by C. Duncan | May 9, 2022 | Asia, Commerce & Business, Faculty-Led, Summer
As I sit in the airport awaiting a connecting flight to Seoul, South Korea (where I will then fly to Phnom Penh, Cambodia), I figured there is no better time to reflect on the pre-departure phase of my study abroad program. Thinking back, I’m not even sure I believed...
by J. Steinmetz | May 9, 2022 | Asia, Commerce & Business, Faculty-Led, Summer, _
Hi blog! My name is Jack Steinmetz and I am a Junior studying mechanical engineering on the STEM Path to the MBA. I am about to embark on the journey of a lifetime to Cambodia for 2 weeks! I am absolutely thrilled as I sit here in the airport waiting on my 30 hours...
by Brian C | May 5, 2022 | Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
A few weeks ago, for my spring break, me and a few of my roommates decided to use or week of free time to take a trip around the Iberian Peninsula. We went to Madrid for a few days first, which we all enjoyed, but found ourselves blown away at how much we fell in live...
by C. Flaherty | May 4, 2022 | Engineering, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
Food Spanish food is very diverse depending on the region you are in. While in Spain we have tried many authentic Spanish foods including croquetas, tortilla de patatas, paella, patatas bravas,...
by Raider M | Apr 30, 2022 | Engineering, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
At first, I was a little overwhelmed with how large of a city Madrid is, having over 6 million people. I thought that it was going to be very difficult trying to navigate all that it has to offer. But, after taking a couple weeks to adjust, I found that there is so...
by Ben B | Apr 16, 2022 | All Year, Arts & Sciences, Asia, Europe, Honors College, Non-traditional, Semester, UA Non-Affiliate, UA-Affiliate
Experience is a great teacher—and experience studying abroad is no exception to this adage. I have had the blessing of being able to study abroad for three semesters while at UA—in Shanghai, London, and now Rome—thanks to the generosity of UA scholarships, the...
by Ben B | Apr 16, 2022 | Africa, All Year, Arts & Sciences, Europe, Honors College, Semester, Summer, UA Non-Affiliate, UA-Affiliate
Florence, Italy One of the things that is most exciting about studying abroad is, of course, the travel opportunities on weekends and breaks. For me, travel was a highlight of all my study abroad experiences, as I described in my column about airports and locations...
by Ben B | Apr 16, 2022 | Africa, All Year, Arts & Sciences, Asia, Australia/New Zealand, Central America, Europe, Exchange, Faculty-Led, Honors College, Non-traditional, North America, Semester, South America, UA-Affiliate
One of the most under-appreciated benefits of study abroad programs, particularly those based in Europe, are how easy and affordable it is to travel internationally on weekends and breaks. Here I will give a few tips as to how to make the most of this opportunity, a...
by Caila B | Jun 19, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
Lisbon. Barcelona. Sevilla. Rome. Budapest. Morocco. What do all of these places have in common? I’ve been there! It was always my dream to study abroad as an attempt to quench my thirst for travel, and I chose Madrid to be my home base for the semester, a place...
by Zach S | Apr 23, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate
The past three months have flown by in a blur, and the realization that I return home in a month is slowly beginning to set in. Studying abroad in Europe has presented me with one amazing opportunity after another, ranging from traversing beautiful gardens and villas...
by Zach S | Feb 28, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate
I believe there are a finite amount of times in a person’s life when they are doing something and are suddenly struck by the overwhelming significance of their ongoing experience. Sometimes it is when we are doing something for the last time, for example attending...
by Zach S | Jan 24, 2019 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate
As a child growing up in the ever-expanding suburbs outside Chicago, Europe seemed more like a fantasy than an actual place I might someday visit. Aside from the semi-frequent road trips to Wisconsin, Michigan, and sometimes Florida, my family and I didn’t really...
by Michael R | Nov 14, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Asia, By College, Duration, Exchange, Program Type, Region, Semester, _
Of all the unread books on my shelf back home, none is more intimidating than Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of Genji. The translation I own, the 1926 translation by Arthur Waley, lands at over a 1000 pages. (The Tale of Genji taking up a large amount of space on...
by Ethan F | Jul 6, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
8 days, 1 hour, 2 minutes, 34 seconds. That’s how much time has elapsed since I arrived back home at Pensacola International Airport on Friday evening, the 29thof June at approximately 4:30pm. It’s only been a little over a week; yet, feels like forever ago. How much...
by Brandon R | May 22, 2018 | Commerce & Business, Europe, Faculty-Led, Summer
On May 10th I arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta, Georgia,eager to get my journey to Prague started. I knew my layover at JFK in New York would be tight, as it was only scheduled to be an hour long. Our departure time from ATL got delayed by 35 minutes,...
by Kaitlin W | May 18, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Comm & Info Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate, _
Before leaving for study abroad (and leaving the country for the first time…ever), I often compared what I thought my experience would be like to a scene in my favorite movie-Tangled. It’s the moment when Rapunzel decides to jump from her tower, and is...
by Kaitlin W | Apr 9, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Comm & Info Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate
“What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever experienced?” Before last month, I used to say that I was scared of heights, of spiders, or even public speaking. Then, on a weekend trip six hours away from my program’s city, I ended up in a...
by Mason J | Mar 23, 2018 | Arts & Sciences, Europe, Semester, UA-Affiliate
I don’t think there are words to succinctly summarize my past month and a half in Budapest, but here’s my best shot. I’m sitting, laptop out, in a small square in the Palace District of this capital city. Beside me, a cobblestone street winds its way towards the twin...
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 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...
