Paris was incredible. By far the most beautiful, amazing place I’ve ever been. They have the bus tours like the ones in Berlin but I would walk and use the subway system. You can get weekend and all day passes for the subway and when you walk you get to see all of the amazing architecture in the city. Everyone has to walk up the Eiffel tower, don’t take the elevator! It’s an awesome feeling of accomplishment and amazing views if you walk up. I would definitely stay till dusk and watch it light up at night. I didn’t while I was there because we were afraid to ride the subway that late at night (our hostel was pretty far out of the city) but I really regret not doing it. We went do Disney Paris while we were there too. If you are a Disney fan I would totally go. It’s different from the parks in the US and totally worth it. Especially the fireworks show at the castle at night.
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Abroad in Austria Pt 5 6/13/13
Getting ready for this weekend’s trip to Paris, France! Definitely the weekend I’m most excited for. Disneyland, the Eiffel tower, Notre Dame, and so many other cool things all in one city, I can’t wait! One thing to do though is make sure you book a hostel way in advance for Paris. They apparently book up really fast and are pretty expensive. The only other thing I have for you today is: if you are ever in Germany/Austria/somewhere with a German culture eat a doner kebab. It’s the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. Just do it 🙂
Abroad in Austria Pt 4 6/10/13
I went on my first “solo” excursion over the weekend to Berlin, Germany. Not exactly what I was expecting but definitely cool! I went with 5 other people in the program and we had a blast. My suggestion would be to get on one of the hop on hop off bus tours because Berlin is way too big of a city to try to walk the whole thing. The bus tour was like 10 Euro per person and totally worth it. Make sure you go to Checkpoint Charlie while you’re there-it’s very busy but very cool! And make sure to see the area of the Berlin Wall that is left. We ate dinner on a boat that cruised the river while you eat and it was amazing. The city is absolutely beautiful at night! Also there are some great hostels to stay at right outside of the train station that are really affordable and in a great location. The train station itself is really cool too-take a few minutes to look around it if you have time.
Abroad in Austria Pt 3 6/6/13
Today is one week since I’ve been here. I’m finally starting to get used to the new culture. It’s definitely a shock for your brain to not really be able to understand what the people around you are saying and to get used to not being able to read any of the street signs and stuff like that. Our classes have started and the professors are really cool and the classes are neat. I’m taking International Business and International Management where we learn about stuff like sustainable business practices and the process a company goes through when they’re globalizing their business. So far it’s really interesting especially the sustainability stuff because Europe is way more “green” than America is. Everyone recycles here and is super environmentally conscious. It’s an interesting take since most of what we learn in the US is just profit based business practices. I’m excited to learn more about how business works over here.
Abroad in Austria Pt 2 5/30/2013
So first things first-Jet Lag…It’s no joke. I’m a Louisville native so I live there all the time. For my flight to Austria I choose to fly on the group flight (another really cool thing about the KIIS program where most of the students fly over together to give you extra time to get to know each other). Our travel plans were kind of intense because Bregenz doesn’t have an international airport and the closest one is about 2 hours away. So my entire day was travel, travel, travel. I left Louisville with my family around 7 and headed to Cincinnati, which is where our first flight was departing from. We got to Cincinnati around 9 and stopped for some breakfast which everyone should do before they get on any flight because airport food is always expensive. After breakfast we went to the airport and I got checked in for my flight and checked my luggage and whatnot (by the way for the girls out there, I had one checked bag, a carry on, and a pretty full backpack and was fine. I know people say to take as little as possible but I had a lot of stuff in those three bags and was okay getting around the airport and whatnot by myself) and then said goodbye to my family which wasn’t as sad as I thought it would be. I had too much adrenaline and was way too excited to be sad! So basically I spent the next 18 hours or something like that on a plane which was very, very boring. I tried this technique where I thought I would only sleep during the hours that I would normally be sleeping which didn’t work at all. If you’re flying overseas my advice would be sleep as much as you possibly can. Take sleeping pills if you need to because if you don’t then you will be a zombie once you get to your destination which is no fun at all. I missed basically my entire first day here in Austria because I hadn’t slept at all. So when you’re on a plane just sleep. That’s my only advice so far but classes start tomorrow here so I’m sure I’ll have more advice soon.
Abroad in Austria Pt 1 5/28/2013
I’m Tiffany, and I am a Senior Marketing major here at UofL. I started planning for my abroad experience almost a year and a half in advance so if you’re thinking about going, just go make an appointment…like now. You don’t have to be dead set on going or know where you want to go or anything. Even if you’re just curious, go. The further along you get in school the harder it is to take classes that will actually count for graduation credits. I actually had to pick up a management minor because none of the classes that were offered by my abroad program counted towards any marketing class-Which is okay for me because I cared more about the experience than the credits.
Anyway so I’m leaving for Bregenz, Austria tomorrow with a program called KIIS out of WKU. It’s a really awesome program where basically they get a whole bunch of students and professors from the KY, IN, TN, OH area and create a mini school overseas. They have a bunch of different places where their programs go (I personally chose the Bregenz program because I didn’t want to be in a big city and it’s a homestay) and all of the classes are taught in English by the professors in the program. So if that sounds neat to you, check it out! I’m really nervous to be leaving because it’ll be my first time out of the country and I don’t really know anyone who has been out of the country either so I’ve been kind of on my own in my planning and preparing but hopefully by the time I get back I’ll be an expert and I’ll be able to help others prepare for their first time going overseas. So that’s kind of an introduction to me and my “Everyone should study abroad” inspirational speech. Talk to you tomorrow when I’m in AUSTRIA!
Introduction to Brazil
Before leaving for Brazil to study for 9 months, my knowledge of it’s culture and the country at large was limited to stereotypes. You know, the Amazon river, football (soccer), samba, beaches, the Christ and carnival to name a few. I find that many Americans know little about this massive country. So, I just want to point out a few things that will hopefully spark a deeper interest in Brazil.
If I had to describe the Brazil in one word it would be “diverse”. It is huge! Located in South America, Brazil is the largest country on the continent and would be bigger than the United States without Alaska. Brazil is the only country in the world that lies on the equator while having contiguous territory outside the tropics. Every land form is simply beautiful! You can find hills, mountains, plains, highlands, scrublands and green all around. The waterfalls, beaches and rivers would blow your mind! Brazil’s Biodiversity is one of the richest in the world.
The demographics of Brazil is immense. Two of my favorites are race and religion. The racial dynamic is a melting pot. About 45% of the population is classified as multiracial and let me tell ya, its a beautiful mix. Its a mix that largely consist of the indigenous people, the Portuguese and the African slaves. Quite different from the U.S., Brazilians are known for being able to racially classify themselves or specify their exact skin color. For example, on an application you can select white, mulato (mix), prado (another kind of mix), morano (brown), preto (black). Socially, racial classification is even better; my favorite is “cafe com leite” (coffee with milk color). Even more interesting, there are large communities of immigrants. The following countries have residents in Brazil at a population greater than any other country in the world, other than their native one. They are German, Japan, Italy, Lebanon and Syrian. Outside the the racial demographic, religion is very diverse. The country was formed by the Roman Catholic Church but there are many variations or syncretistic practices to Catholicism. Less popular than Christianity, there are big population of Spiritism and Afro-Brazilian religions. While I was studying, I stayed with different Brazilian families. Each homestay family I stayed with practiced a different religion.
Brazilian Portuguese is special. Brazil is the only Portuguese speaking country in the Americas. The differences between Brazilian Portuguese to Portugal’s is similar to American and British English. Its development has influence of Amerindian (indigenous languages) and African languages. To me, with foreign ear, Brazilian Portuguese appears to be sung with an melodious rhythm. In São Paulo, there is an entire Museum dedicated to the language of Portuguese.
Now that I have studied in Brazil, I have an entirely different opinion of the its culture. To describe the Brazilian people in one word, although impossible to do so, it would be “hospitable”. The Brazilian culture is very large and diverse but the virtue of hospitality is what I found across the board. For the most part, Brazilians love their country and feel like they belong in the Brazilian nationality. It was the receptive personality of the people in which I experienced and loved the most. On my first days in the country, I experienced the following examples:
In a restaurant, it is not uncommon for the stranger sitting next to you help you order your food. Standing on the bus, the sitting person would offer to hold your bags. If your lost, seemingly anyone would help you get to your destination. At someone’s home, you must eat until your stomach explodes.
How could you not love such a place? I encourage all who read this blog to learn more about this amazing country!
Nantes!
My name is Taylor Fiske and I’m wrapping up my last week as a student at Audencia in Nantes France. It is an adorable little city that reminds me a lot of Louisville in a few ways. It has a large student population, and many artsy things to do. I am very sad to be leaving soon as I have not had a chance to ride the big carousel on the ilse de nantes! Audencia is a great school, and this program has allowed me to make friends with people from mexica, Portugal, finland, and india! Our next week will be in Brussels and as sad as I am to leave nantes Im excited to visit a new city !
Panama: The Islands and Rainforests
If you love the outdoors and wildlife, you would love Panama! I never thought I would see a wild sloth in my life, but I did. I hiked through two rain forests, and visited three islands (two in the Caribbean, and one on the Pacific side). I love nature and the outdoors, so this was definitely a treat.
Three-Toed Sloth!
We ate this at a tiny shack of a restaurant in Toboga that had no running water (the owner, and only employee, fetched rain water from a barrel), but it was the best tasting fish I have ever had! I was a little leery about the head still being on it but it was delicious!
Arrival at Toboga
The ruins of the Spanish fort at Porto Bello
On the way to Isla Grande
Seoul -Tips and Recommendation.
South Korea is a ethnically homogenous country. Taste in cuisine, as well as thought and overall ideals are in unison and heavily influenced by Confucian ideas. Though South Korea is known as the country in Asia with the most English, it is mainly the youth that speak it. Learn a few phrases of Korean such as “thank you” and “how are you”. It gives the people pleasure that we have an interest in learning the language.
Seoul is a very modern city, other than temples and national landmarks such as the empirical palace, one is not likely to find historical architecture in the city. There are however many things to do none the less.
First and foremost is shopping. There are many shopping districts in Seoul that are open at night time only or day time as well. If you’re a girl than the shopping district built around the women’s school Ewha University is the place to go. It is the most prestigious women’s school in the country, not to mention the architecture itself is breath taking.
To get a feel of street stalls and outdoor eating at night, Dongdaemun is the place to go. Clothing prices are similar in the majority of street stores and unless an item is out of season is not on discount. People here take pride that the clothing that is being sold is made in Korea. There are even shopping mall buildings after shopping mall buildings in this district.
Food here is very shocking. Not in the weird ingredients way. But that the taste is very consistent for dishes no matter what store you go to. Majority of dishes, especially soups and stews are prepared ahead of time, and thus can’t be modified. Modifying dishes here is an unusual concept so be prepared for them not to understand. Pork is the preferred meat and most vegetables are pickled. Meat is in just about every dish here. And being a vegetarian in this country can prove a true challenge.
Missing home and craving some food? There is a district just for foreigners. Itaewon district. Prices here are a bit high, but are definitely worth it if you miss home a bit. Just about all of the service staff here know English as well. So no worries and enjoy the feel of home.
Last but not least, mountains. Korea is a very mountainous country. The pass time for many people here is to enjoy a day hiking mountains; particularly the elderly. Mountain paths are very well maintained. Beautiful scenery, fresh air and if the mountain is near Seoul. A breath taking view of parts of the city. I’ve hiked up 3 mountains so far and plan to climb at least one more before I leave.
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All of these places can be reached by subway. So one of the first things to do is find a subway map of Seoul. It’s an investment that will pay off. to travel from one district to another costs about $1-$2 USA. Public transportation in short is very cheap and very affordable.
Just a few suggestions and tips. More to come soon.