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Jiaqi in Italy: 5 Things You Need to Know about Milan and Me

September 10, 2015

Ciao tutti, it’s time to get serious about blogging my experience in Milan and around the world.

For me, Milan has always remained to be a city full of auras and dreams – waves and generations of artists, designers, writers have lived, written, wandered, and produced wonderful works in this city. There must be something about this land of creative minds. As a student studying Art History and Studio Art, I have been fascinated at the idea of living in Milan. Now the chance has come. Here are the ten things you need to know about the sparks between Milan and me.

I am not looking for la dolce vita. At least not the cliché Italian cinema version: I didn’t choose Milan to just unwind in a café for all afternoons and consume all weekends eating gelatos. There are many other idyllic places to do that sort of activities. Word of mouth has educated me that Milan is something different. It probably shares more characters in common with London or Paris than anywhere in Italy. Cosmopolitan, busy, glossy, Milan has every aspect ready for my ideal future.
I love exploring off the beaten paths. Travel has been part of my life in such a way that I find it lame to describe it as my passion. My passion, instead, is to connect cultures and different people. Over the summer, I had an amazing time interning at Absolute Travel in the Marketing department. Through the internship with this premium luxury travel brand, I’ve learned so much knowledge about independent, in-depth travel like I never had before. Meeting travel professionals and having long conversations with destination experts has intrigued me even more about uncommon discoveries in new countries.
I am an art enthusiast and design aficionado. Getting lost in a museum, having my breath taken away by a brightly colored and vaguely contoured painting sounds 1000 times more appealing than snapping a photo of the Duomo to me. Long before departing for Milano, I researched lists of must-see spots in every up-and-coming neighborhood. Fondazione Prada, Milan Fashion Week are of course on top of everything, while galleries on a smaller scale around the artsy Brera district seem to be fascinating as well.
Outdoor trips can never go wrong. Although growing up around an overwhelmingly busy metropolis in Asia, I am an urban soul with a real country heart. Camping, hiking, trekking, or simply walking along the seashores excite me more than window-shopping. In June, I went to the Greater Smoky Mountains for a camping weekend and many small botanical garden explorations every once in a while.
Speaking Italian inspires the romantic part of me. A polyglot in progress, I am fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin, English, and Spanish, and can make friends in Italian. It’s true that speaking different languages reflects the distinct characters of me. When I am speaking Italian, I feel myself becoming more emotional, romantic, and interesting than ever. With this enthusiasm for Italian language, a semester immersing in Milan sounds just right.

Having just landed in Milan, I have already fallen in love with the creative vibe along every street corner and of course, those the Milanese glamorous street styles. Tune in next week to see more romantic stories between Milan and me!

A leisure weekend in upstate New York in July.

Summer in New York

Vacation in Hong Kong

Discovering hidden gems in busy Hong Kong

Ciao Milano!

Comments Off on Jiaqi in Italy: 5 Things You Need to Know about Milan and Me | Fall 2015, Jiaqi in Italy | Tagged: Arrival, Art, Creativity, Italy, Language, Milan | Permalink
Posted by jiaqiinitaly

KyungSun in Scotland: More Than Beauty

April 14, 2015

In my last blog post, I said that I didn’t want to just see pretty views. Somewhere along my abroad journey, I made it my goal to find deeper connection to what I saw. I didn’t want to go home with just pictures to show, but with a story to explain what these views meant to me. Norway was my first test to begin fulfilling my goal.

By trying to see Norway in a different light, I’ve had the most meaningful trip – one full of learning, understanding, and connecting – in the three short days I’ve been here. The meanings I developed were also not forced. Rather, they are products of reflecting on the things I saw that moved me.

Below, I tell my stories in three parts: what I first saw, what I was intended to see, and my interpretation of what I saw. By explaining it in this way, I hope you can see how I found deeper meaning in the things that I took pictures of during my trip.

***

Our first stop in Oslo, the capital of Norway, was to see the 121 Vigeland statues in Frogner Park.

Here’s what I first saw: A lot of nude statues.

Frogner Park

Here’s what Gustav Vigeland, the sculptor, intended for us to see: The many faces of human expression. Every statue has a clearly detailed facial expression of joy, sadness, anger, or love. His most famous statue is the Monolith, seen below, which depicts 121 people climbing and clawing on top of each other. This monument has been interpreted as Man’s Resurrection, the struggle for existence, Man’s yearning for spiritual spheres, the transcendence of everyday life and cyclic repetition according to Norway’s Tourist website.

The Monolith

Here’s what I saw: Me, my family, my friends, and how we interact with each other. I saw my dad protecting my mom, the sacrifices my mom made to give my brother and me the happiest future, the love that I’ve shared with someone, and my friend and I sitting together supporting each other in comfortable silence.

I circled around the statues, once, twice, then a third, and fourth time. Each time, I thought about how perfectly Vigeland captured the many emotions that exist in every relationship. During my time abroad, I’ve been trying to understand the various roles in the relationships that I currently have. What does it mean to be a sister? What does it mean to be a friend? What does it mean to love? Although I don’t have fully developed answers to these questions yet, thinking about these questions have made me think of ways to improve the relationships I have with other people.

For example, before I used to think that a best friend is someone you had everything in common with, someone you shared everything with, and knew you inside and out. But during college, my closest friends have been people different from me – in interests and personality – and I’ve never had as many introverted friends as I have now. Being an extrovert, this meant that I’ve had to learn and develop my meaning of friendship. Not sharing everything doesn’t mean that we’re not close and no matter how much you think you know about them, they’re always changing, which presents opportunities for me to learn something new about them every day.

***

Next, we took an overnight train to Bergen, a small coastal city on the other side of the country. Here, I did the Norway in a Nutshell tour with my flatmate, Lucy. The main theme of the trip was to see the grand fjords, which are long, narrow bodies of water surrounded by cliffs.

Here’s what I first saw: Snow. Lots and lots of snow.

Mydral, Norway

Here’s what I was intended to see: Small towns along the fjords that used to make up the heart of Bergen.

One of the many little towns with the best quality of water!

This town was originally where all the mail was sent for the people of Bergen

Here’s what I saw: Back in my Isle of Skye post, I mentioned that I love nature because it helps me realize that my problems are small compared to the vast land stretched out before me. This was especially true when I was looking at the grand fjords. I saw tall mountains with snow-capped tops with green bottoms, I saw houses buried in snow, and white that stretched for miles.

Among all this great scenery, all I could think was how often I missed what was right in front of me. I get so caught up in the future which lately consists of what I’ll be doing post-graduation, if my relationships with friends will change when I go back home, and what the summer has in store. But when I looked out, it suddenly brought me to the present. I saw the beauty around me, was cognizant of the fact that I was sitting here seeing this in person, finally seeing the pictures I had only seen on Buzzfeed’s “Top Cities You Must Visit Before You Die” articles, and feeling relaxed and peaceful. It made me realize how difficult it was to be mindful of the present and that appreciation, happiness, and satisfaction comes from being aware of where you are right now.

Now, I know you’re probably thinking that I think too much. I consider it both a blessing and a curse. But for an experience as important as this one, I know I’m not just on vacation. For me, it’s always been about growing in my perspective, mindset, and independence and that doesn’t come without some hardcore reflection. Of course, I couldn’t relate to all that Norway had to offer like its reindeer meat and obsession with bacon-wrapped hot dogs. But by thinking about what I’ve been doing just a little bit more, I’ve come to a better understanding of how my friends and family can relate to my abroad experience when I go back home.

Feeling so small!

Leave a Comment » | KyungSun in Scotland, Spring 2015 | Tagged: Art, Norway, Reflection, Sightseeing | Permalink
Posted by Klee

Diana in Germany Week Three: Rumor Has It

September 22, 2014

Hi everyone! I feel my focus so far has mainly been on surface details – the nuts and bolts of my experience and of Freiburg, Germany. This week I want to delve a little deeper and analyze some observations I have made. **Disclaimer** The following are my interpretation of experiences and discussions with Germans and Americans that I know. This does not reflect every possible opinion, experience, or perspective.

Analysis of Observations
Almost instantaneously upon arrival, I noticed that Germans tend to be more reserved in public spaces as compared to Americans. In grocery store lines at home I’m used to striking up conversation with others – maybe about the weather, or how I like their outfit, anything to pass the time more pleasantly. So far people in stores and on trams in Germany do not joke or chit-chat with strangers. This difference is most notable between when I ride the tram with and without my IES group. Without the group, the trains are mostly silent. When a whole group of IES students get on the tram speaking in English, all eyes are on us because of how loud we are. I think both systems have their perks and that a respectful volume on public transportation has been enjoyable.

I understand such formality in Germany to be much more fundamental to the culture, especially as compared to the US. In German class our first day, we learned the difference between addressing someone formally and informally. In the US we also tend to address older strangers as Mr. and Mrs. (Herr and Frau auf Deutsch), while referring to younger strangers and familiar people by their first name. However, grammar and language changes due to formality in German. Verb conjugations in German rely on whether you want to be formal or informal, which to my knowledge does not exist in English.

The issue of formality may also seep into how quickly people become friends between the two countries. Before I came to Germany I read that personal relationships take more time to build here than in the US. One of the IES staff members put it differently: Americans tend to make “friendships” faster, but these are often superficial. Maybe what Americans recognize as friendship is acquaintanceship through another lens? Is this why we differentiate between our “best friends” and people who are only our “friends”? Either way, the people I spend time with here are very friendly and helpful and I strive to be friendly and helpful back — even if we aren’t technically friends. And that’s the way it should be!

P.S. People do not walk around in lederhosen and dirndls (traditional dresses) here. Unless you go to Munich right now or you are in a supremely traditional rural area. Sorry if this disappoints anyone.

Social Updates
There is so much to do during study abroad that it starts getting to be too much to remember to blog about it! Last week I left out an amazing exploration of Freiburg’s art galleries with Tobi, my flatmate and Simon, a houseguest from Toulousse. We visited an art gallery in addition to several smaller private collections with art for sale. The gallery is called Stadische Museen Freiburg im Briesgau, and it was full of contemporary/modern art. I found my new favorite piece of art (as shown below). Unfortunately I did not write down the name or artist, but that only means I will have to go back! We visited two smaller galleries as well, and I have never been to such a small gallery with prices listed next to the artwork. There were a multitude of mediums and techniques utilized in the artwork. Some of my favorites included paintings on aluminum using lacquer, 3-D boxed city collages, and amazing line portraits.

My new favorite painting. Though the subject is quite gruesome (a huge massacre of animals?), the mark-making is powerful and expressive in a way that I admire

A painting of Martinstor using lacquer on aluminum. This medium blows my mind and I need to try it sometime!

The simplicity of a few lines can still capture the complexity of a portrait. Amazing.

I also forgot to mention the Apple Pie Contest. Simon created several wonderful dishes and desserts while here. Somehow we ended up challenging each other to a duel where apparently I would have the home field advantage… because all Americans know how to make apple pie, right? Instead of going fully traditional, which would have taken way more baking experience and time, I decided to create an apple crumble Gordon Ramsey style. In addition to apples and caramel and cinnamon crumbles, this dessert has cranberries and lemon zest for extra pizzaz. The Gordon Ramsey apple crumble Youtube video and Simon’s help on making caramel sauce all contributed to me winning in taste. Simon won for presentation with a huge piece of caramel and obviously won for technique. Still – I won in a category against someone who has been cooking and baking his whole life!

The apple crumble seriously crumbled on the plate – but it was still delicious!

Me with my creation. Simon, my competitor, is still cooking in the background.

This week, I also participated in a few social events. My friend Sarah and I went swimming at an indoor public pool. To our dismay there was no hot tub and everyone was swimming laps. I guess the pool is as serious as the gym here in terms of a workout! The planned trip to Titisee on Saturday fell through because I had a cold and ended up sleeping in bed all day. My friend Anne finally got me out of bed with the promise of all you can eat sushi. We ended up each eating 15 pieces of sushi (3 rolls more or less), 2 miso soups, a side dish, and 3 scoops of ice cream. I am definitely going back on a weekday at lunch when the same deal is available for a full 10 euro less. The green tea ice cream was the highlight of my entire day.

Sunday I knew I needed to get out of the house, sick or not. With that goal in mind, I went on the 10km hike through Ravennaschlucht in the Black Forest as planned. Originally there was a group of 8 students, some from Ukraine and Japan in addition to Anne, another IES girl named Katherine, and I from the US. There were gorgeous waterfalls all along the trail and here or there I saw water wheels. The train stop was only one away from Titisee, so we originally planned on hiking then eating lunch in Titisee. Unfortunately, it started raining! This was not the best for my health, but it still was worth it. Katherine, Anne, and I celebrated successfully making it back to Freiburg with a nice, warm falafel pita.

Goats greet us as we make our way to the start of the Ravennaschlucht trail.

Me with our guide Mimi on a bridge in the Black Forest.

One of the many beautiful waterfalls along the Ravennaschlucht trail.

Next week
-Goals in Freiburg and beyond!
-Common topics of conversation during my trip so far
-The end of German class
-Brussels trip

3 Comments | Diana in Germany, Fall 2014 | Tagged: Adventure, Art, Culture, Food, Friends, Germany, Sightseeing | Permalink
Posted by dianaingermany

Austen in Ireland: France for Spring Break

March 21, 2014

So here at UCD we get two whole weeks off for spring break (or mid-term as they call it)! We got off the weeks of March 10 and 17. So, the first week I traveled to see my parents in southern France, as they are renting an apartment for two months in the city of Aix-en-Provence.

On Friday, I flew from Dublin to Carcassonne (a town in central France) to meet my parents and we drove three hours to visit the city of Marseille. Here, we walked around the port and saw some beautiful areas of the city, but our main reason being there was to see my first European soccer match, Marseille vs. Nice. Marseille’s stadium was stunning with a capacity of around 60,000. It was probably the largest stadium I have been in. The match was an intense one but Marseille ended up losing 1-0 to a Nice free kick in the second half. After a long day of traveling, I got back to my parents’ apartment around midnight.

First European soccer match! Stade Velodrome, Marseille’s stadium

On Saturday, we explored the city where my parents are staying, Aix-en-Provence. I had been there a couple of times, but it was neat to be there as a “local” instead of a tourist and going back to an apartment instead of a hotel. We explored the many squares and an enormous market that was going on throughout the day. We also walked down the Cours Mirabeau, the large street in the middle of the city lined by trees. Another noteworthy site was the gardens in the Pavillon Vendome. For dinner, we had great Vietnamese food.

Cours Mirabeau, Aix-en-Provence’s tree-lined promenade

We went to the Musee Granet, the main museum in the city, on Sunday. It had paintings by famous painters such as Cezanne and Picasso. It had a variety of historical objects too, from art to sculptures. The museum is in a beautiful historic building. We ended up visiting a different building across the city that is also associated with this museum that had even more pieces of art and a great deal of Picasso paintings.

On Monday, we went to Nice, a large city right on the Mediterranean Sea. It is an absolutely beautiful city with breathtaking views. We walked around in the historic part of Nice (Vieux Nice) and had a great lunch in a square overlooking a church. After lunch, we walked up to a park above the city that had amazing views of the port of Nice, sea, and historic Nice. It was great to be able to see the whole city. After this, we walked along the sea and the famous Promenade des Anglais before going to the Cours Saleya (a humongous market with many things from food to paintings). We left Nice and got back to Aix-en-Provence around dinnertime. At that time, we went to get some falafel, as falafel is one of my favorite foods! It was a great falafel sandwich.

The beautiful port of the city of Nice

Tuesday, we stayed in Aix-en-Provence and explored some other attractions. In the morning, we visited the Atelier Cezanne, the gallery where painter Paul Cezzane painted many of his paintings. It was amazing seeing how similar this gallery looked to how it was when Cezanne was alive. The old building must require a fair amount of maintenance. After this, we had a great picnic lunch in the garden near his gallery, where Cezanne painted some of his famous paintings of Mount St. Victoire. It was surreal being able to enjoy a traditional French picnic of a baguette and goat cheese while being able to take the serene landscape and the same mountains that Cezanne painted. After this, we had a relaxing afternoon and had a Turkish dinner; I had lamb.

We traveled to other cities and towns in Provence (a region of southern France) on Wednesday. First, we saw the hospital where Vincent Van Gogh spent some of his later years when he was experiencing emotional and mental duress. After this, we went to the town of Saint Remy de Provence. It is a classical French town with beautiful buildings, squares, and fountains all around the older part of the town. There was a large market going on, where I had a fantastic sausage sandwich. I also learned of a great drink known as a “Tango,” which is beer with grenadine syrup, quite a refreshing and delicious beverage. After Saint Remy, we traveled to the larger city of Arles. Arles is a very Roman city with a famous Arena and Antique Theater. There were so many police officers around and we soon found out why; there was some sort of protest by farmers on a major street in Arles. There were no less than 300 sheep in the streets! After seeing this, it become a challenge getting around the streets of Arles, as the cops had many streets blocked off because of the protest going on. Thankfully we got out of the city without encountering too much traffic and got back to Aix en Provence around dinnertime. I had an amazing pizza (French pizzas are so tasty) with chorizo.

Thursday was my last full day in France. We traveled to Cassis, a town on the Mediterranean that gets jammed with tourists in the summer, but was quite peaceful the day we went. It was a beautiful town with a port and breathtaking scenery all around. We went on a boat tour of the calanques (inlets near Cassis with amazing rocky structures; they are steep-sided valleys). These were great to see and the boat tour went all the way into the outlets for us to see the beauty of these rocky structures. After this, we walked around the port and headed back to my parent’s apartment. For my last meal, I had a crepe dinner, which was a crepe with beef, crème fraiche, and onions, which was really delicious, as well as a dessert crepe which had apple and sugar. We walked around the city of Aix en Provence for our last night to admire the beauty one last time.

A calanque, an inlet with towering rocky cliffs

Friday, I left to go back to Dublin and got back around 3:00 pm to meet up with my friends who were visiting from Edinburgh. The next blog post will cover the fun St. Patrick’s Day Weekend!

Overall, it was a great week seeing my parents after not being able to see them for two months. The awesome weather of highs in the mid 60s (I wore short sleeves every day) combined with the destinations that we visited and tasty food that I was able to eat contributed to one of the best weeks of my study abroad semester yet.

Leave a Comment » | Austen in Ireland, Spring 2014 | Tagged: Art, Family, Food, History, Ireland, Sightseeing, Travel | Permalink
Posted by austeninireland

A Last Minute Trip.

January 3, 2012

Seven days before all final work was due Megan, Tomas, and I hightailed it to Scotland. It was to be our final excursion of the semester. After what seemed like less than an hour flight, we arrived in Edinburgh. Being late at night, we just headed to our hotel for the night. Much to our surprise, our room was spectacularly modern- a welcome change from Derry. Our building was also right on the water so we had a great view. From what we saw, Scotland looked relatively similar to Ireland, but was much, much colder.

The next morning, we got all bundled up and headed to the train station. Our destination? St. Andrews. Not only would Megan be able to fulfill her parents’ wish of walking on the famous greens of the St. Andrews golf course, but I could see my good friend and fellow Spider, Kate. She has been studying at University of St. Andrews. Needless to say, we were all very excited about the day ahead of us.

The train to St. Andrews passed over some beautiful rivers and scenery. When you are in Europe, it is difficult not to miss something. Everything is intriguing and interesting- the nature, the buildings, the people. I could not get enough of simply looking around. Purely observing my surroundings would have been good enough for me.

Meeting up with my UR friend Kate was uplifting. It was just enough of home to help me to the end of the semester. I had been homesick lately, but seeing her washed those feelings away. After visiting the St. Andrew’s Links Golf Course, Kate showed us around a bit. We visited the ruins of a cathedral and a castle. It is amazing that such sights could not really be seen in America. Here’s a picture of Kate and me:

Back in Edinburgh at night, we happened upon a German food festival near the train station. Spontaneous events such as this have been the highlight of my trip abroad. The next day in the city we followed this trend by wondering aimlessly through the intertwining alleyways and streets of Edinburgh. The easiest way to gain the feel of a city is to just walk around and explore. Our main plan for the day was however to visit Edinburgh Castle.

Finally I fulfilled one of my main goals of going abroad- visiting a castle. Perched atop a hill in the city, the views were remarkable. We were even able to see across the water to St. Andrews where we had been the day before. In the distance, the mountains were covered with snow. We explored the dungeons, the oldest building in Scotland, chambers of Scottish royalty, as well as saw the Crown Jewels. Here’s a picture of the castle:

Our last day in Edinburgh ended with a ghost tour in the crypts underneath the city. On that frightening note, I returned to Derry where all of my final work waited for me. Famous for procrastination, I headed straight to the computer lab to get my work done. After a long week of nonstop work, I had finished and turned in the work for all three of my modules.

For graphic design, I just needed to edit projects created previously in the semester. Finishing up the work for this module took no time at all. Animation and 3D however were the most time consuming. I needed to finish up my dinosaur character for 3D as well as make my robot character walk for Animation. Both proved to be difficult tasks, but here is what I came up with:

Now all that lay ahead of me was my last week here in Derry and my long, long journey home…

Fun Fact #15: The oldest pub in Derry is called the River Inn. It has recently been converted into a much more modern bar.

Fun Fact #16: Irish people call potatoes spuds.

Leave a Comment » | Fall 2011, Julia in Northern Ireland | Tagged: Academics, Art, Culture, Friends, Northern Ireland, Sightseeing, Travel | Permalink
Posted by Quite Well

Oh Yeah, That School Thing.

November 1, 2011

Going abroad is quite an experience. It is, however, grounded by that one thing that actually got you here in the first place — school. Living in a foreign country and traveling may be the most exciting aspect to studying abroad, but there is still work to be done. Up until this point in my blog, I have really neglected to talk about anything school-related, so here I go.

I am about a month and a half into my stay here, and the schoolwork is coming in at full force. While preparing to go abroad, I heard many times that the teaching style in Europe is very different, and that final grades are often determined by a single exam or paper. This is true in many cases, but my field of study dictates something much different. I am taking three design modules (what we call classes) that are largely computer based. At Richmond, they are transferring in as Studio Art credits. In these type of classes, work is constantly due. Whether it be sketches, print-outs, or final pieces, the module coordinators (or professors) keep you working. In this case, final grades are earned from turning in all revised coursework at the end of the semester. I like this method of teaching because, after a critique, I am able to apply changes to the final product that is turned in.

One fault I have with the university system here is that classes only meet once a week for about 4 hours. The idea is to give students ample time for independent work, but I would much rather learn from a professor and gain experience in the classroom. This is part of studying abroad, though — learning different ways of doing something.

Although the classes are set up differently, I am finding them extremely interesting and beneficial. I am learning computer programs that I probably wouldn’t have used back at Richmond. In my Animation course, we are learning to animate scenes using Adobe Flash. When we get further along with the course, I will post an animated video on my blog. I am also taking a Graphic Design module in which we use InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator quite a bit. This week we critiqued a poster design brief (what we call a project). Here is a picture of my class’s posters:

My most challenging class is 3D modeling. We are learning a program called 3D Studio Max. Designers use it for character and product design. Imagine a scene in a video game — it was probably created in this program, or a program like it. It is engaging material, but definitely a little more difficult to understand. I still have over a month until my final projects are due, so I think I will get a handle on it!

I have been spending a lot of time in the Learning Resource Center (basically a library — reminds me of exam week last year!) to get work done. My advice would be to get most of your work done during the week so you are free to explore during the weekends! I made sure to get everything done this week because Halloween is Monday, and they do Halloween big here — I’m talking thousands of people, costumes, parades, and fireworks. My next post will definitely be about this event!

Fun Fact #7: While living here in Derry, I have learned that people are not expected to tip. You don’t tip taxi drivers, you don’t tip waitresses, and you don’t tip at the bar. I have to say that I am a fan of this cultural difference!

Fun Fact #8: Shelled peanuts are called monkey nuts. People generally don’t eat peanut butter although it is sold in stores (doesn’t taste the same as good ol’ Jiff). Jell-O is called jelly. Jelly is called jam. And most people haven’t heard of a PB&J.

Leave a Comment » | Fall 2011, Julia in Northern Ireland | Tagged: Academics, Art, Culture, Northern Ireland | Permalink
Posted by Quite Well

Anticipation.

August 24, 2011

Summer 2011 has been the longest summer of my life. Not just because an amazing experience is waiting at the end, but quite literally. My break started in the middle of May and will last until the middle of September – a full 4 month summer. As all my friends begin returning to school and starting the new semester, I still have almost a month of summer… to endure. The pure anticipation is excruciating. I want to be there. I want the experience to start.

Having lived in Richmond for half my life, I only have a simple 10 minute drive to visit friends on campus. Some of which are returning from Europe themselves (from summer abroad programs). Hearing stories from my friend Marielle who studied German in Austria only intensified my excitement. She made great friends and traveled to amazing places. She wished her trip would not end.

When September 18th rolls around, I will FINALLY board a plane heading to Derry, Northern Ireland – which is what this blog is all about. Hi, I’m Julia, by the way. I am a junior at UR studying Business Administration (with a concentration in Marketing) and Studio Art. This is a strange combination, I know, but it has a purpose. My dream job (for now) is something in the advertising/graphic design industry. So, at the University of Ulster, I will be taking graphic design classes… hopefully. At the University of Ulster (and many other European universities) registration begins upon arrival. Having been pampered by the luxuries of BannerWeb, I am terrified to attempt registering on paper. I have a list of classes that I want to take, but we’ll see how that goes.

As for other preparations for the trip, I’m still working on that. I have made travel arrangements (including 3 connecting flights, 2 layovers, and and a 2 hour bus ride) plus I have a place to live. I will stay in an apartment in Duncreggan Student Village. I know I am living with some roommates, but I guess I will meet them when I get there. My passport and other important documents are stapled and neatly sitting in a folder ready to go. It is almost impossible to walk across my room due to the numerous piles of stuff I plan to take. I definitely need to start weeding some items out. More important, however, is my mental preparation. Right now I am fine – calmly excited. I assume the freak-out will begin when I cross the threshold of the airplane and take my seat. But for now, the wait continues…

Leave a Comment » | Fall 2011, Julia in Northern Ireland | Tagged: Academics, Art, Friends, Northern Ireland, Preparation, Travel | Permalink
Posted by Quite Well

Jiaqi in Italy: 5 Things You Need to Know about Milan and Me

KyungSun in Scotland: More Than Beauty

Diana in Germany Week Three: Rumor Has It

Austen in Ireland: France for Spring Break

A Last Minute Trip.

Oh Yeah, That School Thing.

Anticipation.

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