by John E | Aug 3, 2016 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
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 airport to the city on the left side of the road. A crash felt...
by Allison H | Aug 3, 2016 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Summer, UA-Affiliate
Another great perk of studying abroad is being able to experience different seasons in different places. For example: experiencing summer in Europe. Summers in Europe can provide quite the culture shock for Americans from the south. The weather can vacillate between...
by Cassie C | Aug 3, 2016 | Engineering, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
This is probably the hardest post to write..not because I don’t have anything to write about, or because I’m bored, but to begin to describe all of the experiences I have had is unfathomable (along with taking a momentary step back from these incredible experiences to...
by Erin B | Jul 28, 2016 | Arts & Sciences, Asia, Faculty-Led, Summer
I am in the throngs of my China trip and, miraculously, nothing terrible has happened. No earthquakes, no kidnappings, no allergic reaction, I began to feel like I was on top of the world! The fact that I stared my anxiety down in the face and came on this trip was...
by Savannah W | Jul 28, 2016 | Commerce & Business, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
This was it. This was the part of the trip I had been anticipating for months! I was finally going back to Germany. I hadn’t been there in almost 1o years, and here I was getting to go to Berlin and Munich! On May 19th, we packed our bags and headed to the...
by Jacob T | Jul 28, 2016 | Engineering, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
Upon first arriving in Denmark, I was greeted with a very American-esque airport and crowds of people bustling about to their destination— a scene quite similar to the U.S. I pride myself on awareness, so I immediately found my exact location, my destination, the path...
by Mary P | Jul 28, 2016 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
One of the perks of living in Europe is the ease of accessibility to other countries. In most cases, for less than one hundred Euros you can travel across national borders. Since I’m studying in Berlin, I decided to spend my free weekend in Prague. Along with...
by Devin V | Jul 28, 2016 | Engineering, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
So the beginning of my tale starts with a CRJ700 out of the Birmingham regional airport to Charlotte, as can be seen in the picture included (I am obsessed with planes!). I knew before coming that it would be a fun and especially different experience that I would...
by Emily S | Jul 27, 2016 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
Upon first arriving in Berlin, I immediately noticed how safe I felt. Granted, I took five years of German, so my familiarity with the language helped, but the environment of the city itself is genuinely open and welcoming to tourists. It gets dark late, locals speak...
by Jessie L | Jul 27, 2016 | Asia, Commerce & Business, Faculty-Led, Summer
Right when I landed back in the US, I still couldn’t get my head wrapped around how I’ve been away for a month. I knew that once I got home I’d be behind in my friend’s life and my families, even though we tried to talk every day, it was limited due to the internet I...
by Savannah W | Jul 27, 2016 | Commerce & Business, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
At this point in the trip, days start to blur together. Life on a study abroad trip is a whirlwind, but one that you never want to end. We had a total of ten days in Dublin, Ireland and we jam packed as much of it in there as we could. On day two, we had to have a...
by Kurt A | Jul 27, 2016 | Asia, Engineering, Semester, UA-Affiliate
Studying abroad is one of the best learning experiences for a student out there. It can teach a person so many different things. Not just about the world at large, but about themselves as well. One of the biggest skills I have noticed that many students learn, is...
by Allison H | Jul 27, 2016 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Summer, UA-Affiliate
While on my language program in Berlin, I spent one afternoon walking around the park, Tempelhofer Feld. This park is really special, because it’s actually an old airport used around the time of World War II. Originally used by Nazis, the airport was later the site of...
by Austin P | Jul 27, 2016 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
My time abroad was incredible and has definitely shaped the way that I interact with people. Throughout two flights from Madrid back to Chicago, I only talked in Spanish with native speakers. My first taste of reverse culture shock was going through security where I...
by Amanda B | Jul 27, 2016 | Arts & Sciences, Australia/New Zealand, Summer, UA-Affiliate
Sydney and I did not meet on the best of terms. Sixteen hours of flying across the Pacific Ocean right after six hours of flying across the United States and only a couple hours of sleep doesn’t make for a great first impression on my part. But Sydney welcomed all of...
by Elizabeth P | Jul 27, 2016 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
The last leg of my journey led me to Venice, Verona, and finally seeing a live opera production! Our trip to Venice was too short, but the taste we got was delightful. It is a stunning city with a fascinating history and even more fascinating architecture. Verona,...
by Erin B | Jul 27, 2016 | Arts & Sciences, Asia, Faculty-Led, Summer
“I’m going to China.” I have been repeating this mantra in my mind since I decided to go on this trip back in November. Frankly, I don’t even know how I ended up here. I was simply walking out of my Chinese 101 class when my teacher said, “You should go to China.” My...
by Savannah L | Jul 26, 2016 | Commerce & Business, Faculty-Led, Summer
So how was Haiti? Everyone’s immediate question for me right when my feet hit the ground. Some of the students that had been on the previous trips to Haiti had warned me this was no easy question to answer. How would I tell people about this life changing seven-day...
by Michael T | Jul 26, 2016 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
So far, my only journey out of my hometown was 4 hours away to the University of Alabama. Today, I’m packed up and getting ready for a flight to Brussels, Belgium, and the butterflies are finally kicking in. I have no experience abroad, and I fight even know...
by Savannah W | Jul 26, 2016 | Commerce & Business, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
So, here I am again post-study abroad, writing blogs after the fact. They seem like such an easy thing to keep up with when heading off for your trip, but let me tell you for the SECOND time, I am behind again. For one, It is so easy to lose track of everything when...
