CIEE High School Study Abroad in Spain

In almost all aspects, the program/trip was wonderful! I loved many of the culture activities, like the graffiti tour and the kayaking. Some of the tours were alittle too long but the places we toured were fantastic. the day trips were exciting and I loved the locations. I will always remember this trip and the friends I made, both Spanish and American. The friends and breakfast was really fun and I made a lot of friends.

Going out of the country alone for this long was a brand new experience for me. I loved staying with my host family and know I have definitely made a life long connection with them. The people I met were great and it was awesome to be able to go to a new place with people I had never met or talked to and just click with them. Aside from the people the program in itself is an amazing opportunity. Never have I taken a Spanish class like I did here. It wasn't all about grammar or vocabulary. Instead we learned how to actually communicate in Spanish with other Spanish speakers.

The experience that you get from doing a summer abroad in this lovely city is entirely different than what you would get from exploring on your own. And so, it is to be expected that not everything can be planned out perfectly, especially in a group this size. Overall, focus on the new knowledge you're gaining and the memories you're making and you'll realize that this was the trip of a lifetime :))

This experience was very valuable for me. I have been lucky enough to have traveled a lot in the past, but living in a different country with a host family was a completely different experience. I enjoyed every moment of it and would definitely recommend it to others. Getting to see all of the monuments while having plenty of free time to explore was great. I had a great time every day with my friends and my host family.

My experience studying abroad in Seville will forever be unforgettable! I was extremely fortunate to have met such wonderful people during my month spent here. I have made such great friendships, and bonds with my host family. Having such a loving and supportive host family made the whole experience even better. My advice for future participants would be to enjoy every moment of the trip and always keep your head up high, because in the beginning of the trip when I was a little homesick, I was so focused on missing home I didn't appreciate the opportunity of a lifetime that I was embarking on. This program impacted my life in ways I would have never expected! CIEE study abroad taught me not only about language and culture, but it taught me more about myself as a person. I have learned to go out of my comfort zone and try new things like eating snails for the first time or riding a bike around the city. To my surprise I actually liked the savory taste of the snails and I was extremely proud of myself for trying it. Also, before this trip I hated riding bikes, I just didn't find it enjoyable, but to my surprise the bike tour was one of my favorite days this entire trip! On top of trying new things, I also learned how bad I am at directions and that I don't cope well with getting lost. Although, from having these few encounters getting lost, I learned how to navigate a city without GPS or my iPhone. In the end, I am so grateful to have had this experience and this period of personal growth!

On this trip I met some great people, for the most part all of the activities were fun, and finally the weekend trips were all fantastic. However there are some serious flaws in the leadership of this program. We were often stuck waiting around for 30 minutes to an hour for the leaders to figure out what is going on, what we are doing, and who is missing. In addition to this the, the meeting times change every day and were very confusing as a result. This is not the only problem with the leadership. At the end of my third week my parents received an email that said that I had been late to an activity because I overslept and in addition to this I was being overly negative in class. The email also requested that my parents disciplined me for this behaviour "in order to insure it doesn't happen again". First off, I didn't oversleep I simply misread the email that said what time to meet and as a result I was late to an activity once. Secondly, the only time I can think of that I was negative in class that week was when I criticized the ITC's. Moreover the email came from CIEE headquarters in Portland so it was impossible to know who I should talk to in order to resolve the problem. Fortunately my parents are reasonable people and nothing came of this but it was infuriating at the time.

My favorite part was being fully immersed in the language and culture. All of the excursions and getting to meet new people was amazing too. It is hard for me to review this program, as this is the first study abroad program I have been on and have nothing to compare it too. However, I do know that I learned a lot, saw so many amazing things, and had so much fun, which made the occasional bump in the road worth it.

Sevilla is a wonderful city and I hope to return some time soon, Ive had a transcending experience here. The host family were great people and I was very happy with my placement. Being here has helped me grow into something larger than myself and experience so much more in life and Im so lucky to have gotten this experience

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