Munich, Germany (and a couple towns we didn’t know to expect)

For the final leg of our post-study abroad trip (minus the Mallorca layover, where we did nothing but lie on the beach for a glorious day), Alayna and I took a 90-minute train from Salzburg to Munich. This train ride from across the Bavarian countryside was the sort of beautifully cliché travel that I had...

Torn Between Two Worlds

(Posted a bit late because airport wi-fi didn't work and because I was too exhausted after 24 hours of traveling to post.) I confess that I am a bit behind on travel blogging. Since my last post, I’ve traveled to Barcelona and Granada, experienced Sevilla’s defining Feria de Abril, cheered on both of the city’s...

Random Ramblings from Sevilla

(My other working title was "Stephanie finished her homework due tomorrow and doesn't want to work on her paper anymore.") I still have to catch up and fill y'all in on my Barcelona trip (amazing...one of my favorite cities) and la Feria de Abril, a huge festival in Sevilla. But tonight I thought I'd reflect...

Adventures in Portugal

A couple weeks ago (yes, I’m still behind on blogging my adventures, I know), Semana Santa took Sevilla by storm, which meant spring break #1 for us. Yes, we have two spring breaks; it’s kind of wonderful. TCU students went all over for break, but Alayna and I decided to slow down a bit and vacation...

Global Citizenship

When I hear the words "global citizen," the first thing that comes to my mind is the preamble to the UN Charter. Wow, my Model UN nerd is really coming out tonight!(Sidenote: While I'm here in Spain my Model UN team got to hear Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon speak at the NY conference inside the...

Cultural Fusion: Moorish Influence in Spain

  One of my professors at UPO describes Spain as an encrucijada, a crossroads where cultural influences from the Mediterranean, Africa, and Europe collide. To me, one of the most interesting influences is that of the Islamic Conquest  (711-1492) of what is today Spain. This history actually inspired my senior thesis project, which examines the...

Yes, I do actually study.

When I was back in the US gushing over my friends’ study abroad photos, blogs, Instagram posts, etc., it looked as if they were basically taking a semester off to explore the world, which drove me insane as I was stressing out over papers and exams. It seemed like a dream world over there on...

(Mis)communication

As an unapologetic language nerd, I love discovering new phrases, especially ones that don’t translate directly into English. It’s like a puzzle, figuring out where words originate, connecting words linguistically to other languages, unearthing a bit of history or culture behind a phrase. Spanish, the second-most spoken language in the world, is a particularly fascinating...

Odds and Ends

This weekend I took a break from traveling so I could enjoy spending time in my host city. There is so much to see in Sevilla, and I love discovering new things about my Spanish home every day. Here are a few of the fun, random, crazy, weird, exciting things I’ve encountered recently: Remember when...

Moroccan Adventure

Last weekend I made it to my third continent, Africa! With my roommate, Alayna, and 100 other students in a Discover Excursions group, I traveled to several cities in Morocco. While in general I prefer to avoid touristy travel groups, I do not speak Arabic and my French is rusty, so I felt this was a...