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Showing posts from May, 2016

Natalie Szuk: Three Months Down, And Another Three To Go

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It’s crazy to think that my study abroad experience is already half way over. As soon as I hit the three –month mark, my European bubble popped and reality start to hit me. I was already half way through this adventure and I would soon be coming home. This realization made me start to reflect on everything that has happened in this short amount of time that feels like much longer than it really has been. When I first got to Vienna, everything was so new and unfamiliar which made me feel nervous and unsure. Having lived in North Vancouver my whole life, I was used to the familiarity of every street and every building around. As time as gone by, the unfamiliarity has started to fade and I have adapted to this city becoming my new home. Although I may have three more months left until I return back home, I will be leaving Vienna mid June, meaning I only really have a month left here. Realistically thinking, once the school aspect of this adventure ends and the traveling begins, the fin

2016 China Field School: Beijing, Hebei & Home!

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Another day, another early wake up for the China Field School. Waking up for around 5:30 to 6:00am was tough, but shortly we got onto a bus and were able to take a bit of a snooze again before getting to our next destination city of Hebei. Once arriving in the city, we got some food right away as many were starving. The lunch was quite good, and not too long later we were on our way to see one of the greatest sites and wonders of the world, The Great Wall! We first stopped at one of the city spots of the wall. This portion has stood the test of time and is massive in size. It’s hard to believe such a thing could have been built so many years ago. Ken enjoyed the structure. We walked along and explored before heading off to another portion of the wall. The next part was the oldest part of the wall, dating back over a couple thousand years. It is said to be the nose of the dragon, or the beginning of the wall. It goes right up to the ocean and still remains as strong as ever. After taki

2016 China Field School: Shanghai to Beijing

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After a good night’s rest from a travel day, we awoke and met together in the restaurant area of the hostel to start off our day. The first place we headed out to was the historic Shanghai Museum. This museum holds some of the most coveted artifacts of China’s great history. Some of these consisted of ancient currency to chairs, scrolls of calligraphy, pottery, and lots of artwork and crafting. Was interesting to see this display. Chris enjoyed seeing the museum and was sad when we had to leave. From there we split up and took on the city separately. One thing most people did was grab lunch. The group I was with grabbed some amazing dumplings and wonton soup. After eating we decided to take on the Big Red Bus Tour. We thought this would be a good way to get around the city and for us to learn information on certain unknown sites. We decided to hop off and stroll around the Bund. We took in a great view of the city skyline. Louisa really enjoyed the sites! We later got back on the bus