One of the first things I noticed about the architectural beauty in Lisbon was the tiles adorning the exterior of the buildings. The tiles cover homes, churches, various monuments, Metro stations, and are even sometimes arranged to display a mural. I spent a lot of time appreciating their beauty and snapping photos to send home to my family. I noticed that you could even buy hand-painted tiles in souvenir shops…

This week we headed to Geneva, Switzerland and Nice, France! During our time in Geneva, we were able to see a very different type of environment. The beautiful nature is filled with mountains, greenery, and the famous Lake Geneva. During our free time we headed to swim in the lake, and wow was it fun but also cold! We were lucky enough to have the amazing opportunity to visit the…

My study abroad wasn’t a typical study abroad. Instead of being in one place for an extended time, we were in three different countries in just under three weeks. The Maymester I was on is called “Tracing the Holocaust” and it was led in party by Jewish Studies’ very own Holocaust historian, Dr. Gibbs. Our first stop was in Poland, a country once home to 3 million Jews. It was…

Hello! My name is Chloe Goff and I am an International Studies (Global Studies Concentration) and German Studies double major, with a Leadership for Sustainability Minor. This summer I had the privilege of traveling to Berlin this summer for the College of Charleston: Summer Internship in Germany with Cultural Vistas program. This is my first collegiate study abroad experience, as I will be a junior in the fall. I have traveled abroad…

When I was researching Lisbon one thing that caught my eye and came up many times was the great beaches that were so nearby and easily accessible. While I had made no set plans to visit any of these beaches ahead of time I knew it was something that I was gonna do, the day I ended up making was the not one I expected though. It was a Friday…

Hola, my name is Lesly Endara, I am an upcoming Senior in Computing in the Arts as my major. I will be studying in Trujillo this Summer in the 2023 Trujillo Summer II Program, I was excited to see this program being offered by the CSCI department since the program fulfills one of my requirements for my major as well as my dream of studying abroad, now that my senior…

The month of June is chalked full of festivities in Portugal, and specifically Lisbon itself. Each city in Portugal has a patron saint whose festivities and celebrations occur at different times of the year. Saint Anthony of Padua – the patron saint of miracles, the lost (both items and souls), finding one’s spouse, and pregnancy – is the patron saint of Lisbon. He is venerated by the Catholic Church and…

In my time in France, one of my favorite things was adapting to the culture around me. In general, Europeans do a lot of things differently from Americans. In France, and Paris especially, the locals frown upon Americans for acting Americans. For example, things like loud talking in public places is not custom and people give you funny looks when your conversation rises above a low level. Another interesting cultural…

During my second weekend in Portugal, I took an overnight trip to the Algarve region with the new friends that I had made. This area in southern Portugal is known for stunning beaches, rock caves, and cliffs. This was a must-see destination for me! Going away with people that I had known for less than 15 days was a new experience, as was booking a long bus ride and night…

Acclimating to life in a different country and environment is a rewarding challenge. My biggest takeaway studying in Perugia, Italy has been that communication barriers are only as limiting as you make them. There is no such thing as a language barrier when you have the language of food, music, dance, and art, which is especially important in Perugia where English is rarely known. Once you learn some Italian phrases…