Gap Year: Spanish or English Language Immersion

Linguistics Horizon provided me the most AMAZING experience doing an internship abroad. I worked in a daycare in Peru assisting children in their everyday tasks. From assistance to placement, finding somewhere to live, ensuring I was surrounded by people of my age & demographic I can hands down say I reflect on this experience as the best summer I have ever had. 20/10 would do again!

I had an amazing experience in A Coruña through Linguistic Horizons. The city is vibrant and truly has it all—delicious food, pristine beaches, fantastic nightlife, and plenty of cultural activities to participate in. Everyone speaks Spanish to you, which can be intimidating but is ultimately beneficial and everyone is very kind and helpful in communicating with you. The University of A Coruña and Linguistic Horizons worked together to create an atmosphere conducive to learning as well as fun social interactions. I made friends with people from all around the world! Nicole is a tireless, wonderful and helpful leader. She is not only fun and funny, but an expert in both Spanish and Coruña’s culture. She is full of advice and helpful tips. The day trips she plans are both affordable and incredible (especially the trip to the Cies Islands—you HAVE to go!) I cannot say enough good things about her! Overall Linguistic Horizons is a stellar program that is successful in incorporating language use, cultural activities and fun! I left the program near fluent in Spanish, and truly became felt I was apart of the community in Coruña. I would recommend it to everyone, and am thinking about going back myself!

I had one of my best summers ever through Linguistic Horizons! As a “super senior” I had a hard time finding a study abroad program that perfectly matched what I needed, but Nicole was so adaptive and was able to piece together the absolute perfect program for me. And Peru is just awesome :)

This is a once in a life-time kind of program. The internship placements felt very personal and cultivated toward my professional goals. Nicole is always extremely friendly, conscientious, and quick to respond to emails/concerns/questions. I stayed in Spain and I can say that my Spanish vastly improved, especially because of the emphasis Nicole put on speaking Spanish the whole time. As awesome as the internship placement was, I also felt like there were lots of opportunities for weekend trips and to make friends with locals. I’d highly recommend it for people interested in cultural immersion.

I spent a summer interning in Urubamba, Peru. I worked at a museum in Calca translating documents and leading tours. I definitely improved my own language skills as a result. My host family was super sweet. My favorite part was the hikes that Linguistic Horizons planned!

I loved Linguistic Horizons. They provided me with so many opportunities, and I made so many good friends while there. Nicole Berry helped the other students and me with transitioning and feeling comfortable with living in Spain.

Being able to spend the time that I did in the Sacred Valley of Peru was life changing. The people, the culture, the experience. Everything was just incredible! It is so hard to put this experience into words. Being able to experience Peruvian life is something I will always carry with me as the biggest learning experience of my life. It opened my eyes to so many new things, ideas, and ways of life. It is difficult to explain and it is something that just needs to be experienced!

I am so glad that I chose this program to do my internship, because the program is unlike any other that I have found. It is so customized to what you want to do and what you're looking for. The director works very hard to make sure that your internship is a good fit. It is also much more personal than other programs. You're not just another student in a crowd of students studying abroad. Studying abroad can be a scary experience and there is always someone there to help you, whether it be figuring out the local bus system or figuring out where to go for dinner. I would participate in this program again in a heart beat!

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If you are working towards enriching your education background while being immersed in a foreign environment, Linguistic Horizons very much rewards that. During my 3-week internship in Peru, I gathered life-long experiences that I would not achieve elsewhere. Nicole, the program leader, was extremely hospitable and very professional. She pushed me to go far beyond my comfort zone, which paved the way for a fantastic journey. I personally got to know the local population, while trying new foods and exploring areas off the beaten path. Furthermore, I also learned quite a bit on subjects unrelated to my internship which will be helpful in my journey ahead. The program and experience was indeed a trip of a lifetime, and it will forever change me as a person. The hardest part was leaving this incredible place, as three weeks was just not enough time!

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I knew I wanted to do some sort of trip abroad the summer of 2017 and I heard from a friend that I should check out Linguistic Horizons. I did and am so glad that decided to chose the program! I was not only working at an internship at an environmental consulting company specialized in water tests as a chemist, but also I was taking Spanish classes at the same time. This both of these helped improve my work in my field and my knowledge of the language exponentially. I have never been in any program in my life so well put together, it was organized better than anything I could have imagined, and the program leader Nicole answers questions faster than ever and more helpful than I can. This is a trustworthy and honest program that is truly meant to better your language skills as well as your skills in your field of choice.

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Providing hands on healthcare in Peru was the most amazing experience I have ever had. This gave me the opportunity to explore the heath care field and be of service to the community. A valuable lesson I gained from working in Peru was to learn how the community came together to work in health care. The dynamics, the language, the culture all contributed to the diversity of the community and allowed me to gain perspective in my life. I really enjoyed working with the physician and nurses. Engaging in conversations with patients, who were all so excited that I had ventured over from the USA. I was certainly able to improve my Spanish speaking skills, learn new skills, and work with people from different communities. I was able to learn about and get close to the people and community I was working in. Leaving the clinic was really difficult, as I'd grown so close with the physician and family. Now I feel I have an extension of my family in Urubamba, Peru.

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Overall, amazing. The amount of time I spent there (6 weeks) was perfect, and allowed me to feel like Urubamba was my home. Quite a humbling experience living in a third world country, and I definitely returned to the States with a newfound appreciation for what I have. Met many amazing people from all over the world. My internship in the hospital was not what I had expected, as I was hoping to get trauma experience. The "hospital" more closely resembled a health clinic, and we as interns were not well-received by staff. On a brighter note, my time spent in the Andean Medicine Clinic was amazing and enlightening. Holistic treatment is not favored in the Western world, and it was quite an eye-opening experience to see, first-hand, that natural, holistic remedies work.

Explore Latin America's archaeological capital while interning with the Llama Pack Project. Not only did I see some of the most amazing sights of my life, I also learned about the lives of the people in the High Andes as well as the environmental and social importance of llamas. Peru is a must visit country and it is even better through Linguistic Horizons!