3 Weeks in West Africa

Now that I have been in Ghana for about 3 weeks, I have learned so much about the people and culture. When walking through the streets of Elmina, the light skin of myself and my classmates sticks out like a sore thumb. Despite this physical difference, the Ghanaians...

Not So Lost in Translation

As my month in Spain comes to a close, I have a lot to think about. However, I can only think in Spanish half the time! The program I’m participating in is a Spanish language program, and our director requires that we will ONLY speak Spanish 24/7. It’s...

Bama in El Escorial!

Welcome to week 3 at El Escorial! I have officially completed 15 days in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain. It’s a small town about a 40 minute bus ride from Madrid, and home to one of Spain’s most well-known historic sites El Real Monasterio de San...

When Good Americans Die

“When good Americans die, they go to Paris.” -Oscar Wilde I intend to live a long life, so waiting to see if Wilde was right seemed like the wrong path to the City of Light. My name is Allison and I am a rising sophomore majoring in English with minors in...

A Journey to Germany

After six hours of constant rain in Newark, a defective plane, and a cancelled flight, I finally made it to Frankfurt, Germany on June 2nd. What a journey it has been thus far. I have visited 5 cities and am about to head to a sixth. In Karlsruhe, I mingled with...

Me, Myself, and My Backpack

I’m the type of person who takes two bags, a purse, and my backpack when I travel home for one weekend.  I’m usually also balancing a stack of loose items in one arm as I dig in my pocket for my car keys on my way out of town.  Tomorrow, this all changes....

Getting to Ghana

It’s finally here! Tomorrow morning I will be leaving for my month long medical mission trip in Elmina, Ghana. At the moment I am a mixture of excitement and a little bit of nerves. Planning this trip, everything seemed so far into the future, and the...

Evento Nazionale

The semester is winding down and I can hardly believe it! It seems like yesterday that I was packing up to travel here, four months ago.  I have met so many people within these four months, it is hard to wrap my head around it.  So, in order to make the most of what...
Moving Up, Moving Out

Moving Up, Moving Out

The excitement is unreal. The nerves are even more present. In less than 24 hours, I will be setting foot in a new country on a completely new continent. Am I excited to finally explore another part of the world? Absolutely! Am I scared about entering a new country...

MOB –> MAD

Day 2 in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, and I already know I need more time than 27 days. 12 hours and 24 minutes. That was the calculated time of my flights and layovers from Mobile to Atlanta and finally to Madrid. Leaving at 3:00 pm and arriving at 3 am Alabama time...

A New Adventure

I was always told that the best way to learn a new language is to Study abroad; being able to hear it and being forced to speak it. At first I was afraid, because of the cultural difference. I wanted to learn the language but I didn’t want to be far away from...
What Now?

What Now?

Well…it has been 5 months now. I can’t believe how quickly this semester has seemed to go by. It feels like I was just getting on the plane to Scotland from the U.S. just yesterday. The last two months consisted of Spring Break and exams. Both of those...

Next Stop, China!

So it’s getting down to the wire and I have about 5 hours until I leave for the airport. If you would have asked me three years ago when I began college, or even about 6 months ago in the middle of my junior year if I saw myself studying abroad I would have said...

Access to Information

Access to information in Cuba worked a little differently than in the United States for several reasons. I quickly learned to appreciate how easily I was able to access information in the United States. In Cuba, at least where we stayed in Miramar, internet was only...