2018 Fall, Semester

Arthur White: Post 3

Arthur White IFSA- Butler Universadad Nacional Heredia, Costa Rica Fall  2018 FOOD The very first slide of the very first orientation presentation very poignantly said of Costa Rica, “welcome to Costa Rica, where eating too much is the new normal.” Having been here for a short stint already, I can fully assure you that the program director, Rodney, was not joking. Most morning, Iliana prepares fried eggs, some form of meat, an assortment of fruit which always includes papaya, various types of bread, and occasionally gallo pinto. This last one is a very popular dish in Costa Rica and consists […]

2018 Fall, Semester

Arthur White: Post 2

Arthur White IFSA- Butler Universadad Nacional Heredia, Costa Rica Fall  2018 LANGUAGE For those wondering what life is like in a country where you have the conversational skills of a child, if that, I can assure you that the experience is a humbling one. Starting at the very beginning, people who may not know me that well may not know that I’m a Spanish major. In conflict with this fact, I only started formally learning Spanish in the fall semester of my freshman year of college. The past two years have been trying; between my grammar knowledge from three years […]

2018 Fall, Semester

Arthur White: Post 1

Arthur White IFSA- Butler Universadad Nacional Heredia, Costa Rica Fall  2018 ARRIVAL AND ADJUSTMENT I have been in Costa Rica now for three days, and what is there to say but I still cannot believe that I am in Costa Rica. Before this past Tuesday, I had never left the country. While I did live in Hawaii for a few years and in a way that’s a whole different country, nothing could have prepared me for the first time I stepped out of the Juan Santamaria Airport in San Jose. The first thing that I came to recognize about Costa […]

2018 Summer, May Term

Ethan Gaines: Post 2

Ethan Gaines H-SC May Term Abroad Vienna & Budapest Summer 2018 Over the three weeks we were in Vienna and Budapest, we toured so many amazing museums and magnificent monuments. There was almost too much history in these two cities, which made it difficult to fit all of these historical sites into the schedule. In Vienna, we saw two incredibly appealing palaces in the Hofburg Palace and the Schloss Shonbrunn with its beautiful gardens. For museums, we toured the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum of Military History, the Wien Museum Karlsplatz of Vienna’s history, and the Jüdisches Museum Wien of Jewish history, life […]

2018 Summer, May Term

Ethan Gaines: Post 1

Ethan Gaines H-SC May Term Abroad Vienna & Budapest Summer 2018 When we first arrived to Vienna, we started in a suburban town on the outskirts of the city that looked very similar to Virginia. Then, we traveled by bus to our hotel in the middle of the city and we immediately witnessed the grand architectural structures and monuments that made Vienna so beautiful. This major urban area had numerous restaurants, bars, and cafes we would later venture to after class. Budapest offered much of the same, but often times we had to take the metro as our hotel was […]

2018 Summer, May Term

Daniel Newberry: Post 4

Daniel Newberry H-SC May Term Abroad Dublin, Ireland Summer 2018 Ireland has been an amazing experience, with so many new places to visit and people to meet from across the world! Summer at University College of Dublin has been an amazing opportunity. I love learning about conducting business in international settings while meeting people from all around the world! Since we arrived, life on UCD’s campus has been interesting. I woke up at 9:00 everyday and got ready, then I would walk to Centra, a small market, to pick up a pastry and coffee on my way to class. I […]

2018 Summer, May Term

Ryan Tomlin: Post 4

Ryan Tomlin H-SC May Term Abroad Alcalá de Henares, Spain Summer 2018 Given the fact that I have never traveled and hadn’t done much research on Spain, I didn’t have a lot of expectations coming into the trip. I will say that the trip has been an amazing opportunity for me. Again, since I had not ever traveled or spoken a foreign language for a month, I had no clue what to expect. From the very beginning, this trip took me out of my comfort zone. I was ill-prepared for the language, culture, travel, etc. Because of that, I learned […]

2018 Summer

Donald Barry: Post 4

Donald Barry H-SC May Term Abroad Münster, Germany Summer 2018 Nearing the end of my trip here in Münster I can honestly say that it has been a blast. Individually I have met many unique and friendly people around the city. As a group we have recently been able to meet with a Parliament representative for North Rhein – Westphalia and see how the laws are made for the state we are staying in. I found it very interesting to see the State Parliament where laws could be made to impact the family of my favorite local döner shop, or […]

2018 Summer, May Term

Ryan Tomlin: Post 3

Ryan Tomlin H-SC May Term Abroad Alcalá de Henares, Spain Summer 2018 Since the last time I blogged, I have made a lot of progress with the language. I speak as frequently as possible with my host brother and mother because I learn the most from them. I have gotten to the point where I don’t have to think about what I am going to say before I speak. I find myself responding to them much quicker, without a delay, because I have been exposed to the language for so long. It feels much more natural than in the beginning. […]

2018 Summer, May Term

Donald Barry: Post 3

Donald Barry H-SC May Term Abroad Münster, Germany Summer 2018 We cannot really have a study abroad without the study portion. Personally, I am taking a 495 independent study which is a progressive study of the architecture of Münster from it’s earliest beginnings in the Dom Platz, to its more modern architecture with office buildings designed to absorb carbon dioxide from the air. No matter the level of study here in Münster we students find ourselves in situations where we need a bit of help. Along with help at home from our host families, Dr. Johnson and Dr. Martz frequently […]