One of the Best Summers in Europe

What I discovered was that learning to be independent wasn’t as hard as I had thought, at least, with all of the helpful program staff it wasn’t. It felt like learning how to ride a bicycle for the first time- you teeter off on your own, but there are always arms there to catch you if you fall. The Abbey Road staff gave us just enough independence to try and learn how to live on our own, how to budget money, and how to do our own laundry, but they were always there to help us as well. Things like grocery shopping on Mondays or having cooking groups on Wednesdays taught me skills that I took home with me, like preparing a healthy meal and budgeting.

Abbey Road also improved my people skills. When living in apartments with 3 or 4 roommates, conflicts are inevitable. Throughout the program the staff was always there to sort out major issues, but they put a lot of emphasis on dealing with personality conflicts in an independent, mature positive way. It’s likely that I will have a lot of roommates in my life, and the Abbey Road staff taught me valuable communication and problem solving skills so that I can fix small issues and avoid conflicts with people in the future.

My experience with Abbey Road was so amazing and made me so much more confident as a person that I would love to return one day as a staff member and give students that same experience.