Kristen S. - Oxford, England - Spring 2008

Hello everyone,
So after four days my impression of England is cold. It's weird because it is really not that much colder than it is at home, but it feels colder. There is also no snow, everything is green which is so weird to look at. I was so terrified about finding the bus to take me from London to Oxford, but it was no troubles at all. I honestly have to say that if you ask you shall receive. We explored the city a bit and found places to buy adapters, and for everyone else alarm clocks and watches. I luckly brought both items with me. I wish I had brought another blanket because it's chilly in the common room. I also wish I had brought nail polish and nail polish remover. I have yet to solve the cell phone problem and I still need to find an ATM that works with my card, but I still have money enough to get through for a while. I was slightly lonely at first because my roomate didn't arrive the same time I did, but people have been very friendly. Liz's roomate was here last semester and has been a wondeful and patient guide for us. Everyone here has been very nice. Classes start soon and I cannot wait for that to happen. I suppose the hardest part was leaving. I was so sad, but once I got here the nerves and excitement took over. The internet has been a blessing, I talk to my parent through it, posted pictures and kept in touch with old friends. I think that is all I have to say for the moment except for the fact that I am not time adjusted yet, I am tired at the wrong times and awake when I would like to be sleeping. Just give it some time and I think it will all work out, the others here were saying the same thing. If you have any questions at all send 'em my way via a comment. I would be happy to answer anything. Have a great day!!!!
Kristen

Welcome to Spring 2008 Semester Abroad!

Hello from International Ed at EC! Welcome to another semester of ECAbroad. I hope that you will find this site to be a useful tool as you communicate with each other and with us back on campus. I encourage all of our current study abroad students to start right away to post blogs to the site - as you know, our current CPP250 students are anxious to hear all about your experience and to ask you important questions related to your experiences. Please e-mail any posts to me at alicen@elmhurst.edu. We will validate them and post them to the site, at which point others can add comments at will. Let me know if you have any questions. Can't wait to hear what's cookin' in the far corners of the world!

Denis - Salzburg, Austria - Fall 2007

Hello,




Alright, it has been awhile since I last wrote about being abroad. I have been here for over 2 months now and things are going really good. I now know my way around town very well, my roommate and I get along really well, I have made a lot of friends with the other members of the group, and my German is about 1000 times better than when I got here. The average week consists of a lot of class from Monday through Thursday, but then the weekends are pretty free from Friday – Sunday. I did not do much traveling the last week or so because we had some midterms. If you are going to Salzburg, study for your DAF midterm, you won’t regret that. At first it might be kind of hard to find some Natives to hang out with, but I would suggest to try to ask you’re roommate or whoever to come out with you for the night or go to one of the many university sponsored parties, which are a fun time. Just as you are interested in the culture of whatever country you will be going , the people of that you meet there are also interested in you’re culture. I can tell you that my roommate loves Texas Hold’em, Chappelle show, and the SNL clips of celebrity Jeopardy. But we also do a lot of Austrian things as well, such as going to the Red Bull Salzburg soccer games, going out to eat here, or watching Austrian TV. So even though you might only want to speak the language you are learning, you’re roommate might want to practice their English if they know any, lol by the way my roommate is fluent in English. Some days you can try to only speak one of the languages or you could ask questions in German and then have them respond back in English and vice versa. As far as culture shock goes, it is a more personal experience, but I would say the hardest part is when you first get here and have to find out where everything is and getting to know people, but again that is just my experience.


Take it easy

Denis