It is so hard to be consistent with a blog when on an exchange program.  That’s good though in a way because it means that I have been doing a lot, experiencing a lot, and meeting a lot of great people.  If you are reading this and are contemplating doing an exchange, my advice is…DO IT!  It will be the most unique, interesting and fun experience of your life.  Companies love it.  You become more cultured by just merely observing different people in different countries with sometimes completely different lifestyles from what you are used to.

One of the best moves I’ve made this year was to join a group of Italians in my Market Research class for a team project.  It was a bit hard at first since most of them didn’t speak English very well, but with the combination of hand motions and basic knowledge of each other’s language, communication became possible.  Being in this group is not particularly the best for efficiency or effectiveness purposes for the project we need to complete, but it is such a good way to meet more Italians and gives me a chance to hang out with them outside of class.  I went to Aperitivo (Italian-style buffet) with them and they introduced me to their group of friends.  We hung out in all the places where the locals hang out.  They showed me all the popular places where students get drinks and just chill at night.  I had the best time, and they were all so welcoming and friendly.  I look forward to hanging out more with the Italians.

I also have an amazing buddy though the Bocconi buddy system.  He actually does a great job of following through with things like showing us great Aperitivos and setting up soccer matches between us exchange students and the Italians.  We, of course, have beat the Italians every time so far, but it’s getting closer and closer each time.   I’m not good at soccer by any means, but I’m getting the hang of it.  I scored a few unorthodox goals, and my teammates have been really nice about being patient with me and have actually taught me some techniques.  We often times go to the pub across the street and watch soccer on the big screen.  It’s a good past time and bonding experience with the other guy exchange students.

A week ago we found ourselves in Rome with a great group of 10 people.  All exchange students from Bocconi, and the group was composed of really good friends we’ve made throughout these past couple of months.  We did an obscene amount of sightseeing in Rome for the 3 days we were there.  I was completely exhausted every single night in Rome.  The Coliseum, Pantheon, Palatine, Roman Forum, Vatican Museum, St. Peters Cathedral, Borghese Museum, Trevi Fountain, etc.  The trip was very artistic and historical, as well as tiring.  A highlight of Rome, aside from the sites, was having the chance to take the group to a Filipino restaurant there.  It was so great to have a nice sit down lunch with the group and to share with them a part of my culture.  Well until next time.  Ciao!

Right now I am sitting in Anne Marie’s cabin on the outskirts (the woods!) of Warsaw, Poland in the afternoon.  We knew Anne Marie from UW’s Global Case Competition last spring as she and 3 others represented the Business School over here in Warsaw.  From the very beginning, Anne Marie has been the most amazing hostess.  She has graciously let us stay at her Mom’s beautiful house in a nearby suburb of the city center.  We really couldn’t ask for anything more, and don’t know what we did to deserve such great treatment, but we are so appreciative and hope that we can return the favor somehow in the future.  After we arrived and dropped our stuff off at Anne Marie’s house we headed for the City Center and walked along Anne Marie’s favorite streets.  Spontaneously we decided to have a food extravaganza in Poland and to try out all the best restaurants and cafés in the city center.  Thus far, the best and most successful food run (with sushi, croissants, drinks, and polish food) I’ve had in Europe, and that says a lot since I’m living in Italy.

We arrived here in the woods kind of late last night because of traffic, but it was definitely worth it. It’s a beautiful cabin in the middle of the woods which is peaceful and relaxing.  Definitely something I needed after always being out and doing things in the city.  It’s nice to relax, talk, and eat by the fireplace in the middle of nowhere.

So now I am going to try and summarize Milano, which is no simple task.  Adapting to living in Italy has definitely not been easy, but at the same time, hasn’t been too difficult because of the great friends we’re surrounded with here.  One thing that you must get used to in Italy, besides the fact that no one speaks English, is how many things are so inefficient and unorganized.  It’s Italy though, and you just have to accept it.  Stores just don’t like to open on Sundays or Mondays.  There are no dryers for your clothes.  Cars drive on the sidewalk.  One thing that is always very organized here though are the parties put together by Bocconi.  Bocconi never fails us, and you can’t help but have fun and be happy here.  Bocconi just doesn’t allow you to be bored and not have fun.  They do a great job of organizing parties and events to meet people, eat free food, and get the best deals to the most prestigious places in town.  Because we are from Bocconi, we never wait in line anywhere and our always treated as VIP.  The group of friends we’ve established so far has been such a blessing.  I am so thankful to have met such a great and diverse set of friends.  Finland, Portugal, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, London, France, Mexico, Norway… basically the EU.. etc.  Such a great group of people who I would already miss so much, if I were to leave now.  I hope to stay in touch with all of these people and to have a lot of them visit me in Seattle so I can show them around.

Italy has been amazing so far. I really love living in Milan, a transportation center with planes, trains, and buses to just about everywhere in Europe. For my 21st birthday, I took the train to Venice to celebrate with friends. Venice is an amazing treat unto itself. The city really is built right on the water. It’s exactly like the pictures- only the pictures don’t convey the amazingness of it, nor the charm, nor the sheer incredibility. Imagine stepping straight from a boat right into a store. It’s amazing. And so bizarre. I felt like I was floating on water for days after.

Venice is navigated by a series of vaporettos, or passenger ferries. You can walk from some islands to others, but not all of them can be walked that way. Instead, you have to take the ferry. Luckily, being under 26, we bought cards valid for transport for 72 hours.

Friday, we went to the Venice Film Festival. We got tickets to the premiere of “The Bad Lieutenant” because it was in English, and “The Prince of Tears”- which was in Mandarin but had English and Italian subtitles.  Then, because we had tickets, we went into the main building and celebrity stalked. We went to the press conference level and mingled with reporters while eating amazing cheese, and drinking wine. We eavesdropped on the press conference with Nicholas Cage and Eva Mendes, and then for “The Prince of Tears”.

After, we wandered around Lido and waded in the Adriatic Sea, before heading back for the red carpet stuff. Pressed against the barrier, we were able to have front row views of the stars for the Bad Lieutenant. And to see Paris Hilton (though really, what was she doing there? Seriously, not appreciated at my film festival…). In real life, well, Nicholas Cage looked pretty haggard. Eva Mendes though was gorgeous. Simply gorgeous.  Sherrylyn, the girl I was with, got her autograph.

Then we watched our movies. I didn’t particularly care for the Bad Lieutenant. Too strange for my tastes, though seeing it at the Venice Film Festival was amazing. The Prince of Tears though, I loved it. It’s a very sad movie, but the colors were gorgeous. And the music was good.

Saturday we went swimming in the Adriatic, watched glass blowing on Murano Island, and just enjoyed being in Venice. We did ride a lot of boats.

Thursday, though, my birthday, was just about perfect. I arrived in Venice, met up with people, had a great Italian dinner with wine, and then we ate coffee-flavored gelato. Pretty awesome. Especially because at night the street lights are tinted pink. Pink! It’s amazing. And you can see this trail of buoys with pink lights on heading out to the horizon… endless. We listened to the street musicians playing violins and watched the gondolas float by, and really, just enjoyed it. It felt very decadent, my word for Venice.

Today marked the first day back to classes for me after an awesome two week break from Bocconi.  Here, the school is not as quick-paced as I am used to with UW’s quarter system.  Students at Bocconi are given two weeks off from classes for midterms and most classes offered to international students don’t have midterms.  This means that my finals will be essentially all or nothing, which is something to consider if you’re thinking about studying here.  Fortunately though, this meant I had two weeks to travel around Europe with my friends.

My break began in Greece where I spent two days in Athens and two days on the Greek island of Mykonos.  It was really cool to see the history in Athens, and I’m happy to say that I can now cross the Acropolis off my list of famous world sites to visit.  Mykonos (that place in my picture) was just as great.  I was even able to swim in the Aegean Sea literally two days before Halloween.  Swimming in late October was definitely a new experience for me, as a Seattle native.  After Greece, I spent a couple days in the Swiss cities of Zurich and Bern, which were only about three hours away by train.  One of the great things about studying in Milan is that it’s so central.  With the help of a great train system and budget airlines (EasyJet and RyanAir are the best!), you can be almost anywhere in Europe within a couple of hours, even on a student’s budget.  I also happened to be in Switzerland during the election.  Probably one the coolest and most intriguing things that I have witnessed in my two months in Europe was my train ride back to Milan when almost everyone on train was reading the Swiss newspaper with Obama plastered on the cover.  Everyone seems to love him in Europe.  Following Switzerland, I made one last trip to Berlin, which totally exceeded my expectations.  There was just so much to see there and I can now cross the Berlin Wall off my list as well!

After my jam-packed two weeks of traveling, I am realizing more and more that there’s still so much more that I want to see and experience.  The only thing working against me now is time.  I can’t believe I only have a little over a month left.  Perhaps, another study abroad experience will be the solution…

Hi all!  My name is Tim Tran and I’m a junior majoring in Finance and minoring in International Studies.  It’s hard to believe, three and half weeks have already passed since I arrived in Milan, Italy, to study at Bocconi University (Univesita’ Bocconi) for fall 2008.  I came into Milan at the beginning of September to take an intensive Italian crash course offered to exchange students.  This took place before official business courses started and the rest of the Italian students arrived.

With over 1,000 international students, Bocconi is definitely a school with an international flavor.  Because all the exchange students were essentially in the same boat (in a new city where we all knew no one), everyone was extremely open and friendly.  I quickly made a bunch of friends from all over the world and by the first weekend, we were already traveling Italy together.  This was not something that I expected to happen so soon, but it’s definitely something that I love about this school.  With its smaller size, it’s much more intimate than UW, which, to me, was a welcomed change.  Just in the past few weeks alone, my friends and I have made day trips to Lake Como, Verona, Cinque Terre, and Bergamo, all awesome destinations no more than an hour or two from Milan.  The city of Milan is great as well.  Milan is definitely fast-paced compared to the rest of Italy (though still slow by American standards) and there’s a lively night scene.  It seems like the city never sleeps!

The native Italian students, who arrived a week or two after the exchange students, are also very friendly and approachable.  Bocconi has a great international student buddy program that has hosted numerous events to help exchange students experience the school and the city.  These events have included a traditional Italian dinner, an AC Milan soccer match, and what seems to be a Milanese favorite, aperitivo (Italian for happy hour).

Classes have started now and so far, I am enjoying them all.  It’s funny that even though I’m half a world removed from home, the current events that we talk about in class are heavily focused on the US financial situation.  It has definitely been interesting to hear the Italian perspective on the recent financial crisis in the US!

Overall, I enjoying every moment here.  Occasionally, I crave the Ave’s Asian food and I can surely do without all the second-hand smoke I’ve inhaled, but these little things in no way detract from the fact that I am having a blast in Milan!

I am a junior in the Foster School of Business with a concentration in Marketing (declared) and perhaps Finance (still deciding).  I grew up in San Pedro, California which is roughly 20 minutes away from Los Angeles, before embarking on my four year scholastic journey at the University of Washington.  Attending school in Seattle was quite an adjustment for me since I was used to assuming everyday would turn out to be a sunny one when in SoCal; however, I love U-Dub mostly because of Foster!  The students and faculty that compose it truly are all diamonds in the ruff, and I feel so lucky to be a part of its community as they are responsible for facilitating my study abroad experience.

Ever since I was a young girl, I wanted to travel the world to see what cultures from centuries in the past had left behind, in addition to what present-day societies were creating for future travelers to uncover.  Foster’s International Exchange Program provided the perfect means for me to fulfill this dream.   My international exchange, thus far, has been better than I could have imagined.  When I applied for the program, my first choice was to attend Università Bocconi not only for the fashion in Milan but because the school is ranked as the number one business school in Europe, third in the world (above Harvard).  Bocconi not only provides an academic challenge, but Milan offers a genuinely Italian experience.   I think I have eaten more pasta in my first 2 weeks than I have during my first two years at UW!  The night life is ridiculously abundant, the exchange students are extremely eclectic, and the list of things to do is exponentially growing.

I am thoroughly enjoying my study abroad opportunity.  I visited Cinque Terre- a group of five gorgeous beach towns along the Italian Riviera known for its very rigorous 6 km hike- last weekend and will soon be venturing to Venice; Munich for Oktoberfest hosted by Bocconi; and Cadiz, Spain to visit a friend also from UW on exchange.

Although I am having a wonderful time now, when I first arrived in Milan, I felt very overwhelmed.  Being away from home and in another country is a very different experience when compared to just changing locations in the United States.  You have to make new friends, figure out the society and language, and adjust to being away from family/friends.  The good thing is that within a few days those intense feelings of fear disappear, and you find yourself completely comfortable in a foreign place.  Just remain positive and embrace the opportunity that you have achieved; it will truly be unlike any other and the memories will be unforgettable.