During my study abroad experience in Madrid, I was thankful for the sights I saw, the people I met, and the journeys I went on. But one of the most gratifying experiences was being able to find myself and identify with my Hispanic background. I felt as though a part of me that was empty for so long was finally filled.

My name is Lina Khodor and I am a senior studying International Studies on the Human Rights track and with a minor in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies. I studied abroad in Prague, Czech Republic for the spring semester of 2017. In Prague I found myself inspired by the art, architecture, and the sheer amount of beer consumed by the locals.

My name is Jenny and I am an undergraduate student currently in the athletic training program. I am a first generation student from the suburbs of Chicago. I am half Polish and half Guatemalan and, as you can imagine, I was brought up in a household full of different culture. From a young age I was very interested in indulging in different cultures so I knew studying abroad was something I wanted to do when I came to the University of Iowa.

Hi there! My name is Taylr Nobis and I am a sophomore nursing student here at the University of Iowa. Traveling to India started out as a mere dream during my first semester of my freshman year. When I first heard about the India Winterim program I thought that it sounded like an amazing experience, but having never been out of the country (and barely out of the Midwest!), I never thought it would be something I would actually do. I put it out of my mind for almost a year, but in what seemed like a blink of the eye I was opening my acceptance letter to the program. It was quite the dream come true- I had always wanted to travel the world and this was such a great start to my worldwide adventure!

My name is Alyssa, I am a senior studying Biomedical Engineering. I am excited to tell you about my study abroad experience in Alicante, Spain! Alicante really exceeded my expectations, I loved everything about that city. From its beautiful beaches and mountains to the cute little cafes on every block, it really is one of the most beautiful places I have visited.

Before coming to the university, I knew studying abroad was an experience I wanted to go through. Being the youngest child of immigrant parents, I was grateful for the opportunities I was given to achieve my goals. I was raised to make the most out of my opportunities and to appreciate different cultures and people. Once I came to China, it was eye opening.

My name is Rita Guzmán, and I am a junior studying marketing, international business, and Portuguese. This past summer, I had the amazing opportunity to intern abroad in Dublin, Ireland. Being in Ireland for two months led to constant self-reflection and insight about my identity.

In the spring of 2016, I embarked on an amazing travel opportunity with Semester at Sea. Semester at Sea is a study abroad program sponsored by an American university that travels across oceans to multiple countries by ship. The ship is our home and the world our classroom. I traveled to Eastern Asia and areas of Africa. My itinerary included Japan, China, Vietnam, Myanmar, India, Mauritius, South Africa, Ghana, Morocco and then docking in Southampton, London. By the time I returned home, I had traveled to 17 different countries over the course of five months. Rather than cultural immersion, I experienced cultural comparison.

I was lucky enough to grow up in the suburbs of Kansas City in a very nice area. Being the daughter of an American and a Filipino, I’ve grown up living in the American culture while celebrating the Filipino every chance I get. If anyone knew how important it was to understand, respect, and appreciate other cultures, it would be me. I’ve had opportunities to travel to the Caribbean area multiple times for vacation, but I’ll admit that my experience with the different cultures never passed a superficial level. I may have seen all of the beautiful sights a country has to offer, but all I was seeing was just another beach. I was so excited to get the opportunity to redeem myself and be completely immersed in the Italian culture, one I’ve had little to no experience with.

My name is Marcus Smith and I had the wonderful opportunity to spend the spring 2016 semester in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was without a doubt the best 5 months of my life, and gave me the chance to grow intellectually, emotionally, and culturally. That being said though, I did have several concerns before my departure, and a majority of them had to do with how my identity as a black male would be received over there.

Since returning home from my study abroad experience in Edinburgh, Scotland people have frequently asked me the same few surface level questions. What was it like? Did I have a good time? Am I glad to be home? It was good, I had a blast, and yes it’s nice to be back in the US. But people rarely ask me about the difficulties of studying abroad, and even more seldom ask how the experience changed me.

Traveling to Pondicherry with the 2016 India Winterm Program was my first trip abroad and the experiences I had over the three weeks I was there were life changing. I enrolled in the course Serving Children with Disabilities, Empowering Local Women, Assisting Older Adults (SEA). My enrollment in this course provided me with the opportunity to volunteer with nonprofit organizations in the area, attend lectures with guest speakers, and visit ancient temples and other cultural sites. I volunteered at SARVAM, an after school program created by the Sri Aurobindo Society that works to advance the educational attainment of children in rural areas.