CIEE Reviews

Learning from local NGOs and communities immersed me in the culture of Thailand and brought globalization to a very real, human level. The class collaborates on group projects, making for an intimate and team oriented learning environment. The independent project period provided a chance to collaborate with non-profits and give back to the communities you stay with. A journalism unit gave me tools to create a documentary for my independent project, and which launched my documentary film career.

When you first think of studying abroad in Thailand, you probably think of studying abroad in Bangkok. The city Khon Kaen is a 6 hour drive away from Bangkok located in Isaan aka the Northeast region of Thailand, also known as the poorest region of Thailand. As a student majoring in Public Health, this region is where I needed to be. Through the Community Public Health (CPH) program, you'll have the opportunity to go into local villages, learn about their public health concerns, and come up with ways to address these concerns.

Students going in won't necessarily produce solutions that will "save the village," but it will make an impact both for the community and you as an individual learning about a different culture and real public health. One of my biggest take aways from CPH is that public health isn't as simple as i.e. providing water filters to an entire community to "save them" from drinking dirty water, or getting all the village dogs spayed/neutered to rid the village of rabies. Sometimes, the problems aren't as "severe" as one would think, and sometimes - most times - the solutions aren't as simple as one would think either. I learned that when it comes to public health, all of this is normal and ok.

In addition to the CPH (and Beginner's/Intermediate/Advanced Thai) class, you will be joined by Thai roommates, who will be your direct insight into all that is Thai and Isaan culture. These roommates will teach you how to laugh and how to incorporate the "no worries" mentality into your life -- which is very refreshing in comparison to the American mindset (if you're not sure what that is, you'll find out when you stay in Khon Kaen long enough).

Isaan food can get SPICY. Even those who currently "can't handle spicy food" will end up WANTING to build up some spice tolerance once they taste the food. No matter what your spice tolerance is at now, you will build it through Isaan food -- and you'll be happy that you did! (On a personal note: To this day, I have not found any spice in America that makes me want to fight back the tears while eating the way Isaan food did.)

You would think that being in a foreign country would make you stressed about safety. Well, Khon Kaen is the exception. Students had no trouble walking the Khon Kaen streets/roads during both the day and night. You'll get to know the faces of locals as they get to know yours -- you might even want to stop by and say hello to them!

TL; DR: You will probably leave the program not wanting to leave and in tears. Study abroad in Khon Kaen, Thailand!

The CIEE Thailand Development and Globalization program is unique because you learn through complete immersion into the topics you are studying. This is done primarily through homestays and exchanges in villages and communities that are affected by the globalization issue that is the focus of a particular unit (e.g., agriculture, mining, urban migration). There is minimal reliance on lectures, textbooks, and readings, although there is some to enhance your time in the communities. The program leaders have spent 20+ years building relationships with the communities and NGOs you will visit, and each student group builds off the relationships and projects previous students have built so you are involved in an experience that is larger than your four months in the program.

The program takes experiential learning for what it should be. In our age of increasing globalization and development, learning from local communities in a bottom-up, people-first approach was invaluable experience for me. Speaking with villagers, NGOs, human rights advocates, and many others in a region of Thailand that many people often forget, disregard, and look down upon brought a new perspective on what it means to be a Global Citizen. This program is challenging, but it's definitely worth it. For those looking to challenge their perspectives of traditional education, of themselves, and of the world, I'd highly recommend considering CIEE's Globalization & Development program in Khon Kaen.

Studying with CIEE Khon Kaen was the most transformative 4 months of my life. The program teaches you about yourself, how to collaborate with others in a community, and how Americans can learn from and support the efforts of rural Thai villagers using a learning model unlike any other study abroad program. The connections I made with my homestay families and friends on the program continue to enrich my life years after I was a student, and studying on the program refocused my goals for the rest of college and life after. If you're up for the challenge, it will be worth it!

Barcelona is a great, approachable city to get to know during a semester abroad, and choosing CIEE's Advanced Liberal Arts program definitely made my experience the best it could be. I lived with a host family, and my Spanish improved astronomically. It was great to have a home away from home to come back to every day, and it was cool to see how families in another country live. I also really enjoyed taking classes at the Universitat de Barcelona and with CIEE. It was nice to be immersed in local university life while also having the CIEE Casa as a home base.

My time abroad with CIEE was one of the best times of my life! I stayed with a host family and learned more Spanish than I ever did taking classes in school. I got to experience Spain in such an authentic way, and even more, in Seville! It's a place filled with so much culture and history. I took part in CIEE's intercambio program, and was able to practice my Spanish once a week with a Spanish student. It was good I had this opportunity becuase I got to see Seville through the eyes of a local. CIEE provided endless amounts of support and many excursions. I even visited Morocco! One of the things I appreciated about the program is the required mid-semester check in. It made me realize that I wanted to do more things and take advantage of my time being there.

I loved that I went to Seville in the Spring because I was able to experience Semana Santa and Feria. I have such amazing memories of Feria- what a week! Every one was dressed up dancing sevillanas and sipping rebujitos in casetas! And the fireworks on the last day were the most beautiful I've ever seen.

As a black woman, one of the concerns I had was going from a very diverse city in the Bay Area to a homogeneously Spanish city, but the people in Seville were all very sweet and helpful. It was definitely a culture shock for me, but I learned that the people I interacted with learned as much about my culture and experience as I did theirs. Overall, I highly suggest going to Seville through CIEE. You will not be disappointed!

My study abroad experience was better than I could have ever imagined, truly a life-changing experience. This is all true thanks to CIEE Open Campus Rome and its staff.

The institute's center was ideally located in Prati, a safe neighborhood within walking distance to most of the city (great for exploring after class). The best part about CIEE Rome was the staff. From the directors to the teachers, they were all well-rounded, full of knowledge and excited to share that knowledge with us. They truly cared about our experience, being open to new ideas and always trying to help in any way.

The program provided so many unique and fun opportunities to learn about Italy and its culture. My favorite part about the classes was that many were on-site such as visiting museums like the Colosseum, touring churches like the Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica, and visiting many other places around Rome. Additionally each week students could participate in activities, for example, pasta making, watching soccer, or going to the opera. I loved the gelato making class (we even got free gelato)!

All in all, I am so thankful for this life-changing experience and truly having the best semester ever!

My time in Barcelona was a fun and unforgettable learning experience in more ways than one. Academically, I would say that this study abroad experience was crucial for my confidence as a language major. I finally got over my fear of using my Spanish with native speakers and reached a point of fluency where not only am I able to read and write at a competent college level in Spanish, but I now am able to have meaningful conversations in my second language, thanks to study abroad. Personally I felt I was able to grow in my confidence to get around in a big city and travel through Europe, as well as make friends of all different ages, cultures and backgrounds. Barcelona is a fun, vibrant, international city full of art and good food.

Program-wise, I could not have been happier with the choice I made. I was in Barcelona with CIEE for the full academic year, so I got to know the staff at the center pretty well. They were wonderful, laid back, helpful people that I always know that I can come back and visit if I'm in the city. The ALA program was a great fit for me because it had a good mix of challenging literature classes at the University of Barcelona and smaller cultural classes at the program center that helped me get to see and understand the city at a deeper level. All of the classes were taught completely in Spanish by knowledgeable and friendly professors.

As far as my housing experience went, I highly recommend the host family option. I lived with a host family first semester, then changed to the student "residencia" so that I could experience both options. I really connected with my host family while I was there. Not only were they great friends, but having dinner together most nights really helped my ability and confidence with using Spanish. I also met some great friends through knowing them with whom I kept in contact. The residencia was also a good option, although I had much less interaction with locals living there. It was, however, in a great location where I discovered many of what would become my favorite bars and restaurants, as well as having very nice facilities.

Overall, I would highly recommend Barcelona, and specifically CIEE to anyone looking to study abroad in Europe. I am very thankful for my time spent there and know I will return in the future!

My time in Barcelona has been an experience I will never forget. Whenever I reflect upon the last few months, a nostalgic happiness fills my heart as I remember all the moments that have pieced together a beautifully vivid painting of unforgettable memories. 

With respect to academics, I could not be more grateful for all I have learned in Barcelona. Largely facilitated by the teaching competence of my professors, I feel as though I have greatly increased my knowledge of some of the most important works in the canon of Spanish literature. However, what has made this learning experience particularly unique is the fact that I was able to study these groundbreaking and intellectually stimulating writings in the original Spanish tongue of their creators.

My favorite class of the semester was "Literatura hispanoamericana del siglo XX", or "20th Century Spanish-American Literature", thanks to Bernat Castany Prado, the phenomenally erudite professor who teaches it. With his vast and impressively deep knowledge of literature and philosophy, Bernat inspired me with his lectures, which skillfully interweaved both of these fields. In fact, my Spanish friends and I would often joke that Bernat is immortal, as though he has somehow lived through every century in human history. In Bernat's class, we covered five principal topics: The Avant-garde literary movement, Vicente Huidobro and Creationism, Pablo Neruda, César Vallejo and, finally, a portion of Borges. Bernat was so effective as a professor that I now feel not only comfortable with, but also interested in discussing and learning more about each of these five themes. 

Apart from the academic experience, I will remember Barcelona for its impeccable food. I noticed that, in general, the quality and affordability of food in Barcelona is impressive. Because of my enthusiasm, I quickly compiled a list of my favorite restaurants, and whenever anybody visited me, I made certain to take them to some of my preferred spots. Concretely, my favorite breakfast/brunch restaurant was Can Dendê, with its pulled pork pancakes and fried green tomatoes, my favorite lunch restaurant was Norte, with its pheasant burger, and my favorite place for dinner and tapas was Vinitus, especially for its paella del día (paella of the day), its pescaditos fritos (fried little fish), and torrija for dessert. If interested, I will be happy to share the restaurant list I compiled upon request!

But most importantly, Barcelona has a special place in my heart because of the unique individuals with whom I have been fortunate enough to cross paths. From the moment I arrived in Barcelona, I remained focused on one all-important question: what can I do to ensure I get the most out of this opportunity? For me the answer was always clear: I need to integrate myself into the local culture. With this in mind, my overarching objective was to befriend at least one or two local students with whom I would be able to keep in contact upon returning to the United States. While I certainly relished the ease with which I could travel to other countries while in Europe, I had always considered that a friendship with a local Spanish student would be more valuable to me than all the traveling and sightseeing I could possibly do. While memories of things seen are trapped in time, friendships have the potential to last a lifetime and may become fountains from which new memories continually spring to life.

Conscious of this objective, and also of the preciousness of my limited time abroad, I decided to be proactive in meeting local students at the University of Barcelona. During the first few days of classes, I made the intention to introduce myself to some of my classmates and, slowly but surely, I began to become familiar with many students. Little could I have known how much these efforts would pay off. While I had always thought I would be fortunate to befriend even one or two local student, I ended up meeting someone who has become one of my closest friends. One day before my 8am Sociolinguistics class, I met a girl named Anna Del Valle, and we immediately hit it off. To add to our excitement, Anna had always wanted a friend from the United States, and I from Spain. 

During the course of the semester, Anna and I kept closely in touch, and I hung out with her and her friends on multiple occasions. At the end of the program, I introduced Anna to my parents and my brother when they came to visit, and, on my second to last day in Barcelona, Anna's parents even invited me to their house for an exceptional good-bye dinner. I could not be more grateful for this friendship, especially in light of the fact that whenever either of us decides to visit the other's country, we will have someone with whom to spend time and "pasarlo bien.”  

While there is so much more I would love to share about these months abroad in Barcelona, I wanted to emphasize these particular factors, since, from a personal standpoint, they represent what I will remember most about the experience. As I write, I am enjoying my last 12 hours in Barcelona taking in final impressions of Plaza Catalunya, delighting in some of the incredible food I will dearly miss, and playing paddle with Anna before saying goodbye. Nonetheless, despite the sadness that has accompanied these final moments, I can rest easier with the hope that I will soon return to this city and reconnect with the culture and people who now hold a very intimate place in my heart.