I am planning to study abroad next semester in Granada, Spain. This decision was made fairly recently. At the beginning if this semester I had no intention of studying abroad so soon. But as I thought more about it next semester seemed to be the only option for me.
As some of you know I am in the marching band here at Umass. The band here is an enormous part of my life. I knew I didn’t want to miss fall semester, because that would mean missing band. I knew I didn’t want to go senior year, because there are a lot of important things that I wouldn’t want to miss. Many people suggested going on a short winter or summer study abroad program. I ruled this out because of financial reasons. If I went during the winter or summer, I would be paying for an extra semester of school. Whereas with fall and spring I would just be replacing a semester at Umass with a semester abroad. That left the spring semester of my second and third year here. As I entered this semester, I assumed it was too late to sign up to study abroad the very next semester. But as the date approached, I realized that next semester made the most sense for me and my studies. Continue reading