Study Abroad - Europe

Hey everybody

2008-04-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe I only have a month and one week left in Europe. A semester is just too short for something like this, but it is a good start :) Last weekend I was in Vienna, the capital of Austria. The entire student body of Salzburg College went, as this was considered part of our curriculum. So there were 42 of us or something... Everyone was assuming that we would have plenty of time in Vienna, but even 4 days was not long enough! There is just so much to do and see in Vienna... it is definitely the most beautiful city I have ever seen (it can boast, after all, the most trees of any European city) I went to 3 or 4 different museums, 3 wonderful concerts, and saw many other sights, such as Shonbrunn Palace. My favorite part of Vienna though was the Naschmarkt. In the old days of Vienna, the Naschmarkt was just as much of a social activity as a daily necessity. This was the place where one could buy the freshest meats, fish, produce, and fruits; but also, this was the place to hear the latest and hottest gossip. Although now the Naschmarkt is being run not entirely by Viennese people, the feeling of culture and society seems to live on. There was so much good food there, and it was also very fun to be able to barter with the various vendors, hehe. The Naschmarkt was also the place where I first discovered the friendlyness of the Viennese also. There were so many people, and although it was very crowded, there was a happy feeling about the place. Also at the concerts, and just roaming around, I encounted nothing but kindness. Also on the trip, we stopped at the UN building in Vienna, and two different monasteries (St. Florian and Melk) which are nearby.
This was just not enough time to see Vienna though... I slept very little while I was there, and I feel like I have seen and experienced only a little bit of what the city has the offer.

Back to "normal life"

2008-03-30T13:26:00.000-07:00

I have been back in Salzburg for a week now. My goodness that is hard to believe. This week has really gone by quickly. Although I did not travel to as many destinations as I had originally planned, I had a wonderful holiday. I ended up spending the rest of my time in the town of Plakias on the island of Crete.. but I have no regrets about it. Most of the other students took a different route.. a different city every two days. Thus, many of them were sick and tired by the time they returned to Salzburg; I definitely have no regrets. One of my roommates, Derek, has been very sick lately... I really hope he is well soon, and I hope I remain healthy. Other than that, Salzburg has been good as always. We had some snow.. which many people resented... but it is all melted away now :/ That just means I can start riding a bike again though!!

I have been thinking about going back to Crete when the semester is over.. but I have not yet made that decision. I would like to see more of Europe, and it is highly probable that I would once again stay longer than I had planned in Crete... but it is still an option ;)

I was also able to get a lot of practice speaking and understanding the German language while in Plakias. I was fortunate to have made friends with some other travellers who were staying in the hostel, and they spoke German as their mother tongue. Although I did not understand half of their conversations... I have noticed a huge improvement in my German this past week. I speak it whenever possible, and it is finally paying off. I can finally have simple conversations now :) This will come in very handy.. this Friday I will be going with the rest of Salzburg College for our field trip to Vienna. It is a very large city.. I am bound to become disoriented at some point, and I will feel much more comfortable now that I can converse in German. It is also very nice that I am able to interract with my host father more. Previously, communication was possible, but it was extremely limited. Today I was watching the Salzburg vs. Ried soccer game with him. Salzburg is second in the league right now! ;)

Thanks everybody, I appreciate your care and concern for what I am up to. Stay safe and healthy!
Mach's gut!
joe

Crete

2008-03-20T03:37:00.000-07:00

Please excuse any mistakes or errors in this entry, i am typing under a short amount of time (paying for internet)

I have been in Crete since the 14th now. The ferry was around 8 hours long, but i slept most of the time so it was not bad. Also, the boat was more like a floating hotel!! Anyway, we spent the first day in Hraklio, at the temple of Knossos. Actually, we only spent half of a day there, then we went to Chania, on the western part of Crete. We stayed two days in Chania, and it was absolutely wonderful! We stayed in a Pension, it is something between the quality of a hotel and a hostel, so it was actually quite nice for the price. The food was great there! I had a lamb and yogurt dinner at an authentic Greek restaurant- it was amazing. I also went swimming in the Mediterranean! That was really cool.

Since the 16th or 17th,. i am not sure, I have been in Plakias. It is a very charmiong little town on ths south coast of Crete. Time just kind of slips away here.. it is thursday now, and i will stay until sunday, thus spending the remainder of my break time. I would highly recommend Crete, particularly Plakias, if you would like some quality time of relaxation in a very friendly atmosphere :) I love it!

Bye for now, thanks for reading!
-joe

Recent experiences

2008-03-13T13:51:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone!

Since the 8th, I have been on my "independent study" break for school.. but really it is just for travelling :p After a grueling week of mid-terms, I then hopped on a train to Romania. Not the first place most people would choose to go for Spring Break, but my experience there was wonderful! I went there to see a friend who is volunteering with a program called Veritos, in Sighisoura, Romania. As you may have read in my earlier blogs, I found that the people in Spain are very kind, and very welcoming. I found this to be true also in Romania. In fact, I think the Translyvanian people are the nicest Europeans I have met thus far.

As you may know, Romania has only been free of communist rule since their Revolution in 1989.. so the country is really in a poor economic state right now. Nevertheless, they are the most kind, most generous people you would ever meet. I suppose I do not know if all Romanians are that way, but in Sighisoura they are certainly wonderful. If you have the opportunity, I would recommend reading a book called "The Hole in the Flag" It is about an exiled Romanian who returns to his home after the revolution. It was amazing to have the opportunity to learn about recent Romanian history from the people. In my lifetime, Romania has gone through, and is still going through great political and economic changes due to the revolution- it is really fascinating.
I was very sad to be leaving Romania actually.. it just felt so welcoming.. and i regret leaving after just meeting so many kind people.

Now I am in Athens, Greece. Today we saw the Acropolis, a couple of historical museums, the Agora, and the church on Lycabetus Hill(the tallest point in Athens). The city is crazy though!! I swear.. people never learned to obey the rules of the road.. or they just do not think it matters, haha. It is a big change from Salzburg or Sighisoura; Athens is bustling to say the least. Tomorrow we (me and my friend Ryan) will be going to Delphi, and in the evening we will sail to Crete.

Peace!
-joe

Lost in Paradise.

2008-03-01T11:48:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I went to Barcelona, Spain to visit a friend. But.. my friend spent all of her money somehow (Europe is quite expensive it seems), and she could not make her way to Barcelona to meet me! I had already purchased my tickets for travelling, and it was much too late to return them, so I was off! Although it is sometimes a drag to travel alone, overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable and even more enlightening experience.

The first thing I learned was that travelling by train from Salzburg, Austria to Milan, Italy takes a very very long time. It was a beautiful ride.. but for the price I would never do it again. I arrived in Milan around 11am on Saturday, and my flight did not depart until 2:30. It is always good to have extra time when flying.. but that was also a long wait. As you can imagine, I was quite tired by this time, since I left from Salzburg at 9pm on Friday evening. By 4 o'clock I was safely on the ground in Barcelona, and I had already befriended a very kind Spanish citizen :)

My stay in Barcelona was not always easy, but it was not altogether difficult either. After some initial troubles finding my hostels, things went smoothly for the most part. Most of my time in Spain I spent walking. It is truly a beautiful town for sight seeing, and I think walking is the best way to do it. Perhaps if I can return in the future I would consider renting a bicycle, but that would have been simply dangerous for me since I did not know the city at all. I can truly say I have been "Lost in Paradise" now.. because Barcelona is gorgeous and I spent many hours wandering, if not entirely lost; but those were the best times :p

I would highly recommend a visit to Barcelona if you have the chance, it is great. The first couple of days you will most likely be a typical tourist and stay around "Las Ramblas", but when you are able to branch out and explore what life is really like in Spain, it is even better. The people there are very kind, especially in contrast to Germany and Austria. I would not say more kind I suppose.. just more open. It is a different type of friendliness. My favorite place I visited in Barcelona was "Parc Guell" It is an enormous park designed by the famous architect Gaudi. Also, the church "La Grada de Familia" by Gaudi is splendid.

Oh yes! And the cuisine. I did not try the local specialties like I planned to.. but I did have a wonderful dinner along the beach one evening. I had "Hake".. I think it is a type of Spanish fish.. maybe, i dont know. It was soo good though. Also, there was an open air market every day with fresh everything. The fruit is very cheap and really good to eat. My favorite were the dried figs, which come also from Spain.

Although I met a lot of cool people and learned many things in Spain, I was exceedingly glad to return to Austria. I never thought I would be so happy to hear people speaking German! Familiar things are always nice. Obviously I have been greatly enjoying the wonderful food back in Austria as well :)
Tschus!
-joe

Recent happenings

2008-02-17T02:03:00.000-08:00

Gross Gott!

I have been meaning to post a new blog about more recent happenings with my experience abroad. One particularly exciting adventure I have had lately was last weekend in Munich. I was not planning to travel last weekend, but I decided on Friday night I would go to Munich with some other students. I think my friends and family can testify to my proneness to last minute decisions. I was supposed to meet at the train station at 7:45 on Saturday morning.. but you see, there are two train stations in Salzburg. I ended getting to the station 5 minutes before the train to Munich departed. I thought my friends had purchased a group ticket, and I could just hop on the train with them, it turned out though, that I had to purchase a single 24 ticket.. it is now 2min until departure lol. I made it back to the platform with seconds to spare. After a morning like that, I had no doubts it would be an exciting day.

The first place we went was Dachau. A name that was feared and well-known throughout WWII, and a name today that brings to mind morbid and gruesome memories of hatrid towards innocent people. We were at the concentration camp memorial site for 3 hours at least.. there was just so much information. The longer I stayed, though, the harder it became to read of the atrocities which occurred in that place. I still cannot wrap my mind around the fact that the leaders of the camp, and those who carried out the mental and physical torture on the Jews, thought it was okay somehow to treat another human being that way... it is unbelievable. Although it is hard to take it all in, and I will never understand fully the oppression those people endured.. I think anyone who has the opportunity should go to a concentration camp memorial site.. it is a must do.

Ironically, after such a sobering and disheartening experience.. we went back to Munich to have dinner! ... it just seems so insensitive... count your blessings one by one. Anyway, in downtown Munich we stumbled upon a large gathering of people in the city square. It was easy to understand by the flags and the people chanting that it was some type of political rally. It did not seem dangerous in the slightest though.. for one thing, it had just started; and secondly, there were at least 3 times as many police around as there were protestors. It was really interesting for me to see though.. having been born and raised in Midwest smalltown America I have never seen anything like that. I saw some stickers around Salzburg promoting the rally.. they said: "Fight Capitalist War! Fight Capitalist Peace!" The message seems a bit ironic at first.. and I am not sure I agree with it.. but it is never a bad thing for people take the time to evaluate the state of their society and stand for what they think is correct.

The rest of my time there is not really worth recapping.. but I certainly felt like my trip to Munich was a great way to spend a Saturday.

Germany field trip, in short

2008-02-11T11:21:00.000-08:00

After my last post, I feel it would unecessary and disinteresting to try to recap everything I experienced that entire week in Germany.. so I will just post the itinerary for each day, and if anything is especially interesting to you, e-mail me! I would be more that happy to tell you about it :)

GERMANY FIELD TRIP
January 21-26, 2008

Monday January 21 Arrival in Frankfurt. Transfer to Trier, the oldest city of Germany.
Free time to explore the town on your own.

Tuesday January 22 Visit to Roman monuments of Trier. Drive through the Moselle Valley. Introduction to the culture of wine growing. Visit the Benedictine Abbey of Maria Laach with a look "behind the walls". Continue to Bonn.

Wednesday January 23 Day-trip to Cologne. Lecture at the cathedral. Time to explore the town on your own. Optional visits to Roman Germanic Museum and/or Museum Ludwig of Modern Art.

Thursday January 24 Lecture tour of the "Museum of the History of the Federal Republic" in Bonn. Drive along the Romantic Rhine Valley. See remains of medieval Jewish culture in Worms. Continue to Heidelberg.

Friday January 25 Tour of Heidelberg Old Town and Castle. Drive through the Neckar Valley to Rothenburg, the best preserved medieval town of Germany. Continue to Nuremberg.

January 26 City tour of old Nuremberg. See the Nuremberg Trials Court of Justice and the
Saturday Nazi Party Rally grounds. Visit to the exhibition "Fascination and Terror" in the Documentation Center. Continue to Salzburg.

Sunday January 27 Free day with your host families.

Monday January 28 Orientation day in Salzburg.

A way overdue update (Germany)

2008-02-11T10:53:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

Sorry for my inaccusably slowness in posting another blog.. the following is the itinerary for our field trip through Germany:

Monday Jan 21: Arrival in at the Frankfurt International Airport in Germany. Drive to Trier. Orientation meeting. Dinner

-This was the first time I had EVER flown on a plane.. it was spectacular. I remember distinctly how happy, excited, and awestruck I was to finally be on my way to Europe! It was amazing to see Chicago from so high up.. and Lake Michigan was beautiful! I am sure Ryan (the student i sat next to) would tell you how funny I was being excited over what is menial to most people. lol.
After somewhat recovering from such an exciting experience, i then realized this was just the beginning! I was not even in Europe yet!

We arrived in Frankfurt at 5:45am, and we did not meet up with our group until 8, so i had a little bit of time to kill. I realized soon after arriving that my cell phone was not going to be working in Europe (it did not support the necessary frequency), so i went on a search for a computer with internet access. Kristian, another student, also went looking with me.... but we had no luck whatsoever. After wandering around the airport for a while, and realizing that we would not be getting internet access for a reasonable price, we started to head back to the group. Along the way though, we saw a guy sitting in a corner with his laptop... it turned out he was extremely kind and helpful (not to mention bi-lingual) and he let us use his computer to email our families :) It was a great adventure!

The bus ride to Trier was rather uneventful.. everyone was just very very tired, and hungry lol. After a 3 hour ride, we finally arrived in Trier. Since we could not check into our hostel yet for the evening, the first thing we did was go to the main part of the city to get something to eat. Looking back, it is quite comical... most of us have never travelled in our lives.. and the first thing we do is wander through an unknown German city to find a place to eat, haha. Our guides simply brought us to the main square, told us when to be back at the bus, and.. let us go. This was a quick lesson in paying attention to your surroundings, and remembering which way you came from.

So, we stayed at a hostel that night, and surprisingly, it was really quite comfortable.. 75% better than i imagined it being. Anyway, to wrap things up; that day felt like a week. I mean, the activities of that one day felt like i had experienced an entire week's worth of things.. and i enjoyed every moment of it.

In Salzburg

2008-01-30T05:47:00.000-08:00

Blog for 01-30-08
I cannot believe I am actually in Austria now.. It is wonderful! I love it with my host family, and I am starting to become a little bit familiar with the town, I can at least get to school and the store with ease :P I have only been in Austria since the 27th, though. Up to this point, we were touring Germany by way of the Rhine River, which also consists of the Mosel River Valley and the Nekar River Valley (both are gorgeous wine growing regions in Germany). The trip seems like it happened so long ago, it is as if in one day I experience a lifetime’s worth of adventures, lessons, and realizations. The funny part though, is I do not feel like I have fully “realized” everything… time to reflect is key for this kind of journey; something my “Austrian mom” reminds us of continually.

Myself and two other students (Craig and Derek) are staying with a very kind older couple. The best way to describe the environment at the house, and Austria in general, is what they call “die GEMUTLICHKIET.” I am still learning exactly what that means, but to my understanding it is the central focus of Austrian living. In Austria, they want everyone and everything to be comfortable and welcoming. My host family definitely abides by this perspective on life.. They are so generous and kind to myself and my roomates. Also, this central focus can be seen the “comfort foods”, coffee shops, and general life in Salzburg.

In contrast, I have noticed Europe in general (so far at least) is a bit less.. Hmm.. Open. It is especially apparent when walking down the street, people just do their own thing, and eye contact is rare. Also, on the bus, you should not expect for someone to WANT to talk to you. In America, it is normal (at least for me) to strike up conversation with anyone.. Here.. Not so much. On the bus, most people just sit quietly by themselves, and they are happy with that. Austria is more welcoming that Germany I think though. In Germany.. People were just plain rude sometimes. Perhaps, though, I should not say rude, just different. Please, take my words as a grain of salt, as I am still learning about the culture and society here. I really don’t know yet, I think I may still be experience a bit of “culture shock” or “cultural static.” If I am correct with my assumptions on daily life in Europe…perhaps it is not so bad to keep to yourself, and to not be constantly searching for a means of entertainment. If I was being totally honest, I would admit that sometimes my “polite conversation” could be more for my own pleasure and entertainment than for the benefit of my dialogue partner. I say dialogue partner as opposed to friend…it seems to more aptly describe the point I am trying to convey.

We will have internet at the house soon. I am writing this at around 8:30am on Wednesday the 30th, and I will hopefully have time to connect to the web at school and post this blog before my class at 10:30. I will post my itinerary from the Germany tour ASAP…if anyone is interested please check back in a couple of days. Thank you for your interest in my affairs, and please, if you have any questions or comments post them here, or e-mail me at: ogj_88@yahoo.com.
Thanks to Congress and the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship Program for provided the financial means necessary for me to experience the world through traveler’s eyes. (for more information please visit: www.iie.org/gilman)

Made it!!!

2008-01-21T08:23:00.000-08:00

Well this is the first day in Europe! Things are going great! I am a bit tired since after our seven hour flight we had to wait for another 2 before we were on the bus for another 3 hours!! that is alot, but it was okay. I had people to talk to.. i even got to jam with a fellow musician a little bit :) We are staying in Trier, the oldest city in Germany. The youth hostel we are staying in tonight is very, very nice... especially for 10.4 euro. I am at an internet cafe and my friends are waiting outside for me, so i do not have much time.. so now I am off to dinner at the hostel! (it is about 5:30pm here, i am also ready for bed) Tomorrow we will take a guided tour through Trier.. i will update things ASAP!!
Peace friends,
-joe

Auf Wiedersehen!

2008-01-19T20:44:00.000-08:00

Hi.. I suppose.. bye everyone!

Well, the time has finally arrived (almost). I depart for Frankfurt, Germany tomorrow at 2:32 pm. I am so happy! I think I re-packed my bags three times :P I will be glad when they are at last on their way across the ocean.

This past week has been quite a trip in itself, so I apologize to anyone who I was not able to visit with before my leaving. To those of you I did visit with though, it was great to see you!! I truly appreciate all of your love and support!

Since the first week of my journey will consist of a tour through Germany. As you may know, Frankfurt is located in the southwest/central portion of the country. From here we will be taking a bus tour down the Rhine River until we come to Austria. As I do not yet know when or where I will have internet access, I do not know when I will update this again, but stay tuned!

Very soon

2008-01-06T14:23:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been saying I was going to get this blog set up for some time now.. here it is!! I will be studying abroad in Salzburg, Austria this Spring semester. The purpose of this blog is to document my trip and some of my journal entries online; that way, if anyone is interested in hearing what I am up to you can stay up to date!

My departure date for Salzburg is January 20th, it is coming up very soon :) I still cannot believe I have this amazing opportunity to attend school in Salzburg! It is surreal to say the least. I feel very fortunate, and very thankful to everyone who has helped me along the way to prepare for this. Firstly, I thank my family for all of their love and support (even if my mom keeps trying to "convince" me not to go :p) Additionally, I thank my family, especially my mom, for helping shape my character, and instilling in me a desire for knowledge and truth. Also, I would like to thank everyone at Illinois Valley Community College for the wonderful educational experience you have provided to me, it has been stupendous. Lastly, I would like to thank Congress and the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship Program for selecting me as a scholarship recipient (Thanks also to Mr. Steve Alvin for making me aware of the opportunity).

For anyone who came to our New Year's Party last week.. THANK YOU!!! It was a blessing to see all of you and celebrate our friendship through the past year, and celebrate the beginning of a new one together. I hope to hear from you all while I am in Europe :) Feel free to e-mail me any time at: ogj_88@yahoo.com