Soaking Up Seville

Junior Katie Meena tells us about her semester traveling abroad in Seville, Spain last semester, Fall 2010.

Livin' La Vida Loca

Livin' La Vida Loca

Junior Katie Meena wrote a really interesting article for the circle during the Fall of 2010 while she was abroad in Sevilla, Spain. Check it out!

Insider Tip #14

SNEAKERS. Make sure you leave room for them. You're probably going to want to do some of the touristy stuff and go on lots of walking tours or if you're feeling really ambitious, maybe a hike or two. We had a gym really close to where we lived, but I needed new sneakers anyway so I figured I'd just buy them in Sydney... little did I know, the cheapest athletic shoes you could find were about $250 dollars. Yeah, my mom sent me my old ones in the mail.

Food, Fashion and Fabulous in Florence

Senior Krista Behr talks to me about her decision to study for a semester abroad in Florence, Italy during the Spring of 2010. It was a beautiful day, despite the wind you hear! Whoops.

Insider Tip #13

It may sound obvious, but make sure you really check out and become familiar with the weather/climate patterns before you start packing. You have less space than you think in your luggage, and you want to make sure you're prepared for everything. Example: I brought only one sweatshirt to Australia when I was going to be getting there at the end of July- the middle of their winter. Not the smartest idea- it was FREEZING at night before the spring temperatures appeared!

Barcelona Beauty

Maggie Kolb

Barcelona Fall 2010

What made you decide to go abroad?

That was the number one thing I wanted to do when I went to college, I had never been overseas and I think it’s an opportunity you shouldn’t pass up. It’s such a privilege to be able to study abroad and I wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass me by!

What is the first thing you did after you decided you wanted to study abroad?

I went to my advisor freshman year and after that I went directly to the abroad office but they pretty much told me I had time before I really had to worry about anything.

What helped you pick your program? How did you decide?

I worked the closest with Jerre Thornton.

Do you feel that you were prepared when you left?

I recognized I was as prepared as I could have been for a destination that wasn’t one of the most popular and that Marist Abroad wasn’t as familiar with.

How could the abroad office have made your preparations easier?

I think that when a student comes to you and blatantly asks what courses you should take abroad, “saving a couple of core courses” is not really sufficient enough. It would be really helpful if the coordinators could help individual students with some of the research in finding a program that fits their needs instead of leaving it to the help of Google.

Is there anything you wish they could have told you?

I wish there could have been a student that had the same experience I was going to have to give me first hand advice on what they found out the hard way, like I did.

Once you get there…

What did you think of the classes there? Was there an orientation or anything that helped ease your nerves before your first class?

I thought the classes were actually really difficult! I really did spend a lot of time studying and worked really hard for my grades. I worked just as hard, if not harder as I would at Marist but unfortunately, I felt I didn’t get back what I put in. I’m not sure if this was because of the language barrier or Spanish grading system, but the teachers were generally unforgiving with grades. I took an online class from Marist and I came back with decent grades from the Spanish classes, but just be prepared that it’s not going to be a joke of a semester and you’ll have to spend at least a little bit of time studying!

There was an orientation but they basically told us to stay away from the places of the city that everyone wanted to go to. We went anyway, but we were careful and didn’t go until we knew our way around the city. I’d say about 70% of the orientation was useful, the other 30% was “don’t tip the cab drivers…” which was information that I don’t think was crucial to my survival.

How different were your expectations from the real thing? If very different, did that stress you out? And how did you relieve that stress?

There was less culture shock than I was anticipating. Even living with a Senora it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but I think that might have been because of my personality. I knew someone who was homesick the entire time, but I think it helped that I tried to stay open minded about as much as I could.

Your favorite place to eat?

A restaurant around the corner from my Senora’s apartment called Ria del Barbanza Bar. We called it Enrique’s because we got to know the owner after going there so often. They used to give us free stuff all the time because we were such loyal customers!

Food or drink you MUST try?

Patatas Bravas, which is like potato wedges with a mayonnaise-ketchup-spicy sauce and Kava, which is a drink that tastes like champagne.

Favorite place to go out with friends?

George Paynes, which was ironically an Irish bar that played American karaoke on Sunday nights. Also, the clubs on the beach are the most beautiful I’ve ever seen- they look like they are on the Miami strip. Be prepared for expensive drinks, though!

Place students MUST visit?

Parc Guell is the coolest place. It’s like a park designed by Gaudi and it’s insanely gorgeous. And, of course, you have to go to the beach, but there are so many cool things to do in the city. I was there so many weekends and I was never bored, there was always something to do.

Place with the best deals?

Things at El Corte Ingles are generally more expensive, they have a lot of American brands but I would say the Corte Ingles locations outside of the city center are a better choice, pretty much anything outside the city center would be cheaper than anything inside of it.

Best place to get souvenirs?

The markets. They’re scattered all around the Port Velle, and they have some pretty good souvenirs to take home with you. You just need to come across the right ones!

What is the best piece of advice you can give others going abroad?

Be really friendly and open with the people in your program. Also, if you’re going to have a home stay, you have to understand that they probably won’t speak English and you’re going to have to adjust to their way of life. Don’t forget to be courteous, and respectful.

Insider Tip #12

If you are studying abroad in a country where you are there to improve your language skills while immersing yourself in the culture, don't be afraid to speak the language. Speak in that language as much as possible so that you can be as fluent and conversational as possible and speak English only as a necessity or back up.

Practice with your friends, your host family, other students, people out on the street, restaurants, stores, etc.

Even if you speak English with your friends, there are thousands of opportunities to practice outside your comfort zone

Lovin' London

Breeanne Rodriguez (Fall 2010) and Tory Mather (Summer 2010) talk about their time abroad in London.

Insider Tip #11

A very extensive, but very helpful checklist!

Making the Most of Madrid

Senior Cassie Koegl talks about her semester in Madrid during the Fall of 2009

Insider Tip #10

Shipping packages from home can be really expensive, especially when you're on the other side of the world, like I was. Make sure you make a packing list of all of the things you need and want to bring and double and triple check that you've got everything! Also, packing lists for semesters abroad are everywhere online. Check those out for items you might forget to bring and efficient packing methods!

Insider Tip #9

Picking classes to take abroad takes can be a lengthy process. Getting signatures from department chairs here at Marist confirming that your abroad classes will transfer back here can take even longer. MAKE SURE you give yourself enough time to pick your classes, get your signatures, and submit the necessary paperwork by the deadline.

Go Nuts for New Zealand

Senior Sophie Ordway shares her experiences from her semester in New Zealand during the Fall of 2010.

Winning London

 

Some great things about London programs I found after my interview with Tory and Breeanne.

Insider Tip #8

Get a skype account, if you don't already! Skype is the best invention ever and is SUCH  great way to keep in touch with your parents and friends. International phone calls: expensive. Skype calls: Free. Any questions?

Serious About Sydney!

Marissa Conroy and Leslie Hurd talk about their semester at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia during the Spring of 2010.

Serious About Sydney! (Part II)

Insider Tip #7

Don't be afraid to do things that YOU want to do. You don't want to miss any opportunities just because some of your friends aren't able to do everything with you. This is your time to gain some independence and take advantage of all of the opportunities that are presented to you. (Of course, you'll want to keep safety in mind, so if you're told certain areas may be on the sketchy side, those might be the ones to save for traveling in big groups)