Faculty-led
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The gardens on this study abroad are very amazing and they take your breath away as you walk through them. There are many gardens that we visited while we were gone, and each one of them was unique. Most of them told a story as you journeyed through them, and each sculpture, plant, and fountain…
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While everything still fit in my maximum size suitcase when I arrived at the airport in Dublin, Ireland, the weight of my bag was significantly over the allowed maximum when I got to the counter to check it. I could have gotten out of line, thrown some things away, and waited in the 45 minute…
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During our study abroad we traveled all over the northern part of Costa Rica, trying to explore all sorts of different ecosystems ranging from cloud forest to saltwater wetlands. Every place had unique species that had adapted to survive in the environment, but one of my favorite places was the Caribbean lowland rain forest…
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Hiking was one of the most common activities during my study abroad trip. In order to find elusive birds and animals, it was often necessary to go for an hour hike, sometimes even getting off the trail for a while; however, for me the most interesting hikes weren’t through dense woods or off trail, it…
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One of the things I was most excited to experience in my study abroad was the food. Costa Rica is famous for amazing fruits and homemade meals, and I couldn’t wait to try them. As soon as we left San Jose, I got to experience an amazing variety of foods along with some Costa Rican…
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When I originally was told we would be visiting an olive orchard, I had no idea of all the complexities involved in growing, harvesting, and processing the olive oil to yield the finished product. In order to produce the highly desirable extra virgin olive oil, the olives must be initially processed within 24 hours of…
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On our last full day in Grenada, the group went for a cooking class in the afternoon. The chef leading us had all of the ingredients and tools ready for us, and all we had to do was follow his instructions to prepare the food. Each of us sliced and diced a multitude of bell…
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Before going on this study abroad trip to Spain, the last time I had studied Spanish was my junior year in high school. I pretty much only remembered basic vocabulary, like “where is the bathroom,” “my favorite animal is the cat,” and “I like to eat bread.” I told myself a month before we left…
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This day was all about olives, olive oils, and olive oil tasting. Spain is the number one producer of olive oil, so being at this olive grove was special. We first started off with a tour of the olive grove, then we went on a tour of the olive oil processing facility, and ended with…
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“The Trip of a Lifetime” is a statement describing an adventure full of phenomenal experiences which then results in personal growth and memories that will last a lifetime. The Grand Tour of Europe proves true to this description. After much post-trip reflection, I realized what an impact those three weeks had on my character and…