Bronco Bloggers Abroad

Our daily life was very different than back in the states. One major difference between life here and life in Europe was how much walking you would do in one day. Cars and taxis weren’t very common in the cities we visited so we mostly just walked everywhere. On average, we would rack up about 10 miles a day.

I have heard that the only way to learn a new language is to either start learning when you are very young or to become fully immersed in the culture. Since I am now 20 years old, I no longer fit into the first option, so here I am on my flight to Quito, Ecuador.

As my junior year was coming to an end at Western Michigan University, I met with my advisor Kevin so we could plan out my classes for the upcoming school year. As we were wrapping up our appointment, he informed me about the study abroad program Western has with Sunway University in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: a program that he is the study abroad adviser for and one that he thought I should investigate.

One of the first things every dancer is taught is that in order to prepare for a successful performance, they must first engage in a strong and intricate warm-up. Although different than a typical dance performance, my upcoming study abroad trip also requires a warm-up in order to be successful.

I am now 4 days into my study abroad experience in the Dominican Republic and I have already learned more than I ever expected. Some lessons have been great life and travel lessons. Others I learned the hard way though, like exchanging money.

We all arrived safely in Bangalore. Some of us (Cici, Ryan, Tom, and Joe) had to run fast to catch their connection in Paris and are hoping to get their lost luggage delivered tomorrow and Lydia ended up flying through Frankfurt and arrived a few hours after the rest of the group.

I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. I’d never been on a plane, never left the country, and never said “Ciao” in my life. I was $2000 in the hole to a study abroad company stationed on the other side of the country that I had found using google. And one night, I got the call from financial aid.

Looking to my left, one student is shopping for a new pair of converse. To the right, another is booking a weekend trip to Amsterdam. In the front row, a YouTube video plays- a highlight video of LeBron’s son. And next to him, another laptop posts a selfie taken in front of the Duomo to Facebook.

I love your posts and pictures. One, because I know you are alive and breathing, and two, because they are freaking awesome. The architecture of the buildings blows my mind. The last 36 odd hours have been interesting. Grandma and Grandpa were so relieved to hear you were safe. They are very proud of you. Your family is glad to hear you made it.

While studying here in Costa Rica I am attending Universidad Latina de Costa Rica. The classes that I am taking abroad are Advanced Spanish 1, Advances Spanish 2, Latin American Literature and Latin American Civilization and Culture. All of the classes are with other students that are studying Spanish from the United States but there were also options to add additional classes like Interpersonal Communications, Painting, Photography and soccer which ticos are also enrolled in.