CAPA WORLD

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 takes part in a CAPA Shanghai excursion to Suzhou and visits Zhujiajiao to experience more of China.

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And just like that I’ve been in Shanghai for two weeks. Although the first week felt like a vacation it soon came to an end as we quickly dove into classes. I can’t comment much on school yet because the only classes I’ve had so far are through East China Normal University’s (ECNU) Global Chinese Program; and these were Chinese and Chinese Philosophy. This coming week I’ll be starting my Global Business Institute classes, so I’d consider this week my first “real” week of school. Once I’ve experienced them I’ll be sure to update but today I wanted to talk about last weekend’s CAPA excursion and the ECNU excursion I went on yesterday.

Last Saturday we visited the “Venice of the East,” aka Suzhou. We woke up early to get to the subway and rode a few stops to Shanghai railway station. From there we rode the high-speed rail which was a cool experience. We made it to Suzhou in 25 minutes when it typically would take hours by regular train or car. To be honest, we were all pretty worn out by the end of the week and were expecting to nap on the train, but within a blink of the eye we’d arrived in Suzhou!

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 takes us along on his CAPA class trip to visit the historic city of Siena.

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Thanks Kip!

Kristopher's journey continues every Tuesday so stay tuned.

Corissa is an official CAPA blogger for summer 2017, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Psychology major at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, she is studying abroad in London this semester.

In this week's post, Corissa takes us along on her My Global Education Royal Bike Tour.

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Thanks Corissa!

Corissa's journey continues every Friday so stay tuned.

Maita is an official CAPA blogger for summer 2017, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Kinesiology major at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, she is studying abroad in London this semester.

In this week's post, Maita describes the first My Global Education event she attended while studying abroad in London, and what it taught her.

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What I’ve come to realize over the last week or so is that London is much more than Big Ben, the Buckingham Palace and tea. Although the view from the London eye was absolutely incredible, it also showed me the extent to which the city stretched.

Office buildings, apartments, Houses of Parliament, coffee shops, restaurants, traffic and diversity go on for miles and miles. With a population averaging around 8.8 million people, one could say that the city of London is never ending.

Shayanna Roman is an official CAPA blogger for summer 2017, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Public Relations major and Art minor at SUNY New Paltz, she is studying abroad in Sydney this semester.

In this week's post, Shayanna takes us on a trip to Taronga Zoo where she sees various animals and learns more about them.

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I’ve made so many wonderful memories in Sydney, but my favorite one by far has to be when I got the great privilege to feed a giraffe named Nyota at Taronga Zoo. She licked my hand and my life is complete.

Photo: up close and personal with Nyota

I was lucky enough to experience this through the Roar and Snore program organized by the Taronga Zoo staff and CAPA. Me and a bunch of other people in the program got to go on a night time tour of the zoo and spend the night there in tents overlooking Sydney Harbor! It’s known as “glamping” and it was such a fun time.

Sarah Kaplan is an official CAPA vlogger for spring 2017, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A screen studies major with a concentration in film/media production at Clark University, she is studying abroad in Dublin this semester.

In this week's video, Sarah heads to Belfast where she views political murals and sees the Titanic Center.

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Thanks Sarah!

Sarah's journey continues every Wednesday so stay tuned!

Words by Kristen Curtis, a business major from Anderson University who studied abroad in Sydney during fall semester 2016. 

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One of my favorite memories from studying abroad in Sydney last fall comes from the beloved CAPA My Global Education event of spending the night in Tarongo Zoo. Back in the States, I’ve grown up with more pets than most people could ever imagine having - goats, chickens, horses, cows, dogs, cats, a buffalo, and a tiny marmoset monkey named Abo (yep, we sound like crazy pet people). Australia is known to have all sorts of dangerous and beautiful creatures found only native to the land down under… so, when the opportunity to spend the night at the zoo came up, you could say I was just a little excited.

After a 45-minute bus ride, my fellow students and I were greeted by an empty zoo and smiling zoo keepers. We walked about some of the grounds and were given a private tour. While exploring, we not only saw animals hanging around in their cages, but also a few straggling visitors - free-range, large peacocks and wild lizards. Our bubbly guide informed us that one extra-large peacock was, “a regular mate who came about often, romping through the grounds freely”. While I’ve been to zoos in developing countries like India and Uganda, this idea of free-range critters is so foreign to American zoos; it just added to the whole overall adventure! 

Natalie Emmert is an official CAPA vlogger for spring 2017, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A nursing major at Arizona State University, she is studying abroad in Sydney this semester.

In this week's post, Natalie takes us along on a CAPA My Global Education excursion to Sydney's Featherdale Wildlife Park and the Blue Mountains.

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Thanks Natalie!

Natalie's journey continues every Thursday so stay tuned!

Colin Gilbert is an official CAPA blogger for spring 2017, sharing his story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A marketing and supply chain management major at the University of Pittsburgh, he is studying abroad in Sydney this semester.

In this week's post, Colin takes us on a CAPA My Global Education excursion to visit Sydney's famous Featherdale Wildlife Park and the Blue Mountains. 

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Today, I looked to my right before crossing George Street. That’s right; right. These trivial, ordinary occurrences remind me of my location 9,000 miles from home. It’s not seeing the Opera House, it’s not hitting the beach, and it’s certainly not the accent I’m surrounded by; these all are the obvious Australian indicators. It’s the subtle incidences like learning to look the opposite way while crossing traffic that exist in my common day-to-day routine which remind me I’m halfway across the world, immersed in a distinctively different culture.

That’s not to say I don’t love the obvious Australian indicators, though. It delights me to listen to my co-workers’ banter with their accents and jargon. I love hitting up Maccas, the unapologetically Aussie nickname for McDonald’s, or downing a Frozen Coke from Hungry Jack’s, Australia’s version of Burger King. But my favorite so far? The ‘roos.

Michela Mickaluck is an official CAPA vlogger for spring 2017, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A public relations major at SUNY Oswego, she is studying abroad in Dublin this semester.

In her first post, Michela shows us around Dublin's Croke Park which she visited during a CAPA My Global Education event. 

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Thanks, Michela!

Michela's journey continues every Monday so stay tuned.