Undergrads Go Global

Forever Lasting Memories

By: Eve Churaisin, Foster Undergraduate

Today marks the last day of my exchange program in Singapore! I just took my last final and I’ve honestly never been this happy to be done. Words just aren’t enough to express my happiness at the moment. I’ll admit that this was my toughest quarter, or in this case, semester, ever. I would not say that the classes were incredibly difficult, but the material we were tested on the exam were much more dense and we were not allotted a lot of time to think through each problem. This was the case for the business classes I chose to take, but my final for my Southeast Asian studies class did not to appear to be very difficult. The exam environment is different at NUS than at the UW. At the UW, most exams took place where lectures took place. However, at NUS, we took our exams somewhere other than where lectures took place. Most of our exams took place in a giant multi-purpose room where there was assigned seating and we were required to place our student ID on our desk so the proctors can walk by and verify that it was actually us taking the exam.

Even though it was clearly a tough semester, it was truly a rewarding one. Having the opportunity to go to Singapore on exchange was an amazing and unforgettable experience. I got to put myself in the shoes of these locals and engage myself in an Asian culture that I was never exposed to growing up in the states. I got to observe the work ethics of these locals through the long, dreadful group meetings for my business projects that lasted about 7 hours each time. For one of the meetings, we spent all that time just to edit a group paper that had already been compiled. These locals really strive to be on the top and competition has been defined as a large part of their culture. I thought that taking classes at Foster was competitive enough, but it’s even more intense here!

Apart from getting a taste of the Asian education system, I got to experience the true “Singaporean” culture that makes Singapore a truly unique nation of its own. Even though English is the official language here, Singlish, an English based creole with its vocabulary originating from Chinese, Malay and Hokkien, is still widely used. Even though the use of Singlish is discouraged by the government, I think it’s a very unique part of their culture. Also, even when Singaporeans speak standard British English, they end a lot of their phrases with “lah.” They even use it in text messaging and in e-mails. I even started using it whenever I text my Singaporean friends. Lastly, Singapore is a nation that blends different cultures from Southeast Asia into one. Besides celebrating Chinese holidays, a lot of Malay and Indian holidays are recognized as national holidays in Singapore as well.

Studying in Singapore as an exchange student did not just allow me to get a grasp of the Singaporean culture, but I also got to learn about the cultural differences from the different parts of the world. A majority of the exchange students are from European countries so they introduced me to bits and pieces of their culture. One of my European friends introduced me to the different types of cheese they eat back home and real bread that is hardly found here or back in the states. I’ve also learned that in Germany, telling someone “happy birthday” before that person’s actual birthday means bad luck and that was something I actually never knew before.

Since Singapore is the gateway to Asia, all the traveling that I got to do enhanced my exchange experience. Roughly a month ago, my friends and I went on a weekend trip to Tioman Island that is located off the coast of Malaysia. Getting to Malaysia from Singapore was just one bus ride away and getting to the ferry terminal was another bus ride away. While we were in Tioman, we relaxed at the beach and went snorkeling. The snorkeling was amazing and I got to swim through a school of bright colored fish. The water was so clear that we did not even need to be in the water to see everything!

Reading Week took place two weeks ago and that was the week when locals would spend time studying for their final exams. Instead of “studying,” my friends and I had planned a trip to go to Macau and Hong Kong for five days. Macau was an interesting place, supposedly known as the Vegas of Asia, full of people walking down the streets dressed in their suits ready to enter a casino. At night, the buildings came to life with the bright, neon lights. Instead of spending our time gambling, we decided to explore the city on foot and visit the historical sites. We visited the St. Paul Ruins, the A-Ma Temple and the Monte Fort. Macau still had its Portuguese influence where the street signs and names of buildings were written in Portuguese, but I got the impression that people only spoke Cantonese.

Hong Kong, on the other hand, made me feel like I was really in Asia. I had expected Asia in general, to be full of crowded cities, traffic, street markets, and worn out buildings. This was actually Hong Kong. The city was full of excitement and full of people no matter what time of day. We got to explore Ladies’ Market and the Temple Night Market and while we were there, I got to work on my bargaining skills. On one of the days, we took the cable car to visit the Big Buddha. Another thing that made me feel like I was really in Asia was that a lot of people were not proficient in English and a lot of people would start talking to me in Cantonese whenever I entered a restaurant.

With the amount of traveling I’ve done outside of Singapore, I have been greatly exposed to the different Asian cultures and got to observe the major cultural differences between Singapore and the neighboring Asian countries. Now that I am officially on winter break, my friends and I will be leaving for the Philippines this weekend and going island hopping. The Philippines will be my last stop before returning to the states. Some of my friends already left Singapore and some others are leaving this week. Saying goodbye is probably one of the hardest things I have to do before I leave. I have met so many amazing people here and they have been here to keep me laughing and smiling and without their presence, my time in Singapore would not have been the same. As much as I enjoy being in Southeast Asia and eating the food that cannot be found back home, I’ve had enough of rice and noodles and I am more than ready to come home to eat a good sandwich for cheap and reunite with family and friends for the holidays.

Posted by goabroad - December 12th, 2011 - 0 comments - Permalink

Is it Really Almost December?

By: Erica Strathern, Foster Undergraduate

Hello everyone! My name is Erica Strathern and I am a 4^th year Foster student studying Accounting. This fall, I am studying at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. I’ve been in Milan nearly three months, and at the moment, I can’t seem to figure out where all the time has gone. It feels like yesterday that I was just arriving in Milan after traveling nearly 17 hours. I’d like to give you some (belated) impressions and thoughts I have about the study abroad experience and life here in Milan:

Bocconi

Bocconi University is a private University here in Milan and is consistently ranked among the top universities around the world (no pressure, right?). It is much smaller than UW, only about 7,000 undergrads and 3,500 post-grads. I am taking three courses here: Auditing, Leadership, and International Law, and they are all given in English, thank goodness! There are many courses conducted in English to choose from. Some of the most popular among exchange students are organizational behavior, e-marketing, fashion industry management, and law. Registering for my courses was a surprisingly easy process! Registration began at midnight here in Milan, which meant 3pm back in the States, and it took place during July before I had left to go abroad. Not having to wake up at 5:30am was certainly a welcome benefit! I researched on which courses were the best for me and my requirements back at Foster, and I selected one or two courses that I thought would transfer to fulfill Foster requirements, and one elective that I had an interest in, though was not a requirement.

Housing

The housing here at Bocconi can be a little tricky. The University offers many different dorm options and exchange students need to submit a €400 deposit by the beginning of June in order to submit your preferences for dorms. However, even if you submit preferences for the dorms within walking distance of the University, it seems that all exchange students are placed in a dorm about 30 minutes by public transportation from the University itself. After receiving an offer for this dorm option, I decided it would be better for me to try and find an apartment or sublet closer to the university. This was quite a stressful process! I sent out hundreds and hundreds of emails to those who had posted sublets on the Bocconi Housing Exchange website, but got very few responses and all said the apartment was already taken! I ended up joining a Facebook group for Bocconi exchange students and found that someone had posted that they were looking for a girl to sublet her apartment. We communicated via email, and I had found myself some living arrangements! The downside to living in Milan is that it is one of the most expensive cities in Europe to live in, but also an amazing center for business and a bustling nightlife. When deciding to study abroad, really listen to the Global Business Center advisors when they tell you that living abroad is pricy, they aren’t lying!

Travel

Of course, a major perk of living in Milan is its proximity to amazing places all over Europe. I spent last weekend in Paris, the weekend before in Verona and I have done some traveling all over Italy. Many exchange students travel every weekend, but I thought that would be a bit too much for me, so I have limited my travel to every other weekend or so. Flights to places like London, Munich, Vienna, Rome and so many other amazing places are very cheap and students can find great hostels or inexpensive hotels on a variety of websites.

That’s all for now. I can’t believe I will be heading home in just under a month, it doesn’t seem like it has been three months that I’ve been here! I knew it would go by fast, but I never thought it would go by this fast! If I could give any advice about studying abroad, it would be to really savor each moment and experience, because it will be over in a flash.

Until next time,

Erica

Posted by goabroad - December 7th, 2011 - 0 comments - Permalink

Enough Time for a Week Out on the Town

By: Nate Whitson, Foster Undergraduate

It is time to follow up from my last post over 8 weeks ago. I admit I am still in love with England and all the cultural nuggets that come with it. In this post I want to highlight important things UW students should know when considering the University of Manchester Business School.

Since we’re all students it seems logical to begin with the…social life. Oops I meant classes. Classes at Manchester have been kind to say the least. Nearly all of my classes are graded on a single paper for 100% of my grade. I understand how this makes some students cry and others happily scream, like me. The essays are not terribly long, though some have short windows of completion because prompts are not released until 3-4 weeks before you will likely leave. The lectures are similar to those you would find at the UW, though I have not seen a single course pack all year . Contrary to the belief that UK professors are difficult to communicate with, I find them open to answering all my questions and concerns (some have even gone to the length of memorizing names.) I would also comment on homework and weekly workload, but there simply isn’t any. Like any class, you can spend hours reading recommended chapters and articles if you feel the need. Getting to class has been just as easy. Campus is fairly compact and has a generous amount of cafes and coffee shops to fill your Seattle void. One thing to keep in mind before you get turned around, the first floor is likely not to be the one you are entering. It is called the ground floor here, sir/madam.

On to the student life, that I accidentally jumped to earlier! If you are an individual that enjoys going out, particularly to bars and clubs, Manchester is the city for you. Having grown up in the Seattle area, I can say I have never seen bustling nightlife like that of Manchester. The area in which you live on campus makes a significant difference as well. I myself live in Oak House and am primarily surrounded by first year British students. So, the environment is a little (very) lively. The other area which you could find yourself living (as a self-catered student) is Whitworth Park. This accommodation is closer to campus/downtown, but you will likely find yourself living with other international students. Don’t let distance from campus weigh too much into your housing decision, because Oxford Road (where the University lies) boasts the busiest bus route in all of Europe! You can easily get involved in campus sports as well. Each house (IE dorm) has their own sporting teams for soccer, rugby, etc. Finally, the actually living quarters are plain, but completely acceptable. Every student gets a single room, so that is quite a bit different from the UW. Similar quality to that of McMahon hall and the common areas are large enough for all of the flat mates to gather. If you choose to be self-catered (like me), you will luckily have a 5 minute walk to a large supermarket. Finally, I recommend not leaving your room keys with your flat mates, as living with 7 other students unfortunately and inevitably breeds a prank war.

Posted by goabroad - December 2nd, 2011 - 0 comments - Permalink

Spring Break

By: Sam Freedman, Foster Undergraduate

I’ve been planning on writing a bit about my spring break trip for the last few weeks now. I just finally got a break from schoolwork so I figured I’d give it a go. I went to Brisbane, Fraser Island, Hervey Bay, Airlie Beach, and the Whitsunday Islands with my buddy Sophie. It looks us about 11 days and it was pretty spectacular.

The Plan

Fly north to Brisbane
Drive even further north to Fraser Island
Spend 3-4 days on the island
Catch an overnight bus to the Whitsunday Islands
3 day sailing trip around the islands
Fly back to Sydney

Fraser Island
Let’s see… the flight was pretty uneventful. I met Sophie at the airport and we got on a 1 hour flight to Brisbane. We were planning on traveling Fraser Island with Sophie’s family friends, the Bowmans, because they go every year and guided tours were well over $500. We spent the night at the Bowman’s house and for some ungodly reason woke up at 4 am to drive up to Fraser. We slept for most of the 4 hour drive up towards the island. We got on a ferry around 9 am and finally made it onto the island around 9:30 am. There were no roads on the island so the only way to get around was to drive SUV’s on the beach. So that’s what we did. It was another 2 hour drive from where we got off the ferry up to the campsite. It took us another 2 hours to set up camp once we got there. The Bowmans were planning on staying there 10 days so they had a pretty extravagant camp set-up. We set up a sink, a water heater thing, a HUGE tent with a tarp, their own porta-potty tent, and a shower. Definitely roughing it… The whole campsite was actually on the beach so we were about 20 feet from the ocean. Behind the campsite was a pretty big hill that you could climb and see down the beach for miles. Altogether, not a bad little spot.

The island itself was really awesome. It’s a 100 mile long sand dune island. It’s completely surrounded by ocean, but somehow the island has all these freshwater lakes in the middle. I have no idea how that works, but somehow it does. All these lakes feed into streams that go into the ocean at various points around the island. The first day, we went to one of these streams and lounged around in the water. That night, we climbed up the hill and shot some pictures of the sunset. The next day, we went to another creek and lounged around again. In retrospect, it seems like there was a bit of a pattern developing there. On the third day, we went to one of the lakes and lounged around by the water more. Honestly, about 80% of my waking hours on the Fraser Island trip were me lounging around on the beach or in front of a lake/stream. It was very relaxing journey. We also did a fair bit of whale watching because you were almost guaranteed to see a few if you looked out at the water for more than 15 minutes.

The Whitsundays
So we got a flight off of Fraser and took an overnight bus to Airlie Beach, which is right next to the Whitsundays. The bus ride sucked. I can’t sleep sitting down. Just can’t do it. So when we got to Airlie, I was exhausted. I also had not showered on Fraser because we were camping so I felt especially disgusting. We checked into the hostel and both immediately showered and napped.

We woke up at 8 am the next morning to catch the sailboat at 9am. There was a crew of three: Mel the captain, David the first mate, and Michelle who was in training. There were about 12 other people on the boat. They were all older couples around 28-34ish. Mel was awesome. David was a bit crazy and had a terrifying laugh. Michelle was very nice. The sailing trip was spectacular. The first day, we went scuba diving and snorkeling around the Great Barrier Reef. On the second day, we got up early and spent 4 hours checking out Whitehaven Beach. Good God, that beach was beautiful. Apparently, it’s always ranked as one of the top 10 beaches in the world and I can see why. When we got back to the boat, we got lunch then went for a snorkel before dinner. On the third day, we snorkeled in the morning and spent the day lounging on the boat. Honestly, I spent about 75% of this trip lounging around in the sun too. It was a good vacation.

Posted by goabroad - December 2nd, 2011 - 0 comments - Permalink

Kulternatten in Copenhagen

By: Curtis Howell, Foster Undergraduate

Hello! My name is Curtis Howell, and I am a 4th year Foster student. I am pursuing the Entrepreneurship option and a double degree in Informatics. I participate in several activities on campus including the Lavin Entrepreneurship program, Foster ambassadors, case competitions, Student Technology Fee Committee and Alpha Delta Phi fraternity.

This fall I am studying at Copenhagen Business School in Denmark. The 2011/2012 school year is the first year Foster has an exchange agreement with CBS for undergraduates so I get to be the guinea pig. With more than 17,000 students (including more than 750 exchange students per semester!), it’s pretty impressive that the CBS administration finds a way to squeeze everyone into only four campus buildings.

Once a year in Copenhagen the city hosts its Kulturnatten or culture night. This event, not widely advertised to tourists, draws a lot of locals out for an October Friday night. A little background information: students typically have week 42, called potato week, off from school. The name originates from back when the children were needed to help harvest the potato crops, so they got the week off from school. Now, most students through high school have the week off, while some college students have exams (I was lucky and got to spend my week writing a 10 page, 48 hour essay exam). Back to Kulternatten. Kulternatten is the Friday before the week 42 break.

On Kulternatten, most of the city’s attractions and government buildings are opened up to anyone who purchases a ~$10 ticket. There are over 500 attractions, so you really have to choose carefully what you want to see. Everything from museums, to parliament, to Tivoli, to the local amusement park is fair game. I decided to spend the night with some of the other recipients of the Scan|Design fellowship, and the Danish program coordinator kindly showed us around.

We started our night off by climbing the steps of the Round Tower. I had been up the Round Tower during my first week as part of the CBS introductory program, but it was interesting to see the city lit up at night, especially with all the people walking around. Then we headed to parliament, but the line was very long so we decided not to wait.

Outside of parliament, there was a competition to see who could stack and climb the greatest number of Coca-Cola crates. Most people only got a handful but this little girl was amazing!

After walking through the courtyard of the Finance Department, we walked by the Department of Defense, where they had an emergency response vehicle and a Danish army tank parked outside. My favorite part of the night was getting to sit inside the tank, although I couldn’t understand the Danish soldier explaining to everyone what it’s like to ride in a tank in Afghanistan.

We finished the night by visiting City Hall. Near the entrance we saw a celestial clock that was commissioned by a Danish king and has a gear that turns with a frequency of one revolution per several thousand years. Finally, we tried some pancakes from the City Hall cafeteria, which are quite famous in Denmark. They tasted pretty good and were similar to crepes.

Posted by goabroad - November 28th, 2011 - 0 comments - Permalink

Manchester Kaleidoscope

By: Tiffany Sung, Foster Undergraduate

Hello everyone! My name is Tiffany, and I’m a junior studying abroad in Manchester for a semester. It’s been a bit more than month since I’ve arrived Manchester, and every day has been filled with wonderful surprises and new discoveries. Here are some of the impressions of Manchester I’ve gained from my time abroad so far:

The University

While there isn’t a beautiful campus here like at UW, it’s quite convenient to get around and catch your classes at University of Manchester, since all buildings are mostly located along one busy street called Oxford Road. The courses here require a lot of independent reading, but other than that, they are structured similarly to UW’s classes and are mostly very interesting. The many different clubs the University has also allow us to easily make friends with people outside of the business school. I feel really lucky to have joined the photo society; meeting people who share my hobby while abroad feels great!

The City

Manchester’s weather might be even more unpredictable than Seattle’s, but that should not stop you from exploring the city during your free time. Manchester is filled with beautiful buildings; while strolling down the streets of the city centre, the old English architecture immerses you in a romantic foreign atmosphere that you could rarely experience in the States.

Travelling

Of course, one can never get enough of travelling while studying abroad. So far I’ve been to York and Oxford during the weekends, and the trips were absolutely amazing! Living in Manchester, not only are other cities in England easily accessible by train, but visiting countries in Europe from Manchester can also be quite inexpensive as long as you plan well ahead of time.

Entertainment

With so many pubs and clubs around the University, students here will always have something to do at night. However, even if you’re not a night person and have trouble keeping your eyes open after midnight (like me…), I realized there are still many things to do during the day, such as visiting one of the many museums in the city, enjoying a show at the Royal Exchange Theatre (with great student discount ticket prices!), or simply staying in and hanging out with friends.

That’s it for now. I’ll share more about travelling after getting back from my trip to Venice, Pisa, and Rome during reading week!

Cheers,

Tiffany

Posted by goabroad - November 28th, 2011 - 0 comments - Permalink

Fostering the International Connection

By: Sam Bradley-Kelly, Foster Undergraduate

Robert M. Hutchins once said, “A world community can exist only with world communication, which means something more than extensive short-wave facilities scattered about the globe. It means common understanding, a common tradition, common ideas, and common ideals”. While I am more than halfway done with my study abroad in Cádiz, Spain, I reflect back on the transformation that has happened to me. As a student apart of the Certificate of International Studies in Business program, through my experiences in the classroom, weekly CISB lectures, and participation in other GBC experiences such as the IKEA Case Competition and Global Business Case Competition, these tools have helped me evolve my appreciation for the global community. This being my second international study experience (first in Guadalajara, Mexico), I have really taken the opportunity to do things I would never have dreamed of doing.

Prior to my study abroad, I traveled throughout Italy with the seven days I had given myself. Through good fortune, I met two sisters from Canada in Rome that were more than kind of enough to let me travel with them. We stopped in Tavernelle for a night which is a beautiful village nested by locally-owned vineyards and full of lively young children and grandparents enjoying a roast BBQ out in the middle of the streets. Before departing from my fellow Canadians, we dragged our bodies through the streets of Florence as the sun roasted our fragile bodies. Water and gelato had never sounded so refreshing.

After saying my farewells, I took a train to Venice for a day. After putting my bags in a locker and ready to explore this Atlantis-like city, I ran into a person from Monterrey, Mexico also embarking on their own adventure of Venice. I politely went up to them, asked if they had any specific plans, they said no, and I invited them to be my buddy for the day. We mustered all throughout this unique city checking out churches and museums that did not cost us even a nickel. The best part, I had the 2×1 opportunity of talking in Spanish with someone from a different country…in Italy!

Fast forwarding to now where I’m studying in Cádiz, Spain, I have really taken the approach of looking at the glass as half full, rather than half empty. A few months ago, my director posted on the bulletin board that a team from my university needed a goalie. Luckily, having packed my goalie gloves and having the desire to play a little fútbol, I gave them a ring. Ever since, I play soccer every week and even had the chance to go over to some of the players houses to play video games and talk about their lives in Spain.

Also, our director was contacted by a professor teaching English at the university wanting to start up an intercambios or exchange where local students take part in activities with students from our program. Recently, we had a Halloween celebration where we carved pumpkins, dressed up volunteers in wacky costumes, and shared much laughter and joy.

Following this, I decided to travel to Madrid by myself, but I had the fantastic opportunity to meet up with a high school friend who is studying there through another study abroad program. She was so kind enough to point me in the right direction to see famous landmarks such as the Museo del Prado, the Plaza de Toros, the Rastro Market and the Royal Palace of Madrid. It was also a pleasure to meet new friends with the same intentions to not only learn and understand a new language, but also has the same kind of motivation to immerse yourself to a new culture.

The highlight of all my connections would be with one of my past Spanish teachers who had moved back to Granada, Spain. During one of our program excursions to Granada, I seized the chance to call him up and plan a get-together as many of those in our program had taken a class or two with this teacher. We shared our stories of Spain and our future plans while we enjoyed mini-sandwiches with french fries (I have to say they were some of the best french fries I have had in a LONG time). I enjoyed this the most as the idea of meeting up with friends I have known for a long time (even if it’s my teacher) makes me appreciate the little things in life. I am especially grateful to have seen my teacher as he has been responsible for connecting me to many of the friends within and outside of this program.

In life you might encounter people that are from a different country, speak a different language, experience a different culture, but at the end of the day, you can always become friends. I see that through studying abroad you can really globalize your life by meeting those that are strangers around you. It takes a long time to grow a friendship, but every friend is a door to a new world. What I take away from this trip is having friends is one thing, but savoring the opportunities presented to spend time with strangers and friends you might not see in a long time, especially in a foreign country, is priceless.

Posted by goabroad - November 21st, 2011 - 0 comments - Permalink

Finding Home Abroad

By: Nicole Winjum, Foster Undergraduate

My time in Santiago has been great. I have been meeting people from around the globe, trying new food, seeing new sights, and hearing Spanish 24/7. Though I have never been the type of person to get homesick, I sometimes find myself longing for something a little less exotic and a little more familiar. Santiago really isn’t that different from any major city in the US, but it’s the small differences that really stand out. They have the same kinds of cell phones, but the carriers are different. They have department stores and malls, but most of the stores are different. People chat as they walk down the street, but the language is different. These slight deviations underline that I am in a foreign city far from home, and though I love the newness and the excitement this city brings, there are times when I just want the simplicity and familiarity of the US.

This is when I love that there are American stores here. Don’t get me wrong, I love discovering local stores and restaurants, but to me, being a business student and a fan of capitalism, nothing screams USA (and home) louder than an international corporation. I love that I can walk into a mall here and buy an overpriced vegan conditioner from Lush like I would at Westlake Center in downtown Seattle. I love that I can walk through an Apple store and play with their iPads like I often do at U Village. I love that there is a Ruby Tuesday’s down the street from my house (even though I have never eaten there, here or in the US). But mostly I love that I can walk into a Starbucks here and buy an iced peppermint latte that tastes exactly the same as the latte I would buy on the Ave on my way to class. More than any other American store, Starbucks represents home for me. Probably because I live in Seattle, the birthplace of Starbucks, and because I have been going to Starbucks for as long as I can remember. Even when I was younger we went, though my parents would make me get hot chocolate or decaf coffee. Yes it’s overpriced, even more so here than in the states, but paying $6 for a latte and a reminder that I am not so far removed from home as I sometimes feel, is totally worth it.

Posted by goabroad - November 14th, 2011 - 0 comments - Permalink

First Impressions of Sydney

By: Sam Freedman, Foster Undergraduate

Let’s see, I’ve been in Australia for about a month and I still haven’t written my first blog post, so this one is going to be very long and comprehensive to make up for how much I’ve been “sluffing” it. I’m going to divide it into sections so I can make sure I get to everything I want to say. Overall, the experience so far has been amazing. I’ve met so many people, seen so many places, and had so many experiences that I wouldn’t have had back at home. That being said, let’s jump into it…

Arrival/Australian Fast Food/The Infamous Backpacker’s Hostel

I arrived in Sydney on July 13th in the midst of the wettest July that Sydney has had in 61 years. It was pouring rain for 2 weeks straight. Looking back, it was a really familiar transition coming from Seattle. My aunt and uncle picked me up from the airport and immediately took me to McDonald’s. It’s amazing how Maccahs (that’s what they call it here) tastes the same no matter where you go. For my first week and a half, I stayed in a hostel called Base Sydney. It wasn’t bad… It had a bar literally attached to the hostel (The Scary Canary) and I got a voucher for a couple free drinks upon check-in. Not a bad first impression. The only kind of bad thing about it was the distance from the university. It was about a 45 minute walk to get to University of Sydney (USyd), but it was nice being so close to downtown. I was only a 15 minute walk from the Central Business District (CBD) and a 30 minute walk from the Opera House. It’s a nice, central location. Another nice hostel that’s closer to USyd is Wake Up Sydney. My friend stayed there and really liked it.

Apartment Hunting

One thing people don’t realize about Sydney is you have to pay for EVERYTHING. Everything is expensive too. This website said Sydney is 68% more expensive Seattle. I guess that’s about right. A cheap meal here will run you $12. The exchange rate isn’t really helpful either. Back to the apartment search, the hostel charged $2 per 15 minutes of internet so I ended up using the free internet at the McDonald’s up the street. Using sweet, sweet Micky D’s as my base, I started my search for housing. I did most of my looking through gumtree.com.au… It’s Australia’s version of craigslist. Looking back, the experience wasn’t that bad, but it was really nerve racking at the time. I was in a foreign country with about 3 friends, a hostel booked for a week, and no place to live. I had to make moves. It took me about 4-5 days to find a good place. Rents in Sydney are expensive. I was looking on the cheap end of the spectrum and I’m still paying $190/week. For some perspective, a single room in university housing will run you about $390/week. I live in a terrace house with 8 people: two Austrian girls, a Spanish girl, a French guy, a Venezuelan girl, a Thai girl, and a French girl. It looks a bit like this. I decided to live around the uni (that’s what they call it here… weird I know) because I didn’t want to have to worry about the commute. The neighborhoods closest to the uni are Darlington, Newtown, Glebe, Chippendale, Camperdown, and Forest Lodge. They’re all pretty unique, but each is safe. The only place I was told to avoid is Redfern. The way one Aussie put it was, “If you live there for 5 months, you’re going to get mugged. Count on it.” Not for me…

The University of Sydney

The uni is pretty spiffy. It’s got all these really old sandstone buildings that are absolutely beautiful. They have a building called the Quadrangle that looks like it’s straight out of Hogwarts. I kid you not. Registration and picking classes was relatively painless. My schedule was generated for me based off the classes I picked, and by the grace of the gods, I only had class on Monday and Tuesday. 5 day weekend every single week. Yeaaaaah buddy. Lectures are pretty similar to Foster. Large lectures once a week with tutorial (quiz section) once a week. They use blackboard too and most of the professors post lecture slides online.

The Sights
Seeing the sights is fun. For me, that was the moment when I said to myself, “Holy s***, I’m in Australia. The Opera House is right in front of me. I am actually 7,700 miles away from home.” The Opera House was cool. The Botanical Gardens are REALLY cool. It’s like the arboretum but with 10x as many birds. It’s good fun. I also went up to the Blue Mountains last weekend. That was pretty impressive too. Lots of tourists, but still very cool. They’re these gigantic sandstone cliffs that overlook a big Eucalyptus forest. I have a couple pictures so I’ll try to figure out how to put those on here.
I’ve checked out a bunch of beaches as well. You can’t be an Australian without going to the beach on a regular basis. 80% of Aussies live within 80 miles of the ocean. I don’t know what sort of drugs the other 20% are on because the beaches are amazing. I’ve checked out Bronte Beach, Coogee Beach, Bondi Beach, and Watson’s Bay so far. Each one is absolutely amazing. Nothing like Washington beaches at all. I’ll try to throw some pictures of those on here too.
All right folks, that’s all I got for now. I’ll try to update this thing fairly regularly, but don’t hold your breath.

Posted by goabroad - November 7th, 2011 - 0 comments - Permalink

Pamplona – Settling In

By: Patrick Dion, Foster Undergraduate

Hi, my name is Patrick, and I’m a third year studying at the University of Navarra this fall. So far my experience has been great but getting settled in here Pamplona Spain wasn’t the easiest thing in the world. The most difficult thing I experience when getting here was actually registering and selecting classes. Before leaving I had looked at a course guide that listed all of the classes offered in English. When I got to Pamplona though, that list had changed. The school doesn’t really have an official schedule until two weeks after classes have started. It’s quite frustrating trying to nail down a class list when they are constantly changing times, rooms, and even course that are being offered. Many of the business classes they offer in English are the pre-requisite requirements at Foster so if you are planning on coming here look to see if you have space for electives if you are planning to study in English and have done lower level course work. Once I had an actual schedule though the life has been great.

Pamplona is a much smaller city that Seattle which suits me well. I can walk outside at any time of the night without fear, and it’s small enough to walk everywhere. It really is true that the Spanish like the night life. Kids and senior citizens can be seen at 1am and “going out” for a night means you didn’t come home before 7 am. I’ve been on a few trips so far to Valencia, San Sebastian. I also visited a little town called Andosilla where I watched them have their own “Running of the Bulls”, although with cows, since bulls are far more dangerous and harder to keep inside the fences. All were great and the bus rides to get there are very reasonable. Taking a bus really is the best way to travel though Spain if you don’t live in one of the larger cities. They are very cheap and easy to get tickets either in advance or just last minute.