studyabroadaz.com

cre: Christopher Vito: Arrival In Bioko (Pt 1) I have been in Malabo, on the island of Bioko, in Equatorial Guinea for almost a week now. I have to do two a week, but our internet has not been reliable enough. Our router is a tiny little box that magically connects to the satellite internet – sometimes. It was out the first few days, but hey, it’s Africa and if you’re expecting anything better than that, you’re kidding yourself. So anyway, I guess I’ll start from the beginning. After a 20 hour journey, I arrived with a group of 9 other students at Malabo airport and crammed a ton of luggage into a van – we each had 2 check-in bags of about 50 pounds and two hand luggage. (Note: the photo I attached was taken while landing in Abuja, Nigeria, the last stop before Malabo, where it was too dark to take good photos of the arrival) From the moment we got off the plane, it was pretty very clear that this is an entirely different world. The baggage claim area was swarming with people o...

cre: Bike Trippin across the Netherlands It’s official. The scorching heat weeks are over and the cool fall weather has arrived! This change of seasons created perfect weather for biking, so naturally my friends and I must have taken advantage of it! This weekend consisted of two bike trips: one to nearby Broek at Waterland and one to the island of Texel (which involved more transport than just a bicycle!). Biking in Broek was one of my favorite day trips so far! The weather was perfect and the bike ride to this quaint little town was arguably my favorite part of the day. We cycled through lush green fields dotted with cows, horses and goats. The path we took took us straight to the center of these fields so it was nice not to be on a crowded street full of cars. We also passed the coolest houses along the way! They were located along a canal and each one was so unique that we struggled to catch all the details as we cycle past. After about an hour, we reached the town of Broek and d...

cre: Homestead Experience For me the farm experience is what you make of it. If you want to bond with your family, hang out with them after dinner. I think spending time sitting with your host family also allows you to practice your Spanish and really learn a lot about what it’s like to live in Costa Rica. I am truly grateful for my host family here. It is truly a blessing that so many families here have opened their homes to allow international students to live with them. I think it’s admirable because not only do these families open their homes to students they’ve never met, but they open their homes to students who are learning their language. Of course, the language barrier has been a challenge at times, but I really think it really demonstrates how even without all the words you can build a strong relationship with someone. To be honest, I was pretty nervous about living with a host family at first. Before coming to Costa Rica, students told me that host families have rules an...

cre: Being a Cinema Production Major in Paris People from all over the world flock to Paris for its rich history in art, architecture and intellectual achievement: its expansive avenues and manicured gardens inspire people in these fields to innovate. It’s the same for me. I felt drawn to Paris’s penchant for self-reflection and I felt more motivated than ever to practice my art. Paris has kept me on my toes. I spent my free time trying to see this magnificent city ​​with a cinematic eye, while remaining true to my personal aesthetic. These are a few of my favorite attempts to see it cinematically – all in an anamorphic report. A foyer in the Palais Garnier, framed by two royal busts. Classic Parisian mansions juxtaposed with the ultra-modern Center Pompidou. A picturesque afternoon in the Jardin du Luxembourg. Rows of chandeliers at Notre-Dame. A view of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity from below. Urban development in the Clichy-Batignoll...

cre: Prevailing in Portugal I finally ventured outside of Spain !! Ever since I decided to go abroad, I knew I wanted to see as many countries as possible in the four short months I spent in Europe. As soon as I heard that my friends Cynthia and Emily had signed up for a half marathon in Lisbon, I knew I had to participate. I expected this to be a normal, relaxing trip to another country where I would visit sites and have fun and although most of my trip was that way there were still some not so good times . Most of those bad times revolved around the trip. Aka the nine hour bus ride we voluntarily signed up for to go from Salamanca to Lisbon. On this bus ride we made frequent stops and had to change buses three times. I’m sure you can imagine the frustration and exhaustion we felt after arriving in Lisbon at nine in the evening. Not to mention that some mean ladies also told us to shut up, obnoxious people had moved their seats completely back, so that they were almost lying on o...

cre: It’s Always Tea Time “Do you want to go on an adventure now or do we have to have tea first?” “-Lewis Carrol, Alice in Wonderland As I already mentioned in another post, I LOVE TEA . I’m not a coffee lover at all, so tea is the one thing that will wake me up in the morning and keep me sane throughout the day. The British are notorious for drinking tea and its importance to them is laughed at, but I see no problem with drinking more tea than water. I was able to attend two afternoon snacks as they are no longer a regular meal. First of all, I want to get into the context of tea a bit. Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be a boring essay. I just want to share some of the story I learned about this tradition because of its importance and how many different meanings it has. So, tea doesn’t just refer to a cup of tea. Tea can also mean the dinner meal, as the lower class would call it, or afternoon tea or afternoon tea, as the upper classes would call their midday snack. ‘Afterno...

cre: This Little Piggy Went to Market Sunday may be for the boys, but it’s also for the markets! There is always a market ready to be explored in London. And the best part? Most of them are open on weekdays. I have visited some really good markets here that are worth exploring. Neighborhood market The first market we went to was the Borough Market, located in Southwark, London. This market is only open from Thursday to Saturday and comes alive very quickly. For our class, we drove through the Southwark area (and surrounding boroughs) to learn about the history of food in Britain. It was actually very interesting to learn that a lot of British food was imported and fruits, like pineapples, were considered exotic and showed wealth status. Pineapples were even praised for dinner parties as they not only showed wealth but were also a symbol for welcoming guests. The Borough Market is one of the oldest and largest food markets in London, home to all kinds of food vendors. From meat...

cre: In Awe with Jordanian Cuisine: The “Must-Trys”. Jordanian food is the best I have eaten in my life. Growing up around Mediterranean cuisine, I realized that Jordanian cuisine was a perfect match for my taste buds. Although Jordanian cuisine is very different from the Greek and Italian cuisine I grew up with, it had very similar elements and also very different. Right now in Arabic we have just completed our Jordanian catering unit so what better time to tell you and show you what to try when you get here. Not only is there a plethora of absolutely amazing restaurants, but if you choose to live with a host family, they will introduce you to the must-sees of Jordanian cuisine. There are so many foods that there’s no way for me to have enough time or space to explain them all, but I’m going to name a few of my favorites and what I would consider them to be. Jordan’s “must-sees”. My first taste of Jordan was through Falafel. I have eaten falafel in the US and Ireland and let me te...