Universitat de València (UV)

Be yourself. Do everything you want to do while you are there. Come home with no regrets. Once you get a taste of Spain, you will thirst for her forever. Something about that place that will lure you back year after year (or in my case for a long time as soon as I can find I job there!)

Traveler's cheques are always a safe bet. Follow the exchange rate before leaving and during stay. Not as applicable now with Euro, but it still fluctuates some.

I was lucky enough to meet some great people along the way (who happened to live down the street from my host family). Like I said before, you can learn as much or as little as you want in this program.

I was very pleased with the accomodations both UVA and the Universitat de Valencia made for us. At times, they did too much! The program tailors itself to your needs. If you are looking to get out and meet native speakers, then you have that opportunity; and if you are looking to hang out with Americans and just enjoy the study abroad experience, then you can do that too. However, if you are going to go that far to simply hang out with Americans, then you will not learn nearly as much!

Unfortunately, the hot night spots in Valencia change from week to week. When I was there, the students all crashed plaza xuquer on the weekends for cuba libres! If you are there during the summer, hit the clubs at the beach! There might be a long line, but it is worth it! During the week, there are many pubs and cafes that cater to everything from pints with friends to studying with jazz. DO NOT miss las fallas in March. Go to plaza ayuntamiento at midday to experience the loudest, longest firecracker display of your life, then at night you can catch a fireworks show that puts most American July 4th festivities to shame. Pub Dover in Plaza Xuquer is a great Irish pub with Valencian natives who like to help Americans practice their Spanish. I worked there, so I speak from experience on this one!