While Abroad
My first impression while arriving in Spain was that there was more graffiti than I thought there would be! My idea of Spain was that it was a clean and classy country (and it is). While those things are true, I did not expect to see sidewalks and buildings with graffiti on them. A thought that kept coming back to me was: “wow, this is different than I imagined it would be”. I felt homesick at first but anxious to explore...
Pre-Departure Blog: The Hair Conundrum
As I prepare to study abroad, I have constantly been at odds with one question – what should I do with my hair? Should I tame my wild afro with the straightener? Should I go with a nice weave or sew-in? Maybe box braids or micros would be better suited for swimming in the ocean and hiking through forests. Or maybe, I should just own my wild Afro – which would at least keep the heat of the Central American sun off my shoulders. After...
A Breath of Fresh Air
As my Latin American adventure comes to an end, I can’t help but look back on who I was when I stepped off that plane and who I am now. Before I came to Costa Rica, I was caught up in the daily grind of university life – hardly taking time to eat or sleep, let alone let myself enjoy all that was around me. I was so worried about passing with a stellar GPA or understanding the fine-tuned, linguistic inter-workings of Spanish that I...
Pre-Departure
South Africa, 2015 Hi y’all, It is important to know that prior to Spain, I studied abroad in Cape Town, South Africa for 5 weeks. It was amazing and I loved it. The decision to study abroad in South Africa greatly influenced the decision to study abroad in Madrid, Spain. I chose to study abroad in Spain because I am receiving a minor in Spanish and wanted to be totally emerged into the culture in order to better my...
22 de Mayo 2016 Now I am sitting on the plane. I just watch Mexico disappear as the plane flew away. I am really going to miss Mexico. I do miss my family and I am ready to see them, but Mexico will always have a place in my heart. I am so glad that I challenged myself and gained this experience. This trip was an incredible opportunity. I feel that I have grown not only as a person, but also as a social worker. I have always wanted to...
My first week in Mexico!
May 8th 2016 When I first arrived to Mexico, I was excited and a little bit nervous. This was my first time out of the country and I was without my family, but I was lucky enough to be there will fellow social work majors. Once we finally got off the plane and out of the airport I knew a new adventure was about to begin. Though we flew into Mexico City, we still had about an hour drive to Cuernavaca, Mexico where we would be...