Category: Europe

Submitted by Kristen Pruett on the 2018 spring semester DIS (Denmark’s International Study Program) program in Copenhagen, Denmark…

I arrived in Denmark on January 13th and was welcomed by my wonderful host family! I live with Helle my host mom, Bjarne my host dad, Natasja my 15 year host old sister, and Chelsey, another DIS student, in Taastrup, a suburb about a 25 minute train ride away from Copenhagen. I’ve been here for about two and a half weeks now and am loving it!

I’ve seen a lot so far in Denmark, but it’s crazy  how much more I have to check off my list! My second day here, I went to Nyhavn (which translates to new harbor). I went on a boat tour through the canals of Copenhagen where I learned about the different landmarks nearby and some of their history. The next weekend, my host family took us to find two of the six giant wooden trolls scattered through the island of Zealand. While Copenhagen is very cold and a bit windy, it’s enjoyable to take walks and get some fresh air and then go back home to a warm fire and candles lit all throughout the house.

Culture shock is a big part about studying abroad. Luckily, everyone here speaks English, so language has not been a huge barrier for me. And while there haven’t been any major shocks, there are a few things that stand out. For instance, Danes are a lot more environmentally friendly. They do the obvious; recycle, take short showers, use reusable utensils and Tupperware, ride their bikes or public transportation to work, etc. However, there are some not so conventional ways they are environmentally friendly as well. One that seems to be very common is that they almost never use their drying machine, instead they hang dry all of their clothes outside. However, another tactic that my family does (and is probably not as common) is that instead of letting the shower water drain while waiting for it to heat up, they collect it in a bucket and use it to flush the toilet! My host dad said they save about 15-20% of their water bill doing this!

I am slowly learning about the art of Danish hygge. The word loosely translates to “cozy”. After a conversation with my host dad, I learned that it’s not about “things” that create hygge, it’s about the atmosphere around you and the company you are spending time with. One small example would be the many cafes I’ve visited that have couches with blankets for you to snuggle up in while you drink varm chokolade (hot chocolate) with friends.

 

Submitted by Randy Short on the 2016 spring semester program in Tuscany, Italy…

After getting through the airport and arriving in Barcelona, we learned of the Brussels attack. It is such a shame to see another beautiful city attacked, a city that we had just been in two weeks ago. While terrorism is a threat to tourism, if we stop traveling, then we do live in fear and are changing our behavior.

On a lighter note, Barcelona is beautiful! Our apartment is very nice, especially compared to our trailer hostel in Amsterdam! We saw the Sagrada Familia, which is a beautiful mix of old and new design. It looks like there is still a lot of work to get done to meet the 2020 deadline, but it would be cool to come back and see it finished. The weather here was a nice t-shirt/light jacket weather, but all the Spanish people wore huge winter coats (it’s cold for them). While Catalan is many people’s first language, most people are fluent in Spanish and many in English so it is easy to get around.

We explored the central park in Barcelona. We saw this beautiful fountain that I enjoyed more than the Trevi, with a bronze Apollo on his chariot statue at the top, with a waterfall, dragons spewing water and geese everywhere. It was a beautiful site!

We also saw the Arc de Triomf (different from the Arc du Triumph) which was an amazing red arc with a Mozarabic design.

Later, we ate paella that was amazing. The people here are very nice, and many of them enjoy being out with their families and dogs in the park. I like traveling on the off-season because you get to see more of how the locals live.

The next day, we checked out of our apartment, and explored more of Barcelona. We retraced our steps to several of the monuments we had seen before. Sometimes, you need a second view to really appreciate something! One thing I do want to talk about is tapas. I am definitely someone that would rather have two appetizers as a meal than an entrée so tapas are up my alley! You have to really guess though because sometimes what you order can be tiny, and then sometimes it can be huge! I try to go by the larger the price, the more the food or the higher quality of products. But overall, it was a great day before we caught our ferry to the Balearic Islands!

Submitted by Troy Flagler on the 2016 spring semester program in Tuscany, Italy…

Today, we returned from our ten day excursion for spring break. The week was jam-packed. We truly traveled far and wide. It began with a trip to London where we sought out fish and chips (of course) and some other foods that aren’t easy to come by in Italy. Then we traveled to Amsterdam, where we spent a full day traveling to the little Dutch villages outside of the city center. These villages were erupting with traditional Dutch culture. We saw wooden clogs in all corners of the villages, tasted cheeses and chocolates, and wandered through the small streets taking in the tiny houses.

Afterwards, we traveled to Spain where we spent the rest of our time. Spain was very different from Italy. Ironically, it was more similar to America in some ways, but the biggest difference I recognized is the pace of life. In Spain, afternoon siestas are common. During this time, many shops and restaurants are closed. However, the “tapas” joints are a great place to sit and relax while munching on some traditional Spanish cuisine. The first day in Spain, Sam and I explored Las Ramblas and found a tapas café. I ordered a plate of olives, peppers and cheeses as well as a bowl of spicy sausages. The food was absolutely delicious. I enjoy the idea of tapas in the afternoon as a snack. Commonly in Italy, there’s a seven hour stretch of time between lunch and dinner in which we really don’t eat anything. And if you miss a meal for whatever reason, then you’re faced with a struggle to find food or else go hungry until the following meal. In Spain, lunch is the largest meal of the day. I find this unique, but also pleasing. A large lunch means that you’ll have plenty of fuel for the remaining part of the day and can get away with a smaller dinner so you’re not eating a large meal and going directly to bed. Many Spaniards are very fit and enjoy working out. I noticed the beach in Barcelona has large “jungle-gym” looking structures where people gather en masse to work out together. I quickly came to appreciate the Spanish lifestyle that’s very distinct to that region of Europe.

Submitted by Sibel Tekmen on the 2016 spring semester program in Granada, Spain…

Although I was already in Spain, I decided to spend my spring break in Germany this year. I have a lot of family in Augsburg, a city in southern Germany close to Munich. Therefore, I took this opportunity to spend valuable time with family members I had not seen for several years. Not only was I excited to travel outside of Spain, but I was also ready to go on my first trip alone without other program members or friends. Sometimes, traveling alone can be a tranquil and enriching experience.

When I arrived in Munich, my uncles, aunts and cousins all welcomed me into their homes and showed me around the city. We had several family dinners and spent a lot of time together. I met a baby cousin I had never seen before as well! I even attended a wedding of a friend of the family! After nearly three months without seeing any family, this was a warm experience to forget any homesickness.

As an American, the thought of reaching a foreign country in only a few hours is very appealing and exciting. On this recent trip, I was especially astonished by the efficiency and swiftness that I was able to reach Munich. Within four hours, I was greeting my family at the airport. As a result, I am now more grateful to be studying in Europe. From Spain, I can travel to several countries with even more efficiency than I can travel to other states in the United States. I hope to utilize my remaining time in Spain to visit more countries in my vicinity.

Submitted by Kaitlyn McConeghy on the 2018 spring semester program in Rome, Italy…

After eight hours on a plane two weeks ago, I couldn’t imagine myself getting on another flight for quite a while.  But here I was, boarding a flight bound for London Stansted.  We found some pretty cheap flights on Ryan Air, and somehow got the idea that we could do London in 48 hours.  Oh, how wrong we were.

London was a really cool change of pace from Rome, and made me stop and think in ways that I did not expect.  While there, I resolved to get the largest iced coffee I could find (the Italians don’t believe in “ventis,” apparently), and to enjoy a weekend of familiarity, English-speaking, and normal portion sizes (hello, large fries).  But aside from a shared language, British culture is so distinctly different from American culture, and I learned a lot in my short time in London.  Aside from the surface-level differences (fries are chips, chips are crisps), the British have a way of looking at the world unique to them, and distinct from American culture, or Italian culture for that matter.  While, in 48 hours in a city, you’ll probably never be more than a guest, I learned a lot from my time in London, and hope to visit again someday.

Submitted by Troy Flagler on the 2016 spring semester program in Tuscany, Italy…

I’ve now been in Italy for a full month with the other 14 students on the program. I cannot believe how close we’ve all become. There is one seemingly unlikely person that I have particularly become close friends with though. Her name is Rachel and we couldn’t be much more opposite – at least on the surface. I believe I’m a full foot taller than her, she’s from outside of Richmond, Virginia while I’m from the Philadelphia region, and we participate in very different activities at UD. However, from the first day when I introduced myself, there was something in the back of my head telling me that we would become good friends. I don’t know exactly what it was, but it was almost as if somebody wrote it on the wall in front of me in bold red letters. Since then, we’ve spent a good deal of time together outside of class and we realized that we may not be as different as we thought. It’s true that our backgrounds have virtually nothing in common as far as I am able to see, but the values and beliefs we hold are (mostly) aligning. We also both enjoy sports, socializing with other people and playing card games. In fact, it was a game of cards that really brought everyone together on the second day in Italy. We played President in the lounge and in doing so, we were formally introduced to one another and began to break down the social barrier when meeting new people. All in all, I am very grateful to have a friend as close as Rachel is to me on this program and I truly hope I grow even closer with some of the other students here. Everyone seems to be open-minded and accepting, so I don’t think I should worry about that.

Submitted by Justin Morello on the 2016 spring semester program in Rome, Italy…

One of the unique moments of my trip to Barcelona last weekend was being there for one of the most important sporting events in Spain: Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona. Being six hours ahead of the American sports that I love so much, it’s hard for me to stay up and watch them at 2:00 or 3:00 am every night. Going out to watch those two soccer teams play reminded me of sitting home watching my favorite sports, and the love for the team that we collectively share. Though we’re from different areas of the world, Europeans and Americans can come together through things they love, like sports.

Submitted by Troy Flagler on the 2016 spring semester program in Tuscany, Italy…

I’ve really been enjoying my UAPP220: Citizens, Community, and Change course here in Volterra. The class is extremely small, only consisting of one other student, the professor and myself. However, the experience is worth its weight in gold. It’s the first seminar style class that I’ve taken. As a seminar course, I am responsible for leading discussion every other day. This entails reading the textbook chapter and/or external articles and summarizing and reflecting on these texts. I feel that in the past six weeks, I’ve grown immensely as a student. I am proud of the work I’ve accomplished in the class thus far. The next major piece of the class is going to be to complete the final project. The final project consists of about a twenty minute presentation on Volterra and the theme we’ve established: the balance between ancient and modern times in Volterra. The two students in the class, Rachel and myself, will be discussing the extensive field work research we’ve done. There’s many areas of Volterra’s community and economy we will be covering, but I have faith that we can effectively piece together an outstanding final project. The class has given me confidence to apply the knowledge I’ve learned from a textbook to the real world. I’ve gained perspective on the town of Volterra through UAPP 220. I’m looking forward to carrying out this project and creating a final product that I can be proud of.

Submitted by Danielle Leppo on the 2016 spring semester program in Rome, Italy…

With all the traveling I have been doing throughout the semester, along with keeping up with my studies and planning for future travels, I have become quite exhausted. Not the kind of exhausted that can be cured with a long night’s sleep, but an “exhausted with this quick and busy life” kind of tired. We are constantly on the go heading to our next destination or working hard on classwork and projects. After three months of this, the appeal of travel wears off and the appeal of staying in bed to watch Netflix sounds a lot more enjoyable. This is not to say, I haven’t enjoyed all the trips I’ve been on, because I have, but it is very important to listen to your body and take a break when you need it. Don’t do what I did and travel every single weekend possible. Take at least one weekend every month to stay in your area to explore, relax and catch up on homework. This will also save you some money in the end.

As someone who deals with anxiety, I can tell you that traveling will make you even more tired than most people. Every aspect of travel has made me nervous beyond belief, thinking every little detail could go completely wrong and ruin everything. Of course, that has not happened even once, but that does not change my worry. I honestly think all the traveling we have done has made my anxiety worse and because of this, I wish I had taken more breaks from travel to relax and take care of my mental health. Even though you’re in a new and exciting place, you still need to remember to take care of yourself. There is no point in going to a ton of new places if you’re too exhausted to enjoy them.