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Postings from resident directors and students currently abroad, important announcements and useful infomation for planning your study abroad experience.
April 2007 Entries
We ask our alumni what they liked most about their program city and country. Here are a few responses from our summer and fall students:
Lance (Marburg): The city was the perfect size and not too far from a huge city.
Buki (Cannes): The weather and the scenery.
Jenna (Florence): Florence is a beautiful city with so much to offer. I liked how everything was within walking distance or a short bus ride away. It is a great central location in Italy which makes it easy to get pretty much anywhere else in the country within about 3 hours. The art, history, and culture of Italy, specifically Florence was very interesting to me.
Patrick (Paris): Paris is always moving. It was a lot of fun to discover new areas of the city and find different things to do. The advantage of being in Paris for a prolonged period of time changed my mentality from that of a tourist to that of a resident. Even with nearly four months in Paris there is still so much to see and so little time. France is an incredibly beautiful country and seems to differ just as much as the US in terms of geography and culture.
Christine (Granada): The people are so friendly, and the siestas in the middle of the day are great. But generally, it is the people I met that made the trip.
Bianca (Paris): I enjoyed feeling a part of the community; visiting the small specialty shops, or going to market after market. The beauty of the city is still breathtaking. I hardly felt any animosity from the people, especially as I tried to speak my French.
Julianne (Florence): I love Florence as a city. It is the biggest city I have ever lived in, yet by the end of the trip it was so small to me! I felt like I could make my way around no problem. There is so much art and beauty everywhere it is hard to take it all in.
Margaret (Cannes): The parties, the welcoming people, and learning about their culture!
Scarlett (Nice): The city is beautiful! The architecture is amazing.
Lindsey (Granada): Granada was beautiful and there was always something to do.
I hope all of you interested in studying in France have been following what is happening in that country with regards to presidential elections. If you haven't, here are some links for you to educate yourself.
International Herald Tribune: "Sarkozy and Royal win first round in French elections" http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/22/europe/france.php
Agence France-Press: "Sarkozy and Royal look to centre ground in presidential duel" http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/070423154631.xkw20jgn.html
Le Monde (French newspaper) - if you read French, the online paper has many articles on the elections. http://www.lemonde.fr/
I hope that no matter where, or even if, you study abroad you will spend some time learning about the politics, culture, and history of different countries around the world.
On Sunday the first of April we set off for Venice and Munich, Germany. With the exception of a few minor things we loved this trip!
So for a number of reasons, we had to go to the airport on Saturday night and campout in the airport. It was pretty cool though because there was a lot of other backpackers and students doing the same thing we were doing. We got to the airport at about 11:30 at night and spent the evening in the arrivals hall, I slept pretty well for the most part, Cortny however did no t. It was extremely cold, due to the tile floor and the automatic doors which kept opening all night. At about 4:15 Cortny and I headed to the departures hall which was right around the corner, and then waited for the bar to open, for a much needed cup of coffee (more like a shot). Anyway, we endured the night, to get a one hour, cheap flight from Rome to Venice. Yah!
We got to our hotel really early and they didn't have our room quite ready so we left our stuff and headed into town. We walked to Piazza San Marco (Famous for Pigeons), and it was raining. We spent the afternoon just walking around and grabbed some food. Then late in the afternoon, headed back to the Hotel where we wound up falling asleep until about 7:00. So we headed back into Venice to get dinner (We stayed on the mainland, a 5 minute bus ride form the islands).
On Monday we did more exploring of the Island, in and around the Rialto Bridge, and also took a water taxi as a sightseeing tour. It was neat, it took us around the main islands and up and down the Grand Canal which dissects Venice into two. All of you will probably think we are crazy for saying this, but we will anyway. Venice is beautiful, don't get us wrong, but overall we didn't like it. There were more tourists than we had ever seen in our lives, and it is so expensive! These things just took away from the whole feel of the place. We both agreed we would have been good with one day in Venice and more days somewhere else. Anyway, on Tuesday our flight to Munich, didn't leave until 7:00 pm so we took a train to Verona, the setting for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Verona is what we call ste reotypical Italy, rolling hills and a serene setting, it was beautiful!
So, later on Tuesday evening we took our long 1 1/2 hour flight to Munich at sunset, over the Alps, which was amazing in itself! We got to our hostel at about 9:00, 9:30 and then went to get the, oh so famous Bratwurst, Pretzel, and a Beer! I had one of these for all meals except one, while we were here (Instead I had half of a chicken and French Fries). We finished up the night with a few drinks at the Hostel Bar! Cortny and I absolutely loved it in Munich, it was so clean and everything was in its place! Unlike other parts of the world, that I will leave out! lol!
Continuing on, Wednesday our hostel provided us with a free tour of Munich that was pretty cool and entertaining. It took us around to all of the main sights and took us to a BEER GARDEN for lunch! More Bratwurst and Beer! YaY! After the tour we went to another beer garden, the location of Oktoberfest, the English Gardens and the location of the 1979 Summer Olympic Games in Munich. It was a very tiring day so went back to our hostel and crashed. On Thursda y we went to the small town of Fussen to see Neuschwanstein Castle. This is the castle that the Disneyland castle is modeled after! It was breathtaking, and since it is nestled in the Alps, it adds to the spectacle (I could describe the castle, but it would take a long time to give this place justice, make sure to look at the pictures)! It took all day to get to Fussen and back so when we got into Munich we ate, and then ended up at the Brewery across the street from our hostel, for our last official beer in Munich (for this trip, hahaha).
On Friday we had to get up and be at the airport at 9 for our 11 o'clock flight into Naples. When we got to Naples, we were supposed to take a 2:30 train to Rome...but because there was a strike, we ended up waiting until 4:30 to get on a train. All I have to say about Naples is, even the air makes you feel dirty and Cortny had a hard time rolling her suitcase on the sidewalk because there was so much trash. In my opinion, Naples wasn't a fun place to be stranded, because it is extremely filthy and just didn't give us a good vibe!
So, we got back into Rome about 7:30 and that concluded our trip. Overall, it was wonderful, and full of beautiful places, with the exception of the trash infested Naples (We later came to find out, the garbage company was also on strike, that is why there was so much trash, and we only got to see the bad part of Naples...go figure). Well, we still had a good time! We aren't doing much this weekend just going to the beach, because it is over 70 degrees here, but our next destination is Geneva, Switzerland...country of bank accounts, the UN, and fondue!
I found this fun site on the Maison de France website. Lost in Francelation is an online video blog that explores the cliches of France, amongst other things. If you are fascinated by the French and want to learn more about France, take a look at this site: http://us.franceguide.com/special/home.html?NodeID=931.
For the past few months I have had time to reflect on my experience in Paris. Walking around my campus, the old brick buildings of the 17th and 18th century don’t really resemble those that lined the “Grands Boulevards” of Paris. A small town like Williamsburg, although beautiful and quaint in its own respect offers a much different aura than the bright-light city of Paris. I often think back to the many great times I had in Europe. It is certainly an experience that I will never forget; and I encourage anyone that has the opportunity to study abroad to do so.
One of the things I remember most was hanging out on the Rue Mouffetard. I’m not much of a clubbing  type of guy; I much prefer just sitting around with friends and talking over a few drinks. Almost every weekend I could be found at the Rue Mouffetard with friends I had made through my Sorbonne class or through the Abroadco program. The friendly atmosphere of the small bars, cafés, and crêpperies was warm and welcoming even when the weather began to get cold in the winter. In December, the Mouffetard was draped with bright Christmas lights that lit up the street like a Christmas tree. This was definitely one of the most fun places in Paris – it had the best crêpes; it was a short walk to Chinatown; it had cheap drinks; and it was gorgeous. I think everyone I met found their own favorite place to go. Some of the people I lived with loved to sit on the bank of the Seine at 2am with a bottle of wine and just watch the Parisian night. Others enjoyed exploring the Quartier Saint-Germain while snacking on amazing Italian gelato (near the Mabillon metro stop – worth stopping by). On nights that we were feeling particularly adventurous, several of us from the program would head out to a club near Châtelet where a lot of young French people liked to hang out. And on nights that we wanted to take it easy we would play French-English scrabble at Uri’s apartment.
I think that the greatest part about being in Paris was the friends I made. You are bound to meet Americans, whether they are study abroad students in your Sorbonne class or tourists asking you for directions to Notre Dame or Sacre Coeur. However, I didn’t just meet Americans. I made friends with people from England, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Greece, Turkey, and of course France. The more I socialized in non-tourist places, the more French people I met. The more French people I met, the better my French got. A few of my friends on the program met French rappers with whom they hung out almost everyd ay. Because of that, their French improved dramatically in only 4 months. When I left for France, I didn’t know what to expect, but when I saw the opportunities to learn, hang out, travel, and meet people I knew it was going to be a lot of fun.
(Patrick, the author of this submission, is in the back row, far left)
The last thing I wanted to note was how tightly knit the Abroadco group was. There were less than 10 of us, all coming from incredibly diverse backgrounds, yet we got along extremely well. Of course, we went on a couple of Holly-days (you’ll get what I mean if you go to Paris) as a group to Mont Saint-Michel and Strasbourg. Both visits were beautiful, but what made it fun was being able to chill with friends while discovering France. Several people took their own trips together to places like Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Belgium. We got together many times for social dinners where everyone brought something to eat and we chowed down. I really do miss it a lot.
There are so many things that I could talk about, but this is getting kind of long, but I hope it helps in helping you make a decision about study abroad or just knowing what studying abroad is all about.
Patrick Perlmutter
Mary, our resident director in Rome, sent these photos in of a trip she made with the A broadco students to watch the Procession of the Dead Christ in Sulmona Italy. Hundreds of Catholic priests and brothers wear a traditional red habit, the symbol of the charity flame.
Easter is a very important holiday in Italy and throughout the country you will find processions and celebrations throughout the Lenten season.
Sulmona is also famous for its confetti. No, it's not the type of confetti that we through at New Year's and at ball games, but rather sugared almonds. We call them Jordan Almonds in the U.S. In Italy, confetti, is often given with invitations to weddings and other important occasions. In Sulmona, some of the Abroadco students stopped by a confetti stand to admire and purchase some of the amazing confetti creations (in Sulmona, they make flowers out the sugared almonds).
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Our students in Rome this semester have had the opportunity to participate in carnival and Easter celebrations, plus their longer excursions to London and Brussels. What an experience for them!
So with less than a month left in Paris, I'm starting to get slightly depressed. I don't want to go back to normal life and not traveling every weekend, but I guess I will still have another month until that happens thanks to Italy! It is weird to think about everything that will seem different when I return even though it will probably be mostly the same only I will have changed. I don't think I will realize how much I have changed and grown until I return. I notice some differences, I'm much more independent and don't have to ask people for a second opinion as much and I'm definitely not on my phone nearly as much, which I really enjoy. You learn to appreciate what is around you a lot more.
Anyway, the important stuff - trips! I'll start with the wine weekend! Amazing! We stayed on a hotel barge and it couldn't have been better! We didn't go to as many wineries as I thought we would but that was definitely a good thing. I have stayed in contact with Christiane whose winery we visited and will be returning there in about 2 weeks with my parents! If you want to know the wine process let me know, I'll walk you through it, but I'm too lazy to type it out now. :) One thing I do know is that anyone that wants to get me wine at any point, make sure it is French! They don't use any extra stuff in their wines so it is totally natural and doesn't give you a hang-over! Good wine, no hang-over, can't get much better than that.
Next trip, following weekend, trip 2 with Abroadco to Belgium. We went to Brussels which was slightly disappointing, there just isn't much there and it was kind of dirty. But we did see Manneken-Pis, if you don't know who he is, google it! And touched a statue that is supposed to bring you good luck and make your dreams come true, we thought it was Jesus, but after some searching we discovered it was not, but I don't remember who it was at the moment, but he ran the Flemmish out of Belgium in the 1400s or something crazy long ago. Then 2 of my friends and I, Lauren and Taylor, went to Brugge for a day. If you ever have a chance to go, take it! It was beautiful, the Venice of Belgium! The canals were nice, the chocolate amazing, and perfect weather! We went up the Belfry Tower for a beautiful view and learned everything there is to know about chocolate at the museum, The Choco-Story.
Our celebration for finishing and passing French was spent at Laduree, originally a famous tea house founded in 1876, I think, and now also a famous restaurant. It was a perfect celebration dinner on the Champs-Elysees!
Easter Mass was spent at Notre Dame, of course. It was nice, but nothing out of the ordinary. I have been told that religion is pretty dead in Europe, which I find extremely sad.
Monday, Taylor and I took the train to Rennes, the capital of Brittany in the west of France. We walked around and saw the city then took another train to St. Malo. A beautiful beach town on the coast of the North Sea. A very enjoyable day trip. Tuesday we took a bus to "Camelot" and proceeded to a 3 hour bike trip though the forests in order to see Merlin's Tomb and The Fountain of Youth! It was something to see and I'm glad I did it, but they really need to build it up some. The closest village was rather sad and the tomb and fountain were in poor shape. Maybe one day I'll have enough money and return to turn it in to something people really want to come see! We then returned to Rennes to catch the train back to Paris and then I met Wade, who was visiting from Spain but lives in Claremore, to go up the Eiffel Tower! Second time in less than a month! Haha
Wednesday, we left for Epernay, Champagne central and visited Moet and Chandon, home of Dom Perignon, Mercier, Frances favorite champagne, and de Castenello. It was a great experience to learn how champagne is made and see the caves. Again, if you want to know the process let me know! Epernay is definitely another place to see if you have the chance! It is a cute village, but sooo much money is there because of the champagne it is ridiculous!!
Thursday, after I retrieved my passport with new Russian Visa at the Russian Embassy, went to class and met Taylor, we headed for the airport, first flight since Scotland! We arrived in Dublin and met Sinead. Her great uncle was my grandparent's Priest for many years and a close friend of the family. He asked me if I would like a penpal in Ireland when I was around 10. Of course I said yes and we have stayed in contact with each other for 10 years or so now. It is so cool finally meeting her! We have a lot in common and she is super nice. She is fluent in Irish and has the opportunity to come to the States to teach Irish in a University through a Fulbright program! Anyway, we are on a bus on the way to Kilkenny to spend the day and then we will be staying with her family in Tipperary Co tonight! It couldn't be better!
When we return on Sunday, we are planning on going on a few close day trips during the week and then Thursday we leave for Amsterdam!! When we return, we shall catch up on sleep and rest because my parents arrive on the 26th and Taylor’s friend who is studying in London will be here as well! Then my parents will go on a road trip, Sunday we are going for a early birthday dinner, parents leave on the 2nd and I leave for Russia on the 3rd to visit Sveta! Return to Paris on the 8th, AUP final in the 10th, say goodbye to Paris and leave to Italy early on the 13th for a month! Wow! I can't believe it is coming to an end so fast! I knew it would fly by, but I wish it didn't fly so fast!
I found this website a while back and wanted to share it with all of you interested in studying, living, or traveling in Germany. "Young Germany" - http://www.young-germany.de/ - is a service of the Societäts-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, in cooperation with the Federal Foreign Office, Berlin. It's in both English and German and is a wealth of information for young people on studying, working, and living in Germany. There's even a section on learning German with on-line tools.
Even if you're not planning on going to Germany anytime soon, it's a fun website to explore and see what's happening.
Carol, our resident director in Aix-en-Provence, sent in these photos of a day hike and picnic to Mont Sainte-Victoire. Sainte-Victorie is located in the Pays d'Aix and was a favorite subject of Cezanne. It was a beautiful day for this outing!
Photos by Carol Artigues.
Excursion to Belgium
We just got back from Brussels, Belgium last weekend! It was great, we loved it there! I would have to say that Brussels is definitely up there with London now in my eyes at least, not Brandon's, but I think it's because of all the amazing chocolate and waffles! Anyway, we got into Brussels late Thursday night and just went to bed. We got up early on Friday morning and ate an all you can eat breakfast which was very good. We then headed off to our first destination with the school (other Link Campus students) to the European Parliament which was really neat to see the room that they made all their important decisions in. After that we headed to the European Economic counsel, then to the European Commission were we learned a lot about the European Union which was all new to me. Then it was lunch time and I got a falafel and Brandon got some French fries (which Brussels is famous for I guess) which we shared, a kebab, and this sausage meat ball that they fried and it was actually really good and so different. Our last stop of the day with our school was to NATO. We had to go through a lot of security to enter.
After NATO we headed back to our hotel and took naps because we were so tired. Later that evening we went out to Grand Place wh ich is the main part of town and WOW was it beautiful at night (it was beautiful in the day too)! All the buildings were so medieval/baroque looking. We went to see “The Famous Manneken Pis” which was a lot smaller than I thought it would be (it's this statue of a little boy peeing). We then went to this little waffle stand right next to Manneken Pis which is famous for its waffles and each got a waffle with all the works (strawberries, chocolate sauce, and whip cream ~ YUM!). It was amazing! I don't even know how to explain them except ~ heaven! We then walked around a little and checked out some of the shops and all the chocolate. After we called it a night and went back to our hotel.
The next day we got up and headed out to the town. We went to the Palace, the park next to the Palace and the Parliament. Then we did a little shopping (mainly at all chocolate shops) trying to figure out which ones had the best deals on chocolate. We then went to get lunch. Brandon wanted to try the fast food place there called "Quick" where he got a hamburger and fries. Me, on the other hand wanted more Greek food! Let me just say that I have really been getting into Greek food! I wish they had it more in the U.S. I got another falafel which was amazing! After lunch I decided to go back to the hotel and take and break for 45 min. while Brandon went to see the entrance way into Brussels. I then met up with him later and we got another waffle. This time I just got one with chocolate sauce on it and it was really good. After we tried to  find these antique stores but they had already closed by the time we got there so we just headed back to Grand Place and did some more shopping.
On Sunday we got up really early and went to this little town outside of Brussels called Brugge. This was the cutest little town I have ever seen! It was like being in a fairytale! All the buildings were very medieval looking and it was almost unreal. I wish that all of you could have seen it because I don’t think our pictures will do it justice. We just spent a couple hours in Brugge and then we had to head back to catch the bus that took us to the airport. We got more Greek food before we left Brussels that day. I loved Brussels. The town was so cute along with Brugge of course and the people were nice and friendly which surprised me because they mostly spoke French. - Cortny
So I won't make you listen to all the intricacies of our trip to Belgium, because there wasn't really too much that went on. Brussels was a nice place to relax, and eat! Two things Cortny forgot about was one, the beer in Belgium! There are over 400 different types! I sadly only tried 4 or 5. And two, when we were in Brugge, we went on a very lovely boat ride along the canal that dissects the town in two, it was really cheap and really cool to see the town form the water. It was well worth it! -Brandon
One of the questions we ask on our student evaluation is "What do you know now but wish you had known before you left for study abroad". I thought it would be interesting to compile the results from our students who were abroad in 2006. There are some really good answers (and some funny ones as well).
· I wish I had known that four months was not enough time to explore the city.
· I wish I had known more of France’s history before I left. I would recommend to anyone planning on living in another country to try and understand at least their basic history.
· I would not need any of the three jackets I brought and that I would actually need an umbrella (only a couple days). I'm sure I was advised to bring an umbrella but it didn't seem practical when I was packing.
· Simplicity makes the experience easier and more enjoyable.
· Everything REALLY shuts in August.
· I wish I had studied more language prior to my departure.
· Just how expensive it is there!
· How to travel. You need to plan your travels ahead of time and you should know and pick where you really want to travel.
· When I was told not to pack too much, I should have listened!
· How hot it would be.
· Traveling is hard work!
· Things close very early.
· If you forget something, you can always buy it over there. 2. You can survive with a lot less than you think. 3. Most people are willing to help you.
· How rainy and cold it would be in the winter.
· I wish I would have used my time better there so I could have seen more places.
· Italians speak Italian. (Not everyone speaks English)
· Bring mosquito repellent!
· How expensive it really was going to be to just survive over there. I know I was warned, but I didn't really understand until I saw my bank statements!
· That Spain is very different than the rest of the Spanish speaking world. That Europeans dress differently than we do but are not more conservative.
· To bring a fingernail clipper.
· Time goes by too fast.
· I wish I would have made a better plan as to how to manage my money with conversion rates and everything.
· I wish I had done more research and know more about the Spanish history. I love Spanish history now, but I guess that wasn’t going to happen until I saw such incredible places like Cordoba, Seville, and of course the Alhambra.
· I wish I had taken advantage of the exchanges with international students. I wasn’t aware of them in advance and didn’t know enough when I started the program to want to get involved. In hindsight, I wish I had.
· That I needed more money.
· I wish I had known....nothing....I liked finding out a lot of stuff.
On March 27, Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Norm Coleman (R-MN), along with 20 additional original co-sponsors, introduced the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2007 (S.991). This is nearly identical to the House Resolution 1469, introduced by Tom Lantos (D-CA) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) on March 12.
Below is an excerpt from Senator Durbin's introductory remarks about this resolution:
The goal of this legislation remains the same (as the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Commission): to encourage and support the experience of studying abroad in developing countries—in countries whose people, culture, language, government, and religion might be very different from ours. This bill aims to have at least 1 million undergraduate students study abroad annually within 10 years and to expand study abroad opportunities for students who are currently underrepresented.
The Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act would establish study abroad as a national priority and provide the catalyst for the education community to commit to making study abroad an institutional priority.
This legislation would create an independent public-private entity, the Senator Paul Simon Foundation, that would award grants to carry out the goal of making study abroad in high-quality programs in diverse locations around the world the routine, rather than the exception, for college students. Students who were previously unable to study abroad due to financial constraints would be eligible for grants. Grants also would provide colleges, universities and nongovernmental institutions with the financial incentive to develop programs that make it easier for college students to study abroad.
I strongly encourage all of you to support this legislation by writing to your Senators and Representatives. Abroadco has endorsed this bill on the NAFSA: Association of International Educators website. To learn more about the Simon bills, visit the NAFSA website (http://www.nafsa.org/public_policy.sec/commission_on_the_abraham). This link will tell you more about this important piece of legislation and how you can take action.
Abroadco Excursion to Belgium
I spent the weekend in Belgium, discovering this little country north-east of France. My whole study abroad group woke up bright and early Friday morning to catch the train to Brussels. I was amazed that it only takes 1hr 20 mins to get from Paris to Brussels. We arrived and the first thing we did was get a Belgian waffle, of course! Like the French crepes, there are many different toppings but they are all delicious. We spent the morning walking around the city, seeing all the sights including the Grand Place, the old market square. We also saw the famous Manneken Pis fountain, which has become the unofficial symbol of Brussels. It is a little fountain on a street corner of a little boy peeing that become known all over the world. The story behind it is that the little boy ran away and when his dad found him, he had a fountain made of the position he found his son in. Manneken is an icon in Belgium and one can buy everything from lollipops to t-shirts with his image on it. The afternoon was spent at the European Union headquarters. We learned all about how it was started, how it works and the plans for the future. Because I am a history major, it was espe cially cool for me to be able to be in a place where so many historical decisions have been made.
Saturday morning, me and two friends decided to make the most of our time in Belgium and take the train up to Brugges, a city about an hour north of Brussels. It is called the "Belgian Venice" and it certainly lives up to its name. This fairy tale town is located on a series of canals that come from the North Sea. There are beautiful bridges, cobblestone streets, and open squares lined with cafes. We spent the day browsing the markets, learning about the history of the cocoa bean in a chocolate museum, taking a boat tour of the canals and having afternoon tea in town. It was basically a perfect day spent in an adorable country.
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