Spain | USC Education Abroad

Trading Charlotte for Madrid

Hello! My name is Valentina Scarpitta, I am a junior majoring in Global Studies and minoring in Mass Communications. I am taking a month-long USC faculty-led program worth six credits in International Multimedia courses to complete my minor in Madrid! My program is led by two professors from the College of Information and Communications, who have assigned us groups to conduct a multimedia cultural research project in Madrid. My group is going to be doing research on the marke

Europe

Valentina Scarpitta

Jun 182 min read

Winding Down Abroad

As the semester comes to an end, I wanted to share some specific reflections I have on wrapping my head around leaving such an amazing experience as well as advice for this part of the journey! Spring break snorkeling in the Amalfi Coast Finals Giving your best effort up until the end isn’t as hard as you think when you’re having fun abroad. The issue is balancing it. You want to go to all your favorite spots one last time and maybe even have some class skips left. Finals sti

Europe

Audrey Lobdell

Apr 232 min read

The Home Stretch Abroad

If there’s one piece of advice I have to give to students wanting to go abroad, it has to be do not get sick. Obviously, this is a bit inevitable. However, taking care of yourself abroad is so important and so easily forgotten about! I was extremely excited to go to Germany this past weekend for a music festival. The plane tickets and trains were booked. Of course, I ended up getting really sick and having to go to the hospital. Traveling every weekend and doing activities on

Europe

Audrey Lobdell

Mar 262 min read

Easy Food in Barcelona

Everyone has their comfort food at home, and new foods and especially new eating habits in Barcelona are real adjustments. From sobremesa, the tradition of prolonged chatting after meals, to late dinner times, I had to find good places to eat that aligned with my schedule. People in Barcelona tend to start eating dinner around 9PM. Going out to dinner around this time is great and relaxing, but many people also have early classes that they need sleep for too. Finding the bala

Europe

Audrey Lobdell

Mar 192 min read

The Impact Studying Abroad Can Have on One’s Career

One of the most valuable competencies I developed over three months studying abroad is resilience. Before this experience, I was extremely hard on myself whenever I made a mistake. I let failure define me. Studying abroad forced me to confront—and rewrite—that mindset. From the start, it wasn’t smooth sailing. On the plane ride to Barcelona, I was already feeling sick. I later discovered this was due to a deviated septum. While in Spain, I got sick multiple times. I went to t

Europe

Alannah Murphy

Mar 192 min read

My Experience with Barcelona’s Bins and Other Sustainable Systems

The different bins, the shared transportation, and the grocery bag policy are all things I adore about Spain’s sustainability practices. It was inspiring to be in a country that cares deeply for the earth. Bins On my first day in Barcelona, CIS Abroad coordinators brought us all together for a meeting and outlined the differences in American and Spanish cultures. One that stuck with me was Spain’s focus on sustainability. Whether you're picnicking on la playa, uncorking cava

Europe

Alannah Murphy

Mar 92 min read

A Take on Midterms Abroad

Every abroad program is different. From attendance policies to participation requirements, not everyone is in the same boat. This can be especially difficult when you want to do the classic weekend trips and visit as many countries as your bank account will allow—and then some. My program is a full-semester program in Barcelona, Spain. I arrived one week late and honestly had a bit of catching up to do. Luckily, a lot of that catching up involved learning different aspects of

Europe

Audrey Lobdell

Mar 23 min read