University of Wisconsin–Madison

Portugal: Aliza Korman

Program: UW Movement as Medicine in Portugal, Summer

Aliza’s Major: Kinesiology

What is your most memorable experience from your program?

Whenever people ask me about what my favorite part of my study abroad program was, I never know what to say. It was an all around amazing experience. I learned so much and I got to experience many things. So when I answer this question, I think that the most memorable part of my program was how close everyone got with each other while abroad. It was so cool to be able to share this experience with other UW students and faculty, and I am glad that I chose this program.

This program allowed me to study abroad and be out of my comfort zone, but it also had things that I did not need to worry about. I knew what to expect from classes, I knew that I would be able to connect with my classmates.

How were your program academics similar or different from taking classes at UW-Madison?

Aliza, a woman with dark brown curly hair smiles with her mouth wide open next to a small photo of a man with a mustache making the same facial expression.
This is me trying to look like a tile at the tile museum we visited on one of our first days in Portugal.

My program was different from the others that I had looked into through UW. We had two professors who travelled to Portugal with us. I enjoyed this because I kind of knew what to expect, and I knew what the professors expected from me. We did have guest lectures every couple of days, where I noticed more differences in lecture styles. The guest professors who would be lecturing us would do a lot more talking than I was used to. Lectures felt a lot more like a lecture than they do at UW, where there is often lots of interaction.

What is your advice for someone considering your program?

My advice for someone considering my program would be to just apply for it. If you don’t know what you want in a study abroad program, apply for this one. If you are nervous about studying abroad, but still want to do it, apply for this one. If you think that you can’t study abroad because it will set you back a semester, apply for this one. This program allowed me to study abroad and be out of my comfort zone, but it also had things that I did not need to worry about. I knew what to expect from classes, I knew that I would be able to connect with my classmates, and if I really did not like the program, I knew that it was only a couple of weeks long (but I loved it and wish it lasted longer).