Olivia Addis: AU Business – Business Minor in Madrid, Spain & Rome, Italy Summer 2022 While studying in Rome, I was able to travel to Naples, Italy for a weekend with a few of my friends from the program. While in Naples, I was able to go to the beach, eat some delicious seafood, and…
Tag: Europe
To Barcelona and Beyond
There is one question I always dread when talking about my study abroad experience: where is your favorite place you visited? With all of the amazing, unique, and diverse cities I traveled to during the spring semester of 2017, how am I possibly supposed to choose? My home base was the beautiful city of Barcelona,…
Spring Semester in the Big Smoke
121 days. 40 cities. 8 countries. 3 continents. 1 unbelievable experience. My experience abroad began in the same place where I spent most of my time; London, England. However, quickly, I realized due to the nature of my class schedule that I was able to spend most weekends traveling, and I began to do exactly…
Leben in Wien
Studying abroad was something I had wanted to do since I was a little kid. I was fortunate enough to go on a 17-day program to China when I was 13, and a week-long study abroad program to Belize when I was 18. Both of these trips helped me rid of any doubt that I…
When in Wien
When I talk about my abroad experience, I could tell you about so many things. I could talk about the way I was ready for the physical travel, but not ready for the lifelong friendships I would make. I could tell you about how I wasn’t prepared for the culture shock or the way I…
Life Begins at the End of Your Comfort Zone
Over the intercom, the train conductor announced that we would soon be arriving in Grenoble, France. It was the middle of June and through the windows of the compartment, I could see snow-capped mountains peering through thin clouds. My heart quickened and I suddenly became extremely anxious. What if my host family didn’t like me?…
Home Away from Home
They say that home is where the heart is, and I found that to be true when I was in Vienna this past summer. I was initially really nervous about studying abroad. I’d never been out of the country before (aside from my 5 month stint in Vietnam before I was adopted when I was…
My New Normal as a Spaniard
I knew from the first moment that I began to research Spain as the country of my choice for a high school Spanish project that I absolutely wanted to travel there one day. It seemed so far away and a little bit scary to my small-town mind, but it was something I longed to do,…
I Paid for a Program and Got Change Back
For my study abroad program, we were required to keep a thesis journal. This journal included a multitude of things including recipes, reflections, responses and impressions, facts, pictures, schedules, and MUCH more. Even though it was a required assignment, I began to appreciate how it let me document every aspect of my program. Following is…
Discovering Roots in France
Having spent my entire life in small-town Alabama, I had plenty of exposure to the sort of things that people typically associate with southern culture. I grew up hunting, fishing, eating fried okra and grits—you name it. The cousins and family I knew all spoke with Southern accents, and embraced the slower laid-back pace…