CISabroad - European Experience: Ireland, Scotland, England, and Spain

Going abroad was the greatest thing I have ever done. There were ups and downs but the overall experience was incredible. My trip was made exceptional by the people that were on it with me. I went into it knowing no one and left with many close friends. I certainly have the travel bug now and a taste for adventure. Visiting the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland was a dream come true and something I will never forget. Getting to see the entire royal family in London was also an unforgettable experience. I was able to visit so many different castles in different countries which was truly amazing. I learned so much on this trip about Celtic culture, spanish art history, and I got to see and learn about the London theatre scene. Some useful tips: prepare yourself for no air conditioning, make sure you have a phone plan that works, and bring your own sheet and pillow. Overall my advice would be, be prepared for anything, sometimes things happen and you just need to take it in stride. The world is an adventure so get out there.

Overall I loved the trip. I made some great friends and I got to see things I never would have. One problem I had was the living condition in England. They told us we could not stay in the same room as opposite sex and when we got to England they put women in shared lofts with men that we had never met before. That was a bit uncomfortable. The rooms were also dirty. Other than that, I loved my experience and found it to be memorable and positive. I loved my class in England

I was so excited to go abroad I was unsure of what I would experience. I saw things that were unique to my program. I got to see the Queen, in England. I lived right by Sagrada Familia in Spain. I traveled to 27 different cities and 5 different countries in 76 days. All the people and places made the experience a thousand times better. I am so grateful for this experience.

Considering the fact that the trip allowed for me to visit four different places in just 2 1/2 months, I would say the excursions were well planned, the housing convenient and the staff very friendly.
The only critiques I would make would be for the Ireland and Scotland portion, emphasize the amount of money that will be spent on food given the fact that the first two weeks are spent hostel hopping and having to eat while at museums or other excursions that cause prices to increase. Also, for this portion of the trip I would suggest providing more information for why each planned excursion is relevant to the course. Everyday was loaded with excursions and trips, which was amazing, I just know that with tiredness comes moodiness and a lot of people probably would have been more responsive if they knew why the excursions were important/relevant.
For the Spain portion of the trip, I would suggest making classes Monday-Friday but ending at 2pm. While 9-4 M-Th. was nice, by the time you got back to your apartment and finished homework, all you wanted to do was sleep. Also, we had planned and already paid excursions on the weekends yet no one wanted to go on those because we felt we didn't have enough time to explore Barcelona. Making classes end at 2 but go M-F would fix that issue.

The Ireland/ Scotland portion of this program is absolutely crazy, you see so much in two weeks. I wish Dr. H had given us information sheets so we knew what was coming up next and there was a lot of travel time, but overall I got to see an insane amount of attractions in 14 days.

London was amazing. There's so much to do and the classes are more stable but still very fun. We go on excursions but there's a ton of free time to really explore.

Spain was my absolute favorite. It's the most flexible in terms of doing things on your own, there's so much to see and it's all so wonderful. The classes are a bit more rigorous but you need it to communicate so it's directly useful. I loved Spain so much, my friends from the trip constantly complain that we're not there still!