AIFS Abroad in Barcelona, Spain: January

I had so much fun, it was a bit nerve wrecking not knowing anyone but it was such a wonderful experience. I ended up getting to know so many new people from around the U.S. and we still keep in touch now. I hope to have another opportunity like this again.

Studying abroad was something that was terrifying to me. I’m a very quiet, sometimes shy person, so I knew going alone on this trip could be difficult. However, I did appreciate the pre-placement of roommates to help ease some of that nervousness. The trip itself was wonderful, and I especially enjoyed the excursions that AIFS arranged. Taking the class was definitely the hardest part. Sitting for 5 hours in a classroom doing little to no participatory activities was difficult, but I know that it was useful and I learned some valuable information. I also enjoyed getting to explore the city on my own time as well.

My experience with AIFS was wonderful. They made every step of the trip simple and easy and were extremely helpful. The cultural activities and excursions were great, and my homestay was excellent. I would highly recommend traveling with this company.

I loved this program! I took the art class and it was great because we spent a large amount of time outside the classroom and in museums. Each professor had a different teaching method, but they all made the class fun and easy to understand. I stayed in the apartments and they were very nice and modern. Barcelona is filled with culture, art, great food, and fun! I unfortunately experienced my phone being pickpocketed, but AIFS was very helpful during this time and I always felt safe. The only con in the program is that it would have been appreciated if students in the art class were told to ahead of time that students would be using the metro daily for class trips and that some of the museums have fees students pay for at the door.

I had a very good time in Barcelona through AIFS, the class was great and I loved the free time. Montserrat and Sitges was wonderful. The apartment was also fine and I liked the €150 stipend for food. The only thing I would change would be to include a metro pass or two in the package since using the metro is required for field trips in the art class. I spent over fifty euros on the metro so far and I wish I had known that the class was going to require it so much.