Cassidy Quandt

Cassidy Quandt, senior, spent around two months in Madrid, Spain. While she was there, she participated in three-hour Spanish classes and four hours of cultural immersion daily. Through the program, Quandt also earned college credits from Tulane University.

“I learned the basics like making Spanish tortillas or other Spanish foods,” Quandt said. “I learned how to play the cojones, a type of drum. You also learn life lessons. I was alone in the country for almost two months, so I definitely got more confident.”

Being alone in Spain, Quandt did not have much choice but to grow her sense of independence and interact with natives.

“For my class every day, we had to go up to people and ask them questions in Spanish,” Quandt said. “I was really nervous, but they were always super nice. No one ever ignored me or told me no; they always stopped to answer.”

Quandt says she was also able to further her Spanish-speaking abilities.

“Being in an environment where your only option is Spanish forces you to practice it,” Quandt said. “You get over the fear of making mistakes.”

It was necessary for Quandt to adjust to Spain’s social norms by switching how she addressed people.

“Normally, you would say ‘Ms.’ or ‘Mr.’ but there you just call everyone by their first name,” Quandt said. “It is actually seen as a sign of disrespect if you call someone ‘Mr.’ and their last name. They consider it as you calling them old. My host mom was about 70 and I still called her by her first name.”

Along with developing her character, education, and cultural knowledge, Quandt also made lifelong bonds.

“I still text my host mom, and I had two friends from Chicago that I still talk to that were part of the program,” Quandt said.

Addison Kremer

Addison Kremer, senior, spent three weeks in Ghana, where she took tours to different cities around the country. Accra and Kumasi were two cities that she visited and assisted teachers in a local school. In addition to the tours, Kremer participated in exciting and adventurous activities. 

“We mostly [did] tours around and then we did tie-dye workshops, cultural activities like beading, and we learned how to make chocolate,” Kremer said. 

According to Kremer, CIEE trips give students the opportunity to be creative and become educated on a variety of new topics and ideas. Pushing the boundaries of one’s comfort zone is crucial to making long-lasting memories. 

“I definitely think I learned more people skills and how to talk to people better, as well as adapting to new environments, because it was definitely a different scene then what I am used to,” Kremer said.

Furthermore, Kremer takes interest in working with kids, and she enjoys babysitting in her freetime. That is why assisting the teachers in Accra sounded appealing to her, especially because the trip consisted of working mainly with kids. 

Another benefit that Kremer had on her trip was making strong bonds and friendships with the people that accompanied her on her excursion. She is keeping in touch and even planning on seeing them again. 

“I definitely recommend [CIEE] because it’s a new experience to get out and about,” Kremer said. “Also, there are lots of trips to help out people, like the school [that] I went to. It’s definitely a growing experience too, I definitely came back a lot different.”

Amelia Kohler

Amelia Kohler, senior, spent three weeks in Monteverde, Costa Rica. During her trip, Kohler learned about sustainability and how to be more eco-friendly in everyday life by reducing waste and repurposing materials. 

“We were at an eco campus,” Kohler said. “A lot of what they did there was sustainable. For example, every single breakfast, lunch, and dinner we scraped our food scraps in a bin so that they could feed the cows and pigs on their farms.”

Kohler’s CIEE group went on to volunteer at local farms and businesses that had sustainable practices, and had the opportunity to help and learn about the environment.

“I really liked the program; it was [called] ‘Women for Environmental Action,’” Kohler said. “I’m really passionate about the environment, so it was just really intriguing to me.”

Kohler went on the trip with fifteen other women from all different parts of the United States, rooming with three others, which resulted in many close bonds. 

“We were always together, we always went on hikes together, and we always walked around and went to classes together,” Kohler said. “I still talk to them on a daily basis now so it’s really nice that I got that friendship.”

Kohler says that she appreciated the opportunity to learn about a different culture and go somewhere where no one knew each other.

“I would definitely recommend, [it was a] ten-out-of-ten experience,” Kohler said. “It was amazing. You are going to be scared at first. It feels uncomfortable to be in a place without people you know. You will meet some really amazing people, and you will definitely change because of it.”