To any future study abroad students I would say the very cliche phrase: don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. You are going abroad to learn new things and have experiences you can’t have here in the States. That being said, having ties to home helped me a lot. I would set aside time each weekend to call home and I brought a couple of mementos from…
One of my favorite parts about studying abroad in France was the ability to travel to other cities and countries. “ La Toussaint” is a holiday in France when all the schools and universities across the country get a week-long vacation, typically at the end of October. A friend from my program and I went to Italy during the break. Throughout the course of the week, we traveled to five…
I am currently aboard the MV World Odyssey with Semester at Sea! The program has sailed for sixty years, and I am currently on its 132nd voyage. Over these years, the atmosphere and traditions have stood the test of time and will continue for many more to come. I have highlighted some of the amazing days that are held throughout the voyage. Neptune Day From early wake-ups to a cold…
After three months in London, I have learned so much. As the city is filled with diversity and is essentially a melting pot, many different opportunities have arisen that I am not quite used to. I have tried about every nationality of food and learned more about global health than I could have ever imagined. Though, with interacting among different nationalities, there has been a lot of confusion as the…
After feeling like I had found my place in Singapore, I started planning trips. I first went to Bangkok, Thailand. I will be honest and state that I did not love it. Nevertheless, it was a great experience. It pushed me out of my comfort zone. It has made me more appreciative of the countries I have lived in or visited. It is a very dirty city where hundreds of…
I left my home in France to go to the small country of Singapore on August 5th excited to start a new chapter of my life. But, as the plane made its way down to land, I started to panic. I was absolutely petrified. I was looking directly at the tarmac completely shocked with what was about to happen. In approximately 30 seconds I was going to be landing in…
Name: Madison Caranta Major: International Business Minor 1: Global Logistics and Transportation Minor 2: Economics Host Program/Institution: TEAN – Singapore Management University (SMU) Why did you choose your program? I chose this program because I’d never been to Asia. I was born and raised in France, so I know Europe quite well. My mother is American, and I visit her side of the family in the US rather often. Therefore,…
Hello! My name is Chase Lee, and I am currently a senior at the College of Charleston, studying abroad in Rome, Italy for the Fall 2023 semester. I have been in Rome for about two months now and have loved every minute of it. When I wrote my first blog post, the last place that I had visited was Barcelona. Since then, I have traveled to Venice and the Amalfi…
This past week we traveled to South of Spain. A much more colorful, diverse city in aspects of dance, art, expression, and people. As a whole Spain is a more direct culture in mannerisms, speech, and action but it still catches me off guard when I experience it. It makes connecting with people that much more interesting because there is less pressure for everyone to be in agreement whereas your…
The first weekend we arrived was during a huge regional fiesta to celebrate Extremadura. If you’ve lived in Spain, then you know that loyalty lies in your region and Spaniard identify most with the region than the country. The party began after dinner around 10 pm and there was a DJ hired to perform in the Plaza Mayor until around 3am. There were families and people of all age gathered…
