, groups of students headed for Toledo or Barcelona, Spain; Paris, Rome and Morocco by plane or on one of Spain’s many high-speed trains.

Madrid is a paradise for art lovers. The famous Museo del Prado was a “must” for everyone. The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte and the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza are located in the same “golden triangle of art,” a plaza in central Madrid. All three feauture the painting of the European masters. Admission was free on one weekday and on Sunday evening.

Shopping was also a popular pastime. Madrid has dozens of shops and boutiques, as well as American and European designer clothing, and everything is in walking distance of a Metro stop. July is the top month for “rebajas” (sales), and the women in the group made some real finds in the latest styles of clothes and shoes. There are also interesting flea markets, and the shops at the Metro stops sell cheap, tourist-y clothing, accessories and toys. Most shops and restaurants close from 2 to 4 p.m. for “siesta,” but those that are most popular with English-speaking tourists are starting to stay open all day.

Our home base was a very rundown, but clean and safe, undergraduate dormitory of a private Catholic University in the Ciudad Universitaria (University City) area of Madrid.

Our classroom building was just a couple of blocks away, and the nearest Metro (subway) station was just a few steps away. The Metro and literally “pounding the pavement” were our main forms of transportation, with a few taxi rides thrown in. I wore out two pairs of shoes on the trip. William and Mary advised against renting a car in Madrid, and after a few hours there, everyone understood why.

Car ownership in Europe is not near as commonplace as it is here, the streets are narrow, and driving regulations, as well as signage, seem to be completely optional.

Living in a dormitory with other American students has advantages and disadvantages. Among the advantages: You don’t have to arrange your own housing using an unfamiliar language, and you can usually be certain that your accommodations are at least habitable.

Among the disadvantages: Institutional food (think greasy, low-protein “dorm food” with few vegetarian or “healthy” options) and constant noise. And, as one participating student put it, “You don’t learn Spanish by sitting around talking to other Americans.”

During their 20 years of running the Summer in Madrid program, William and Mary has developed techniques to integrate students into the day-to-day life of Madrid and out of “tourist mode” as quickly as possible. On the second day of the program, we divided into teams for a treasure hunt that required us to locate things like the nearest hospital emergency room, Faster (the Madrid counterpart to Kinko’s), various streets near the dorm, and the Corte Ingles, an upscale, multi-level department store that caters to English-speaking tourists. Group trips to sites such as the world-famous Prado Museum, the Royal Palace and a bullfight were offered weekly. The Spanish law students also offered free conversational Spanish lessons to their American counterparts. Our class instructors, who were experienced Spanish lawyers, were also generous with their time, taking students to their offices or to local restaurants for discussions in a relaxed atmosphere.

As the program ended in July, we were all tired from studying for exams, and many were beginning to “wind down.” Almost everyone was eager to get out of the dorm – but no one wanted to leave Madrid. Several students extended their time abroad with trips through Europe with friends from the United States.

Is it a good idea for an over-40 law student to go on a law school study abroad program?

I thought a lot about that question during my time in Spain and decided that, like most legal questions, the answer is, “It depends.”

It depends on the details of the program. Most of these programs are designed for full-time students – and the average age of a full-time law student today is around 25. After all, most part-time students are working. Taking classes with students who are 20 years younger is no more of a problem than it would be in your home school. But if you expect to have any serious discussions about law or policy on a study abroad trip, think again.

The students in my program obviously thought of their study abroad as summer vacation, with classes as something to be tolerated, and I have heard that this is typical of these programs. The undergraduate study mode of partying every night (almost literally, in the program I attended) and then cramming for the final until the wee hours was the norm. If you are truly interested in a particular academic area, it might make more sense to design your own independent study program with the help of a faculty member at your home school. It will take some legwork, but you will probably not spend any more money – and you’ll get more out of the money you do spend.

Living in a dormitory for a month with students who are young enough to be your children and who are blowing off steam after a hard year of law school is not a good idea unless you are unusually outspoken and assertive and need very little sleep.  Remember that this age group is still heavily influenced by peer pressure, especially in an atmosphere where every thing is new and different.

During the first few days of the William and Mary program, a few of the female students set the standard for loud 24/7 conversation about cute clothes and partying and everyone else followed suit. These students’ undergraduate days were not long ago, so of course they find it interesting to reminisce. If you have years of other concerns between your undergraduate years and the present – you will literally not have much to talk about. If the program you are considering does not offer accommodations outside of the dorm (perhaps in a nearby apartment or with a family) – ask. At least two older students attending William and Mary’s program lived outside of the dorm, although that option was not advertised.

The third consideration is only a concern for those who are not completely computer-literate. You will be expected to deal with whatever computer system your host school has provided for the program on your own, without the help of your friendly I-T Department back home.

The Summer in Madrid program students were advised not to bring laptops because of the possibility of theft, and were told that the university where our classes were held would make computers available. Most of the students brought their laptop anyway, and had minimal problems when the university failed to make computer facilities consistently available.  Therefore, there was no sense of urgency on William and Mary’s part to provide computer access. I ended up paying by the minute to do research on the computer at VIPS (Madrid’s version of Seven-Eleven) and handwriting my final paper.

Studying law in Europe is truly the chance of a lifetime, as well as a significant educational expense. It’s worth some extra time and effort to plan a program that will be truly fun and educational for you personally, whether that means going on a law school’s summer program but arranging your own housing, designing your own independent study program, or going on a commercial tour and then doing independent research on your own.