by Haley W | Feb 12, 2017 | Europe, Human Environmental Sciences, Semester, UA-Affiliate
I have spent many days and hours preparing to have the semester of a lifetime and I still find myself questioning whether or not this really is the life that I am living. I perfectly packed my bags to the exact weight limit and stepped on the runway to board my plane...
by Anthony J | Feb 1, 2017 | Engineering, Europe, Semester
I have been at UC Dublin in Ireland for a week and have already learned many lessons and experienced many new things. After spending time preparing for my trip I was excited and nervous to see what a new country had in store. I had done all the research I could and...
by Joshua S | Feb 1, 2017 | Arts & Sciences, Central America, Semester, UA-Affiliate
The reason that I chose to study abroad is because I have always liked the idea of traveling. To be honest, I never thought that I would have the opportunity to do so. This is mostly because finances and finishing my undergraduate studies in four years. One of the...
by Jennifer Wurm | Jan 19, 2017 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
This time tomorrow I will be settling in my dorm room in at London South Bank University. It’s always been a passion of mine to travel, and I’m so excited that I finally have the opportunity to live my dream. I picked London because it’s so historical and European...
by Emily P | Dec 14, 2016 | Asia, Semester, UA-Affiliate
As I write this post, I’m sitting in one of our two living rooms (Hello, awesome apartment), feeling the cool night breeze coming in through the window, looking out over the picturesque city landscape, and listening to boys playing soccer in the street below...
by Ashton B | Dec 7, 2016 | Semester, South America, UA-Affiliate
Hola from my room in Santiago de Chile! I am officially halfway through my study abroad trip, having finished the first two of my four consecutive intensive Spanish classes. Let me tell you, when they say, “intensive,” they really are not joking. I knew...
by Emily P | Dec 7, 2016 | Arts & Sciences, Semester
Did you really go to Jordan if you didn’t go to Petra? Normally, I’m critical of things that are super popular, but, trust me, Petra is 1 of the 7 Modern Wonders of the World for a reason. There really aren’t words or even pictures that are adequate...
by Emily P | Dec 7, 2016 | Arts & Sciences, Semester
Long story short…don’t. Remember when you stepped off the plane into this new country and everything was beautiful? Granted, you were probably just glad to be out of airports, and at this point, it didn’t matter where you were…But, still,...
by Madison K | Oct 13, 2016 | Asia, Engineering, Human Environmental Sciences, Semester, UA-Affiliate
The 3rd step to the eightfold path is right speech. One integral part of this is to avoid ‘idle chatter,’ something I’ve come to realize The States seems to specialize in. The other day, I asked my Thai professor, how do I say “I agree”...
by Madison K | Oct 13, 2016 | Asia, Engineering, Human Environmental Sciences, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
14 kilometers up a mountain. 7 hours. 10,000 other freshman students. I was able to take part in a long held tradition that many students look forward to for years: the Freshman trek up Doi Suthep, also deemed, ‘the long walk.’ Over the course of 7 hours,...
by Madison K | Oct 13, 2016 | Asia, Engineering, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
“I think we were the only Westerners there besides guys married to Thai’s,” “Oh, definitely, I didn’t see any other farangs there,” and as I said that, I realized although we were the only foreigners there, not at any point did I...
by Madison K | Oct 13, 2016 | Asia, Engineering, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
“Do you want to fight in the freshman competition this Sunday?” One minute I was searching for a weights gym with a fellow study abroad student, and ended up peering in on fencing practice. The next moment we were asked if we’d like to join the...
by Madison K | Oct 13, 2016 | Asia, Engineering, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
Walking among mounds of colorful chile peppers that will set your mouth on fire and bunches of cilantro that fill my nose with a delightful fresh smell, and I am the only ‘farang’ in sight. Locals load their motorbike sidecars with bags full of cabbage and...
by Emily P | Sep 22, 2016 | Arts & Sciences, Asia, Semester, UA-Affiliate
This might be one of the common questions that people ask me once I tell that I’m studying abroad in Jordan this year. If you’re not super into history/geography/politics and not obsessed with the Middle East (like me), it’s understandable that you...
by Kurt A | Sep 22, 2016 | Asia, Engineering, Semester, UA-Affiliate
It’s always interesting returning to your own country after being abroad, but it’s especially interesting whenever you return after such a long time. Living in another country changes you subtly, day by day, in really small ways that you can’t see until you hit...
by Madison K | Sep 22, 2016 | Asia, Community Health Sciences, Human Environmental Sciences, Semester, UA-Affiliate
-White shirt buttoned up all the way, black skirt to your knee, black belt, and a collar pin- thats the dress code. In college they are making us wear a uniform. It is Alabama summer hot every day and will be for months, and we have to wear a button up shirt. You...
by Amy W | Aug 23, 2016 | Commerce & Business, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate
Studying abroad in London was an amazing experience to say the least. As cheesy as it is, I feel like I left a piece of myself there in London and I am already itching to return to my home away from home. All of my expectations were met to the highest degree and I...
by Brianna M | Aug 23, 2016 | Education, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate
Wow, it blows my mind that in eleven days I will be on an eastward-bound plane to Madrid, Spain. Since the eighth grade, I have dreamed of studying abroad. I feel immensely blessed to have this opportunity to stay in Spain this fall. Last spring semester, I was...
by Ashton B | Aug 4, 2016 | Education, Semester, South America, UA-Affiliate
I’m about 3 and 1/2 weeks out from my study abroad trip to Santiago, Chile. It’s getting closer and it’s getting more real. I chose to study abroad so that I could fully immerse myself into Spanish culture, in order to learn the language more fully....
by Megan B | Aug 3, 2016 | Arts & Sciences, Asia, Europe, Semester, UA Non-Affiliate
I’ve been home for about a while now and I’m getting ready to head back to Alabama for the fall. So I have used this time to reflect on my time in Russia. Now it seems so far away and its weird to think that I’ve spent a semester there. At first I wasn’t sure...
