CIEE High School Study Abroad in Spain

These last 26 days have been a truly interesting experience. There are amazing aspects to this trip and absolutely awful aspects to it. To start with the amazing components, the students I have met on this trip and the activites we have done were great. My host mom has been amazing, and I have learned to problem solve and deal with stress. My program leader Cynthia also made the trip very fun. I hope to maintain contact with her after the trip. On the other hand, the classes and ITCs are pointless and majority of the program leaders make no difference in the program whatsoever. I was told that I would be rooming with another student, but I ended up living alone. This does not matter as much now, but when I first came here, a buddy would have REALLY helped me out. I felt stressed and scared all of the time before I became familiar with my surroundings. The experience credit scam is also not apreciated.

I loved the program and the city, but one thing that I would enjoy is the tour of the city be in the beginning of the program (aka the bike tour), so that we know where the good spots to go are. I loved all the excursions to Granada and Cadiz and all the overall activities. This program has helped me grow in the spanish language, and I think that the host family situatio is one of the best aspects of the trip.

This experience has overall been great, however there has been a few kinks that could be fixed. I feel that everything was a little unorganized just because a lot of new elements were thrown in, like having school at night and the ITCs. These small little problems can be fixed and I feel that the program will be better once thoses things just get organized a little bit better. All the program leaders were amazing but Cynthia Sanchez was amazing! She has really supported us and helped out our group so much! She felt like a mom away from home and really put all of us at ease when problems occured.

I had the opportunity to be accepted into this program and I wouldn't have wanted to do anything else this summer. The program leaders are really nice and supportive. The only thing I have to critique is the communication between students and teachers. Also clarification on ITC activities with teachers and program leaders because they both had different objectives for the students. Thank you for the amazing opportunity and I might even apply again for Gap Year.

Most of the activities are very unorganized and make the program a little stressful. Itcs are irrelevant and do not make any difference to the program. The levels are placed inaccurately and the lessons we learned were irrelevant. I already knew all of the infromation that we learned and this program did not help kme with my spansh in any way except for beig more exposed to locals. My group leader, cynthia did make the ITCS somewhat more enjoyable but in all it was very irrelevant to the stay here. When it would get really hot it was very uncomfrotable to sleep at night wihout AC. Also, there should be a better job with pairing up roomates and host families etc.

I believe this is a good program and in all, could be very helpful. Many different types of people come through this program which can be difficult because everyojne is unique and deals with situations different ways. I enjoyed going on different excursions every weekend and many of the activities we did during the length of this trip but I think in all, there could have been better communication between program leaders, students, and other staff.

This trip was life-changing in many senses of the word. It allowed me to create many new memories, make new friends, and develop my sense of independence. Additionally, the Digital Filmmaking and Documentary class enhanced my knowledge on the subject and allowed me to see Sevilla through a different lens. I will carry the memories I have made on this trip and the skills I have developed with me far into the future.

Overall this was a very memorable experience and I would recommend it to anyone looking to further their knowledge of film making and video production. we learned a lot about the history of film and lots of different techniques that were helpful to improve my skills. <i loved my host family they were so nice and helpful and they helped me to learn a lot more Spanish and improve my language skills. I felt safe for the entire trip except for moments where there was disorganization that made me feel slightly confused but in the end, everything ended up being okay. I enjoyed the excursions and cultural activities and I felt like I had an experience that I will remember for a long time.