Program Reviews

API Sevilla, Spain was amazing. I had the best host mother in a residencia, and the classes at my school were with other study abroad students but taught by Spanish professors. The whole experience was amazing, we went on trips, had thanksgiving dinner, and many other fun activities throughout the city during our semester. The staff is absolutely dedicated to every student, and the program size was manageable, only about 20 students, the perfect size as far as Im concerned.

Studying in Tuscania was a decision I will always look back and smile about. This small, historic town gave me a real Italian experience. My friends and I adored feeling like we were absolutely immersed in another culture. Because it was small and not so much a tourist trap, we actually got to know some of the people in the town, and learned ways to communicate much faster than those studying in Florence or Rome. Plus we lived in the most adorable apartment within castle walls built before America was even discovered. It was so gorgeous and so serene, which is the absolute best way to do Italy if you ask me! My classes were so fun, and I looked forward to learning how to cook Italian cuisine and watching authentic Italian films every day. Plus the excursions that API planned for us to Florence, Rome, and Montepulchiano gave us the opportunity to see and experience other parts of Italy as well. I have only the fondest memories of my month spent in Tuscania.

I had originally chosen API because it was the most affordable study abroad program that I could find in Sevilla. However, that did not stop them from offering an inclusive, cultural program that would be very difficult to beat.

My experience in Spring 2012 was overall very positive, and I'll list some of the highlights, as well as some of my not-so-positive experiences:

1) Excursions - we were given tours of Madrid, Toledo, a bike tour of Sevilla when we arrived, Granada, Cadiz, Extremadura, Portugal, and probably more that I'm forgetting at the moment. Not only were these tours wonderful, informative, and intimate, but we were given great hotels to stay at (a monastery from the 1400's was my favorite), but we were essentially shown a side of Spain that we would have never seen from an insider's point of view.

2) Staff - API hires wonderful, caring people to work with us, and I was very impressed with them. They helped us plan trips, find churches, and gave us candid advice.

3) Housing - It was both a good and challenging experience for me. I chose a host family stay, and I was well-fed and cared for. My mom was a fabulous cook! I did struggle a bit with her timetable; my mother wanted me home at certain times for meals, and it was hard to do so with all of the activities going on. However, overall it was very good. API was very eager to make sure that we had good housing; some of my friends disliked their situations and were able to find better accommodations with API's help.

4) Academics - I took classes in Spanish but with Americans, and that is probably my biggest regret. The classes were good, and I learned quite a bit, but my Spanish would have improved so much more had I taken the classes with Spaniards option. I'd encourage anyone to do that.

Overall, a fabulous experience.

The excursions that the staff in Salamanca had planned for the group were extraordinary. I loved all the places I go to during my two month stay in Spain. From horse backing to trips to Galicia. The excursions were simply amazing! I believe my favorite trip was to Cadiz and Sevilla.

On any given day during my brief but unforgettable life in Salamanca I would wake up at the crack of dawn in my closet sized room and stumble out to the table for breakfast with my host mom. We would watch the morning news together and she would emphatically complain that I never ate enough and insist that I take a snack to class because I couldn't possibly get through to lunch on such a small breakfast.

Then I would set off for class on foot and walk the 15 minute trek through streets older than our own country is, passing by ancient relics like it was no big deal, but always covertly craning my head to marvel at the historic beauty nonetheless.

Then I would spend the next few hours soaking up as much language and culture as possible in my classes. "Women in Spanish History" was my favorite class, followed closely by Spanish cinema.

After class I would arrive back home promptly at 2:30 and tuck into a truly massive lunch with my host family. "Lomo con salsa naranja" was my favorite. Then I would have to sleep it off during siesta because no one could possibly get up and do anything with that much food to digest.

After a quick nap I would head out for the Plaza Mayor to meet up with my friends "debajo del reloj" and we would go shopping, or chill at a cafe, or the cross the ancient Roman bridge to the park if the weather was nice.

Finally I would come back home at 9 for dinner, debate the day's news with my host brother and help my little host sister with her English homework (explaining "good, better, and best" was an absolute nightmare). Around midnight I would fall into bed and sleep like a log, dreaming the sweetest dreams because I knew I would get wake up the next morning and do it all over again.

Thanks to API, those 4 months in Salamanca were the best of my life, and I will always miss my second home.

Studying at Pablo de Olavide in Sevilla through API was such an incredible opportunity. API is a fantastic program in so many ways. They provide activities and excursions that help you get to know the people in your program and see various places in Spain and Europe, ensure that students are housed with great families, and are always open to questions and concerns. One of my favorite things about the program was living with my host family, which gave me welcoming people to come home to every day and allowed me to improve greatly in my Spanish speaking abilities. I also loved the challenge of taking all of my classes in Spanish to gain confidence with the language. Sevilla is a beautiful city and the resources provided by API allowed me to feel comfortable exploring with friends or on my own. I would highly recommend this program in a heart beat!

The API program for Complutense was an incredible chance for me to improve my Spanish and learn all about the Spanish culture. I've traveled abroad before but the Madrid program is great. The onsite staff is very helpful and their office door is always open. Madrid was a very safe city and a perfect example of the Spanish culture. We took about five excursions with everything included and it was a great way to get to know my fellow students. Being an international student at Complutense was somewhat overwhelming at first but the professors are very understanding and the classes were very helpful. I would recommend a "home-stay" because my house-mom helped me with my Spanish all of the time and we still keep in contact! Overall, this program is well worth the money and I would recommend it to anyone.

I would absolutely recommend API to anyone looking into studying abroad. From the very first day when you land in your host country the staff is ready to help you transition into your new life, and on all the excursions the group leaders were incredibly knowledgeable about every place that we visited. My group leader would even usually point out good restaurants and sites to visit on our free time in all out cities and sometimes would even purchase a small treat for our whole group so that we could get a taste of the truly local flavor. And this program is absolutely the best value when you take into consideration how many trips you get to take for about the same amount of money as most other programs. Studying abroad was the best decision I have ever made and the best experience I have ever had and I think I owe a great deal of that to API.

My day to day experience in Salamanca was overall amazing. Whether it be a day of exploring the small city that was easy to navigate yet intriguing as well due to the small holes in the wall that we discovered little by little, or the amazing people who welcomed you as a member of their city and encouraged you to learn their culture, it was always an experience. I absolutely loved the city overall and found it to be very safe (I felt the safest here than I did out of all the cities I had traveled to). I also was very much able to practice my Spanish, and my professors played a large role in helping me to perfect the language by the time I left. The people of Salamanca were also great and I met many new and interesting friends throughout my time there. I was also very lucky to have Maria and Inma, the program directors, by my side. They were perfect directors in that they introduced us to the Spanish culture (and others as well) while providing us with the perfect amount of independence and assistance when needed. I know that if I were ever to return (which will hopefully be soon) I will definitely be paying them a visit. I also lived in a residencia in which I had the most amazing Spanish mom I could ask for. Despite the fact that she didn't live there, she still spent ample amounts of time with us and I felt like I was actually living in a home stay. However, due to the fact that I lived with many other native English speakers from the program, it was difficult to practice Spanish in my residencia all the time. But I did love getting close with other students from my program, and it did provide a nice break every once in a while. I couldn't have asked for a better experience and I will recommend API Salamanca to anyone considering study abroad.

Studying abroad with API in Granada, Spain was hands down the best decision I've made to date. Everything about the program was beautifully organized. I became close with the staff who were extremely supportive and knowledgable about Granada and Spain in general.

I chose to live in an apartment with one other roommate and we got a huge living space about 10 minutes walking distance from the center of the city and 25 minutes to campus. The school was delightful, I thoroughly enjoyed walking to class each day in the sunshine.

I was placed in classes that were completely in Spanish, which was more helpful than difficult. Since Granada is almost like a hidden gem in Spain, there aren't many natives who speak English. The professors were extremely patient and aided in my comprehension of the Spanish language in very effective ways.

API provided us all with unique and fun activities like intercambios, tours of places such as the Alhambra, excursions within Spain as well as an international excursion, etc. With just about every student participating in these activities, we became an extremely close group of friends. We all were in the API office just about every day, chatting with the staff, asking for recommendations, making plans, etc.

The staff of API and the program itself is not lacking anything at all. Everyone was always happy to help and just all around genuine people. Study abroad positively changed my entire outlook on life. If I could go back in time, the only thing I would change is that I would study abroad with API for all four years, instead of just one semester.