My first impression of Copenhagen was the iconic colorful buildings of the Nyhavn Harbor and the countless rows of bikes that commonly adorn postcards. Within a week of arriving, I used my affiliate school’s student discount to rent a bike for the semester and immediately integrated myself into traffic (after… read more
College of Liberal Arts
Growth and Exploration in Seoul
I have been in Seoul for less than two months, and it has already been a whirlwind experience. I started my classes and have almost fully adjusted to the lifestyle here. Each day, I get to experience something new. Although I have experienced some homesickness, the joy of studying abroad… read more
Annyeonghaseyo from Korea
Pre-Departure As a first-generation Texan Korean American, I can’t count how many times I’ve said the word “Annyeonghaseyo.” Balancing two cultures has always been “normal” for me. Within the community at the University of Texas at Austin, many people are unfamiliar with Korean culture. I had the unique opportunity to… read more
Building Strong Democracies: Elections, Lawmaking and Civic Education
Since early June, I’ve had the privilege of carrying out my fellowship with the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) in Panama City, Panama. Working closely with the Institute of Democratic Studies (INED) at the Electoral Tribunal of Panama, I have collaborated with some of the sharpest… read more
How Interning Abroad in Spain Changed My Life
If someone had told me, a Mexican immigrant, that I was going to intern abroad in Barcelona, Spain through Absolute Internship last summer, I never would have believed them. Fast forward a year and I’m now interning in Spain for the second time as the Program Coordinator in Madrid for… read more
An Unexpected Market Find
Compared to the whimsical Art Nouveau buildings making up most of Riga’s Old Town, the five arched, metallic structures lining the bank of the Daugava River seem out of place. However, a closer look inside these buildings reveals one of Riga’s hidden gems — the Riga Central Market. Riga Central… read more
The Eternal City
As someone who studies Ancient Rome, Latin and Italian, there’s nowhere more fitting for me to live than in Rome. It feels nearly impossible to write a blog post about it because there are many different aspects of Roman and Italian culture to focus on. I could paint you… read more
Hungary for the Unknown: Studying Abroad Without Expectations
Deciding to study abroad is always filled with a plethora of questions. Where do I go? When is the right time for my schedule? What’s the cross-listing for these classes? I had these questions myself, and surprisingly enough, everything fell into place rather quickly. In January, I decided I… read more
Spain: A Bundle of Arrows
In my experience, people underestimate Spain. We are under the impression that we must go to an unfamiliar place like Moscow, Xi’an, Bengaluru, Istanbul or Addis Ababa to truly experience another culture. Because Spanish influence is strongly present in American culture, the novelty of Spain’s identity is overlooked. I must… read more
Living and Learning
When I got the call that I’d been offered a spot in the Language and Culture program in Santander, Spain, nothing could have prepared me for how much I would gain from this experience. As I sit writing this blog in my small homestay room, admiring the skyline of this… read more
