First month of Study Abroad in Sevilla, Spain

Well I have been absent for quite some time now living this Spanish life style and let me tell you what, IT IS AMAZING! I highly recommend to anyone to travel to Spain for a study abroad program because just like everyone says, it is a once in a life time opportunity.

So for the 1st month in this study abroad program there has been a lot going on. To start, the Spanish language is improving every day. The more you submerse yourself into the Spanish culture and Spanish language while avoiding from only hanging out with your American study abroad friends, the more you will learn. But sometimes it is hard to do. Like me it has be very overwhelming but very productive in learning the Spanish language. Like I said in my post from about a month ago, “It is very hard to learn the language when your teacher only speaks Spanish and just about as mush English as I do Spanish.” Which is very little. But day by day I have been learning a little more Spanish and adding it to my Spanish vocabulary. And the only way to actually learn the Spanish language is to speak it. You can be an expert at Spanish vocabulary and conjugations but if you can’t speak the language you have a lot more to learn. Don’t think that after a month you will be able to fluently speak the Spanish language, because I definitely cannot. I still have to have my roommate translate for me because the Spaniards speak so fast with a thick accent here in the southern part of the country. But we go everywhere together. Two heads are better than one, especially for me because I am only a month into learning the Spanish language and can only communicate on a small scale.

Anyway, there are all kinds of things to do here in Spain as either a group or individually. In Sevilla, you have to go see the orchestra concert in the Alcazar which are magnificent gardens located in the center of the city. Right next to the Alcazar is the Cathedral which also happens to be the 3^rd largest in the world. If you walk to the top of the tower you can see everything absolutely everything. The Las Setas, which is the big mushroom looking structure, is also another amazing place to visit. During this past month, if you didn’t know, Spain won the Euro Cup and like every American knows, Europeans live and die for futbol a.k.a. soccer! Well things got a little crazy during each continuing round of the Euro Cup as Spain advanced to the Championship game. And the Las Setas was a main attraction for Spanish students to watch the game. Anyway long story short, Spain went absolutely loco when they won and about 250 people piled into one of the famous fountains and took the head off the statue! Moving along, you can see the documents of Christopher Columbus and his exploration and discovery of America. Kayaking or paddle boating in the river is a fun and relaxing activity to do along with going to the water park just on the out skirts of the city. Plaza de Espana is nothing like anything in the world! It was used in the making of the 2^nd Stars Wars movie to say the least. And the gardens that lie just to the side of plaza de Espana are like a tropical jungle in the middle of the city.

That’s all for now folks. Ill be back in hopefully a week.

1st Semester

I was able to visit family in Germany this Weekend! It was amazing! And there is also a lot on my trip to Paris! Enjoy!
Liz

I thought I would post a little bit on school work. Since I’m France…to study?
But it’s short! I will post more later tonight! Enjoy!

Liz Spath!

So my adventures to Paris was crazy. Paris is like a New York City, so if I could make it through Paris, I can go anywhere!

Now when you first imagine about Paris, you think of romantic, chic, and glamorous. Paris is all three of these things but this is a city and there are some parts that are just kind of scary! The city is so big that culture shock finally hit me because just trying to figure out how to navigate across the city could cause you a headache, but we figured out rather quickly.

Our first stop was at the Eiffel Tower, which I finally felt like I was in Paris. It was absolutely amazing to see it in person and actually go to the top to see the views of Paris just took my breath away! That is something I would never forget and be one of my best memories.

Next stop was taking the river cruise of Paris. This was breath-taking as well! The rive cruise happened at night and we saw all the historical bridges and buildings lit up for the evening. It is so funny because when the cruise was about to be over , the Eiffel Tower began to flash lights all over itself right before our eyes!

After that, had some rest until the next day of adventures. For the next day, we went to the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, the famous ice-cream shop in Paris (near Notre Dame), and Arc de Triumph, beautiful sites to see and must go to if you ever come to visit Paris!

I noticed that all the people in the cities are different from Nantes to Paris to Bordeaux. Out of all three cities, Bordeaux was my favorite! Paris was amazing and there are a lot of things to do there, I do love Paris as well. Nantes is more like a small city which is comfortable for me because I am from Louisville.

My last week is coming up soon in Nantes. I will be traveling to Amsterdam and Brussels. So stay tuned for more updates!

For the second weekend, I went to the fabulous place of Bordeaux, France! I never heard about this place until a friend I made here told me about it. Let me say one thing, it is gorgeous there and I fell in love with the city. Bordeaux is located more south into France and I could see the difference between Northern France, which Nantes is located and Southern France.

Bordeaux to me is way diverse and gave off a L.A. vibe to the city! I took a river cruise overlooking the city and saw the wonderful bridges that were handcrafted! Also took a night open bus tour, touring the city, which was awesome.

OK now let’s talk about the French and how it is different from Americans. I understand that the French is more private and reserved than us Americans. There is little talking on the Tram (which is like a subway), soft-spoken, and it is very difficult to read them. It’s different from America because we are expressive, loud, and very open! But here it is different, but I sort of like it. They really don’t brag about their money or success. The French work to live while Americans live to work! The quality of life here is far more important than money and I respect that of the French culture. But one thing I cannot see eye to eye in France is their lack of efficiency. They take their time with EVERYTHING and it have to be of order. But sometimes it is okay to think outside the box and bend the rules a little bit.

Next stop is to Paris and which I am excited to see. Stay tuned !

Before I left for Costa Rica a friend of mine gave me a traveler’s journal to record my experiences. I’m not big on writing a lot but I promised my friend that I would use her gift. So I did. However, toward the end of the program I noticed something interesting about my journal. At the top of each page of the journal it says: “Place___ Date:___”.  Instead of recording the places I had visited, I had recorded the names of people I had met. I wrote very little about the golden made buildings, tropical beaches and fancy homes. On the contrary, I had written about the personalities of the sister of my homestay mother who was willing to let me stay in her home until her sister prepared a room for me, the stranger who walked me to my home when I had gotten lost (and refused to allow me to pay her), the hospitality of my friends from dance class and the trips with my mother on her job. This is very different from my last abroad experience where I took many pictures of buildings and landmarks. I believe I had discovered what really matters and that is creating relationships with others.

It was relationships with the Costarricans that made all the difference. I had more fun asking directions from strangers, bargaining at the markets, joining extracurricular activities and practicing with the school’s basketball team then I had attending plan trips with the American students.  Also, I have already forgotten the details of San José’s  national theater and other expensive excursions but I will never forget the unique experiences with the local people.

My Spanish skills are yet to be perfect but they have increased immensely. I can only credit that to the many good experiences with very nice Costa Rican’s. Now I love Spanish so that I can listen create relationships and I now believe that the real significance about traveling abroad (or anywhere) is the people.

Kamero Neblett

June 10, 2012 was my first day here arriving in Nantes, France! Too bad it was cold and raining, but I was happy that I was finally here after a very long flight. We were lost for a bit but found our way to La Bruniellere. We arrived too early and was lock up for at least 30 minutes before a Colombian girl helped us in. After getting comfortable in my new home, which is a pretty decent size. I have my own room, desk, bathroom, and kitchenette, which is great! I found out that in France, alot things are closed on Sundays, which sucks because I was hungry upon my arrival.

The next day, I was excited to go to Audencia School of Management for classes. Our program is a pretty big size. There are schools from Ohio State, University of Cincinnati, Bowling Green State, Longwood University, South Florida Gulf, and other american universities. Also some international schools from Germany and China participated which was awesome! The classes are very interesting and the professors are really nice and helpful! One thing I have learned while studying in France is that efficiency is not one of their strengths. The program itself has been a up and down process especially in the field of communication. But besides that, I am adjusting to the life of a French girl.

My first weekend in Nantes was fun! I saw the castle, cathedral, sight-see, shopped, ate (btw food is amazing!), made some friends, and try to practice the little French that I know. The culture shock hasn’t hit me yet even though Nantes is busier than Louisville! But I did suffer from jetlag, my body was always tired and I had mini headaches throughout the week!

For some advice: If you have a smartphone and you want to stay connected with your family or friends, there is an app called “Viber” that has free calls and text messaging!

Also always have directions and numbers on you so in case you get lost like we did on the first day, you will have a backup plan!

For the second week Recap, I went to Bordeaux, France, which is so Beautiful. I will update you soon on the trip!