Bama Bloggers Abroad
We’ve Got it Good
Upon arriving in Cambodia it was apparent what poverty the country lives in. On the way to the hotel from the airport I could see people on the side of the road doing business out of there homes;...
Delayed Final Reflections
If I were to consider the entire collective experience of being in Santiago, Valparaiso, and Easter Island, it would emerge as a kaleidoscope of images and emotions, a tumultuous attempt at the...
Home Sweet Home, Two Months Later
I am almost positive that it is impossible to return home, after any time of travel, to not experience even an inkling of reverse culture shock. I spent two and a half weeks of my summer in Germany,...
How I Found Myself in the City of Dreaming Spires
Everybody has their own reasons for why they choose to study abroad. For some, it's the least expensive way to travel and also get summer credits, for others they just want to try something new....
Europe was a once in a Lifetime experience!
I went to Brussels expecting a lot, and it didn't disappoint. I met friends that I'll cherish for a lifetime and that I'll be hanging out with at UA, and even though I had a great time, "all good...
Coming Home
Home. It's a strange word when you've been gone from it for even as short a time as 5 weeks. Sometimes it's a good feeling to be home, sometimes it's not. More often than not, it's bittersweet....
Forever in My Heart 🙂
It has been a month since I have left East Asia, and I must admit that I miss that place so much! This trip has been such a life changing experience for me in so many different ways. To be more...
Getting there
I had never been out of the country before, and of all of the trips I choose to take, I choose the one that requires 23 hours of airtime. I was extremely excited to visit Cambodia, to learn from...
Time for Some Good Turkish Tomfoolery!
May 15th, 2015: Goodbye Dublin! We all woke up early since we had to be in the lobby at 7:45. I am a huge procrastinator when it comes to packing so I did not get a whole lot of sleep at all....
Surreal Summer
Country sides covered in castles, gelato and churros before an afternoon siesta, and cheering for Madrid’s prized soccer team sounds like a dream, but for me it was a wonderful reality. A summer in...
The London Life
"In people's eyes, in the swing, tramp, and trudge; Â in the bellow and the uproar; the carriages, motor cars, omnibuses, vans, sandwich men shuffling and swinging; brass bands; barrel organs; in the...
Taking Ireland by Storm
May 9th, 2015 Today was our first day trip! It was such a fun day, but it came with a price. We had to be in the lobby at 6 in the morning. From the lobby, we went to the Heuston train...
I fell in love Down Under
Strap your ears and eyes in tightly, because they're going for a ride in this post. Two months ago, I boarded a plane from Birmingham, Alabama, bound for Gold Coast, Australia. The flight time was...
Irish Memories
I just wanted to use this first blog to introduce what my trip was all about and add a couple details about our first days abroad. For almost the entire month of May, I went on a faculty-led study...
Taking on the Tower of London
Wrapping up our last two weeks in Oxford has been an amazingly hectic journey. From class assignments to souvenir shopping for friends, it's been hard to find the time to even relax. But it's been...
Studying in Paris
Studying at the Paris American Academy has been the main part of my trip. I am taking a class called Design Process, in which I find inspiration, design a full collection, and create a portfolio of...
Home already?
Although I am glad to be home, I am already missing being abroad. It is strange not being with the people that you have spent weeks with abroad and not having to pay for water at restaurants...
Time To Set Sail…
As I sit here on my laptop in the middle of my parents kitchen I begin to reflect on my life starting at the young age of 11. I was brought to Tuscaloosa in the 4th grade when my dad received a job...
First Impressions
After an amazing month and a half in France (and then a visit to London), I finally made it to Denmark! This is the first time I have been in a Scandinavian country and also the furthest north I...
NOMA: The number one restaurant in the world
Noma was ranked the number one restaurant in the world 4 of the last 6 years. And I. Ate. There. How crazy is that?! When my professors said they were planning to try and get a reservation...
Galway International Arts Festival
We had the privilege of being in Galway during the International Arts Festival. People from around the world travel to this annual festival. This festival lasts an entire week and is full of amazing...
Exploring Canterbury and Dover
Ending a long week of studying in Oxford, this past weekend we traveled to Penshurst Place, Canterbury, then Dover! On Friday morning we took our bus to Penshurst Place, the ancestral home of the...
“To be, or not to be”
We decided to take a visit to the wonderful district of Helsingør in the greater Copenhagen area. Helsingør is home to the very old and very famous Kronborg Castle. Kronborg Castle served as the...
End of trip reflection
It is hard to believe that my travels in Europe are over. It does not seem that long ago that I was packing my bags and trying to figure out what I actually needed to bring. Over the past five weeks...
And Paris is My Hometown
"America is my country and Paris is my hometown." -Gertrude Stein Dorthy had it right. There's no place like home. When I first arrived at the airport in the US, still hours and a second flight from...
City of Dreams
It’s been 2 days since I’ve been home, and I’m already trying to find ways to get myself back to the UK. It’s nice to be back home and see my family and friends, who I missed dearly, but the past...
Until Next Time…. (A summary of my study abroad experience)
I have been back at home for about a month now. When I first arrived back into the United States, I was very happy to see all of my family and friends. I really missed them all and could not wait to...
Final Thoughts
Sitting here at my kitchen table after 23 hours of traveling makes the last month of my life seems like a dream. It’s hard for me to think about how the trip I’ve spent so many months planning and...
Why I’m not the “Restless Heart” Type
We all have that one friend--likely even more. Â I'm talking about that friend that is constantly posting about his/her latest travel adventure. Â Maybe you know folks that will tell you all about...
Europe is amazing!!
I arrived in Europe with a pretty sour feeling. I was dreadfully tired from not sleeping for 28 hours and my first plane ride was pretty long and tiring, and customs took so long to get through, so...
Only in China
When you travel to another country you realize how different, and sometimes really strange, other cultures are compared to your own. While I was abroad I saw and experienced things that I would only...
The Luck of the Irish!
Singing "Sweet Home Alabama" in Dublin While my Study Abroad was only a Maymester, I still was able to visit two countries for a considerable amount of time. We had scheduled ten days in Dublin,...
Valparaiso: A Haven for the Eclectic Mind
When my initial investigations began for the study abroad trip to Chile, I realized quite quickly that between Santiago, Easter Island, and Valparaiso, all the various facets of my personality would...
Paris is a Woman
"Cities have sexes. London is a man, Paris is a woman, and New York a well-adjusted transsexual." -Angela Carter When I first arrived in Paris my first impression was that it looked absolutely...
New Perspectives
I’ve been home from my trip to Cambodia for a couple weeks now, but it feels like ages. It was such a long journey, and I was exhausted when I reached home, both physically and emotionally. Being an...
The City of Dreams
Maybe when you see that, you do not immediately think of Oxford. For me, however, it is the place I have long been dreaming of visiting and long have wanted to study there. A pinnacle of academic...
A Little Bit of Culture Shock in Turkey
On top of the world in Istanbul!While my Study Abroad was only a Maymester, I still was able to visit two countries for a considerable amount of time. We had scheduled ten days in Dublin, Ireland...
Where Everybody Knows Your Name
Living in Japan has been an amazing experience in more ways than one. Although there is little time left before I return home, there is still so much I want to do before leaving. I want to climb Mt....
Excursion to Berlin
With a weekend free of labs and lab reports, a group of four of us decided to take a 3 day trip to the wonderful city of Berlin, Germany. Â We started off our activities with a trip to see the...
Post-Departure
Now that I'm back home, I'm not too upset or sad about leaving Barcelona. I'm very satisfied with the professional experience I got and the connections I made in Spain and I look forward to keeping...
Summer Down Under!
This summer I am spending 5 weeks in Australia, studying law at the Australian National University. This experience is my second time studying abroad, I spent my junior year in England. Both...
Why do I have to leave?
I felt like Barcelona became apart of me, it was extremely hard to say goodbye. I already miss it so much and I've been home for a day! I became so close with my roommates and my apartment and my...
The Many Faces of London
Three weeks is not enough time to cover London. It's barely enough time to scratch the surface. London is an exciting, vibrant city that never seems to sleep. It is also very diverse and very, VERY...
Ci Vediamo Presto, Italia
Four weeks in a land abroad. Gone. Past. In  the blink of an eye. Crazy, huh? I've had months to mentally prepare for it, weeks to physically prepare, days to pack, and full of excitement during...
The first week in Brussels
When i decided that i wanted to Study Abroad, i immediately started to research different destinations to travel to that i thought looked interesting. On the top of this list was Brussels, Belgium....
Ireland My Home
It has now been almost a month since I first arrived in the Emerald Isle for my UA in Ireland study abroad program, but it feels like it's been at least a year. I can't believe that I'll soon be...
Every adventure has a beginning…
Tuesday June 23, 2015 When we first began the descent over this tiny, beautiful island I hardly sit still. My face was pressed against the glass of the window of the tiny flying machine I had been...
Soo… about this metric system
I'm shocked to say I'm two weeks into my adventure in the 'land down under'. Time has absolutely flown by. The US and Australia have so many similarities, but the differences, where they're present,...
How not to Die in the Running of the Bulls
The festival of San Fermin in Pamplona, Spain, is better known as the place where you run with bulls in a packed street. As someone who has done the run (and subsequently received minor injuries),...
Please, Mind the Gap
It’s so hard to believe I am over halfway done with my summer study abroad experience in London. Although I have only been a student here for a week and a half, I have already adjusted and...