by Alyssa W. | Dec 20, 2024 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
“Americans are so talkative and friendly—people here don’t just chat with everyone they meet”. This was a comment I got on the train to London at 4 a.m., after spending the past hour talking to someone from the area about everything from economics to music. It was a...
by Alyssa W. | Dec 18, 2024 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
I am a chronic overpacker. There’s no getting around it. I always find myself leaving home with a bag bursting at the seams, hoping desperately I don’t have to open it and somehow manage to achieve the miracle of zipping it shut a second time. Unfortunately, this is a...
by Emma D. | Dec 18, 2024 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
If you have been on the Internet for any length of time, you have no doubt experienced a sharp divide between European and American users. One can often find the two groups arguing about food, stereotypes, tourism, and most often and most divisively; politics. No...
by Kyndra L. | Dec 12, 2024 | Arts & Sciences, Faculty-Led, South America, Summer
I can confidently say that I had (and still have) a great first impression of Colombia. Everyone was warning me about how hot Colombia is during the summer, but as a native of Mobile, Alabama, heat is nothing new to me. The humidity was a little stronger than...
by Kyndra L. | Dec 12, 2024 | Arts & Sciences, Faculty-Led, South America, Summer
Now that I’m back home, I have such a great perspective for the rest of my summer and the rest of my college experience. I have learned so much over the past few weeks, both academically and socially. I struggled with a lot of homesickness during my trip, but in...
by Bethany T. | Dec 12, 2024 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
by Anna H. | Dec 12, 2024 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
Take this advice to heart my friends: if you plan to go abroad for an entire semester maybe do it in the fall so you have the summer to get ready without the nightmare of balancing finals. While I’m frantically trying to finish final projects and studying for...
by Trista M. | Dec 12, 2024 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
This will be my final post, and though I didn’t intend for it to arrive so late, I’m very happy that I am reflecting on my experience now after a semester back at Alabama. I think when I first went to Spain to study abroad over the summer, I saw the experience ending...
by Tessa Pickens | Dec 12, 2024 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
This past weekend two of the other members of the UA in Oxford cohort and myself had the opportunity to spend the weekend in Rome, Italy. A weekend in Rome has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl as I have extended family on my mother’s side that...
by Ria P. | Dec 12, 2024 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
“Sometimes one day in a different place will give you more than 10 years of life at home.” -Anatole French The farthest tip I have ever made was when I decided to leave Illinois for The University of Alabama. I have never left the country or traveled in a...
by Nathan Hodgson | Dec 10, 2024 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
For the first full month in Madrid, I met so many cool people and had so many great experiences. From walking around the city and interacting with locals, to trying new food and drinks, I would not have changed anything about it. For the second half of the first...
by Nathan Hodgson | Dec 10, 2024 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
For the last month in Madrid, I finally found the rhythm of things. I had found all of my favorites: restaurants and convenience stores were some of my favorite things, and I grew a lot closer with those that were in Madrid for session 2. We had a lot more free time...
by Jacob Fox | Dec 10, 2024 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
Hey y’all, my name is Jacob Fox and I am a rising senior at UA. My majors are biology and Spanish and I am on the pre-med track. My expected graduation date is this upcoming fall semester. I have decided to study abroad in Madrid, Spain for 4 weeks. This is my...
by Jacob Fox | Dec 10, 2024 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
Hey y’all, it’s your favorite University of Nebrija student, Jacob. I am writing this during my last week of class in Spain (how sad, I know!). I wanted to keep you guys updated on what I have been up to these past couple weeks. As part of the study abroad...
by Jacob Fox | Dec 10, 2024 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
Hey y’all, this is going to be my last post about my travels within Spain. This past weekend I took a day trip with some of my fellow study abroad students to the great city of Barcelona. This was my first experience on the high-speed train that took us 400...
by Sophia Biernat | Dec 10, 2024 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
As my study abroad group hiked into the city of Logroño, we noticed that something about it was different from the other cities we had visited. Festive banners adorned the streets, and when we got to the hotel, the concierge explained what was going on. The city was...
by Sophia Biernat | Dec 10, 2024 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
Hiking a pilgrimage is a rewarding adventure where each day brings new challenges, but hiking a pilgrimage as a student brings its own set of complications. On the Camino de Santiago, we had to adjust to the pace of life as a pilgrim while maintaining good academic...
by Sophia Biernat | Dec 10, 2024 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
In June, I participated in the University of Alabama’s first faculty-led study abroad program on the Camino de Santiago. Although I studied abroad last summer, preparing for the Camino seemed far more daunting than my previous program, where I packed a suitcase and...
by Alex F. | Dec 10, 2024 | Arts & Sciences, Asia, Exchange, Semester, UA-Affiliate
Now that I have been in Seoul for a month, I can say how truly prepared I was for my time abroad. I would say I was prepared in the sense of paperwork and cultural expectations of Korea. I was not prepared for the language barrier and the weather. Even though I...
by Alex F. | Dec 10, 2024 | Arts & Sciences, Asia, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
While you’re abroad, try to explore cities beyond your university’s location. You can gain a deeper understanding of a country by experiencing its different regions, rather than just staying in one place. My university is in Seoul, South Korea, but I made a...
