First thoughts at home…

Currently, I am sitting at the Atlanta airport thinking about my time abroad. I have never been more excited to be at an airport. I am so ancy to be back in Indiana. It is crazy to me that I am actually back in the United States. It’s like when I first got to Germany,...

Returning to the USA

Six weeks have flown by in Colombia, and now I’m back in the USA. The first couple days back, I found myself saying things in English but in grammatical structures of Spanish or even saying certain words in Spanish in the middle of an English conversation. I...

Pre-Departure: UA in Oxford

With less than twenty-four hours before I embark on my journey to Oxford University through the UA in Oxford program, I think what experiences I will have there. After all, Oxford University has been an active university for hundreds of years. As a student of history,...

Learning Abroad

Today in Madrid, we had our final day of class. For my program, our class culminated in a presentation about how we have been changed by the trip. During my month in Madrid, I took two classes for six credit hours. These classes were beneficial for many reasons. I...

Excursions in Spain

One of the best parts of my study abroad program were the excursions. I participated in UA’s Language and Culture program in Spain, and we visited some of the most important historical and cultural sights in the country. Our program consisted of class Monday through...

Missing Belize

Being back in the U.S. for almost a month now is still odd. While in Belize, my skin was acne-free from eating fresh, unprocessed food and swimming in salt water every day. Now, my face is breaking out and I easily get cold since I’m not used to air...

Field Trips in Spain

The Study Abroad schedule in Spain is structured where we have class Monday through Thursday and on Friday and Saturday we take a field trip to a different city to see the historic places like cathedrals and palaces. During June we have travelled to unique parts of...

Before Berlin

Although I have been in Berlin for a week, I have decided to take the time to reflect on what it took to get here. I will write about my first experiences in another country sometime soon. I chose to study abroad for a number of reasons. One big one was the cost....

Pre-Paris Departure

I’ve wanted to visit France since I began learning the language as a freshman in high school. I never would have guessed that I would still be studying French in college, let alone taking it on as an additional major with chemistry. Once I heard about UA’s Alabama in...

To Madrid…and Beyond!

Lisbon. Barcelona. Sevilla. Rome. Budapest. Morocco. What do all of these places have in common? I’ve been there! It was always my dream to study abroad as an attempt to quench my thirst for travel, and I chose Madrid to be my home base for the semester, a place...

Comida Comida Comida

Spanish tortilla dishA little something similar to homeMy first tapa!! My favorite thing about being somewhere other than Texas is the different kinds of food (by the way, comida means food in Spanish). Even in a place like Alabama the food is different than home, so...

Why Go Abroad?

Hey y’all I’m Courtney and I am prepping to spend my summer in Madrid! I want to go abroad because WHEN ELSE are you young and able to drop everything to spend a month in Europe? (or any location of your choice). This educational opportunity is truly too...

Beginning Italian Course

Academics here in Florence, Italy is quite different than it is at The University of Alabama. Florence University of the Arts is broken up into different classroom buildings based off of the class category. My building is a little over a mile from my apartment, which...