UGA en España Study Abroad

If there is one piece of advice I have for any college student it is as follows:

study. abroad. no. excuses.

Seriously, studying abroad was absolutely one of the best experiences of my entire life and I guarantee it will be yours, as well.

I studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain through the UGA en España program. In my Spanish class on Monday, our T.A. informed us that the application deadline is this Friday, February 11th and told us to spread the word.

It not only made me a little teary eyed (yep, guilty) thinking about that awesome summer, but also made me want to tell everyone in the world to go. So… if you are interested in having the best summer of your life, hop to, ASAP.

Top 10 Reasons to Study Abroad in Sevilla, Spain:

1. It’s home to the 3rd largest cathedral in the world and you can climb to the top of the tower to overlook the entirety of the city. (Notice: the pools on the roof. We don’t have those in Athens, I’ll tell ya.)

2. It’s the quintessential “Spanish” town with a perfect mix of culture, architecture, nightlife, food and beauty.

3. The birthplace of flamenco. You may even get to strut your stuff in a class or two if you’re lucky. But, beware: at the real flamenco show, sit in the back. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, unless you like sweat bullets catapulting from the dancers.

4. Fruit as fresh as can be. There is a fruit market right near the school where you can get a crazy amount of cherries for about $5. Plus, the food is unlike any other, especially when your madre makes it. Oh, and wine is less expensive than water. Yes!

5. Speaking of madres… you live with a family. Talk about getting the full cultural immersion. It’s incredible. Here’s sweet little Paqui, herself.

6. You’re just a quick and cheap bus/train/plane ride to the beach (Cádiz), La Alhambra (Granada) or La Sagrada Familia (Barcelona). And hostels are much less sketchy than you expect and much less expensive than hotels.

7. Diego and Carlos. The token Spanish crushes of all of the girls on the trip. Diego, is the organizer of the trip and Carlos teaches two of the classes in the Instituto. You don’t want to miss out on these partners in crime.

8. The absolutely most delicious ice cream in all of the world: Rayas. We walked 8 miles in 106 degree heat to find out it was closed for the morning, so we walked it again that afternoon. I highly recommend Limón y Fresa and Beso de Dama. You won’t regret it. In fact, could you bring me home some, please?

9. You meet incredible people and hey, you may even come home with a boyfriend.

10. Lastly, Sevilla has a motto that you will see everywhere and remember forever: NO8DO. The 8 represents a skein of yarn, called “madeja.” When you pronounce it together it sounds like “No madeja do,” which translates into “No me ha dejado.” In English, that says “It [Sevilla] has not abandoned me.”

I know for sure that Sevilla has not left my heart since I returned from Spain. That’s probably the reason that my T.A.’s presentation really hit home for me. Holy cow, I want to go back!

So my advice is… go, so you can remember NO8DO forever, too (and can blog about it so I can relive the experience vicariously!).