Being a committed member of a team doesn't prevent Muhlenberg athletes from enjoying the same transformative experiences that their fellow students do - like studying abroad. Every semester, a good number of Mules travel overseas, and we catch up with them in our Postcards from Abroad series. 

Our second "foreign correspondent" for the Spring 2025 semester is women's basketball junior Mia Fitzgerald, a computer science major and analytics minor who is studying in Madrid, Spain. Here's what she had to say about her experience:

What made you decide to study abroad?
The reason why I studied abroad was because, like everyone says, "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." I will never get a chance to live with a wonderful host family, experience their authentic dinner meals, as well as travel Europe for an extended period of time. As much as it was nerve wracking and scary to go alone, I knew it was something I would regret not doing later in life.

What has been your favorite part about studying abroad?
My favorite part of studying abroad has to be trying all the food. One thing about Madrid is that they have all cultural foods including Japanese, Chinese, Mexican, Indian, Italian, etc. So not only do I get to try Spanish food, but I get to try other cultural food that I have not tried before. Also because I traveled here alone, a great experience of going abroad is meeting new people and making new friends.

What is one thing you miss about Muhlenberg?
One thing I miss about Muhlenberg is definitely the friends I made there. Fortunately, I have seen Greta (on the field hockey team) and Molly (also on the team) coming to visit soon. However, for my friends who are abroad farther away or still at Berg, I miss them a lot. Not only that, but I gave up half of my basketball season to be here and I definitely miss playing competitive basketball. 

What has been the favorite place you've visited? And why?
So far, one of my favorite places I have visited is Lisbon, Portugal. The views there are so pretty and at some points you can see the water as well. I am doing a lot more travel this March and I am highly anticipating North Morocco and Mallorca though. 

What advice would you give to someone thinking about studying abroad?
Some advice I would give to someone thinking about studying abroad is that, even if you don't know the language of the desired location you want to go to, don't let that hold you back. Personally, I decided to go to Madrid without knowing much Spanish at all and I love it here. You can always learn, especially if you are integrated with a host family. People are always welcoming to help you learn their own language. 

How have you kept up with your sport while abroad?
Staying in shape the first month was hard until I found a routine. After much research, I found myself a gym and I lift a couple times a week. Additionally, with traveling comes a lot of walking to sight see and as a mode of free transportation to save money. So I average around 20k steps a day when traveling. During the week I walk to and from school as well as play pickup basketball through my program occasionally.

Previous Postcards
Anna May, women's soccer, Florence