Grandeur of Granada

When one thinks of studying abroad, things such as the chance to travel, immerse oneself in a new culture, and make lifelong friendships and memories come to mind. While all of this is true, those things are only the typical golden highlights of it.
SOL did so much more than that when it came to making my study abroad experience the best that it could be! The program directors did a fantastic job pairing roommates, not to mention the family placements. Moving to a new country is difficult enough without adding in the stress of having a roommate you don't get along with. With SOL, they carefully read your preferences and personal interests and match you with another student similar to yourself. My roommate and I were practically twins! My host family was welcoming and eager to introduce us to the Spanish ways of life, I never felt like an intruder in their home. And luckily, my host mom loved the kitchen which meant I was never short of a fantastic meal!
Apart from housing, SOL facilitates entertaining and culturally enriching activities to highlight the different things that Granada has to offer. A few of my cultural activities included a flamenco class, a visit to the Alhambra, Arabic baths, and horseback riding. Among the excursions we took were Sevilla, Cordoba, and Nerja. I loved the opportunity to be exposed to these three cities of Spain that I otherwise may not have seen. They were places filled with as much history as they were beauty.
Overall, SOL was very organized and did a great job in preparing events that truly engaged us in the cultural aspects that were most important. The on-site directors were always friendly and made sure we knew that they were available for anything we may need. If I were to study abroad again, I wouldn't want to go with anyone but SOL!