CIEE High School Study Abroad in Spain

I attended CIEE's High School Abroad program in Sevilla, Spain for the academic year of my junior in 2017-2018. I went with my brother Benjamin. We both stayed in different home stays and towns, but this experience together was so rewarding. I met some of my best friends at my Spanish high school, and still consider them best friends to this day. I was able to travel to 5 countries, and met so many new people along the way. I became very close with my host family, and they treated me like their own. I became very proficient in Spanish, and CIEE supported me along the way with any need I had. CIEE really pushed me to become immersed in the culture and my community, and always had resources for when I needed a little extra comfort.

Studying abroad for a month in Barcelona has been a dream. To be fully immersed in the Spanish language and culture taught me more than textbooks ever could. My confidence and fluency in Spanish have grown, and I feel I have learned a lot about myself as well. Spanish culture and history are amazing, and it was super interesting to visit all the most famous places in and around the city. I've made memories and friends here I will never forget. Thank you so much CIEE for this amazing opportunity!

everything was amazing- 10/10 would do again. I was able to experience pretty places, appreciate the culture and sharpen my language skills all while relaxing and learning about marine biology. My favorite part was traveling to the different beaches, especially alcudia and flomentor to see the clear water and sea life. the mountains are also beautiful and not busy at all which makes it even more enjoyable for a tourist like myself. Lastly i was able to build a really meaningful relationship with my host mom

I had an incredible time in Alicante over the summer. I grew a lot in both personally, in my own independence, and in my Spanish-speaking skills. Alicante is incredible. The school where we attended classes was a 5-minute walk to the beach. Every afternoon there was some activity planned, like doing a city bike tour or beach volleyball, and every day it was different. On the weekends there would be bigger outings planned, such as spending a day visiting castles and waterfalls.
Alicante isn't a really well-known city, which was initially unappealing to me, but I think it was a better choice than a big city would've been. We had a weekend trip to Madrid, and I realized that being in a bigger city had a lot of potential for things to go wrong... a lot more theft and crime occurs in more prevalent cities.
The classes were intriguing and my professor was really fun and made class actually appealing. I liked that we not only learned about the language but also about the culture of the place we were staying in. Often, our afternoon activities would be catered to what we were learning about in class, which made my learning experience so fascinating. I'd taken 3 years of Spanish prior to the trip, (the requirement is at least 2) which I thought would suffice, but it really wasn't enough. A lot of the 40 kids on the program were nearly fluent, having spoken it from childhood. And instead of there being 4 different levels of class intensities as advertised, there were 3 classes: 2 for advanced kids and 1 for not-advanced, like me:). So for that reason I'd recommend 3+ years of Spanish unless you regularly speak it. Without a roommate with me in my host home, I would've had an extremely difficult time trying to communicate with my host mom. Having someone who also spoke English kept me sane when I didn't understand anything.
After class each day, you'd go home for lunch with your host family and take a siesta, which would be a couple hours of downtime, where you could really do whatever you wanted: do your homework, take a nap, watch Netflix, go to the beach, go shopping, etc. The siestas were some of my favorite times on the program because it gave me time to just chill out, especially when we had busy days, or do something with my friends. But I was really impressed with CIEE for the level of planning and preparedness they orchestrated for our afternoon activities and weekend outings. There would always be a perfect balance between downtime/free time and planned activities.

My time in Palma was a life-changing experience, and I would recommend it to anybody considering applying. The island is simply breathtaking and I found the locals to be extremely friendly. I remember one instance where a friend and I spoke with a woman for over a half hour who told us about some of the island's history and even showed us pictures of her family. My favorite experience was during El Día de San Juan, when I witnessed the craziest, most vibrant display of pyrotechnics I have ever seen from the Dimonis of the Correfoc. One thing I should note is that the program is very structured, so it may not be the number one choice for those looking for a largely flexible trip. All said, it was truly incredible and I wouldn't change a thing!

This entire program was full of fun and informative learning! You get to explore a new region in the world as well as learn about specific topics in marine science, and completing work outside on research and projects in the classroom. I gained a lot from this program, in social skills, academic knowledge, and appreciation for our natural planet. I truly believe that you will not find any experience quite like studying abroad, especially with CIEE. Their staff are all really nice, and extremely helpful and responsive. They're also fun-loving! Please consider studying abroad with CIEE, they are one of the best companies for traveling and exploring the world! CIEE would ensure that your study abroad experience is the best it can be, and they work hard to bring unique opportunities to high school and college students!

I really enjoyed this program and highly recommend it. I loved learning about the Spanish culture. We went to class but it's not like a traditional class back home. The things we learned were fun and not boring We learned about Spanish gastronomy such as tapas, the mediterranean diet, Spanish culture such as sports and urban art, and a dash of Spanish language. It was very cool to be able to use what we learned in the classroom directly outside of the classroom wether at restaurants or interacting with the Spanish people.

Another thing I loved was being able to interact with younger Spanish people my age. I was able to practice and improve my Spanish by speaking to them. It was fun to meet and get to know them and their bubbly personalities.

It was also in this trip where I met some of the most amazing people. One of my purpose of coming to this trip was to form connections with others. I am so happy to say that I did form great connections with the people I met. I formed friendships with the members in my group and the Spanish kids we interacted with. I will never forget the memories I made with these people.

I also really liked our program leader and program coordinator. Shoutout to Manu and Yesenia. They were so fun and approachable. I could not ask for better leaders than these guys.

I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to go on this trip. It's pretty safe to say that this summer in Spain has been one of the best moments of my life yet. I cannot wait to be back and continue exploring Spain and its marvelous culture.

My month in Palma was an amazing and unique experience for one main reason. I was able to step outside of my comfort zone and learn something new about myself. On this trip, I was able to meet new friends that I will keep in touch with for a long time. Something that made me step outside my comfort zone was "Misión Ñ". For this, you have to go out into the community and talk with locals. I do not like talking to strangers that much, and it was especially hard in a language I am not great at. Doing this made me learn that it is not as hard as I would make it seem, and the locals will be happy because they see you as something trying to fit in, trying to learn a new language. This was an amazing experience that I am so glad I had to opportunity to do.