About my program... CIEE

Paige Molenkamp
Sep 5, 2024
4 min read

Updated: Oct 8, 2024

Less than 15 minute walk from CIEE living. — Berlin, Germany

Now that you've read what program to chose here is a little about my experience.

Backstory of the program...

CIEE is a non-profit organization thats been around for over 75 years now. They allow you to pick from any countries and continents including Australia, Europe, Asia, etc. This is what appealed to me the most because it allows you to travel the most as well as experience living in multiple places in a semester.

I chose CIEE Madrid, Dublin, and Berlin. Each places being six weeks long taking one-two classes per block.

MADRID

I did my first block in CIEE Madrid, Spain. This was from January-February 2024. When I first got to Europe it was a little overwhelming. But CIEE was super helpful and had a shuttle bus to the place I was living for the six weeks. This I found was super helpful instead of just being dropped off in a foreign country that I had never been too. At first public transportation is super overwhelming and not having to deal with that right off the bat was so amazing. The first week we had orientation where we could meet people in our program which was awesome and is where I met most of my friends. Throughout the program they did events every Wednesday that were local tours of the city and sight seeing to explore more of where we were living at the time. Then every block they did an overnight trip or day trip. For me we did a hike up in the mountains of Madrid which was so cool. We ate paella which is a local dish and learned about the culture.

DUBLIN

After those six weeks I hopped on a plane to Dublin, Ireland. I did this from February-March 2024. I had the same routine as Madrid. We had transportation to our living situation, weekly Wednesday events, and overnight trips. For our overnight trip I was super lucky to go to Glasgow and the Cliffs of Moher. Every block has a different trip that they do so not every trip will be the same. Mainly because some people decide to stay all three blocks in one place.

I personally had to go to the doctor here because of an infection I ended up getting. I reached out to the people working at CIEE and they were super helpful and scheduled my doctors appointment for me and found somewhere great to go too. This made my life a lot easier because I didn't know where to find a doctor or how to do that. (I was just a 20 year old girl).

BERLIN

My final block was Berlin, Germany. I did this from March-May 2024. I had the same routine as the past two blocks. We had transportation to our living situation, weekly Wednesday events, and day trips. I unfortunately was not able to go to this one but I think its so worth going if you are able to! (I mean you do pay for it in tuition ;) )

Again, I personally had to go to the doctor again because of a really bad throat cold I ended up getting. Which everyone got in Dublin that ended up lingering for me all the way to Berlin. I again reached out to the people working at CIEE and they were super helpful and scheduled my doctors appointment for me and found somewhere great to go too.

LIVING SITUATION

The housing was great for me. I chose the baseline cheapest option because that's what I could afford. It's pretty random what you get but I lucked out and got great housing. I personally stayed at Livensa in Madrid which was a private suite with my own room, kitchen, and bathroom. I still had neighbors of other CIEE students which was great and was a 10 minute walk to the metro to class. Only downside is that it took 45 minutes to get to class but I had friends to go with which made it go by quick. The store was walking distance which was great but it was not in the main city which would've been nice. Although the peace and quiet was great.

Housing in Dublin, Ireland was also great. It was a huge apartment building about a 25 minute walk to the main city of Dublin. 25 minutes may seem long but it will not be once you realize how much walking you will do! You can take the Liffy which is Dublins public "metro" or the bus. You just need leap cards that you can load money onto. The only bummer was that it was $4 to and from class three days a week which adds up. Also classes are not in the city so if you wanted to go you have to pay again to get there on the Liffy. BUT classes are at Dublin City University (DCU) which is cool because you see native Irish students there.

Housing in Berlin was definitely the most convenient. In this program they have there own space where you live with classes down stairs. You didn't have to pay for public transportation to get to class which I loved. I could wake up and then go to class in two minutes. However, you can get stuck in a room with one-four people. I got lucky and just had a roommate but you can definitely pay a little more to have no roommate.

One down side I will say is a new rule since covid is no visitors. This was frustrating if you had a friend who wanted to visit but they weren't allowed to stay with you. For example, my boyfriend studied abroad with me and he wasn't able to stay with me because of this rule. Other than that the living situation was great.