GWU – Page 22 – GW Blogs from Abroad

I have just returned home from two weeks of traveling in Europe and Iceland, and currently sit at my computer with a huge mug of green tea and a snowy view outside my bedroom window in upstate New York. In just a couple of weeks, I will begin my study abroad program in Shanghai, China. Since Chinese Universities do not resume classes until following Chinese New Year in February, I have had an extended winter break, thus providing me with the opportunity to travel a bit before I leave.

I decided to travel to Europe and prior to departing, my future adventures and experiences were largely unknown. I had a one-way ticket to London and plans with a volunteer organization in Greece, but other than that, the future was sort of a black box. I intended to spend a week exploring the city of London prior to heading to Serres, Greece, where I would volunteer with Refugees from Iraq, teaching yoga to women and children. Upon arriving in England, I met up with a friend with whom I was staying, and began ironing out the details of my arrival to Greece. Unfortunately, there was a bit of a mishap with the volunteer organization where I was scheduled to work, and my exciting service plans fell through. Life has a funny way of throwing little curve balls into your world and seeing how you respond- almost like some sort of game set up by the universe to see how you react in different situations. I knew I had to make the best out of my situation. After all, I had never been to England and was excited to be in a new place.

So, I was in London, without much of a plan. As bummed as I was that I couldn't spread my love for yoga to others, I used my time in Europe to explore different experiences and cultures, and to see things I had never seen before. From bustling market places, to ancient Catholic churches, to sacred Buddhist statues, I made it my adventure and task to explore new sights, sounds, peoples, and cultures with the goal of expanding my perspective beyond what it had been when I left New York . From London, I was even able to plan a trip to Iceland on my journey back to the States and experience the magic of this Nordic island country.

...continue reading ""And we danced on the brink of an unknown future, to an echo from a vanished past."-John Wyndham"

Hello World

AdminMarch 6, 2014December 14, 2018

By maxikaplan

With only about three months left to my time in London, it’s really begun to hit me how long I’ve been here. I know that six months doesn’t sound like a long time, but recently, for one reason or another, I’ve felt that the next few months are going to go by quicker than I anticipate. With this idea breathing down my neck, my friends and I realized a few days ago that if we were to leave London today, we would not be 100% satisfied with the amount of new experiences and places we have discovered. So, despite our schoolwork, we’ll be taking almost every Wednesday and Saturday “off” to explore the UK and more of Europe as well. We have not yet planned where we will be going or what exactly it is we want to do at these places, but this is a plan that’s better than no plan, and I know that I won’t look back at my time at LSE and say, “I wish I had spent the day inside writing an essay rather than exploring the North of England with my friends.”

I am not sure if GW maintains the same level of involvement with other students study abroad experiences, but it seems that here in London there is another GW event every couple of weeks. On Thursday I’ll be having tea with the other students at the National Portrait Gallery, which might not sound like the most exciting event there is, but the Londoners appreciation for tea is pretty interesting. Some of the places that I’ve been to for tea have over 200 types of teas on their menu, and the food that they pair with it is usually a “biscuit” (dessert) of some sort that is absolutely delicious. If it sounds so far like my week hasn’t been filled with exciting new action, it’s because of two reasons: First, I had to catch up on the work I missed while I was on my mini-vacation, and second is that the highlight of my week was watching someone blow bubbles.

On Saturday, with a rare occasion of perfect weather, my two friends and I walked for hours along the Thames River through many markets and shops, and towards the end came across one of those giant bubble making contraptions street performers use. We stopped for a second, leaning against the rail by the water and not thinking much of it, but as more kids came around and were fascinated by this man’s talents, we found ourselves sucked in. It was an ephemeral moment that words can’t quite do justice to as we stood there fixated on their happiness, but it was akin to staring out at a landscape and feeling that time has climaxed, and suddenly stood still. There wasn’t anything in the world I cared about in that few minutes we stayed there, and watching these kids chase bubbles twice their size was, surprisingly, my favorite moment this week. It is moments like that where I know I’ll look back on these Wednesdays and Saturdays I’ll be taking off with nothing but joy.

Imagine if you had a month to study for finals….

AdminFebruary 27, 2014December 14, 2018

By zamorse

We get about a week to study for finals at GW. Once regular classes end, make-up classes from that snow day back in the beginning of the semester occupy a couple of days, then there are a few readings days, and before you know it, finals week starts. And then it's all over, about a week later. If your lucky, you'll only have a couple of finals, maybe a take home essay, a final project due well before finals week starts, something like that. If you're unlucky, you'll have four maybe five finals that week, sleep little, and live in Gelman.

In Israel, things are a bit different. Instead of finals week, Israelis have a peculiar way of ending the semester. I arrived in Haifa well over a month ago, and my roommates were studying for finals then. Fine, I thought, I'll see them when they come out of their rooms in a week or so. It's over 4 weeks later, and they're still studying for finals.

Finals here are spread out over a much longer period of time, and usually you end up studying for one final per week. You take that final and the next week you start studying for your next final. But, say you didn't do so well on your first attempt. In the U.S., you would have to live with the grade you got. In Israel, you can take the test again. So instead of maybe a three week finals period, if you opt to take two of your tests again, that quickly becomes a five week finals period. And there goes your winter break.

But it's not just the finals period. Because Israel is the Jewish state, the academic calendar is based off of the Jewish calendar, not the Gregorian calendar that we're used to. Sometimes school in the U.S. will start on August 23, sometimes on August 21st, but it doesn't vary more than a few days each year. In Israel, because the Jewish calendar is based off of the moon, not the sun, things go a bit differently. The school year in Israel starts after the Jewish high holidays. Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashana take up so much time in September, that there's no point in starting school before them. And thus school here starts after the high holidays and much later than in the U.S.

Is that the sort of education system you would rather go to school in, or do you like the way we do it in the United States of America?

The American Competitive Edge

AdminFebruary 27, 2014December 14, 2018

By billienkatz

American students are fed through an educational system, which stresses that taking classes and earning a degree are no longer enough to succeed in the workplace, much less, be able to provide for oneself and one’s family. The two semesters of classes we take each year are important, but there’s always a race to see who has the more impressive resume and who holds the internship with the most work hours during the academic semester. How then, do we define students? The standard dictionary definition of a student is: a personal who is studying at a school or college. Based on this, how would the dictionary define a GW student? Surely they would have to include interning on Capitol Hill, working at the next big start-up or non-profit headquarters in the heart of DC, or even just taking classes and attending seminars led by some of the biggest names in our country.

Using this above context as what I consider most college students to be, I was stunned to learn more about the educational system here in Barcelona. The entire conversation began in my Human Development in the Spanish Socio-Cultural Context class when we were discussing the stages of school children go through and how this may be similar and different to what we experience in the United States. Using our own personal student frameworks the conversation easily drifted to the rigor of internships and previous work experience, and my Spanish born and raised professor, had no idea why we thought students should be working.

As it turns out, a Spanish college student (say someone studying at the University of Barcelona) wakes up in the morning, sits through a few hours of class, goes home and does some homework, and then repeats the entire cycle again the next day, and the day after, until they have a degree in their hands a few years later. There is no consideration of working within the field you eventually want to forge a career in, and there is certainly no fear of competition when it comes to applying for jobs.

For all the flack Americans get for being lazy and not wanting to work hard, I find it interesting that our students are putting increasingly more pressure on themselves to be prepared for a future of jobs and success, as compared to other countries such as Spain that really has no “need” for resume building. If the United States adopted this, maybe high-powered professionals would be filling their own mugs of coffee! And, for all GW students scrambling around looking for summer plans, can I suggest a quick relocation to España?

Slow Down

AdminFebruary 25, 2014December 14, 2018

By anishag22

"What most excites you about going abroad?"

That was one of the most frequent questions I received from friends and family back home before I began this adventure. Every time, my response was the same: "I'm really looking forward to having a slower pace of life in Bristol. A less stressful semester is exactly what I need right now."

I was pretty sure then that Bristol would afford me a slower pace, but now I know for certain that it's true.

One example of this that I've recently noticed is the difference between my peers at GW and Bristol when lecture concludes. At GW, we don't wait for the professor to finish speaking before we start packing up our things. At the exact minute on the dot that lecture is supposed to end (and often one to two minutes prior), we will loudly zip and close our belongings, giving the professor the not-so-subtle hint that they need to wrap it up. Don't they know that we have places to be and things to do? We can't afford that extra two minutes of lecture.

In Bristol, that never happens. No one packs away their laptops and notebooks before getting the classic green light: "Thanks for today everyone, see you next week." In fact, even once we do start to pack up, we are courteous enough to wait for the people in front of us in our lecture row to finish packing before leaving the room. It's an orderly queue that is rooted in respect and patience, and it's something that I was initially thrown off by.

But it makes sense. GW students are constantly on the go, as is D.C. in general. We have countless commitments and responsibilities because we are always pushing ourselves to be more productive. GW students wear many caps: the student, the club member, the athlete, the intern, the future Congressman or Congresswoman or President of the United States.

Bristol is a lively city, but the energy here is much different. It's okay to take a few days off, and it's okay to relax. Administrative tasks for university staff that would be completed in less than an hour at GW have proven to take multiple days if not weeks at the University of Bristol. But I'm okay with that, because for the first time in a long time I have been able to take it easy and enjoy more of a balance between my personal and professional/educational career. Don't get me wrong - I'm still focused on my schoolwork, but I'm learning to value the little things and the relationships I forge here, and for that I know I will be forever grateful.

Until next time-

Xx, Anisha

There’s No Place Like Penney’s

AdminJanuary 30, 2014December 14, 2018

By kathleenmccarthy1

One of the things I am going to miss most about Ireland is Penney’s. Penney’s is a discount store in Ireland and probably the most amazing place I’ve ever been. They sell mostly clothing but also have things like shampoo, make-up, bedding and other various household goods. The best thing about Penney’s though is the prices. You can get tops for as low as eight euros and the average price for pants is about ten euros. Most knit sweaters (or jumpers as they are called here) range from about ten to 15 euro, which is a very good price considering how warm they are. Penney’s is the most popular place to shop among college students because of how affordable it is and most of the time when you are walking around campus at NUIG you will be able to recognize the clothes that people are wearing from the racks at Penney’s. Another great thing about Penney’s is that even though the prices are so low, the clothes are comparable to things I would pay a lot more for in the U.S. Not only has shopping at Penney’s been an effective way for me to dress authentically like an Irish college student, it has also proven to be a great way to save money on gifts. When my parents visited with my grandma, all of them left Penney’s with things for themselves and for others back home. It’s also great to know that there is a place I can go when I run out of shampoo and get what I need without paying a ridiculous price, which often happens in Galway if you don’t look for bargains. They also have a wide selection of onesies, or footed pajamas, for about 12 euros. This may not seem like a big deal to the average person, but footed pajamas mean a lot in Ireland in the winter! Even though I’ve got a few weeks left here, I’ve already bought a number of Christmas presents for people at Penney’s just because I thought they were really nice. I’m really excited to wear all of the clothes that I bought at Penney’s when I get back to the U.S. because I know that no one else will have the same stuff as me, even though here everyone is walking around in the same thing!

There’s No Place Like Penney’s #GWU #GWAbroad

Hello from Amman!

AdminSeptember 4, 2012December 14, 2018

By ecirrincione

Hello everyone! My name is Elizabeth Cione and I am currently spending the fall semester abroad in Amman, Jordan. I am participating in the Language and Culture program at CIEE, who hosts various programs all over the world. I have chosen to study abroad in Jordan specifically with CIEE for several reasons. I am majoring in Middle East studies at the Elliott school; therefore it is only fitting that I will be studying in the Middle East. There were several Middle Eastern countries offered, but I chose Jordan because it is an emerging Middle Eastern power that still holds true to its traditions and cultures. I was searching for a country that would welcome me as a foreigner, but would also have a lot to teach me about the rest of the world. Out of all of the programs, the Jordan program seemed to be the best match for me because of the focus on the language that was essential to learn. In addition to the language, the CIEE program focused strongly on providing a great cultural immersion, which was also very important to me.

...continue reading "Hello from Amman!"