The purpose of this pilot study was to build a theory to investigate how and what university students learn in informal settings of study abroad programs. The authors theorize informal learning as an interactive web of meanings constructed by learners in the process of their interactions. The process involved in constructing a grounded theory illuminated ways in which students in informal settings constructed their learning in partnership with the host country through interactions with environments and people. Using a unique approach of making tacit knowledge explicit by analyzing it in the framework of the hidden curriculum, the article highlights the importance of learning in informal settings that occurs during study abroad experiences.