USAC - Valencia

Studying abroad in Valencia allowed me to immerse myself in the Spanish culture within a larger city. Valencia was the perfect place to feel like a local rather than a tourist as places like Barcelona and Madrid were overwhelming in regards to the amount of tourists in the city. Valencia was a very family and local oriented city, not many people spoke English so it was a good challenge and helped with learning more Spanish. The apartment housing through the program was fine. The neighborhood that we were placed in was a family oriented. There were a lot of kids around and a very cute place on the outskirts of the city center. The metro is incredible and can take you anywhere in Valencia. Learn how to use the metro, it is simple and efficient and I wished I had learned it earlier rather than walking long distances or taking a taxi.

My classes were good. My Spanish language classes were great. The professors only spoke Spanish which really helped with learning the language. The amount of work was never overwhelming but insanely manageable. The university that we were at was great. There were so many programs that allowed for the abroad students to get involved. We also had access to the gym and such. I wish we had more information given by our program about our university.

My favorite part about studying abroad was being able to travel every weekend! I would highly recommend doing that. It was so easy and cheap. We were able to take the metro to the airport and then take a cheap flight to basically anywhere in Europe.

The beach in Valencia was great and just a walk away after class each day.

Overall, Valencia was the perfect spot to be immersed completely in the Spanish culture and truly feel like a local. It was not overwhelming like Barcelona and Madrid and no where near as many tourists which was nice. I wish I was able to do it all again. It was such a great experience and would highly recommend this program to anyone.

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