IES Abroad Granada

I studied in Granada, Spain in the Fall. In an average day I ate lunch with my host family, went to class, explored Granada, and had tapas with my friends. The hardest part was the language barrier though my favorite part was how much my Spanish improved.

An amazing experience. The teachers at IES were incredible people and always supportive. We learned Spanish that was used in everyday life in Granada and lived with host families. I loved my host mother who cooked gluten free food for me and I felt safe and comfortable in this beautiful walking city. There's a stunning view of La Alhambra from the windows of IES. I had fascinating classes and also had an internship with a local flamenco dance studio. We learned how to work in a Spanish work environment and write resumes in Spanish. I learned so much and am so grateful, I highly recommend this!

IES Abroad Granada is a pretty incredible program! A daily routine consists of walking to school (there is very little public transportation in Granada, but the city is very walkable. In addition, it's beautiful and full of history, so every walk is a new adventure!) You will attend class almost every day with the IES professors, who are all amazing, and many are professors at the Universidad de Granada. You'll go home for lunch with your host family who will have cooked a fairly large meal (lunch in Spain is like dinner in the US). You will likely take a nap and then maybe head back to the IES center. Afterwards, you might run errands or do schoolwork. At night, you will go out to dinner with your friends (8 at the earliest, but usually around 9 or 10) for tapas! You'll order drinks (sangria!) and they'll bring you small plates of food with your drinks!

My time in Granada was nothing short of extraordinary, all thanks to the amazing IES staff and professors, my incredible welcoming and loving host family, the wonderful new friends I was able to meet along the way, and the enchanting city I can now call my second home. IES Granada is organized, energetic, fun, and passionately dedicated to creating the best possible cultural experiences for their students. They did a fantastic job all-around, from matching me with the best host family and "Intercambio" student from the University of Granada, to helping me choose the right classes and activities, to setting up excursions and informal outings to introduce us to the beautiful city and its unique culture.

I especially loved my Lorca Literature class, in which we learned all about the revered poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca who grew up not far from Granada, and my Islamic Art and Architecture class. We got to explore the city's most historic buildings, including the breathtaking Alhambra, which casually sits on a hill overlooking the entire city. I loved cafe con leche and huge family lunches, singing karaoke with my host brother, listening to and admiring my host mom's stories, getting (free) tapas with my new Spanish friends, and even getting to perform in a local band. IES made it all possible... I highly, HIGHLY, recommend this sensational program.

Studying abroad in Granada, Spain with IES was a phenomenal, life changing, eye opening, opportunity providing experience that causes you to grow into a better, independent, more aware, and educated citizen of this world we live in. This is what my life reflects now that I have returned home. My time in Granada provided me with a variety of experiences - learning how to make travel plans, communicating solely in Spanish, using public transportation, meeting people from all over the world, and more - that enriched my life.

Granada is home to La Alhambra, el Sacromonte, el Albaizin, amazing Spanish people, beautiful vistas, extraordinary food, marvelous music, and vivacious life. IES Granada supported my interests in the Spanish language, had weekend trips all over southern Spain, provided an amazing host family, and the staff was there for me throughout my entire experience. The staff truly cares about each individual on the program and is there to be a resource and support you in any way necessary.

The program is also tailored to the group of individuals who come and their interests. There were many hiking trips organized during my program because that was something my group was passionate about. The hiking was phenomenal! There were also different workshops available for students including a cooking workshop and a leather workshop. They were both very fun and didn't cost any extra money!

My experience in Granada was phenomenal and I strongly recommend studying abroad with IES.

Granada is a wonderful city to study abroad in, because it is a university city. This means that there are a bunch of other young students, from all over the world. It is still small enough however, that you won't get swallowed up as in the large metropolises.
Granada has an incredible history: it was the last Muslim stronghold in Spain. IES classes do a really good job of incorporating the history in our classes through direct field trips around the city.
Granada is a city that is overflowing with art. There are so many different types of art (but especially music and performances) and so many opportunities to become a part Granada's art.

My semester abroad in Granada is something I will remember forever. My courses encouraged deep knowledge and love of the city and my professors were incredibly passionate about their subjects. Walking to the IES center every day was not always the best fun (especially in the rain when I forgot to pack rainboots!), but with every foot the city became more like home. A definite highlight was the trip to Morocco, where I was pushed far out of my comfort zone and from that was able to gain understanding of other ways of life. My biggest difficulty was trying to befriend local students in Granada, which was hard to do even with the help of the Intercambio program. However overall, I could not have chosen a better way to spend my time abroad! Granada is a magical city that will inspire you to say "No pasa nada!" and teach you to truly embrace life in all its little moments.

Studying abroad in this beautiful, multi-influential city was the best decision I ever made in my college career. Granada is a small city, but the people, the culture, and events made up for it and made it feel bigger. The city is vastly influenced on Islamic culture, but had influences of Jewish, and Christianity. Take advantage of the free tapas that come along with your drinks! The food is amazing there, my recommendation is get cafe con leche and napolitana from bakeries. You must try a shwarma at least once there. Since there's a university in the city, there's a lot of international students. Even though it was a small city, I walked around everyday with my friends, finding new places.

Program provided excellent classes that require active participation, along with class trips where we see what we are learning. I had multiple trips to the majestic Alhambra and other places around the city and saw a lot theater shows. The field trips of the program was the best part, my favorite was going to Sevilla, Morocco, Cabo de Gata (beach trip). Morocco is optional but I recommend it, it was great experience of meeting and really getting to know students the same age as us and families and getting a better understanding of their views in an Islamic Country.

IES Staff were very helpful and supportive, they always posted events such as festivals, concerts and shows that was happening in town. They help you with anything to the best of their abilities, for example, going to the pharmacy to help get your medicine and so much more. The staff is very supportive and I'm very thankful for that. They also create events to get more involved in the city and also with spanish students.

I lived a 30 minute walk away from the center, which was annoying because I lived far away from everything. However, my host mom was amazing. Took me a while to get comfortable but her hospitality, sense of humor and how helpful she was with my spanish and how supportive she was made things better. In general, the locals were nice and helpful, especially when you are lost. I recommend, speaking as much spanish as possible!