CIEE Reviews

I loved loved my study abroad experience in the Dominican Republic! My professors were awesome and taught me a lot about Domican history and cultural. My host mom was the best, she was very welcoming and helpful. The CIEE staff were awesome! They were always available and willing to help with class enrollment issues or whatever else we needed. They took us on the best excursions ever. I will never forget the day the CIEE staff took us to Cayo Arena or to the 27 Charcos. I literally felt like I lived in paradise. On the weekends my friend and I went to different beaches and I often went to the beautiful countryside with my host family.

Choosing to study abroad in the second largest city in the Dominican Republic with CIEE was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Dominican people are warm and friendly, and the culture is so vibrant, I couldn't stop eating, drinking, and dancing! Though the difficulty level of the academics was not very comparable to the American university I was coming from, the difficulty of adapting to a new environment, and taking all of my classes in Spanish, made up for it. Furthermore, the trips and rural work retreats offered by the CIEE program were some of the best memories I have. The Dominican Republic has so many beautiful places to offer, we were able to go to Cayo Arena, a small island off of the north coast with beautiful sites for snorkeling, and Samana, a city on the west coast, thriving with animals that live off its cliffs and in its caves. During the weekend work retreats, leaving the urban city to climb miles of rolling hills was always a fresh of breath air. The people we worked and lived with appreciated every second of our time, and I will never forget the Canadian woman that we met who had adopted seven Dominican children and raised them as her own. The stories of some of the people I met their are unforgettable. While this may sound like an experience anyone in the DR can get, I have to thank CIEE for the program it put together and the staff and management that made the program so successful. Lynne Guitar, the director of the program, is a loving and fun professional, with a passion for Dominican people and culture. She was always available and willing to stop any work she was doing to attend to the needs to the students, and it is clear that she loves doing what she does. All of the staff, in fact, always made me feel at home. I really built a family with the people involved, and more so, with my home-stay family, with whom they did a great job placing me. Ultimately, I built relationships that will last me my whole life and made memories that will stay vivid in my mind for forever. The four months, one semester, that I spent in the Dominican Republic, caused me to return two times in the following year to do thesis research, and was the reason for a final move to the island post-graduation. Ms Guitar helped me find a job teaching English at the same university I studied at for the first year, and now I am currently living in Santiago and teaching in a bilingual middle school. I owe it all to CIEE.

The Cambodia program is a great experience. While only six weeks, you get to see quite a bit of the country. The program also allows plenty of time to explore on your own. The academics can be a little daunting, but provide a great context for your experience and are well worth the effort.

I highly recommend this program. One of the highlights was learning in-depth about the temples of Angkor-a fascinating place-and then spending three days visiting the temples and seeing in front of us exactly what we had learned about. The program staff were thoroughly helpful and attentive, the academics were solid and there was free time to tour the city on our own and do our own exploring.

I recently completed this study abroad program and have nothing negative to say. I was able to learn the culture, meet and interact with locals, explore the bustling cities of Phnom Phen and Siem Reap, visit the countryside, live in a Cambodian home for ten days, and even visit the beach. I felt as though I have gained and enormous amount from the program and would love to come back to Cambodia in the foreseeable future.

We didn't focus on learning facts and statistics, but instead learned how to learn. After going through this program I feel comfortable in any situation, foreign or familiar. After talking to villagers, NGOs and politicians and understanding all perspectives of an issue I feel confident in approaching any situation or issue without any prior knowledge and able to handle it.
The most important thing I took out of this program was realizing how I learn and how I can teach myself and how I can take charge of my education in life.

If you want a study abroad experience that pushes your thoughts on education, social justice/human rights, and community, than this is an opportunity you want to take advantage of.

CIEE Khon Kaen, Thailand DG Program, does an excellent job at letting students decide what to take from their study abroad experience. When I was a student, I not only found out about another culture, but I was challenged to see, what my place was, as an American, as a student, as a consumer, etc. and how I fit into Development and Globalization.

Although, time consuming, the program will change your life and view of the world forever.

*** If your thinking about this program, I would highly suggest contacting former students! It really helps to get a personalized experience. Email CIEE and ask! *****

We were able to learn from local villagers about the impacts and effects of globalization and development. We lived in the villages and were able to experiance daily life and connect with over 13 different host families. The CIEE staff were always there with answers and support whether academic or personal.

I was able to learn Thai with a well developed program and have meaningful conversations with my host families without feeling uncomfortable.

A few exciting things we were able to do was: plant rice and assist in its growing process throughout the semester at each village, work on projects correlating to sustainability and environmental consciousness, discuss impacts of development with government officials, work with NGOs in the Issan region, visit temples, swim in rivers, connect with Thai university students, hike, host a Human Rights Festival, and so many more great experiences.

The CIEE Thailand program is a truly unique and incredible program. This was far and away the most impactful educational experience I had during my college years. The program has very deep relationships with a wide network of communities, NGOs, community organizers, Gov't organizations that enable students to get very deep in learning about the issues of development and globalization in Northeast Thailand. Additionally, the program really encourages students to take ownership of their experience and ignite their passions while learning from their experiences in Thailand and from each other. Couldn't recommend this program more whole-heartedly!! Just go!

The most important things I took away from this program were expanding my ability to think critically and to ask questions... super basic and much needed, but not something I learned in-depth about in school up to that point.