Customized Faculty-led Programs in Ireland: Learn International

This was a tremendously valuable experience and I would encourage any student to take this trip and study in Ireland, N. Ireland, and Scotland. Chris and Cara were both very supportive, and John O'Hara and Katie Kelley were wonderful guides. We all developed an affinity for our hosts throughout the journey. The trip included a wide variety of cultural exposure, from the urban atmospheres of Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, and Edinburgh to the rural beauty of Donegal. I will return to Ireland one day. I cannot think of any reason not to go on a study-abroad trip in these great places through Learn International.

I had the opportunity to go on the University of New Mexico's "Imagining Ireland" trip the summer after my freshmen year of college. I had traveled abroad once before going on this trip, but this was my first time traveling alone and I was really nervous about renewing my passport, booking flights, going through customs, and all the other miscellaneous activities one experiences while traveling. Learn International made everything really simple by booking our hostels, arranging our transportation, sending us flight schedules, and scheduling group activities and tours. Katie from Learn International accompanied us for most of the trip and did an excellent job keeping us on schedule and teaching us about Ireland. Katie is the friendliest person you could ever meet and she was always willing to help in anyway she could!

Our trip began in Letterkenny, and from there we traveled to Galway and Dublin. We spent a couple days in each of these locations which allowed us to take day trips to various places such as Derry, Bundoran, Sligo, the Cliffs of Moher, the Aran Islands, and Glendalough. During our travels we stayed in hostels, all of which were nicely kept, run by friendly people, and located in safe parts of town that were in walking distance of major attractions. In summary, I had a great experience with Learn International, and I highly recommend them to anyone who is looking to study abroad, but is not quite sure where to start.

I would like to thank Learn International for making my study abroad experience in Ireland as enjoyable as possible. The program started by making sure that all necessary steps in the pre-departure process were fulfilled such as passport, medical shots, etc. This was especially important to me as a first time overseas traveler. Then the entire Ireland experience was incredibly fun. Despite the short duration of the program, I really felt that we had a great exposure to true Irish culture, whether it was visiting a small town pub for an Irish storytelling, joining in on some live music, or even just enjoying a round of Guinness. The fact that housing, transportation, and meals (breakfast and dinner) were included in the price of the trip was extremely helpful as well. Lastly, the most important part of the program was being able to tour a variety of different areas around different ends of the country, and being able to observe the cultural difference between them.

I'd never traveled without my family, but I felt like I was with family! The faculty and staff were excellent (especially Katie! <3) and I spent the whole trip feeling safe and included. There was a perfect balance of coursework, learning new things, making new friends, enjoying new experiences, and having lots of fun! This is a program I highly recommend, especially for students and first time travelers.