The real reason why
Currently, I am a senior double majoring in business and Spanish at UA and I am absolutely and completely lost. I have 6 credits left to graduate in August and in order to fulfill those, it seemed way more enjoyable to go abroad and try to gain some fluency from the locals rather than sit in Tuscaloosa for 3 hour classes every day (added bonus, I get off of work for the summer too woohooo). With Costa Rica’s attitude of “Pura Vida” I...
Missing Moscow
I’ve been home for about a while now and I’m getting ready to head back to Alabama for the fall. So I have used this time to reflect on my time in Russia. Now it seems so far away and its weird to think that I’ve spent a semester there. At first I wasn’t sure if I liked being there, but it gradually grew on me and I now I consider it my second home. Surprisingly, I don’t think I suffered any reverse culture shock since...
Spanish Surroundings
Being in Spain has been both exciting and frustrating at times. For the most part I am loving every minute of Spain: the food, the people , the location are all fantastic. However, the only personal complaint I have is that my Spanish is not as good as I want it to be. Communicating can be hard sometimes and true language barrier can be problematic. I took for granted the ease I could have conversations in America and now can only...
Never Leaving!
When I first arrived in Barcelona I was terrified. I started wondering why my parents would ever let me do something like this. When I was waiting in the customs line no one spoke any English and I started asking myself ‘what have I got myself into?’. As I started getting used to Spanish culture I fell in love with everything that Barcelona had to offer. I loved that everyone was laid back, they went to work when they...
Returning Home: Now What?
As I study for exams on this beautiful spring morning in my favorite café in Salamanca, I am forced to come to terms with the fact that my time in Europe is coming to an end. I started off the semester considering Salamanca merely a place I would vacation for a bit, but somewhere along the way, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly when, it became home. Among the immense smorgasbord of emotions that I am experiencing (sadness about...
I don’t think this is English
I landed in Frankfurt International Airport on January 2nd, and was glad to see that the signs were bilingual. My professors however, were bilingual as well, and had already started the German lessons. This was my first time in the European Mainland, and so far I was liking it. The language barrier was soon present as I arrived in Mainz, where I would be spending my time abroad. The weekend after New Year’s is a country wide...