As my study abroad experience is coming to a close, I often find myself scrolling through my camera roll remembering all of the beautiful places that I have had the opportunity to visit. I use social media to post pictures and keep friends and family up to date, and also as a way for me to document the memories I made here. There have been countless experiences that have not been caught on camera, but here are 4 main things that my social media does not tell you about my study abroad.

I literally heard an American tourist borderline yelling this at a Spanish employee during my recent trip to Barcelona, as if speaking louder and slower would make someone who did not understand the language magically be able to comprehend it.

I know that I just posted a couple of days ago, but given the recent attack in Brussels, Belgium, I thought it would be worthwhile to compose my thoughts into another blog entry.

If you would’ve asked me six months ago if I was going to spend a weekend scaling one of the highest mountains in Scotland, I would have looked at you like you were crazy. If you would ask me to do it today, I would jump at the opportunity to go again.

I have now lived in Edinburgh for two months, and I recently had a week off of class and had the opportunity to travel around Europe. Now that I have seen a little bit more of the world, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on my identity as an American, specifically a black male American, abroad.

I decided to title this post after a lyric from one of my favourite Beyoncé songs because I feel like it most effectively captures the type of work ethic that I have adapted since arriving in Edinburgh (which was more than a month ago can you believe it!). Scottish culture has a very different concept of time, but now that I have adjusted to it, I have found myself being much more productive.

Hello everyone! First off, I would like to thank everyone who is reading my blog, and hope you find my posts somewhat entertaining and interesting as I document my times here in Scotland. For my first entry, I’m going to talk about getting around the city of Edinburgh, which has been quite different than my time in Iowa City.

Hello University of Iowa students thinking about studying abroad! Last year, around this time, I was looking into studying abroad just like you! This experience has changed my life. I saw my textbooks come to life, met amazing people, and, above all, found myself.

The United Kingdom is composed of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. I’ve been living and travelling in the UK for almost five months now as a study abroad student at the University of East Anglia, and I have accumulated a list of my favorite places in the UK that I think everyone should try to visit.