CAPA WORLD

Payton Meyer is an official CAPA blogger for fall 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Strategic Communication major at  University of Colorado Boulder, she is studying abroad in Florence this semester.

In this week's post, Payton visits Venice with her CAPA friends and shares some moments from this experience.

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This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to do an overnight stay in Venice with a few friends that I’ve met here through CAPA. We attended CAPA’s My Global City advising event on Friday morning, to sign up for various volunteer activities such as English teaching or meeting with an Italian family once a week (the GANZO program), and then made our way over to the Firenze Santa Maria Novella train station around 2:30pm to catch a train into the city. The train was about 2 hours long, and had WiFi and phone chargers. About halfway through, we got an email from our Airbnb host to let us know that our place had been flooded earlier that morning, and that we were getting upgraded to stay in his bed and breakfast in Lido, just outside of Venice, instead! So, as soon as we got off the long train ride, we took a boat taxi for 30 minutes to Lido, and strolled around the less crowded, more spacious streets of the sand bar. We had a lovely seafood pasta dinner, walked around a bit, and headed back to the B&B for a little R&R before our big day in the heart of Venice.

Made it to Venice!

The smell of toast and croissants woke us up the next morning, and we enjoyed breakfast in the quaint dining room of the B&B accompanied by a family of 3 from Spain that we practiced our Spanish with. After taking a nice walk along the Lido coastline and feeling the sand between our toes, we hopped back onto the boat taxi and headed into the city.

Kelly is an official CAPA blogger, sharing her story on CAPA World. A Journalism major at University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, she is studying abroad in London.

In this week's post, Kelly talks more about the time she attended and networked at Cosmopolitan's Self-Made Summit in London and the takeaways she noted from the sessions.

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A chance to meet the Cosmopolitan UK team and chat with 400 like-minded people sounded like an event tailor-made to expanding my knowledge, accumulating advice from others, and furthering my career—all while having a good time.

While studying abroad in London, I had the opportunity to attend Cosmopolitan UK’s second Self-Made Summit. I discovered this event while reading the print version of the magazine and immediately knew it was something I had to get involved in. I’m so grateful that I was in London and had the chance to partake in the event.

 Maisie Haney is an official CAPA blogger for fall 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An Art History major at Rollins College, she is studying abroad in London this semester.

In this week's post, Maisie opens up about her background and family connection in England and how this study abroad experience will mark the first time she will be living on her own.

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My mother is a bit of a social butterfly, and genuinely has this affinity towards people and getting to know them. More often than not, she is asked where she is from. Other variations of this question include, “Are you British?” or “Are you from England or Scotland?”. She tells them she is from Newcastle, a part of northern England she has grown up in all her life. When I found myself staying in her childhood bedroom, the walls practically hugging the bed, I was surprised to know I was not in Newcastle, but a village called Middridge in County Durham.

Me with former Newton Aycliff mayor, Lyn Leach
(a resident of Middridge and a friend of gran).

To quickly interject, as I have a lot to say about Middridge and my week’s stay there, my experience has been very different compared to other CAPA students coming into the UK. I had been to Middridge once before, at the age of three when my granddad was very sick. I think it was then that my brother and I became citizens of the UK, and consequently I came to England without a visa and with a fatter wallet (they are quite expensive to apply for!).

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 her last vlog, Julia heads back home to Arizona and reflects on her study abroad experience and goals, as well as the strong relationships she has formed in Barcelona.

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Thanks Julia!

See more of Julia's journey in Barcelona.

Kelly is an official CAPA blogger, sharing her story on CAPA World. A Journalism major at University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, she is studying abroad in London.

In this week's post, Kelly expresses her love for magazines and recaps what London has in store for budding journalists making their way across the pond.

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As a journalist, or a writer in general, there are a few must-see and do experiences in London. Whether you’re interested in newspapers, magazines, or simply publishing, there are a few things worth checking out.

A copy of Stylist Magazine.

If you’re really into magazines as I am, it’s imperative you buy up the UK versions of the US magazines you love the most or vice versa. I snatched up British Cosmopolitan not too long after landing in the country. I also checked out Elle, Marie Claire, and Vogue. It’s quite intriguing to compare the UK and US versions of the same magazine. Cosmopolitan is one of my absolute favorite magazines, so I knew the US version well enough to notice how different it is from the UK one. Although they are two branches of the same brand, they each put a heavier focus on different verticals of the magazine. Checking out UK magazines that you can only find in the UK, like Hello! Fashion Magazine, is something worthwhile, too.

Trisha is an official CAPA blogger for summer 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An International Business major at Champlain College, she is studying abroad in Shanghai this semester.

In this week's post, Trisha tells us about what social behavior and culture are like in China and encountering her biggest culture shock as an American to date.

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A few Fridays ago we had our usual internship course for CAPA on the East China Normal University campus in Shanghai. That day, Professor Carol Ma gave us a brief lecture on some vital differences on business culture in a Chinese environment. One characteristic that stood out to me the most was the contrast in which Chinese and American people react to compliments. I learned that whereas in American culture it’s very typical to be lavished with compliments to one another, especially as a conversation starter, in the Chinese culture compliments are taken more as a serious interest. Something several of us have even experienced at our internships already is that if you compliment a particular object a Chinese person has, they will likely attempt to gift it to you. In the US, if someone you know seems to greatly admire one of your possessions, the typical thing to do is to tell the person where you obtained the object.

Exploring the city.

However, in China it seems that the typical gesture is rather to bequeath the item to the complimenter that admires it so. I once wound up with an entire box of snake meat to take home with me because I mentioned a friend of mine would be interested in trying it!

Allyson Barnes is an official CAPA blogger for summer 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An Anthropology, Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, and Studio Arts major at University of Colorado - Boulder, she is studying abroad in Florence this semester.

In her last post, Allyson reflects on her study abroad experience in Florence through all the changes and growth, as well as how the city has left its mark on her overall outlook and desire to work with people.

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Stepping off that plane after an agonizingly long flight home was bittersweet. My adventure was over. But I was welcomed with open arms, literally, from my entire family. I was able to sleep in my own bed, be with my dogs, and have American food again. Yet I found myself constantly thinking about what I missed in Italy. It had become a part of me, and me a part of it. I was able to find myself in that city, and I found a place. I knew the streets like the back of my hand by the end of my adventure. I knew public transportation like never before. I understood what adaptation by necessity truly meant, and how utterly difficult, yet so worth it, it was. I was still the same Ally in many ways, and yet in others I was new.

A group photo with friends from Florence! 

Being home I have certainly noticed some changes in me, luckily all for the best. I am so much more open about everything and so hungry to learn about anything I can. I want something to constantly surprise me so that I am challenged to learn more and think deeper about everything from varying points of view. I wouldn’t have done any of that or felt this way if I hadn’t decided to study abroad. It changed me, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

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 expresses what it means to be a global citizen and how studying abroad allowed her to experience the cosmopolitan philosophy firsthand.

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Thanks Julia!

Julia's journey continues every Monday so stay tuned.

Alice Ding is an official CAPA blogger for summer 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Computer Science and Marketing major at Northeastern University, she is studying abroad in London this semester.

In her last post, Alice reflects on her semester abroad in London and 7 important things she's taken away from this experience, including some of the challenges she has overcome.

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My study abroad experience has been everything that I’ve imagined and more. While I can’t exactly say that my life is forever changed and I’m a completely different person, I can say that it was an experience that I’d highly recommend to anyone and everyone and that I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I’ve fallen in love with London and am keen on visiting again, whether it be for more school or just for travel.

This was from my first weekend in London on the bus tour provided by CAPA.
How time flies!

In general, though, to sum my experience up as best I can, here are 7 takeaways from my study abroad semester in London as well as some of the challenges I faced along the way.

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 her last post, Claire reflects on her study abroad, international internship, and living experiences in Buenos Aires, and how the past few months will color a lot of her life and friendships.

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It’s so easy for people to ask, “Oh my gosh how was your semester abroad?!” but the answer is so complex.

Enjoying some Coca-Cola with my friends before we say goodbye to Argentina!

It was amazing, in so many ways: amazing to get to use my Spanish in new settings, amazing to have an international internship and to learn how to work in the Argentine work environment, amazing to build community and to get to know people I met on my high school trips in a deeper way.