Finally off the East Coast

Article

Finally off the East Coast

ID # 3732

Hey everyone! My name is Olivia Miller. I’m from Alexandria, Virginia and a senior at UNC- Chapel Hill majoring in Global Studies with a concentration in International Politics and Political Movements in Latin America. I also have a minor in Hispanic Studies.

In elementary school I had the opportunity to participate in a Spanish immersion program which sparked my interest in languages and cultures. I always wanted to travel and be able to use my Spanish but unfortunately never got the chance to go anywhere exciting. Coming to Carolina, I knew I wanted to continue fostering those interests and with that came the goal to study abroad at some point during my four years.

I knew I wasn’t going to graduate college without having left the country so Spring of my sophomore year I got on a plane and headed to Sevilla, Spain for 5 months! I had barely left the east coast, let alone the country up until that point so needless to say, I was a little nervous.

While in Sevilla, I lived with a host family, attended the University of Sevilla and was able to improve my Spanish language skills. My roommate and I had a number of amazing travel experiences including gondola rides in Madrid, walking down Las Ramblas in Barcelona, a beach trip to Nerja for all-you-can-eat paella, and tours of a number of churches and mosques in the southern Spanish cities of Cordoba and Sevilla itself.

Although I wasn’t able to spend an extensive amount of time anywhere other than Spain, I definitely got a good glimpse of what some other places in Western Europe had to offer. I took an unofficial pastry tour of Portugal, nearly fell of a mountain in Switzerland and sang along as I visited all of the Sound of Music locations in Austria. I was even able to make a quick trip to northern Africa and visit Morocco where I was mistaken for Beyonce in the middle of a market place!

If there’s one thing I learned in my time abroad, it was that everyone, absolutely EVERYONE, needs to experience a culture different from their own. The diversity of languages, geography, culture and people around the world is incredible and I feel so lucky to have been able to visit a number of different places and see that for myself.

In the future, I hope to pursue a career in education and maybe even international education. After spending a semester abroad, traveling for a week doing research in central Mexico, and interning in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, my interests have definitely been reaffirmed and even broadened and I can’t wait to travel more in the future and share my experiences with others!