Simple Exposures

As the semester is slowly coming to an end and we are all thinking about how sad it will be to leave our new friends, I started thinking, how will the distance change us? Indeed, all us international students here in ZU are missing some friends at home and have dealt already with leaving them, maybe more than once for those who study outside their hometowns, but for some us it's a new experience, leaving friends behind you saw almost everyday. Some have probably stayed in contact with skype or facetime or a telephone call here or their. Some have been message addicts or are in a constant exchange of snaps. I, however, don't often message my friends back home. Many of them are starting to get annoyed with the fact even. Sorry guys. It has opened my eyes a lot this whole experience, it has taught me to appreciate people more, and what we have in the moment, to make the most of every memory we make with someone and to hold on to them for as long as possible. That we don...

This is a bit different to what I would usually write about but I read an article about it this morning and it got me thinking, as usual.  And I thought I would share this random information with you.  There's no doubt that listening to your favourite music can instantly put you in a good mood, or certain songs can take you directly to a place or a time with someone, also how it can put a complete downer on your day but did you know it has now been proven to help you with things such as back pain, memory loss, help you eat less or even enhance blood vessel function, now that is something!  Obviously music helps you work out better, or when listening to lyrics can help you soul search  and find what you are feeling. But has it really become a health therapy? It seems so.  Music works on the autonomic nervous system, the part of the nervous system responsible for controlling our blood pressure, heartbeat, brain function and also the limbic syste...

I came to a very sad realisation this past weekend whilst visiting Prague. I am one of them. One of those who feel the need to post what's happening over social media. One of those who wants to put the location filter on snapchat so someone can see what city I am visiting. I think this is sad.  My phone broke on Saturday, the same day I left for Prague. I tried checking it every 10 minutes to see if the screen was improving but it was indeed just getting worse. I depended on my friends phone to let mumma know I was safe and sound, and kept up to date with my messages and friends by the computer available at the hostel. This was weird.  This feeling of dependency on a machine that does nothing but encourage antisocial behaviour gave me an idea. I wanted to try and not use social media for the month of November, this idea soon vanished when I realised I wouldn't have a phone until around the 12th of November, so instead I decided to only stick with Facebook and use ...

When you study abroad you meet people from all over the world. You exchange cultural traditions, you maybe try to learn some words in their language but you also discuss the differences about academics, about work prospects and each others plans for the future.  This is actually really depressing for someone who lives or studies in Spain. The chances of you getting a job after graduation in Spain in your field is around 60-65% depending on your university (public schools only). This of course is only applicable if you have gained some previous experience, which the majority of us haven’t or won’t. ‘You can’t get a job without experience’. How do you gain experience then if no company will give you the chance?  When you compare this to other universities around the world or not necessarily by university but by country it becomes quite scary. In Spain we do a four year course and then are facing a one year master course. Master courses are made for you to speciali...

So if you read my last post you knew this would be my next one. If you ask me to describe Oktoberfest in one word, that would obviously be BEER. Yesterday I encountered litres and litres of beer, probably more beers than people actually.  The weather tried to put a downer on the occasion but these Germans have no problem drinking in the rain, neither did us internationals I must admit. I witnessed a mass of umbrellas hanging from the  wooden bars on the outside of the tents, keeping most of us dry but obviously no one cared whether they were getting wet, they were concentrating more on singing the must-know  Oktoberfest song Ein Prosit , when the bands in the tent play it every 20 minutes or so, you are meant to grab your partner next to you, sway, cheers! and chug.  But of course Oktoberfest has a meaning, or at least it has a history. It traditionally starts the third week of September and ends the first Sunday of October, except this year it is a...

Last week a friend and I went on a bike ride. They say a day not learning something is a day wasted. That day I learnt a lot. I learnt not to bike for 50km because your bottom will hurt and if you are not used to it, you will fail to walk up the university steps the day after. I learnt that you shouldn't bike with your mouth open, not only does it dry it out but when you live next to a lake, there is humidity and bugs like humidity. I think I got my biggest portion of protein that day, about 10  to 15 flies and I'm not even exaggerating.  On a better note than fly eating, I must admit that my new little city (if you can call it that) is located in a pretty cool place. We biked to an area called Unteruhldingen , to a place called Pfahlbaumuseum Unterhldingen,  one of the largest and most attended open air museums in Europe. The museum is formed by 23 stilt houses from the Stone and Bronze age. The museum was affected massively by the second world war, not only ...

As some of you may already know, I recently relocated to Germany for four months to a partner university my one at home has.  My new independence has already taught me so much I thought it would be interesting to share a few pointers with you.  First of all, when studying abroad make a friend who knows how to cook and doesn't mind making you lunch when you are lazy (which is always). I have accepted that my new diet consists solemnly of sausages, beer, pasta and noodles. Seriously, I rarely eat anything else...oh and kebab!  Second of all, prepare your little liver for the first few weeks...it turns out that international students are apparently known as the party students. Wonder why? We have this great excuse and we say its necessary to socialise a lot at the beginning to get to know your new 'family' abroad...this of course is true for the first week, not necessarily the first month.  This one is specific to the south of Germany, or at least...