Bama Bloggers Abroad
Pre-Departure- Ethiopia!
I have one more day in T-town before I set off to Ethiopia! I got back from Serbia two weeks ago and the travel fever has set in since then.. I'm ready for my next adventure! I've got my 100% DEET...
“This one time in Oxford…
Throughout my time in Oxford, I remember thinking how different the country of England is and how little I'd be able to relate to my time there when I got back to the United States. After just two...
The First Few Days
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...
halfway through being halfway across the world
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...
The Rose City- Petra
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...
When You Want to Book the Next Flight Home…
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,...
‘Kha’ and The 3rd Step
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...
The Long Walk
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,...
A Local Festival
"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...
Apparently I’m on the fencing team now.
"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...
Where the locals shop
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...
And Jordan is…where?
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...
Returning From the Other Side of the World
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...
When In Uniform
-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...
Coming Home from Ethiopia
I have always thought it's harder to come home than it is to depart for a new adventure. After being in Ethiopia, getting to know the culture, and helping run a clinic almost every day I am kind of...
Home is Both Here and There
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...
Countdown to Spain
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...
Back in the States
Although I've been back in the states for nearly 4 weeks I still find myself replying in Spanglish and there are some activities that just don't feel quite right. For example meals out; don't take...
The Elmina Castle And Slavery River With the sea wave fluttering the beach, everyone got up. Today is the first day we live in the Anomabo Beach Restore, which is the best place we lived so far. We...
The Monkey Sancutary of Ghana
Monkey Sanctuary With the sunrise of the morning, we stepped on the road to the monkey sanctuary.It was a long trip that we headed north part of Ghana for almost 4 hours. When the driver drove our...
Wishing I could rewind the past 14 days
My journey through Europe is complete. These past two weeks have been nothing less than amazing. I came into the trip with the mindset that I was going to learn a lot about the differences between...
Oxford – You Will Be Missed
It feels like only yesterday we landed in Heathrow Airport. After visiting a couple of countries after my stay, I felt myself being pulled back to Oxford, as if I left of part of myself in that...
A Domestic Absence
I’ve been home from my time in China for a while now and I must say, I miss it. I never would have imagined missing a country so different from my own with people so different from myself. By the...
Now That I’m Home…
Wow. I've been home from East Asia for a couple weeks, and in that time I've had the chance to reflect on all that I saw and learned while abroad. I'm definitely missing the city I was in, the...
Back on US Soil
As I touched down on the tarmac in Philadelphia, I was overcome with pride and joy. Don’t misunderstand, I absolutely love traveling and wouldn’t trade my experiences and time abroad for anything,...
African Traditional Religion
African Traditional Religion With the sunrise of Kumasi into the room we lived, everyone got up and headed down to eat the breakfast. The flavor of Kumasi’s breakfast is a little bit different from...
My First Week in Europe
I have officially been in Europe for a week. This past week we were in Warsaw, Poland. Warsaw was the first city in Europe that I have ever visited, and it definitely won over my heart. The city of...
Post Oxford–Summer 2016
Wow, what a summer. I left for Oxford, England with zero expectations and returned to the US with numerous and irreplaceable friends and memories. This trip was one of culture, history, and...
Recollecting My Travels from Denmark
I believe there is something bittersweet about going back home. It's bitter because you aren't able to enjoy those occasions you had but sweet since you get to be back home and recall it all. One...
The Journey to Oxford
I sit reading over my packing list just hours before my plane flight, not being able to contain my excitement for my first ever trip to Europe. I always wanted to study abroad in summer, so that I...
Weekend Trip to Frederiksborg Castle
On the 2nd weekend of the Denmark study abroad program, we took a trip to Frederiksborg Castle, which is located about an hour north of Copenhagen. The architecture was amazing. The fact that I was...
Willkommen in Berlin
Today was my first full day in Berlin. I was supposed to arrive early Saturday morning, but due to delayed flights I arrived Sunday evening. Directly after my arrival, along with two friends, our...
Across the Globe
As I begin to pack for my trip across the globe, I can’t help but feel both excitement and a slight sense of apprehension. I know that great adventures await me in India, a country that in my mind...
Summertime Sadness: Post Study Abroad Blues
I woke up this past Wednesday morning in my own bed in Houston, Texas, vaguely aware of some bizarre dream I had where I had spent an entire 6 weeks in Europe traveling and taking a class. Then,...
Saying Bye to Berlin
Berlin is a city of immense diversity and many different cultural influences. I am grateful to have experienced all of them during my stay. Finishing my class at the Humboldt University made me...
Weekend Trip to Brussels and Amsterdam
Despite the intensive lab course we were taking in Denmark, my friend and I were able to take a weekend trip to Brussels, Belgium, and Amsterdam, Netherlands. We flew to Brussels on Friday morning...
A Hundred Thousand Welcomes Reach Back
Before I left for Ireland, people warned me (incessantly) about the strange type of sadness that permeates Life-After-Travel, and I laughed these off, chalked it up as a silly theory for overly...
Abroad in Denmark
I have been studying abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark, for the past month with 26 other UA students. We are participating in the chemical engineering Unit Operations Lab at the Technical University of...
Already planning my trip back…
Returning home from study abroad may be one of the saddest things I have done. After only two weeks, I had no desire to come home and definitely would have been content to spend the rest of my...
In the Middle
One week down, one week to go. Warsaw was more amazing than I could have imagined. Going into the program, I was excited to see Warsaw, but it was never a place that I had planned to travel to....
Back from Berlin
One day removed from the journey back home from my study abroad trip, I'm still a bit jet lagged, but overall I haven't experienced any extreme reverse culture shock. I was expecting to feel uneasy...
Oxford in 31 days
In my opinion, we live and study at one of the prettiest colleges in England. Worcester College and the city of Oxford have really begun to feel like a home away from home. The classes that my peers...
Don’t Blink
It's been thirty days since my class started of which 42 hours of were physically being in a lab, and at least 100 spent in the student databar writing 7 lab reports. Was it stressful? Yes. Worth...
viva Chile
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...
Missing Moscow
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...
Bitter Sweet
Now that I'm back home I can take a huge sigh of relief. Although I will miss Paris extremely, I was missing being home even much more. Paris, at the time, was having a lot of issues with their...
Bor i Danmark (Living in Denmark)
While in Denmark several things became apparent, the people are trustworthy but the weather is not. Most of the people I came into contact with on a daily basis seemed fairly reserved but happy to...
My Favorite Thing About Galway
When I was considering studying abroad with the university, I looked at the different programs that were offered more than I looked at the locations of those programs specifically. So, when I chose...
Wait, what does this say?
My time here in Stockholm has been life changing! Unfortunately, this trip is coming to an end soon and I could not be more sad. As I sit here and reflect on my time I have realized many things. I...
Notes From a Harbor Town
After arriving in Dublin after nearly twenty-four hours of being awake, my situational awareness was not at full capacity. But the first strange thing I remember noticing was riding the bus from the...