Living in Rome was like living in a museum. The eternal city is ripe with culture and history at every corner and ingrained in every brick or piece of travertine. While abroad, I took a class called “Roman Art and Civilization: From Antiquity to the Present.” I learned all about Roman history from before the monarchy to present times with a particular focus on Rome’s material, cultural, artistic, and architectural evidence.
Throughout my program in Batumi I would often use the Russian phrase найти общий язык when speaking to people about my adjustment to Georgia, when making new friends, and when seeking understanding with my Georgian host family. Найти общий язык means “to find a common language” and usually people use this phrase when expressing the time when new friends find their rhythm and reach an understanding.
I have a Notes app entry called “Georgia Chaos Log” where I chronicle every challenging or humorous moment of my abroad experience that I don’t want to forget. Some of these entries include helping my host mom put out a kitchen fire, conspiracy theories about Americans that I hear, or getting hit with a door so hard I fell down a flight of stairs. I started this Notes app as a way to cope with everyday challenges but also as a way to reflect and laugh and feel proud of myself in retrospect.
In Tbilisi there is a large monument on one of the hills overlooking the city called Kartlis Deda, or Mother of Georgia. Kartlis Deda is supposed to be the quintessential symbol of the Georgian spirit throughout history. In one of Kartlis Deda’s hands she holds a sword for those coming as enemies, and in the other a glass of wine for those coming as guests.
I suppose it depends on who you ask. I know someone who thinks eating is overrated, so perhaps it may not be a universal truth. Regardless of this controversial opinion, for me, food is the window to the soul. Eating and enjoying food with good company is something that I value. It is an experience, a comfort, a chapter on life’s simplest pleasures. Food, and the care you put into its ingredients, can transcend language, bringing people together.
CIEE’s Intensive French Language Summer Program is definitely not short of intensive. Every weekday, we had class, totaling 10 credit hours over the summer.
France, comme un reve, was rich in culture and natural beauty -- exceeding my expectations and presumptions about French life. Although Rennes was adorned with cobblestone streets and charming architecture, the ignorance and racism was overt. I was adopted from China as a baby and grew up in a predominantly white area in rural Pennsylvania. After taking many French language and culture courses over the past 8 years and my life experience as a POC, I assumed I was prepared to encounter the racial ignorance in France.
Each day varied in terms of what activities we had planned. We had a set itinerary with site visits, tourism opportunities, and lectures that took place each day, but every evening we had free to explore on our own.
Studying abroad has influenced many of my goals. Some goals I want to accomplish initially from studying abroad include learning more in depth about the European healthcare and insurance systems and healthcare delivery, so that I can have the knowledge to be open minded and have diverse ideas regarding global and public health as a future physician making decisions one day. Also, I hope to compare the strengths and weaknesses of both American and European healthcare.
As a student on the Comparative Healthcare in Graz, Austria study abroad program, we are living in Graz for 4 weeks. The Hotel das Weitzer is a very nice hotel in a great central location. It is close to two tram stops that we use to get to the university every day. It also is within walking distance to numerous restaurants with outdoor seating in the popular location called the “Bermuda triangle.” We are also close to the main Congress square and the famous Bell Tower and fortress of Graz.