antes de madrid.

Before I arrive in Madrid, I’m participating in what Syracuse University affectionately refers to as a “Pre-Semester Field Study Seminar”, or “We’re Putting You in School Before You Get to School”.

I had three options for this seminar. Two of them were horrible and included traveling to Spanish cities and listening to people talk about history. I’m all for the history and culture of Spain, but two weeks of that would become incredibly repetitive. Luckily, there was one that sparked interest: The European Union, International Business and Economic Policy for the Twenty First Century.

We’re starting in Amsterdam and hitting up some pretty cool cities before ultimately arriving in Madrid. We’re visiting Amsterdam, Brussels, Heidelberg/Stuttgart, Paris, Geneva, Toulouse, and Barcelona. I’ve never been to any of these places, so I’m excited.

Along the way, we’re going to meet with execs from multinational enterprises such as Nestle, Moet and Chandon, Airbus, and we’ll even make a stop at the World Trade Organization. Business attire is even required! I’m not sure how well my nice clothes will travel, so I may be a bit wrinkly…

I created a map to showcase all the fun places I’ll be going to during those 18 days. If you’re anything like me, you know nothing of European geography. (Hopefully you’re NOT like me, because I’m pretty sure I should have learned that somewhere along the way…) The map was helpful in visually depicting my trip… I think I’ll be pretty tired of the EuroRail by the time I’m done though!

View Larger Map

I’m looking into some travel/mapping options so you can follow my journey as I go. Now if only August 10th would arrive sooner!

hola amigos.

Dear Friends and Family -

I have the wonderful privilege of studying abroad in Madrid for the 2008-2009 school year. Instead of e-mailing you all and unnecessarily bombarding your inboxes, I’m keeping a blog so that you can stay up-to-date with my Euro adventures (the PG ones, of course!)

I’ll post pictures, stories, and excitement on here frequently, so check back often. I promise to be as entertaining as possible so you will be super jealous of the fun I’m having while you’re stuck back in the States. (To make you feel better, the current dollar-Euro conversion rate is 1:0.644, meaning that for every $100 you send me, I only get €64.40. If you wanted to send me €100.00, you need to cough up $155.27, as of today June 18, 2008).

For those of you technologically inclined, you can subscribe to my RSS feed. If you don’t know what an RSS feed is, check out Wikipedia. Basically, it’s a way for you to be notified when I write something new so you don’t have to keep checking the blog when you’re bored and have no more crossword puzzles to do (Mom) or Drudge Report articles to read (Dad).

I know my parents will miss me, so be nice to them. And even though I’m a big girl now, I’ll probably get a little homesick every once in a while so if you’re anywhere in Europe, let me know and we can have a Euro-meet up.

I’m not sure what the internet situation will be like over there (although I’m sure it will be horrendous compared to the States since I’m super spoiled with high speed wireless every where I turn here), but I’m not one to be out of the loop. I will continue to be an obsessive-compulsive e-mail checker, so send me notes and love letters to JennInMadrid@gmail.com

I officially leave for my extended vacation academically rigorous program on August 10, but will be updating before then with travel preparations and such. And if you’re in Boston or Chicago between now and then, come say goodbye to me! When you see me again, I will be super Euro-stylish and I bet you won’t even recognize me. That is, if I decide to come back…

Amor a todos (Love to all),
Jenn