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Tag: Europe

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By crstein1

If I were to return to the States and only take away one lesson, it would be a lesson in adventure.  It seems appalling, I presume, that I could discount every other tidbit of knowledge and experience, just to sum up my time here in the one minuscule word ‘adventure’.  However, I can maintain that everything I see, every person I meet, every event I’ve witnessed, has been an adventure in itself.  With the language barrier and the differences in culture and customs, even the most routine tasks are out of my comfort zone, and for this reason, are mini-adventures.  Yet for risk of sounding overly cliché, I’ll digress… ...continue reading "A Semana Santa Adventure"

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By unprofoundobservations

I in fact never want to leave the Loire Valley. This past weekend my program took us on a tour of this fairy tale-esque region of central France to four of its most fabulous chateaux: Blois, Azay-le-Rideau, Chenonceau, and Chambourd. We spent the weekend enjoying wine and cheese tastings, delicious fresh farm foods, and some of the most luxurious homes ever built in Europe. The sun came out for the first time in weeks and the temperature managed to barely climb above 10 Celsius, so it was certainly a weekend to be celebrated. ...continue reading "Loire Valley, don’t let me leave you this way"

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Italy is basically the catholic Mecca of the world. As you can imagine, Easter is a really big deal to Italians. Each province has its own form of celebration. Easter in firenze means an influx of tourist, chocolate eggs twice the size of your head, and an explosion. Yes, an explosion, an exploding ox cart to be exact.the Sunday morning of eastern there is a large parade being led to the duomo. Those men in the parade, must wear bright colorful soldier costumes that is supposed to be reminiscent of olden times in Firenze. They march to the center to the Duomo where there is a huge oxen cart covered in explosives, and fireworks. No one pays attention to the actual church service, because they know at eleven it is going down!  ...continue reading "Pasqua!"

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By crstein1

Las FallasNormally when I travel I’m with other GW students from my program here in Madrid.   We usually stay in hostels or hotels and we speak mostly in English.  It’s great to travel with my friends and we always have such a great time.  Recently, however, I traveled to Valencia for the Las Fallas Festival with my Flamenco teacher, Ana.  Ana is absolutely the sweetest person, and she is an amazing dancer, too!  My friend Jess (another GW student in my program), and Ana’s friend from Saudi Arabia, Rana, also traveled with us.  My experience at Las Fallas and with Ana’s family was a once in a lifetime experience, and most definitely my favorite weekend of my study abroad experience.     ...continue reading "Las Fallas"

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By unprofoundobservations

This week I was fortunate enough to be visited by two very good friends from GW who have been having their own European adventures, but wanted to spend the weekend in Paris with me. It was probably the beautiful city and fantastic sites that inspired the visit, but I like to take some credit. I greeted Jo Jo from Florence and Haley from Copenhagen with open arms and pastries, and I spent the next few days with them as a tourist in my own city. ...continue reading "Where is everyone? Here"

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By aubreygunnels

It is that time of the year, Midterms. Study abroad midterms are no different than midterms in the states, they are no fun.

My midterm course load consisted of two take home midterms in Operations Management and International Banking Systems, a traditional midterm in my Belgium cultures class with multiple choice and short essay questions, a midterm in french, and my economics professor doesn't like conforming to traditional midterm operations. While this seems like a lot, it is completely doable. The perks of being abroad is not having club meetings and appointments. ...continue reading "STUDY abroad"

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By jahdaimoriah

They say time flies, well time must be wearing a jet pack! I can not believe I have already been here for three months and only have one more month left! In three months I have: learned how to avoid being hit by crazy moped drivers, eaten my weight in pasta, can hold a decent conversation in Italian, and have crossed multiple borders. I guess in a sense I have accomplished alot and I am ready to see my friends and family. However, I am not sure if I want to go back to the states. ...continue reading "Time flies"

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By unprofoundobservations

One of my greatest hesitations upon applying to my study abroad program was the idea of staying with a host family. Though I recognized that it would be the best way to improve my language skills and come to understand the French culture, I simply could not bring myself to look forward to moving in with a random family for five months. I met my host family three days after arriving in Paris and it has been a constant adventure since.

I live in a gorgeous and classically-Haussmann apartment in the 17th arrondissement, with a delightfully bizarre French family. My host mother works as a school teacher and is fantastic at explaining French culture and language when I become confused every few minutes during dinner conversation. My host father owns an antique toy store and behaves exactly as a grown man who owns a toy store ought to. It is more common for students to live with their parents during or after university, and so I live with three host brothers in their early twenties who have taught me all the important slang, cultural references, movies, and snack foods I should regularly consume to be considered a true Parisian. Moreover, my host family has been hosting students from around the world for almost a decade and they are complete champions of the process. They invite me to outings and museum exhibits with them, but also give me the leeway to make my own dinner schedule and come-and-go as I please. In many respects I am that extra girl - or 'notre américainne' as my host father says - who hangs out and eats dinner with them, but they've done an excellent job of making me feel welcome. ...continue reading "What about that extra girl? That’s me."

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By unprofoundobservations

Moving to Washington D.C. was the first time I had ever had to master some form of public transit to make my way around, and I think everyone can appreciate the sense of championship accomplishment that comes from memorizing the metro map and making your daily commutes with ease. In Paris, I not only get to explore much more of the city to make it to classes every day, but the public transit system is infinitely more confusing and colorful. To compare: ...continue reading "A [lost] American in Paris"

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By jahdaimoriah

The first time I went to Italy I was sixteen going on seventeen. I went with my high school, for our choral group went on tour every spring break to a different country (I went to boarding school). During our Italian tour we stayed in a small town known as Faiccio. At the hotel we stayed in, I became friends with the owners daughter. Although she was three years older than me, we bonded over our love of Facebook and Rihanna. Gaia and I stayed in contact through Facebook periodically checking up on each other. Fast forward more than four years later, I am back in Italy and Gaia is in college in a small town called Viterbo. ...continue reading "Friendship"

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