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?…
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…
For me, my time in Vienna will be remembered as a time of personal growth and self-understanding. During my program, my German skills improved tremendously but more importantly I felt more connected with others. The language barrier proved troublesome at first, but as time progressed communication became easier. My favorite nights were those when my…
Lava came spewing down the side of Mount Etna at a pace that indicated imminent doom. In my mind this was the beginning of the end and the outcome would be just as dismal as Pompeii thousands of years ago. When I decided to Study Abroad in Taormina, Sicily I didn’t know what to expect….
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,…