Hello! My name is Anri Kihara, and I am a rising senior studying Marketing in the Walton College of Business here at the University of Arkansas. I was so blessed with the opportunity to travel abroad to five European countries in a month taking Global Marketing class and International IQ class. For marketing class, I could learn globally and observe the different types of products, brands, marketing promotion, and consumer behavior. For international IQ class, we leaned European countries, capital, language groups, religion group, and location. Also, we covered some history until the entrance to European Union. I would like to share some highlights of each city I visited.
Netherlands – Amsterdam
We took a canal tour once we arrived at the hotel. On the boat, we had music all the time, and the tour guide explained about the city. One of my favorite things about this program is visiting professionals; either European companies or International organizations. In Amsterdam, we got the opportunity to go to Heineken Brewery. I was not familiar with the beer, but the package of Heineken looked familiar. The brewery was so huge, and everything is done within there. The interesting fact that I noticed is they sell beer with glass bottles more than cans. They collect used bottles and reuse them. They produce not only beer but also cider and soft drinks. Tasting beer and having snacks after the tour in the brewery was so good. I tried Wieckse Rosé for the first time. It was a good opening ceremony of this program with a great time. In Europe, it does not get dark until 10pm. We went to the 360-degree sky deck to see sunset, and it was amazing!
France – Paris and Chamonix
Paris was one of my dream places, and I had longed for going there. Now, here I was!! The food was so good, and people were friendly! I went to the Louvre and Eiffel Tower a couple times to see both daytime view and nighttime views. The Louvre was so amazing! 3 hours was not enough to see everything, but we could enjoy it more since we studied the French Revolution the day before I went to the Louvre. Background knowledge helps me to understand the art work a lot.
Chamonix was such a relaxing place. I still remember the beautiful view when we went on a hike to Mont Blanc. It was so hard to capture the beauty into the photo. I could not express in my words how beautiful it was.
Switzerland – Geneva and Lugano
We stopped by Geneva to visit the United Nations. We all live in the nation and are responsible to preserve world peace. In Lugano, we enjoyed a pedal boat while having a free afternoon. I wish I could have stayed in Switzerland longer!
Italy – Como, Milan, and Rome
While staying in Milan, we took day trips to Cinque Terre and Venice. Cinque Terre was as beautiful as the pictures I saw online. Especially in the first village, Vernazza, it smelled of seafood. It was a small village with only one main street and a beautiful beach. I was surprised by the price of food at the restaurant because I was expecting it was going to be expensive somehow just because it is a touristic place. I ordered Focacce with tomatoes and mozzarella and loved it. I am so glad that I could do both exploring and sightseeing.
After leaving Milan, we came to the Colosseum to take a group photo. It was so incredible with the sunset. By arriving to Rome, our group, which had around 50 students from different states in the U.S and some other countries, were eventually getting along with each other. I came back to go inside later with some of them and felt history somehow. In Rome, there were so many historical places to visit. The hotel was located near Trevi Fountain, so we woke up at 6 am to avoid the crowd.
Since we had a free day, I visited Vatican City by myself. I thought that St. Peter's Basilica was like a museum. I waited in the line for 20 minutes and met a nice couple from Tennessee. I am so impressed how small this city is in one country. I bought a post card and sent it to my brother to make him surprised, so I cannot wait to hear from him!
Greece – Rhodes
Everyone loved Greece because of the marvelous beach. We had classes in the morning at the hotel and free afternoons to go to the pool by the hotel or a private beach. I really loved Greek food. There was a restaurant near the hotel, where everyone went for either lunch or dinner. Our graduation was so awesome. We took pictures with the beautiful sunset. We were honored one by one and watched the slide show and video taken during this trip. I am so thankful for everyone making this trip great. Without any of them, it would never have been the same.
Everyone loved Greece because of the marvelous beach. We had classes in the morning at the hotel and free afternoons to go to the pool by the hotel or a private beach. I really loved Greek food. There was a restaurant near the hotel, where everyone went for either lunch or dinner. Our graduation was so awesome. We took pictures with the beautiful sunset. We were honored one by one and watched the slide show and video taken during this trip. I am so thankful for everyone making this trip great. Without any of them, it would never have been the same.
This past month was incredibly awesome. It was a unique and first experience for me. We learned a lot, enjoyed a lot, ate a lot, walked a lot, and laughed a lot. Forum-nexus is the best study abroad program with the best people ever! Highly recommended if you want to change your life with new adventure!
Take a look at Forum-Nexus Study Abroad program for next summer!
--
Anri spent the Summer 2018 term in Europe. Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/
