I had an incredible time in Alcalá. Although it’s a rather small city, its history and proximity to other places makes it an ideal place to study abroad. Alcalá itself is a pretty tranquil place, and nearly everything is within walking distance. The things that are farther are easily accessible using the very easy-to-navigate public transportation system. Not only is there a lot of history to learn, there’s also great food, and hikes nearby. The Cerros de Alcalá are a beautiful place to spend an afternoon hiking, and the view of the landscape and city is phenomenal. Alcalá is also very close to Madrid—only 30-45 minutes on the train—which makes it very easy to go to Madrid for an afternoon or weekend to see all of the museums and sites there.
What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
I would have spent much more time utilizing local resources to connect with Spaniards to improve my language skills. By the time I thought about doing so, I had practically finished the program!
My experience in Wollongong, Australia was full of diversity, new friendships, and adventure. CIEE made the adjustment much less stressful and helped ease me into the area. The CIEE directors were FANTASTIC, with some of my favorite memories being on little day trips with them while surfing, hiking, abseiling, and catching up at group dinners. Australia is a stunning country with the most beautiful coast lines, incredibly unique wildlife, and friendly people. This time abroad was truly eye-opening, and has helped me grow both personally and professionally. I find myself having more confidence in my daily interactions, and I've met some amazing people from all over the world. I haven't even left yet, and I'm already planning my next trip back! This semester in Australia is an experience that I will never forget!
If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?
While Wollongong is home to a large population of international students, I would try to make more Australian friends next time to get a better sense of the local lifestyle.
This is a great program! This program appealed to me for its length, language immersion, and classes offered. It will directly transfer credits to my home university which is awesome. I wish the classes were easier, but since I am getting 6 credits in 4 weeks it makes sense. The city is perfect. It is super accessible to Madrid, where I have gone for food, museums and a concert. CIEE got us transport cards. Alcalá itself is a smaller city that is perfect for anyone wanting to improve their language skills. Through CIEE we were able to take excursions and they took care of everything. Not to mention, the site leaders were some of the coolest and kindest people I've met. I am sad to end my program but plan to see my host family in the future.
What would you improve about this program?
My only thing was I wished we would have known more about housing beforehand. I stayed with the greatest host family ever, but I didn't find out their information before a week before leaving. However, it still gave me time to communicate with them and feel comfortable before leaving.
If you're looking to study abroad but do something a bit different than everyone else, I would say this is the course for you. If you're trying to decide between going to Madrid or Cuba, I can't tell you much about Madrid but I can tell you that you won't regret going the road less traveled.
The staff here is incredible and the academic opportunities are fantastic. We were constantly going on different trips which addressed every interest I could think of: LGBTQ rights, Afro-Cuban studies, medicine/health (we visited a clinic), education (we went to a primary school), volunteer work and much more. This is a unique experience. Also, Havana is incredibly safe so there is no need to worry about anything (not even getting lost).
The Cuban people are probably the nicest people I have ever met. I'm from New York so the idea of just stopping someone in the street to talk seemed odd but people love to chat and get to know each other here or just give directions/recommendations.
Don't worry about the wifi. You can easily go to a nearby hotel and buy a wifi card there. Your casa particular might even have wifi there (only some of them).
This has been one of the best things I have ever done. A month is the perfect amount of time to fit in plenty of adventures while still being able to use some other time in the summer. We had enough time to feel almost like locals and know how to get around the city, and were able to even take naps when necessary, but it did not feel like it was too long. Our planned trips were so much fun, and we were able to go on other excursions as we wished. The CIEE staff in Cusco were just amazing, and made this trip as great as it could possibly be. The group was the perfect size to facilitate bonding and to allow everyone to split up into groups when they wanted to. I highly recommend this program to anyone looking to go on an adventure, Cusco is an incredible city and I can't think of a better way to experience the city than the way I have.
What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?
I was surprised that Machu Picchu was not my favorite part of the program. We saw so many cool ruins and saw so many other cool parts of Peru. I was glad that this trip was so much more than Machu Picchu and I am taking so many different memories home with me rather than just one.
I have wanted to study abroad since my freshman year of college. I entered into school wanting to minor in spanish and international business, and knew that being able to study abroad in Spain would help me with both my academic and professional growth. I truly do not have enough positive words to say about this program and everyone involved. My expectations have been beyond exceeded and I recommend this to anyone who is looking for an immersive cultural and learning experience. I have learned more in my first four sessions both in my spanish language skills and cultural awareness than any of my classes taken previously. The emphasis on genuine learning rather than just grades is something that has brought my passion and motivation for school back. Every professor and CIEE staff member that I have met has been extremely helpful, knowledgeable, and kind. The excursions through the program have been a great mix of learning and fun, and the leaders seem genuinely happy to be there. I am currently only halfway done with my study abroad, and I can already tell that this will be the most significant period of learning, not only academically, but personally and I feel greatful to have chosen CIEE Seville.
What would you improve about this program?
I think the only thing I would improve upon is knowing a bit more about the location of the homestays. I am lucky because I get to move to one on the river next session, but I wold have like to have known more about the options on where to live. Other than that, I have only good things to say.
I came to study abroad in Seoul for Spring of 2019. I had such an amazing experience making new friends and exploring my surroundings with them. I visited many different themed cafes while in Seoul and new foods that I would never have tried back home. I feel that my favorite cafe are the ones I was able to experience with my friends for the first time. Also, a lot of the cafes are cute for trying new drinks and desserts but also for photos!! The staff in my program are all extremely friendly that when I was unable to attend an event I let them know and they would make sure that I was okay. They would also plan many fun activities and experiences to help you adjust to your time in Seoul. They also gave us many opportunities to volunteer and it was fun getting to hang out with both children and teens! It felt like I had a second family here in Seoul that whenever I got homesick I was happy to have them!!
What was your funniest moment?
Planning to go to IKEA for fun with my friend but we ended up getting lost on the way to IKEA! It was crazy but we found someone who knew English and they let us know how to make our way to IKEA. We got on one of the small yellow bus and the best part of the ride was the fact that it was playing wheels on the bus throughout the whole ride! My friend and I never had so much fun! When we finally got to IKEA we were laughing and having a lot of fun!! End of the day we did a lot of walking and we got to eat IKEA food.
My semester at the University of Hyderbad with CIEE was undoubtedly one of the best experiences of my life. The University campus is beautiful and the student body is talented, diverse, and engaged; living there was an amazing learning and cultural experience all it’s own. The classes, too, were fantastic; the program allows both direct-enroll classes with regular University students and specialized courses for study abroad students. The housing was comfortable and convenient. Moreover, the CIEE support staff are some of the most helpful, kind, fun, and generous people I’ve ever met; they constantly went out of their way to take care of me and the other students and make our time in India as great as possible.
My study abroad in Hyderabad has changed my life. I learned so much about India—culture, language, food, history, art—as well as about myself and my own background. The program allows for plenty of independent travel, so I also got to explore beyond Hyderabad, which is in itself a fascinating city. I had such an amazing time, and I’m so grateful to CIEE for making it happen.
Spending a semester of schooling in Hyderbad was one of the best decisions I ever made. India is so rich in culture, and the city of Hyderbad is a diverse representation of the region of Telengana and other regions from all over India.
The CIEE Arts and Science program was awesome. It gave me the freedom to take classes that I was really interested in about very culturally specific topics. The CIEE local support staff is absolutely incredible, they plan excursions and really go out of their way to make sure students all feel comfortable in the new culture.
The campus is absolutely beautiful at the University Of Hyderbad. The campus has tons of running and hiking trail with really cool rock and boulder formations. The campus also hosts wildlife like peacocks buffalo and spotted deer all over campus.
The lodging was also really good. The lodging for all the students is right above the area where all the meals are prepared and the food is delicious.
If you are on the fence about this program I would say you should go for it.
What would you improve about this program?
Some better wifi in the dorm where everybody stays.
I really enjoyed my time in Nanjing and it was wonderful to get to know the city. I wish I had come for two semester, even though I am also looking forward to returning home. That said, I wish I had taken more time to get to know the city and its people better.
I think it would have been nice to have a few Fridays (apart from the Fridays right before breaks) off so that it would be easier to travel/catch up on work/etc.
I will look back on this semester mostly for how much it has helped me to build my language skills and time management skills, not as much for the memories, which are also wonderful, but more of a nice add of.
Uh, overall a great program and glad I came, I'll definitely recommend it to my friends and classmates in the future.
What would you improve about this program?
I would enforce the language pledge much more strictly.
