Program Reviews

Very fun program! I made lots of good friends and had a fun time! I would definitely recommend this program to high school students who want to study or travel abroad because that is program is exactly that. This program was also good for learning Spanish because even though it wasn’t the focus of the program I still used it every day and I got comfortable talking to locals in the area. The program also helped me realize that I can study abroad and live in another country without too much difficulty!

There is nothing greater than waking up to birds chirping and going on a hike in the jungle surrounding your bungalow. Later you’ll eat a freshly made breakfast and go to class where you might hear from a local community member about sustainability efforts or go to farm on campus and visit the cows pigs and chickens. In the afternoon you might find yourself learning how to dance traditional dances and after dinner watching a movie in the rec room with your peers. I had so much fun and I learned so much!

The program I attended with CIEE was the French Language and Culture Program in Toulouse, France from July 11 to August 7, 2021. I did this the summer before my junior year. This was the first time I had ever studied abroad as well as been to France and the CIEE team organized the program flawlessly from my group flight from Atlanta to the time the program ended. My excitement overweighed my nervousness as I was eager to begin exploring France having studied for over 10 years. I would recommend this to anyone.

If you find yourself wondering if traveling abroad with CIEE is for you, my advice is to go for it. It's difficult to describe just how incredible my experience has been studying abroad in Roma, Italy. The staff is so supportive and I've formed very close bonds with the other students. It has truly been an unforgettable experience that has encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and grow so much as a person. I'm so grateful to have had this experience and to have met these wonderful people.

I went on a CIEE High School Summer Abroad trip (HSSA) and it was amazing. Exploring Rome thru the Arts 2021. Writing as a upcoming Junior who has just completed her trip, I can say that this was truly the best experience of my life. Going into this trip, I had been looking forward to it for months and months. Just like that it rolled around and suddenly, I was with 20 kids I had never met before. At first I'm sure most of us were anxious to how we would be like. But within the first week we all clicked, all of us genuinely got together so well and began to embark on experiences we never would have had otherwise. The activities and little moments we had every single day made it feel unreal. Being able to witness the ceilings of the Vatican, roaming Tivoli's villa gardens... We laughed, even cried. I could not have asked for a better group to be with. The program itself was great, structured time for our course, and free time in the city. We explored new culture, people, food, language, in every sense. I was too busy and having too much fun to be homesick so that's a plus. By the time we were all content and starting to really take in everything, the program had ended. In the end, I was actually heartbroken and devastated to leave my new friends and the beautiful city of Rome. I know we will meet again someday and I will see Rome again, but CIEE made such a wonderful program there that has given me some of the most life changing experiences I will ever have. 100/100 recommend. Amazing staff on my program, I thank CIEE for giving me this opportunity. I would recommend students to apply for scholarships even if you don't think you will get one, it helped me a lot. Again, thank you to the outstanding support on CIEE's part but mostly thank you to all the students on this program with me! You've made it truly unforgettable. <3

Sincerely, Julia Sogol Alamdar

I studied in Waterford, Ireland my senior year of high school. It was a decent overall experience. I made some good friends and got to immerse in the culture through school. However, the first host family that I was assigned was very verbally abusive and when I went to the local coordinator, she was dismissive of the personality difference and said it was my fault and that I was in culture shock. For months this employee would continually pin the blame on me and make me feel even worse in an already horrible situation. Halloween night my host mother yelled at me to the point that I had a panic attack and was hyperventilating, for the first time in my life, rather than just leaving me crying as was the usual. My parents were able to force my movement from their end and I went to a family that was already hosting a student. After I left, she went through almost the same thing as she tried to leave that family. The company has a good base structure, but it is poorly implemented where it counts.

I had an incredible time in Alicante over the summer. I grew a lot in both personally, in my own independence, and in my Spanish-speaking skills. Alicante is incredible. The school where we attended classes was a 5-minute walk to the beach. Every afternoon there was some activity planned, like doing a city bike tour or beach volleyball, and every day it was different. On the weekends there would be bigger outings planned, such as spending a day visiting castles and waterfalls.
Alicante isn't a really well-known city, which was initially unappealing to me, but I think it was a better choice than a big city would've been. We had a weekend trip to Madrid, and I realized that being in a bigger city had a lot of potential for things to go wrong... a lot more theft and crime occurs in more prevalent cities.
The classes were intriguing and my professor was really fun and made class actually appealing. I liked that we not only learned about the language but also about the culture of the place we were staying in. Often, our afternoon activities would be catered to what we were learning about in class, which made my learning experience so fascinating. I'd taken 3 years of Spanish prior to the trip, (the requirement is at least 2) which I thought would suffice, but it really wasn't enough. A lot of the 40 kids on the program were nearly fluent, having spoken it from childhood. And instead of there being 4 different levels of class intensities as advertised, there were 3 classes: 2 for advanced kids and 1 for not-advanced, like me:). So for that reason I'd recommend 3+ years of Spanish unless you regularly speak it. Without a roommate with me in my host home, I would've had an extremely difficult time trying to communicate with my host mom. Having someone who also spoke English kept me sane when I didn't understand anything.
After class each day, you'd go home for lunch with your host family and take a siesta, which would be a couple hours of downtime, where you could really do whatever you wanted: do your homework, take a nap, watch Netflix, go to the beach, go shopping, etc. The siestas were some of my favorite times on the program because it gave me time to just chill out, especially when we had busy days, or do something with my friends. But I was really impressed with CIEE for the level of planning and preparedness they orchestrated for our afternoon activities and weekend outings. There would always be a perfect balance between downtime/free time and planned activities.

My time in Palma was a life-changing experience, and I would recommend it to anybody considering applying. The island is simply breathtaking and I found the locals to be extremely friendly. I remember one instance where a friend and I spoke with a woman for over a half hour who told us about some of the island's history and even showed us pictures of her family. My favorite experience was during El Día de San Juan, when I witnessed the craziest, most vibrant display of pyrotechnics I have ever seen from the Dimonis of the Correfoc. One thing I should note is that the program is very structured, so it may not be the number one choice for those looking for a largely flexible trip. All said, it was truly incredible and I wouldn't change a thing!

Morocco was a riveting and absolutely beautiful experience. From the beautiful gardens to the beach to the bustling Medina, market, you had to be vigilant, not only to save your belongings and to fully enjoy and burn into your Rabat’s beauty into your memory. I was painfully unaware of the saving your belongings part yet that would not ruin my experience. The food you will eat in Rabat, such as tajine and Moroccan tea will be missed by your tastebuds. You will experience Moroccan culture but also Tamazight, the oldest people living in Morocco and the hardships they faced. You will also witness French colonization and how deep of a effect it has. Last but not least you will experience the culture of Sub-Saharan Africans who live some as refugees and others as professionals and Islamic culture but with the Moroccan spin on it.

Going into the Mohemmedia, Morocco mentoring youth and raising social awareness program, I had no prior expectations. I did not know much about the culture, language, or what I would be experiencing. After essentially being in it, I was amazed. Everyone was so kind to one another and I had so much support from my peers and program leaders. It honestly felt like we were part of a real family. Being with the host families was also a very life-changing experience. I loved how not only were we able to travel to Morocco, but we were able to be in a space where we could truly experience the culture and how it is like to live in a Moroccan household, essentially as though we were really Moroccans. Lastly, the kids were probably one of the best highlights of the trip. I loved seeing their eagerness to learn English and how quickly we all bonded with them. Not only were we teaching them English, but they also helped us learn Darija, which was very helpful once we were out in the local community and had to communicate with the local people. Overall, my experience was one that I will never forget and I will definitely take what I learned there back to my own home community. I definitely encourage anyone interested in this program to definitely consider applying and going through with the process of getting in.