I'm seriously considering studying abroad for summer 2008 before worlds. I talked to my counselor this afternoon and it seems like a great idea.
Anyway, who here has studied abroad and if so, where? Also, if your from a country besides the U.S, why should I come to your country?
Let me know.
dc
Clavens study abroad summer 08 - where should i go?
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shredzilla
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QuantumBalance
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I went to Germany for one full year, and outside of Footbag I had a mixed-emotion feeling about it. Remember, every point I touch on here is coming from a "Canadian" to "German" perspective. This is also a highschool experience, which I imagine would differ greatly from a University one, which peoples maturity levels obviously change.
In a nutshell, if you don't know the language of where you will be going, the first few months will suck. Especially with the Germans, they offer very little help in teaching you there language, and like to keep you as an "outsider".
In trying to learn the language, people will laugh at you. It does not matter if they are your schoolmates or host-family. It feels really crappy, especially when you have worked so hard to try and get a grammatical concept down, and they just blatantly laugh at you. And then when you ask them to tell you how to say it properly, they don't take the time to reason as to why you were wrong. The best way to get through this, is obviously persevere, and don't let the feelings of "screw this" take you over.
As for the "culture shock" it is hard to define. At first I read about it, and how to get 'out' of it ahead of time so that I could suffer less of it. This is one of those times where you really have to experience it, to take the advice in truly. As you are a University student, I imagine the blow on you will be alot easier than someone like me, who was still protected by their highschool environment, where you 'know' everything. So, imagine the mixed feelings about feeling ultimate relief from home life, and ultimate depression from not having anyone to talk to, and not being comfortable and confident in anything you do.
Anyway, I could go on for quite a while on the 'hard' parts of becoming an exchange student, but the truth is it was an amazing experience, that I truly believe will help me in the future. The people you meet, with the VERY different perspectives on life can re-determine any goals you had for the future, and can make you appreciate many things that you just didn't at home.
If you are living with a host-family, request with the strongest wishes in your life that they don't have a pet. May it be your deciding factor in completely abolish the idea of staying with them. I hated it every day living with that satanic being, who never shut up and always scratched puked and ate your food when you weren't looking.
Anyway, as I am completely open to answering any questions or concerns, don't be shy to PM me. It is totally worth the experience, I just think that if are to go, people such as myself should guide you into making it even better. There are just things you don't consider yourself when thinking about a fairy-tale land away from all of your pre-determined thoughts about life. If you don't PM me, I'll probably still throw some advice in here, as I think everyone could benefit from it.
Footbag definetly saved me from having a depressing year, however it shouldn't have had to.
In a nutshell, if you don't know the language of where you will be going, the first few months will suck. Especially with the Germans, they offer very little help in teaching you there language, and like to keep you as an "outsider".
In trying to learn the language, people will laugh at you. It does not matter if they are your schoolmates or host-family. It feels really crappy, especially when you have worked so hard to try and get a grammatical concept down, and they just blatantly laugh at you. And then when you ask them to tell you how to say it properly, they don't take the time to reason as to why you were wrong. The best way to get through this, is obviously persevere, and don't let the feelings of "screw this" take you over.
As for the "culture shock" it is hard to define. At first I read about it, and how to get 'out' of it ahead of time so that I could suffer less of it. This is one of those times where you really have to experience it, to take the advice in truly. As you are a University student, I imagine the blow on you will be alot easier than someone like me, who was still protected by their highschool environment, where you 'know' everything. So, imagine the mixed feelings about feeling ultimate relief from home life, and ultimate depression from not having anyone to talk to, and not being comfortable and confident in anything you do.
Anyway, I could go on for quite a while on the 'hard' parts of becoming an exchange student, but the truth is it was an amazing experience, that I truly believe will help me in the future. The people you meet, with the VERY different perspectives on life can re-determine any goals you had for the future, and can make you appreciate many things that you just didn't at home.
If you are living with a host-family, request with the strongest wishes in your life that they don't have a pet. May it be your deciding factor in completely abolish the idea of staying with them. I hated it every day living with that satanic being, who never shut up and always scratched puked and ate your food when you weren't looking.
Anyway, as I am completely open to answering any questions or concerns, don't be shy to PM me. It is totally worth the experience, I just think that if are to go, people such as myself should guide you into making it even better. There are just things you don't consider yourself when thinking about a fairy-tale land away from all of your pre-determined thoughts about life. If you don't PM me, I'll probably still throw some advice in here, as I think everyone could benefit from it.
Footbag definetly saved me from having a depressing year, however it shouldn't have had to.
Jay Boychuk
While I think it would be great if you came to Australia, I also think that you should really think about, and tell us what you want to get out the experience.
In Australia, when people go on exchange, the people who go to the US either go there for fairly specific reasons, or they go there because it's a relatively similar country, and not so much of a change to their normal lives.
Of course Australian culture is quite a bit different to US culture, but not in comparison with say, the US and Poland or the US and Costa Rica.
Do you want to be learning what you're studying, or do you want to be learning about another completely different culture? Do you want to go somewhere just for the footbag, or do not care about that aspect?
If it were me, I'd go to South America, Africa or Asia (but not Japan, unless it was because of my family there); I'd go somewhere completely different, where I really challenge myself and get a completely different perspective on the world.
But as I said, it depends what you want. If you want to chill on lawns in summer drinking beer and playing footbag, Hobart is obviously your best choice
In Australia, when people go on exchange, the people who go to the US either go there for fairly specific reasons, or they go there because it's a relatively similar country, and not so much of a change to their normal lives.
Of course Australian culture is quite a bit different to US culture, but not in comparison with say, the US and Poland or the US and Costa Rica.
Do you want to be learning what you're studying, or do you want to be learning about another completely different culture? Do you want to go somewhere just for the footbag, or do not care about that aspect?
If it were me, I'd go to South America, Africa or Asia (but not Japan, unless it was because of my family there); I'd go somewhere completely different, where I really challenge myself and get a completely different perspective on the world.
But as I said, it depends what you want. If you want to chill on lawns in summer drinking beer and playing footbag, Hobart is obviously your best choice
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PoisonTaffy
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I've studied abroad (in the U.S actually) and it was an amazingly rewarding experience, I highly recommend it.
Come to Israel, and be a major part of the footbag pioneering efforts in this country!
But seriously:
Depending on your intended major, Israel has some very high class universities and private colleges. Many classes are taught in English, and I know of lecturers here who have been or are doubling as lecturers in Ivy league universities, so it's an opportunity to get top notch education, in English, for the price of the cheapest U.S public university, or less. Again, it really depends on the major, though, so some looking into things would be in order.
Culturally, Israel is unique by its combination of a western, secular culture existing side by side with more traditional cultures of the Arabs, Druz, Bedouin and Jews (i.e, you get to live in a vibrant city with an amazing night life and about 5 free wi-fi spots per square meter, and 30 minutes away by car you can visit authentic ethnic villages, crusader ruins, Roman ruins, Christian, Muslim and Jewish ancient buildings, etc.).
Israel is basically divided to North, center and South. The North is the more rural area, with forests, rivers and the sea of Galilee (which is a lake, not a sea). There's even a ski resort during the winter. I think they're gonna build a snowpark there next season if you're into snowboarding.
The center is urban and most of the population is located there (think shows, parties, pubs etc)
and the South is largely a beautiful desert with the dead sea, the shores of the red sea, oases and craters. North to south is about 7-8 hours drive.
Israel is usually known for the Israeli-Arab conflict and the news make it sound like a dangerous place. However, I can tell you that it's nothing compared to what I had in a year and a half of living in Chicago. Waiting for the bus near the projects was probably the scariest experience of my life. Israel is not a war-zone unless you wander off into Palestinian territories, and you can't really wander off and get there by mistake.
English is a second language spoken by practically everyone and every public thing written in Hebrew has also an English translation on it. Most people would love for the opportunity to practice their English on you, so you'll only need Hebrew if you're interested in learning it.
Oh yes, 90% of the channels are subtitled, not dubbed. Take that, Europe
I don't know how old you are, but drinking age here is 18, and the parties only start at 2 am
Hmm what else, Israel is basically one long beach stretch, with silky white sand on the Mediterranean and cool, clear water at the red sea. Heck, I live 10 minutes away from the beach, by foot.
A flight ticket to worlds 08 from here would be pretty cheap.
The currency (NIS) is not nearly as strong as the Euro, so you'll get more bang for your buck.
Downsides would be a pretty miserable public transportation system that doesn't even run on Saturdays, so living away from the university is impractical. Plus, I don't know if you can work here as a student or not if money is an issue, so that's another thing to find out.
And finally, the footbag level here isn't here at all. YET. There are about 5-8 active players, we meet twice every weekend, we're constantly expanding in non formal irregulars who attend our circles, we intend on having the first Israeli championship soon, and having a great player with us would be a tremendous help and inspiration.
For all this writing done you had BETTER come
Come to Israel, and be a major part of the footbag pioneering efforts in this country!
But seriously:
Depending on your intended major, Israel has some very high class universities and private colleges. Many classes are taught in English, and I know of lecturers here who have been or are doubling as lecturers in Ivy league universities, so it's an opportunity to get top notch education, in English, for the price of the cheapest U.S public university, or less. Again, it really depends on the major, though, so some looking into things would be in order.
Culturally, Israel is unique by its combination of a western, secular culture existing side by side with more traditional cultures of the Arabs, Druz, Bedouin and Jews (i.e, you get to live in a vibrant city with an amazing night life and about 5 free wi-fi spots per square meter, and 30 minutes away by car you can visit authentic ethnic villages, crusader ruins, Roman ruins, Christian, Muslim and Jewish ancient buildings, etc.).
Israel is basically divided to North, center and South. The North is the more rural area, with forests, rivers and the sea of Galilee (which is a lake, not a sea). There's even a ski resort during the winter. I think they're gonna build a snowpark there next season if you're into snowboarding.
The center is urban and most of the population is located there (think shows, parties, pubs etc)
and the South is largely a beautiful desert with the dead sea, the shores of the red sea, oases and craters. North to south is about 7-8 hours drive.
Israel is usually known for the Israeli-Arab conflict and the news make it sound like a dangerous place. However, I can tell you that it's nothing compared to what I had in a year and a half of living in Chicago. Waiting for the bus near the projects was probably the scariest experience of my life. Israel is not a war-zone unless you wander off into Palestinian territories, and you can't really wander off and get there by mistake.
English is a second language spoken by practically everyone and every public thing written in Hebrew has also an English translation on it. Most people would love for the opportunity to practice their English on you, so you'll only need Hebrew if you're interested in learning it.
Oh yes, 90% of the channels are subtitled, not dubbed. Take that, Europe
I don't know how old you are, but drinking age here is 18, and the parties only start at 2 am
Hmm what else, Israel is basically one long beach stretch, with silky white sand on the Mediterranean and cool, clear water at the red sea. Heck, I live 10 minutes away from the beach, by foot.
A flight ticket to worlds 08 from here would be pretty cheap.
The currency (NIS) is not nearly as strong as the Euro, so you'll get more bang for your buck.
Downsides would be a pretty miserable public transportation system that doesn't even run on Saturdays, so living away from the university is impractical. Plus, I don't know if you can work here as a student or not if money is an issue, so that's another thing to find out.
And finally, the footbag level here isn't here at all. YET. There are about 5-8 active players, we meet twice every weekend, we're constantly expanding in non formal irregulars who attend our circles, we intend on having the first Israeli championship soon, and having a great player with us would be a tremendous help and inspiration.
For all this writing done you had BETTER come
"Childhood is short, immaturity is forever"
Roy Klein
Roy Klein
This thread should be in Journies to Tournies.
Dave, this all depends on what you want to get out of the experience. I personally feel that semester(s) abroad are only really worthwhile if you immerse yourself in a new culture. For me this means learning/using another language. If you are going to go to an English-speaking country, I think it's only worth it if you have a specific goal there which you can't accomplish in the US. If you do decide to study in a non-English country, save yourself some time and study at least one semester of the language before going.
I don't think it's a bad idea to take footbag into consideration when making your decision either. Footbag is a big part of your life, and will help you deal with stress. It's also an easy way to make friends. Footbag made my time in Japan a lot easier and better.
Dave, this all depends on what you want to get out of the experience. I personally feel that semester(s) abroad are only really worthwhile if you immerse yourself in a new culture. For me this means learning/using another language. If you are going to go to an English-speaking country, I think it's only worth it if you have a specific goal there which you can't accomplish in the US. If you do decide to study in a non-English country, save yourself some time and study at least one semester of the language before going.
I don't think it's a bad idea to take footbag into consideration when making your decision either. Footbag is a big part of your life, and will help you deal with stress. It's also an easy way to make friends. Footbag made my time in Japan a lot easier and better.
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Bringerofpie
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Like South Florida!Pirate Man wrote:You might wanna do it to a Spanish speaking country, cuz isn't that what you've been taking. So an abroad thing in a Spanish speaking country could supplement your Spanish skills you have already.
"Fuck it man, you just gotta do it."
Joe Snyder
Representing FLF (Fort Lauderdale Footbaggers)
http://onlycountria.myminicity.com
Joe Snyder
Representing FLF (Fort Lauderdale Footbaggers)
http://onlycountria.myminicity.com
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colefieldhouse22
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someone said in an earlier post that you are taking spanish?
if so, you should definitely go to spain. i was there all last semester and it was the most amazing experience of my life. most people were super friendly, understanding that i was foreign and patient when i spoke spanish. spainards know how to party, probably the best in the world. it is also culturally amazing with tons of history, beautiful architecture, museums with some of the most well known paintings in the world, etc. if you were to go, you should definitely go to madrid or barcelona. i preferred madrid because spanish is spoken there, while catalán is the language in barcelona (on signs, menus, etc) although people do speak spanish.
footbag wise, there are players in madrid, zaragoza, and barcelona but i think most of them are in madrid. i hung out a good bit with the madrid players and they are so much fun and really hospitable. i got to know madrid in ways i never would have if i hadnt hung out with them, as well as improved my footbag because of them. and i know they would be totally stoked to have you there.
its also really easy to travel to other countries. there are lots of discount airlines that fly from madrid and barcelona.
but anywhere you choose to go will be amazing. study abroad is an experience that you really should go for. it adds to the college experience so much.
if so, you should definitely go to spain. i was there all last semester and it was the most amazing experience of my life. most people were super friendly, understanding that i was foreign and patient when i spoke spanish. spainards know how to party, probably the best in the world. it is also culturally amazing with tons of history, beautiful architecture, museums with some of the most well known paintings in the world, etc. if you were to go, you should definitely go to madrid or barcelona. i preferred madrid because spanish is spoken there, while catalán is the language in barcelona (on signs, menus, etc) although people do speak spanish.
footbag wise, there are players in madrid, zaragoza, and barcelona but i think most of them are in madrid. i hung out a good bit with the madrid players and they are so much fun and really hospitable. i got to know madrid in ways i never would have if i hadnt hung out with them, as well as improved my footbag because of them. and i know they would be totally stoked to have you there.
its also really easy to travel to other countries. there are lots of discount airlines that fly from madrid and barcelona.
but anywhere you choose to go will be amazing. study abroad is an experience that you really should go for. it adds to the college experience so much.
Adrienne Craver
)
@ jay7: May I know in which region you resided in Germany ?
All I can say to your statements about Germany.... it is total bullshit.
As far as I know, nobody at university laughs at people from foreign countries who are not able to pronounce every word right.
Additionally, everybody likes being around those people, because they can spread your view of the world really widely and it is always interesting talking to those people....we have a view on americans as americans have a point of view on us germans.
I myself study Chinese language and culture and there are several people from foreign countries among the students.
we help them with their german and in return we gain their help improving our chinese or what else languages you learn to speak.
furthermore i had a few experiences with exchange students from new zealand, australia and usa.... and every of them was being treated well and respectfully as it is a standard for us to treat people the same, no matter where they come from.
No one is interested in keeping foreigners as outsiders, as you put it.
this is no offense, but you are putting Germany in a totally wrong light.
back to topic:
May I ask which subjects you wish to study, David ?
greets, simon
All I can say to your statements about Germany.... it is total bullshit.
As far as I know, nobody at university laughs at people from foreign countries who are not able to pronounce every word right.
Additionally, everybody likes being around those people, because they can spread your view of the world really widely and it is always interesting talking to those people....we have a view on americans as americans have a point of view on us germans.
I myself study Chinese language and culture and there are several people from foreign countries among the students.
we help them with their german and in return we gain their help improving our chinese or what else languages you learn to speak.
furthermore i had a few experiences with exchange students from new zealand, australia and usa.... and every of them was being treated well and respectfully as it is a standard for us to treat people the same, no matter where they come from.
No one is interested in keeping foreigners as outsiders, as you put it.
this is no offense, but you are putting Germany in a totally wrong light.
back to topic:
May I ask which subjects you wish to study, David ?
greets, simon
Simon Kittlaus aka å£å£«è
I wouldn't judge his statements that harshly, as they are his own feelings based on his own experiences and not stereotypes. He was also talking about high school, not university, which is completely different in my opinion.daLai wrote:@ jay7: May I know in which region you resided in Germany ?
All I can say to your statements about Germany.... it is total bullshit.
As far as I know, nobody at university laughs at people from foreign countries who are not able to pronounce every word right.
Additionally, everybody likes being around those people, because they can spread your view of the world really widely and it is always interesting talking to those people....we have a view on americans as americans have a point of view on us germans.
I spent four months in a German high school and enjoyed it very much. But as I had been studying German for 5-6 years and had visited the country already a couple of times, it was quite easy for me to adapt. I can't really say the same about an Argentinian exchange student, who knew basically no German at all and spoke English very poorly. And none in that class knew Spanish.
He wasn't being laughed at, everyone was polite to him etc., but yeah - the first few weeks he was mostly alone before he changed to another class with pupils with Spanish skills. Knowing how he must have felt, I tried to discuss with him from time to time but our interests were so different that we didn't really make friends.
I think jay7's negative experiences have had more to do with people's characters rather than with nationality. I got to know with very cool Germans and some less cool Germans during my stay. (Too bad my first host family was the second kind, but then again, it was a matter of personalities.)
In Germany people won't necessarily come to embrace you straight away and take you as a part of the group if you aren't active yourself. The same goes with Finland. Perhaps there's the cultural shock?
Knowing the German language was a *huge* plus, because at least there where I was (Goslar am Harz, 100 km south from Hanover) the pupils' English skills weren't even nearly as good as they are in say, Finland. They were a bit shy to speak English, so me speaking German was easy for both them and me. I wouldn't have got to know with as many nice and beautiful girls as I did there without knowing German.
----
In conclusion: jay7 was at least partially right, Simon was too, it's all definitely different in universities, Germany is a great country, I apologize this off-topic post, and Dave - come to Finland.
Lauri Jaakkola