AIFS Abroad in Granada, Spain: Summer

The summer of 2025, when I studied abroad in Granada for one month, I also traveled around Europe a lot. And, I can say with complete confidence that Granada was my favorite place out of everywhere I went. AIFS had a lot to do with that. Noelia and Alberto were so kind, helpful, and accommodating. My positive experience in Granada had so much to do with them.

I had always wanted to study abroad and this past summer had lined up well for me to do so, I found this AIFS program in Granada and chose it. It was an amazing choice. I became much more fluent in Spanish with all of the constant immersion. I made many friends with similar worldwide interests from many countries in my classes and in my program. I got to taste some Homelife of a homestay in Granada with a wonderful host mother. The absolute time of my life I had there makes my normal college experience at home seem dull, it has filled me with wanderlust and a desire to explore more to have similar experiences. I highly recommend this program and studying abroad to anyone and everyone. The AIFS staff were incredibly personable and kind and the classes at the CLM were as well.

Even though my time in Granada with AIFS was short (spanning the month of June 2023), it was time enough for my worldview and self perception to be drastically expanded and changed for the better. I was given freedom to explore the city on my own (as well as outside sites included in the program itinerary) and with friends and meet native Spaniards as well as other travelers, especially other European students on Erasmus with the security of knowing i’m safe and have access to healthcare and assurances with direct access to my program coordinators who we all got to know on a personal level. Academically, the classes all had cultural components to them so we could be immersed in Spanish culture and we were given freedom to adjust our class schedules to accommodate for specifics of our home institutions and preferences. The included excursions were amazing and we were given time away from the set itinerary to explore on our own (Seville, Cordoba, Nerja, etc). We also had time off of school and myself and my group of friends were able to take a vacation to Mallorca with a cheap plane ticket!! I have genuinely nothing bad to say about my experience with AIFS in Granada and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to study abroad!

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I had the most wonderful time in Granada, Spain. I spent one month in the summer of 2022 in the most beautiful apartment in downtown Granada. It was my first time traveling alone and my first time leaving the country and the AIFS team made it such an easy and fantastic experience! Shout out to Noelia for being the most accommodating and the kindest human I have ever had the pleasure of interacting with.

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As a first generation student, I was daunted enough already by the thought of studying abroad… even more so in a Spanish-speaking country! HOWEVER, the AIFS Granada Program was exceptional in its cultural integration and making sure I felt at home while I was there. I made friends I will have for life and made many memories together. I learned Spanish by being in a class taught only in Spanish… I honestly thought it couldn’t be done! I had the time of my life, got to see many places, and experience new things (fooood).

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I had so much fun in Granada for many reasons, but all together it was one of the best experiences of my life. Between the cultural learning from being immersed into a different country to learning benefits of studying in a different country you can't go wrong with a study abroad program.

I had such a great time in Granada in 2022 that I planned and executed another study abroad trip the following year. I fell in love with the culture, the environment, the people and AIFS as a company! They were helpful from start to finish and I felt supported while I was abroad. The classes, activities, and people I met I will remember forever.

I had a wonderful experience with AIFS! From beginning to end (and beyond), everyone was very helpful and gracious. They took care of most of the logistics -- the visa, plane ticket, housing, food, insurance, classes, and even cultural field trips, and all of it was included in the price. The resident directors were always available to answer any question, and they planned many activities to show us the city and country -- immersing us in as much culture as they could. However, they were not too overbearing; they treated us like adults and let us be as independent as we wanted. I was able to finish my Spanish major in Spain, and so I knew quite a bit of Spanish coming in. The classes I took were excellent because they taught me things I had always wished I would learn, without knowing what it was, exactly, such as idioms and ways to say the same thing in a fancier way to sound less "gringo." I also took a Spanish culture class, and we would often learn something in that class, and then go see it in real life in the city. One of my favorite parts was exploring the city with my friends after school. Some days we would go to the movies, some days we would go to museums, some days we would just walk around. Almost every day we would go to a tapa restaurant, because in Granada, the tapa is free with the purchase of a drink, even a non-alcoholic one. We also enjoyed getting gelato, too. It was an amazing six weeks and worth every penny and more. I have grown personally and academically and these are memories I will cherish my whole life.

I've been abroad several times for vacation but complete emersion in a country where I barely speak the language is very different. I'm learning so much more about culture in my homestay! The administration and directors make Spanish in another country easy.