Testimonial by Noelle Stadler

Learning Persian at Aspirantum was a challenge, but it helped me make a lot of progress in my ability to use the language. The instructors and organizers were incredibly accommodating and really did their best to make sure I understood and felt comfortable with the material. I’ve been out of the program for a little over a month now, and I can still clearly see the impact that Aspirantum has had on my ability to read new texts and consider Persian grammatical constructions.

Living in Armenia was itself a wonderful experience. The Aspirantum excursions included many exciting opportunities to explore the country that I don’t think I would have found if I was traveling on my own or going through a tour company. I also really enjoyed exploring Yerevan on my own or with other students. As a young woman living alone, I felt safer in Yerevan than in most other cities I’ve lived in around the world. Aspirantum’s blog was also very useful when it came to picking a good apartment for my stay and getting set up with a local SIM card.

I also really enjoyed the Aspirantum community. Language students are always such interesting and friendly people, and the students at Aspirantum were no different in this respect. I’m really thankful for the support we provided to each other in class and the adventures we had together outside of class. My only regret is that I was also finishing work for my Masters while studying at Aspirantum, and thus was not able to engage as fully as I wanted to in the classes and excursions, but even so the staff really supported me so that I could get as much out of the experience as possible. Thank you to Mahboubeh, Khachik, and the rest of the staff for a wonderful and very educational summer!