The Best Semester

I cannot think of a better place to study abroad than Granada. It is a beautiful, safe, eccentric city and you get to live right in the center of everything!

I have done two study abroad programs and IES definitely sticks out in my mind for their thoroughness, fun experiences in Granada and various other cities, attentiveness to students, and the way that they foster great relationships among the students throughout the whole semester. From the beginning of the semester, they set up great activities and excursions to meet friends early on. They really gave us the chance to ease into living in Spain. I liked the small to medium size of the program and that I knew a lot of people in my program by name.

A favorite memory of mine was the trip to Morocco. It was a true bonding experience as we spent the few days with the same small group of students and this was most of our first time experiencing a culture so different from that of the United States. IES planned everything so we just got to have fun and did not have to worry about a thing!

Another couple of highlights from my semester abroad were my homestay and the faculty at the center. My host mom was so loving and I loved having the chance to be more immersed in the language. Overall, the professors at the center were great as well. While the classes themselves were not always super interesting, most of the professors were really committed to getting to know the students as individuals. The course load was manageable, obviously the work picked up around midterms and finals but in general I had plenty of time to enjoy my abroad experience.

I cannot recommend studying in Granada through IES Abroad enough, when I look back, I know those months spent in Spain will be regarded as some of the best in my life.