USAC Lyon, France Study Abroad

I studied abroad for the fall semester of 2022. From the start of being accepted into the program, I was able to easily communicate with USAC staff, however sometimes it would take a little while for them to respond. The webinars and checklists were very helpful in order to prepare for departure and make sure everything was in order. I did not however like the travel agency they work with, Frosch Travel Agency. Communication was quick, however the flights scheduled were constantly rescheduled making a large group of us miss our flight to Lyon and have to add multiple hours to our already long travel day. On my way back to the United States, I also had many problems with my ticket (the airline said I did not have a ticket reserved for me on the flight, yet Frosch was saying that I did) and resulted in me almost missing my flight back home as well. Once I arrived in Lyon, the staff in the city were very nice and welcoming, and I thought the tours of the city given that week were very helpful. The living space that I was put in was the biggest option out of all, however the location was awful (on the top of a hill, so it was very hard to get back home at night without a bus) and there was nothing provided (towels, sheets, pillows, etc) which proved to be a very costly expense at the beginning of the program on top of the already expensive living situation. Lyon itself was amazing. The school, UCLY, is very nice and I thought all of the teachers were accommodating and nice throughout the semester. There were also many opportunities to participate in school activities and meet other international students. I wish we had gone on more pre-planned trips as a group because I found those to be the most exciting and stress-free trips. By the end of my trip, I did not want leave Lyon and hope one day I can go back again.