Program Reviews

I had a wonderful time in London last spring. The program was incredible and we got to go all over the UK on excursions with the tutors. While classes and group outings were great, the best part of my study abroad was definitely the internship. I was doing work that has helped to build my professional portfolio and will eventually be a huge asset when I begin applying for jobs!
Also, London was an amazing place to spend a few months and I am counting down the days until I can go back! This was the perfect program, very well located, with great tutors and an even better schedule of events.

My host family in Segovia was extremely accommodating. They have two young children, and a nice sized apartment. They did my laundry, cleaned my room, cooked and packed meals for me, and were excellent hosts. They even bought me a necklace and cake for my birthday, as I celebrated it in Spain! My host family had relatives in Segovia who had a pool and my family took me there any time I wanted! It was such a fun, relaxed environment to converse and practice my speaking skills with new people. During my last day in Segovia, my host parents took me to dinner, bought me a going away gift, and walked me to the train station. I'm confident that I'll keep in touch with my family using Facebook or Skype, and I would highly recommend a live-in experience for language learners!

When people ask me how studying abroad was, I always describe it as being in a constant “wow” factor. While traveling, I would see something beautiful like the Trevi Fountain or the Cinque Terre and think it was the most beautiful landmark. But five minutes later, I would turn the corner and find something else that would strike me with it’s beauty. The culture, people, and wine were so rich and held so much beauty that I was constantly in awe. I lived in Siena, Italy for six weeks and it was one of the most humbling and extraordinary experiences. I became friends with my Italian roommates, drank rich tuscan wine, and learned to appreciate life more. I know people say studying abroad is a life changing experience but it truly is and I would not trade it for anything.

I loved my experience with GEO London. One of my favorite memories was seeing Hamlet at the Globe Theatre on Shakespeare's 400th birthday/day of his death.

Our entire class went to see the performance together. We stood in the Yard, which made us feel like were truly living in Shakespeare's time. The theatre's atmosphere was so energetic and lively. The production had just returned from a year long world tour. They had just returned to London and were preforming for the first time. The actors acted with such passion and enthusiasm, despite having preformed the play dozens of times.

After the performance, I left the theatre energized and glowing with happiness. I felt so lucky to be able to experience such a historical moment in the birthplace of Shakespeare. It is a memory I will never forget.

This was a classic study abroad experience in many senses--you had some people who were there to party, others who were there to learn about the culture and history, and some who were somewhere in between.

We went to classes at the Athens Centre, a school which generally provides Greek language classes to travelers and new residents, but also hosts a couple of different study abroad programs. We got to have a traveling art history class with the resident archaeologist who had a very international upbringing and always had a good story to tell, whether about the art or about his life. He traveled with us on our field trips to Delphi, Crete, Aegina, everywhere. Our Greek language teacher was also fantastic, having developed most, if not all, of the materials from which she taught.

The housing provided is very close (within walking distance) to one of the locations of the traveling weekly market, and it was through my interactions there that I was able to measure for myself (outside of the tests in the classroom) how much Greek I was learning. There was one particular nice, older man that I remember who sold eggs. The first week I went to the market, all I could do was point, smile, and hold out a hand full of change for him to hopefully take the correct amount. The next week I was able to say "I want six eggs." The week after "I would like six eggs, please," and so on and so forth, until we were nearly having full conversations. He was so nice but also so insistent that I "spit" at him while pronouncing the words (to give it the correct vigor, I'm guessing) that it was easy to break down the bit of shyness I'd developed when trying out a new language. I may have eaten more eggs than I normally do during my three months in Athens, but the experiences that the language and cultural understanding brought about were priceless.

I was there in 2009, which is when some of the more recent economic woes were starting to develop, and there were occasions where you'd see heavily armed units on the streets because they'd been warned about rioting, and occasionally you'd see the rioting happen, although the Athens Centre did its best to warn us to keep away from certain areas if there was violence happening. I never felt unsafe, though, even when walking around on my own and traveling to more remote areas alone.