Meet new friends Studying Abroad

Study abroad is a great experience for many reasons but one of the best experiences is all the new people you meet. In this blog I will talk about the people you meet you go study abroad with and the people you meet while in the different countries.

With studying abroad for 5 to 6 weeks during either the semester or summer, you go with a group of students from school, with many of the students you never met before. Studying abroad makes people have to open up and it brings people together. The students you travel with will be experiencing the same things you will be so you will not feel lonely.

Studying abroad in a country for 5 to 6 weeks you have a great chance to meet a ton of new people from different backgrounds. The friendships you make with people within the country are very special because these friends are people that help you through one of the biggest experiences in your life. They helped you get around town without getting and help learn the language and culture of the area. With these new friends if you ever want to go back there one day you will know someone. 

-Brock

Benefits that CGI-NDSU Study Abroad has to Offer

  Besides the fact that it would be an amazing vacation to travel to the finest cities and countries in Europe, CGI at NDSU study abroad has many other benefits as told by those who have gone.  First of all many have noted on its impacts of personal growth. It is an experience that matures the mind and the personality.  The exposure to diverse new ways of living and thinking encourage independence and growth. 
  Secondly, it brings about new perspectives of other countries as well as one’s own.  Actually living in a different country and being exposed to the political, economical, and cultural issues of day to day make a better understanding of the “global” universe we live in.  It is most likely that those who return will have a more accurate and informed perspective of world affairs.  Lastly, studying abroad enhances one’s career opportunities, especially those in business and international affairs.  Many employers value a cross-cultured individual who has completed a study abroad program.  The opportunities for self-enhancement and enjoyment are endless with a study abroad program.

-Adam

Virtual Pub Crawl

  During my time studying abroad, I had a residency in Antwerpen, Belgium which was just a short walk away from the University of Antwerpen. Near the university there was a small market area designated for the students. Here there were different restaurants and stores, each with their own specialization, but the business with the most presence were the small pubs. In the Belgium culture any given afternoon will consist of meeting friends or co-workers at one of the numerous pubs for one of Belgium's world renown beers. Many are small with a maximum occupancy of about 20-30 people,  and are owned and operated by 1-3 employees. 

This is the area where students would gather to hangout during the day and at night.

  The Barracuda was a fun place to hangout. Many students would come to do a mid day study break or grab something to eat from the snack shop across the street.

  Den Buvee was my personal favorite bar. The owner was very friendly with us from the first day to the last. A fun nightlife atmosphere with current music , wide variety of drinks, and always good people to share a fun night with.

  De Shacht was a unique bar. The atmosphere can be summed up in the name, sort of like a secret fun spot that unless you've experienced it for yourself, one may not know about the potential times to be had here.

  These were my favorite pubs in Antwerpen, I talked about 4 of them but there were just as many in this same area that I didn't have the chance to get a full experience at. Outside of Antwerpen my next favorite pub city was Dublin, Ireland. Here they have world famous bars and pubs such as The Temple Bar all within the tourist area of Dublin. When you get your chance to visit Europe, take advantage of the social culture they have, but be careful because you don't want to spend all of your time and money at these establishments, as there is so much more to see and experience.

-Dan

What Would You Do?

  While on this trip we visited Interlaken, Switzerland.  While there we not only saw the very beautiful Swiss Alps and went to the "Top of Europe" but we also had about a half a day worth of free time.  I have been to the mountains in Colorado so my thoughts were that the Swiss Alps would look about the same.  I could not have been more wrong, it was breath taking.  As we entered the city, all around us were the mountains and in the middle was a lake in which the mountains around us reflected off of so perfectly.  We took a brief tour of the city and I learned that everything over there is very expensive.  We stayed in Interlaken for 2 days, on the second day we took a train to the "Top of Europe".  We were on the top of the Swiss Alps and it was awesome!  The only bad thing that I can think of was that all the activities that day were closed for some reason.  However, that did not have a real big impact on my experience there.

Like I said before we had about a half a day that we could do what ever we wanted to.  What would you do with your time?  Would you go skydiving, paragliding, shopping or hiking?  Well I chose to do something called Canyoning where you hike up the side of a canyon and the only way down is to ride the river.  You ride the river by sliding, rappelling, swimming, jumping, and climbing.  It was probably the most insane adventure I have ever been on in my life.  We were not allowed to take pictures however, I did buy a video that show me going down the canyon.  If I had the chance to do it again I would do it in a heart beat.

-Ben

Meet New Friends

Study abroad is a great experience for many reasons but one of the best experiences is all the new people you meet. In this blog I will talk about the people you meet you go study abroad with and the people you meet while in the different countries.

With studying abroad for 5 to 6 weeks during either the semester or summer, you go with a group of students from school, with many of the students you never met before. Studying abroad makes people have to open up and it brings people together. The students you travel with will be experiencing the same things you will be so you will not feel lonely.

Studying abroad in a country for 5 to 6 weeks you have a great chance to meet a ton of new people from different backgrounds. The friendships you make with people within the country are very special because these friends are people that help you through one of the biggest experiences in your life. They helped you get around town without getting and help learn the language and culture of the area. With these new friends if you ever want to go back there one day you will know someone.

 -Brock

New Europe Tour Guides

  On my adventures through the Old Continent I was fortunate enough to have knowledgeable tour guides through some of Europe's most famed cities. The tour company New Europe is a tourism company with a presence in cities ranging geographically from Jerusalem all the way up to Edinburgh. These tour guides are fun, well-knowledge history buffs who love to show tourists through their city they love. I was lucky enough to go on these tours 4 times in 3 cities (I'll explain that math later.) 

  Starting off was Paris, my personal favorite city to be in because our tour guide from New Europe made it my favorite tour. Arnoud (pronounced R-no) was the guide of Paris and he made the whole experience fun. Originally from the States (which was appreciated because it was the first native English I had heard in weeks) married a French lady and ended up moving to Paris and had plenty of facts to share about the city. Because he was originally from California, he was able to relate some of Paris' stories to our culture such as comparing the French king who loved to party to Charlie Sheen. While passing a bridge he then mentioned how this king had portraits of his friends made and plastered on a bridge, this as Arnoud described it was the original Facebook, friends party pictured posted on a wall and their names tagged. We then headed to the Louvre where after taking some fun pictures, our time with Arnoud was over. 

  The next city that we had a New Europe tour guide in was Dublin, Ireland. This tour guide was a young, fresh out of college history major who specialized in Irish history. This tour was fascinating in the sense of learning so much about the fight that Irish people had with getting away from England. Just like everyone else in Dublin, our tour guide was one of the most friendly people I encountered in Europe. My favorite story was of the most famous prank to ever go down in college history. A group of kids made a plaque and nailed it to the bridge of a legendary captain. After multiple years the city government finally found out about the plaque and had it removed, only to upset the entire city. After much disappointment the city actually put back this plaque of honor for a made-up captain.

  The third and final city of having a New Europe guide was Edinburgh. This is where I actually went on two different tours. The first was during the day and was a history of the city of Edinburgh walking up and down Princess Street and the Royal Mile. This was also a great tour with lots of fun facts about why Edinburgh is so haunted. Many murders have taken place in the city and it has lots of graveyards. In these graveyards is where J.K. Rowling got many of her names for characters in the famed Harry Potter novels. The day tour was fun, but couldn't compare to the night, the Ghost tour. This was a special tour which took us through the graveyards of Edinburgh at night. Edinburgh has some of the most ghost sites in the world and even though I'm not easily scared, it was spooky. 

    When you get your chance to go to Europe make sure you take advantage of this great company and get booked on with one of these tours!!
-Dan

Center of Global Initiatives at NDSU

  I feel very fortunate this year at NDSU to have participated in the College of Business.  Previously, I had pursued a degree in chemistry.  Nothing against chemistry or the department, but the College of Business has opened my eyes to the world rather than the local laboratory I called home.  A few of my classes include international students I have become friends with, and also some of my classmates have studied abroad through the Center for Global Initiatives at NDSU.  I wish I would have known of the opportunity before the semester began because it sounds and sounded like an extraordinary experience.  Our world is continuing to get smaller with technological advances rapidly evolving, and soon enough it is going to be common place to do any kind of business internationally.

  The CGI at NDSU is a great opportunity to learn of different business practices abroad, cultural differences in different countries, and can also serve as an enjoyable, and most likely needed, vacation from North Dakota.  The opportunities are endless, and so much more can be learned by actually observing different cultures and practices first hand.  Check out CGI at NDSU for an advancement of your education that will be a trip of a lifetime.

-Adam