AIFS Abroad Reviews

My summer in Dublin was exhilarating, terrifying, liberating, and eye-opening. This was my first trip overseas, as well as unaccompanied, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. I was able to make some of the closest and dearest friends, as well as gain amazing experiences in my profession. The location of Lad Lane Apartments made my commute to work a gorgeous 20 minute walk that I cherished every single day. My weekends were free to travel to neighboring countries or spend time discovering the remarkable nightlife Dublin has to offer with the other interns. I'm still in contact with a handful of the interns from this program, all of which comment on how much we miss the camaraderie that Lad Lane had. It was very much a "dorm-room" feel which was so much fun. There are obviously pros and cons to a shared apartment, so keep that in mind. The planned day trips around Ireland were most enjoyable and I definitely recommend attending them. The country is so beautiful, and the scenery so dynamic, to get the most out of this program travelling is essential. The biggest issue or problem that occurred was the everlasting sun. It is so far north that the sun sets around 11 pm and rises around 4:30-5 am which is quite difficult to transition into after arriving. Other than that I had a fairly seamless trip. My internship with Fallon & Byrne was sensational, and the locals I met were some of the nicest people on the planet. I dream of the day I can return.

I went to Dublin for a marketing internship the summer of 2013 for three months. This experience is definitely the most notable life event for me so far where I just grew so much personally and professionally. My internship placement was exactly what I was looking for, it helped me develop a greater understanding of the marketing and advertising industries. I also had the chance to speak with people from all over the world and work with other interns from many different countries. The support from Global Experiences was on point from start to finish. Every question, concern or general confusion was alway answered and extremely helpful. My roommates were great, although we were there for the internship, we found time to travel around and explore. The friends I made then are still my closest friends today. An awesome experience all around.

My two months as an intern in Sydney can be summarized as a great experience. The company I was placed with had great people that were interested in giving me as much work and provided me with as many learning opportunities as possible. In this, I thank Global Experience for placing me with this company. Of course, what follows are downsides that I felt throughout my overall wonderful experience. Each point is presented in order of relevance/importance:

1. Although I understand that our initial living accommodation was supposed to be a great or better place, 2013 Summer interns (myself included) were placed in Jack's place due to renovations being made in the initial lodgings. The living experience there was all in all, close to horrible. In the first week, the electric outlets didn't work and the internet had problems. For the entire two months of stay, one of the window of one of the Girl's shower rooms had a window lodged/stuck open. This was an issue because not one girl showered in this room because the window's direction is faced parallel to the window of one of the resident's room. In other words, using 2/3 shower rooms meant a morning rush where a floor predominantly filled with girls fought to use the two shower rooms (Of course, I and a few others showered at night). I also vividly recall of how messy 'we' as 'a group' were via neglected dishwashing, accumulating garbage, friday night indoor parties that left the public space in utter chaos. Not all of us (myself included) were involved in circulating mess but it doesn't help the fact that the majority was like this and therefore resulted in an unhealthy relationship with our landlord/supervisor and location coordinator. I feel conflicted between the shabby conditions of Jack's Place (as compared to how much we pay) and unhygienic or careless habits of many of my co-residents. I can't really point fingers but this greatly impacted my indoor lifestyle. Maybe I (we-Summer 2013 interns) were just unlucky with our residential placement but I sincerely hope that future interns did not get placed into Jack's Place or an alternative, similar accommodation. An important note: Jack's Place is situated in King's Cross--a party and 'red light district' hub--not such an appealing location. I know I had a location coordinator who had my back (which I thank for), but with the local station smacked in the center of the red light district area, everything seemed creepy and unsafe as soon as daylight descends. Even my company felt sorry that I had to live in Kings Cross for two months (note: I have zero affinity for the party scene).

2. Due to no.1, I couldn't help but feel that we were paying way too much for this experience. Furthermore, Sydney is indubitably an expensive city and this emphasizes the total money that was spent in one's Global Experience journey. There was a fellow GE intern who had his university or company sponsor the internship (so all accommodations were covered) and just having a fellow intern having a free ticket (which is amazing for him!) made me feel like I could have opted for an alternate, less pricey, internship path in Sydney. This makes me truly feel like it is wise choice to first choose a country, research companies (you wish to intern in), review visa application process, find a suitable lodging , plan places where you, yourself want to go to and then weigh the total cost of it--I feel like doing all this labor is much more cost-efficient (and worth every penny for me) than paying so much to get an experience you might not be too happy with in the end. This point pretty much summarizes why I do not recommend GE to others. This sentiment is better phrased as critically research and weigh your options first and then jump in the awesome experience that is Global Experience :)

3. This is minor but being new to Global Experience back then, I became paranoid when I did not receive updates on how things were going for my Sydney internship. Furthermore, my GE advisor changed twice which made me feel uneasy. All of this dissolved when I landed in Australia :)

I may seem overly critical and negative but I want to stress that I really did enjoy the company GE introduced me to--it was a wonderful memory filled with lessons and I thank them very much for it.

In Sydney we had a great experience. This was a tremendous growing opportunity both professionally and interpersonally as we were immersed in an environment with a multitude of different cultures. The internship was great to get hands on working experience but the program was more enjoyable because of the other interns I was able to share the summer with and also bonding with Australian colleagues at work.

This was a great overall program.

AIFS was useful for their payment and the weekend trips. While I paid AIFS they handled everything from my application to UL to my housing and airfare. They also offered a weekend stop in London before orientation at UL started, providing a tour guide and itinerary along with free time. Other trips included an overnight to the Aran Islands, a day trip to Cork, a day trip to Killarney, and a two night overnight to Dublin. The AIFS group of about 30 students bonded quickly and we made friends and had a lot of fun, while some students were into partying come weren't and everyone was friendly and we made great traveling companions for one another. The Facebook page was also super useful for communicating. AIFS staff support was great, although their knowledge seemed a bit touchy.

However, a downside was that I sent a lot of emails to check on available classes, however when I arrived there was no space in the equine science classes, special education classes weren't offered and the booklet I had been linked to was the wrong one and there were much fewer classes available than I had originally thought. Additionally, once classes had started every professor seemed to read directly off of a powerpoint. I didn't feel challenged academically, but the lack of homework was great and allowed me to travel.

I loved UL, however no credit cards are accepted in restaurants on campus, but there were many available ATMS. The International Student division was incredible at UL and they provided a great orientation and integration program. There was also an international society that provided day and weekend trips as well as parties for international students. There were many clubs and societies, including equestrian, swim, rowing, archery, tea and many others, which was a great way to integrate into student life and meet new friends.

AIFS provided 10 euros a day for food, which came in handy. They also provided a 40 euro flight voucher. I was able to travel quite a lot out of Dublin on budget airlines, which was great, and I was able to adventure to Rome, Vienna, Paris and have plans for Prague, Salzburg, Edinburgh and Belfast.

While I wasn't at home much, the housing wasn't stellar, but not completely unlivable either. Housing was co-ed in groups of eight.

Overall I loved my experience abroad and would highly recommend AIFS, they made everything easy and memorable.

This was my first time that I had ever gone abroad. So, like everyone else, I will say that it was the best experience I've ever had. AIFS did great with supplying you with whatever you needed. The support that they gave to the students was wonderful, and they were always there to answer any questions you might have. Stellenbosch is a BEAUTIFUL area. Everything that you could want is packed into once place. Great food, beautiful scenery, night-life, shopping, hiking, and of course, wine. The excursions and most of the weekend trips are included in your AIFS price, which I was grateful for, because I didn't have to make those plans on my own.

The Service Learning program was a great cultural experience. You learn things that will stay with you for longer than your program length. However, when I participated in this program it was a bit unorganized. We volunteered with an organization in a township in Stellenbosch, and communication between us and them was a challenge, because we didn't seem to be on the same page. I hope that AIFS has worked out a deal with a different organization so the students can get the most out of their program, and so they can participate in community engagement that involves learning on both sides.

Bring nice clothes for going out, but also bring clothes to go hiking in, because you don't want to miss out on seeing the views from above. The people are amazing, the culture is exquisite and colorful, and the history is rich. South Africa has a special place in my heart, and AIFS was a great choice for my first adventure abroad.

I'm still buzzing from this experience five years later. Living in Siena for three weeks, being independent in a foreign country, language immersion and the personal attention of the teachers.. oh yeah!! and all the most delicious Italian food on my regular food plan from school..

It was amazing. I sometimes wake up thinking I have just come back, but I have lived so much more since then and even traveled back to Europe this year to explore more and met Italians who I could STILL speak Italian.

All in all, if I was in undergrad I would definitely do this program again. In fact, they should create one specifically for graduate students and one for professionals. C'MON!

New Zealand is an amazing country. The people are probably the nicest in the world. It would have been nice if we had the opportunity to have housing with people from New Zealand instead of just international students. Had an amazing time though. The country is amazing and I traveled every chance I got which was very easy because of the large number of clubs and the cheapness of renting cars.

The biggest problem I had was deciding what to see and where to travel. Make a list of priorities before you go because I wasted part of the summer figuring out where I wanted to go when if I had come prepared I would have been able to visit more places and see everything I wanted.

Costa Rica was a little different than other Central American countries because there was a major focus on the biodiversity. There were so many places to go see animals in their natural habitat which is way better than caged animals in zoos. I was never interested in the environment but when I went there I learned a lot about animals, farms and how it impacts the community. This program provided a lot f weekend trips to visit different sides of the country. The classes that we took also took us on weekend field trips. They were all so fun because it is difficult going on our own. It was a great program to learn Spanish since we had intense Spanish courses. The social environment was a lot of fun and there was always time to go out and explore the city or other parts of the country. The beaches were beautiful and the people were great! Living with a host family was wonderful because we practiced our Spanish and ate traditional Costa Rican food! Overall, it was a great experience!

Last fall I started toying with the idea of an internship for the summer of 2014. I met with some advisors at my university and was exposed to some internships that were in my area. They seemed so boring. I needed something that would make for an unreal experience. I spoke with my advisor about doing an internship abroad and she pointed me to google. I did a lot of research but knew that I belonged with Global Experiences.

GE personalizes your internship. You aren't just thrown into a company that might fit what you want for an internship. The GE staff works with you to perfect your cover letter and resume before distributing them to companies throughout London. It was quite a process and I had never done an interview over Skype before but I had an instant connection with one of the interviewers.

The placement Global Experiences provided for me was beyond perfect. I had a dream experience that I can not thank them enough for. My office was right down the Thames River with views of the Eye and Big Ben from the windows. My coworkers were welcoming and friendly and I am still in contact with all of them.

I would highly recommend Global Experiences for anyone that is interested in an internship that is in an area of interest. You make friends and connections that will last a lifetime.