AIFS Abroad: Study Abroad in England

I enjoyed everything about my semester in London through AIFS. Everyone i met through AIFS at Richmond were so wonderful and helpful. The school in Kensington is so close to where we lived and the area is beautiful. London had so much to offer no matter what your tastes were. The thing i loved most about being in London was that it was a great starting point for other traveling as well! I didn't really experience any major difficulties. Anytime I had questions or minor issues, there was always a willing staff member around to help out. When it was time to leave to come home, I wanted to stay because my dorm at Atlantic House had become such a home to me.

I had the time of my life living in London for 9 weeks over the summer! It was a great experience! Kensington was a great place to live, and I was able to go to a lot of areas in London that I haven't been to previously. The classes I took were great and I loved that I was able to get the European perspective on subjects, the professors were awesome. All in all, it was a great time and definitely changed my life!

I was skeptical about going abroad, but I could not have chosen a better program than this one! The staff was extremely helpful in all situations- they would even personally take us to the airport if we felt scared about going there! The dorms are set up to help you make a lot of friends, and the area (Kensington) itself is quite amazing. You cannot go wrong studying abroad in London at Richmond.

Choosing to study abroad in London through AIFS was the best decision that I have ever made. I didn't know a single person in our program when I flew over and immediately made friends that I'm still very close with. The program is incredible--the academics aren't particularly challenging and the travel opportunities are beyond amazing. I was able to travel to eight different countries during our 4 months and although I loved everywhere I went, I was always grateful that I chose to study in London. I would highly recommend this program and would do anything to go back.

My name is Savion, and I am a Musical Theatre Major at the Conservatory at Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. For the summer of 2010, I wasn't really sure of what to do. So I started to look around and I saw an announcement for AIFS's Shakespeare Globe Study Abroad. I was immediately hooked. After convincing my mother that this would be important to my career, which I have come to realize that it really has been, I immediately started the process of registration. From the very beginning, the staff were extremely friendly and supportive and helped me with every step of the way.
The big day came where I was setting out to fly to London. I was filled with both nervousness and excitement at the same time because I had never been abroad before. As soon as I got to my gate, I found two students that were going on the same trip, however they were going for different programs within AIFS. We began chatting and we immediately started to form a great relationship. Funny enough, at the same time my nervousness started to settle as well. The flight to London, which may seem very long, was extremely short with the company of my new found friends and of course a nap here and there. On our arrival to London we were greeted by an AIFS staff member who took us to the carousels to pick up our luggage.
After everybody had received their luggage, I was still left with no luggage. All of my cloths and my toiletries were inside those bags that never showed up at the carousel. After about an hour of waiting for my bag to show up I started to really worry. My new friends immediately came to my side and took me to go the front desk to inquire about my bag. The worker at the desk told me that my bag was not put on the plane and that I should receive it within the next 48 hrs. At this bad news, I became sort of depressed and I felt like my whole trip was ruined. This was, however, a quickly fleeting feeling, because the very next day, after telling them what happened to me, they went with me into the shopping area and I was able to purchase my essentials until my bags turned up. Oh what a glorious day that was when I saw my bags again! From the start, I felt so much love and support from my classmates and the staff.
The very first day of classes were a blast, as we traveled on the Tube (I still have my Oyster Card!) towards the great Shakespeare Globe. Once we got there we were all formally introduced to the teachers and to each other and we "got the ball rolling". We learned so much stuff and we even got hands on experience with props and instruments they used in their Globe productions.
I could talk about my study abroad experience for hours on hours. Back then I was just finishing my Freshman year of college and now I am only weeks away from being a Senior, and I can still vividly remember my experiences with a big smile on my face. It was the best career decision I have ever made to attend AIFS's Shakespeare Globe Program and I have no regrets. I made so many new friends that I am still in communication with today and gained so much experience and knowledge that I will treasure for a life time. My great experience, both culturally and educational wise is one that I cannot easily forget.
As I stepped off that plane onto American soil, I realized that through my experiences abroad I had grown as a person and as a professional. I felt like a new person, filled with so many new goals and dreams. It felt good to be able to remind myself why I love my career in theatre, and AIFS did this for me.Thank you for making my first study abroad program a great one AIFS. Thank you.
If you are unsure of your plans for the summer and are considering this program, take the leap. You won't regret it.
Peace & Love, Savion.

Overall my experience in London was amazing! Sure there were little things that would have made it better, but it was the best experience I've ever had! I made tons of friends that I consider life-long friends and we had wonderful adventures around the city, the country, and the rest of Europe!

The location of the housing is perfect and it's very easy to get around the city (which I had to do a lot of for my classes and just for fun!) Kensington is beautiful and extremely safe, which was one of the things I loved best about where the school was. The staff are amazing and very helpful for any problem you have. They are there to help make your experience at the school the best it can be!

The housing was pretty good, and the food could have been better, but they worked on making it better once we said we wanted better food! Classes were about the same as the school I go to now, but it was interesting to get a different style of teaching and working with the different expectations of the professors.

Overall I loved my study abroad experience at Richmond University and I would love to go back!

I really enjoyed how the AIFS program was so well organized and ran. By having my fee include the cost of the flight, tuition, and room & board it made going abroad less stressful and more enjoyable! I didn't have to worry about where I was living or what I was eating. It was great to live and eat with people in the same program as me and we got to experience our new surroundings together. The was always a lot of activity options so I felt like I could get involved and experience my new surroundings.

I highly recommend this program. I had the best experience a student could ask for. I learned a lot about myself, the people of london and made many local friends in the process of it all.