Study Abroad Students tell their stories for Multicultural Week

Alyson Kriz (SMU London), Gracie Hoffman & Matt Kotek (Spanish Studies, Alicante, Spain), Peter McColl (CRMS, Oxford, UK)

As part of Multicultural Week students shared their stories of studying abroad during the fall semester of 2012. Their presentations included photos of their travels, of their host cultures, campuses, and host families. They also brought insight into how they were challenged to try new things, explore themselves and new cultures and how they learned from their experience. 

Alyson Kriz studied at Saint Mary's Semester in London program with a cohort of 17 Saint Mary's students. She took advantage of the culture of London by exploring the sites, museums and by attending plays. Alyson also took advantage of the opportunity to study dance at the Pineapple Dance Studio in London where she took part in an audition for a West End musical. 

Gracie Hoffman studied in Alicante, Spain with the Center for Cross-Cultural Studies, an SMU affiliated program. During her time in Spain she took language courses and stayed with a host family to work on her Spanish. She misses her host mother's delicious meals and her little host sister, who enjoyed borrowing Gracie's shoes for dress up.

Matt Kotek also studied in Alicante, Spain with CC-CS. During his time there he fell in love with Spanish culture. He took courses in Spanish language as well as a Flamenco dancing. His host family was welcoming as well as his language partner who he took a road trip with. He's very eager to find his way back to Spain.

Peter McColl studied in Oxford, England at the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. The program is associated with Keble College of Oxford University. He enjoyed eating in "Harry Potter" like dining halls, having access to the vast library system at Oxford, and having easy access to London. Moreover, Peter enjoyed his Tutorial courses, which are one-on-one courses with Oxford faculty.