“If I had to pick the one event in my life that most strongly influenced who I am today, it would without a doubt be my EAP year in Madrid (78/79). The thrill of successfully immersing oneself in a foreign culture, interacting daily with the locals and sharing different values, is an experience that all should be able to have."

Ellen Cohen Raede
Madrid, Spain ‘78-‘79
Donor to UCSB EAP

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Letter from
Faculty Director Michael O'Connell

Dear Alumnae and Alumni,

Writing from London, where I’m doing some re- search this summer at the British Library, I have been
thinking about the lasting effects of our study abroad time. I first came to London on a break from my study abroad year in Rome, some 45 years ago. London was a very
different place then, a blackened St. Paul’s showing the effects of coal smoke and scars from the blitz still clearly visible. It would be a long – and ultimately inconclusive – pub
conversation to discuss whether that London or this one is to be preferred. Myself, I prefer today’s city, even though it’s vastly more ex- pensive than that “old” London of cheap Tube