It was hard for me to get excited about my upcoming semester abroad during the weeks leading up to my departure. I had never been to Europe, so I had no idea what to expect. I was afraid of putting Spain on a pedestal, which could lead to disappointment. Friends… read more
Journalism
Photographing My Way Through Dublin, Ireland
Walking through the streets of Dublin, something about the city feels familiar. But it’s nothing like Austin and Des Moines, the two places I call home. The Georgian and Victorian architecture is both stunning and approachable and you can feel the history as you get deeper into the city. Cafés… read more
One Day at a Time
From Brussels to Barcelona and Amsterdam to Rome. A couple of hours by train is all it takes to travel from one country to another. Our weekends consist of booking last-minute trips to neighboring countries and putting together enough money to book hostels for struggling college students. Somehow it never… read more
A Move to Paris
A fear of leaving home, of language barriers, of making new friends and of meeting new people. Every single day. These are a few fears that would overtake me before I moved abroad. When I arrived in Paris, I had never been more eager and scared at the same time.… read more
It’s Okay to Slow Down
I have about two months left in my exchange program in Japan, and I’ve already been here for two months. Coming from immigrant parents and growing up in a small border town, I would have never thought I’d be studying abroad in a country more than 6,000 miles away. Before… read more
Gratitude Across Borders
My abiding feeling while studying abroad has been gratitude. The opportunities I’ve had this semester while studying at Sciences Po in Paris, France, are mind-boggling. A text I sent at the start of the year after bombarding my friends with the new and beautiful things I’d seen so far… read more
My French Dispatch
Living in Paris has been my dream since I was a toddler learning how to read with the “Madeline” picture book. (My mom can still recite the first few lines, and I’m nearly 21 years old—if that gives you an idea of how much I loved it!) I can genuinely… read more
Coming Home: the Lasts and the Firsts
This post was contributed by Spring 2020 Global Ambassador Sabrina LeBoeuf, a journalism and RTF student studying abroad in Madrid, Spain. Read more about Sabrina’s experience. The Lasts The first and last time I tried banoffee pie was Wednesday, March 11, 2020. My friend Giulia and I met at a cake… read more
Ignorance Is Bliss? Experiencing My First Language Barrier in Belgium
This post was contributed by Spring 2020 Global Ambassador Sabrina LeBoeuf, a journalism and RTF student studying abroad in Madrid, Spain. Read more about Sabrina’s experience. This semester, I decided to study in Madrid, Spain for two main reasons: I wanted a place to practice my Spanish, and I wanted… read more
Adapting to Life Abroad
This post was contributed by Global Ambassador Sabrina LeBoeuf, a journalism and RTF student studying abroad in Madrid, Spain. Honeymoon. Frustration. Adaptation. Acceptance. On my first day of school at exchange student orientation, the mental health department taught us about the phases of culture shock. “You will have a downfall,”… read more