Hola chicos! It’s been five weeks and sadly my time in Sevilla is coming to an end. For me, making the decision to study abroad was very difficult. I went back and forth numerous of times, but in the end, I MADE IT and to be honest, I probably would have regretted not coming.

My favorite part of this trip would probably be going to different places. Throughout the five weeks I have been to Madrid, Toledo, Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba, Jerez, Cadiz, Portugal, Venice, Verona, and Milan. Out of those 11 locations, Portugal and Venice were my absolute favs! Portugal’s beaches were so pretty, probably the prettiest beaches that I have ever been to. So, if you ever have the chance to visit Portugal, I would highly recommend you stopping at one of the beaches. But… VENICE or as the Italian’s call it VENEZA. Venice was an interesting trip. I actually went with another chick from Louisville. I learned a lot about myself. To be a person who hates geography, I was quite amazing at finding my way through the city with a map. I highly recommend anyone who studies abroad to be very good at reading maps because basically every where you go you’ll get a map and be by yourself, well ok maybe with some friends but from experience, everyone is not going to be willing to try and lead other people with a map, they are just going to want to follow someone. Now the hostels, :/ YIKES, they were so sketch but hey when you’re studying abroad, the best thing to do is be smart and try to go the cheapest routes because I can almost guarantee that while you’re abroad and using a different currency, you’re going to check your money at some point and feel like you’ve done lost about 100 euros. I’ve done it multiple times, along with many of the people that I hung out with. Another advice is to keep a record of what your daily expenses are!

The hardest thing with studying abroad is probably adapting to their culture. For instance, I like to eat A LOT and here in Sevilla, it seems like food is not even on their priority list. In America we eat breakfast, than lunch at about 12 or 1 and dinner at about 6 or 7. Nope that’s not the way it happens in Spain. More like eat lunch at like 3 and dinner at like 9 or 10. My stomach growled constantly within the first few weeks, but now I’m pretty used to not eating until late. It will be interesting when I arrive back in the states and have to start eating earlier again, I think it will be very hard for me to do since I’m not hungry at 6 or 7.

Sorry that I am all over the place with this blog, but to wrap it up I must say if you ever have the opportunity to study abroad in school then DO IT. Especially since it is much cheaper to do during school than it would be if you tried to go abroad later in your life. I had a great time over here and a trip that I will never forget. I’ve met many people from different places in the United States and hopefully we will stay in touch and I will be able to take vacations and go visit them. Overall, two thumbs up for Spain!

Hasta Luego

Ignore my last post.
Here is some real world knowledge to help you if traveling to China.
I’m typing on a mobile phone so forgive my short advice, which brings me to my first point. Bring a laptop, and don’t expect the same capabilities as home. Internet access in China is spotty at best and even a fast connection does not always guarantee any particular website will be available to you. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t, except Facebook, it never works.
Learn Chinese food words, numbers, and common phrases in ordering food, riding in a taxi and bargaining with street vendors. These are some of the only times you are on your own and the language barrier can severely hinder a simple process.
Never wait to buy a souvenir you really want. Always go into a bargaining situation ready to walk away at any time. A look of excitement and satisfaction will only solidify a sellers high price, act aloof and you can regularly buy items for less than half their asking price.
The Chinese people as a whole are very polite and eager to please, some speak rudimentary English so with a little patience you can go a long way.

Hope this helps an would-be travelers.
More knowledge soon to come.

It’s almost 2 a.m. the night before my 7 a.m. flight. Yeah, I should probably be sleeping, but what good college student hasn’t gone at least 2 or 3 days on the same number of sleep hours? Maybe my rigorous sleep deprivation routine will offset the jet leg, who knows.

But what I do know is this,  seeing The Hangover 2 just a few hours ago was not a good idea. I am moments away from boarding an international flight to an Asian country, let the hilarity ensue? If the stars align maybe I too can find a small monkey companion of my own.

Peace.

This youtube video is short and sweet! There are a lot of missed adventures, but at least from the pictures, you get the idea and the opportunities available!

I have been living in Oestrich-Winkel now for exactly four months now. Depending on the weather outside you could find yourself outside walking near the Rhine, or in your room studying and passing by the time with your flat mates. There is very little to keep yourself entertained on a regular night here in the town. Maybe a few student parties from time to time or a German motorist trying to run you over with their car while you ride down the street. My stay here in Germany has been incredible and I have made some great new friends I will never forget. I respect and love the culture and this will definitely not be the last time I will come back to Germany. Ich habe einen stark liebe für das alte Deutschland, vielleicht sind es die frauen. The most people I have run into speak English, if you know English you can basically survive anywhere. Being in Germany I wanted to try out a little bit of my German. There were 2 occasions where I had asked simple questions in German to a couple of locals and gotten a response in English. I was a little disappointed and shocked at the same time. It is entertaining trying to understand the German student’s conversations and trying to have conversations in German with my friends here.
There have been interesting day-to-day events, but I do have to mention the store Rewe, if you are ever an exchange student here in Oestrich-Winkel you will come to love and know this store better than your own children. Compared to the United States, the food prices here are cheap and very affordable for a college student. I have also noticed it is quite the hangout for the local German teens who like to speed around the parking lot in the evening; this seems to be the hotspot for local life. It is quite different here, such as back in the states you would expect people to be out getting lunch at noon or one in the afternoon, but Oestrich-Winkel turns into a ghost town. The store shops are closed and maybe one sickly man is walking the streets. I have taken the trains outside of the Winkel for a bit of traveling. Taking the train towards Neuwied provides incredible scenery along the Rhine. You can spot several castles in the mountains on either side of the river and even one in the middle of the Rhine. The view is nothing like you could ever see in the United States. The architecture is beautiful, I especially like the stone streets and several centuries of different architectural designs. To say the least I love Germany and Europe. A three hour drive from Louisville could land you in Nashville or I can take a three hour drive from Oestrich-Winkel and stay in Paris, France for the weekend. Country music or the Louvre? What a tough decision.

I just got back from my semester at the University of Nottingham business school. Overall it was a great place and an amazing school. The city is mostly college students and a lot of places in town to meet people.
The food here is also pretty amazing. Not exactly the fast food you are used to (although kebabs have become a suitable substitute). And the best part, tipping is uncommon and you pretty much don’t do it. Although, food prices here are kind of steep, so it’s like a balance.

Traveling around Europe can be very cheap as long as you know what you are doing several weeks in advance. There are cheap airlines all over Europe, but the train will become your standard mode of transportation. They are cheap, but comfortable. It is somewhat difficult to plan ahead where you want to travel because some of you will not truly get to know each other until you arrive abroad. Even then you will also meet other international students abroad who will want to come with or you will want to go with them.

I took classes for marketing, management, finance, and business operations. basically fin301 mgnt 301 and 401 mkt 301. They do classes a lot differently from the way UofL does. There is no homework or quizzes, they have one exam at the end of the semester that is worth 100% of your grade which is kind of intimidating but you get all of the Christmas break to study.

The drinking age over there is 18 and more sociably acceptable which can really throw you off track of your studying if your not careful. they have bars in the dorms and all over campus where people can buy pints in between classes. They have night clubs open every night of the week for students.

London is about a 2 hour train ride from Nottingham and if you book in advance is really cheap. However, London is very expensive and paying for things like food in central London can cost a lot of money and its better to go outside zone 1 if you can.

Overall it was a great experience and I recommend going to see the country. There is a lot of history and very easy to travel.

Tim

I arrived in Warsaw on February 3, 2011. It was cloudy, snowy, windy and -10 degrees Celsius. Despite the horrible weather this time of year, Warsaw is bustling. The Poles here are well adapted to the weather with adorable boots, coats and scarves. As a girl, I definitely noticed the shoes 🙂 Polish girls rock high-heeled boots like its no big deal!! I am so impressed! School at Kozminski has officially begun as of Valentines Day. The classes are excellent for my major. I am able to take any class from electives, to 1st year students courses, all the way to master courses. The European organization is much different than that of U of L. Each grade and major has a structured outline of classes that fit together in this strange puzzle that is really confusing if you are only studying abroad for a semester. The good thing is, once you figure out the schedule and where to locate the courses/syllabi, it is really easy to chose the classes that are best for you. I am taking 10 classes this semester totaling 15 credits at U of L. The classes offered are focused on globalization, international business, management and finance in particular. This ends up being a great complement to the marketing and economics focus U of L offers.

The actual city of Warsaw is really beautiful. I have been learning the history of the city, which makes me appreciate even more just how far Poland as a country has come in the last 20 years (since 1989 when the Berlin Wall officially fell). The Pole’s ability to adapt and move forward is one major advantage of studying here because you get to see first hand the effects of communism vs. capitalism.

There are a ton of things to do in Warsaw. The museums here are so intense. The history from WWII will emotionally drain you, but it is absolutely an integral part of studying here. Also, The Old Town on Novy Swiat (google it or see images below) is amazing. When you see the pictures, make sure you realize that this street has been rebuilt at least twice because of war. The city is incredible considering all the history it carries.

So for fun… haha there are clubs, pubs, bars jazz clubs, karoke and anything else you could be looking for. The clubs are unreal. If you like dancing, you will have a BLAST! Some clubs play house music (which is like mixes of songs, but not top hits) and others play music you will recognize. Either way, the atmosphere is great. Club Capitol, Nine Club, Platinum and Bank club are the ones I am most familiar with. Dress is pretty fancy; so for girls its definitely heels and a nice outfit and for guys usually a button-down shirt.. think 4th street live kind of clothes. There is usually not a cover charge, but if there is, its only like 15 PLN (zloty, their currency for the moment.. eventually it will be the Euro) but its only about $5, so its pretty standard. 🙂

ESN or Erasumus Student Network is the party network. Its free and you are automatically in to most clubs if you say you are with Erasmus. The parties are basically all international students having a good time, drinking or not 🙂

For now, that is all, but as it gets warmer, I will post again!

I’d like to take a minute to describe the city of Seoul in general. This description will be,I’m afraid, mediocre at best, since Seoul is simply way too large to be able to explore in 6 weeks. However my impression so far is that Seoul is a city thats turning into the next hot spot of the world. Everyday as I walk around Seoul, even near campus, buildings are being torn down and rebuilt, and new businesses are opening up. Still, Seoul is so large that one minute you can be walking down a part of the city that seems to replicate photos of downtown New York and then stumble into another part that may remind you of some old photos of Shanghai in the 1930s. Seoul has so much to do, no matter what kind of person you are. You could go to the ancient Gyeongbok Palace shop in the morning and then to Myeongdong in the afternoon, a sprawling section of Korea that is packed with people wanting to buy clothes, jewely, etc. Afterwards you could go to the fish market to try out all kinds of unique types of food, from shark to live octopus. After it gets dark, theres a place called Namsan Seoul Tower  that overlooks the city from the very center of Seoul. When it gets to be about 11 or 12 Gangnam and Hongdae are two of the most popular spots in Seoul. These two places are lit up at night from the lights on various restaurants, bars, or dakpogi stands (small stalls of streets food where you can sit and eat spicy rice cakes or corndogs.) In short, Seoul has so much that after my six weeks here, I hope to be able to come here again to study to explore the rest of this place.          -Warren