Program Reviews

I'm one of those annoying people that says studying abroad totally changed them. But its true, Cape Town changed me into a better, more worldly person and even beginning to write this review makes me so homesick.

The first day I woke up in my room in Cape Town, I was deathly ill. I'll save you the gruesome details but it was so bad I had to go to a doctor. I was in a new country with no friends yet and feeling completely hopeless. Everyone in my program had left for an overnight bonding trip and I was alone in this big house, sick as a dog. One of the Arcadia directors, Marsha, saved the day and came to be my mom for the next 24 hours. She dropped everything to take me to the doctor, made me soup, and slept in the house with me so I wasn't alone. I felt better the next day and I could already tell that I had chosen the correct program provider. Marsha is hilarious and she would always check up on me throughout the semester.

I was in Cape Town from end of January to mid June and I'm not sure where to even begin. Our program was small, about 45 of us and we all instantly bonded. All the directors always said they had never seen a group like us that were so close. We got there two weeks before school started and were able to explore South Africa. We did a trip called the Garden Route with Southern Ambition and it was a 4 day trip along the coast with stops along the way. We stayed in hostels, kayaked to a waterfall, bungee jumped from the tallest bridge in the world, rode ostriches, played with cheetahs and lemurs, and many other adventures. It was a great experience because of who we were with, the company that hosted us, and just being able to get a view of SA and set expectations for the rest of the semester.

School was challenging but doable. UCT is an esteemed school and the students there have worked their butt off to get there. It was actually really cool to be in such a dynamic school environment where students are engaged and debates are a common occurrence. Arcadia was a little different in the fact that we had a weekly class "Introducing SA" led by the director, Alan, where we would all attend. It was great because Alan is quite the character and we would all get to share experiences we had had or things we were going through. The best part of UCT for me was being able to hear opinions of those different than me with totally different backgrounds. Kentucky is very homogeneous so getting to have conversations with others about colonialism, supremacy, misogyny, and other tough topics was eye opening. I grew up believing what I did and never challenging it and left South Africa questioning why I believed the things I did and doing some self exploration. I went from caring about my little world and being uninformed to getting a better grasp of what the outside world looks like and trying to inform myself on important issues.

My favorite parts of Cape Town were the hikes (Lions Head cannot be beat), the small little towns a short Uber away like Houts Bay or Kalk bay, the friends I spent everyday with, living like kings because of the exchange rate, bunny chow (a dish only in SA), and always being able to go on an adventure. Being home and not constantly planning a weekend trip has made me restless.

I could carry on about my time abroad for hours but I will spare you my babbling. South Africa completely changed me in the best way possible and I walked away with experiences I will always hold dear and friends that I still talk to everyday. If you're looking for an experience a little outside of your comfort zone, look into Arcadia: SA. You will not regret it!

Overall, my time in London was great, however, the internship where I was placed was horrible. I would not recommend the internship program solely because of my bosses. I worked at a public relations agency in Oxford Circus. I washed dishes for hours because everyone thought they were too good to wash their own. I was only supposed to work 20 hours a week because of my full course load, but they made me work 25-30 hours. Arcadia was really no help. A lot of personal growth happened because of this, but I learned nothing professionally.

This program provided everything that was needed in order to ensure that I was able to get the most out of this experience. I really appreciated the constant support, but it wasn't over whelming support. I was able to live and learn in Cape Town however I saw fit. Overall, I loved this trip and it was truly life changing.

Stewart (our prof) was the funniest and most sincere man I have ever met. He always was making us laugh and made sure that we were having a good time while we were abroad. I had a friend pass away while I was there and he did what he could to keep my comfortable and allowed me to take as much time as I needed for assignment and for class. Being able to go out and know how the people of Australia really live was the most powerful experience ever.

I have never had so much fun in a summer and learned so much. The classes were out of my comfort zone as a science/ health professions major, but I was able to learn so many things that are applicable in everyday life. The staff at Arcadia is fantastic and become your family by the end and it makes it hard to leave, but so excited to go back. I would HIGHLY recommend Arcadia in Rome.

Ever since I heard that studying abroad was an option I had my heart set on Italy. It didn’t really matter where exactly in Italy, just as long as I was there. When I first met with my advisor we went over the different programs and I began looking at pictures of the town I had chosen. I had no idea at the time how much that city would come to mean to me. I studied in a small town called Perugia, which is located between Florence and Rome in the region of Umbria which borders Tuscany. Little did I know, this would turn out to be the perfect city to call home for a semester. We all quickly fell in love with this town because of its small size and large student population, both local and international. My friends and I quickly adapted to the Italian lifestyle and met for a cup of coffee every morning before class and would attempt to use our broken Italian as we built relationships with the locals. The first class every morning was our Italian class, then we would all meet for lunch on the steps of the center of town. After lunch we attended our other classes, which all had an aspect of community involvement. Luckily we only had class Monday through Thursday which left us a long weekend to explore. Some weekends we would stay in town and walk around and really get to know the city we were living in. Other weekends we would take the train and visit other cities. I got to visit Venice for Carnival; I saw Florence in spring and stopped in Bologna for a daytrip. In addition we got to see the Amalfi coast and swim and cliff dive in Capri. I visited the Vatican while we were exploring Rome and explored countless cities during my semester abroad. Living in Italy was an unforgettable and life changing experience which not only broadened my worldview but also deepened my love of cultures and languages.

Arcadia provided me so knowledge, experience and fun! Through Arcadia I was able to study at the London College of Fashion, a dream of mine since starting college. The classes were challenging yet equally rewarding. During my time in London I was also able to intern with a top jewelry designer and attend charity events with the Beckhams, Eva Longoria, and various Made in Chelsea Stars- so cool! Obviously my time in London wasn't all work; I was able to attend London Fashion week, travel to various countries, see many plays, shop on Oxford Circus and the many markets and attend so many events this magical city had to offer. During my time at Arcadia I made some great friends with flat mates, students and colleagues that I am still remain close to today. An experience a could not even dream about before going!

My favorite things about Galway were Shop Street and all of the buskers there, the Spanish Arch (Sparch), the farmer's market every weekend, Boojum, and the fact that my little apartment felt like home by about a month in. I traveled around Europe on the weekends and one of the best feelings, even though I love going new places, was when my plane touched down in Dublin and I rode the bus back home to Galway. It is such a beautiful city, the people are wonderful, and I would do anything to go back. Studying abroad was hands down the best decision I have made in college. Try new things, do what you love, enjoy yourself!

One of the best experiences I had abroad was the 'reading' week we got off in the middle of February. While most people I knew went to Portugal or Greece, a friend and I decided to fly to the arctic. In the northernmost part of Norway, we went on a midnight dogsled through the wilderness. That alone would have been an incredible experience. But as we returned to camp, I noticed a faint silver thread floating through the sky. I stopped. I let go. I sat into the snow as the darkness opened to greens and pinks drifting through the sky. Before, when I pictured the Northern Lights I always pictured an overwhelming magnificence that was, for some reason, loud. But out there, I was struck by the most beautiful silence. Pure and soft. Everything else disappeared.

I entered this program to go to an interesting and historically complex place and engage in an incredibly complex endeavor-- community development. The additional challenge for me was that I was tutoring children in a township, and I can't stand kids. Going to see these kids every day was exhausting, and I actually made myself sick once because I didn't want to go to work that badly. But when it was all over, I think I still represented a different kind of American to those kids, and provided an example for them by being okay with being different. In the end, I don't think I learned anything about community development, only that it is so much more loaded of a term then I was previously able to comprehend, and that revelation help me to mature a lot, emotionally and in regard to my education in social sciences. I still don't care for kids either, but I can stand to be in the same room as them now.