Each year, a select number of Wooster students between the ages of 14 and 16 have the opportunity to spend a school year abroad in France or Spain. Begun in 1966, Wooster's Year Abroad program totally immerses students in either the French or Spanish culture for an entire school year. In the process, students master a second language and experience the adventure that comes with living in a foreign country.

Students are carefully matched with a host family, that has a child of about the same age as the Wooster student and attends the same school. The program aims for an authentic integration between students and their host families. Students return feeling that they have gained another family and one that will welcome them back whenever they return.

The program takes place in the Vaucluse, the capital of which is Avignon, which is also the largest city. The area is largely rural in nature, though it includes small cities and towns of exceptional historic and cultural interest. There are extensive Roman ruins in such places as Orange and Vaison-la-Romaine and examples of medieval art and architecture almost wherever one turns. At the same time, the area is noted for its production of first crops of fruit and vegetables and wine. It is the country of Cezanne and VanGogh, as well as Marcel Pagnol. It is an area of exceptional beauty and is temperate in climate. Physically, it is dominated by Mt Ventoux and by the Rhone River valley.

The program operates in Valencia, composed of the provinces of Valencia, Alicante, and Castellon. Greeks, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Goths, and Moors overlapped for the first thirteen hundred years until Valencia was conquered by King James I. To this day, Valencia prides itself on its diversified local industries, agriculture, and craftsmanship, as well as on its own language, literature, culture, and legal tradition. The area is rural in nature with small cities and towns that hold exceptional cultural and historical interest. Some students live in small towns surrounded by orange groves and artichoke fields, others reside in Valencia itself.

Although the gains may seem obvious, here are the things that returning students mention most. Almost all mention the benefits of fluency and of learning about another culture. Many speak of friendships that have endured and of learning something about themselves. Self-confidence is a common theme that many write about. And to quote a few comments: "A collection of memories which I prize and count as gain." "I appreciated the relaxed and welcoming atmosphere my family provided." "A recognition of the universality of the human experience." "It's a feeling of satisfaction, accomplishment, and happiness that I could be part of their culture."