Last weekend, the California State University students who are in Germany took a trip from our cozy region of Baden-Württemberg to the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany, Berlin. Berlin is quite different from the wooded southwest that I am studying in. The city motto “Poor, but sexy” is well deserved. The city is still rebuilding after the unification of Germany, thus old and new are juxtaposed.
Over the weekend, I traveled to arguably one of my favorite places in Europe: Vienna, Austria. Austria is a German speaking country in central Europe that is known for its lovely café culture, being the center of many art movements, and being home to classical music and picturesque mountain ranges. However, as a newcomer to this land of mountains, I had no idea what really set it apart from Germany, which is also home to some of these things. Turns out, Austria is more than the Canada to Germany’s United States.
Continue reading “No, I Don’t Mean Australia … I mean Austria!”
Last year, the United States had an election — for better or for worse. It was quite an emotional time and it occupied every facet of our lives for a year. During the last fall semester, I had made friends with exchange students from Germany and they were quite surprised at how prevalent the election was in the media and on campus. (They would later do a road trip to the inauguration). Now it was my turn to see a foreign election, but in Europe!
One thing about study abroad that can be overlooked is the connections you can make with other students. Exchange programs, like mine in Germany, allow you to make quick friends in your new home.
Continue reading “Making New Friends as an Exchange Student”
When one first arrives to Europe, the first thing that might be surprising and interesting is the abundance of public transit. European countries have had a long time to implement their transit systems, and the scale of the cities allow for some very efficient and inspiring methods of transit.
The global experience, as told by SDSU students 