Hi everyone! My name is Patrick Rhinehart, I am an International Relations major with a minor in Communication and Spanish. I envy traveling as it is a part of my life with a lot of family spread across the globe, most of it in Europe though. I am pretty liberal thinking young gent who believes in sharing cultures and different identities that will help you enhance a better view of the world and the way that others act, speak, and live. This liberal mindset has helped me plenty with finding new and different ways of thinking as well as finding very common similarities with others from across the globe. I value the “global citizen” aspect that Rollins emphasizes early on, which is why I am currently studying abroad for a second time. I have been traveling since around Christmas time and with limited Internet access over the last few weeks as I have been in Europe for some time, I am now settled in at the University of Oviedo. My host mom is living in a quaint area about a 10-minute walk away from the place where we take classes. Within the university I will be taking classes at an international department called “Casa de las Lenguas”. The city seems to be small and comfortable, very little graffiti in the town itself, which is nice, compared to many of the large cities that I have traveled to in Europe. I was in England and Germany visiting friends and family for a few weeks before attending the program. These two places consisted of both old and new places that I have been. In England I visited my brother and sister as well as meeting up with friends and a couple of roommates. I then traveled with my roommate to Berlin where me and his family had stayed in a very alternative area which was very close to the East Side Gallery, which consisted of where the Berlin wall stood, while showing graffiti walls that are still standing. The presence of West and East Germany still is relevant in Berlin as it is still a rich part of their recent history. The city was very progressive and everything ran smoothly, as expected in Germany. I am here in Oviedo with only one other student from Rollins, and we both are very eager to explore and see many more parts of both Spain and Europe. Until next time, hasta luego!
