Program Reviews

My abroad experience was all about balance. I saw many people overdoing it on one aspect of their experience: completing an immense amount of schoolwork or suffering from travel burnout. The study-internship gave me balance. I worked a little and gained valuable experience but didn't feel like I was overloaded with a full-time job, I had schoolwork but wasn't stuck in my room writing essays every Friday night, I travelled but also felt like I made London my home.

One thing that I loved, in particular, was my internship. Not only did I learn a lot and feel like I gained important professional skills, I also got to know people who actually lived in London. So many tips, tricks, and support came from my co-workers and our clients.

The staff were responsive to our needs and requests. Sometimes certain memos needed to be communicated better or quicker, but the staff adapted well. The academics were fantastic at Mahidol University. The teachers are generally helpful and willing to meet up outside class. The Economics class I took was difficult but taught very well by an intelligent and talented professor.
This is one of CIS's larger programs, so there are dozens of Americans that go each semester. This means you have an English-speaking community and lots of friends! I made great lifelong friends while I was there and look forward to visiting them back in the States. Everybody is always down to travel and understand the culture better.
The housing (I stayed in Bundit) is really nice. It's basically a hotel room with a balcony. Lots of space to hang out and relax during your downtime.
Salaya (the neighborhood where you live) is generally very safe. A university community, I never had problems with theft or scamming, so it makes for a homey area.
Overall, I would highly recommend this program to anyone.

Ireland was a country I'd always wanted to visit and this program gave me a chance to not only live there for a semester, but also provided four trips to the four corners of Ireland with our on-location contact, where we were able to meet other study abroad students at the University of Limerick, and also were able to visit incredible places that many of us might not have known about otherwise. The university was interesting and fun, although the layout
of the buildings took some getting used to. Dublin itself was an amazing place to learn and explore, and this program was good at giving us an introduction that worked as a starting point to prepare for our own adventures. Staff at CISabroad was also very good about touching base with us in case of potential emergencies and was easily available to help with ensuring we had everything we needed up through the day we returned home.

When I pictured myself studying abroad, from the flight to Italy to the flight home, I was filled with so much excitement & wonderlust. I was picturing all the amazing countries & cultures I would be able to immerse myself in and I could not have been more thrilled. What I didn’t realize before my trip was that the people I met would have such an influence on my time in Sorrento. Leaving and saying our goodbyes was one of the hardest parts. The life long friendships I made during my time abroad is something I hold so close to my heart. Looking bad, I would not have had it any other way. The town of Sorrento was so cute & quaint. During all of the amazing trips we took, from Ireland to Germany, to Croatia, to Greece, getting back to Sorrento felt so nice. It truly felt like home.
My friends & I were able to feel like locals. We fit in with our daily routines, going into town to grab a coffee or a gelato, seeing familiar faces that would smile & greet you so nicely.
I would recommend studying abroad to anyone. I was able to see so much growth and change not only within myself but within so many others around me. You create a bond with the people you travel with for so many reasons but I have found that the changes & growth you go through hold you together the most. Studying abroad gives you the opportunity to discover who you are, how you adapt to change, and to focus on yourself & what makes you happy. It may be hard at some points, but it is so worth it in the end. I wouldn’t give up my study abroad experience for anything. CIS abroad has helped me through it all and I could not be more thankful.

I signed up for the Food Studies and Sustainability Program offered through Umbra Insititue in Perugia, Italy because I am an environmental studies and sustainability major. I really enjoyed the program and experienced more than I ever thought I would. They fit so much in and really allowed us to experience Italian culture through food. The staff and professors were incredible, friendly, and knowledgeable. I truly enjoyed it. However, I really wished the program focused more on sustainability. I think it was too focused on food and tradition and I was expecting a little bit more of an environmental prospective. I think it has the potential to really integrate innovative and green thinking into the cultural and culinary education already being taught.

I had SO much fun on this trip! I learned so much about myself and for it being my first time traveling out of state by myself not knowing anyone that was going, I thought I did really well! I made so many lasting friendships from all over the world, and plans to meet up within the next couple of months! I felt completely safe and the advisors for the trip Callum & Ron did a great job on making me feel safe and planning fun adventures. The Academics side was a little more challenging because they grade harder in Scotland than the states. The professors were so lovely and I enjoyed what they taught. The rooms we stayed in were so much better than I would’ve ever imagined! I truly had the most magical time ever. I would go back in a heartbeat or do it over again!

My experience abroad was amazing and will forever be a memory close to my heart. Having Peggy and Alessandro from CISabroad was a great opportunity to be able to participate in activities that I wouldn't have necessarily done on my own. For example, we took a cooking class through the program and it was so much fun. They were also very useful when it came to suggestions for places to eat and shop. Because of them, I found my favorite hidden gelato place that's off the beaten path. I came into this program really nervous to be away from home for so long - my advice is if it scares you, just go for it! You only live once.

The country was gorgeous, and CIS gave us plenty of opportunities to explore it. We got to explore Cape Town and Stellenbosch, and the classes were interesting and engaging. I can’t wait to go back someday. For future participants: make sure to bring warm clothes and an umbrella! Summer in South Africa is actually winter and can get pretty cold. My favorite memory is climbing to the top of table mountain and looking at all the amazing views

I was in Barcelona for 10 weeks in the summer of 2017. While there, I interned for a real estate technology startup called Nested. Nested is an online co-working marketplace that seeks to match unused office space with users who want flexible workspace. My bosses, Tomaso and Jordi, were great guys. I am embarrassed to say that I am not a fluent Spanish speaker and did not improve as much as I thought I might, but that did not stop me from developing great relationships in the office. Everyone was very patient with me and made sure that I understood what I needed to be doing. I worked M-Th, typically from around 10am-6pm, but they were always gracious enough to let me leave early if I needed to (usually to catch a Thursday afternoon flight).

And then there was the out of office experience. I loved my apartment on Career Ample. The program housed all of the guys in the program in three apartments one floor after the next, which was a great way to make friends with everyone. We were close to the beach and public transportation (I had about a 30 minute subway commute to work). Being based in the same city for 10 weeks gave me ample time to explore everything the city had to offer. I can now say with certainty that Barcelona is my favorite city in the world. My biggest tip is that even though you will sometimes be tired, try and do something everyday that you are in Barca. Once you are gone you will wish you can go back!

Barcelona is straight-up amazing, but the "cherry-on-top" of my summer was that I had the opportunity to travel pretty extensively on the weekends. There are great (and cheap, by American standards) direct flights out of the BCN airport, and there was even a week I booked a Thursday flight that Monday for a reasonable price. I ran in the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, hung out on the beaches of Nice and the casinos of Monte Carlo (quick uber ride), explored the charm and quirkiness of Prague, was floored by the natural splendor (and skydiving) in Interlaken, and took in everything that Amsterdam had to offer (c'mon, I'm talking about the Van Gough museum). And even with all of that, I think my favorite weekend was when we stayed in Barca for La Nit de San Joan, where we shot fireworks on the beach with our local friends and partied all night.

Throughout all of this fun and activity, the CIS Abroad team was right there to provide support whenever needed. I had multiple team member phone numbers that I knew I could call, both in case of emergency or if I just had questions. One memory I have of them being a huge help was when I ordered a mattress pad. I'm a pretty big guy and the one in the apartment wasn't cutting it (trust me, there will be something that doesn't work out for you while you're over there, its no biggie). So after about a week, I decided to do something about it and order a bigger one on Amazon.es. However I knew that I couldn't order it to my apartment because it would likely get left on the front step of a very busy street. When I called up CIS they were more than happy to tell me to have it shipped to their office so they could hold it for me. I was able to pick it up after work one day, and (after lugging it through the subway and up my stairs) slept great for the rest of my stay.

If you've actually read this far, and are on the fence about going abroad, let me just give you one final piece of advice: GO!!! My Barcelona internship experience constituted the greatest 10 weeks of my life and condensed many years' worth of experiences and friendships into a summer. If you need proof, I wasn't planning on writing more than a paragraph in this review and look what happened above. The memories are almost literally overwhelming. I will cherish the summer I spent in Barcelona forever!

As the semester came to an end I was overcome by both the joy of being able to go home and see family and friends and being able to use my debit card freely with no extra charges, but also with sadness realizing years will probably pass before I will be able to return. Throughout all the experiences I had in Florence, good and bad, altogether I had an amazing time. There are definitely things that I wish I had known and think other participants should consider before choosing to study in Florence. For example, I was not aware of how Americanized my day to day was going to be. You go to school with Americans, travel with Americans, and mostly everyone speaks English. This being said many people come to Florence with a group of friends so this could be a challenge socially since CIS and FUA provide no student hub where people can go to either study, relax, or mingle. Even if you don't find a group this shouldn't stop you from exploring and expanding your knowledge of culture and travel. Some of my favorite trips were ones I took alone and I was able to finally meet different people from around the world. There are definitely improvements that could be made, but your experience truly depends on whether you are able to escape your comfort zone and enjoy every little moment that you can.