Alicante: A Semester to Remember

My semester in Alicante was one of the best semesters of my life. During my time there, I went from an intermediate Spanish level to an advanced Spanish level, and now I am actually majoring in Spanish. I loved being able to immediately apply what I was learning in the classroom to my life, and I was able to overcome a language barrier that was initially frustrating for me thanks to the incredible teaching of my professor in Alicante--one of the best professors that I've ever had. I also highly recommend living with a host family because it gave me a great insight into the culture and the day-to-day lifestyle of the Spaniards. My host mom would prepare delicious meals, and I also got to play board games with my host brothers. Alicante is a perfectly-sized city because there are lots of things to see and to do, and most things are within walking distance or easily accessible by public transit. The coastline is gorgeous, allowing for an abundance of outdoor activities from hiking in the mountains to swimming in the Mediterranean. Finally, the USAC staff are some of the nicest and most caring people that I've met in my entire life. Luis and Sylvain were always there to answer any questions or concerns, and they set up great activities and field trips for students. They even helped me get a job tutoring a doctor in English. The only sad part about my experience was that I had to leave!