by Christina A | Mar 20, 2018 | Central America, Comm & Info Sciences, Faculty-Led
During my final day in Costa Rica, I had the opportunity to do something on my bucket list I had yet to cross off. Surfing. I’ve always been a land person—running, hiking, backpacking and camping. I was raised in Louisville, Kentucky—famed for land sports like...
by Christina A | Mar 15, 2018 | Central America, Comm & Info Sciences, Faculty-Led, Semester
As I sat in a rocking chair on the porch of my little Costa Rican cottage, I watched an assortment of cars, busses and bicycles zoom by. With no plans for the afternoon, I hoped to make my way into town via one of Costa Rica’s friendly taxi drivers. Before I made the...
by Christina A | Mar 13, 2018 | Central America, Comm & Info Sciences, Faculty-Led, Semester
As a writer for VIDA Magazine at UA, I somehow found myself flying solo to Costa Rica less than 48 hours ago. Upon landing among the surrounding Costa Rican mountains and volcanoes, I hopped aboard a bus with a local bus driver, and we began our trek through the busy...
by Anna M | Mar 3, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Semester, UA Non-Affiliate, _
Anyone who has ever studied abroad will most likely describe the first few weeks in one compact, colorful term: whirlwind. My time so far here in London, England, has been just that. So much so that it has taken me over a month to finally sit down and reflect...
by Kaitlin W | Feb 13, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Comm & Info Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
For me, study abroad has been full of a lot of firsts. First time leaving the country; first time out of the state of Alabama for more than ten days, but some of these firsts haven’t been quite as extreme. I spent one of my first weekends in Grenoble, France an...
by Adrienne R | Feb 9, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate
I knew early on in high school that, whatever academic discipline or disciplines I chose to pursue in college, I was going to study abroad. As I reach the one-month mark in my semester in Galway, Ireland, I know it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. ...
by Justin C | Feb 7, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
Ciao! We just took off from Logan Airport and are finally on the way to Florence, Italy! Woohoo! We have a connecting flight in Zurich, Switzerland (already checking another city off the list). I am feeling extremely excited, joyful, thankful, nervous, and worried all...
by Margaret Selesky | Feb 5, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate
Two weeks ago I got my first glimpse of Scotland from a window seat inside a small regional plane that heaved and rattled and jerked back and forth with every gust of wind. As we descended out of the cover of the clouds and glided over the Firth of Forth, I marveled...
by Elizabeth C | Jan 28, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
It is currently 7:34 AM as I write this blog post, which means I am less than T-4 hours until I am needed at the airport. My journey to Seville will officially begin when I board my first flight to Atlanta at 1:00 PM. The decision to study abroad for an entire...
by Valerie W | Jan 20, 2018 | Engineering, Europe, Semester
The semester abroad that I have been looking forward to since before I even started college is finally here! I have always been passionate about traveling to new places and knew that studying abroad would be an integral part of my college experience. Studying at...
by Carter B | Jan 18, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Engineering, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
Over the Christmas break my Finnish roommate and I went to Berlin to celebrate New Years Eve with some Mexican, Russian, and German friends that we’ve met since being in Stuttgart this semester. We were amazed at how huge the city was and decided to explore the...
by Caylee O | Jan 17, 2018 | Africa, Arts & Sciences, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
If you had told me four years ago that I’d be spending my last undergraduate semester in Tanzania, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. I knew that I was going to do everything in my power to study abroad, but given that my minor is Spanish, I aspired to study in a...
by Amber C | Jan 13, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
You learn a lot about yourself when you travel because you see how you react to new situations. One thing I learned about myself was the type of traveler I was. People have different interests and personalities and that effects how they like to travel. Booshie...
by Amber C | Jan 13, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
I had no expectations coming into this study abroad program because every time I saw it it seemed unreal or too good to be true. This program takes you to various countries all around the world literally all around the world. My particular trip was the Fall...
by Amber C | Jan 13, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
The last four months I spent my time traveling all parts of the world with Semester at Sea from the Fjords of Norway, the schools in Ghana, and the buddhist temples of Myanmar. For starters I learned that we can learn something from every country or person on the...
by Jeremy Benjamin | Jan 11, 2018 | Engineering, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate
Ever since Alabama introduced me to the idea when I toured, I have wanted to study abroad. Sophomore spring is the perfect time, because I have made some great friends, but my classes aren’t so hard that it would be impossible to enjoy a new country. Ireland was one...
by Mackenzie D | Dec 29, 2017 | All Year, Arts & Sciences, Asia, Exchange
It’s been unbelievably fun here in Japan ever since I arrived in September. At first it was a little difficult to adjust to everything, and I’m still sad that fruit is so expensive to buy… But thanks to everyone living here at Utano International...
by Isabelle B | Dec 6, 2017 | Arts & Sciences, Central America, UA-Affiliate
While studying abroad in Costa Rica, I have found that there is no such thing as a typical weekend. Although most are filled with travel, the activities are as diverse as hiking a mountain, beach hopping, or exploring new cities. One weekend that is exemplary of the...
by Isabelle B | Dec 6, 2017 | Arts & Sciences, Central America, Semester, UA-Affiliate
What do you do when you want to be two places at once? That was the feeling I struggled with the last few weeks of my study abroad experience, when my desire to be home and my desire to stay in Costa Rica were fighting it out. About a month before the end of my...
by Mackenzie D | Dec 5, 2017 | All Year, Arts & Sciences, Asia, Exchange
As the season has changed from summer to fall, there are a lot more tourists in Kyoto. According to my Japanese teacher, they come to visit many of the temples and shrines that Kyoto has to offer. But also to see the ‘紅葉’, or Autumn leaves. At first I was...
