by Claudia M | May 17, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Australia/New Zealand, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
At 4am tomorrow morning, I will be dropped off at the Birmingham airport where I will catch a flight to Houston and then to Auckland, New Zealand. It still seems quite surreal that all of my preparation has finally paid off and the day has finally arrived. I spent...
by Brooke H | May 15, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Faculty-Led, South America, Summer, _
Sitting in my terminal waiting to board the plane that will take me to Belize, I’m nervous. I’m wondering if I forgot anything. I’m worried about customs since I’ve never flown by myself or been to a foreign country without my family. I’m scared the other students I’m...
by Emma B | May 15, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Faculty-Led, South America, Summer, _
This week before going abroad has been crazy! I was on the way home from UA when I realized I did not have my passport. I went back to my apartment in Tuscaloosa and looked EVERYWHERE before accepting defeat. I was freaking out because I only had 8 days before...
by Ellie N | May 14, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Education, North America, Summer, UA-Affiliate
Spanish speakers are so incredibly prevalent in the United States, yet too often they are unfairly marginalized. As a future educator, I can prevent this from happening at the student level by educating myself in order to better understand and communicate with people...
by Emily C | Apr 30, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
I can’t believe I only have a month left in this magical city! I have met so many incredible new friends and travelled to so many new places. One of the main things that has surprised me about this experience is how much I have ended up traveling in my host...
by Averi L | Apr 30, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Education, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate
When I made my decision to study abroad in Florence, Italy, it was a pretty hasty choice without much research to back it. I had known all throughout college that I wanted to study abroad, and...
by Oscar V | Apr 24, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
Living in the United Kingdom has been eye opening I would say. I have seen, eaten, and tried so many new things. From visiting Hampton Court, to exploring the Victoria-Albert Museum, attending so many productions (experimental, theatre, dance, and music), and even...
by Anna K | Apr 23, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Exchange, Semester
When I found out I was going to Leicester, I was skeptical because I had never heard of it before. I thought that it was a ‘nobody’ town, especially since no one else I knew had heard of it. Turns out that Leicester is one of the bigger cities in the UK....
by Zach S | Apr 23, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate
The past three months have flown by in a blur, and the realization that I return home in a month is slowly beginning to set in. Studying abroad in Europe has presented me with one amazing opportunity after another, ranging from traversing beautiful gardens and villas...
by Caila B | Apr 22, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
In the weeks leading up to my semester abroad, I had a a lot of worries running through my mind, but above all, I was nervous about “culture shock.” It seemed as though I couldn’t escape that term, as warnings flew at me from every direction whether...
by Johnathan A | Apr 18, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Comm & Info Sciences, Europe, Exchange, Semester
I knew coming in that Leicester was known for its diversity, but it wasn’t until I became more comfortable that I would realize just how special and interesting this city was. When I had locked in my decision to study abroad in the UK, everyone’s first...
by Blake Childers | Apr 5, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
The month of March has been one full of travel! I’ve been somewhere new each week! I went to Belfast with AIFS (included in my program fee) for the first weekend of March. When we arrived in Belfast, we went on a bus tour of the city. We saw the Peace Wall, Samson and...
by Garrett C | Mar 28, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Central America, UA-Affiliate, _
After two months abroad in Costa Rica, I am finally back home in the states. When I saw my family for the first time in the airport, I was definitely happy to see them, but it was also bittersweet. The trip had never felt officially over until that moment, and I...
by Zach S | Feb 28, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate
I believe there are a finite amount of times in a person’s life when they are doing something and are suddenly struck by the overwhelming significance of their ongoing experience. Sometimes it is when we are doing something for the last time, for example attending...
by Anna K | Feb 26, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Exchange, Semester, _
Wow! I can not believe I have been in England over a month already. The time is really flying by as I stay busy with school and traveling on the weekends. I still love all my housemates and look forward to going to the dining hall with them for dinner every night...
by Garrett C | Feb 26, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
I’ve been in Costa Rica for a whole month now and honestly, it has been amazing. I can’t say enough good things about my experience here. I am staying in a very rural area at a research facility run by Texas A&M. It is on the edge of a rainforest and...
by Zach S | Feb 19, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
“This grave contains all that was Mortal of a Young English Poet Who on his Death Bed, in the Bitterness of his Heart at the Malicious Power of his Enemies Desired these Words to be engraven on his Tomb Stone: Here lies One Whose Name was writ in Water. 24 February...
by Averi L | Feb 5, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Education, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate
I am a planner. My new roommates identified that about me before I had even been on Italian soil for a full 48 hours. In our short time in Florence, I had already made multiple searches on Yelp and Google Maps for the next highly reviewed place to eat lunch, how long...
by Blake Childers | Jan 31, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
My name is Blake, and I’m studying abroad at the University of Limerick in Ireland. For those that are wondering, “dia duit” is Gaelic for “God be with you,” which is how people say “hello” in Ireland. The past three weeks...
by Zach S | Jan 24, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate
As a child growing up in the ever-expanding suburbs outside Chicago, Europe seemed more like a fantasy than an actual place I might someday visit. Aside from the semi-frequent road trips to Wisconsin, Michigan, and sometimes Florida, my family and I didn’t really...
