USAC

Before studying abroad, I thought that I wanted to go to a city that spoke English, or somewhere that was touristy so that it would be easy for me to get by without learning the language. Once I arrived in Bilbao, I realized how grateful I was that I did not follow through with that first idea. I knew almost no Spanish before studying in Bilbao, but after my first few weeks of Spanish class there I could easily communicate with locals because of how helpful my professors were. This experience even inspired me to add a Spanish minor once I returned home. Bilbao is a beautiful city with very kind people, and even after traveling to other cities on the weekends I would always be excited to return home to Bilbao. The USAC staff at Universidad del Pais Vasco are extremely helpful and will assist you with anything you might need while you are abroad. I could not be more thankful to have chosen Bilbao as my city to Study Abroad in!

Everything about this program, from the initial application to the very last day in Spain, was absolutely phenomenal. The USAC staff, both in the US and on-site in Bilbao, are super nice and very helpful. The program sets you up with the basics and provides plenty of advice and guidance while still allowing you the freedom to venture on your own and study abroad the way you want to study abroad. You can have as much independence from the other students and staff as you want, or you can be fully immersed in the program offerings. With that being said, there is an excellent excursion included in the price that allows you to tour parts of the area and learn about the culture and history. In addition, there are many smaller activities (such as touring the local bullring) that occur on an almost weekly basis. Bilbao and the Basque Country is an absolutely amazing area of Spain and along with the assistance, support, and fun offerings from USAC, makes for the perfect study abroad experience.

Studying abroad was a dream of mine since high school, and USAC helped achieve that. I had always heard great things about USAC and I looked forward to the day I would get to apply and see what it was really like. Bilbao is located in the Basque Country of Spain and is full of culture! I loved every minute I got to spend in downtown Bilbao and on the beaches of Getxo. The food was amazing and the on-site USAC staff was always there if we needed help. I chose to stay with a host family, and in my opinion, I got the best one. I had a host mom and a dog that we would walk by the beach every night after dinner. My host mom took great care of me and even encouraged me to go out on the weekends and explore more of Spain. She improved my Spanish skills and now I am more confident than ever to speak Spanish to anyone. There were so many great activities to take part in and USAC did a wonderful job of making sure every student was prepared. I never felt alone or lost, because there was always someone there to direct me if I needed it. The town was also extremely safe and clean. I made friends that I will have for a lifetime and I miss them everyday. If studying abroad is on your bucket list, don't hesitate to apply with USAC! It will give you everything you've imagined and more. Thank you USAC for an unforgettable experience!

The staff in Lyon was amazing, for they always helped us out with anything we needed help with and encouraged us to get involved with the community especially with the World Cup going on and a lot of summer related activities. The trip to Annecy, France was amazing as well. My favorite part of the program was the optional tour of Paris for the first week of the summer program. The courses were structured more to focus on making communication in French. It was just a unique set up having classes that had projects to encourage communication as opposed to just receiving a textbook. Lyon is a beautiful town with a lot of culture, food, and activities to get involved in. It's also easy to take trips from Lyon to Geneva, Marseilles, and the northwestern areas of Italy. I highly recommend if you go on a summer program to Lyon that you do two sessions instead of one!

I thoroughly enjoyed my time studying at Christ University in Bangalore, USAC's South Indian partner institution. In particular, I appreciated the freedom for adventure outside of the classroom that the program afforded me. Each 3-unit class that I took was 3 hours long which was difficult at times but reduced the number of days during the week that I had class. Because of this, I was able to take 12 Religious Studies (my major) units in one semester, with all classes landing between Wednesday and Friday. With four-day weekends throughout the semester, I was able to embark on a number of journeys that otherwise I would not have been able to take part of. In addition, I found my professors to be open to me arriving a little bit late (as I was running to class from the bus stand) so long as all my work was done. I had about two or three assignments/tests for each class, which felt stressful at times. That being said, the small number of assignments allowed me to invest much of my time on the ground in India.

Bangalore is a sprawling metropolis, with a population of 10 million at the time of my travel in Spring '17. The apartment complex that the school provided for us was located in Koramangala, which was a nice district just 10 minutes by bus from Indiranagar (the main nightlife district in Bangalore). This location was key and made weekends much easier, considering that trying to get anywhere else in Bangalore would take 30+ minutes because of traffic consisting of cars, auto rickshaws, motorbikes, pedestrians, and roaming cows. The city has a thriving EDM scene so if you like dancing, you're in the right place. There's also a rich South Indian culture in Bangalore which is fascinating as well.