By Emily Young MA ‘16

You’ve landed a summer internship, have a lay of the land, and figured out your commute; now what? Check out these tips to make the most of your summer internship.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

My first day in Madrid when I went for a run, I realized as I struggled to find my way home that someone had somehow pickpocket my running arm band of my ca$h (luckily just 10 euros at the time). Like any furious parent, I wasn’t mad, I was just disappointed.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

They say “absence makes the heart grow fonder”, but I believe a nice additive to this is “especially when you miss your father” because it kind of rhymes if you pronounce things a certain way and also it’s very timely given that today is Father’s Day.

By: Emily Young MA ‘16

Spoiler: Today is Father’s Day. If you have not yet wished your dad a Happy Father’s Day, please do so before continuing to read the rest of this article.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

In addition to my amazing host mom and rad, artsy, vegetarian host sister, I also have a super cool host brother who is a little older than me, here in Madrid. The mysterious man I stumbled upon in my new house the very first day I moved in turned out to be who he said he was and now we see each other all the time. Carmen explained to me when I asked what Victor does that he was a “go-go”, which I didn’t understand, but with a bit more pantomiming on her part, some hip thrusts and the like, I gathered means “dancer employed in a club.”

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

People always say that the best way to really immerse yourself in a new country is to live with a homestay family, especially when you’re trying to learn a new language. And I’m going to have to agree with the masses on this one, though at first I had my doubts.

By: Emily Young MA ‘16

Looking for fun things to do in LA this summer? Check out my list of great hiking spots and hit the trails!

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

We had a day trip to Segovia, which is a picturesque town about an hour or so from Madrid with a lot of cool history and a pretty rad aqueduct. I would love to say I have no complaints about Segovia because that would be really pleasant and low-maintenance of me, but like my founding father, Jorgé Washington, I cannot tell a lie. In Segovia, I had my first experience having to pay to use the bathroom and if you have ever spent more than 45 minutes with me, you may have noticed I’m big into hydration with a small, small bladder.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

I would just like to take the time to thank all the great inventors and big dreamers out there who made the world what it is today. Without you folks, I would have no choice but to continuously be at a loss for words with my host family’s hairless cats as my only companions.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

A few days ago at the Instituto Internacional in Madrid, I went to an intercambio/language exchange and I feel pretty good about it because now tengo una cita (I have a date/meeting) with an older man named Ignacio!

By: Emily Young MA ‘16

As an athlete, one thing I didn’t have an opportunity to do at USC was spend a semester abroad. USC has so many fantastic global programs and judging by friend’s first-hand accounts, blogs, Instagram posts, and Snapchats, it seems like the time of your life. Luckily, with fund raising and support from the athletic administration and donors, I received the opportunity to travel with the USC Sand Volleyball Team on the program’s first-ever European Tour!

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

This summer I am studying in the beautiful city of Madrid. This is my first time traveling without my family and my first time outside of North America so everything is new to me and so far has not been the smoothest of adjustments. I may not be the most fluent of speakers or the most apt of travelers, but I sure do have a gift for finding myself in interesting situations. While these incidents may not be funny to me for a few more years, I trust they will be entertaining for third party viewers and offer a good insight into the summer study abroad experience.