My name is Jean Morales and I am currently a senior majoring in chemical engineering and biochemistry. I am from Panama, grew up there, and did not move to the United States until I started college. So, as you can imagine, I have been on a constant study abroad for almost four years.
My first study abroad experience as a UofA student was at the Rome Center the summer of 2015. Being an engineering and science major, it was very hard to find time to sit down and actually admire art, history, or the beauty of a foreign culture. Studying abroad at the Rome Center enabled me to do all this, not to mention to develop a good taste in art, cuisine, and a sense of adventure while being in the commodity of the always charming Rome.
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| Saint Peter's square from the top of Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. |
Guess what! One month in Italy went by way too fast, so, I decided that the next time that I would study abroad it would be for longer. Indeed, the fall semester of 2016 I decided to take a second adventure, a longer one. I participated on a semester long exchange program at the University Of Newcastle, Australia. Besides spending time cuddling with cute Aussie animals, this journey taught me so many things about Aussie values, and specially about myself. I would summarize my fall semester of 2016 in one phrase: “Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses!”
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| Orientation week at the Great Aussie Bush Camp sponsored by the University of Newcastle |
I have been so lucky to call four very different countries home, Panama, the United States, Italy, and Australia. Each one of them has helped me discover a different bit of myself, different bits that I did not know I had before I studied abroad.
I chose to be a Study Abroad Peer Advisor because I wanted to show others what the world showed me. I know it is very hard to decide where you want to go, when you are going to do it, and particularly, how you are going to do it. So, if you have wondered one or more of these questions, stop by the office and my student colleagues and I will be more than glad to guide you through this process and hopefully get you started on this adventure.
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| Snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef |
There are so many wonderful places to visit, beautiful people to meet, and thrilling adventures to be undertake, but you won’t get to experience any of these if you don’t make the life-changing decision of studying abroad.
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Come meet Jean and the other peer advisors at a Hogs Abroad 101 information meeting! These hour-long sessions are held Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the fall and spring semesters from 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm in the Center for World Languages, Literatures and Cultures (JBHT 207).
