Europe Interview

 

The song is credited to danosongs.com 

Check out  http://ndsu-studyabroad.blogspot.com/ for more information about study abroad

Square Dance in China

Scaling the Great Wall of China by morning. Square dancing in Beijing by evening. Who would have thought? I never imagined that's what I'd find myself doing this year, but that's exactly what happened, and I have witnesses just in case you don't believe me :)  In fact, here's a video to show you what can happen when you step out of your comfort zone. You can square dance in China too! NDSU offers study abroad trips to China, check out these sites to learn more about the wonderful opportunities, http://ndsu-studyabroad.blogspot.com/  http://www.ndsu.edu/cgi/

The Great Wall of China

Square dancing in Tianamen Square

Beautiful Chinese square dancers!

-Joyana

Scenic Slideshow of Europe

Hey Everyone!
Check out this video I made of pictures from my trip their all my own. I credit the song to Free Royalty Free Music by DanoSongs.com. Also, check out http://ndsu-studyabroad.blogspot.com/ for more information about how to study abroad. 

 

Why should you study abroad?

By: Mike Smith

Why should you study abroad? Studying abroad has a lot to offer, and it will complete your college experience. The experiences will be something you can bring back home, and you will use the rest of your life. The experiences are such as living in a foreign country, dealing with different languages, and that the other countries are not that different. Living in a foreign country you will have to adjust to fit in, in the foreign culture. Being loud, space bubbles, and cleanness are things that you will have to adapt too.

 You will notice that people from different cultures are not that much different from you and your friends. Although their foods, languages, and life styles are different their values and purpose in life are not so foreign from your own. With these examples just being a small sample of things you learn while studying abroad, they are experiences that will make you a better person and will give you a better appreciation of different cultures.

For information on this study abroad and future study abroad oppurtunites or even travel advise check out this blog http://ndsu-studyabroad.blogspot.com/

Communicating in Europe can be difficult at times with there being some many different languages. After living there for 5 weeks though it makes you appreciate other people’s languages because it is the doorway to their culture. 

The Wonders of Paris

Paris is an amazing city. It has many wonders to discover within the city. I was only there for a short weekend but was able to find some places I will be coming back to in the future. The first and the most obvious is the Eiffel Tower of course. You must see it not only during the daytime but at nighttime to see it all lite up. Also for ten minutes each hour it sparkles and that is a extremely nice view. The third view of the tower is from the top of course. The picture below is taken from the very top. If you go to Paris, make sure you see it from one of these views or all three of them to get the full effect of Paris.

 Another wonder of Paris is putting your foot on the center of Paris. It is just a fun photo shot that makes you feel cool. Also when your walking around Paris you need to keep your eyes peeled for street performers. They just act like they are blending in with their surrounding but really they are putting on a show for anyone that notices. The Egyptian man would bow at you when you would put money in his cup.Than the

white man on the left was shooed away by the policeman before I could figure out what he was doing. Than there are dancing performers that will put on a show using a portable boombox attempting to stay away from the police as well. By the Eiffel Tower, there are guys that try to take your money but playing street games also. All these street performers are a fun wonder of Paris to take in.

 Another fun wonder is the face bridge. Henry the IV had a huge party for his friends and they drank all night long. At the end of the night everyone was intoxicated and he had portraits made of all his three hundred guests than looking at them the next morning he thought they were to funny not to share with everyone. So he had them set around this bridge they all look slightly different. It was a fun sight to see and was different from all the other bridges I have been seeing. 

 The last wonder I have for you from Paris is the Pont des Arts which is better known as the lock bridge. Lovers come here to lock away their love for eternity. They put their initials on the lock and throw the key in the river below. This bridge was made more famous by Sex and the City. Big and Carrie meet on this bridge after they had been broken up. This is a short summary of the wonders I discovered while I was in Paris and will hopefully be going back to see more. For more information about how this was all possible visit http://ndsu-studyabroad.blogspot.com/ to find out about study aboard opportunities. 
-Caitlin :)

Why Study Abroad?

STUDY ABROAD

See similarities

Travel together

Unique understanding

Dissolve dilemmas

Youthful you

Abounding adventures

Build bridges

Radiate respect

Outstanding opportunities

Awaken awareness

Dig deeper

What's different in Europe?

By: Mike Smith

What should you expect when you travel to Europe? European's have a different culture than here in America.This makes daily activities such as eating, shopping, and transportation much different. Eating dinner in Europe is different because it focuses more on the social sit-down aspect rather than the idea to eat and run . Dinner takes two to three hours and most of the sit-down restaurants do not open till 7 at night. My study abroad group got taken out  to many dinner dates by Dr. Wright, our study abroad leader. Overall, I grew really fond of enjoying dinners that were more of a social experience, and I hope take this experience back too America.

Shopping in America you expect the stores to be big, clean, bright, and have good customer service; well none of this is what you should expect in European stores. Stores there are relatively dirty to American standards.  They are extremely small, no florescent light bulbs, and customer service is quite different. All businesses in Europe are located towards the center of cities so space is not as available.   This makes stores smaller and crowded. There are no Customer Service desks or people roaming the stores to help customers in Europe to get help you must go seek an employee. Once you find someone they do their best to help you. Not only are stores more dirty but everything in Europe is dirty.  There culture is not as concerned about cleanliness as Americans.  This is something that I hope to leave in Europe and not have to deal with at home. 

Transportation is different because not as many people have vehicles.  The vehicles are different, and parking is unique. A lot of Europeans do not own cars. They use bikes, train stations, and buses.  There are so many people that use bikes because gas in Europe is ridiculously high. You can take a train through the towns from spot to spot, or you can take it across Europe to any major cities. I found the train stations particularly handy. Since everything is crowded and gas prices are high in Europe most vehicles are small compact cars and are all stick shift. Parking is another challenge in Europe.  When Europeans are parallel parking there usually is not much space; therefore, they will bump the cars to make room for their own car. When you park you are suppose to leave your car in neutral and just use the parking brake, so that your transmission does not get ruined. 

For more information on this trip and future trips check out: http://ndsu-studyabroad.blogspot.com/