By Shanley S.

Published July 28, 2021

The sound of my iPhone alarm wakes me up around a reasonable 8:30 a.m. Spaniard's and I share a common hatred of early mornings. I eat a small breakfast at my house consisting of Kellogg cereal with milk. I grab my mask and I am off on my 10-minute walk through the city of Oviedo.…

By Margot R.

Published July 27, 2021

Hello! My name is Margot and I am currently in Oviedo, Spain. I am here for the month of July studying Spanish and living with a host family. I have loved Spain; however, there have been many cultural and custom changes that I have just started to adjust to. Food-wise, it is great. I love…

By Ellie L.

Published July 26, 2021

My study abroad program in Spain has been astonishing! It didn't hit me that I was going to be staying in a different country across the world for a month until I got off the bus I took to Oviedo from where my flight landed in Madrid. My host mom picked me up from the…

By Margaret L.

Published July 24, 2020

There's a lot that I expected to be different about Spain. I expected more fish and olives from a Mediterranean diet, walking culture, a conservative/Catholic atmosphere, cheek kisses as greetings and smaller portions and smaller homes. But there were some things I did not expect, things that were really small parts of life, barely noticeable…

By Margaret L.

Published April 20, 2020

Unexpected truth about Spain: Sometimes, when you speak Spanish to a Spaniard, they speak English back to you. For them, it's "easier" because we're heavily accented and stumble at times. Of course, they do the same things in English, but that's irrelevant to them. Sometimes, the English they speak back to you is an exclamation…

By Margaret L.

Published April 12, 2020

I once thought it was strange to walk out of an MU building and nearly collide with a truck on a sidewalk. Like, what are you doing here MU Maintenance? How did you even get here? This is a sidewalk! Cars do not belong here! Now that I’m in Spain, though, I wouldn’t think twice…

By Kelli D.

Published March 13, 2020

Have you ever fallen half in love with a stranger? The moment when you meet eyes with someone on the bus or you say hello in the museum, never to meet again? These fleeting encounters are a unique kind of connection enhanced by the lack of communication after the experience. Last week, I was on…

By Kelli D.

Published March 11, 2020

In the southeastern part of Spain, the Valencia region, there is a city called Alicante. Here, there are students from all over the world, Mediterranean beaches all across Costa Blanca and, most famously, El Castillo Santa Barbara. With a simple Google search it can be found as an icon of Alicante. In the center of…

By Kelli D.

Published March 11, 2020

by Kelli D. When I go for walks I cannot help but notice the simple beauty in the trees. Their bark texture is so rugged, varied and easy to climb. I love the way that the leaves flutter in the wind like fur. Every aspect of them feels so foreign to me and my Midwestern…

By Kayla O.

Published March 8, 2020

Throughout this second month of study abroad, I have traveled to Montserrat, Girona, Sitges and Dublin. During this second month, I wanted to make more of an effort to get to know more about the country that I am living in, rather than visiting a ton of different countries for only a couple of days.…