A Tourist in Tours

As suggested, the UA in France: Language and Culture program does involve actual class time. It almost sounds wrong to say I was in summer school because the whole month was so surreal that to call it school would appear to negate the experience which would be a...

Jaw-Dropping Beauty

Following our rapid-tongued tour guide through the quaint cobblestone streets of Toledo, I’ll admit: I might have zoned out a bit. It was the end of my first week in Spain, I hadn’t heard a word of English in days, and my energy was beginning to wane. The...

Firenze, Italy

It’s definitely been a crazy few weeks here in Firenze. At first it was a tough adjustment but I’m learning to get used to the big city life. When we first arrived in the city it was a bit overwhelming and I was already having second thoughts about the whole...

Italy Week 1 Recap Part 1

Honestly, I’m surprised I even got into the country. I have been traveling abroad since I was an infant, coming to America, visiting friends and family back in Malaysia and Hong Kong, traveling to Greece, England and Italy with my dad… I had experience traveling. But...

Summer Brings Change

I’ll include my winter posts soon, so please be looking out for those, but I would like to begin with everything that has happened thus far this month. For the first time in a while, I was able to travel to Osaka after school. While Kyoto is a lovely and quiet...

Traveling to Spain!

Passport? Check. Phone charger? Check. Alright, after all my time spent researching for my trip abroad, making a packing list, and going to all the study abroad meetings, everything should be perfect. Of course, being my first time traveling abroad, that would be...

I love Italy.

I can’t believe we only have 8 days left on this trip. It honestly still feels like the first week in way not entirely though because I’m almost a local lol. I’ve made friends with the men at the convenience store, I know where to find all my favorite American foods,...

Home from Europe

So leaving Europe was by far the worst part of my trip. By the time my month there was over I had already become accustomed to the world around me. It almost felt like I was leaving home again and I was being torn away from my own personal wonderland. Having to pack...

Preparation

I have been in love with the Spanish language since high school. I wasn’t too bad at speaking it either. However, my high school did not have a very good A.P. Spanish program. I knew that if I wanted to be fluent in the language, I would have to fully immerse ...

Coming to Spain

Hola! My name is Kari Eisenberg and I am currently studying in Spain through UA. Studying abroad can be something that is both exciting but also nerve wracking, especially for me. Before this trip, I had never been to Europe before, and then for my first time I went...

Back Home

After spending more than four months living and studying in Scotland, I returned home to Birmingham three days ago. In these first few days, my adjustment back to life in the U.S. has been harder than I had expected. My body wakes me up by 5 each morning (noon in...

Host Sister, Soul Sister

This experience has been an incredible exploration of myself, cross-cultural communication, history, and global connection. I did not come into the trip with many expectations about what was to come, but I can honestly say that the last thing I figured I would...

Home Sweet Serbia

  After 24 hours of traveling and a week of recovery from intense jet lag, I’m back home from my two week adventure to Serbia. As I spend time with curious friends and family, I find myself struggling to explain what the past two weeks have meant to me....