The most incredible trip I have ever gone on. I grew so much as a person and would not be the person I am today without this trip. The staff were incredible and every single day was filled with fun engaging activities with a focus on understanding the community we were serving. Go on this trip. You will not regret it. We worked with the kids 4 days a week in the morning and the rest was all cultural exploration. We got to go to many different areas of the island and generally explore the entire Dominican. You will build such strong bonds with the people you go with and create lifelong friendships. This trip changed my life

I not only improved my Spanish, I gained a whole new perspective on the Spanish culture by constantly being immersed in it. I gained a bunch of close new friends, and we have met up many times, despite living far away from each other. I had the most amazing time teaching the Dominican children Spanish, painting the houses in the neighborhood, and exploring the local beaches and cities. My favorite memory was bonding with this little boy named David at the camp we were teaching at.

In July of 2017 I, along with 29 other students, headed to the Donovan republic for 3 weeks we will never forget. Overall this trip had everything you could ask for, a great community, amazing food, beautiful beaches, fun service time with children, and so much more. One of most memorable things about my trip to the DR was meeting an amazing friend. Her and I instantly hit it off at the airport and I never thought I could become so close with someone in such a short amount of time. We still communicate regularly and plan to spend time together this summer at the beach since she is going to college this fall 2018. Another great memory from my trip was going on a 2 hour hike in the jungles of the Donovan Republic. This hike was definetly y messy but so worth it! The views were magnificent and it has been one of the coolest things I’ve ever done! I loved disconnecting from the world for a little bit and just enjoying nature. Overall my trip to the DR was amazing and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I think everyone should have an opportunity like this because exploring these new places, meeting new people, and spending time with kids made each day turkey special. I miss all the children I worked with everyday st the local school and Id do anything to check back in with them.

Last summer I had the opportunity of traveling to Portugal for three weeks. What I thought was going to be an intimidating trip to a foreign country turned out to be the best experience of my life to date. The whole way to the airport and in the weeks leading up to my trip my mom was worried sick about my safety. However, from the minute after I stepped off the plane in Portugal I felt safe. My leaders were these really inspirational and kind people that really cared about all of the kids they took on this trip. They were dedicated to making this trip the best that it could be for everyone in my group. I made twenty nine new friends on this trip and we still talk every week. It’s truly amazing how close you can come to someone when your stuck in a foreign country learning about a new language and culture. This program really impacted my life when I got home. I never realized how independent I actually was or could be. My parents started to trust me more and I started to trust myself. I also learned about a whole new culture which was super interesting to me. The most important lesson I learned, though was that there is more to life than what’s just on my phone or in my neighborhood. Going on this trip really opened my eyes to a lot of opportunities and adventures that I can take in my life. I am just excited to see what I will be able to do in the future!

This trip was an amazing experience. Not only did I get to visit a unique, beautiful, new country but I made so many friends, with my group and locals fro Botswana. My leaders were incredibly supportive and made me feel comfortable and safe throughout my whole experience. They were very attentive everyones needs and were very knowledgable and experienced. The wildlife was by far the best part. All of the wonderful animals we saw continue to inspire and amaze me. I highly recommend this trip to someone who loves animals and adventure and has maybe already had some international travel experience. I also recommend investing in a nice camera, it doesn't have to be a DSLR but you will definitely want it to remember your trip.

Whenever I get the chance to talk, I make sure to tell everyone about my experience with CIEE's program for Valparaiso, Chile. The program itself was extremely beneficially, because my Spanish is much stronger and I feel more comfortable speaking with family and friends. I also enjoyed the program thanks to the team leaders, Maria Paz Montes was such a kind lady and the group leaders were just as great too. The environment I was housed in was perfect, and I got lucky enough to have a veteran host family who had worked with CIEE for many years. As for the country itself, it was spectacular! I cannot wait to return one day, hopefully with my own family or maybe even with CIEE? I think that would be an amazing opportunity if it were to present itself.

From start to finish, CIEE made my summer in Valpraíso, Chile unforgettable. I signed up super late, yet CIEE was very accommodating in helping me be part of their program. All of the group leaders were funny, charismatic, and intelligent. Everyone shared their backgrounds and experiences and what led them to this experience in Chile and I was lucky to be surrounded by some truly fascinating individuals with whom I still have contact with, almost a year later. My host family was extremely caring and funny. I wouldn’t have been able to grow as much in the Spanish language if I hadn’t been with them. My family did not know English, so I was forced to develop my speaking skills, which was truly invaluable. The program confirmed that I wanted to study Spanish and international relations in college; experiencing another country’s culture for a straight month by living in it was incredible and I have to thank CIEE for having such a huge impact on my life.

As of 8:30 pm today, I officially have left in a city that has given the best experience of my life. Though, I was originally terrified to come to Chile. It was not even close to where I wanted to go. I wanted to go to somewhere in Europe, along with my best friend who was most definitely going (and did go) to Spain. When I found out that I was going to Chile, I almost didn't accept my scholarship because I was so afraid, but I did. That decision was the best decision of my life. At 16, I was going to traveling the world, alone. I had never been outside the country before, but now I was doing it on my own, and it has been the greatest experience of my life. This city has given me a piece of myself that I was not aware was missing. To me, Valparaíso is the most beautiful and wonderful city in the world. The people here are some of the greatest people and the nicest I've ever met. There's always a smile on their faces and a genuine greeting following close behind. Though, the people here aren't the only great thing about this city, the food here is phenomenal, I’ve never tasted better food anywhere. Though, Valparaíso has taught me important life lessons. It taught has to be more independent, and trust my instincts and the people around me even with a language barrier. I am so thankful for this opportunity. This city has taught me more about myself than my small town in upstate NY ever could. While I am a proud small town American girl and probably always will be, this city will have a piece of my heart and soul.