USAC Reviews

What makes living in Viterbo unique? Well, lets start with it's not well known. And then let's get a kick out of telling people I've lived in a little medieval city in Italy for 9 months and haven't stopped going back there since. I love watching people's eyes widen when I tell them that, and then of course I immediately I start looking for flights to Rome. I think this is one of the things about studying abroad and living in a place like Viterbo; you can't get enough of it.

You all need to know that you're going to fall in love, and I don't mean with an Italian boy like I did (unless that happens to you, I support you!), but you're going to find your self falling in love with another way of life. You will learn to adapt well to their cultural hours, festivities, eating habits, pisolini (naps), and gelato eating so rapidly that when it's time to leave, you've acquired more culture shock going home than when you arrived in Viterbo. I would say, be prepared for some unexpected feelings going home. I couldn't express more literally that my life has taken a full 360 in almost every way.

Let's move on to some serious stuff though; academics! I personally had a great academic experience studying in Viterbo. The courses offered by USAC lean more toward liberal science, art, and history, but of course they do. I mean look at the place! Viterbo is so rich in history, beauty, art, and love. My course load, however, was not as packed as others, so I had more free time to go away on the weekends, which I didn't do much because I enjoyed spending time in Viterbo, near by cities, and Italy in general. Yet, the workload can be challenging, which is a good thing! I know some students had their personal issues with professors and the way they teach and blah blah, but you got to make it work, and you will.
To sum up, it's completely manageable studying in Viterbo, being academically challenged, and fitting in you're travelling and fun all at the same time.

Tips:

1. Listen and learn the language. "La lingua Italiana sia bellissima!" Most of the young generation speak little English, with some cute grammar mistakes, but the older Italian man who owns the local printing shop down the street and who loves to talk you ear off doesn't know what you're talking about.

2. You will be stared at. Don't take this personally, all Italian's stare and it's what makes them intimating, but in a beautiful way (can I say that?). And if at first they don't smile, not to worry, they'll come around and notice. It took me about a week to get the barista at Happiness Cafe to smile at me every time I walked by.

3. Localize yourself and get in with the locals. Some people are so shocked that I could speak Italian pretty fluently after a semester and that's because I not only studied the language to the core, but I spent 80% of my days speaking it. I traveled mostly to Italian cities and if not I was in the center of Viterbo chit-chatting it up with everyone I could. I mean, I heard Sicilian and some Italian growing up, but never truly picked it up. So, I spent most of my time hanging out with the local Italian students and Viterbesi. It's fun, honestly, and localizing yourself is worth while; people start to know who you are and want to hang out. I got friends all over the place now. I think I sent more graduation announcements to Italy than in California.

4. Food tip: MANGIA! (EAT, obviously). And find a cute Italian boy, or girl, to make you Carbonara like I did. Also take all food, cuisine, and cooking courses that USAC offers. The cuisine exam is a joke because there's so much information for a multiple choice, but you will pass I promise and it's so wonderful tasting wines and eating cheeses in class!

Attending USAC Viterbo for my junior year of college was by far the best decision of my college experience. The on-site staff are incredible--knowledgeable, helpful, caring, and always ready to go out of their way to help make this the best experience possible. The housing is lovely, the field trips are enriching and well planned, and Viterbo will feel like home sooner than you ever thought possible. I made friends here that I will have for the rest of my life and I have never felt more safe than I did walking through these medieval walls. You will never regret attending this program and all of the incredible memories made here.

I would highly recommend this program for those who want something off the beaten path. Nagasaki is full of history, as the first port where foreigners first entered and where confined to helped to shape what it is today. There are so many historical sites around the area such as Dejima, the Dutch Island, Glover Garden; a colonial village where some foreigners lived, Chinatown, and much more. Because of the foreign influence, it also has some delicious food that is famous to the area!!

My favorite part was that since you rarely see any tourists besides your fellow students, you get more interaction with locals. Many locals were interested in talking to me when I was walking around or at the bus stop to ask what I was doing there since they don't see too many tourists there, and that was one of my favorite parts. Not as many people spoke English as you would see in bigger cities in Japan, but people were still friendly and you could communicate in broken English and Japanese.

The bus system around town does not have any English translations on the buses or schedules so you have to try to read the kanji or ask the bus driver where it goes, but I feel it is more authentic that way! During orientation they will tell you what kanji to look for if you want to go to certain places.

I felt the academics weren't challenging enough and really easy. I do come from a more rigorous school and major so I felt that way, but I know some students felt that some of the classes had a lot of work and were challenging so it depends on what you are used to at your home university.

I did a homestay which I HIGHLY recommend. I got to eat some of the best meals of my life that my host mom prepared and got to help with some of it. These were also meals you can't find at any restaurant. I also got to go on trips around Kyushu with my host family and got to do things most students weren't able to since we went to places that a lot of them didn't know about or that were hard to get to with public transportation. All of my fondest memories were with my host family.

Nagasaki is very beautiful but it is harder to travel to neighboring areas due to all the mountains and the public transportation system is not as developed as it is in other areas of Japan, so if you are looking for a location as a travel base I would recommend the other locations that are offered, but if you are looking for something authentic where you can immerse in the culture I would definitely recommend this program!

I very much enjoyed my time in Alicante through the USAC program. I was able to see, do, and learn so many things that I don't believe I would have anywhere else. My experience studying abroad through this program enabled me to challenge myself and have the time of my life, all at once. I was able to meet so many great people from across the world and made lifelong friendships that have made it possible to go on even more adventures since. The local program staff is also very kind and supportive. Academically, I was able to advance my Spanish skills more during my six months abroad than in the five years of Spanish classes I had taken previously. I also sparked an interest in the field of international education and I am considering pursuing a career path related to helping other students get an amazing study abroad experience. Alicante is full of fun activities from hiking to the two castles within the city, lounging on the beach, and going to local soccer games. The city also has amazing transportation including buses, trams, train systems, and an international airport. It is very easy to navigate the city and travel outside of it. One of my favorite experiences during my time abroad was being able to travel to Morocco for a field study and I know that the trip, being facilitated by USAC staff, was much more meaningful than if I would have gone on my own. Studying abroad with the USAC Alicante program was the best experience of my life and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to study abroad.

I relied heavily on reviews when making my study abroad decision, so I felt compelled to leave one myself. I spent the Spring 2017 semester in Alicante and as my review title suggests, it was the best decision I ever made.
Alicante is the perfect city to study abroad in, in my opinion. I wasn't looking for a larger city like Madrid or Barcelona because I wanted a more authentic experience with less foreigners and that's what I found in Alicante. Fewer people speak English, so you use and practice your Spanish much more (but you can definitely get by without being fluent- all my Track I friends were fine). Alicante is not a tiny city by any means though: amazing nightlife, busy airport with plenty of nonstop flights to major European cities (London, Dublin, Paris, etc.) and lots of people. It is an incredibly beautiful city and is within an hour of most destinations on the Costa Blanca (the region Alicante is in) like Calpe, Altea, Benidorm, etc. I would really recommend visiting as many of these sites as possible; they are all so breathtakingly beautiful.
The host families and landlords have been with the program for years so they truly are the best of the best. I am still in contact with my host family now that I am home. I really enjoyed my experience in a host family and would highly recommend it, but a lot of my friends also really loved their apartment experience so it all boils down to personal choice.
Coursework was not bad at all in my opinion. Most professors understand that you are abroad and try not to bog you down with work. I still feel like I learned a lot and grew in my Spanish abilities. The professors are also so sweet and care about their students. After turning in all my final exams, all my professors hugged us goodbye and wished us well. Track III and IV do not have Friday classes which was ideal for weekend travel.
The support from the staff was unbelievable. They are not just staff members, but your family for the semester. They will accompany you to the on-campus doctor, helped drive people to their internships, organize weekly activities like soccer, basketball, hiking, etc., and then bigger excursions to explore the Alicante region. They have free printing in the USAC office, so I would go in there to print something out and ended up hanging out with Luis, Sylvain, and Veronica for 30+ minutes just chatting.
I absolutely loved my semester in Alicante and would recommend anyone to do the USAC Alicante program!

I studied abroad in Torino, Italy in Fall 2016. At first, I thought this would just be a unique experience and something cool to do. Little did I know, Torino and its people have stolen my heart and I consider Torino my second home.

I learned so much during this program thanks to the immense support form Torino USAC staff. They organized many educational and cultural activities throughout the semester including visiting vineyards, learning the history of wine, and tasting many Italian wines. We also had the chance to tour FIAT plants and the Maserati plant located in Torino. We also took a day trip to the Alba truffle fair where we were able to taste world famous foods and be completely immersed in the Italian culture. Looking back, I am so grateful for all of these experiences and the opportunities the Torino program gave me.

Studying abroad was not always easy. The process prior to departure and during the semester consisted of a lot of detailed paperwork and tasks to complete. We had a lot of paperwork and payments to make and things to purchase once in Italy. USAC staff did an incredible job assisting me with all of this by providing a detailed checklist prior to departure and responding instantly to any questions I had via email. The first few days in Italy, many of us had high emotions adapting to a new environment and would get frustrated or upset. Torino USAC staff were kind and patient with us and helped us with anything we needed. They did the best they could to accommodate us with our different issues.

I felt completely comfortable and safe in Torino. The people are all incredibly nice and I loved going downtown and exploring the city with minimal tourists. If I had a choice I wouldn't change a thing! The USAC Torino program was absolutely amazing and I loved it. Thanks to USAC I now have a second home and family to go back to.

Italy is perhaps my favorite country right now. The country, language, and culture are just so beautiful. This program did not offer any courses in my major but I chose Viterbo becuase I love history. Due to it's location, this is a great place to study abroad if you like history and learning about more of the lesser known facts about Italy.
The staff was great and USAC really cares about you as a student and making sure you have a safe enjoyable experience.

I have done 3 travel abroad programs, 2 with USAC and 1 with Rotary Youth Exchange, so am privileged in my ability to do a compare and contrast analysis. In the semester previous, I studied for a semester in Thailand with USAC.

Academics:
Thailand’s USAC program said it was USAC rules to be able to miss 3 classes per class, while in India you were only allowed to miss 1 class per class. Professors at Christ University hold attendance to high importance and are apathetic for reasons for absences. Being Americans, being forced to go to class is a strange and hard to follow, especially when you'd rather travel. Do not tell your professors you are missing your one allowed absence to travel, they will not accept it. Classes were 3 hour-long lectures, where the professor would just talk at you while everyone did travel research on their laptops. There were only 2 assignments for each class, which were the midterm and final were you wrote a 14 page essay roughly for each one. Since American schools end later in the year and Indian colleges end sooner, you will be studying only with the other exchange students therefor separating you from the local Indian students at Christ. Nevertheless, the grading system is loose and you will receive nothing lower than a B. Several Indian students go far as to say plagiarism is a norm that will be left undetected.

Accommodations:
As for living the situation, there are two options: living on campus in Jonas Hall (cheaper and only for women) and the off campus Christ Apartments (Coed). I enjoyed living in Jonas Hall despite it having stricter rules. The Indian Christ students have harsher rules they have to live with, such as only being able to go out 2 times a year while staying there and no access to the washer machines in the building. You will be treated differently with more privileges than your Indian flat mates and are allowed to stay out, but won’t be able to be let back in past 9am. The other benefit of living in the on campus dorms is you will be able to wake up 10 minutes before class, instead of a 40 minute to hour walk from the off campus apartments. Moreover, you will have a single room, much needed in a country like India were personal space isn’t as highly regarded. It will be nice to get away at the end of the day. The off campus apartments are nice, but you will have to share a room with another USAC student and it will be more expensive. Moreover, it is my observation that the USAC students in the apartments stick to each other, disallowing them from making local Indian friends.

My Experience:
My time in India will be the most impressionable travel experience I have ever had. India is adjacent to several countries on my travel list such as Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal, Bangladesh, Tibet, and Afghanistan. Yet, you will find India is so large you will not be able to even explore India enough with the 4 months you are given. I extended my time there because of this issue. From the sailing the Kerala backwaters to paragliding over the snowy peaks of Kashmir, India is stunning. If you are feeling nervous in result of all the negative propaganda that the media says about India, do not be intimidated. I have always felt safe as a woman, often times taking sleeper busses alone and meeting up with friends later.

Most Important Advice:
Cliché as it may be, please come with the intention to properly integrate yourself. Become self-aware and recognize the internal ignorances you might have about Indian men, culture, and practices look to shatter them. Since you will be separated from the other Indian students do your best to get involved on campus. I was lucky enough to find the Christ women’s soccer team my first week of being there and was able to travel for free for tournaments and make 16 lifelong friends. Having these girls guided me is what made my time here so awesome. They helped me find the best eateries, hospitals, bars, and along with provided friendships that truly made me feel like India was my second home. Through a friend on the soccer team I got to meet my now boyfriend, who is a travel blogger and who I was able to travel India with and feel safe. I learned more about India and the culture through my friends here than I did in my culturally based classes. Ask your friends to take you on visits to Hindu temples. Be cautious in asking about the caste system and where they find themselves in it. Since you can only be born into Hinduism, as an American you will be able to enter temples since you are not apart of the caste system and glorification of white skin post colonialism is still evident. If you are black you will find India to be a racist country and please be wary, but don't please don't be discouraged. It is common to receive unpleasant stares and racist commentary. All in all, India has been an extraordinary chapter of my life that will stay with me forever. I can only owe it to the friends I made here and my boyfriend for why my time here was so successful. If I hadn’t had reached out so soon to the local community, my time here would not have been as enriching. So by all means, get out there. Go to an Indian wedding. Go scuba diving in the Indian Ocean. Go hiking in the Himalayas. Visit temples of all different religions. Submerge yourself in the Ganges River. Do as much as you can because before you know it your visa is up!

My time spent in the lovely and serene city of Reggio Emilia was the ultimate experience with USAC. The staff was always so helpful, and it was because of them and the program that I was able to make the most out of my time spent there. It was like having a home away from home; a second family. They emphasize the student experience, with constant support available, and fun field trips/ activities that allow you to immerse yourself fully in the culture. I met so many new people, and made lifelong friendships through this wonderful program. I've even considered going back for USAC's Verona program!!

There are really no words to describe an experience like this. USAC was an incredible program. They set up everything from classes to home-stay. All I had to do was go there and experience an adventure of a life time. The classes were always interesting. Got to learn from a local professor. The science classes that I took came with an awesome field study. USAC also had planned weekend field trips that were always very fun. I would recommend this to any one!