3 Classroom Countries

Children dream in bright colors. Adults often don’t. Because as we walk into our working lives, we tend to abandon what we once held dear. (If that sounds frightening, good.) Meanwhile, The Village offers a different path altogether. With us, you’ll keep your best options wide open for growth and discovery. As you journey to live and learn in three different countries, where you can learn French and Spanish from native speakers if you choose. All the while, you’ll get a full semester of credits in your win column, while you belong to a highly-motivated and diverse community of student and faculty learners. You’ll return home at semester’s end with the greatest gift our program gives: the global competency and cultural awareness that together are The Village’s portable toolkit for global living.

France: The Loire Valley and Paris

No place in the world has had a more historically powerful pull on the imagination of cultural, business and artistic leaders than France. Picasso went and stayed. So did Van Gogh. And if Hemingway came and went, he famously wrote that Paris was the “moveable feast” that came along with him wherever else he lived and worked. Generations of students have felt the same way about Paris and indeed the rest of France. On The Village, you’ll meet not just the glittering excitement of Paris. You’ll also relish the enchantingly gorgeous Loire Valley and the villagers who live there today in many ways just as their ancestors did centuries ago. Places like Pontlevoy and Montrichard–ancient towns whose existence date from Roman times–will be your first meeting point with Europe today. As you gain a sense of how to travel and make your way as a learner in a storied and magical place. After a month in the “valley of the kings,” Paris will become your jewel and unforgettable classroom for an entire week as you begin The Village’s legendary Journey course module.

England: London Calling!

Dr. Johnson wrote centuries ago that being tired of London meant one was tired of life. Enough said, because when you’ve lived and learned in this world capital for a week you will likely concur. (You may even have one of your literature or history classes convene in the oldest pub in The City, where Johnson was a regular back in the late 1700s.) Regardless of which course you’re taking on JOURNEY, your week in London will be an epic adventure. Will you take in a famous West End show? Or spin slowly through the South Bank’s bright sky, high atop the London Eye? Will your love of European street food take you to the depths of the ancient Borough Market, as you track down the best fish and chips God ever allowed? Nobody enters global living without London on their passport. Get ready for the city to stamp yours this October!

Spain: Bienvenido Barcelona!

There are not many reasons to avoid Barcelona, unless your plan in life is to avoid perfect beaches, a rich urban history that dates back to the Romans and a nightlife that would make a minor rock star blush. Cities can argue all day long that “they offer everything.” Barcelona doesn’t have to. Because history, culture, incredible museums and one of the most generous November climates in the world are waiting for you here. Learn Spanish from native speakers. Take an afternoon to worship with the Barca faithful and give it up for Lionel Messi at Camp Nou. Or bring your A-game to beach volleyball on the gorgeous playa at Barcelonetta. Your days will be full here with learning and discovery. Your nights will just be full…