My name is Sarah and I recently traveled to Jordan to check out this tiny country and its tourist attractions for my company. Great job, right? I work for Academic Arrangements Abroad, which organizes cultural travel experiences for many non-profit organizations. I had heard amazing things about Jordan from fellow travelers, but really didn’t know much about the country. But once I started my tour, I immediately decided that I didn’t want to leave!
Learn Italian and the Tastes of Sicily
Italy, as you already know, is renowned for its unique traditional cooking methods and flavors that tie together the bounties of the Mediterranean and the fresh vegetables and spices of the countryside. We regularly see commercials zooming in on red and white sauces, meats, and pastas being tossed onto a plate from an overflowing pot and know immediately what kind of food we're being sold. In our 'Italian and the Tastes of Sicily' class, you can explore a world you may never have been exposed to otherwise!
5 Reasons to Study Abroad in Ecuador
Choosing a study abroad program can be overwhelming. Luckily, AmeriSpan Study Abroad is here to help! Today, we will look at five great reasons to study abroad in Ecuador.
1. Learn Spanish – Well yes, you already knew that! However, Ecuador is an excellent place to learn Spanish. Particularly if you are choosing an immersion program with a homestay, you will find that the Ecuadorian people are very kind, friendly, helpful, and encouraging on your quest to master Spanish. You can choose to study Spanish in the capital of Quito, the beach town of Montanita, or in the Andean city of Cuenca. Click to learn more about Studying Spanish in Ecuador.
Top 6 Ways to Stay in Touch During Study Abroad
Before you study abroad, take the time to figure out how you will keep in touch with friends and relatives back home, and in your host country as well. If your cell phone and cell phone carrier offer international service to your host country for reasonable rates, great! But if not, don’t despair. There are options out there!
1. Cell phone: A great option is the Mobal GSM World Phone. They are fairly inexpensive to buy, require no contract, you pay only when you use them, you keep the same phone number whenever you travel, and work in 150 countries worldwide. Read an article about this great phone here: Keeping In Touch While Studying Abroad
2. Phone card: AmeriSpan has an international phone card with special low rates, access to over 150 countries, and your friends and family can even messages for you.
3. International country codes: Participants & their families should know how to dial internationally. Country Calling Codes is a website that includes all country calling codes, and instructions.
Read more on “Top 6 Ways to Stay in Touch During Study Abroad” »
Study Russian in Moscow & St. Petersburg
Watch a video of AmeriSpan’s Russian schools. AmeriSpan offers Russian language immersion programs in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Click to learn more about studying Russian in Moscow, or studying Russian in St. Petersburg.
Don’t go to Spain!
Why would you go to a place that might entice you to stay forever? The people are far too generous and they have too much fun. Who wants the freedom to sit on the beach with a glass of sangria, to eat tapas after 10pm or make the last meal of the night breakfast? What about taking a siesta could possibly call you?
Affordable luxury is way overrated. It’s simply too easy to travel from one metropolitan city to another in two hours on a world-class train. In one city one may overeat the finest ham, see three cathedrals and the world’s oldest university in one afternoon. Who needs it? Taking a relaxing drive along la Costa del Sol would just be entirely too beautiful.
Mikel’s Story: Volunteering Abroad with AmeriSpan
Read this personal account from one of our volunteer participants, Mikel B., who is currently volunteering in Bolivia.
My name is Mikel and I am a 21 year old girl who has been doing volunteer work for the past year through Amerispan and I am continuing on my second year with them. One of the many programs I have done through them is the one located in Peten Guatemala. It was possibly one of the funnest experiences I have had through Amerispan (its very hard to pick, they were all amazing). You get to work one on one with the animals, alongside a very very very friendly and intelligent staff who know a lot about wildlife and are eager to share as much of the experiece with the volunteers, of working with wild animals, as is safe and possible.
Read more on “Mikel’s Story: Volunteering Abroad with AmeriSpan” »
Study Abroad Spain: A Week in Sevilla
By Kris B., Guest Blogger from Sevilla, Granada and Barcelona, Spain
The first week in Sevilla flew by in a flash and with a distinct rhythm. I would get up, have breakfast at home and then walk to school around 9:15am (though I still haven’t quite adjusted to the late day break after 8am in Southern Spain – it constantly throws me off). School hours were from 9:30am till 2:30pm. The classes moved quickly and everyday I was faced with fresh deluge of Spanish vocabulary, verbs and grammar. I was glad I had carried my Vox English/Spanish dictionary with me, as recommended by the Amerispan website, as it became an invaluable resource for me.
Study Abroad Spain: First Day at School in Sevilla
By Kris B., Guest Blogger from Sevilla, Granada and Barcelona, Spain
It was a cold, gloomy and wet Monday in Sevilla and hardly the weather I was expecting for my first day in language school. Luckily the school was barely a five-minute walk from my apartment and I did not have wander about too long through the complicated streets of Barrio Santa Cruz (though I would get hopelessly lost soon enough). I had taken a beginning Spanish class in San Francisco about a year ago, which gave me the over-confidence to indicate in my AmeriSpan application that I was “Beginner-2” (out of 3) level. I guess I thought that knowing the Spanish alphabet, numbers, and forms of “ser” and “estar” put me one level up from an absolute novice. However my illusions were shattered when I arrived at school and had to take the Spanish evaluation test, which would determine my placement level. Out of fifty odd questions, I could barely answer five of them correctly and the instructor promptly put me in Level A1(the absolute beginner level and followed by A2, B1, B2, C1 & C2). I understood pretty quickly that I knew nothing and my Spanish language journey was going to be a long haul.
Read more on “Study Abroad Spain: First Day at School in Sevilla” »
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Study Abroad Videos
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- Learn Spanish in Denia, Spain: City Tour
- Teenager Study Abroad Interview Part 1
- Teenager Study Abroad Interview Part 2
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