Symmone is a senior studying Liberal Arts and Photography at Portland State University. Her interests include writing, photography, traveling and cooking.
I chose this program because of its non-profit status. I really liked that they weren't just in it for the money but instead focusing on our education and experience.
I also loved that they offered the chance for us to study in multiple cities. Even though I chose to stay in Paris the entire time, when I did visit London and Berlin, I got to meet students who studied there and build connections.
I'm a pretty independent person and a lot of the planning I did for studying abroad I did on my own. However, there were the initial steps, like getting through the application process and some questions I had that my study abroad adviser helped me with. Everything from the course schedule, scholarships and fundraising, to travel documents, I did by myself.
Something I would definitely say to sort out beforehand is a budget. This program can be expensive if you don't budget correctly and plan ahead. Look for scholarships and financial aid -- your school should have options, but CIEE does as well.
Once you have everything paid for, look into budgeting while you're abroad. These cities can get expensive, especially when you don't have your own source of income. Proper planning can save you from being in trouble when you get back home.
An average day for me was to wake up late mornings (I'm not an early morning person and classes start at noon so it didn't leave much for morning exploration), make myself some food and head to class.
After class, we could either go on an excursion sponsored by CIEE or do some random exploring around the city. I would get back in the evenings, cook if I need to, and do some homework, then hang out with the students in the program.
I don't think I had any fears going into my time abroad. I'd traveled abroad before and been to a couple different countries, so this wasn't my first time leaving the US.
One thing I noticed was an issue among many students was balancing being away from home and being independent. I was lucky enough to learn that independence at an early age, but if that's something that you have trouble accepting just know that over time with experience, many things will come easy to you.
You will get out what you put into this program. If you want to get the most out of your city and see everything you can, then don't hesitate to jump in on the programs that CIEE offers, even if none of your friends in the program are interested in it.
This is YOUR experience, so do whatever you want. Stay safe and have fun and be easy on yourself. If this your first time traveling, or your first time being on your own, everything is a learning curve and mistakes exist to learn from them.