DU Abroad

So far, I have been able to attend several shows in Aix through my courses: Aterballeto, a dance performance, J’ai pas peur, a children’s theatre show, and a symphony at the Grand Theatre de Provence.

Each show brings a different aspect to the Aixois culture, and vary from the shows I usually see in the United States. I have never been able to listen to a symphony back home, and this is one experience that will stay with me for a long time. In the next couple of weeks, I am going to another symphony for Aix’s Easter Festival, and I am looking forward to it.

Most of these performances, I attend with my honors class. As you can see in the post below, this is from Aterballeto, performed by a group of dancers all 60 years old, plus. This is not as common in the States, and I am happy I could experience this!

Update! The Easter Festival concert was beautiful! I went with my honors class and enjoyed the night together! Such an amazing experience!

I am over the moon to have the opportunity to study abroad again! I loved my first study abroad so much that ever since I returned from Sweden I have been plotting my return to Europe. I didn’t realize I could graduate a quarter earlier than anticipated until the end of last year and I immediately jumped at the thought of doing another semester abroad. Sure, I could just travel to Europe but to be able to spend 3 months living and studying there with other students is a different experience. DU also makes it incredibly easy to go abroad since they handle all of the housing and accommodations.

While I am very excited and have a whole list of places I want to travel to, I am also aware that my experience will be very different from before. In the fall approximately 400 DU students study abroad in Europe every year and this quarter I will be the only one in Europe. I have no doubt that I will make friends along the way and be able to visit friends I picked up previously but it will be different. I think I am most nervous about traveling on weekend trips alone. Day trips are no problem for me but longer trips like doing Portugal over Easter Break does make me a little nervous plus everything is always better with friends.

I will be studying at Maastricht University taking Human Resource Management to complete the last two credits of my business degree and Economics of European Integration. Given that I am only doing a quarter or half of a semester I also have to pursue an independent research paper to be a full time student. Maastricht University is known for its problem based learning (PBL) system so we will see how I adapt and like the system. Until I start school, I am spending 10 days in Scotland driving all around the county from Glasgow, Isle of Skye, Inverness, and Edinburgh.

Shows in Aix!

Study Abroad Pt. 2