Program Reviews

When I signed the language pledge on day one, I made a promise: only Chinese, all day, every day. Every character was a rep, every assignment a set, and I studied my way through coffee shops all over Beijing, rating each one out of five stars. My politics and business courses were taught entirely in Chinese, and my one-on-one research dug into modern dating and why so few young Chinese are having kids — answers I found by interviewing locals myself.
The real growth, though, happened outside the classroom. I'd talk to anyone who would say hello — monks, aunties in the park, students in the library, a woman making tea in a Yunnan mountain village. Each conversation was a private lesson worth more than gold. I took the bullet train to Shanghai, biked around West Lake in Hangzhou, got lost in the tea mountains, played pick-up basketball with Tibetan and Uyghur students, and even talked my way into a free tour of Alibaba's headquarters after waiting at the gate for over an hour. Persistence works.
By the end, my teachers said my Chinese had improved tremendously. But the part I'll carry with me isn't a grade or a trip — it's that I loved who I was in China.

My semester in Morocco was an unexpected but memorable continuation of my study abroad experience. I had originally gone to Jordan, but our program was integrated into the Moroccan program mid-semester due to the conflict with Iran. After transitioning from Jordan, the program adjusted smoothly, and we were able to settle into a new routine fairly quickly. Academically, the program continued in Arabic, though the structure felt more flexible compared to earlier in the semester, which allowed for more independent learning outside the classroom.

One of the biggest highlights was the amount of travel we were able to do. I visited around ten cities across Morocco, each offering something different! From busy medinas to coastal towns and mountain regions, these trips made the experience feel incredibly dynamic and gave me a much broader understanding of the country. Overall, Morocco was a unique part of the program that emphasized cultural exposure, independence, and exploration, and it added a very different but valuable dimension to my semester abroad.

I can’t put this semester into one paragraph—I think I have been pushed and challenged this semester into a lot of discomfort and confusion. I have been so humbled by my own ignorance and presuppositions. At the same time, I have never felt at home so quickly somewhere. Over the semester, I have come to love the things that made me so uncomfortable—chatting the taxi, bargaining at the market, meeting a stranger on the street and even eating water fufu. From an academic perspective, I have learned so much since being in Cameroon about different cultures and regions, about agriculture and the economy, about colonization and the corruption today that is still rooted in colonial oppression. I learned about a war in the western regions of Cameroon that I’d never heard about before and I got to visit political prisoners every week to learn even more about it. I got to sing in the car with my professor and I danced every week with my host mom at church. I ate so much food this semester, there were some days when I thought I’d never be hungry again. I met people from all around the world, and even a girl from my own small town in Ohio. Cameroon has made my world a little smaller, but it has made my vision of culture, language and relationship so much bigger.

My abroad semester (half) in Rabat, Morocco was unexpected, but still worth-while. I enjoyed learning a new Arabic dialect and meeting people with new cultures. I liked learning about the various cultures, languages, and identities in Morocco. I think the program administration could do a better job of enforcing the language pledge and pushing students towards Arabic language and cultural immersion. Overall, I enjoyed my half semester in Rabat, which is a beautiful and culturally rich city to live in.

I really enjoyed this program! I got to explore Kazakhstan, take interesting classes, and learn independence all while being fully immersed in the Russian Language. Going into this program, I already had an intermediate understanding of the Russian language, but I wanted to learn more about the Russian-speaking world. I found that Kazakhstan — typically unexplored by the average American study-abroad student —and, in particular, the program with Middlebury, were well-suited to my academic and personal goals. I got to work intimately with Kazakh students, learn about a previously unexplored culture, all while eating good food, celebrating important Kazakh holidays, and viewing breathtaking architecture (attached). For Russian-speaking students interested in furthering their academic career and being fully immersed, consider the program in Astana!

This past spring, I had the pleasure of studying abroad in Taiwan with Middlebury. . Much like most of the other kids in the program, I had never heard of Kaohsiung before, and so I wasn't sure what to expect from the city. I was met with a fully prepared educational curriculum and support system crafted and maintained by our wonderful teachers. I quickly adapted to a life spent going to the beach after morning classes, eating dinner at new places with classmates at night, and even drank 108 手搖飲 bubble teas (over the course of the entire program, of course). Aside from thoroughly enjoying the city, I was also fully satisfied with the academic portion of the program. The one-on-one tutorial class allowed me to fully delve into a topic of my choice, and the chance to do a internship with a news channel taught me more about Taiwanese culture and Kaohsiung's inner workings than I ever could've learned on my own. I felt my Mandarin skills improve in real time while I learned how to converse with locals. I made friends in the most unexpected places, even having long lovely conversations with small shop owners who let me feel warmth and friendliness of Taiwan. Overall, my time studying in Taiwan has been one of the most rewarding times of my life, giving me irreplaceable friendships and experiences that I will cherish for years to come. It truly does not take much to fall in love with this city.

My semester in Cameroon was one of the highlights of my life. The program is very well-run, allowing you to take a mix of courses through Middlebury and others through a local university. Living with a host family was essential—most of us became very close to our host parents/siblings and hugely improved our French skills by forging those relationships.

Navigating Yaoundé each day was a fun challenge that I still miss years later. Traveling around the country with our group was another huge highlight. The food was excellent almost everywhere — at home, at the university, and around the city.

The academics at were not at the same level as my American college, and the system (at least at UCAC) was much more in the traditional European lecture-based style. But if you want true immersion in a fascinating culture, there's nowhere better than the Cameroon school.

My study abroad trip to Rabat, Morocco through Middlebury College was a transformative experience. When I reflect back on it, I can confidently say it was the best 4 months of my college education. Morocco is safe, cheap, a great place to learn Arabic, and the people are kind to foreigners. My homestay was lovely. I stayed in a small but modern apartment in Rabat with an attentive host-mother Hind (who was also an amazing cook), 5-year old host sister Rim, and kind host-father Reda. The apartment was just a five minute walk from the tram station where I went to class every day. The classes were challenging and I spent most of the day after class doing homework. However, the community of students (both Middlebury and local students at the university) was so motivating and fun, it felt much easier to do the work alongside them. I often got lunch with a Moroccan student who tutored me and I spent lots of time with other Middlebury students going for runs in the park and going on excursions, including trips to Tangiers, Fez, and Marrakesh.

Morocco can be a culture shock for students coming from the United States and it's recommended to dress conservatively to respect the more conservative culture. One difficult thing that I never fully adjusted to was catcalling from Moroccan men. While I never felt unsafe, I certainly left Morocco with thicker skin. BUT I would not have wanted this to stop me from studying in Morocco and it's possible to avoid the catcalling by walking with male students.

I absolutely loved my semester in Paris. Middlebury provides you with great courses by inspiring Science Po professors in a small classroom environment whereas you also take courses at local universities, thereby getting a double dose of experiences. There is also a wide variety of trips to visit the rest of France, I personally had a fun time in Normandy. I would highlight the supportive team that Middlebury Paris has - they helped me through all kinds of questions and struggles I had in the beginning. I would highly recommend the program to anyone who cares about amazing food, rich cultural life and great flight connections that Paris offers! Coming back with a fluent French is also a great asset.

The only negative aspect was leaving the program - one semester was clearly not enough for me.

I found my time in Montevideo to be immensely enjoyable. Montevideo is a great city to live in, because it has the positives of the city without being a hard to get around metropolis. It was easy to walk or take the bus system to whatever destination. While most Uruguayans felt that the city was unsafe, the other international students and I felt Montevideo was a safe city. If you take basic safety precautions, like not putting your phone in your back pocket, you should be okay. This program offers students the chance to study at various public and private universities in city while having an internship at a local organization or company as well. It was great to not only study but to learn about working life as well. Additionally, the support you will receive from staff and your host family while abroad strikes the perfect balance between caring for you and letting you be independent.