Just about a year ago, I left for my first Study Abroad trip. It was also the first time I was traveling to a different continent. Most of the trip was spent in London, England, although for parts of the trip we went to Scotland, Wales, and I went to Dublin, Ireland while the rest of the group was in Paris, France. I wanted to share some wisdom that I picked up along the way.
1. Unpack your daily luggage every day. I took my backpack with me everywhere, including our weekend excursions. On the first day I packed some sunscreen and forgot about it. When I went through security, I got stopped and had no idea why. Turns out the sunscreen was more than six ounces. The security guard had to unpack my entire backpack to find it and then throw it out. Luckily it was almost empty so I didn't loose anything, but it could have been a huge waste.
2. Pack lightly during the days. If you are with a group, you can plan ahead so not everyone has to bring everything. Since a lot of the places you'll go have security and bag checks, taking a purse instead of a backpack can save you a lot of time. Some places might not even let you bring in bags bigger than a certain size so you could end up having to rent a locker.
3. Don't take anything personally. All places have a different sense of decorum and what's acceptable. One day I lost my purse and when the security guard returned it, she lectured me about keeping track of myself. A few times I had to remind myself that these were people with stressful jobs, who dealt with tourists every day and that I just needed to relax and not take anything that was said personally.
4. Take your student I.D. Many places, including restaurants, had discounts if you were a student, it didn't matter where. But it was only good if you had your I.D. Bring it, just in case.
4. Go with a group. Being in a foreign country can be tough, but it's even harder when you're by yourself. It also makes planning easier. My group's chaperon had organized this trip for many years, so he knew a lot of people. He could also get group prices on tickets. So even if it seems expensive, you're saving quite a bit of money. It also takes a load off your shoulders. When I was in Dublin by myself, I was stressed, and didn't enjoy it as much as I expected to. I also made a mistake in ordering my plane ticket.
Studying Abroad, even for the relatively short period I was there, was and experience that I wouldn't trade for anything. I've always enjoyed European history, and this trip helped me connect to the stories that I've read, in a way that I couldn't before. It also teaches about cultural differences. You find yourself explaining things you never thought you would.
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Earth Day Resolution
I'm a big fan of helping the environment, and I always say I'm going to do more, but then I wind up giving up. Well, I found out about a new concept: making an Earth Day Resolution. For awhile now I've been considering the idea of harvesting rain water, as well as composting. With composting, the most I do is through the waste in my backyard. No more. I'm going to make a solid commitment to both of these goals.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Guns on Campus?
Bringing guns on campus has been in the news lately. States such as Arizona and Texas have been considering revising their gun laws to allow looser regulations controlling guns on campus. Something like the Virginia Tech Shooting makes people worried, and no one wants to be caught unprotected.
If my campus ever allowed guns on campus for anyone other than police officers I would transfer immediately. In all honesty, guns scare the heck out of me. Most people I know were raised in households with at least one gun, and plenty of my friends like to go hunting. I, however, come from a pretty anti-gun, anti-violence family. This probably has done a lot to shape my feelings about guns.
Police officers have been professionally trained to use guns in dangerous situations. Stopping a violent murder is nothing like going hunting, but people have this idea that just because they know how to use a gun, they will be able to calmly draw a gun and shoot a person. In reality, they might end up hurting an innocent bystander and end up in court.
I've seen situations that seem harmless escalate quickly, and if one party has a weapon, things can get ugly fast. In my hometown, two people had a snow fight that ended with one person stabbing the other. We've all witnessed fights, and those could have ended badly if one person lost control. I will never believe that guns are an acceptable solution.
As always, I want to know what everyone else's opinion is on this topic.
If my campus ever allowed guns on campus for anyone other than police officers I would transfer immediately. In all honesty, guns scare the heck out of me. Most people I know were raised in households with at least one gun, and plenty of my friends like to go hunting. I, however, come from a pretty anti-gun, anti-violence family. This probably has done a lot to shape my feelings about guns.
Police officers have been professionally trained to use guns in dangerous situations. Stopping a violent murder is nothing like going hunting, but people have this idea that just because they know how to use a gun, they will be able to calmly draw a gun and shoot a person. In reality, they might end up hurting an innocent bystander and end up in court.
I've seen situations that seem harmless escalate quickly, and if one party has a weapon, things can get ugly fast. In my hometown, two people had a snow fight that ended with one person stabbing the other. We've all witnessed fights, and those could have ended badly if one person lost control. I will never believe that guns are an acceptable solution.
As always, I want to know what everyone else's opinion is on this topic.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Running for Office
I found this excellent article on the Website Campus Progress about young people running for office. The youngest candidate I've ever heard of was an 18-year-old (still in high school) who ran for mayor and won. Take a look: http://campusprogress.org/articles/when_young_people_run_for_office/.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Are Colleges Too Liberal?
One thing that you will witness a lot in college is people who are very outspoken about their views, whether religious, political, or ethical in nature. However, depending on your school and the location, some views may appear more prominent than others. Unfortunately, its hard to tell whether that's because more people hold those views, or because they are just more outspoken about them. Its even possible that people who hold one view are too afraid to speak up because they are in the minority.
Colleges are known for being extremely liberal. I go to school in a very conservative area and yet, most of the professors I know are liberal democrats, and many students are, at most, conservative democrats. Of course there are exceptions, and they tend to be very open about it. Still, the College Democrats have a much easier time staying active than the College Republicans.
A site called Campus Reform encourages students to take back their schools, and make them more conservative. While I belive that colleges should be places where there is a healthy debate on many topics, and permitting one over the other is a perfect way to discourage such debate, I'm not sure this website is going about it in the right way. Of course, encouraging debate might not be their goal. It seems like they want schools to favor conservatism above liberalism, not a healthy balance of the two.
There are a lot of related topics in a debate like this, so look for more posts on the topic. And, as always, I want to hear what your opinions are.
Colleges are known for being extremely liberal. I go to school in a very conservative area and yet, most of the professors I know are liberal democrats, and many students are, at most, conservative democrats. Of course there are exceptions, and they tend to be very open about it. Still, the College Democrats have a much easier time staying active than the College Republicans.
A site called Campus Reform encourages students to take back their schools, and make them more conservative. While I belive that colleges should be places where there is a healthy debate on many topics, and permitting one over the other is a perfect way to discourage such debate, I'm not sure this website is going about it in the right way. Of course, encouraging debate might not be their goal. It seems like they want schools to favor conservatism above liberalism, not a healthy balance of the two.
There are a lot of related topics in a debate like this, so look for more posts on the topic. And, as always, I want to hear what your opinions are.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Advocacy Makes a Difference in Nike Case
Advocacy and volunteering is a big thing amongst college students, and has been at least since the 1960s. Organizations such as Student United Way, Amnesty International, and Circle K give students more opportunities to volunteer, write letters, and protest. It also insures that its mambers are well aware of what is going on in their country and around the world.
Because of all of the efforts put into noble causes, its always rewarding to see those efforts make a difference. Universities and an Organization called United States Against Sweatshops put enough pressure on Nike that they finally agreed to pay severance costs as well as health insurance for a year to 1800 workers in Honduras who worked for Nike's subcontractors. They will also give them priority hiring.
You can read the whole artilce here.
Let's get some discussion going here. Are you involved in any advocacy at your school? What kind of causes do you feel are most important? Also, share one of your favorite stories about a protest or volunteering of some kind.
 |
| A rally at my school protesting the rising cost of tuition |
You can read the whole artilce here.
Let's get some discussion going here. Are you involved in any advocacy at your school? What kind of causes do you feel are most important? Also, share one of your favorite stories about a protest or volunteering of some kind.
Related articles by Zemanta
Also Read:
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
RIP Robert C, Byrd
I am from West Virginia, a place that has Byrd's name all over it, and for very good reasons. He was a great asset to this whole country, but the people of West Virginia are particularly indebted to him. He served as an advocate for a part of the country that often gets ignored.
On top of that, he was often faced with disagreement. He spoke out against the War on Iraq at a time when most people would not and he never changed his position. He even wrote a very critical book against the president, during Bush's term. And, likely, throughout the later part of Byrd's term he often heard that he was too old to serve and that he was no longer capable.
I didn't go into to much detail, but I would recommend looking up more about him.
On top of that, he was often faced with disagreement. He spoke out against the War on Iraq at a time when most people would not and he never changed his position. He even wrote a very critical book against the president, during Bush's term. And, likely, throughout the later part of Byrd's term he often heard that he was too old to serve and that he was no longer capable.
I didn't go into to much detail, but I would recommend looking up more about him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)