Escaping the City
I was so lucky to have avoided the homesickness and feelings of being completely overwhelmed when I arrived here in Santiago. In fact, it took me exactly 43 days to feel a twinge of those things, which I know is something to be very appreciative of. That’s not the story from the beginning, though. My doubts existed before arriving, they just went away the moment I stepped off the plane. At that point, I was in and I wasn’t leaving so...
First Excursion — Iceland!
One of the best parts of studying abroad is the multitude of opportunities to travel. This is what I was most excited about when I chose a location is western Europe. Compared even to domestic travel within the United States, international travel across Europe is ridiculously cheap. I planned to take full advantage of this and got to work on an extensive list of travel destinations. Number one on my list was Iceland. The...
Pre-departure experiences
The spring semester of my junior year I went to San Jose Costa Rica. There were many things that went into my decision to study abroad. The main reason I wanted to leave the country is to experience something new. College, in my opinion, is the perfect time to travel abroad because your responsibilities are lower. I can’t think of any other time where you can pack your bags and go to a different country for months. I knew this was a...
Interning in Australia: Motivations and Goals
My journey to deciding to intern abroad was fairly simple. Currently, I am a junior studying marketing in the Accelerated Master’s Program. I am thankful I am attending Alabama with a full-tuition scholarship. Additionally, I am ahead in my program coursework because of my AP exams and dual enrollment in high school. Therefore, with this scholarship funding and flexible time in my program, I began to explore opportunities abroad....
Midterm Season
As I write this, I am avoiding studying for my four impending midterm exams for my classes I am taking abroad here in Barcelona, Spain. I am also in shock that I am already halfway through my semester abroad. Although it seems like I have not seen my family or been in the US in such a long time, these past two months have also flown by. I am in awe of how many new things I have done and seen. A semester abroad is truly unlike anything...
Leaving a New Home to Return to Your Old One
During my study abroad I was always a little excited to return to the United States and to my family and friends, but when the time to leave was actually near, it was more scary and daunting than exciting. Saying goodbye to my new friends and host family was so hard (knowing I would likely not see them again). But nevertheless, I boarded the plane and made my way back to Chicago. My mom picked me up from the airport, but I was in such...