I am living in an apartment in the east of London. The neighborhood is in between The City of London and Whitechapel, part of the Tower Hamlets postal code and technically called Aldgate. The apartment building itself is inconspicuous, sitting in a street that contains a pub, a grocery store, other businesses, and other apartment buildings as well. My apartment itself is a great size. We have a kitchen, living room, and dining area that is all open. There are three bedrooms and three bathrooms, as the apartment fits seven students. A common feature in European bathrooms is heated... Read More
Pitt Global Experiences Students' Blog
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Arriving in the Flanders region of Belgium, I had expected culture shock, having never truly immersed myself in a foreign culture before. Now returned from Belgium, I recall a culture that was in no means shocking. If anything, their culture of preservation and the personal transportation that resulted from preservation are both inviting and intriguing. Over those ten days of May, our group of nineteen travelled to Leuven, Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, and a variety of smaller vistas, each of which had no shortage of architecture wonders from the 11th to the 18th century.... Read More
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I have two pieces of advice for anyone thinking about this program in the future. Firstly, this is a study abroad, it is meant to be fun. That does not mean, however, that there is not work to be done and stressful situations. You will have to balance classes and an internship, or a full semester’s worth of classes if you elect to not complete an internship. I had an internship, so I can speak to this balance. Twenty hours (which is the required hours of the internship in this project) takes up a lot more of your time than you would think. You will likely have to work three or four... Read More
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As someone who believes food exemplifies the titular sentiment, the food of Belgium was no exception. During our short but eventful study-abroad in the Belgian region closest to the North Sea, our group relied primarily on local restaurants and the occasional fast-food joint to meet our dietary needs. While eating out proved more costly, these restaurants revealed to us an array of either hearty or aquatic cuisine. Based on the prior reading of a provided cultural guide, I entered the country knowing the national culinary identity of northern Belgium consisted of Flemish stew, meatballs,... Read More
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Prior to leaving for your Engineering a Craft Brewery: Belgium study-abroad program, you may feel overwhelmed by the packed schedule awaiting you, which is perfectly normal. I can assure you that each scheduled tour is unique and engaging, and plenty of free time is available in the evenings. I do recommend a couple tips for managing the lofty expectations of your itinerary and making the most out of your study-abroad in Europe.
The study-abroad experience truly begins about two months prior to leaving for Belgium. To make the absolute most out of such a limited time abroad,... Read More
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A major challenge I faced while studying abroad in Costa Rica was the language barrier. In school, I took the French language so I only have minimal knowledge of the Spanish language. This barrier followed me through the whole trip, especially in instances where I was more on my own rather than in a group. It was definitely difficult to communicate and understand things for me. For one example, going out to eat at local restaurants... Read More
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One of my biggest worries about going to live abroad was did I had the self-discipline to not waste my money and end up broke in a foreign country. I was in Florence Italy, and my program made me have at least 1,000 euros a month. So, I looked up the prices of food and other things not provided (like shampoo). Then I made a very rough estimate of a weekly budget in euros. For me my target was to spend less than 100 euros a week. If I did that, I could save the extra and take little trips on the weekend. The first few weeks I exceeded my budget. I forgot to add my school supplies into my... Read More
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Aside from the expected British accent that all professors obtain, there are many other factors that differentiate a classroom environment at Pitt to the one I experienced during my study abroad program. First of all, my course schedule was completely different as opposed to the one I had at Pitt. Classes would take place once a week, each being three and a half hours long aside from the internship course which would only go for an hour and a half. Most of my classes were in the afternoon from 2:00-5:30 however, I did have one class in the morning from 9:30-1:00. Classes would also take... Read More
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You might be thinking to yourself right now how does one even establish, a quotidian routine as a foreign student, well allow me to explain. Moving to an unknown city may seem like a stressful and intense experience, let alone an unknown city that is also known to be as one of the world’s largest megapolises. I like to consider myself a pretty adaptable individual, but I will admit that it took me a while to achieve a so called “routine”. For myself, every day was consisted of unexpected new experiences and was filled with a multitude of new memories however, certain days I did have an... Read More
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One question friends and family kept asking me before I went to study abroad was, “What do they eat in Australia?”
Countless Google searches led to the same lists of foods: Vegemite (a dark brown spread made from yeast extract), meat pies (a literal pie with meat filling), fairy bread (white bread smeared with butter and topped with rainbow sprinkles), fish and chips (fried fish with a side of fries), and even chicken parmigiana. These lists, consisting mostly of traditionally Australian desserts and meals that did not seem traditionally Australian in the slightest, led me no closer... Read More