Día de Reyes in Spain
By Kaitlyn H.
Published Feb. 6, 2025
I landed here in Alicante the early morning of Jan. 4, a beautiful and warm Saturday. The weekend to follow was filled with sightseeing, pastries, a lot of walking and even more jet lag. What I didn’t know was that the upcoming Monday, Jan. 6, is what is known as Día de Reyes here in…
The blessings of the Spanish sunrise
By Isabelle B.
Published Feb. 5, 2025
For years, I had been wanting to study abroad, but it was only a recurring bucket list item. Even the planning and preparation process seemed unreal. Until a month ago, I hugged my family goodbye before boarding the plane that was taking me across the world to fulfill my dream. I told my mom at…
Getting to know a new(ish) language
By Fisher M.
Published Feb. 4, 2025
https://flic.kr/p/2qK8hJ4 Flying into Alicante I've been in Spain for a month now. One of the biggest challenges of living here so far, or in almost any other country, is the language. I've been studying Spanish since middle school, but being immersed in the language all day long is very different from any classroom setting. The…
New beginnings
By Alex B.
Published Feb. 4, 2025
https://flic.kr/p/2qK3pqX One of several massive waterfalls I saw on a fjord cruise from Bergen. January has been the start of many things: the new semester, the new year (obviously) and the start of my snowboarding season. It has been an interesting month for me, but it has been an incredibly good month as well. I…
My experience moving abroad before ever going on vacation
By Indeeera G.
Published Feb. 3, 2025
My first month after moving to the foreign city of Lyon, France halfway across the world has been one of growth, chaos and adjustment. As a daughter of a single immigrant mother, we didn’t have the time to go on vacation. The first time I’d ever packed a suitcase myself was the week I prepared…
Sickening January
By Taylor E.
Published Feb. 3, 2025
Two months ago, I was sitting in Ellis Library, avoiding my Spanish homework with the help of Google Maps. I dragged the little street view man 4,000 miles away from my home and dropped him in the middle of Alicante, Spain. I dragged him around, looking at the buildings and the street signs and the…
The people make the place!
By Emily S.
Published Feb. 1, 2025
https://flic.kr/p/2qKhLnW Building friendships! This winter break, I was given the opportunity to go and serve in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. When I first started telling people that I was voluntarily going to Vietnam to study abroad, they were shocked. Many people in the United States have devastating memories or loved ones who served in…
No car, no problem!
By Asher F.
Published Jan. 31, 2025
Since early January, I have been living and studying in Alicante, Spain. Alicante has barely twice the population of Columbia, but immediately after getting off the train and into the city, I noticed that it felt much bigger than that. After some thinking over the course of my few weeks here, I’ve realized it’s because…
How often do you think about the Roman Empire?
By Gwendalyn B.
Published Jan. 31, 2025
About seven days into my study abroad journey to Barcelona, my program took me on an all-expenses paid trip to Tarragona! The city, which used to be the Spanish capital of the Roman Empire, was a treasure trove of Roman history. During our visit, we saw the former Roman amphitheater and learned about the history…
Cultural Introduction
By Yi Z.
Published Jan. 30, 2025
During my first week of studying abroad, I took the cultural introduction class, where I traveled across Italy and saw many attractions. As someone who has never been to Europe before, this experience has been surreal. I was able to visit: Orvieto, Perugia, Rome and Vatican City. During just my short time abroad, I have…