Bama Bloggers Abroad
Heading Across the Pond
I am currently sitting in the airport waiting for my flight to London. It is finally hitting me that this is really happening. I am heading to the UK to study the National Health Service and compare...
Time in London
I've traveled before, so landing in London wasn't this huge overwhelming moment for me. No culture shock or anything dramatic. I simply went and grabbed my bags, figured out the Tube, and got to...
Back in the US: Oxford’s Impact on My Life
First time seeing the Radcliffe Camera Entering the Divinity School with my Bodleian card On the hill of the Oxford Castle Prison Blackwell's Bookstore Before going to the UK, I had only been on a...
Reverse Culture Shock
After spending the last three months in Europe, I'm finally back in the United States. It's strange not spending every Thursday night figuring out where I'm flying next or every weekend wandering...
Coming Home: One Week Later
Edinburgh, Scotland Rome, Italy It’s been one whole week since the end of my study abroad experience. Although my trip was only one month, I gained a life-long worth of experiences. For my first...
Geography of Ireland: Cold Summer and Anxious Expectation
The latter two photos were taken on my trip to Washington State. The first photo is from my first day in Dublin, wearing my new raincoat! Since I’m majoring in Secondary Education Social Science,...
How Traveling “Alone” Allowed Me to Meet my Best Friend
When I initially committed to studying abroad back in early spring, I was hesitant about the fact that none of the friends I had already made at UA would be joining me in Oxford. During my...
The Beginning of Something New
It's the night before I leave to go to Amsterdam. I’m feeling a lot of emotions: excited, scared, restless, etc. This will be my first time out of the country and the longest flight I’ve ever been...
What You Need to Pack in Your Suitcase
As somebody who just returned from studying abroad in Oxford for the month of July, I thought it would be helpful to share what I believe are essential things to pack in your suitcase. Before...
Everything I Did Wrong on Day 1 (and why it’s ok)
Hard to believe that one week has passed since I got to Porto, Portugal for the European Innovation Academy! This study abroad program marks my first international flight, my first time in Europe,...
A Taste of Porto
While in Porto everything has been spectacular. The scenery is awe inspiring, from the way the narrow cobble stone streets weave their way through city centers and Atlantic Overlooks and the...
New sights, food, and activities while abroad
First Day at J.F. Oberlin University I’m currently in my last two weeks of studying abroad, and it’s crazy to think I’ve been away from home for a month already. Through this program and classes, I...
Until Next Time London
Now that I am back home, I miss having walking incorporated into my daily life. I enjoy exercise with a purpose, and walking to get places gives you a purpose to exercise. I am, however, glad to be...
Balancing Work with Adventure
These are some Japanese Stab Binding books that I got to make in my Book Arts Class While I am studying at Oxford, I am taking two classes. The first is a fantasy creative writing course with Dr....
Travelling with a Food Allergy
As someone who has had a peanut allergy my entire life, I have become very used to navigating eating in the states. I know how to properly read the ingredient labels, how to order in restaurants,...
Travelling in the UK
Paddington London Underground Station While I was studying abroad in Oxford, I did not ride in a car for the entire month. Instead, I had the opportunity to use every other common form of...
Useful but Underrated Things to Pack for Study Abroad
As I'm reflecting on my time in Oxford, I am brainstorming blog topics. I want to help pay it forward with this blog and write about something helpful. I could get all sappy about how study abroad...
Adjusting to the Time Changes
Closer Look at Christ Church Meadow Gorgeous View of Magdalen College One of the first things I had to adjust to when I arrived in Oxford was the time difference. Coming from Alabama, I was six...
Arrival: Thoughts and Advice being Abroad
It was a long travel day back home; I slept the majority of the time on my flights. Arriving to the first of many airports in the U.S. was interesting. A mixture of the bittersweetness of such a...
Home Again
Being back in the wonderful state of Iowa again after being abroad in Guatemala for three weeks is certainly jarring. The other day I went to Culver's and began ordering in Spanish before realizing...
More Than a Passport Stamp
What i miss most Coming home from Florence has been a lot more emotional than I expected. I came home on August 7th and was able to spend less than a week with my family in Florida before moving...
Experiencing Life in Another Country
As my time in Portugal came to a close, I thought a lot about how I had just spent three weeks in a foreign country. As someone who can only speak English, I was expecting the language barrier to be...
Day in the Life
Here is what to expect for a typical day in the life of a student studying art history in Italy!! Morning!! Enjoy a delicious breakfast of meat, cheese, fruit, and either a pot of coffee and cream,...
There is no such thing as a perfectly packed suitcase.
The travel day is all worth it when this is what greets you when you arrive! Getting to travel to Italy with the Art and Art History department was the greatest decision I could make this summer....
Failed Solitary Life, Familiar Trees, and Reckoning with Wind
When people talk about going abroad, culture shock is a topic that often comes up. Two days after arriving in Ireland, I should have been deep in culture shock, but instead I experienced something...
When You Come Home and Everything Tastes Too Salty
Walking through the airport back in the States was weird. My first thought was pure relief. I was ready for my own bed, ready to see my parents, and ready to stop living out of a suitcase. Don't get...
Public Health in the UK: While Abroad
The British Medical Association I am amazed by how much I have learned and experienced during my study abroad program thus far! When I first arrived in London, I felt that it was very similar to the...
Plan-a-holic: My Weekend Trips with UA in Oxford
I'm your textbook definition of a Type A person: Hours upon hours of hunching over my computer on my couch, planning and planning. I enjoy planning usually more than the actual trip. This was the...
Something’s Itchy On My Arm… Oops! I’ve Been Bit By The Travel Bug!
Stepping back onto American soil after my time in South America, I realized almost immediately that I returned as a changed person. More than anything, the travel bug has officially bitten me. Prior...
Reminiscing on the Unforgettable Oxford Experience
After some time back in the US, I'd be lying if I said one of the things I miss most from the UK wasn't the food. Jokes aside, being back in the states has genuinely felt different. While I figured...
While Abroad in Chiba Japan
My first thoughts arriving to Chiba, I thought about how clean everything was and how the people seemed so nice and friendly, the only thoughts running through me were: Wow everyone is in their own...
Departure from Chiba Japan
Now that I am back home from Japan, I do miss it because of the good culture, the people, the healthy food and when you can feel safe taking late night walks and everything it was really nice to...
Remembering Oxford: the Fun, the Fear, and the Feelings
After being back home in America for the last few weeks, I find myself continuing to reflect on my experience studying abroad at Oxford. While I was excited to come home and see my friends and...
Study Abroad: Theory vs. Practice
I always knew studying abroad was something I’d be interested in doing in college. In theory, it would be a fun trip where I would get to meet new people and see new places before returning to...
So You Want To Study Abroad…
Hello sailors! If you’re reading this, I assume you’re either interested in going abroad or you already plan to. Well, I’m here with a few financial tips to help you along on your journey, wherever...
Giant’s Graves: Folklore’s Survival against Modern Secularism
Kylemore Abbey! This is the main castle; beyond the picture to the right is the gothic church, and to its left are the gardens and a Benedictine convent. See the beautiful fog rolling in over the...
People make the place: My first month in Spain, and the lesson I learned.
My week in Spain was a huge cultural adjustment for me. From big things like how busy Marid was to little things like waiting until my dorm's dinner began at 8:30pm, which felt illegal, as someone...
Public Health in the UK: Upon Return
The view of London from The Shard Reflecting on my study abroad experience in London, I truly could not have predicted the immense impact this trip would have on me or the incredible quantity of...
Reflecting on studying abroad while on the flight home
There were many moments where I wanted nothing more than being where I am right now: sitting on a plane headed back to Dr. Pepper, Chick-fil-A, and Target (just to name a few). Now here I am doing...
Calabash Caye: A Much Welcome Culture Shock
I have been looking forward to my trip to Belize since October of last year, but no amount of time could have prepared me for just how much I'd fall in love with the country, its people, and...
First Week, First Impressions
My first week of studying in Oxford has undoubtedly been a difficult week. The heatwave in the United Kingdom has been much harder to handle than I predicted. Trying to navigate public...
Saying Goodbye
Since my last post, I have been frantically trying to milk everything that I can out of my final weeks in Europe, and today I return home. After my resolution to be intentional about being as...
Preparing for South America!!
Hello! My name is Ashley Heuer, and I’m preparing for my International Business study abroad trip to South America! As both a business major and Spanish minor, I was SO excited about this...
Goodbye, Iceland, Hello Alabama!
As my time in Iceland comes to an end, I find myself in between excitement to leave but also not ready to leave yet. It's not the bittersweetness of leaving that a lot of people talk about, but...
A Farewell to Brazil
Never in my life did I imagine I would be living the life I am today. As a child, I dreamed endlessly of traveling the world and living in different countries. Yet, despite those big dreams, there...
Deciding to Study Abroad
When I first had the idea to study abroad at the beginning of last year, all of my friends were perplexed and confused with the idea. Some view it as a foreign concept at UA. That reaction made this...
Don’t Forget to Explore Your Host City
When you live in a city for four months, it’s easy to feel like you have all the time in the world to explore it. There’s no rush or pressure because it’s right there in front of you....
Packing for Panama!
Packing for my study abroad trip was a lot harder than I expected, especially since it was only one week. I needed to cover everything from business settings to excursions to hostel necessities....
My Internship Experience in Brazil
This semester, I completed an internship at Missão Paz in São Paulo, Brazil. Translating to “Peace Mission,” Missão Paz is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting refugees and immigrants...
Staying Safe in Unfamiliar Cities
Visiting a new city for the first time can be scary, but there are some steps you can take to feel safer in a city full of tourism. First, the tactic we all learned in elementary school, the buddy...