CIEE College Study Abroad in Seville, Spain

The opportunities and memories I made in the CIEE program in Sevilla are going to stay with me forever. I made amazing friends, traveled to many locations, and even had an awesome internship with a very cool boss that I still talk to. One part of this program that I found really unique was the Morocco trip. There was concern that the trip was going to be cancelled due to high winds making the ferry ride impossible. With a stroke of luck and very bad sea sickness (totally worth it though), we finally arrived there. I am going to be honest here, I started doubting the trip before we went because it was such a daunting experience that I did not feel ready for. After the trip, I did not want to leave. CIEE had the perfect itinerary and we got to know a variety of people who lived there. I would not trade that experience for anything. To this day, it is one of the most eye opening experiences I have ever had. It brings a whole new life to what my mind thought Morocco was due to movies and other media. Morocco has such a beautiful culture and life to it that I wish I could share with others. It is one of those, you have to see to believe. If you are debating on CIEE, I say just go for it. I loved my program and it is worth it to take those leaps. If studying abroad taught me anything, it is that nothing is as it seems. Life is meant for you to push yourself into become more than you could have ever imagined.

I have wanted to study abroad since my freshman year of college. I entered into school wanting to minor in spanish and international business, and knew that being able to study abroad in Spain would help me with both my academic and professional growth. I truly do not have enough positive words to say about this program and everyone involved. My expectations have been beyond exceeded and I recommend this to anyone who is looking for an immersive cultural and learning experience. I have learned more in my first four sessions both in my spanish language skills and cultural awareness than any of my classes taken previously. The emphasis on genuine learning rather than just grades is something that has brought my passion and motivation for school back. Every professor and CIEE staff member that I have met has been extremely helpful, knowledgeable, and kind. The excursions through the program have been a great mix of learning and fun, and the leaders seem genuinely happy to be there. I am currently only halfway done with my study abroad, and I can already tell that this will be the most significant period of learning, not only academically, but personally and I feel greatful to have chosen CIEE Seville.

I thoroughly enjoyed my study abroad experience in Seville. The course work was rigorous and definitely forced me to continually practice my written and oral Spanish language skills. Before participating in the program, I was comfortable reading, writing and being lectured to in Spanish, but by the end of the semester I was also confident in my spoken language ability and lost nearly all my self-consciousness speaking Spanish. I strongly recommend a semester immersion program for any students who want to hone their Spanish language skills while gaining course credit abroad!

Note: I took courses in both the CIEE Seville Center and the Universidad de Sevilla. The staff and faculty support at the CIEE center helped provide resources while I experienced culture shock and language insecurity, and the courses at the Universidad de Sevilla gave me a community of local students to immerse myself more fully in the local culture. Strongly recommend taking courses at as many locations as possible!

I have just returned home from studying abroad in Sevilla on CIEE's Liberal Arts program, and I already miss everything about it! I could talk forever about my experience, but here are the highlights:

1. My host family. Of course this all depends on the person, but in my case, CIEE matched me perfectly with what I said was important to me on my housing evaluation. My host family couldn't have been more generous and kind. My host dad liked to cook as a hobby, so every meal I had was both delicious and authentic; plus, my host parents were retired history professors, so they made an effort to give me historical background both on Sevilla and on other countries or cities when I went on trips. Bonus points: they had a dog. Again, obviously everyone would have a different host family, but it seemed like CIEE does a pretty good job of matching students with families that are right for them.

2. The activities and trips sponsored by CIEE! I took two weekend trips with CIEE, one to Granada and one to Málaga with my interest group. Both of these trips were amazing, and Granada ended up being one of my favorite places I visited. CIEE does a good job of combining free time with planned programming, and the planned programming was always fun and informative (for example, in Granada we did a tour of the Alhambra, and if I had gone alone, it would have been very overwhelming and I would have learned a lot less). And when you're given free time, the staff always has recommendations of places to go or things to do. Besides weekend trips, they also offer activities like kayaking on the Guadalquivir river or day trips. If you can, take advantage of these, because it's a great opportunity to do fun stuff in Sevilla and it's included in the program fees.

3. The academics. CIEE offers a wide range of classes, both through CIEE and the Universidad de Sevilla, and I took both. I would definitely say that my CIEE classes were more challenging, informative, and immersive than those I took at the Universidad de Sevilla. Although I learned from all my classes, I felt like the CIEE professors cared much more about the material and in general were more animated/passionate when teaching it.

In general, Sevilla is an INCREDIBLE place to study, and it will always have a place in my heart. And I have to say that CIEE did everything possible to enhance my time in the city and make it the best it could possibly be; I definitely recommend the program!

Having done a different study abroad program in the north of Spain and travelling around a lot of Spain, I can confidently say that Seville is by far my favorite city. It is so colorful and vibrant and the people are all extremely nice. I took classes at both the University of Seville and CIEE and surprisingly, the CIEE courses were actually more rigorous. However, with the exception of the 2 week intensive, none of the classes were as difficult as university classes in the states. I had to switch host families half way through the program and experienced a great amount of support from the staff. Take advantage of the CIEE provided excursions and events because you have already payed for them and it's a great way to learn more about the city and surrounding areas. Travel in Europe is also incredible but I would recommend not travelling every weekend because Seville has a lot to explore too. Definitely stay in town for part of Semana Santa and Feria de Abril- both unforgettable experiences.

I had the most incredible time during my time abroad. Sevilla was a very exciting city with lots of culture. The CIEE program was well-run and enjoyable. I like the conpany visits for some of the classes and loved going to Morocco. Everyone involved was very nice and helpful and definitely helped improve your Spanish. Living in a home stay with a family was also an excellent choice for me. I loved living with a mother and her three children. That kept everything exciting at home and allowed me to speak even more Spanish during the day. I was also able to travel many weekends. Overall, I had a phenomenal time abroad in Spain.

I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of CIEE's Liberal Arts program in Seville, Spain. I always had my heart set on studying in Spain. My school had partnered with CIEE to offer a program in Seville, but I was a little skeptical at first. I had studied abroad with a third party program before and was not thrilled. I liked what the program had to offer, but I was unsure the academic rigor, home stays, and excursions would meet my expectations. I am glad to say CIEE vastly exceeded my expectations. My homestay was flawless, the excursions were JUST what I was looking for, and my classes forced me to think. In fact, I ended up getting more B's than A's.

I was most impressed with the quality of the staff. I accidentally left my laptop in the Madrid airport on my way to Seville and the CIEE staff was instrumental at helping me getting it back (for free). They were more than exceptional.

I absolutely had the time of my life abroad in Seville this past summer. I was extremely impressed with the staff from the program as they were extremely supportive of everyone that participated in the program, and really genuinely tried to get to know all of the students, which was very important to me. The academic part was a little challenging, but definitely had a huge impact on my Spanish. Some of my favorite memories were traveling all over Europe and parts of Spain with all my friends from the program, and actually immersing myself in the Spanish culture and actually putting my Spanish to the test and seeing everything I ever learned about Spain or the Spanish language come to life. My advice to future participants would be to let go of everything that is going on back home and enjoy every moment of being abroad. You will learn so much, meet so many people, and experience something truly unique. It may be nerve-racking or scary at times since you are on your own and in another country, but the more you relax and go with the flow, the more you will get out of the experience. You could meet some of your best friends abroad. Sometimes in life I sit back and realize how great life is, but that is only every once in awhile. I am not lying to you when I say I felt that feeling every single day with the people I met in Seville, and that is why this experience was so unique to me.