An Unknown Experience

By: Heather Ricchi

My freshman year I went to a presentation about studying abroad in college. After sitting through the presentation I decided that I wanted to study abroad at some point in my college career, but I wasn't exactly sure when I was going to be able to fit that into my busy and rigorous schedule. I was told about an opportunity to study abroad over Christmas break and as soon as the last sentence left Professor Pederson’s lips I was hooked. I had never been to Puerto Rico before so I was very intrigued to visit and study the culture of this island. I have traveled my whole life but this trip was the first time that I would be traveling for the purpose of learning and studying a different culture.

A couple weeks before we left for Puerto Rico I got to meet the group of students that I would be taking on this cultural inversion experience with. We all met up in Fort Worth and on a extremely smaller scale got dip our feet into studying tourism like we would be doing in Puerto Rico. In Fort Worth my classmates and I clicked automatically as if we had all been friends our entire lives. Together we got to visit the Fort Worth Stockyards, study the transportation, accommodations, attractions and the food that travelers from all over the world visit Fort Worth for. This experience allowed me to no longer hesitate or be nervous about the study abroad trip that I was about to embark on. I was now excited to be able to study and learn about tourism and travel writing in Puerto Rico with these intelligent and kind individuals.

   I got to spend quality time with my new classmates while enjoying Tex-Mex cuisine in Fort Worth.

                                               The cattle run at the Fort Worth Stockyards.

              Saying Boomer Sooner all the way from Texas while studying tourism in Fort Worth. 

Links: 

http://www.fortworthstockyards.org/

http://www.ou.edu/cis/education_abroad.html

https://www.fortworth.com/the-herd/

Contact Information: 

Email: Heather.a.ricchi10@ou.edu

Phone: 214-551-2715

Twitter: @heatherricchi4
Facebook: @heatherricchi
Instagram: @heatherricchi

Adios, Puerto Rico.

By Abigail Hess

In some ways, my trip to Puerto Rico was exactly what I expected.  There were beaches, and there were pineapples, and there were so many touristy/educational stops to make that I ended each day completely exhausted and on the verge of hysteria due to the utter fullness of my brain.

Yes, a lot of my time on the island was what I’d envisioned, back when I first wrote my application essay.  Even more of it, however, was completely not what I’d envisioned at all.

As I now reflect back on the two chaotic weeks I spent hopping from San Juan to Ponce to Vieques, I realize the part of the trip that impacted me the most was not Puerto Rico itself.  Nor was it my schoolwork, or my newfound grasp on Spanish (HA!), or even my incredible tan.

What impacted me the most were the people who shared it alongside me.

For two weeks I had a completely new and incredibly diverse family.  There were professors and undergrads, master’s students and economics majors, but somehow we all managed to get along…and we all managed, on some level, to care for each other.

We cooked together, and we swam together, we kayaked together and we rang in the New Year together.  No matter what I was doing, someone from my temporary family was always by my side.

So to Marisa, Jocelyn, Kali, Vince, Bianca, Lauren, Karen, Paola, Zaina, Patrick, Emily, Dr. Subervi, Clint, Adam, and Dr. C., I’d like to extend my gratitude.  For two weeks we were comrades, and you made my time in Puerto Rico more unforgettable than you will ever know.

Thank you, all...for the friendships, and for the memories.

Much love, and viva la Puerto Rico!!