Summer

One of my all-time favorite ways to experience a new culture is through food, so you can bet that I ate a lot of Cyprian meals. I always made an effort to go to local restaurants for meals rather than chains. A lot of Cyprian cuisine is determined by the resources available on the island. Despite being an island, Cyprian cuisine does not include a lot of seafood. The water surrounding Cyprus has a lot of invasive species that diminish the fish population. We still went to a fish tavern and despite hating seafood I made it a goal to try everything they served. I even ate a fisheye!

To start most of my days I would wake up on time (except for one day) yet still rush to get ready. Although I always wanted to go out for breakfast, our days started too early and I never had enough time, so I ate the hotel breakfast. Next, we would board the bus and head off to our adventures. We never really got enough sleep so we would take epic bus naps that really hit the spot. We usually had business meetings earlier in the day and cultural events later in the afternoon. We visited ports, pharmaceutical companies, concrete companies, and more ports.

There are many pieces of advice that I would give to other students planning to study on this program, especially now that I’ve had time to reflect. The first piece of advice that I would give to others planning to study on this program is to get to know your fellow Pittsburgh students who are participating in this program with you. The people around the Plus3 Germany program are really what make it stand out from the other programs. By getting to know your fellow students, you can really begin to build a family abroad.

Interacting with the people of Germany was one of the biggest positives of my experience studying abroad. Every person I had the chance to talk to welcomed me to the country with open arms. The people of Germany were more than happy to share their customs, traditions, and experiences with me. The students and faculty of the University of Augsburg, where I had the chance to study while I was in Germany, were the best hosts that any student could ask for.