by Alyssa B | Jun 16, 2017 | Arts & Sciences, Central America, Faculty-Led, Summer
Nothing compares to field experience. You can spend months in a classroom studying something but until you see it out in the real world your perception of it is never quite true. You need to see it in relationship to the other things in its environment and then you...
by Caroline B | Jun 16, 2017 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
Now that the first of the two sessions I am spending in Spain is coming to an end, I can think of a number of things I wish I could tell the pre-departure version of myself. Before departing, I had a wide range of feelings surrounding this experience. I am a huge...
by Genevieve A | Jun 16, 2017 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
When you arrive in a new country to study abroad, odds are you will have probably already given a lot of thought to the differences in culture. But I had underestimated just HOW different (and all-consuming) the French food culture is. From my first day in France, I...
by Victoria G | Jun 12, 2017 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
I am so excited for this trip. I am studying abroad in Florence Italy, and I can’t wait to leave. 13 days left and I am getting all the final paperwork pulled together and starting to pack! This experience will be amazing I just know it. I get to meet family I...
by Raegan S | Jun 12, 2017 | Arts & Sciences, Engineering, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
Before I dive in I think I should explain the game plan- because it is a complicated one. I decided to use my study abroad opportunity in Spain as an excuse to tag on a bit of additional backpacking and sightseeing. My official program will take place in a town...
by Alexandra S | Jun 9, 2017 | Arts & Sciences, Central America, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
The experience that I have had while being in Nicaragua has been the experience of a life time. Working in the clinic, we were able to shadow the doctors, take blood pressure and other measurements, count pills for the pharmacy, measure glucose levels and administer...
by Allison D | Jun 8, 2017 | Arts & Sciences, Faculty-Led, South America, Summer
After three days with very rustic accommodations on Lime Caye, I was excited to return to our lodgings at Big Falls. When we first arrived back, we attended a lecture by TIDE, the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment, who were our guides for the time we...
by Allison D | Jun 8, 2017 | Arts & Sciences, Faculty-Led, South America, Summer
The day was finally here- departure day. After one plane flight and a very long bus drive, we arrived at Big Falls, Belize, to spend the night before going to Lime Caye. I was so excited to meet the other students on the trip, and I immediately made great friends who...
by Riley B | Jun 7, 2017 | Arts & Sciences, Central America, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
I came home from Nicaragua on Sunday. Since then I’ve felt a little odd. My trip went by too fast in some aspects while in other aspects I was ready to go home. I learned so much in regards to Spanish, medicine, and just in general. Granada is a beautiful place...
by Thalia | Jun 5, 2017 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
We made it. Just a short 9-hour plane ride later and here we are: Madrid, Spain. Right away I found others on the same flight as me as well as at the airport when I landed heading to the same adventure, and so naturally I tagged along for some guidance. After all the...
by Genevieve A | Jun 5, 2017 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
Since I was a little girl, sitting up at night reading Madeline in bed, I have dreamed of visiting Paris! I began studying French when I was nine years old and immediately fell in love with the language. So, when I decided to study abroad with the UA in France program...
by Riley B | Jun 2, 2017 | Arts & Sciences, Central America, Faculty-Led, Summer
First things first, the weather here is incredibly hot. From sunrise to sundown I am covered in sweat. This wasn’t necessarily what I expected but I’m taking it in stride. The first week of my trip has flown by and I’ve had so much fun. In the...
by Almosa P | Jun 2, 2017 | Africa, Arts & Sciences, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
While I enjoyed my time away, I was happy to come home. There were trivial things that I missed such as Netflix and Heinz ketchup, but there were also a number of substantial issues that made me eager to return to the US. Their current President Zuma is perhaps an...
by Almosa P | Jun 2, 2017 | Africa, Arts & Sciences, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
As an American, my mind has of course been saturated with American brands, products, and media. However, I never fully considered what kind of impact American marketing could have on people around the world. Between a long layover in Germany and my time spent in South...
by Keturah N | Jun 2, 2017 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
The first week in France has ended and I can finally begin to organize my thoughts on all of the things that have happened thus far. The first week in France was spent in Paris with the goal of helping us to get accustomed to hearing and responding to French on a...
by Alyssa B | Jun 2, 2017 | Arts & Sciences, Central America, Faculty-Led, Summer
You see where those waves are breaking. Right there and about forty feet down is where I will be spending most of my summer while in Roatan Honduras. I know what you are thinking, though. Forty feet down, forty feet down where? Well, it’s forty feet down to reach the...
by Mackenzie L | Jun 2, 2017 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Social Work, Summer
My first impression while arriving in Spain was that there was more graffiti than I thought there would be! My idea of Spain was that it was a clean and classy country (and it is). While those things are true, I did not expect to see sidewalks and buildings with...
by Ethan S | Jun 2, 2017 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
Pre-Departure (21/05/17): There isn’t much more I could’ve done to prepare for this excursion to Spain. For the past two weeks, I’ve spent my time volunteering at a clinic in Granada, Nicaragua with the Alabama Nicaragua Clinical Experience. During this time, I’ve...
by Asia C | Jun 2, 2017 | Africa, Arts & Sciences, Summer, UA-Affiliate, _
As the time for my departure is winding down, the only thing I can think about is how far I have come as a student and as an individual. Never would I have thought I would have the opportunity to study abroad. I chose to study abroad because my goal is to challenge...
by Brittany G | May 25, 2017 | Arts & Sciences, Asia, Non-traditional, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
I’ve been back in the states for almost three weeks now. It feels like far longer. It feels like I just got back. Reverse culture shock, despite the large differences in Thai and American culture hasn’t been as bad as I was expecting. I’m often disappointed...
