I had never been outside the U.S. before my current Education Abroad program in Santiago, Chile. While I’ve taken some trips around the country, most of my experiences stem from the same Texas suburb. Therefore, when family or friends asked what I was looking forward to before embarking, I had… read more
Taking the First Step
Throughout high school, studying abroad was always something that interested me. My mom instilled a love for traveling in me at a young age, so the thought of going out and exploring Europe felt like a clear decision. There is so much to see, and studying abroad is a unique… read more
No Pasa Nada (Don’t Worry About It)
Before I had even landed in Madrid, I’d unconsciously set expectations for myself and my time abroad: My Spanish would progress like never before, I’d meet many new people, travel every weekend, make unforgettable memories, and transform into this worldly person. In some sense, most of that happened—just not in… read more
Bajo el Sol de Mexico (Under the Mexican Sun)
The golden light from the setting sun illuminated the city built on the mountains, and I fell in love. I have to admit, even though it was a short flight from Texas to Mexico, I was nervous about traveling alone for the first time in my life. The thought… read more
Santiago, Chile: The Start of The World
Chile is the southernmost country in South America and is called “The End of The World.” I get to be here in Santiago, Chile, for more than 100 days, but since this is my first week ever outside of the U.S., this is the start of the world for me. … read more
Falling in Love with Language Learning
Spanish Frustrations Between my mediocre high school Spanish program and the intense 6-hour courses at UT, I had taken 7 years of Spanish classes in the United States before arriving in Costa Rica. Despite my good grades, I had little to show for it in the conversation department. As someone… 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
A Spontaneous Trip out of Town
Rimaykullayki, hola, and hello! My name is Elena Pojman and this is my third blog during my semester abroad in Perú. I am about seven weeks into the Peruvian school year, and I still cannot get over some of the differences between classes here and back at UT. At this point… read more
My Second Month in Chile
Greetings from Chile! In my last blog, I talked about the difficulties of studying abroad in Chile and shared some interesting experiences that I had with y’all. At that time the only place I had traveled to from Santiago was Valparaiso. Since then I have been able to travel a… read more
Bienvenidos a la Ciudad de los Reyes
Welcome to Lima, Perú, the 30th largest city in the world and the fifth largest city in South America by population. Although it is located adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, it is a desert, and it never rains, although it’s often extremely humid. Lima is famous for its gastronomy: ceviche,… read more
