The biggest piece of advice I would give to someone who is planning to study abroad on this Plus3 program is to take in every moment. The program is only two weeks long, and the itinerary is jam packed. It will be difficult to quickly get over the jet lag and deal with the early morning company visits, but your time abroad really does go by fast, so take a moment to enjoy every activity on the itinerary. After just two days of being back home, I miss it already.
To add on to the last paragraph, my biggest regret was worrying too much about our academic projects.... Read More
Pitt Global Experiences Students' Blog
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This May, I studied abroad on Pitt’s Engineering Perspectives of the Renaissance and Sustainability: Florence program. Studying abroad was such a unique experience that was so different from anything I’ve ever done before. The studies on this program focused on the advancements in engineering that were made during the Renaissance time period and looked at how different sustainability concepts were present during that time. We also took an art history course that introduced us to the amazing art that was made during the Renaissance, as well as some of the incredible architecture. Because... Read More
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One of the more disappointing discoveries I made during my study abroad experience is that Dutch cuisine is, for lack of a better word, underwhelming. It’s actually quite famous for being bland with lots of veggies and not much meat. Dutch people’s affinity for fish was influenced by its location on the North Sea, and the country’s colonization gave rise to lots of Indian and Indonesian restaurants.
Some traditional Dutch food I sampled included poffertjes from a food stand at the Albert Cuyp Market. Poffertjes are basically miniature pancakes with powdered sugar. I... Read More -
Before this program, my career goal was to become a journalist, and that hasn’t changed. I’ve worked at multiple media outlets, including the Austin-American Statesman, The Pitt News and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where I’ve reported minimally on environmental issues. During my reporting internship at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last summer I wrote an article that explored how climate change is impacting and will impact Pittsburgh’s infrastructure. I wrote about, and subsequently learned a lot about, the city’s failing stormwater management system and rising temperatures.
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When I traveled to Birmingham in the United Kingdom, I expected the university and the culture of the city to be different from here in Pittsburgh. However, once my group arrived, two things were different to me right away. The first one was that even though the university was in a city, it was a more vibrant and colorful university compared to the color and vibrancy here in Oakland. The second one was how the interactivity between the younger and older generations in everyday life felt like it was more real compared to back home.
Let me start with the university. The... Read More -
While we were in Birmingham for the studying part of study abroad, the last day of the program we went to London for a day and it was a fantastic time!
We took a train to get to London initially. It was really fun getting to travel by train since that is not the most common way of traveling in the US. When we got off the train, we were initially going to take the Tube (or subway), but it was very hectic. Instead, we all piled into taxis and made our way to the hotel.
Once we were all checked in, I did my Covid test so I could get back into the US. Once we were... Read More -
While I was abroad in the United Kingdom at Birmingham City University in Birmingham, I believed that it had an immense effect on me when it came to some of my goals that I would like to achieve either while I am still studying at Pitt or later in life when I have a job.
The program itself was for students who plan on going into nursing or education in the future. At first, it did not seem like the most straightforward pairing of majors for a study abroad. However, that changed when we started our studies at BCU. One major goal of mine that was affected was to become a high... Read More -
Amsterdam is known for its labyrinth of canals, eccentric homes, and, of course, its vibrant nightlife. But one of the city’s most prominent features that I got to experience while studying abroad is its array of museums. There’s more than 50 museums in Amsterdam which cater to numerous interests: diamonds, photography, cats, as well as art and history. I purchased a Netherlands museum card, which allowed me to visit nearly a dozen museums for about $60.
While I’m typically not a big art fan, I found many pieces to appreciate. One of the most famous paintings I saw... Read More -
My study abroad experience was different than most students in that I did not attend a university in my home country but studied at a global education network comprised of all American students. CAPA offered me several opportunities that I am extremely grateful for, the most being I had a homebase full of familiar faces in an unknown place. Being my first time abroad, I found that extremely beneficial. However, now having this experience under my belt I would have liked the opportunity to easily meet more people from London, which is easier for students who traditionally study abroad at a... Read More
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As someone who had never traveled abroad before, I was a bit concerned with the types of challenges I could face. Germany is so different in terms of culture, workplace environment, and daily activities such as going shopping. Though I did not have to speak a different language because most people in Berlin speak English, their interactions are very different. One experience that I can say became less challenging throughout the program was grocery shopping. My first time going to a grocery store in Berlin, I was fully prepared to use Google Translate for product names, but I was not... Read More