While my study abroad program allowed for a lot of free time and exploration of the two countries we travelled to over the course of 3 weeks, we of course had to fit in classes somewhere. I chose to participate in a Faculty-Led Program, which means that my group travelled with an Alabama professor who taught our class and also set up some sight-seeing activities. This type of study abroad program was something I had never heard of before and was different from what I thought a study abroad experience would be. I really enjoyed going on this trip because my class was made up of about 25 other Alabama students and we have 2 professors from school to lead the way! He set up for us to have class in the conference rooms of our hotel, which was nice because we didn’t have to travel far to get to class. This program was unique to me because Professor Lopez arranged all of our hotel stays, travel arrangements, excursions, and even day trips to other countries or cities. I don’t think I would have gotten to do some of the things my group did without Professor Lopez. For example, on our first night in Prague we traveled to a city about 2 hours away to watch the FC Viktoria Plzen futbol game. The game was so much fun because we all got to pick out jerseys from the fan shop and it was the first chance I got to get to know and bond with other people in my group. I would recommend a Faculty-Led Program because I now have so many new friends to come back to in August!
