Watching Ronaldo Play at Benfica Stadium, Lisbon. (6/17/2023) by Nicholas Baker

One of my favorite experiences thus far on my study abroad was attending a football (or soccer, as we say here in the U.S.) match at Benfica Stadium. The arena is just outside the city center of Lisbon, Portugal and it is quite magnificent! The stadium is reminiscent of an ancient Roman coliseum, thousands upon thousands of viewers watched the Portuguese National football team play. Some classmates and I decided…

Advice for Future Study Abroad Students by Camille Burch

My advice for future students would be three things. 1. Research your host country in detail. There is no way to prepare for everything and all of the culture shocks, but this is a good way to make sure that you won’t get embarrassed or freaked out by new cultural customs or their way of life in general. For example, when I researched Spain, I found out about the later…

The First Group Meal by Aaron Kirkpatrick

On our first full day here in Lisbon we went to the campus where we would be taking classes and then from there went to a nearby restaurant. This restaurant was not a hole-in-the-wall restaurant nor was it the fanciest one I had ever seen, rather it was a chain, but my goodness it was delicious. Before coming to Portugal, I had been in France, Hungary, and Austria having delicious…

Portuguese Tile Culture by Julianna Torres

One of the first things I noticed about the architectural beauty in Lisbon was the tiles adorning the exterior of the buildings. The tiles cover homes, churches, various monuments, Metro stations, and are even sometimes arranged to display a mural. I spent a lot of time appreciating their beauty and snapping photos to send home to my family. I noticed that you could even buy hand-painted tiles in souvenir shops…

Poland by Leah Davenport

My study abroad wasn’t a typical study abroad. Instead of being in one place for an extended time, we were in three different countries in just under three weeks. The Maymester I was on is called “Tracing the Holocaust” and it was led in party by Jewish Studies’ very own Holocaust historian, Dr. Gibbs. Our first stop was in Poland, a country once home to 3 million Jews. It was…

German Internship Program by Chloe Goff

Hello! My name is Chloe Goff and I am an International Studies (Global Studies Concentration) and German Studies double major, with a Leadership for Sustainability Minor. This summer I had the privilege of traveling to Berlin this summer for the College of Charleston: Summer Internship in Germany with Cultural Vistas program. This is my first collegiate study abroad experience, as I will be a junior in the fall. I have traveled abroad…