Community and Connections #HogsAbroad in Spain

Hi everyone! My name is Allison Primm and I am a rising Junior. I am studying International Business Marketing and Political Science. This summer I am studying abroad in Madrid, Spain! I am studying through an external program called CEA at La Universidad Antonio de Nebrija. At Nebrija I am taking classes in both Spanish and English. During the June term I took both Panorama of Spanish Literature and International Management. This month in the July term I am taking Advanced Spanish and International Marketing. My experience at Nebrija has been amazing and I absolutely love my classes and my teachers. One thing that has been particularly encouraging to me has been the understanding attitudes of my teachers. Though I have only been here a relatively short time, I have been able to develop close personal relationships with each of my instructors. All of them have shown me immense kindness and genuinely want me to succeed. They focus on creating positive learning environments in the classroom and they encourage participation and campus community through their teaching styles. This approach has helped me become more confident in not only my Spanish abilities, but also my interpersonal skills among my peers.

Before I arrived in Spain, I took a 2-part placement exam to help me enroll in the right courses at Nebrija. I would say that this exam was one of the biggest stress factors for me leading up to my arrival, however looking back, it shouldn’t have been. The teachers and advisors at Nebrija are all so helpful and kind. I was nervous for my speaking interview, but I relaxed so much once it began, and I realized that there was no judgement, and they were only there to help me. One of the biggest things I would recommend doing to prepare for a language placement exam is to practice speaking the language with a friend beforehand to get more comfortable with responding to questions on the spot. I would also recommend listening to Spanish music or podcasts or watching Spanish movies and TV shows so that you can get used to hearing the language. When I got here, one big adjustment that I had not anticipated was just the extra effort my brain was using towards listening to and translating the conversations I heard on the street or the announcements on the metro. Giving yourself time to practice listening to Spanish in your daily life will definitely help your transition.

Life in Madrid is different from life in Fayetteville of course, but the adjustment to a more urban setting was very easy for me. One huge help is the metro system in Madrid. The metro runs all around the city and can take you anywhere you need to go. It is very simple, clean, and safe. Within the first two days of living in Spain, I was navigating the metro and the city like a local! I was shocked by how easily I settled in to daily life once I got here. This is in huge part to the incredible kindness of the Spanish people. An integral part of Spanish culture is the focus on friendship and community. There were times where I was lost or confused and a total stranger came up to me and offered their help. This was surprising to me, as in many cultures, people tend to keep to themselves, but in Spain, it has been the people that I know the least who have helped me through some confusing times.

Another thing that helped ease my adjustment period was that I was connected with people in my program from the beginning, and I have roommates in the apartment I live in. This was crucial to navigating the first few weeks as I had people who could easily relate to me and go with me through the uncertainties. If you are interested in participating in a study abroad experience, I would encourage you to try and meet as many new people as you can. It may surprise you how much you have in common with people you never knew before. I am very thankful for this time I have spent abroad, and I look forward to keeping in touch with my new friends when we all return home!

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International Business Marketing & Political Science major Allison Primm spent the Summer 2021 term at in Madrid, Spain with CEA with the help of the Honors College Study Abroad Grant & our Office of Study Abroad Scholarship.

You can start planning your adventure abroad today! Dive in to our Explore page at https://studyabroad.uark.edu/explore/index.php, and start your program search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/

Share Your Humans of #HogsAbroad Story for 150th Celebration

Article from University of Arkansas News

Calling all HogsAbroad! The Office of Study Abroad is celebrating the life-changing opportunities that international education has provided U of A students and alumni. In celebration of 150 years of dedication to Arkansas and determination to build a better world, the Office of Study Abroad is actively collecting stories from study abroad alumni to showcase the meaningful impact that study abroad has had on their lives.

The stories, already accumulating on the @hogsabroad Instagram account, will be used as part of the university's sesquicentennial celebration, informing and inspiring students interested in future international opportunities.

"We want to show our campus exactly what Study Abroad can mean for a person, and we feel like our past and current travelers are the best voice for that message," said Sarah Malloy, Director of Study Abroad and International Exchange.

The Office of Study Abroad is asking faculty, staff and alumni to show their support for study abroad by creating a social media post that tells a story about their personal connection to study abroad. The goal of this project is to mimic Humans of New York style storytelling and to increase dialogue and interest around studying abroad. This campaign is currently accepting submissions and will launch on campus Instagram and social media accounts in September 2021.

To participate in the Humans of #hogsabroad project, use the submission form to share a photo — either from your study abroad location or a current photo of yourself holding your passport. The process allows you to easily share a story about your study abroad experience. "Study Abroad will take care of the rest," said Veronica Mobley, Assistant Director of Outreach and International Service-Learning. "We built this process to be quick and fun for participants. The form should take under 10 minutes to complete — including the few moments you take to reflect on your favorite moments from abroad!"

While travel has been limited during COVID-19, there are current and future programs available that can provide life-changing experiences for U of A students, both in-person and virtually, Malloy said. "We want to remind our campus community that Study Abroad programs across the globe, as well as our Rome Center, provide benefits that last a lifetime. We hope this campaign will highlight what we already know to be true: that study abroad is an exceptionally relevant high-impact practice that is accessible to all U of A students."

About the Office of Study Abroad & International Exchange: The mission of Study Abroad and International Exchange is to facilitate opportunities to prepare University of Arkansas students to live and succeed in a global society. Study abroad enables students to develop critical skills needed to compete in today's global economy, including foreign language fluency, strong problem-solving and analytical capability, a tolerance for ambiguity, and cross-cultural competence. National studies show a positive correlation between students who study abroad and higher grade point averages and degree completion rates.

Exploring with Confidence #HogsAbroad in South Korea

Hi! My name is Tabitha Novotny, I am an Interdisciplinary Studies Senior with concentrations in Gender Studies, Communications, and Art History. In the beginning of 2021, I participated in the Spring/Summer UofA Exchange Program in Sinchang, South Korea at Soonchunhyang University. This is a short write up about my study abroad experience. 

Since Covid-19 was still a thing the one other student and I who were planning on going to Soonchunhyang had to go through a lot of obstacles in order to make this whole trip happen! We had to write a petition to our school to let us go, apply for visas, purchase our tickets ourselves, fill out papers for the Korean school, buy two international health insurances, and so much more including obtaining PCR tests within 72 hours of our flights. 

After we got to Korea we had to go through a PCR screening and immigration. Once we arrived at the dorms we had to quarantine for two weeks within our room only leaving to go to the restroom and pick up the food placed outside our doors, this was one of the roughest times of the trip, I felt alone, the culture shock was real, and I had felt like I had made a big mistake. Fortunately, after quarantine I was able to make many friends from other countries who also lived in the Global Village! My roommate for example was from Indonesia, while the rest of my suitemates were from China, USA, Columbia, and the Republic of Czech! The downsides; my international advisor wasn’t as helpful as I would have liked, he wasn’t great at communicating important information (we all made it though), the dorms were dirty (literal mold in our showers), we weren’t given the stipend we were initially promised, and we didn’t have any classes with Korean students because their classes were online (ours was in person with the other International students). Class wise, all but one of my classes were easy, I had taken; Calligraphy (taught in Korean), Global Society, Korean Entertainment, Korean Culture & Society, Korean Contemporary Film, Beginner Korean (taught in Korean - this was very difficult). Since we didn’t have classes with any Koreans we were given the option to participate in an online language exchange program with the Korean students of SCH in exchange for free dorm and partial reimbursement of our plane tickets.

Even though it was a rough start I enjoyed the freedom I had living in the dorms away from home, I was closer to classes, I was a 15 minute walk from town, and I had access to my friends constantly! As a bonus we also had access to a room full of fridges and a kitchen with four stove top burners to cook with, so some of my friends and I would get together to fry up some tofu, or make some spaghetti together.

After a few weeks our school informed us that we were allowed to travel to other towns in Korea as long as we filled out a travel form (to track where we are because of Covid.) This was one of the best parts of the trip! Because of the well-formed public transit system my friends and I were able to go to many places in Korea to enjoy the cultural sites, palaces, new foods, and drinks! We went to places such as Seoul (2.5 hours away from Sinchang), Itaewon, Hongdae, Cheonan, the island of Jeju, and more! Even though no festivals were going on we made the most of our trip such as; attending dance classes at OneMillionDanceStudio (a childhood dream of mine), singing at local Norebangs, Feeding bears in Cheonan, petting sheep at a café, wearing tradition Hanbok, and going to amusement parks such as Everland & Lotte World! 

Many Koreans (of a variety of ages) were kind to my friends and I, helping us with our baggage, giving us free gifts, and showing us around the surrounding area, I appreciated this kindness because it helped me explore with confidence! Even though not everyone speaks English you can get along just fine knowing the basic phrases such as hello (annyeonghaseyo), and thank you (gamsahapnida). I would suggest downloading apps such as KakaoTalk (it’s similar to snapchat), KakaoMetro, KakaoTaxi, Papago (language translating), GoogleTranslate.

Some of the best things I ate in Korea were tteokbokki, bimbibap, cold noodle soup, chocolate ice cream rolls, spicy noodles, and mudfish soup! The best drinks were peach soju, strawberry smoothies, and americanos. Personally, I’d love to come back again and explore more of Korea such as Busan, Daegu, and more!

I definitely recommend coming to Korea! Just make sure you learn some basic phrases, get a Tmoney card for the transportation, do your research about cultural dos and don’ts, see if you can stay a little after the semester ends, and have fun! I haven’t added much to my blog since arriving in Korea but I do have information about getting a visa, best plane tickets, and international phone plans already up there, here is a link if interested - https://tabbytravels.blogspot.com/

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Interdisciplinary Studies major Tabitha Novotny spent the Spring 2021 term at Soonchunhyang University in South Korea with the help of our Office of Study Abroad Scholarship & the Kitt Rom Memorial Scholarship.

You can start planning your adventure abroad today! Dive in to our Explore page at https://studyabroad.uark.edu/explore/index.php, and start your program search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/