by Gabriel C | Jun 21, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
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...
by Caroline S | Jun 20, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
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...
by Mackenzie S | Jun 19, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Faculty-Led, South America, Summer, _
Every since I came to college, I have always wanted to study abroad. I had a small study abroad experience in high school, and I realized how much you can learn from surrounding yourself in another culture. It was actually this study abroad trip in high school that...
by Mackenzie S | Jun 19, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Faculty-Led, South America, Summer
Traveling to Tarapoto, Peru required two flights: our flight to Lima and another flight from Lima to Tarapoto. Honestly, I have not heard too many things about Peru and what it was like, so everything I saw was a bit of a surprise. When we arrived in Lima, it was very...
by Kathryn C | Jun 19, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
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...
by Abigail K | Jun 19, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
A brief summary: I started out on this three-month, eight-country* journey on May 12, with a ticket to Belgrade, Serbia as part of the Serbia Fellowship Experience. I spent two weeks in Serbia, split between a hotel in Belgrade and a host family in the town of Blace....
by Anuska N | Jun 19, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
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...
by Mackenzie D | Jun 18, 2018 | All Year, Arts & Sciences, Asia, Exchange
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...
by Tabranecia Patterson | Jun 17, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Home, Summer
Need to get away from the city? The city of Florence and the country side of Florence are two very different regions. One region you have tons of tourists, it is overpopulated, and then you have the same street vendors trying to sell you items every corner you turn....
by Kai B | Jun 17, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
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...
by Kari E | Jun 15, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Program Type, Summer, UA-Affiliate
Coming to another country and living there is difficult enough, but especially when you are in a country that speaks another language. English is my first language and it is the only language I am totally fluent in. I have taken Spanish for two years at Alabama...
by Tabranecia Patterson | Jun 14, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Home, Program Type, Summer, _
What I fell in love with first! I have to be honest, arriving in Florence, Italy was nerve-racking at first. From my luggage still being in Paris, forgetting to get euros out of the ATM, and not being able to get into my home stay house, it was a rough first day. I...
by Samantha C | Jun 13, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
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,...
by Ethan F | Jun 9, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
Most pre-departure articles might be about how to fit two months’ worth of clothes into one suitcase, or how to navigate a big airport by yourself, or even how to make all of your travels run smoothly; but this article is about the opposite of all of those...
by Kenyanna W | Jun 8, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Summer, UA-Affiliate, _
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...
by Anna M | Jun 8, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
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 ...
by Kari E | Jun 6, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Program Type, Summer
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...
by Margaret Selesky | Jun 6, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate
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...
by Theresa S | Jun 6, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
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...
by Theresa S | Jun 6, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
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....