Where do I begin? Spain has taught me so much in a span of 5 weeks. From how to formally greet someone to how to make Spanish dishes once I arrive back in the States. I have a little piece of Spain that I can also bring to others. On our final days in Trujillo it seemed as if I got even closer with my host family. Conversations were more…

Wow– what a weird feeling it is being back from Portugal and living my normal life at home. When I first arrived in Lisbon, I was expecting three weeks to pass by slowly and feel like such a long time. Now, sitting at home at my own desk, it feels like I just departed from the airport yesterday. My time in Portugal was filled with fun, good food, new friends,…

When we visited Andalusia, we visited three cities: Granada, Seville, and Cordoba. First, we went to Cordoba and visited the Mosque. It was beautiful, and I loved all the colors that were still there. I saw the horseshoe arches, and they were really cool. It was very hot that day, but it started raining once we got on the bus, and it finally cooled down. Then we went to Granada.…

London is a giant melting pot of different cultures from around the world and with that come different customs, festivals, and perspectives. While my days are mostly packed with my studying I have had the pleasure of going to musicals, museums, and concerts and trying to immerse myself with the people of London. When growing up I never had the chance to see The Wizard of Oz so when I…

One of my favorite experiences thus far on my study abroad was attending a football (or soccer, as we say here in the U.S.) match at Benfica Stadium. The arena is just outside the city center of Lisbon, Portugal and it is quite magnificent! The stadium is reminiscent of an ancient Roman coliseum, thousands upon thousands of viewers watched the Portuguese National football team play. Some classmates and I decided…

My advice for future students would be three things. 1. Research your host country in detail. There is no way to prepare for everything and all of the culture shocks, but this is a good way to make sure that you won’t get embarrassed or freaked out by new cultural customs or their way of life in general. For example, when I researched Spain, I found out about the later…

On our first full day here in Lisbon we went to the campus where we would be taking classes and then from there went to a nearby restaurant. This restaurant was not a hole-in-the-wall restaurant nor was it the fanciest one I had ever seen, rather it was a chain, but my goodness it was delicious. Before coming to Portugal, I had been in France, Hungary, and Austria having delicious…

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…