CAPA WORLD

In this week's post, Payton shares her initial concerns about not knowing any Italian when she moved to Florence and talks about the different ways she's begun to work on her Italian, leveraging her Ganzo! family, friendly locals, and even her past knowledge of Spanish. 

Ciao! I’m currently taking a break from studying for my Italian midterm tomorrow-- my last test before fall break!-- and I figured I’d write a bit about what my experience living in a country where English isn’t the dominant language has been like so far.

Italian is a very beautiful and interesting language, but since it’s only spoken in Italy, it’s rare to find Italian classes in American high schools. I took Spanish as my required language class, which I loved, but figured wouldn’t really do me any good when I decided to come here. When I arrived, I felt a bit rude coming into a foreign country without the ability to even say “please” or “thank you” to the locals in their own language. However, I learned very quickly that, not only is Italian relatively easy to pick up on, but that the locals are very kind and keen on helping you learn.

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Daniel Powell is an official CAPA vlogger for fall 2018, sharing his story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An International Relations and Applied Economics major at  Ursinus College, he is studying abroad in Shanghai this semester.

In this week's post, Daniel shares his enthusiasm and first impressions of Shanghai.

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Thanks, Daniel!

Daniel's journey continues every Thursday so stay tuned.

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Julia Schroder is an official CAPA vlogger for summer 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Political Science and Global Studies major at Arizona State University, she is studying abroad in Barcelona this semester.

In this week's vlog, Julia tells us about her internship experience at a local nonprofit and why she chose to immerse herself in a Spanish-language placement in Barcelona.

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Thanks Julia!

Julia's journey continues every Monday so stay tuned.

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Claire Shrader is an official CAPA blogger for spring 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Pre-Occupational Therapy major at Mississippi College, she is studying abroad in Buenos Aires this semester.

In this week's post, Claire mentions how hearing the language you're familiar with can make you feel at home and explores an American-inspired cafe in Buenos Aires.

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I think I chose the wrong bus the other day, because it dropped me off about two blocks away from the subte whereas last week it left me about three feet away. That kind of thing happens to me every time I get too confident in my city navigating skills, just to keep me humble.

A wall filled with enthusiasm about soccer.

As I walked, I heard the sharp, crisp sounds of the language I grew up with, so different from the warm, musical flow of castellano (Spanish). I half turned around, then kept walking. But something completely outside of my control compelled me: “Are y’all from the United States?” The tall, dark-headed woman in flowy pants laughed as she answered, “England, actually, and South Africa.” I laughed too, “It’s so rare to hear English in the streets I couldn’t help myself!”

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Jolena is an official CAPA vlogger for spring 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Finance and International Business major at University of Pittsburgh, she is studying abroad in Shanghai this semester.

In this week's post, Jolena shares what it's school is really like on her study abroad program in Shanghai and the differences between classes in the U.S. and China.

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How has it already been a month since I’ve arrived in China? Time is moving unusually fast, and it’s hard to believe how confused and out of place I felt a month ago. Now I’d say I’m able to live like a local by going through the basic motions of life without fearing that I’m going the wrong way on the subway or ordering a mystery meal while out.

And now that life in Shanghai is in full swing that means going to school. Being an international student is such an odd concept. Back at home, we barely see the international students around or interact with them—and it’s pretty much the same here and I feel like I’ve reversed roles. The international students interact with each other because we’re pretty much on the same boat, whereas we don’t really have classes or chances to meet native Chinese students. It’s a bit unfortunate, but I can understand because the school system between countries can be very different.

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Celess is an official CAPA vlogger for fall 2017, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Business Administration major at Riverside City College, she is studying abroad in Florence this semester.

In this week's post, Celess spends time with her GANZO family in Florence and shares how this cross-cultural experience has been so far.

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Thanks Celess!

Celess' journey continues weekly so stay tuned.

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Kristopher (also known as Kip) is an official CAPA vlogger for fall 2017, sharing his story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Finance major at University of Colorado - Boulder, he is studying abroad in Florence this semester.

In this week's post, Kristopher introduces us to some Italian phrases he's learned while studying abroad in Florence.

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Thanks Kip!

Kristopher's journey continues every Tuesday so stay tuned.

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Every country has their own idioms that mean something totally different than what they first appear to. You might say to your friend, “Wow! That cost an arm and a leg.” If someone from another country heard you- well, let’s just hope they don’t take it literally or they may get worried! If you think about it, you can probably come up with quite a few other unique phrases you use in daily life.

This is a common phenomenon that you'll encounter no matter where you go. To help you out, we’ve rounded up 10 important English colloquial phrases to know in Sydney that will help you speak like the locals!

 

1. Ace! = awesome, excellent

This is a phrase you'll probably hear every day. It can be used in any context to describe something that you find cool or amazing.

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Every country has their own idioms that mean something totally different than what they first appear to. You might say to your friend, “Wow! That cost an arm and a leg.” If someone from another country heard you- well, let’s just hope they don’t take it literally or they may get worried! If you think about it, you can probably come up with quite a few other unique phrases you use in daily life.

Since this is a common phenomenon that you'll encounter no matter where you go, we’ve rounded up 10 important Mandarin phrases to know in Shanghai that will help you speak like the locals!

1. 三人成虎 (sān rén chéng hǔ) = three people can turn into a tiger

If you say something over and over again, it might just become true. This idiom warns that you should be careful not to lie often, or you might forget what the truth really is.

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Every country has their own idioms that mean something totally different than what they first appear to. You might say to your friend, “Wow! That cost an arm and a leg.” If someone from another country heard you- well, let’s just hope they don’t take it literally or they may get worried! If you think about it, you can probably come up with quite a few other unique phrases you use in daily life.

This is a common phenomenon that you'll encounter no matter where you go. To help you out, we’ve rounded up 10 important English colloquial phrases to know in Dublin that will help you speak like the locals!

1. What's the craic? = What’s up?/ What’s the news?/ Hello!

This phrase has a lot of meanings that all mean pretty much the same thing- just wondering what’s going on! It’s a friendly way to greet someone and something you’ll hear often.

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