We leave this up to you. We are not scheduling out your entire day, which gives you the opportunity to really take charge of your experience and decide what it will be.

We can’t encourage volunteers enough to just get out and explore — you may have the chance to attend some language and culture classes provided by your school, but you’re also welcome to work on the language yourself, go out with your ILP group to grab a treat downtown, head to the theater to see a ballet or concert, plan a picnic in the nearby park, visit the local pop-up market, do some shopping, take a hike to the mountains behind your school, etc. Each location will be unique, but in every city you’ll find there’s plenty to be explored. You’ll also need to spend your free time planning vacations and other adventures.

We recommend brainstorming and making a big long list of things you want to see, do, experience and eat during your semester abroad with your group (get help on the ILP blog!); that way, you’ll always have a list of ways to really get to know your country.