Abbey Road Programs

If you are looking for a language-intensive program, this might be a little too mild for your taste. My listening and speaking skills improved vastly because of the language immersion, speaking and ordering in French often, and my personal work at tutoring hours and commitment to studying. However, this program has much more focus on culture and personal growth than I was initially expecting.

Classes are from 9 to 12 am, lunch and dinner are scheduled with the program, and trips and excursions happen on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and day trips happen on the weekends.

Electives take place in the afternoon on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Most of the other time in the day is scheduled free time.

My biggest fear was interacting with people. I'm naturally introverted, and I'm one of those people who had trouble ordering my own food and interacting with strangers. Going on this program forced me to dive into unfamiliarity, speak to strangers in my non-native language, and meet tons of new people. I am much better now at interacting with people thanks to this program.

Each student gets a single bedroom and a private bathroom with a closet, mini kitchen (with a sink, stovetop burner, and a mini-fridge), twin bed, desk and chair, and a well-needed fan. The rooms are small and not air-conditioned. There is a communal kitchen that the staff supplies with basic groceries and snacks that are free for all students. I was incredibly happy with the accommodations; I loved having a room to call my own at the end of a long day.

Being able to see others grow is the most beautiful thing. To see students become enthusiastic and inspired about the subjects you teach is fantastic. I am feeling privileged when I say that in multiple occasions I have heard back from students telling me they started their own project or company, being inspired in my classes.

A change of setting and having the opportunity to learn new things is always a reason to subscribe for any program, I would say. For example, this year I subscribed for a Marketing and Communication Postgraduate study on Gastronomy and Oenology, a beautiful sector that got me intrigued from the first minute of the course.

Being part of an organisation that has a clear mission and values and knows how to satisfy the needs of its stakeholders is great. When I work for Abbey Road, I definitely see that they achieve the objective of offering fun programs with huge social and intelectual learnings. Receiving positive feedback from the participants, though, is the most valuable part...

A company should focus on offering a service or product they love while making clients happy with it. Listening to your customer and analysing its environment is key for achieving success with your offerings. If you sell what you love and are able to transmit that, the magic with your client is more likely to happen.