After studying in Sevilla, Spain for a month, I have mixed feelings about returning home. I lived in a homestay with a Spanish family who did not speak English. It was very interesting considering I have not taken any Spanish classes since preschool. They were very nice, however. They made sure I was well fed. Sevilla was very hot, though, and the families there do not generally use air conditioning. Make sure if you go to Sevilla in the summer you wear light clothing. The best advice I can give is to find the Burger King by the Triana Bridge because it is air conditioned and you can access the free wifi from a cafe across the street. It was a great place to study.

Although my homestay was enjoyable, I had friends who had interesting experiences with their families. One friend of mine saw their Senora naked on the first day! But don’t worry, if you participate in ISA or an independent program they will move you if you do not get along with your family.

Sevilla was a beautiful town, the only downside being that there was no beach. It was very easy to catch a bus to the beach though for only 12 euros. During the week  I went to school for most of the day. After class we would go to a local bar to watch the world cup soccer games. It was nice to sit in a restaurant or bar with locals and cheer for Spain or the U.S.

My favorite part of the trip was the excursions that I went to on the weekends. I liked Sevilla, but after a month in the city I was excited to explore other destinations. Our group went to Grenada, Toledo, Cordoba, Jerez, and Morocco. All were unique and beautiful in their own rights. My advice to fellow study abroad students is to save enough money to travel around to nearby cities once you arrive at your destination. After a prolonged period in one place, it is nice to travel around.  Overall Sevilla was a beautiful city with lots of things to do. I would recommend it to anyone wishing to study abroad in Spain!

      Alright so this is my first time writing a blog so if I do something thats not right or is not the blog norm, please don’t blame me. This first week as been 5 days of blissful chaos. I arrived in the afternoon from Bejing and decided that Id try to take the subway to the place I was staying( P.S. the bus is better but I didn’t know about.) Anyways I arrived at my hotel, and decided to walk around a bit before I realized how bad my Korean really was. It’s something to get used to for sure, but I was able to buy myself some convenince store sushi and ramen. It was the next day when we were to set out on a 3 days field trip across Korea. I woke up and as I went to checkout I found 6 or so other foreign students floating around in the lobby trying to figure out how to get to the university. See their wide eyes in confusion, I decided to confront them and together we set off to try to find Yonsei. I had thankfully scoped out the ways before, and erroneously thought that walking with our luggage would be as easy as when I strolled to the place myself. Unfortunately as we took the underground tunnels the escalators had stopped and everyone had packed enough stuff for a year. And it was really bloody hot……Anyways we got there, went to orientation, and got onto four respective buses to set off to wherever they told us to go. Our tour guide started off with a story that made us all question her sexuality. She gave us all a story about some indonesian girl she met that gave her a gold ring to wear. I would confront her about this later but for now I was simply confused. Our first destination was a Korean folk village which mixed old Korean culture with modern vehicles and shops. Here we got to experience a masked dance, an ancient  wedding ceremony,ancient Korean drumming, and create Hanji(the create of special paper). all of this was fun but Im going to try to keep this blog entry relatively short since its my first one, so if you want details you can ask. Also, Im supposed to keep this blog clean so Ill leave out some of the inappropriate parts of this trip which you can also ask about it you want. So far though, everyone has gotten along with almost no problems, and it seems like everyone just wants to be friends. the atmospheres been great and I havent anyone up to this point I particuraly dislike. I know this blog is dry too but I really dont know what I should be doing to spice it up. Maybe Ill cut out some parts. Anyways Ill guess I should finish up now. After two days at the folk village, we went on to Magoska temple, a small buddhist shrine hidden within the backwoods of Korea. Although, simple and small it had a nice atmosphere of a place not seen by a large majority of eyes. Stream quietly crisscrossed between the temple building, only being able to be crossed by carefully placed stepping stones. It was after this temple, that I went up to our tour guide to ask if she was gay. I was direct with it, which caught her off guard, and she laughed into a no. Still I wasnt convinced but I guess I will never know. The next days we when to some palace in Seoul( I dont remember what it was called) that reminded me of a smaller, dirtier Forbidden City. Those have been my first days, I know its been boring so far, but my follow-up blogs should get better.   -Warren 

                China is by far one of the most amazing places I have ever been. The culture has proven to be rich, and unique, yet somehow similar to that of home. My trip is planned for four and a half months with one down and three and a half to go from the date of this blog post. While here, I am staying in Beijing, attending the Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU).

                Getting off the plane my first night was an interesting experience. I arrived in Beijing at 1:30 am, had no idea where I was going, only a little exchanged currency, and could speak very minimal Chinese (which has improved greatly in the past month). Walking out of the airport I saw a taxi stand, and found a taxi and stretched my limited knowledge of the Chinese language as far as it would go to get to the University. After about ten minutes of trying to communicate with the taxi driver, we finally negotiated price of transportation, and away we went. After a 45minute, awkward taxi ride, we finally arrived to the university. The driver dropped me off, and drove away. So there I was, alone in the middle of the night, at the front gate of an unfamiliar university unable to speak the common language. I pulled my map out of my folder and asked a night guard if he could help me… He couldn’t speak any English… So again I stretched my very limited Chinese and pointing at the map learned I was at the wrong side of campus, meaning I had to cross an eight lane road with all of my luggage. Luckily, there was little traffic at 2:30 in the morning, so crossing was not too bad. After walking for about 20 minutes I finally found my dorm… The next 45 minutes were spent talking to the receptionist trying to get my room. By about 4 in the morning I found myself sleeping in my dorm, which was to be my home for the next 4 and a half months.

                Since that first stressful night my experience has been amazing! I have made some great friends and been completely engulfed in the fast pace life style and culture.  The people here seem so much friendlier here than back home (perhaps it’s because I am white?) and very willing to help. Also, everyone you meet, either through class or friends or in a line in the cafeteria, are very willing to become your friend. My first day here, I did not know anyone and ate my lunch alone in the cafeteria, and had a guy sit next to me, we traded phone numbers and that night we ate dinner together. Such connections are almost unheard of back home and it never ceases to amaze me how easy it is to make friends here.

                Chinese hospitality is another aspect of life that I still struggle to get used to.  For the first few days, with friends, I had to fight to pay for my own meal… And even still the people I am eating with will cover me before I can reach for my wallet. This custom is gender neutral and goes beyond food. Drink and taxi rides are also usually covered and everyone deemed “guest” does not typically need to worry about it. A few days ago, I surprised the people I was eating with, by asking for the check (though they may have been surprised I was able to ask for it) and paying for the meal. This was followed by several assurances that they would take care of the next couple of meals.  And now they all watch me extra carefully to make sure I at least let them pay for their part of the meal.

                Another one of the more shocking aspects of China is how cheap everything is. I can literally eat 3 meals for under $5 (USD) and that is when I pay for all my food. Bottle water is less than $.30 and high brand clothing about a fourth the price of back home.  This of course means (since I am posting this on a public site) that I will be bringing back gifts for friends and family.

I cannot believe that as I am writing this I have been abroad for just a week short of three months! The time here has been nothing but amazing. Since writing last I have had the opportunity to travel some in between classes. A large group of students from the US, Canada, and Turkey went to Barcelona, Spain for our first break. It was absolutely amazing. After the four days in Barcelona we traveled to Paris for a couple, and saw the main sights.

Last week a large group of us were in Ireland, on St. Patrick’s Day. We got to see a huge parade and literally everyone in the city wearing green, whether is was a crazy hat, face paint, scarfs, shoes, you name it and it was green. The best part of the trip to Ireland though was the day we went to the west coast and saw the Cliffs of Moher. They are absolutely unbelievable. They stand 750 feet above the ocean and looking at the pictures doesn’t do the experience justice. If you ever get the opportunity to travel into Ireland go to the Cliffs of Moher before you leave.

Yesterday I bought my plane tickets to Greece for my week long break in April. I couldn’t be more excited! Our group currently consists of four and we are planning on spending a few days in Athens and then possibly making it out to one of the Islands around the city.

I have also taken several trips within France, and feel as though I know Paris like the back of my hand. Being a group of college students, on our way home from Ireland we thought, “Our plane is landing around 10PM and our train back to Bordeaux is at 6:30 AM so we don’t need to get a place to stay for that night, we can walk around Paris and see the city at night.” This would have been the perfect plan had it not been the first time in two weeks that we had experienced rain. It made for a great time with friends, lasting memories, and we even learned a Russian card game while sitting outside of the train station waiting to head home. And how many other people can say they have been standing underneath the Eiffel Tower at 3 a.m.?

I absolutely would trade this experience for anything! From being waterlogged in Paris, to walking through the museums, to being in Dublin on St. Patrick’s Day, I honestly could not ask for a better semester. If anyone reading this is on the fence about study abroad you definitely need to go.

What an amazing city London is!!! My last trip on this continent was to this great European city. Our last exam got over on Wednesday at about 5 pm and we left at 730 pm. We took a ferry (more like a cruise ship) from Hoek van Holland to Harwich, England. We arrived real early in the morning (630 or so) and took a train from Harwich to London. We finally arrived in Downtown London around 1030 in the morning. From there, we checked into our hostel and began to explore the city.

Our first stop was Westminster Bridge. This bridge crosses the River Thames and provides views of Big Ben, Parliament, and London Eye (a large ferris wheel which offers a great view of the whole city). After admiring these places, we walked back across the bridge and headed towards Westminster Abbey. This church was amazing and was much more than a church. Every coronation that has taken place in the last 1000 years has happened here. Many kings, queens, and nobles are buried and memorialized here. Poet’s Corner contained many memorials and monuments of some great writers, poets, playwrights, composers, etc (some of whom are actually buried in the church). Shakespeare, Dickens, Chaucer, Handel are just a few examples. After we left the church, it was pretty dark (at 430 pm) and so that limited our sightseeing for the rest of the day. We were pretty fatigued, so we went back to the hostel for a relaxed night.

The following day, we were up and about by 8 am. We traveled by metro all the way across town to Wimbledon. I used to play tennis in high school and am a big fan of watching tournaments so this was one place I had to go. Regrettably, we didn’t partake in the tour. However, it was nice to kind of wander around the premises and take pictures of center court, the grandstands, the tournament brackets, etc. Later on, we took a hop on/hop off bus tour which was recommended to us by some girls from U of L. I am really glad that we did that because London is a huge city, and it is not possible to see all of it by using the metro alone. The tour took us to Marble Arch, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Bridge (again), Picadelli Circus, and Buckingham Palace. The tour also included a panoramic river cruise on the Thames River. It was quite nice and relaxing to see all the sights from a warm and comfortable boat.

Once we got off the boat, we walked around the Tower of London, the notorious prison and symbol of royal power in London. Later, we walked across Tower Bridge which is simply awesome. As the night progressed, we eventually reached Hyde Park (which I believe is London’s largest park). We were greeted with a huge festival which was a combination of a cultural festival, county fair, and a winter festival. There was lots of good food, things to do, and festive Christmas lights and decorations. The last thing on Friday was a pub crawl around a part of town called Covent Garden. It was nice to get out and experience the nightlife (which isn’t that good compared to other cities) and meet some new people.

Saturday was our last day in London. We used this day to see the lesser known things in London. We checked out of the hostel and went to see the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. Right beside that, was Kensington Palace. Once again, we didn’t go in, but it is nice to say that I was there. From there, we went back to Trafalgar Square to take some more pictures (when we weren’t on a moving bus). We then crossed the Thames River and found Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. After a few pictures, we crossed back to the other side of the river to see St. Paul’s Cathedral, which looks more like a government building than a church). Last but not least, we went to see Chelsea’s (my favorite soccer club) stadium on the West End of town. Afterwards, we hurried back to the hostel, grabbed our bags, and traveled by train to Harwich for our journey home.

We made it back in Holland at around 8 or so on Sunday. However, there was a big snow storm the previous night; consequently, our first train got postponed for about an hour. Then, we were stuck at a nearby train station for 2 hours before any train arrived. Luckily, the one and only train was going in the direction of Den Haag so we avoided taking a taxi. Although it was a pain to return home, it was well worth it.

London was just a small step below Rome in the number of things to see and do. I could have easily stayed in London for another 2 days and been extremely occupied. The people were extremely friendly and helpful, and the public transportation was the best that I had ever used. My only regret was not going sooner in the year. London in December is quite cold, and I struggled to stay warm. Nonetheless, London was a great way to end my long string of European journeys.

Thanks for reading,

Josh

Greetings from Den Haag,

 

A few months into my European excursion, I love the Netherlands. Everything is a new adventure and the diverse people I’ve met are amazing. IBMS (the business school at Den Haag) proudly boasts a ratio of 30% Dutch students and 70% other nationalities. So far I’ve met Czech, Russian, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, German, and the list goes on. It’s eye opening to exchange language, culture and build new friendships with other international students. On top of all the new cultural experiences; I’ve also had a chance to travel and visit sites that I normally only read about. Study abroad is definitely an enriching opportunity.

 

            Here in Holland, I’m adjusting to the culture and have found lots of small obstacles to grow from. For example, grocery shopping can be exciting.  Sometimes I find myself looking at the pictures on cartons and scanning for familiar words to help me get the correct food. I’ve also adjusted to the awesome public transit and biking in Holland. Here very few people drive automobiles and even less seem to obey traffic laws that we have in the U.S. But walking is always a good option and the trams are really convenient once you learn the hotspots. Another adjustment is the weather. It rains a lot more here and can get extremely windy, so my jacket has gotten some good use.

 

            As far as class is concerned its definitely different than U.S. Classes. Here they are usually once a week , except for project groups, which have a lecture and a group session(each once a week). I also love how laid-back most of my classes are. For example, in one of my lectures a student raised his hand and asked the professor if we could take a coffee break. Which is would have been absurd at the University of Louisville, but here the professor actually obliged. It’s normal to have a 5 or 10 minute coffee break intermission in most of my classes. Also, I wish there were more homework, quizzes, or tests in many of my classes. At U of L the homework and quizzes help give me a barometer of how well I understand the material; here; often your only grade is the final. My finance class, for example, had an exam over numerous chapters and determined my entire grade in the class when we had only met for 6 lectures.

 

            On to the real reason people study abroad, though, travel. As you’ve obviously read, living in a new place can have a few setbacks. But these are vastly outweighed by my awesome, once in a lifetime travel experiences. Whether I travel to somewhere far across Europe or just somewhere else in Holland there is always something neat to see.

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            Our first travel experience was to Dublin. (Travel Trip: Ryan Air has many cheap inter-European flights and makes traveling pretty affordable). Upon arrival our group was pretty wiped but heck we were on the Emerald Isle. How many 20 year olds can say they have been to Ireland? So we all agreed we couldn’t go exploring on an empty stomach and stopped at a local café.  I guess I remember the breakfast pretty well because I was famished and the food was soooo good. This wasn’t without exception, though. We all got big breakfast platters and some even came with pudding. MMMM…right? WRONG! Pudding is actually a sorta gritty looking circular sausage like food (I didn’t have the heart to try it) that we consists of blood and assortment of various meat fillers. After refueling we set out on a New Europe tour to see the city.(Travel Tip: New Europe offers many free tours in large  European cities and is an excellent way to see the local landmarks at a cheap price. tipping the guides is recommended). Our guide enlightened us on Ireland’s turbulent history and guided us to many cool sites. Highlights included Trinity University, local cathedrals and sites of numerous famous political revolts. Once the tour finished we did a little exploring of our own. An interesting stop was the Kilmainham Gaol (jail) which had housed many of Ireland’s most infamous and influential figures. We learned about famous executions and got to see how prisoners lived first hand. In Dublin we also visited the Guinness brewery and attended pub crawl, the beer(especially Guinness)  is not to be missed. But, my favorite part of Ireland was our trip to Kilkenny.  Here, we saw the real Ireland; rolling green hills, castles, and ruins of old.  It was a trip into nature with trails into the woods, quaint wooden bridges over trickling streams, and lots of amazing views of the countryside. This trip really united the group and opened my eyes to the landscapes and culture outside the US.

 

            That’s all for Blog  #1, but with classes winding down I hope to upload lots of pictures soon and tell about some of the other wonderful places I’ve since visited.

 

Brian Mattingly

This past weekend, 4 people from U of L along with a girl from Arkansas traveled to Barcelona. It was a hassle to get there, however. We had to take a 90 minute train to Eindhoven, a 20 minute bus to the airport, 2 hours in the airport, 2 hour flight, and a 90 minute bus ride to Barcelona, and a 20 minute metro ride to our hostel. We left at 9 AM and arrived at our hostel a little before 6 pm. After settling down, we went out to a few pubs and clubs and enjoyed our evening.

The following morning, we decided to rent some bikes (due to the advice of the hostel staff). It was great advice in the end, as we were able to use them for about 5 hours for a price of 10 euros per bike. It was the first time I had ridden a bike in about 5 years. To be quite honest, I have a newfound passion for riding bikes. Hopefully when I return to the states, I can buy a bike and use it frequently.

During our bike ride, we were able to see a great deal of the city. We rode through the busy city (luckily there are bike paths), navigating our way through the large and crowded city. We began to climb a large hill and were able to see a good view of the city. We eventually reached the top where the Olympic stadium, from the late 1980s, was located. After spending some time there, we went back down the hill and back through downtown. Our last stop was the beach. Riding along the beach for a few kilometers was one of the most relaxing things I have done in a while. That night, we walked along the city, enjoyed the lights, and stopped at a few pubs.

The following day we ventured into another part of downtown. Our first stop was Gaudi’s Cathedral (If you haven’t seen it, google it). It was definitely the oddest cathedral I had ever seen, but interesting nonetheless. Afterwards, I felt the urge to explore more of the downtown area on foot. The downtown area was quite bustling and crowded, and there was quite a lot of stuff going on there. After dinner, we returned to the beach. It was peaceful just watching the waves at nighttime; it was a good last memory of Barcelona.

The entire time there, I was able to utilize the Spanish, which I learned in high school, to talk to the locals. Granted, I wasn’t great at it, but I got the job done nevertheless. I was glad to see that all of my schooling paid off. This trip has made me want to take some more Spanish classes or buy some software to become more fluent in Spanish.

Barcelona had a little bit of everything-a beach, shopping, nightlife, attractions, and more. We were able to take advantage of most of those. The weather was a big plus for us. All three days there, it was in the mid 60s, sunny, and dry (seemed like a heat wave compared to Holland). I would like to return there during the summer or early autumn to enjoy even warmer weather and a little better nightlife.

Thanks for reading,

Josh

Paris!!!! I am actually writing this entry a couple weeks late, as we went to Paris three weekends ago. Nonetheless, I had a great time in the City of Lights, taking plenty of great pictures and making lots of great memories.

I decided to go the cheap route traveling there, using my train pass. Instead of paying a supplement to take a direct high speed train from Den Haag to Paris (which takes 3 hours), I ended up taking 4 slow trains taking a total of 8 hours. Needless to say, when we arrived in Paris Nord Station (which is humungous), I was quite relieved.

We arrived in Paris around 530 P.M, set our stuff down in the hostel, and went off to start sight-seeing. First on our list was the Louvre. The outside of the great museum was awesome to look at with fountains, a huge glass pyramid, pretty lights, ornate buildings, etc. The inside didn’t disappoint either. Other than the Vatican Museum in Rome, the Louvre is in my opinion the second best museum I have ever visited.

The corridors or the museum were extremely long and full of great pieces of art. The most famous of course, the Mona Lisa, was one of the first things we saw in the museum. Surprisingly, Da Vinci’s work was not all that large-maybe the size of a family portrait some people have in their home. Even more surprising was the fact that we were allowed to take pictures of it!! We probably spent a good three hours getting lost in the museum, exploring the centuries of paintings, sculptures, and artifacts. Afterwards, we just went back to the hostel to rest for the night.

The next day was a lot busier. The first thing we saw was Notre Dame Cathedral. It was basically everything I thought it would be after seeing pictures, learning about in art classes, etc. The size of the building was immaculate. There were flying buttresses everywhere on the exterior. The interior was very dark (it is a Gothic church after all), with the exception of multiple stained glass windows. These windows were so large and had such complex color patterns and designs that words don’t describe it.

Later on in the day, we went to see what I looked forward to the most, the Palace of Versailles. It took about 45 minutes to get there from central Paris, but it was worth it. The hallways and individual rooms were so elaborately decorated. The paintings on the wall were quite interesting, as they depicted numerous battle scenes and famous individuals in European history. The gardens, though, were the best part. Acres upon acres of space were occupied with fountains, flowers, and interesting designs of grass and rock. I really could have just sat on a bench and basked in its beauty for hours.

Lastly, we went to the world famous Eiffel Tower. Luckily, we went at night and were able to see the landmark all lit up. The Eiffel Tower reminded me of the Great Wall of China and the Roman Coliseum; no matter how many times you have seen pictures of it, you still can’t help but have your breath taken away by its splendor. We climbed to the second platform (the third one was closed sadly) and were able to see a panoramic view of all of Paris. It was well worth the climb and the money!!
We didn’t have a lot of time in our last day of Paris (as we had an early afternoon train to catch). We were able to see the Arc de Triomphe, however. I had no idea how large it was until I was standing underneath of it. The monument was quite pretty with very ornate engravings and inscriptions. It is located in a very busy part of the city, as eight major roads converged on this one point. Afterwards, we rushed back to the hostel, grabbed our stuff, and headed back to the train station. Sadly, we missed our train (which is a whole different story), but eventually made it back to Den Haag.

Paris was a really cool city with plenty of awesome things to go see and do. The best part was that I was able to go into all of the sights for a combined 4 euro thanks to my student ID and Dutch residence permit!! I am very thankful for the opportunity to have gone there.

Thanks for reading,

Josh

Today Thanksgiving arrives for me in Germany.  And if I only paid attention to my microcosm of a world here in the Rheingau, it would pass just like any other Thursday during the fall.  I had class from 1pm to 9pm today.  I am preparing for two final exams next week, as well as finishing work on a term paper and a presentation in German.  If it was not for my contact with the states and my own internal clock, I would have had no idea I was in the midst of a holiday I would have celebrated eagerly any other year.

But the fact that I am American causes me to miss my family and friends on this particular seemingly normal day.  Fellow Americans here wish each other a Happy Thanksgiving, but it still does not truly register.  Normally I would be eating a lot with extended family as most Americans do, and I would have run in a Thanksgiving 10K race this morning in Cincinnati, as I do most Thanksgivings of late.  This year it was the 100^th anniversary of this race, the eldest one on Thanksgiving Day in America.

But instead I am in a new situation.  So, I can do one of two things.  As most Americans here and elsewhere abroad have a tendency to do, I could gripe about missing home.  I could complain that I am missing the company of family and a feast.  However, in so doing, I believe I would be utterly insulting to the spirit of the holiday.

Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for what you do have, rather than miss the things you do not.  This year I had the chance to take an incredibly cool trip to the other side of the world.  And I do not see how I can take on something so great as this opportunity, and at the same time complain that I cannot take part in this holiday.  I would feel like a hypocrite.  You cannot have your cake and eat it too; God does not give anyone two cakes.

So today I am thankful for many things.  I am thankful for friends and family, and also for the gift of being alive.  I am thankful that technology in this age affords me to Skype with my family while they feast.  I am also of course thankful to the faculty of the University of Louisville’s College of Business for arranging this endeavor, as well as to the benevolent family which made this trip financially possible.  I would be remiss if I did not take heart in these blessings and only concentrated on my separation from Kentucky.

Furthermore, I believe that today I am acting more in the true spirit of Thanksgiving than any other year.  The first Thanksgiving was about journeying to a different world and starting something different.  The original Pilgrims were away from family.  If they spent that time feeling sorry for themselves there would never have been a Thanksgiving.  Instead, they thanked God for a good harvest and a prosperous year and ate a lot.  And thus, so will I.

Happy Thanksgiving to those in the USA!