IES Abroad Barcelona Summer – Language & Area Studies

My favorite experience was going to the Flamenco dinner and dance with IES Abroad. The dinner was an original tapas meal with sangria (typical Spanish meal). I was able to experience a part of the Spanish culture first hand. They offer a variety of courses that are more academically rigorous than other programs, which allowed me to transfer credits back to my university. But don't worry! Classes are not too hard or too long, and trust me, there is pleenttyy of time to travel and enjoy your time abroad. I was in a homestay set up by IES Abroad and I could not have been more satisfied with my arrangement. My roommates have become some of my best friends. Our homestay mom taught us so much about her culture and helped us navigate our way around the city. She cooked us dinner every night which was absolutely delicious!

IES Barcelona was an amazing experience. The course work was at an appropriate level for a study abroad program. I had some really great professors and was able to take classes to learn more about Barcelona as a city! Living in Barcelona for three months and studying with IES is an experience that I will never forget.

I cannot say enough amazing things about IES Kunming program and its staff! It kicked off my study abroad experience in China and I am grateful for the opportunities that I had, from meeting villagers being directly affected by the environmental issues we were studying and officials from organizations like the Asian Develoment Bank to riding elephants! The 7 weeks went by too unbelievably fast! Those who do this program will 1. learn so much about the important growing region of the world of southwestern China and Southeast Asia 2. get to study in amazing and fun cultural and diverse Yunnan AND travel through Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam 3. have made the best decision and experience an unforgettable summer that will make you want to come back/never leave! Academics: It was so much more than in class learning. We took multiple field trips to different organizations, landmarks, and cities, as well as met up with officials who actually deal with the environmental issues we were learning about throughout Southeast Asia! Truly incredible and irreplaceable! Living Situation: For my experience, I was living next to Yunnan University in a roomy apartment with another student on the program, which was great! I know that IES Kunming has established the center in its own building on Yunnan University now so housing will be on campus in the future. Program Administration: The best staff around. For the area studies courses/general directory, staff is very knowledgeable about China, Southeast Asia, inter-regional issues and situation, culture, and more! For Chinese courses, small classes led by wonderful Chinese teachers who care about students' individual progress and learning of the language. In general, the staff is in tune with the group's feelings, needs, dynamic, and meshes well with many different personalities.