Hi Everyone!

My name is Maria and I am not only an SPC student but I also work in the International Programs office on our Tarpon Springs Campus. Of course since I get to see everyone else going on their trips and seeing the fun that they all have, I decided I wanted to have my own study abroad experience.

Last February I signed myself up to take two classes, Gothic Fiction, and Late Shakespeare through USF in London, and today is my first day of classes.

Amazingly enough this year marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, and while I’m on this trip I will not only get to see one of his plays performed in his theater for part of my Late Shakespeare class, but I will also get to take a workshop there and take a day trip to see Shakespeare’s birthplace Stratford-upon-Avon. I’m also extremely excited for my Gothic Fiction course. I will get to see the Sherlock Holmes Museum and go on a Jack the Ripper walking tour, and that’s only naming a few of the things I have to look forward to!

I will be gone for a month, and I thought it would be fun to share my experiences with you guys, so I will write a post once a week and write about some of the more exciting trips my classes take.

Goodbye until next week.

The Coast Rica Spanish program students will be leaving tomorrow, May 14, and Professor Fernando Ojeda  gave us a preview of what he is most looking forward to, what is to come as well as some great advice:

“As lead faculty, I look forward to participating in a travel-study abroad experience that could potentially have life changing effects that will ripple through the future of our student participants. I am excited about introducing the country of my birth, Costa Rica, to the students through study of the language, immersion in the culture, and daily contact with the Ticos, known around the world for being among the happiest people on the planet! I look forward to re-seeing the vast bio-ecological diversity of Costa Rica, in spite of being a relatively small nation. I’m happy about the fact that our students will learn about Costa Rica’s history of democracy and the fact that it has no army! Reputed to be among the most literate people in the world, Costa Ricans are friendly, curious, warm and welcoming to foreigners. I want our students to seize this opportunity to learn as much as possible in the four weeks that they will be there and to take advantage of every opportunity to learn from the people with whom they come into contact. Whether it is with their host families on a daily basis, their classmates, the people in the streets, the staff at ILISA Language Institute, or friends they make in Costa Rica, every moment will offer a lesson to learn.

I wish to remind the students to think safety first. Be mindful of strangers getting too close in urban environments, be polite but firm in letting people know that you may not be comfortable with a situation that you perceive as potentially unpleasant. While I think it is a good idea to move about in groups of two, three or four, PLEASE REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE THERE TO LEARN THE LANGUAGE! Speak Spanish at every turn and challenge yourselves and your peers by only trying to use Spanish. Before long, you will be back here immersed in English and the opportunity to make a profound impact on your Spanish learning will have vanished in the wind! Enjoy your time there to the fullest and bring home the best memories! Try to make friends with whom you may keep contact for the foreseeable future. You never know when you may be going back to a place that will have become a second home!”

Have a safe trip!