Ethiopia Google Site

http://sites.google.com/site/ethiopiauncovered/

Academic Culture in France

My university was L'universite de Caen (Basse-Normandie). Just to brag a little: it was founded in 1432 by the 1st Duke of Bedford, John of Lancaster. It started as an academy of Norman Law. In july 1944, the university was destroyed (like most the city during WWII). It was rebuilt in 1948 and reopened on June1, 1957. The university logo is the Pheonix (for that historical reason).

Let's see....academic culture.
First difference: France does not have 'colleges'. Only universities. A degree is granted after 2 years (DEUG), 3 years (License) , 5 years (Master), and 8 years (Doctorat). There are no grand ceremony. Diplomas are sent via mail upon request. Early diplomas were simple computer printouts.

There are absolutely no support for students to adapt to academic demands. There are no requirements to show up in class (amphitheater), grades are provided mainly at the end of the semester for one big final exam. Some professors ask for a 10 page paper homework in the middle of the semester, but all in all, it's all on the comprehensive final exam (a hand written essay question). However, smaller courses (30 students in a classroom) do have a headcount and usually 3 absences at the beginning of the year is an automatic expulsion from the course.

Most classes are in amphitheater. Professors do not know students. The relationship between professor and students is very formal (Dr So&So: absolutely no first name basis!), and usually nonexistent.

The French students are quite often on strikes due to their interest in current socio-political items. Depending on the location, courses continue or are postponed. The strikes are usually never violent and take the form of street walking or group gathering on the university green.

Academic standards:
when i was at my university, computers were barely showing and in my department *(English major) there were only 6 of those, to be used only to teach basic DOS for students who took that elective. There were no computer labs where students could check their emails or type adn print their homeworks. HOmeworks were handwritten. (I do not know how things are now)
Grades: don't expect As. Nobody gets As or a rare 10% of the university population. An average -and most common- grade is a D (passing) which usually translates as a grade between 10 to 12 out of 20 (we use a numerical system of grade. no letters). If you get a 15/20 grade, you can celebrate and frame it.
There are no points given for attendance nor effort. Points are taken away for bad grammar, spelling or conjugation. My profs used to warn us that after 5 typos/mispelling/grammar errors, they refuse to grade the paper.
Plagiarism: the US are a lot more strict than the French when quoting or not a source. So American students going to France actually have an advantage here.
Miscellaneous:
* help on campus: campus staff and faculty are government employees. This usually translates into extremely poor service (no correlation between countries ;-P. So do not take it personally if the library staff stays on the phone talking to her girlfriend while you wait for her to help you. yet again, you might be lucky and meet very helpful people.

The best strategy is to make friends with local students who can help you navigate the campus. Ask the international office staff on campus (usually the same office that takes care of your visit in France) if there are students who are listed as 'ambassadors' or who are listed as willing to help foreigners on campus.

IF i remember something i'll email you again,
let me know if you think of something more,
S.

Travel Photos and Stories

While cleaning my digital world last week, I came across a handful of travel albums from the past. Here are a few to share. I might tell some stories later too:
Most recent (Palau): http://picasaweb.google.com/belleminjuan/Carolines?feat=directlink

Australia: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=cg6dzr1.5g4d7nkh&x=0&y=q51vyz&localeid=en_US

Scenery of Paris
Window Display from the World
Quite a few linked to my homepage: http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/mwang/mwang.html
The sites I have been using to share photos:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/
http://multiply.com/
http://picasaweb.google.com/
http://www.flickr.com/
If you have an album to share, feel free to post on our blog!

Make the best use of the Study-Abroad Handout

http://www.isc.sdsu.edu/study_abroad/forms/studenthandbook2009-10.pdf
We'll go over some of the checklists and tips in class, for example:
Page 30: The pre-departure checklist
One important thing to think about: Save money on your car insurance while away.
Whenever I go away for more than 2 months, I keep my car registration, file an Affidavit of No-Use to the DMV (fax is acceptable), and then Suspend my insurance (with comprehensive coverage still in place).
Before returning to the U.S., I go online and reactivate my car insurance. I don't remember filing any forms with DMV, to start using my car. The insurance company will send your renewed info. to DMV and that seems taking care of it.
"If your vehicle is currently registered and you decide not to use it, you must maintain insurance or notify DMV that you will not be using it by completing an Affidavit of Non Use. Upon receipt of an Affidavit of Non Use, DMV will cancel the registration. The vehicle cannot be operated on a California highway until proof of insurance is received by the department, a reinstatement fee is not due when the registration is cancelled."

An interesting Survey (We'll look at in Class!)

To ALL American students that studied abroad during the years of 2005 and 2009:

Dear Study Abroad Students,

I'm a researcher from UCSB and the Max Planck Institute in Germany. I'm conducting an experiment where I look at how American students use the Internet to navigate the emotional ups and downs of moving to a new country and I could use your help.

If you have 10 minutes, I hope you will click on the link below to
complete my survey. **If you'd like additional information on the
survey, or research goals please contact me at mikal@demogr.mpg.de.**

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=vLBI16cm4XbmQYYsiHuONA_3d_3d

Thanks a lot,
Jude P. Mikal
Max Planck
University of CA, Santa Barbara

Pre-departure orientation: You are exempted!

A note from Robert Carlin, Office of International Programs.
Dear Student:
Many of you are still waiting for final confirmations of your
placements for study abroad. We hope to have positive news in the
next few weeks. In the meantime, it is important that you take a
moment and complete our MANDATORY pre-departure orientation by November 16, 2009. ALL
SDSU students going abroad regardless of program (SDSU or otherwise). The test is not difficult but does require that you READ the materials outlined in online prompts. You cannot move forward on the exam until you answer the question correctly.

Click on this link to begin: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=HcyNy_2fg_2ba3GfTpjK7srwmQ_3d_3d

For those students taking the SDSU EDTEC 350 Going Global class, you will need to download a copy of your current registration from Webportal and bring it to the Ed. Abroad Office at the ISC to be exempt from taking this test. Nevertheless, you may find this quiz quite helpful in your preparations for study abroad so do feel free to participate.

Please note: Students who do not complete the online orientation by the due date below, will be prevented from receiving credit for their program abroad, a "HOLD" will be placed on their request for SDSU transcripts and will be prevented from registering here at SDSU the following semester.

Finally, to insure that you turn in all required documents to SDSU by November 30, 2009 please make sure to check both Page 1 and 2 of your study abroad checklists. You will find these and our "Accepted Students" section helpful in preparation for visa requirements, insurance requirements etc. http://www.isc.sdsu.edu/study_abroad/accepted.html

What have you learned so far?

Cameron asked--Is there anything we should be working on for this week besides chowing down on some turkey?
Yes, we do. Can everyone please post a short summary on what they learned so far from this class？
Next week, I'll go over the study-abroad handbook to fill in some holes. Angela will help me since she took the quizzes. Also, students who studied abroad will come to talk to us.
Have a great week!
Minjuan

Post an Update on your Travel/Study Design

Happy thanksgiving!
Enjoy working at home. Please work at least one hour today, on your travel/study design (Due Dec.15). And then post an update:
How is it going?
What are the parts that need more work?
What resources did you find helpful?
And other free thoughts.
You may reply to this post or start a new post.
Thank you!
Minjuan

Academic Culture in Italy

From an Italian:
The Italian educational system consist of a “first” school (called elementary school, from 6-11 years old students), an “intermediate” school (3 more years), high school ( 5 years) and univerisity (college) school (years of study depending on the matters). Recently, the college system has been split into two steps for practically all the graduation courses, a basic 2 years courses, which provides general instruction in the field of interest, and 2 or 3 further years for specialization in a particular matter. If you want to have good marks, it’s demanding. I was told that, until not many years before, the level of competence for a graduation was like the one you may have with a phd in some other part of the world. Nowadays however, many say that the educational level is lowering. After the graduation, in particular for scientific matters, you should go further, many time abroad, and keep on studying, attend to phd etc etc.

1) Instructor-student relationship (lots of respect)?
In the college system (remember that here in Italy we say “university”, not college!) the professor has much respect and power on students. Somtimes, even they are supposed to, they don’t help very much the students, and they consider the teaching as a waste of time for them; in a word, they don’t like teaching, but they just have to. Anyway, it depends on the professor. In any case, the student has little influence on the professor and must pay a lot of respect.

2) connection between money and education (who pays for it)?
If your average marks is excellent (practically you have to mark the maximum score in each examination) you can avoid to pay the university taxes, that are expensive (let’s say about 1000 or 2000 euros per year, depending on the university and on the matter, but I’m not sure). You pay for text books etc. Usually you pay also for the accommodation. There is no campus life as you are used to know, except of very rare exception, because our universities are based inside the cities, so students have to rent a flat or a room in the same city. Some new universities are now built outside downtown, and may offer accommodation to the students (I think university Parma but only for scientific matters).. Students on some particular international program may use the few hostel of the university.
So, usually families pay for their son and daughter studies, and students look for little jobs.

3) teaching methods (lecture or group work or other ways)
The basic method is front lesson in a classroom. For scientific matters you have to attend many laboratories hours as well.
Examination may be oral, written or both (especially in scientific matters)


4) Rigor (is college demanding?)
I’ve already told you that marking good scores is demanding. If you don’t care, you may survive! Usually scientific matters are more demanding that other ones, but it’s up to you how hard you want to study.

5) University campus life
Practically no campus life. You live downtown in the city where you study.

6) Any suggestions you can give to U.S. students who are going to study in Italy.
Come and enjoy! Having a study experience abroad is very important to contribute to make you an all rounded man/woman.

Charting my journey

http://sites.google.com/site/projectkevinabroad/charting-my-journey

Academic culture in U.K.

Here is the personal story of one U.K. professor. Many thanks to him (Vic)!
Whilst teaching at Connecticut, a shock for me was that, after setting a test, a student came marching into my lecture room and banged down a mark transcript in front of me and said "I pay good money to get (bad) marks like this"! One of my American colleagues explained to me that this arose because many Americans paid for their degrees (unlike the UK, where the government mostly pays) and so money in education was a bigger issue. Also, they said, that Americans are not as reserved as English people, and tend to protest or say what they think (and expect higher levels of service). For me this was a shock, as in the UK there is not really a significant link between money and education.
* I guess most people observe that although the UK and USA share a common language, there were lots of subtle differences. In terms of academic environments these differences effected me as, when I first arrived in Connecticut University, some American staff took me aside and explained there were many pitfalls that English people can fall into. Some of the differences were innocent, with little consequence (apart from being mildly amusing), whereas others could be a mini disaster if used in a teaching room. The one I remember was that English people call the device used to clean a white (or black) board a rubber; I was warned not to use that word in a US classroom!
* On the positive side; I thought the relationship between academics and industry was much better in the USA. In the UK, companies tend to think Universities are too academic, too theoretical, too abstract, too removed from their immediate business. Academics think the opposite and view industry work as not being of high intellectual value and not worthy of them (maybe a bit of an exaggeration; but essentially their view). I know many of my colleagues say "If I wanted to earn a lot of money I would have gone into Industry; I came to work in University because I value other things more, such as ideas, intellectual freedom and the belief in the value of education etc". Another issue is that UK, academics are paid for 12 months, whereas in the USA, some academics seemed to be paid for less (10 months?), thus Americans are freer to work in Industry. Thus, in the UK there is a divide that keeps the two apart. The UK government is aware of this (and feel is bad for the UK) and is currently investing much effort and money in trying to bring Industry and Universities closer.
* Regarding University campus life; I was also surprised to find there were armed police patrolling the Connecticut campus (the notion of armed police, or guns, is alien in the UK). When I asked why they had guns, I was asked "would you like to patrol this campus late at night without guns (of course I would be happy, but their mind-set was different). Here Universities, are relatively gentle places. It puzzled me, because as far as I could see, all the students in the US were relatively nice. I also found the campus banks weird; in the UK, we have national banks but on the Connecticut campus, banks were localised (they had some kind of cooperative or mutual society thing ... Still don't understand what it was) which made my money matters more complicated (maybe that was just Connecticut!). Also, I found the Connecticut campus fairly lonely, especially late at night where people seemed to disappear. Often, I found myself on my own with no staff or students around. in the UK, the Universities feel a lot busier, especially in the evening. In some ways, I found that was similar to American towns which didn't seem to have have social hubs in their centre (shops and amenities being often located in "out of town Malls:, and centre being some empty or dangerous). In the UK, town centres are full of people, and very sociable (maybe that experience was particular to Connecticut). I remember asking a colleague, how do you meet people and they replied; "through work or through the church". That is very different to the UK where church doesn't play a significant role. Also, on UK campuses you will find bars (and strong students union). I think the age for drinking alcohol is the USA is different (its 18 here), and that changes the atmosphere on campus (to a small extent)
* Another interesting difference is that alumni seem to play an important role in USA Universities; funding Universities after they leave. They also seemed to have strange student societies that I never figured out (referred by names from the Greek alphabet!). In the UK, alumni is less evident but Universities here are now trying to capitalise on their alumni more
* The UK is very closely physiologically connected to the USA. Because of our shared history, roots and language, there is almost a spiritual connection between the USA and UK. There is a genuine warmth and friendship between the people of the USA and UK. There is a strong feeling in the UK we share a fundamental value set with the USA (democracy, and all that). Recent history (the USA coming to the aid of the UK in two world wars) and their struggles against what they perceived as a common danger (The "Iron Curtin") has created a deep bond. This is mirrored in both politics, economic and education, where there is a tendency for the UK to follow the fashions that arise in the USA. As I grew up I remember stories about the USA and China, so for me it was fascinating to visit both countries and discover a different reality to those childhood images. In science, the USA has long been a global leader, so in my side of academia, we are very influenced by the USA (use US textbooks, equipment etc). Although the UK is in Europe, it I said by many people it has more in common with the USA. Of course, unlike the USA (but similar to China) , the UK has a huge history that stretches back thousands of years. I am sure, having lived in both China and the USA, you would find the differences fascinating. Talking of psychology, I also noticed that American academics have a more positive "can do" attitude than their English counterparts. People here people tend to be conservative and cautious about new things (so if you ask an English person about a new idea, they often come up with a list of drawbacks, whereas in the US, they were very positive and encouraging); however, it is said that despite US and English people having different starting points, they both converge quickly to the same views.
* Size and density is another important issue. USA Universities are huge (30K students) compared to much smaller UK Universities (our University is 9K). I remember watching TV programme about this that presented a film that was shown to American soldiers coming to England in the last war. Their main point was that England was a very small country, the size of Iowa but with a fifth of all America (60 million people) cramped into it. So they showed English homes with neighbours right next to each other. To me, of course, this is normal, lots of people in small space, but I guess that's what makes it social here.
* Something that is essential to understanding the UK is that its a very hierarchical place. At the top we have the queen, and below that princes and princesses (and a myriad of connected people) etc. This hierarchy is different to the USA, where its more an issue of money or jobs. This "snobbery" extends into Universities with many academics thinking they are better than other people, and within the University certain people thinking the are clever than others .... an academic snobbery. Academics are not that well paid in the UK, but they think they have a high status (in intellectual terms). Related to this is the fact that the USA has a written constitution, Britain does not. Things are changing here as the realism of market economies takes hold but you will never understand UK society (and Universities) without understanding this structure.
* In term of academic working hours (and companies in general) the UK has much longer holidays than the USA. I was very shocked when working in the University of Connecticut; I was working on Good Friday and all my friends back in the UK were on holiday (so no email with them, adding to my lonely feeling!)
* Finally, in the UK, people like old things; oddly old house fetch more than new houses (many house are hundreds of years old). In academia old University buildings seem to be preferred to brand new one (but I guess that is a global thing, as it has to do with status of universities; older being better!). Maybe as I get older people will like me :-)

Personally I really like American and enjoyed life there (although I preferred the west to the east; I have close friend I have visited many times in Arizona; well he is now in Phoenix, but CEO of a company in Albuquerque). Actually, I may not be entirely an average UK view as my dad was born in America! Its a very long, but fascinating story of love, dreams, hardship, inheritance, betrayal and twists of fate etc but not really something that's related to academic culture, so not really relevant!!! It must be a fascinating (and enriching) life for you to experience such different academic cultures as the USA and China ! Hopefully, one day you will be able to experience English academic culture (Liping seems to like it here!)

I'll stop here as I think I may have veered off focus ! Anyway, as always, its lovely to hear from you. If you need any more information, let me know and I'll do my best to help.

Bye for now; enjoy your day,

Vic

Palau Class Blog

http://belaubiib.blogspot.com/
Biiber is the national bird of Palau, colorful like a rainbow. Even though their net is very slow, they still love to blog. How slow their Internet is? It takes about 3minutes to connect, then 5 minutes to post a picture. Hard to leave Palau, but glad to be back to our high-speed internet.

Pictures from the Fun Travel Game

Credit/Debit/ATM fees for international travel

http://www.flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Credit/Debit/ATM_Cards_and_Foreign_Exchange#Schedule_of_Foreign_Fees_By_Bank_for_Debit_and_Credit_Cards_Issued_in_the_U.S.

Spain (Movie Maker Presentation)

World Fact Book

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/hk.html

A good source for world facts.

China

Ethiopia 2

Ethiopia 1

Joe's German friends' road trip!

jessica's Amsterdam Movie

Australia Videos

http://animoto.com/play/pY5PFOa8Dm60P0LwPshugw

http://animoto.com/play/piCceQziI6pJ4PPfMYj3tA

france videos!

http://animoto.com/play/G0e1B0S8B0HiMl2WtMh1Jg?autostart=true

http://animoto.com/play/cpknT4mMmD4WexlzMKSRbQ

Rome Daily Life 2

Rome Daily Life

Dylan G South America 2

Dylan G South America 1

Share Resources You Discovered

Hi, class, while researching for your scouting report, feel free to share good websites here. We are looking for sites that can be helpful to all. You may either start a new post or comment on this one.
Thank you!
Minjuan

A New Book: Culture and Society in a Changing World

http://www.sagepublications.com/promos/WB090959.htm#2
Two free chapters on this website.

In today’s world, both cultures and societies are changing more quickly than ever before. The Third Edition of Cultures and Societies in a Changing World sheds light on the role culture plays in shaping our social world. A vital and personal aspect of individual identity, culture shapes a person’s norms, values, beliefs, and practices. This Third Edition introduces the sociology of culture and explores cultural phenomena including stories, beliefs, media, ideas, art, religious practices, fashions, and rituals from a global sociological perspective.


The author takes a global approach by considering cultural examples from various countries and time periods, by delving into the ways globalization processes are affecting cultures and by offering an explanation of post-Cold War era culture-related conflicts. Readers will develop a deeper appreciation of culture and society from this text, gleaning useful insights that will help them overcome cultural misunderstandings, conflicts, and ignorance and will help equip them to live their professional and personal lives as effective, wise citizens of the world.

A Large Scholarship from Institute of International Education

Program Number: 00184
Title: Boren Scholarships Program

Sponsor: Institute of International Education

SYNOPSIS:
The sponsor provides up to $20,000 to U.S. undergraduate students
to study abroad in areas of the world that are critical to U.S.
interests and underrepresented in study abroad, including Africa,
Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin American, and the
Middle East. Boren Scholars study less commonly taught languages,
including but not limited to Arabic, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and
Swahili.

Deadline(s): 02/10/2010
Established Date: 10/20/2008
Follow-Up Date: 11/01/2010
Review Date: 10/07/2009

Contact: Aimee Hutton, Program Manager

Address: Boren Scholarships Program
1400 K Street NW
6th Floor
Washington, DC 20005
U.S.A.
E-mail: boren@iie.org

Program URL: http://www.borenawards.org/boren_scholarship/basics.html
Tel: 800-618-6737
Fax: 202-326-7672
Deadline Ind: Receipt
Deadline Open: No



Award Type(s): Student Scholarship
Training/Professional Development
Travel Abroad


Citizenship/Country of Applying Institution:
U.S.A. Citizenship (including U.S. Territories)

Locations Tenable: African/South African/Sub-Saharan African Institution
Asian Institution
Caribbean
Central/Eastern European Institution
Eurasia
Indian Institution
Israel Institution
Mexican Institution
Middle/Near Eastern Institution
South/Central American Institution


Appl Type(s): Undergraduate Student


Target Group(s): NONE
Funding Limit: $20,000 MAXIMUM
Duration: 1 ACAD YR
Indirect Costs: Unspecified
Cost Sharing: No
Sponsor Type: Non-Profit Organizations


Geo. Restricted: NO RESTRICTIONS

CFDA#:

OBJECTIVES:
The program focuses on geographic areas, languages, and fields of
study deemed critical to U.S. national security. It draws on a broad
definition of national security, recognizing that the scope of
national security has expanded to include not only the traditional
concerns of protecting and promoting American well-being, but also the
challenges of global society, including: sustainable development,
environmental degradation, global disease and hunger, population
growth and migration, and economic competitiveness. All applicants
must demonstrate how their study programs and future goals are
connected to this broad understanding of national security.




ELIGIBILITY
Eligible applicants must be: a U.S. citizen at the time of
application; a high school graduate, or have earned a GED, and are
matriculated in an undergraduate degree program in a U.S.
post-secondary institution, including universities, colleges and
community colleges accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education; applying to engage in a study abroad
experience in a country outside of Western Europe, Canada, Australia,
or New Zealand that meets home institution standards; and planning to
use the scholarship for study abroad, and the study abroad program
ends before you graduate. Boren Scholarships are not for study in the
United States.
The NSEP Service Requirement stipulates that an award recipient
work in the Federal Government in a position with national security
responsibilities. The Departments of Defense, Homeland Security,
State, or any element of the Intelligence Community are priority
agencies. If an award recipient demonstrates to NSEP that no
appropriate position is available in one of these agencies, the award
recipient must seek to fulfill the requirement in a position with
national security responsibilities in any Federal department or
agency. Approval of service outside of a priority agency is contingent
upon satisfactory demonstration of a full and good faith effort in
accordance with conditions established by NSEP. If an award recipient
demonstrates to NSEP that no appropriate position is available in the
Federal Government, the award recipient may petition NSEP to fulfill
the requirement. The education option is available only after
exhausting all opportunities to fulfill the requirement in the Federal
Government in accordance with conditions established by NSEP.

FUNDING
Maximum scholarship awards are: $10,000 for a semester; or $20,000
for a full academic yea

Germany info

Another good website put out by the German Embassy:
http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/newsletter/The__Week__in__Germany/TWIG__090918,variant=issue.html

Aussie red dust is coming...

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/aussie-red-dust-dissipates-heading-nz-3012398

Guantanamo Bay Facility

http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2009/01/30/2477956.htm?site=southwestvic&rotator=true

news feed in english for Amsterdam

http://www.simplyamsterdam.nl/news/news_frontpage.php
this gives some of the news that is happening in Amsterdam such as
On Sunday, Amsterdam will again be car-free for a day, between 10am and 5pm.

A good reference for info

This is a good reference for info on countries.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
-Joe

An excellent Travel Preparation Site

http://www.travelblog.org

Marseille's stink offensive

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2997158.stm

Michelle Bachelet Female Chilean president

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/magazine/18bachelet-t.html

Ethiopian news

http://http//www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSLM709146

News From the Home country; Melbourne, Australia

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/melbourne-man-dies-after-highway-bashing-20090918-fu7l.html

Week 4: Post one news story about your destination

What's going on in your host country? Please post a news story. Since this one will be longer, please start a new post.

Week 4: Post One global resource to this Blog

What resources did you find useful when researching your host country? Please reply to this post by using "Comments".

Facebook Group: Study Abroad

On Facebook
There is a facebook group for study abroad for SDSU, it was started up by Robert Carolin, so you KNOW it's good. There are a lot of members, and this way you can ask people who have gone or who are going the same places you are going questions about anything!
Go on facebook, and search for Study abroad, or with SDSU in it.

Online Resources to Help you with the Scouting Report

International News 24/7, World Business Cultural Ect.
http://www.france24.com/en/world

Time and Date: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=204
Hot spots: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/bars

Traveling tips and videos from the country you are visiting
http://www.concierge.com

Everything you want to know about your country:
http://geographic.org/

Cultures from Across the World
This website will give you a variety of information on the culture of your host country. Check it out
http://www.everyculture.com/

This site give great locations for traveling throughout the world and especially Australia. Also gives local news and other information.
http://www.abfab-australia.com/travelspots.html

this gives some tips on how to save money and budget while traveling http://eurosatemydollars.com/trip-planning/budget/

This website contains a great deal of current affair articles from every country in the world. All in English too!
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/world/

Make a profile, host some people, and you can do the same abroad!
www.couchsurfing.com

My site

http://sites.google.com/site/dylansadventurenow/

Amanda - I want to drink sangria in Spain

http://sites.google.com/site/iwanttodrinksangriainspain/

Blogging This Week (Post your URL here)

Hi, Class, welcome once again! This week, you'll create your Googlesite webpage. Once you have the URL, please post it on our blog. We'll keep track of your updates!
--Minjuan

Most wished places to Study Abroad

List your top 3 places to visit.

I will go first:

1.Australia

2.New Zealand

3.Japan

Introduction

Welcome to our Blog! We are a group of students at SDSU; and we plan to study abroad.