Salut mes amis! My name is Malorie and I am currently a junior studying Public Relations, French and Psychology at PSU! I will be studying in
Since this is my first time leaving the
At first I was a little nervous to fly and land in a foreign country all alone, but students in the past have reassured me that my flight will be full of students anticipating arrival �
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Hey everyone! My name is Tabitha Venkersammy and I’m a junior majoring in Public Relations with a minor in Political Science. I will be studying abroad in London, England through the IES: London Spring 2011 program and could not be more jubilated about it!
I think London was always the place I would wind up in when it came to studying abroad. My father was born in a British colony in South America and therefore had a very English upbringing. And, when it came to finding a place to get married, my parents chose London. I always loved looking at the photos from my parents’ vacation to London and wished I could be there too. But it doesn’t end there.
My high school marching band was modeled after Her Majesty’s Coldstream Guards in England, so our band always played songs like “Rule Brittania” to any event and our uniforms even had the “Grenadier” feel. Our band is the only high school band ever to play for the Queen, but unfortunately, I was a year too late to be a part of that and never got to travel to London. I think that all roads always led to London for me. And now, I finally get my chance to not only go there, but live and study there too!
Some things you can look forward to when reading my blog is how I react to my experiences. I really want to get a feel for the culture in London. I especially am interested in what the English think of Americans and especially American politics. And I’m excited about seeing the entertainment industry in London. I love films and music so I want to see the London aspect of it. And of course, sports! I’ll be watching the Outback Bowl and the Super Bowl from London and I think that shall be quite interesting.
My roommate lived in London for seven years and she’s already telling me everything I need to do while I’m there. There’s so much to do in four months, and maybe even sneaking a wedding invitation to the “wedding of the century” between Prince William and Kate Middleton!
I will be leaving on December 30th and cannot wait! Only 19 more days!
Location: University Park, PA
Hi everyone, my name is Kevin Kochel, I am in my 4th year at Penn State, double majoring in German and Comparative Literature. I will be studying in Marburg, Germany in the Spring. I am a history and literature nut, so I have always been fascinated by Germany and German culture. I hope to get everything I possibly can get out of my semester abroad, including a total immersion in the culture and (hopefully!) fluency in the language.
I’ve got a few last-minute things to take care of before I go, the biggest among them being my Visa. I have an appointment to take care of that at the German consulate in NYC the Monday after the semester ends, but I feel like it is going to be a hassle. The requirements for the picture are very, very picky but hopefully the one I had taken over Thanksgiving break will be up to snuff. Other than that, I am a bit apprehensive and not looking forward to sitting around twiddling my thumbs at home for more than two months (I don’t leave for Germany until the end of February), but I hope Marburg will be worth the wait!
The city itself looks really neat. I did my homework and researched its background a bit, the University of Marburg is nearly 500(!) years old, with a student population of 20,000 in a city of 80,000 people… not quite the same ratio as State College, but it is still definitely a university town, although I’m very curious to see what differences there are.
The sooner my semester in Germany starts, the better. I just hope the next two and a half months fly by!
Location: State College, PA
Ciao!
Things are starting to wind down at Penn State this semester and finals week is dreadfully coming near. The good news is that this means I am closer to studying abroad than ever!
Before I get into too much detail, I want to give you all some background information about me. My name is Mike McHugh and I am a junior in the Smeal College of Business. I am majoring in finance and minoring in Italian and International Business. I recently started and am now Co-President of a club called Adaptive Outreach, play Wheelchair Basketball, and am actively involved with THON as a member of the Finance Committee. Outside of Penn State, I am on a ski team for people with disabilities and coach a travel baseball team.
One of my true passions is traveling. I have been all over the United States (including Hawaii), to Italy (Rome, Florence, Ravenna, and Venice), Australia (Sydney & Melbourne), and Hong Kong. My favorite country was Italy, not just because my mother’s side of the family is Italian, but because of all the beautiful architecture and rich culture the country has to offer.
As you have probably figured out by now, I am heading to Italy. Rome to be more exact. I cannot wait to get over there as I have not been there since I was 12. Rome is a great city with amazing people and famous landmarks around nearly every corner!
One of the things I am most looking forward to is improving my Italian language skills. I have been taking Italian since the seventh grade and absolutely love the language. This fall, I am taking a course entitled “Fluency in Italian” and have learned a great deal about the intricacies of the language. I can’t wait to apply it in real life situations on a daily basis.
One of the great things that IES Abroad offers is a contract called “Italiano a casa” which means “Italian in the house”. While it is completely optional, I am going to sign this contract and agree to only speak Italian to my roommates within our apartment. I believe this is the best way to master a new language. Also, I will be rooming with two other American students and one Italian student called an ISC. Our ISC will help us truly immerse ourselves within the Italian culture and show us some places off the beaten path. This is exactly what I want to accomplish – I do not want to be a tourist, I want to be a resident of Italy!
While I am abroad, I intend to travel across Europe and visit as many amazing places as possible. My current list of places I definitely want to go to are Dublin, London, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Switzerland, Belgium, Venice, Milan, Sicily, Naples, Pisa, and the Amalfi Coast.
I would like to leave you all with a quote by John Hope Franklin – “We must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey.”
Arriverderci,
Mike McHugh
Location: 10567
My name is Jackie and I am currently a Junior studying Advertising and Italian and have minors in Business and International Studies. I will be studying in Firenze this spring semester at the Institute at Palazzo Rucellai. Besides the fact that Florence is a beautiful city, it seemed to be the perfect place and size for me. I have never been to Italy before and am counting down the days until the day I leave in January!
One of my main goals for studying abroad is to improve my Italian language skills, even though English is spoken throughout the city (which isn’t helped by the thousands of American students that study there each semester). I have been told by friends who have traveled or studied there in the past that many times it is difficult to practice Italian because many of the shop owners can speak English and want to practice themselves. So, I know it will be a challenge, but I am going to do everything I can to speak Italian every chance I get. I have been brainstorming different ideas on how to force myself to better understand the language…and the first idea is taking a yoga class I found, that is strictly taught in Italian (should be interesting).
I have never blogged before, so that should be even more interesting. Keep checking back for new posts about my Italian (and European) adventure!
Location: State College, PA
Hola! My name is Sean Tubridy. I am a Junior here at Penn State majoring in Advertising with minors in Psychology, Sociology, Business, and International Studies. I just learned how to use the Penn State Geoblog tool and I am excited to share my adventures abroad with you.
I am from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which means I love all Pittsburgh sports teams (yes, even the Pirates). I would consider myself a movie buff. I enjoy watching all types of movies. I also like listening to music. One of my favorite things to do is ride rollercoasters. I love the thrill and f the feeling of flying through the air. Thats just a little bit about me and my hobbies, but hopefully you can find out more about who I am by reading my posts throughout the Spring semester.
I have only been to a foreign country once. I went to Costa Rica for a week with my high school Spanish Club. The experience I had over there was phenomenal and is a big reason why I decided to study abroad in college.
I will be spending four months in Barcelona, Spain. I have decided to do a homestay, which means that I will be living with a host family. I chose this because I thought it would be the best way to learn the language and culture. I am very excited to see Barcelona and to travel all throughout Europe. I hope you enjoy reading about my experiences and looking at my pictures. Please comment and tell me what you think!
~Sean
Location: State College, PA
My name is Myles Bane. I am a Junior at Penn State. I’m originally from New York, but I will be studying abroad in Brighton, UK in the spring of 2011. I’m staying in a homestay with a mother and her 11-year old daughter. I arrive in England on January 6. I’ve heard great things about Brighton and the University of Sussex. I will be traveling a great deal (hopefully), but In Brighton, the night life sounds awesome, and it’s been said that they’re more easygoing than we are in America. There are beaches, but they have pebbles as opposed to sand. I’m really excited, granted the weather is going to be freezing (-6 degrees celsius) and the food probably won’t be as good. Nevertheless, I’m going with an open mind and hopefully this will be an experience to remember for years to come. I suppose that’s all for now. Hopefully more interesting things will follow.
Location: State College, PA
Here we go! My inaugural penn state geoblog post! Coming to you from 134 Cedar Building computer lab, State College, Pennsylvania. Lets see, we’ll start with a quick bio. My name is Dylan Schubert, I’m a junior at Penn State’s Smeal College of Business. As of now I’m on track to graduate in May 2012 with a BS in Marketing, and hopefully minors in both International Business & Psychology. Andddd, if you don’t know I will be spending the next few months of my life blogging to anyone bored enough to read from Amsterdam, Netherlands. My spring semester at the Universiteit van Amsterdam begins January 26th, and the next 50 days can’t go by fast enough. I will be spending the upcoming week and a half here in State College finishing up my Fall semester classes and acing my finals (with some luck). Then I will spend the remainder of my pre-departure time at home with my family (in Reading, Pennsylvania) celebrating the holidays and preparing for my trip.
A few hours ago I completed some forms bringing me closer to officially scheduling my classes at UvA (Universiteit van Amsterdam), and once I find out my official schedule (which apparently may not be until late January) I will be sure to post it to my brand new blog! I anticipate completing another entry in a few weeks when I get closer to my departure date with some insight into how packing and preparations are coming along. And once I arrive in the beautiful Dutch capital of Amsterdam prepare to be bombarded with pictures, videos, and some quality cultural insight from yours truly! Until then I’ll take my first stab at some Dutch.
Doei!,
Dylan Schubert
Location: State College, Pennsylvania
Hello, my name is Sarah Hill. I am a junior here at Penn State, majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Next semester, I will be studying abroad in New Zealand. I can’t wait! I already have my passport, plane tickets and student visa.
Getting the visa was an experience! I was expecting it to take as long as a passport – about 6 weeks or so, but only two weeks after I sent it to the Embassy, my visa came back, ready to go.
Buying a plane ticket was fun – turns out from start to finish my plane rid is going to be 31 hours long. That’s hard to imagine. I’ve flown before as far away as Barcelona, Spain, but New Zealand is going to be a lot longer and farther. It’s so exciting to imagine that I will be on the other side of the world! And the time change – right now its almost noon tomorrow in NZ, a whole eighteen hours ahead of here!
I am really excited to explore Wellington – that’s the capitol city of NZ and where I will be studying abroad at Victoria International. Just the other day I picked out my future classes: Maori Studies, Mathematical Logic, and Cell and Developmental Biology. It seems their class system is very different from Penn State. My three classes will be worth 55 points, with 60 points the maximum limit of points a student can enroll in. At Penn State I would be easily taking twice the number of classes so I am curious how these classes will be different. Perhaps they will go in more depth or cover more topics to cover the time.
That’s all for now. In just a few short months these posts will be coming from across the globe. Will I ever cease being amazed with technology?
Location: State College, Pa
Location: Brockway, Pennsylvania