Baggage Claim to Besties: A CIEE Love Story

Flying from Chicago to Madrid for my CIEE Teach Abroad orientation, a girl walked up to me at baggage claim and asked if we could be friends. I saved her name in my phone as "Baggage Claim Rachel." We ended up sitting together on the CIEE airport pickup bus, and the next day discovered we were in the same orientation group. 4 years later, we are still best friends.

Through CIEE I found an instant community—from another auxiliar at my school who I later hiked El Camino with, to orientation buddies turned karaoke partners, to CIEE staff that felt like family.

The community that CIEE cultivates is worth it alone, but the other support that CIEE provides was priceless for me. Rather than figuring out visa paperwork, housing, banking and more on my own, I had a network of knowledge and a group of other people to lean on who were going through the exact same process.

As someone who tends to worry, if I had doubts at any step of the way, there was someone over phone, email or in person to talk me through the process. I felt like I could leave the parts that I was worried about with CIEE and focus on enjoying the experience.

Looking back, the value that I got from CIEE far outweighed what I paid. If you jump right in, put effort into building relationships at your school and beyond, and lean on CIEE, you will have the time of your life!! <3