All posts by Olivia Spratt

Returning Home

Arriving home after study abroad was a somewhat shocking experience. I thought that during my trip I had prepared myself for the way that it would feel to come home. I knew that it would be somewhat of a letdown, since I had spent the past month and a half doing such extraordinary things. Though, ...

Traveling After the Program and Reflections

After the program ended, I stayed in Europe to travel to Italy. I decided to travel solo, which was a big deal considering I had hardly traveled before this trip. I was very smart about everything, though, and ran into no major problems. I first traveled to Nice, in order to get closer to Italy ...

Montpellier, France Week 5

The fifth week of the program brought our time in Montpellier to an end. We had all done so much and seen so many places in the past 5 weeks. For many of us, it was our first time traveling to Europe and it was an incredibly inspiring time for us. I had learned so ...

Weekend in Barcelona

One of the most amazing parts of studying abroad in Montpellier is its relatively central location. Italy is to the East and Spain is to the South, and both countries are relatively easy to travel to.  Italy is a bit farther away. The city of San Remo, Italy takes around 10 hours to reach. However, ...

Montpellier, France Week 4

This week followed the same routine as past weeks. We had class all day on Monday and Tuesday, and a field trip on Wednesday. This Tuesday, though, some of the professors took their students to the farmers market downtown. In Montpellier, there is a farmer’s market that happens every Tuesday and Sunday, downtown, by the ...

Weekend in Montpellier

For the third weekend of the program, I decided to stay in Montpellier. After having traveled for the past two weekends I was more than happy to relax in the city that had become my home base. This also gave me time to experience the city, that I do not typically have during the week. ...

Weekend in Nice

The second weekend of the program we were free from Friday to Sunday. This allowed time to travel independently to where ever we desired. Some students opted to stay in Montpellier and explore, while some travelled to Paris or other parts of Europe. A group of nine of us decided to head for Nice, France. ...

Carcassonne

On Wednesday of the third week of the program, the entire group went to Carcassonne for the day. Carcassonne is a hilltop town in Southern France. It is known for its medieval citadel. This city has been inhabited since the Neolithic Era (around 3500 B.C.), however, it is now only inhabited by around 40 people ...

Montpellier, France Week 2

The Montpellier program provides many meals during the trip. Breakfast is served every morning, which usually consists of croissants, pastries, breads and fruit. For lunch, we are given access to the University of Montpellier cafeteria on campus. This cafeteria has a plethora of options and is of a higher quality than most of the university ...

Weekend in Paris

At the end of the first week in Montpellier, the entire program departed for a weekend in Paris. Despite the 6 am wake up call, we were extremely excited to experience Paris, some of us for the first time. To get there, we took the TGV. The TGV is France’s high speed rail system. This ...