Sounds From Down Under

Waking up to the sounds of La Trobe University is my favorite part of the day. The sounds of Australia are vivid, fresh, and new; they reiterate the fact that I am currently “down under”. Having only been here at La Trobe University for three weeks, I have felt as though I have been here for two months. The campus is active with sporting clubs, picnics, and movements of students just beginning classes. I do find, however, that it is great to escape the movements of campus by taking a tram ride into the city of Melbourne for an evening or day- it is the most beautiful city in the world. The tram ride into the city is about 45 minutes, but it goes by fast—and once you are there, it’s worth the crowded tram ride. My favorite food to get in the city is sushi (It is the cheapest food here—you can get 2 rolls for $3.00!). The best place I have found to eat, however, was in Fitzroy (just about a 10 minute tram ride out of the Melbourne CBD (Central Business District): a Thai restaurant called “Patee Thai.” There I took off my shoes and sat on the floor to enjoy a delicious lamb curry after an evening of exploring Federation Square. (more…)

B(o)log(na)

I suppose I should give some sort of introduction, both of myself and my situation here in Italy, this being my first blog post here and all. First blog post anywhere in fact. Anyway, I’m Mark and I’m vacationi… er,  study in Bologna, Italy this semester. I’ve actually been in Italy since the beginning of the year, but I was in Siena for the first half. After my wonderful experience there, I couldn’t bring myself to kiss good Italian pizza goodbye just yet, and so I decided to stay just a little bit longer. Or something like that.

Bologna’s a lot different than Siena. I made an incredibly clever vacation joke up there (am I right?!), but the fact is that Siena really was as close to a vacation as you can get while still technically attending classes. We traveled every weekend, went to bars every night, and just generally passed those three months without a care in the world. I kid you not, a seventy-something year old Italian grandmother cooked me dinner every single night, and it was as good as you think. (more…)

La Dolce Vita (con Nutella)

Buonacera to all of you! I’m currently studying in the UC Rome program — in Italy, obviously. As of right now, I have been in Europe for one month and seventeen days. And let me tell you: it’s AWESOME! I am literally in love with the city, the buildings, the ruins, the river — everything. Granted, I am a classics and Renaissance studies double major, so this place is basically my Mecca. Today, per esempio, we visited Emperor Augustus’s mausoleum and altar of peace during class. For those of you who a) don’t know who Augustus is b) have never heard of either structure or c) don’t give a crap, shame on you!!! It was awesome to be able to see where one of the greatest rulers of Western civilization chose to be buried, and to see an excavated monument from the ancient Roman empire dedicated to him (I mentioned I was a classics major, right?) And all this was covered extensively by my professor right in front of the monument during class. Unbelievable, right?! We have site visits like these every week where we get to go out into the city and learn about history right where it took place.

Basically, the nerd in me wets her pants daily.

Besides class and trying to learn Italian everyday (for me, it’s an uphill struggle), my friends and I explore the city via walking, food, and, of course, drinking (oh, hello nonexistent drinking age!). We try to explore everything we can when we can, but despite Rome’s centralized historic center, we have yet to experience even half of what Rome has to offer. (more…)

Åker ’till Stockholm

Hello UCSB! everyone writing blogs from abroad right now are delivering great, insightful pieces of work on culture and change and experiences, and I’ll get to that next time, I promise. I’m currently in Lund, the southern tip of Sweden. Lund is the Swedish equivalent of Isla Vista: students are the majority, there is out of control partying (we’re one of the few cities in the country that can drink in the streets!), and there are lots of bikes. Like I said, I’ll get into that in my next post, but now is story time. Okay, I’ll add some history.

Two weekends ago, my friends and I went on a student-led trip to Stockholm for the weekend. (“Aker till“ means “traveling to.”) Eight hours of bus ride to the capital and largest city of Sweden.

Our first stop upon arriving was the Vasa museum. We were a little cranky because the stop at the Moose Safari on the way up had been canceled due to bad weather (I thought the Swedes were used to snow?), but the Vasa was a nice beginning. The Vasa is a giant Swedish warship that sank in 1628 on its maiden voyage. Apparently, the ship was three feet narrower than it should have been and twenty minutes after they launched it to sea, a gust of wind caught the sails, flipping it over. Adding to the irony, it was considered bad luck to have sailors who knew how to swim. Luckily, only thirty or so people were killed. (more…)

Vote for the Best of UCSB 2010

It’s that time of year again! On Feb. 16th, the Daily Nexus will have its annual “BEST OF” issue.

We need YOU to VOTE for what you think is the BEST of the BEST in the following categories. Click below and fill out the poll and see if YOUR picks win, and enter your U-Mail address at the end of the poll for a chance to win prizes! And hurry — polls close Feb. 3rd! Thank you!

Click here to fill out the survey.

« Previous Entries Next Entries »