Studying Abroad: Bridget Bomhack Fills Us In On Her Travels

July 14, 2006

Hurricanesports.com caught up with freshman Bridget Bomhack who traveled to Europe with the Miami study abroad program. Bomhack is entering her sophomore season at Miami where she is a setter for the Hurricanes.

What country/countries and/or cities did you visit during your study abroad experience?
Paris, Venice, Florence, Rome, Madrid, Greek Islands of Mykonos and Rhodes, Athens

What classes did you take?
It was a group of 40 Miami students studying architecture.

How long were you there?
One month

What sights did you see while you were there?
Paris- Louvre, Eifel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, Palace of Versailles, Arc de TriumphVenice- St. Mark’s Square, Rialto BridgeFlorence- Statue of David, Uffizi Gallery, Duomo, Michelangelo’s LibraryRome- Spanish Steps, Ancient Ruins, Coliseum, VaticanMadrid- El Palacio Real, Town of Toledo, Retiro Park, Prado Museum, El Plaza de Toros (I saw a bullfight)Mykonos- Ancient Ruins, Paradise BeachAthens- Parthenon, Acropolis, Old Olympic VillageRhodes- Citadel, more beaches

Walk me through a typical day while you were abroad:
We would meet in the lobby around 9AM. Our Professor would get out his map and show us where we were going around the city and what we would be seeing that day. The group would start walking around the city and we would stop at different buildings and discuss the architecture behind the building. We would have a short lecture and continue walking around the city. Then we would break for lunch and meet up again as a group. We see more significant buildings of the city and discuss different architectural elements. Our Professor would let us discover the city for ourselves after 3:00 each day. This gave us a lot of time to do different tourist activities that we wanted to do in the city. Obviously since we were there for the study of architecture we were not taking time to look inside famous museums so this was the time where we could go and do that. We were in each city for roughly 4 days and the last day of each city was a “free day” where we could choose to do whatever we wanted by ourselves or with friends.

Roughly how many students were there with you?
There was a group of 40 Miami students.

What were the living arrangements like?
We had great living arrangements. In each city we stayed in beautiful hotels that were in the best location to what the city had to offer.

What were the major differences that you saw between where you studied and Miami or your hometown?
It was hard not having a cell phone for a month! The currency was also something to get used to. We used the Euro in each country we studied in. Also, English was never the main language in any of the countries we studied in. This was a great opportunity to really indulge in the culture and backgrounds of the country and really feel like you are engulfed in a completely new experience.

Would you recommend the study abroad experience?
I would absolutely recommend the study abroad experience. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to go abroad in the summer since I have volleyball during the school year. It was something that I will never forget. I am so lucky to have been to all these countries at such a young age. I now know a completely different part of the world. It was also great to meet 40 strangers and travel with them and become really good friends throughout the trip.

What did you enjoy most about your experience?
The thing I enjoyed most about my experience was the fact that we traveled to so many different countries and cultures. We would spend about four days in each city and then be on our way to a new adventure. It kept everything very exciting and I never felt worn out. The worst part about the experience was packing up for a month on the road in one medium suitcase!!

Did you know/understand that language? If not, how difficult (if at all) was it for you to get around?
Many people in the different countries we went to knew enough English to help us get by. It was easier in Madrid because many of the students on our trip spoke Spanish. I would say it was most difficult in Greece because they have a completely different alphabet than us which made it impossible to try to decipher signs. It was fun because you could have a short conversation with people just saying hello and goodbye in their native language.