Program Reviews

I loved the St Laurent Du Var program! I can't imagine living any other way besides with a family. I really enjoyed the immersion in French with my homestay family. The trips were fun and often allowed me to experience a piece of the culture of southern France, while also giving me time to explore and bond with my roommates and peers. I am an advanced French speaker, so the advanced class was a bit too easy, but I enjoyed the chance to practice my French anyway. The night soirées were fun and I really got to explore the St Laurent Du Var boardwalk. I would highly recommend the Abbey Road programs!

I am about to finish my time on this program and I have enjoyed it so much! I have made amazing friends and memories. My favorite part of this trip was the homestay. I was in a house with two other girls on the trip and my family was fantastic. My homestay mother was the sweetest woman I could have ever wished for and my dad was so funny and cared so much about us. The two sons (16 and 7) helped us immerse in the culture and understand what it's like to be a french child. We went on many trips outside of St. Laurent which were both cultural and extremely enjoyable. My advice to anyone who is signing up for this trip is to try to speak as much french as possible in and out of the classroom in order to learn the most possible French.

My daughter, Katie, had a wonderful time with the Abbey Road program.

She found the classes to be interesting and practical. She learned conversational French and was more fluent in French after the program. There were optional classes like snorkeling and painting in the afternoons which she also enjoyed.

The program offered wonderful trips to places like St. Tropez, San Remo and Monte Carlo.

The rooms were small, and it got hot with the warm weather, but Abbey Road provided them with many fans. She went on the program with a friend from school but many students did not know anyone and it was easy to make new friends. She is still in touch with most of the students on Snap Chat or Instagram.

I felt pretty comfortable about the supervision they were given. Curfew was strictly enforced. The students were given freedom to explore with parameters and the teachers checked to see where they were going and with whom. All and all it was a comforting experience as a parent.

I was expecting a lot from the program, but it went above and beyond my expectations. I have always wanted to go to Barcelona. I love the fact that it’s a bigger city and there are a lot of beaches. I wanted to be somewhere where everyone spoke Spanish. The only downside of Barcelona was that they spoke Catalan, which is their version of Spanish, but everyone knows regular Spanish so it ended up working out just fine. I [also] chose the Barcelona program because I also wanted a pre-college experience over a homestay.

For me personally, I was going to be more comfortable living in a residence with other students than living with a family I didn’t know. By the end of the program I wanted to be able to have conversations completely Spanish, no Spanglish and I really did accomplish this. I was able to communicate with the locals and the counselors. The Spanish classes that I took were really helpful because they weren’t your typical Spanish classroom classes. The class took your learning into the real world of Spain. We were able to go out and apply what we were learning and I really appreciated that over a regular classroom setting. I also wanted to be able to manage myself as I would in college like budgeting my expenses. I wanted to be able to provide for myself.
The residence was perfect for what we were dealing with. The kitchen was really nice. There was even a bathroom in my room! I really appreciated having my own space and that’s another reason I chose this program. I’ve never lived in a dorm before, but when I showed my parents where I was living they told me it was the nicest dorm I would ever get to experience so I felt lucky. The location was good. It was close to two metro stations and there was a taxi station just down the road. I really liked the food! I ended up having a really big appreciation for Spanish food by the end of the program. I’m not a seafood person and by the end of the program, I ended up loving seafood. I think the staff took us to the right places to have lunch and dinner. When we had to find food for ourselves we were able to very easily. I also like how we got to cook for ourselves. I learned how to cook authentic Spanish cuisine.

I loved all the staff on my program. They were all so nice and they liked to have fun with us and be safe. They taught us a lot and I really appreciated that. They were all wonderful. I think my instructors are obviously a little different than the instructors I have back home. They really took our learning outside the classroom and into the real world of Barcelona where I learned show much more compared to traditional teaching methods.

I loved the St. Laurent program. The homestay family was especially memorable. They were more than hospitable and spending time with them at dinner and having meaningful conversation was such a good way to learn. They had an extensive garden and it definitely showed in their cuisine, honestly some of the best food I've had.
Outside the homestay, the trip was a lot of fun. We went to the beach almost everyday and by the end, we were pretty familiar with the best places to go on the main strip in St. Laurent. I was also surprised by how many places we got to visit. We took lots of day trips and we were able to really see what the French Riviera has to offer from the Picasso museum to parasailing in Nice.
I'd recommend this trip over the Nice trip because 1) I can't imagine not having the homestay experience and 2) our group was about half the size and that made the travel easier and the experience a lot more personal.

I really enjoyed my time in France. I lived with two different host families. I especially enjoyed the first family because they only spoke French. I really wanted to get the full immersion experience when I was there. There were a lot of different activities at night and on the weekends.
My French is pretty advanced so the class work wasn't very challenging, but I learned a lot just by living with the family and speaking to storeowners etc.

My favorite part was the weekend excursions to other cities like Cannes and Monaco.

8 am​: The sky is cloudy, drizzling rain falls down. The brisk cold air is refreshing
compared  to the heat wave, we we're in just a couple days ago. ​9 am​: Men and women are
walking to work, everyone dresses very well. You can tell the tourists from the locals. The local's 
dress  minimalistically  with  a  pop  of  color  and  the  perfect  mix  of  old  and  new. 
10:30 am​: Rosenthaler metro station is bustling, there is a new train almost every minute. It 
was confusing at first to find how to get to Alexanderplatz but luckily the German's are very kind 
and helpful! Our train arrives and we get on, I think everybody knows we're American's because 
I'm  holding  a  folding  map.  Awkward...Another  give  away  was  the  fact  that  we  were  talking 
somewhat obnoxiously  loud. Probably shouldn't have done that!  ​11:15 am: The sky is still 
grey but I enjoy walking the streets of Mitte that way. I felt like we weren't tourists anymore, just 
some angst­ridden teenagers roaming the streets, what we do best. The window displays were 
mesmerizing,  each  one  unique  in  it's  own  way.  From  one  design  you  could tell the brand's 
consumer,  identity,  signature  look!  ​Noon: After walking many blocks,  turning  many  corners, 
and  then reverting to Google  Maps,  we  found Neue Wache! There were many tourists posing 
for pictures or using their selfie stick to take a selfie. Zeughaus was right next to Neue Wache, 
which  was the German History  Museum. However, we recognized it  from all  the posters of a 
naked man with red lipstick on, that had been following us all over the metropolis.  
12:50 pm: After exploring some more historical treasures, we found a rickshaw. I had 
been wanting to go on one,ever since we had seen them the first day we got to Berlin. I know it 
was  such a "touristy thing" but it  looked  so fun! When in Berlin became my new motto! While 
taking in all the beauty of the city on our ride, we were planning out our afternoon. The talk of a 
record store  came up  and our driver overheard us  so he took us to  the "best record store in 
Berlin."  ​1 pm: Dussman das KulturKaufhaus (Dussman Department Store) was  basically  a huge Barnes and Noble but it was much prettier and modern. If you wanted to escape your job 
on  lunch  break,  this  was  the  place  to  go.  Five  floors  of  literature,  poetry,  vinyl  records, 
notebooks, stationary, art, documentaries, biographies and much more. It was a fete of all that 
was  great  in  our  big  bad  world.  ​1:45 pm: ​Briskly walking  towards the  store I had  been 
dreaming about going to in real life, it was right there in front of me. MONKI! When I walked in, it 
felt like I had been transported to every "hipster" girls closet. When I think of the word hipster, I 
believe it is some one who forgets the trends and creates their own look which usually turns out 
really  cool.  She  is  not  afraid  to be  different. One  corner  of the  store was like walking into  a 
updated  school  dance,  with  a disco ball, and mirrors everywhere. They had 60s and 70s retro 
meets hippie,  minimal with a twist,  just plain  crazy and  funky  and a huge sale! I noticed that 
there was some another store on the other side, and I thought it was mens clothes because the 
store  itself  was  the  opposite  of  Monki.  Suddenly  my  eyes  stopped  on  a  pair  of  jeans, they 
looked  exactly like the  boyfriend  ankle  jeans from Acne Studios. They were women's and 45 
euros! Much better than the 200 dollars in America! The store was called Weekday, and it had 
men and women's clothes. No other two stores could be different than Monki and Weekday yet 
they were put together.......Upstairs was even more Weekday clothes, comfy tees for 10 euros, 
dresses for 30 or 40 euros, jeans from 35 euros and so much more! It kinda reminded me of a 
more sophisticated Brandy Melville. I tried on everything I could possibly fit in the dressing room, 
changing from one thing to the other, racing against the clock! By the time I went to check out, I was  sweating and it was cold in the store! We ran to grab a cab as soon as I got my receipt.
Finding a cab at 2pmduring the week was like trying to find a pearl on a white carpet.
After standing in the street risking our lives, we finally got a cab. When I got in the cab, I took a 
huge breath. Phew! ​Beige  was all  I saw as we drove down the hectic Friedrichstrasse center. 
Beige Mercedes, Volkswagens, and BMWs swarmed this frenzied area. ​Americans, driving in a 
Mercedes Benz for a form of quick transportation is “pretentious”, as if Germany is showing off 
their  power  and  wealth.  However,  since  Mercedes’s  are made  in Germany, it’s like buying a 
Prius in America. ​3:30pm: DOME! WOW! ITs SOOOO PRETTY! I think I might of been a little 
too  excited to walk  by the Berliner Dom, but how  could  you not look in  awe! ​3:35pm : As 
soon  as  we  walked  into  the  DDR  museum,  I  heard  French,  German,  Chinese,  and  British 
voices. There were throngs of translators  all throughout the place. I tried to stay with a buddy 
while going through the exhibit, but that was often hard for me because I took like 5 minutes at 
each explanation or artifact. Compared  to the many other museums we had gone to, this was 
definitely  the  best  for  kids  and  teenagers  because  it  kept  you  engaged  with  the  interactive 
learning.  I  found a  part  of the exhibit,  talking about  the woman of Germany post WW2, East 
Germany compared to West Germany. ​West Germany kept up with the latest trends, which 
was the Mod look, the US adopted from the UK starting with Twiggy. ​Beehive updos, shift 
dresses,trousers, and penny loafers were featured in the photos from 1950­-1960 ish Magazines from Germany. Better yet, there were samples!  

I enjoyed the program! There was lots of activities and fun events with the program! I would go on this program again and enjoyed the opportunities available.

Housing was good and liked living with other students !

My favorite was traveling to other cities and doing the cultural activities !

I would recommend this program! This program was a great experience :)

The wifi isn't the best but the other opportunities available make it worth it.

Abbey Road was an amazing experience that far exceeded my expectations! Abby Road's staff was enthusiastic, encouraging and always available to show me a new aspect of the city. I have always loved studying languages, and there was no better way to learn French and experience the culture than with Abbey Road.
Humbled and inspired by polyglots, Abbey Road gave me the opportunity to practice my French with fellow students and residents. The students came from as far as El Salvador and were enthusiastic about learning French and experiencing Nice authentically. I was amazed by the individual attention I got from every staff member, including the program director . The staff was always encouraging me to learn more about French history, venture into the world of high speed French conversation, learn new ways of creating arts, and perfect my writing. I loved debating about history in French, discussing cinematography, and learning light-painting for the first time. I loved being able to read short stories in French from the local bookstore. The accommodations were superb - close to the beach, small cafes, and restaurants - giving me a fantastic look into French daily culture and even the economy.
Traveling to different towns, including a trip to Italy as well as the state of Monaco, and spending time on the Cote' d'Azur engaging in cultural and athletic activities provided the ideal environment to learn, explore, and enjoy Nice and the surrounding areas. Abbey Road went above and beyond in making my summer unforgettable. Thank you Abbey Road! I would love to have another summer with Abbey Road.

Abbey Road's Cádiz immersion trip gives you unbelievable freedom and puts the opportunity to drastically improve your language skills in your hands. Between the language classes and cultural studies classes, you get the opportunity to walk around the city and find the places you want to go or the things you want to do. My friends and I frequented a café so much in the late afternoon that the waiter started to recognize us. We went surfing, hung around on the beach afterward, then walked the beach walk at night. We talked with some people from Salamanca about travel, then made our way back to our homes to sleep in the classic Spanish fashion (late). The staff was always so helpful and the connections I made I know will last. I can say without a doubt that my Spanish improved after the program, especially more practical applications and colloquialisms. Abbey Road was the perfect summer program for me; for anyone interested in travel, language, and culture, Abbey Road is the right program for you.