CEA CAPA Education Abroad in Alicante, Spain

As someone going into World Language education, when it came to my education abroad experience, I knew I needed something that was going to support my goals in gaining proficiency in Spanish. The CEA CAPA program to Alicante, Spain was perfect for me because...
1. It offered a smaller city experience that opened the door for the opportunity to use and rely on only Spanish for communication, with minimal English. This ultimately led to a huge improvement in my proficiency level!
2. The Alicante program was offering opportunity for enriching cultural experiences. My program ended up happening during the same time as the Las Hogueras summer festival, which provided an amazing way to get to see and experience the traditions and life of the host culture.

I had the wonderful opportunity to be able to spend both July of 2022 and 2023 in the city of Alicante with CEA CAPA. The opportunity to study abroad and not only learn the Spanish language from where it originated, but also to get the chance to explore the city and make plenty of new friends was an absolute treasure. I would strongly recommend at the very least going to the city on your own, if not with the CEA CAPA program, as the additional events and academic support that they provide helped to enrich my experience significantly.

Alicante is an amazing city! It has everything from beaches to hiking to city activities. The community feeling is strong on every corner and the welcoming nature of everyone who lives there is shining. One thing that amazed me was how safe Alicante felt, even at night. The biggest thing to be careful of is pickpockets, especially when it's busy, but if you're smart and aware you shouldn't have a problem. The museums and restaurants in the area provide tons of opportunities to explore, but my favorite part was being able to spend the evenings on the beach watching the sunset and looking back to see the beautiful castle just beyond the road.

Alicante is a fantastic town with plenty to do. The beach is beautiful, the weather is pristine, and life is very good in Alicante. The nightlife was cheap and very fun. The cost of living was very low, especially with all the Corte Ingleses in Alicante. The only thing I would say could be better is that CEA sends you an email about the excursions, and some, if not most of the time, you will have class, and that's simply on you. However, I was making my own trips with friends, so it didn't bother me much. Another important aspect to note is that there isn't Uber because it is such a small town. You can potentially find rideshare, but it is taxed and unluckily. On the other hand, public transportation is fantastic, so it's easy to get around.

CEA alicante is incredible. I highly recommend studying abroad in Alicante Spain. It is a much lesser-known city of Spain, but that makes it all the better. Alicante has everything I was looking for and more: a good culture, a safe city, a beach, a big and beautiful University, small class sizes, kind people, and walkable streets. The city of Alicante is smaller than the more popular Spanish cities so you can walk anywhere that you want to go or you can take the very clean and easy to navigate public transportation systems. I used the transportation to get to school and the cute surrounding cities in the Alicante area. Alicante is also big enough to have all the major shopping stores, attract European tourists, and host a large festival. The CEA staff were amazing too. They were very interested in getting to know us and plan fun excursions to further our experience abroad. I loved it so much. The airport in Alicante is also great so transportation to and from is fairly simple.

Studying abroad was one of the best decisions I've ever made! I had a great time and learned so much. Alicante is a perfect city - easily walkable, on the beach, not too big but not too small. The people were friendly and their accent is not difficult to understand. I was also able to take a class taught completely in Spanish which was a cool learning experience.

The excursions were all awesome and I was glad we got to travel to other parts of Spain (Valencia, Granada, etc.) In addition, I was able to travel independently around Europe and see truly amazing places.

Studying abroad in Alicante with CEA provided me housing in the middle of a laid-back, beautiful city with a rich history and endless things to do and places to explore. This is a great city to experience the Spanish lifestyle without being overwhelmed by a big-city pace and atmosphere. The University teachers love what they do and as a result, have engaging classes with relevant assignments rather than busywork. With an excellent, quite simple public transportation system both within and outside the region, traveling up Costa Blanca could not be easier. My stay in Alicante gave me the time to get to know myself and discover what really matters in life, and the people I met taught me valuable lessons which I wouldn't trade for anything.

I have found a second home. I loved Alicante, I was able to emerge into the culture and make many friends. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot about Spain. I found family in Alicante, i was able to experience different cuisine and change my diet. I walked a lot so walking 50 minutes is not a lot for me anymore. And I love that i am able to walk that much and feel good. My roommates were amazing too, I was placed with two amazing strong women, who are my friends for life now. We were the only 3 Latinas in the program and we were placed together.