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Tag: Europe

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By oncptime

The brochures warned me that something like this might happen.

These people, they’re…different than I am. Their music is foreign to my ears. They use phrases that I’m not entirely familiar with. I can’t make sense of their senses of style and I struggle to understand their jokes. Lost in translation does not describe.

I’ve expressed this to death to anyone willing to listen from back home and to the few Florentines I’ve met around town.

“I know.” My friend Stefano states flatly in exasperated English. “That’s why we’re going out tonight. Now no more Italian please, you need to practice more.”

You see it’s not the Italians I’m having difficulty with. They’re fine. They like olive oil, I like olive oil—it’s all very simpatico. It’s my American roommates that I’m finding myself at odds with.

...continue reading "Culture Shock"

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By jfbarszcz

One of the worst things about going abroad in the fall is missing out on Thanksgiving festivities in the States. I think I speak for almost all Americans when I say that Thanksgiving has always been one of the highlights of my year. I get to spend time with family and friends from home, I get to eat one of the biggest and best meals of the year, and I don't have school. What's not to love?

Of course, the godless communists nice friendly people over here in the Czech Republic don't celebrate American holidays, which includes Thanksgiving. And even if they did, it's not like I'm just gonna catch a plane back to New Jersey for the weekend. Consequently, this was the first Thanksgiving I ever spent away from home (and the first Thanksgiving I had class, gah). ...continue reading "Thanksgiving in Prague"

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By asthaa

Temple DebodThanksgiving in my family has never involved turkey, as we are vegetarians, but like for most people in the US, it’s a time for us to meet with loved ones and enjoy a couple of days off from school and work. I knew Thanksgiving was not going to be a major affair here in Madrid, and I fully expected to go along my Thursday as per usual – class and the rest of the day to explore the city. However, Thanksgiving this fall and the days leading up to and following it ended up being extraordinary and reminded me of just how much I have to be thankful for. ...continue reading "Thanksgiving in Madrid"

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By rlubitz

I’ve been here for about two and a half months now and I’ve got one month to go. I’ve got just under two weeks left to go of class and I’ve been sleeping until 1pm and staying up until 5am writing papers/watching The Hour. I feel worthless, constantly pinching myself over the fact that I can go outside and look at Big Ben for three hours if I wanted to but I don’t. ...continue reading "The End is Near and It’s Horrible"

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By rlubitz

Remember a few weeks ago when I had this sort of plan where I was going to gradually do every assignment so I wouldn’t be crushed under five essays due in two weeks?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

ABOUT THAT

So that didn’t happen. Nor did I ever really think it would. It was a horrible idea not to but life is life and the internet exists along with entire seasons of Louie. I’ve gone days without sleeping not because of essays but because of life and the internet.

I’ve procrastinated everything and I want to die.

My remedy is to just TRY to manage my time so I don’t want to die COMPLETELY. ...continue reading "I Am A Horrible Academic"

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By parisjetattends

I had not expected much out of a Thanksgiving in Paris.  And then one of my friends I made here in Paris, invited me to hers.

The place was decadent.  Not in the overwhelming white linen table cloths, five or more pieces of silverware kind of way.  But in the way where every candlestick somehow has charm.  The ceilings were painted, like Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.  And the whole room was vast but somehow quiet, and warm.  It was a welcome reprieve from the bitter Parisian winds and I took my place at this long table full of family members I did not know, but who welcomed me like an old friend. ...continue reading "Thanksgiving"

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By squeakyrobot

It was emphasized from the beginning that the Russian approach to academia is startlingly different from the American approach. If we decided to study in Russia, they preached, it’d be the source of a great and thorough culture shock.

I’ve found that yes, it’s different, but the Russian way is nothing a student can’t get used to.

I’ll frame the idea like this: the American and Russian styles mimic the respective societal traditions of individualism and collectivism. An individualist society (America, Western Europe) operates in a way that propels the individual to behave and think independently, like a mini autonomy. Contrarily, the fabric of collectivist society is in the group, in co-dependence of individual members who work towards one common goal (pretty much everywhere else in the world, Russia included). ...continue reading "The American Individual vs. The Russian Collective"

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By oncptime

I met Fabio back in August just a few days after I first came to Florence. I didn’t speak much Italian. He told me it didn’t matter and that he spoke English just fine. He’d known Americans before, he said. He liked them. I was impressed He was young—maybe in his early 30s or so, and from Rome.

“I’m a Ph.D. student,” He explained that first afternoon in that hot, stuffy room. “Intercultural communication.”

Something about the way he said the word intercultural set my teeth on edge. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it—his accent, his pronunciation—he was practically playing with the word as he spoke.

I’ve met with him twice a week every week since then. He’s taught me things.  He’s my professor. I ’m having an NSA relationship with my Italian professor, and frankly? I’m over it.

...continue reading "No Strings Attached"

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By asthaa

La Autonoma CampusMost people will tell you academics tend to be secondary when studying abroad; secondary to traveling, to learning the language by practicing, to meeting people from the region you are staying, and to generally being immersed outside the classroom. This is all definitely true. I’ve learned more about Spanish customs from sitting down for meals with my host family and friends than from classes. ...continue reading "On academics and professors"

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By asthaa

Food in MadridOne of Spanish customs I have had to adjust to but appreciate the most is eating, rather the manner of eating. We often take it for granted at home, but sitting down to share a meal with family or friends daily is an important part of the day I in my experience in Madrid these past couple of months. In the United States when everybody is home, we do eat dinner together and enjoy sharing our days but often in the rush of work, plans at night with friends, or exhaustion we quickly wrap up and head in our own directions. ...continue reading "Sit, down, relax…and eat"

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