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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

By Jude C.

Published Jan. 7, 2025

https://flic.kr/p/2qEaA7a View of Alicante and the Castillo. My time in Spain has come to an end and I am now back in the United States. It feels super weird to be back, but at the same time it feels really great. It was bittersweet to leave Spain as it had become like a second home…

By Ella B.

Published Jan. 4, 2025

Before we left for Spain, our study abroad adviser had us write down goals on an Alicante postcard. Now that I’ve been back home for about a week and a half, and the chaos of the holidays is mostly over, I’ve had a while to reflect on my time abroad. And what better way to…

By Ella B.

Published Dec. 11, 2024

I’m afraid this post is going to be all over the place (an accurate representation of November!), so please bear with me. Finals have been sneaking up, and now they’re running at me full force. For my literature class, I had to pick a book to read independently in Spanish, and I have an essay…

By Jude C.

Published Dec. 5, 2024

I’ve now been abroad for three months, and many things have taken some time to adjust to. It is difficult to talk to family and friends because of the time difference. By the time they are off work, it is basically midnight for me, making communication more sparse and awkward. The most jarring point for…