Michigan Engineers Abroad

When Michigan Engineering students travel abroad, amazing things happen. Follow their life-changing experiences here. #UmichEnginAbroad

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RWTH Aachen Week 10: Limburg and Schloss Drachenburg

1 - Hochschulradio Aachen

As the UROP program nears its end, I was invited to give an interview about RWTH Aachen's buddy program. Each UROP student here is paired with a local student who volunteers to help out. My buddy has been really wonderful: when I first arrived in Aachen it was super cold and he lent me a blanket to survive the first many nights, showed me good restaurants around the city, told me where to buy essentials, and even pointed me to where I could print my poster for the symposium. For the interview, we walked to the Hochschulradio's recording studio, which is filled with cool equipment. I tried my best to answer in German, and though I managed to respond to two questions with some preparation, I had to revert to English for the rest of the interview, where I talked about my experience with the buddy program. It was a cool glimpse into how radio podcasts are recorded and produced.

2 - Limburg hike

We took a bus to Wahlwiller in the Netherlands and started hiking through the farm fields. Its about a 1 hour hike to Wingbergerhoeve IJs & Fruit, which is an ice cream shop we plan to go. The hike starts off through the bush and under the trees, its like a green tunnel with nature surrounding from all sides. Then after a couple minutes we clear the plantation and suddenly its all around us we see corn fields that extends all the way up to the highways in a distance, and the corns are all as tall as us and its my first time seeing so many corns up close, though some are already yellow and withering due to the extreme heat. The hike turns into a slightly hilly climb from here on until we reach the peak of the small hill. We then get into a path where there are traditional houses on both sides, its looks like the historical german houses of the Heimatstil style Fachwerkhaus, and its really somewhere i’d live in. the environment is extremely pleasant, like each house has its own secret garden surrounded by tall bush. There are also some modern glass houses but pales in comparison to the classical beauty. Then we walk down and from a distance we could already see tents where the ice cream stall is at. When we finally arrived I had a pistachio scoop (Pistache) and a passion fruit scoop (Passievrucht), but its too sweet for me. We then continued forward and passed by a dried up river with many stacked stones underneath, and took a bus back.

3 - Bar scene in Aachen

A fellow UROP student was celebrating his birthday and I was invited along with about a dozen of his other friends to Sowiso Ocean, two bars joined together in one courtyard. A good night out in Aachen, with Augustiner Helles, a good bier.

4 - Schloss Drachenburg

Getting there required a bit of effort: from Aachen to Düren, then to Troisdorf, then a replacement bus to Königswinter. The village near the castle sits in an area called Siebengebirge, meaning "seven mountains," though the region actually has over 40 hills and sits very close to Bonn. Climbing up to the castle, we could already see Bonn and even Cologne Cathedral from the hillside. The plains along the Rhine river are truly one of the most fascinating sights I have encountered here: miles and miles of villages with small white houses and clay rooftops, densely forested basins, and small hills with towers on top, a medieval kingdom perfectly blended with the modern world. The climb to the castle takes about 15 minutes, and as we approached I could only see it partially through the trees. The full view only revealed itself as we crossed the bridge and passed through the gates, and it was like a fairytale castle stepping straight out of a fantasy oil painting, sitting on top of the hill in all its absurd magnificence. It is often said that Schloss Drachenburg was one of the key inspirations for the Walt Disney castle silhouette, combining the towers of Neuschwanstein with its own highly theatrical profile.

Schloss Drachenburg has one of the more extraordinary ownership histories of any building I have visited. It was commissioned in 1882 by Stephan von Sarter, a Cologne banker and stock market financier who had recently been elevated to the rank of Baron, and who wanted a grand Rhine villa befitting his new status. Construction was completed remarkably quickly, in just two years, though Sarter himself barely lived in it. After his death the castle passed to his nephew, and then to a cavalry captain named Baron von Krieger, who later went off to fight in German South West Africa. It subsequently became a school run by the De La Salle Brothers, before being seized during the NS era and repurposed as an Adolf Hitler Schule, one of the regime's elite ideological academies. After the war it changed hands several more times, fell into neglect and near ruin, and its last private owner went bankrupt before the castle was finally transferred to a public foundation to be restored and maintained. The fact that it survived at all, and in such extraordinary condition, feels almost improbable given everything it went through.

Inside, the castle is so elaborately decorated it feels genuinely unreal, somewhere between a Game of Thrones palace and a Lord of the Rings set, a maximalist mashup of every fantasy interior you could imagine. The main hall features enormous stained glass windows, and I noticed that George Washington is among the figures depicted, even with an English language description beneath him, while Bismarck, Goethe, Beethoven, Bach, Haydn, and Mozart all appear on the surrounding windows. Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria, the Empress of Austria Hungary, and other notable figures of the era are represented as well. There is also a cylindrical tower rising through many floors, lined with private guest bedrooms all the way up to the top of the castle.

This place feels so magical that I genuinely struggle to describe how impressive it is. Even standing there in person, with your own eyes, it is hard to fully grasp its elegance.

5 - Research poster printing

Back in Aachen, if you ever need to print a research poster, it is really straightforward. Stores like Unicopy, Copy2000, and Audimax Copy Center are all within a five minute walk from the campus buildings. The printing service here is surprisingly fast and the prices are very reasonable for the quality. The cheapest option is only 11 euros for an A0 colour print, though I went with the 17 euro option that uses a denser paper stock. All you have to do is email the poster as a PDF to the shop, and that is it. Mine was ready in under 10 minutes.

My German final exam is tomorrow, and I also need to submit the poster and final report. Wishing myself luck.

Yuqi SUN Department of Robotics, Robotics Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Computer Science Engineering – IPE: Undergraduate Research Program at RWTH Aachen in Aachen, Germany

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Iceland Week 5: Weather

Hey what’s up guys, welcome back to another post from Iceland! This seems to be the week when Icelandic weather finally caught up to us. Reykjavík has been completely overcast the entire week, and I feel like the sun decided we had too much fun the first few weeks. Looking outside, the sky is completely white for as far as you can see, and it doesn’t seem like there is any sign of it clearing up.

Week 5 vs. Week 1 weather

We were warned about the rain, but I didn’t realise the struggle of standing at a bus stop that is quite literally just a bench waiting for a bus that may never come while the rain pelts down on us the entire time. And, of course, this all happens at 9AM on our way to school. I have never been one to enjoy standing in the rain all that much, but it has been slightly more enjoyable with a bunch of people around to suffer through it with me. 

Julian trying his best to hide from the rain

Although the rain hasn’t been the most fun, there have still been great moments in the weather. I was told that Iceland’s summers were like a Michigan spring, and that seems quite accurate now that I’m here. We had about two weeks of amazing weather where it was about 60℉ and sunny, then we started with the rain from there. It has been on and off since Week 3, but this week it has been fully overcast and rainy in the entirety of Reykjavík. This would be fine if it weren’t for the fact that this weather goes away once you leave the city, but there isn’t anything I can do about it. My best bet is to go with the flow and enjoy this weather no matter what, and that is what I plan to do for my last two weeks! As always, from Chris: You don’t see this every day, but I do!” (unless you live in Michigan).

Camden Milnamow

Computer Engineering

Engineering in Reykjavík, Iceland

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Mo in Prague: Week #6

Hello again from Prague!

This week was a little quieter than some of my previous adventures. Sometimes it's nice to slow down, explore places near by, and settle into a routine. This week, I visited a beautiful church near the CEA CAPA center and spent some time thinking about what it's actually like to live in Prague as a student.

Discovering More of Prague

One afternoon after class, I visited a church just a short walk from the CEA CAPA center. It's one of those places that I had passed several times without really noticing, and I'm glad I finally took the time to go inside.

The architecture was incredible, from the high ceilings to the detailed artwork throughout the building. Even though it was located in the middle of a busy part of the city, it was really quiet inside. It was a nice change of pace from the crowds at some of Prague's more popular attractions.

One thing I've enjoyed most about living in Prague is that history is everywhere. You don't have to plan a special trip to find something interesting.

The church

Budgeting While Studying Abroad

One thing I've become much more aware of over the past several weeks is how important budgeting is while studying abroad. Between weekend trips, eating out, and everyday expenses, it's easy to spend more than you expect if you're not paying attention.

Compared to Ann Arbor, I've found that Prague is generally more affordable. Groceries are noticeably cheaper, especially things like bread, yogurt, pasta, fresh produce, and dairy products. Since my apartment has a kitchen, I've been able to cook some of my own meals, which has helped me save money throughout the semester.

Eating out can also be fairly inexpensive depending on where you go. There are plenty of cafés and local restaurants where you can get a filling meal without spending too much. Of course, restaurants in the main tourist areas tend to be more expensive, but if you're willing to walk a few blocks away, you'll usually find better prices. Especially if you're living outside of Prague 1.

Toiletries and other everyday essentials have also been reasonably priced. Whether I've needed shampoo, toothpaste, or other basic items, I haven't found myself spending much more than I would back home.

One thing that has helped me stay on budget is balancing my spending throughout the week. If I know I have a weekend trip coming up, I'll cook more meals at home. It's a simple habit, but it makes it much easier to enjoy traveling without worrying as much about my budget.

Mo Ogunwusi

Industrial Operations Engineering

Engineering in Prague

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Mo in Prague: Week #5

Hello again from Prague!

After spending the last few weekends traveling to other cities, it was nice to spend this week exploring more of Prague itself. Even after living here for over a month, I'm still finding places that remind me how much history and beauty the city has to offer. This week, I visited the Prague National Museum and Waldstein Garden, two places that couldn't have been more different but were equally memorable.

Stepping into Czech History

One of the places I visited this week was the Prague National Museum. I've walked past the museum several times since arriving in Prague, but this was my first opportunity to go inside.

The building itself is impressive before you even step through the doors. Its architecture stands out at the top of Wenceslas Square, and the inside is just as beautiful. Walking through the museum gave me a chance to learn more about Czech history while also admiring the exhibits and the building itself.

Prague National Museum Building

One thing I really enjoyed was how the museum combines history, science, and culture all in one place. There was so much to see that it's easy to spend several hours exploring without realizing how much time has passed.

Prague National Museum

Waldstein Garden

After visiting the museum, I decided to spend some time at Waldstein Garden, and it quickly became one of my favorite places in Prague.

Compared to the busy streets and crowded tourist attractions, the garden felt incredibly peaceful. There were beautiful flowers, fountains, and plenty of places to sit and enjoy the scenery. It was the perfect place to slow down after a busy week of classes.

One of my favorite parts of visiting was simply walking around and taking everything in. Sometimes it's easy to focus on the more exciting/busy landmarks, but places like Waldstein Garden allow you to slow down and appreciate the quieter parts of the city.

Waldstein Garden

Looking Ahead

With only a short time left in Prague, I'm hoping to continue exploring places I haven't visited yet while also revisiting some of my favorite spots around the city. Every week seems to bring a new perspective, and I'm excited to see what my final weeks abroad have in store.

Mo Ogunwusi

Industrial Operations Engineering

Engineering in Prague

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Week Five: Session Two Begins!!

Session two kicks off with HKUST’s second day tour. I did love the first one more, but I definitely wouldn’t have missed the second one.

Our first stop was Chi Lin Nunnery— absolutely stunning scenery of the architecture, the city in the background, and the lily pads ponds. We got to see Buddhist religious figures, and, unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take photos of the inner palace or, because of our time limit, walk around the entire garden, but I would recommend going and experiencing everything!

They took us along Victoria Harbor next –which is a place I’ve been too many times now– but they let us visit the art museum near by, which I had been meaning to finish seeing. It was also a welcome break from the 94 degree high that day…

An incredible experience was being able to see a Chinese opera, while having a dimsum snack. They played music on instruments I didn’t even know existed (Chinese lute, etc.), sang stories, and did a martial art-esque dance, all in very traditional attire. Afterwards, we were taken to eat dinner at a Chinese restaurant: meats, soups, vegetables, and some cookies to finish it off.

The next day, my friends and I went around Kowloon, hopping between Salvation Armies to thrift. While I do admit, it was a little cheaper than US prices, I still think they were a little unreasonably priced for the most part. I’d recommend looking into other cheap stores to thrift. I was able to try this HK egg tart with a cookie crust, and it was genuinely one of the most delicious things I’ve eaten here. 

Monday was the start to my new session class: ENTR1001. It’s a completely different pace from my Mechatronics class, a more lecture style, with lots of small activities. I’m not really loving the topic of entrepreneurship, but it’s interesting to see how business-oriented people approach problems. I got to talk to retired Hong Kong residents, to learn more about active-ageing, which I do admit was cool. 

I also explored a rocky area off hall 9 on my day off, and it was pretty anticlimactic, and a little dirty, but I think the sunrise/sunset could look really good from here.

But, it’s finally Thursday, and my flight to Tokyo was today! I arrived super late, so now photos today, but expect a detailed overview of everything I do on my 4-day trip here >:)

Dvita Kini

Aerospace Engineering

IPE Engineering at HKUST Summer

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Week 8: The One With the Bulls

Hello! I am posting this a bit late because this past week was pretty exhausting. Between Madrid, Pamplona, research deadlines, and trying to get my code to cooperate, I needed a minute.

One of the girls in our group is from Madrid, and her family was generous enough to host all of us for the weekend. We spent Thursday and Friday night exploring the nightlife in Madrid, which was just a tad more extensive than San Sebastián, where our main option is usually Bataplan. Madrid definitely felt like a much bigger city, and it was fun to experience a different pace after spending so much time in San Sebastián.

On Friday morning, we walked around the center of Madrid and saw some of the main sights. We also ate tacos for one euro each at TKO Tacos, got Greek frozen yogurt, and did some shopping, as per usual. We used Saturday, aka Fourth of July, as a relaxing pool day. Our very American celebration in Spain consisted of eating paella, listening to English music, playing chicken fights in the pool, and doing lots of underwater handstands. Maybe not the most traditional Fourth of July celebration, but it was still really fun and a good bonding day. 

On our last day in Madrid, we headed into the city to go to the weekly flea market. It was really cool to explore because there were so many different booths, especially with posters, prints, and art-related pieces. Naturally, I had to get a couple of things. My wall of postcards, photo strips, and random travel finds continues to grow, and at this point, I am choosing not to think about how I am getting everything home.

After heading back to San Sebastián, we got straight back to research on Monday. We are getting close to the end of the program, and my partner and I have been struggling to debug some major parts of our code. Because of that, this week was definitely a “lock in” week for our project. The deadlines are starting to feel very real, and there is nothing quite like debugging embedded systems to test your patience.

After research, we headed back to the mall to shop for our outfits for Pamplona. For anyone who does not know, Pamplona is a city about an hour away from San Sebastián, and every year it hosts San Fermín, a week-long festival best known for the daily bull runs. Everyone wears an all-white outfit with a red bandana around their neck and a red sash around their waist, so we had to make sure we were properly dressed for the occasion.

We started our Pamplona festivities on Tuesday morning after requesting it as our remote day for the week. We caught the 5:00 a.m. bus from the San Sebastián bus station and arrived around 6:30 a.m. Once we got there, we bought tickets to enter the bullring so we could watch the end of the bull run. Some of us had briefly considered actually doing the run, but we were very strongly talked out of it. Watching it from the arena was already intense enough. The bull run ends with the runners and bulls entering the arena, and afterward, runners can choose to stay inside while smaller and younger bulls are released one at a time. For the next 40 minutes or so, the bulls run around the arena trying to take out the runners. There were some genuinely insane takedowns, and at one point, a guy fully flipped over a bull as it ran toward him. It was wild to watch from a distance, so I cannot imagine being in the arena.

After that, we watched the parade of Giants and Bigheads, which featured giant costumes depicting royal figures. The rest of the day was spent walking around, finding food and drinks, and taking in the festival atmosphere. Some people in our group attended the bullfight later in the day, but I chose not to go because the performance ended with the killing of the six bulls that ran earlier that morning. I was glad I got to experience San Fermín and learn more about the tradition, but I also felt more comfortable skipping that part.

Later in the week, back in San Sebastián, we had a program event where we got the opportunity to meet with members of the city government and discuss innovation in San Sebastián. We were encouraged to take part in an AI innovation competition started by the city called Donostia Meeting Minds. During the meeting, we also spoke with someone from Multiverse, a quantum computing startup that we had visited earlier in the program. It was interesting to see how much San Sebastián is investing in technology, research, and innovation, especially after spending the summer doing research here ourselves.

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful, but I did stick to my goal of locking in for my project. After a lot of debugging, testing, and staring at code that refused to make sense, I finally got my code working for the most part. There are still things to clean up and improve, but considering how stressed I was at the beginning of the week, it felt like a pretty big win.

Overall, this week was a mix of travel, festivals, research stress, and small victories. It is crazy how close we are getting to the end of the program, and I am definitely starting to feel the pressure to make the most of both the project and my time here.

Exploring Madrid!

Mercado in Madrid

One euro tacos at TKO Tacos. So good. Definitely worth the trip

Greek Froyo from Myka

Exploring night life in Madrid, and we finally got to hear English music when out for the first time in over a month

Madrid's Flea Market

We spent some time at a board game cafe near the Flea Market before catching our train back to San Sebastian

Some photos from Pamplona! We even stopped at a kid's playground to play on the swings.

Small clip from the bull running (I have so many videos, but I can only upload one)

Really good Mexican spot in Old Town: Itakate (it's a little pricey but good)

Pizza in Old Town from NAP: Neapolitan Authentic Pizza

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Rassa in Rome Week 6: Rassa and the Dynamos

pre p.s. (I am hoping everyone gets my mamma mia reference in the title)

Ciao ragazzi! We have officially gotten through our sixth week here in Rome, and I’m slowly (but by slowly I mean excessively) starting to freak out about how little time left I have here. I’m getting slightly stressed on making sure I see everything I wanted to, making use of most of my days I have here, and taking full advantage of the opportunity. I feel like this is a very common thing to experience when you go into an experience that you have such high expectations for such as a study abroad term. Therefore, it’s good to remember that at the end of the day no matter how small an experience, you are still experiencing something new. Especially for something like this where you are living somewhere for eight weeks, it is good to remember that you don’t always have to be on the move, going somewhere, or doing something. You can simply live like you would at home, while enjoying the new space you are in.

This week in my Art and Archaeology class we visited Palazzo Massimo, which is a part of the National Roman Museum (Museo Nazionale Romano). There I was introduced to frescoes, which are essentially mural paintings that were painted on plaster. The ones I saw were extremely well-preserved, and it was very cool to see.

Frescoes in the Palazzo Massimo

Something that was a bit confusing to me but I have since picked up on while taking this class is the types of statues we see. The majority of statues that are in the museums were statues that were in palaces, government buildings, or forums during ancient Rome. These statues are mainly of Greek Gods and Roman emperors and tend to be copies of a certain statue, so you will see multiple statues of what seems to be the same figure and pose.

I went back to the Pantheon to visit it with my class this time, so I was able to truly appreciate the magnificence of its structure and how perfect it has last for nearly 2000 years. Quick history lesson: the main reason the Pantheon has been nearly perfectly restored for thousands of years is because it was consecrated as a Catholic church. In the time where Rome was becoming a Catholic capitol during the Middle Ages, all other Roman monuments were looted and destroyed. Anyways back to now, one of the things I found most interesting is that the Pantheon is open at the top. It was actually pouring rain right before we went, so I was curious to see how wet it would be inside and if there would be puddles of water everywhere. However, there are drains built in the floor to drain the water. Therefore, only the very center was blocked off and signs were put up to be careful for slipperiness.

One thing about Rome is that you can get a very cheap lunch if you look in  the right places. The neighborhood I am staying in, Prati, is very local and full of working Romans rather than tourists. Therefore, I found a sandwich shop/gastronomy that has very authentic and cheap options. For lunch one day I got lasagna, which I finally had for the first time since I have been here, and it was only 3 or 3.5 euros! The shop was full of people visibly on their break from work. In general around 12-1:30 I always see people walking around in their work clothes enjoying a pizza or sandwich with pizza bianca. I have also noticed that many people will go to the grocery store around lunch time to the gastronomy counter (which has bread, mead, and cheese), and get a sandwich there.

Another week further into the summer, means Rome keeps getting hotter. The heat wave has continued, and the highs tend to be around 95 degrees Fahrenheit. This has made it a bit less desirable to randomly go on a walk and wander around, therefore I tend to stay inside my apartment during my break between my two classes.

Cappuccino update: My morning cappuccino from Bar Sant'Angelo has not failed me, and I've become a fan of their cornetto con crema. That's all, so here's a photo :)

my Bar Sant'Angelo masterpiece

This weekend I crossed a huge thing off my bucket list and what has been one of my dream vacations for a while, and I went to Santorini, Greece with a bunch of my friends from the program. We booked this trip around the first weekend I believe because we knew it was something we wanted to do, and it was very nice not having to deal with booking flights or finding a place to stay during the time leading up to it. I also recommend booking flights as early as possible because they will be cheapest then. We decided to book a hostel for our accommodation. Luckily there were 8 of us in our group, so we booked an 8-bed room, so it was just us and it essentially felt like a big sleepover. When booking hostels, make sure you check all the reviews to find out if it is safe and clean. I also stayed in one on my trip to Barcelona and there were other people in the room, so don’t forget to bring a lock for your bag or locker just in case they don’t provide one. Overall both times I had pretty good experiences staying in them. 

The weather was perfect, the views were breathtaking, and to my surprise it didn’t feel very crowded. Some of my favorite things we did was we did a beach day at Kamari beach. It wasn’t busy at all, the water was cold and refreshing, and the shops along the beach were cute and fun to peak in to. For the highlight of our day, I went jet skiing for the first time! It was very easy to book as we just went to the stand there and signed up/paid, and wow it was so much fun. It was a great experience and I highly recommend it.

Kamari Beach!

Jetskiing!

The next day we booked boat cruise with another group from CEA Capa as we found out we both happened to book our Santorini trips the same weekend. It was such a new and cool experience as I haven’t really done a boat day before, and to do it in Greece for the first time was probably the cherry on top. The boat took us around the island to different beaches, and we were able to jump into the water and swim a few different times. There were snorkel goggles so I was able to swim through the water and see all the fish and the underwater environment. Lunch was also included for our cruise. It was very nice to have an activity that was fully planned through and gave us an itinerary for nearly half the day. There are so many cool planned activities you can do in all different places you travel, so make sure to take a look a bit iin advance so you can easily book them.

Boat cruise tour

Once again I made sure to eat foods that were local to the region.  Honestly one of my favorite things that I had the first and last night we were there was a gyro pita that was a whopping 5.90 euros. You truly can’t go wrong with the classics. I honestly had a lot of Greek food this weekend, and I personally grew up eating a decent amount of Greek food so I enjoyed all of them. I had spanakopita (a spinach/feta pie that was one of my favorites growing up), souvlaki with kebab, bougatsa (a phyllo dough pastry filled with custard), and loukoumades (small Greek-style donuts).

Spanokopita

Kebab Souvlaki

Loukoumodes

Another main highlight from our Santorini trip was the sunrises and sunsets. They were truly a sight to behold and I highly recommend you plan a sunset dinner or wake up for the sunrise. I woke up around 5:50 one morning to catch the Iran FIFA World Cup game, so I made sure to see the sunrise since I was awake. I didn’t even catch the beginning, but it was absolutely worth seeing and exceeded my expectations.

Santorini sunset

sunrise :)

This was probably one of my favorite weekend trips, and it was a great time creating memories with my friends that I have made through this program. A presto, ciao!

Rassa Abedinpour

Biomedical Engineering

Engineering in Rome: Rome, Italy

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Justin in Madrid Week 6: Paris and Pamplona

Madrid saw little of me this week. I wonder how much it may have missed me.

Two weeks ago, me and my friends sat down and planned a month's worth of trips for July. The first of which happened this week.

As soon as class let out on Wednesday, we took off for the airport (conveniently accessible by metro) for our 5pm flight. We left with quite a bit of time because we had heard that customs could take a while, but we actually got through security pretty quickly! Which meant we had to wait around for two hours because Ryanair delayed our flight.

But soon enough, we were off! And after two short hours we landed in the French capital, or at least, French capital adjacent. You see, when we booked our flights, we didn't pay SUPER close attention to every detail. We saw the 27$ price tag and booked them without a second thought. But as we found out when we landed, major cities can have airports far outside the city center, in this case, an hour and a half bus ride away. A ride that ended up costing us around 20 euros each. Once in the city however, we absolutely fell in love with Paris. We arrived late at night so when we got off the bus we were greeted by the Eiffel Tower in its shining gold splendor.

I spent my first night at a hostel and the experience was MUCH nicer than what I had in mind. Granted I got there kind of late so all I did was find my bunk and go to sleep. But the bunks themselves were very cozy and even had a curtain for extra privacy. By the time I woke up, just me and my friend Isaac were left in the room which made it feel like it had just been us the entire time.

We spent the entire day revisiting the Eiffel tower, seeing Notre Dame, and checking out the Arc de Triumph. Our flight left that same night so we tried packing in as much as we could. Tuckered out, we took refuge at the familiar golden arches while we waited for the bus to take us back to the airport. All in all, it was an amazing 20 hours in Paris and left me with the urge to come back in the future.

Shortly after we arrived back in Madrid, we hopped on a 6 am train geared towards Pamplona, where we planned to watch the running of the bulls. Again, like the Paris trip, we didn't pay too much attention to the details of our trip. We simply saw the price and that it was getting us to the correct destination. We ended up needing to take two separate trains with layovers in between. On just a few hours of sleep, these rides felt eternal, but we finally arrived in Pamplona at around 11 am with high hopes.

Now here’s where I'll admit, we had very little idea of what the running of the bulls actually was. We had heard about it before but really only knew that about the running and that any adult could join in. We didn't expect the large festival, fair, and all day party that engulfed the center of the city. El Festival de San Fermin (referred to as Sanfermines by locals) is a religious festival celebrating the patron saint of Pamplona. I implore you to explore the history and the origins of this festival on your own. As well as exploring the history behind the Running of the Bulls, which existed independently from Sanfermines for some time. But more importantly, I ask you to learn about how this festival and the bull running are celebrated today and draw your own conclusions. Had I done this myself beforehand, I likely would not have made this trip.

I don't want to discourage participating in local events and traditions, quite the opposite, I want to encourage a deeper connection with our host countries. We can see the sights, take pictures, and enjoy the weather all we want but we should also strive to learn about the why and how these places and traditions came to be.

My last piece of advice would be to pay close attention when booking trips and accommodations! It could save you loads of time and money. Our hotel accommodations in Pamplona ended up being about 40 minutes outside the city by train. Which became more of an inconvenience because the running was at 8 AM. So we ended up pulling an all nighter outside in the city. It was tons of fun, I would not do it again.

That's all for this week!

Gracias y hasta pronto!

Justin Martinez Rosales

Biomedical Engineering

IPE: Engineering in Madrid, Spain

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Ava in Sorrento | Week 6: CIS cooking class, beginning of Session 2, and exploring Venice

Salve! This week has been full of fun adventures so I will just jump right into them! 

CIS Cooking Class

First off, CIS hosted a cooking class at the Nonna Flora Cooking School right here in Sorrento which was so much fun, and actually turned out to be some of the best food I’ve had so far while being here. We started off by learning how to make tiramisu using their family recipe which does not include eggs like a traditional recipe calls for. After we assembled them we set them in the fridge to chill and started on making homemade pasta. We all made our own dough and kneaded the dough until it was smooth, and then had some aperitivos (mini appetizers) while we waited for our dough to rest. Afterwards we got to shape our dough and then they cooked all of our pasta together and made this amazing eggplant and cheese sauce which was genuinely to die for. Finally we got to taste the tiramisu we made, which was so good I might even try to make it again once I return home!

The tiramisu and pasta we made!

Bagni Regina Giovanna 

Another activity I embarked on was hiking to the Bagni Regina Giovanna which is about 45 minutes away from Sant’Anna to go cliff jumping. It genuinely felt like a hidden cove–it was so beautiful and had such a gorgeous view of the water and coast line. There is not really a sandy beach area, but there are a lot of flat rocky areas where you can set your things while you go for a swim or just lie down and enjoy the scenery. Sant’Anna also hosts an event where they go through the hike with you to get there, but I was not able to attend due to class so a friend and I went when we had a free day. I would definitely recommend setting aside time to visit this area because it was honestly one of my favorite days spent in Sorrento. 

The cove part was so relaxing, and then we jumped from the rocks on the right which is just through the opening you can see in the first photo

Starting Session 2 and Discussing Housing

Along with the start of the second session here at Sant’Anna there have been plenty of new faces around! Getting to know them and talk about my time here so far has given me such a profound perspective on my growth since arriving here. Seeing them navigate through all the challenges I too dealt with when I first arrived like figuring out the best ways to travel or finding the best local restaurants and gelaterias has made me realize how much Sorrento truly feels like home now. 

While I am on the topic, I figured this would be a good time to talk about my housing experience. Now when you commit to studying abroad through this program, you have to pick from 3 different housing options. First, there are the dorms directly in Sant’Anna which is what I chose, second there is the Villa, and lastly there are the shared apartments.

Since I have only experienced the dorms, I will talk about that first. There are singles, doubles, and triples here and I believe you can select a preference when you make your housing decision online. My room is a double, but all the rooms are essentially set up the same. My roommate and I both have our own beds, desks, and closets, and then we share a mini fridge and an attached bathroom. Our room also overlooks the gardens with a nice patio, but the rooms on the other side overlook the water. Included in the dorms are several common areas both inside and out, as well as a shared kitchen space. There are also washers and dryers that cost 4-5 euro each per load which can get kind of pricey, but you can also hang dry your clothes which is extremely common here. All in all I have loved living in the dorms since they provide everything you really need and it's such a great way to meet other people, especially those who attend other universities.

The room and amazing balcony view!

As for the Villa, it is about a 15-20 minute walk from Sant’Anna (and I will warn it is not the most fun walk in the beating hot sun but it's not that bad). It is owned by a couple who takes care of everything there which is nice, and I have heard nothing but good things about them. It has its own pool and they provide dinner a few times every week which is nice. You are given a certain number of dinners you can “opt in for” which roughly accounts for 3 dinners per week and you are provided breakfast every morning. For other meals/nights you have to eat out because they do not have a communal kitchen so keep that in mind when budgeting since eating out frequently can be costly. Room setups also vary they all seem nice and I haven't heard any complaints about it.

Then for the apartments, it really is a mixed bag. Most of them have 4 people living in each one. Many have shared bedrooms and common areas, but I have also heard that some of them vary on bathroom arrangements (ensuite or shared). Additionally, they are scattered all around Sorrento so the commute to Sant’Anna is different for each one, but they are all still walkable so don't worry about that. Some of them are located above local businesses and many are next to other units with actual locals who live there full time. All the apartments I have heard of have a full kitchen and access to a washer, although most do not have dryers.

Although I do not know a ton about the villa and apartment living options, I hope this gives you a better idea of what each one is like, especially since they all have different costs (for the housing itself, and things like groceries or laundry).

Venice

Now, onto this weekend's travels! This past Friday I flew from Naples to Venice to meet a friend of mine from UM who is studying abroad in Rome which was exciting! Now I will say compared to a lot of the other big cities in Italy, this trip felt a lot more relaxed. There isn’t a ton of things to see when it comes to monuments or tourist attractions, it is more so just the city itself. That is not to say there isn’t a main piazza because there is, but I think my favorite part was just walking around with no specific destination. Getting to see all of the random streets and bridges over the water was such a fun experience. Everywhere you looked was so picturesque, and there are so many hidden gems to find when it comes to bakeries, restaurants, small shops, and more.

The Rialto Bridge and Cafe Florian

St. Mark's Square and Basilica and Doge's Palace

I also went on a gondola ride which I will admit is pretty expensive, but if you get a group of people together to split it is not nearly as bad. They usually can hold up to 5 people, and the price is capped by the city at 90 euros per boat as a flat fee. Getting to see the city from the water was really enjoyable, and it's so iconic that you almost have to ride a gondola at least once if you are going to visit Venice.

Gondola ride! -featuring our amazing gondolier

Now I went for 2 days so the first was just walking around and taking in the city, but the second day I took a boat tour to Murano, Burano, and Torcello which was only 25 euro and it lasted about 5 hours. Murano is known for glass blowing so as soon as we got off the boat we got to a glass blowing demonstration which was such a cool thing to witness, and then we walked around for a little bit. There is not a ton to do there, but I definitely enjoyed my visit. Torcello was the most naturey which was a nice change of pace from all the busy cities. There was a church which you could go in for 5 euros, but most people (including myself) took this time to get a bite to eat and breathe in the fresh air. Finally for Burano, they are known for lace, and primarily their beautifully colored buildings. This was definitely my favorite island and it had the most things to do. There was a decent sized downtown with lots of shops and restaurants, but it was also just fun to walk around and look at all the colors you were surrounded by.

Glass blowing demonstration at Murano (left), Torcello (middle), and all the colors of Burano (right)!

Other than that, I will advise you to bring bug spray because all the water is a lovely breeding ground for mosquitoes, and equip yourself with the knowledge that during high tide some of the streets become slightly flooded and it will smell as though you are right next to a sewer if you get my drift. Also make sure you pay the tourist fee (5-10 euros) to get into the city or fill out the exemption form if you are staying overnight in the city.

I hope you enjoyed learning of this past week's adventures, and I look forward to even more updates next week! We are going on our first physics field trip, attending more Sant’Anna events, and then heading to Barcelona, Spain over the weekend which I am beyond excited for–so see you next week!

Ava Sillars

Data Science Engineering

Engineering in Sorrento

[umichenginabroad]

Week 6 in Hermanus - Cooking, Cape Town, and the Calm Before the Storm

Hey hey hey everyone! What’s up! I hope everyone is good. This week was a BANGER, so make sure you read till the end. Research update time! Now we are really getting into crunchtime since SAIP (South African Institute of Physics conference) starts next week. This week I have just been finalizing my presentation and getting everything ready. Now onto the events of the week!

The Beautiful Game. 

The round of 32 is over! Unfortunately, South Africa lost to Canada at the very last minute, which was very annoying. This means that South Africa is out of the world cup. No!! It’s ok. It was a good run while it lasted, and I am so proud of the South African team for going so far! On the flipside, the US beat Bosnia and Herzegovina! On to the round of 16! Since South Africa is out of the world cup, I may stop or write less about it in the blogs, however I may mention something if it is super exciting or relevant. 

My last meeting with my mentor!

This week was also a bittersweet one since it was the last time I would see my mentor. She was taking a leave on Friday and she won’t be back until after I leave, so we would have our last meeting this week. We talked about future plans and what I will have to do once I get back from SAIP (I will have a few days before the program ends). We then took a picture to commemorate my time here and said our farewells. It was great getting to work with you! 

Dinner with IPE Staff!

This week we were surprised with the arrival of Joshua Monthei and Aline Cotel, who work at the IPE office! I had heard about their trip a couple days before from Hudson and his mentor, but it was still a welcome surprise! We met up during the day on Thursday to discuss Hudson and I’s work and overall experience at SANSA and how it has helped us grow in many ways. At the end of the discussion they even offered to take us to dinner, which was very nice of them! They asked us to pick a place, and after careful deliberation(we had this place on our to eat list), we decided on a Mediterranean place named Theo’s Tavern. It is the only Mediterranean restaurant in Hermanus, so I was super excited to try it! We met up outside the restaurant and went in, and unfortunately they were hosting some sort of event, so they only had outdoor seating. It was pretty windy, but the staff offered us blankets which was very nice. We chatted more about our time in Hermanus and other IPE related programs, and the food we ordered was very tasty! After dinner, they were kind enough to drop us back off at SANSA. Overall, we had a great time talking to some familiar faces in Hermanus!

Friday night Braai!

On Friday, the students got together and hosted a braai for us! For those who don’t know, a braai is a traditional South African custom that is similar to a barbecue (grilling meats), but focuses a lot more on the social aspects of it. It was mostly for Hudson, since I don’t eat meat, but I was still invited! I forgot what time it started, but I remember going out and seeing everyone gather around the fire that they had made. There was a lot of smoke, so I didn’t stay for very long, but it was cool seeing everyone! At one point they burned a plastic bag to keep the fire going, which I am not too sure was the best idea, but they eventually got more firewood. Overall it was a cool little experience to round off our last full week in Hermanus!

Cape Town Trip!

This weekend Hudson and I went to Cape Town! We decided to head there a little early before SAIP so we could explore the city itself, since we haven’t gone since we got here. We took an uber there at around 10 am on Saturday (side note: the uber we SCHEDULED got cancelled literally 5 minutes before, so we were scrambling to find an uber once again. I do not like uber.) and the drive there was super scenic. We were blessed with good weather our entire time there, as you will see in the pictures.

When we got into Cape Town, we left our bags at the hostel we were staying at (since it was too early to check in) and went out for lunch. We found this really cute cafe called The Ladder, which had a pretty nice vibe.

We then set out for our main attraction for the day, the aquarium! It is a pretty well known aquarium, and I haven’t been to one for several years, so we were excited to go. Overall the experience was super cool, and we saw a bunch of cool looking fish and even some sharks! Another highlight was the penguin exhibit. We were lucky enough to catch the staff feeding the penguins, which was really fun to watch.

After we left the aquarium, we went back behind the building to see the harbor. When we glanced over the edge of the railing, to our surprise we saw a group of seals! They had been very quiet so we didn’t even notice them until we saw them. They all seemed to be taking their afternoon nap, while a couple of young ones were playing around. Seals are my favorite animals so this was amazing to see.

We then walked around the Waterfront for a bit, which has a lot of shops and restaurants and overall has a great vibe. We then headed home and rested up for the next day.

On Sunday, we woke up before sunrise to catch an uber to the cable car station on Table mountain. We were planning on taking the cable car up, but ambition took the better of us (mostly me, Hudson was down for anything) and we ended up doing the hike. Big mistake. At this point I think I overestimated myself and underestimated the hike simultaneously, as nothing could have prepared me for what was next. This was by far the most strenuous hike I have ever done in my life. I thought my fitness had improved from the last two hikes, but apparently not. Along the hike, however, we made some friends from Brazil! So that was a plus. At the end, when we had finally made it, I realized it was worth it (mostly). We had the most breathtaking views up there, and we stayed all the way until sunset. Once the sun was setting we took the cable car down and ubered back to the hostel.

Tonight we ate at this really good Italian restaurant (forgot the name, sorry guys!) which was kind of in a sketchy place, but it was BANGER.

We then headed home for the night. Overall this was a super fun but also tiring trip, and I am excited for SAIP to start tomorrow!

This concludes another week everyone! I will see you next week for what might be my longest blog ever(based on the amount of activities planned). Bye!

Ishaan Bhatt

Space Sciences and Engineering, Engineering Physics

IPE: Undergraduate Research Program at the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) in Hermanus, South Africa

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RWTH Aachen Week 9: Monschau and Ordensburg Vogelsang

1 - Monschau We took the bus to Monschau, a little over an hour's ride away. Monschau is a small historic town of around 12,000 people nestled deep in the Eifel hills near the Belgian border, one of the best preserved medieval towns in all of Germany. It sits in a narrow valley carved by the Rur river, which gives the whole town its distinctive compact and intimate character. The town is famous for its half timbered houses, its mustard production, and its glassmaking heritage, and it draws visitors from across Europe precisely because it looks like somewhere time forgot.

When we first got off the bus and walked towards the old town, I was completely amazed by the view. It is stunning, straight out of a fairytale, and photos simply cannot capture the beauty of this village. What I love most about the town is the river running right through it with all the bridges built over it. It is really compact but never feels crowded, and almost every building is genuinely historical. Nearly every house has a small "Denkmal" plate on the wall indicating it is a protected historic building. I also saw a house built in 1666 where people still live today, and another wooden house that has to be supported by huge wooden scaffolding on one side because it is visibly tilting.

There is also the famous Rotes Haus, a grand 18th century merchant's mansion that once belonged to the Scheibler family, one of the wealthiest cloth manufacturing dynasties in the region. It now operates as a museum preserving the original furnishings, textiles, and living quarters of the family across multiple floors, giving a remarkably intact picture of prosperous bourgeois life in the 1700s. Our group was not particularly interested so we did not go inside, but we did visit the Evangelische Stadtkirche Monschau, where there is a big red book for visitors to leave comments. I was really pleasantly surprised to find lots of Japanese entries, including one written just that same day, shortly before I arrived. I left a kind comment in both German and Cantonese. Notably, there are at least a dozen churches and altars scattered throughout Monschau and we came across many of them, most dedicated to Maria, mother of Jesus. One small chapel we found while climbing up towards the castle was Kapelle Ave Maria, built in 1911, with walls lined entirely with carved plates bearing thank you messages from worshippers. The earliest one I found dated to 1912, and the collection continued through both World Wars all the way to the most recent one from 2012.

Speaking of the wars, we also discovered a Denkmal on our way up to the castle, commemorating all the fallen soldiers from Monschau across both World Wars, with every victim's name inscribed on a plate. The castle itself is fairly small but retains an almost fully intact ring of walls and a decent sized tower, though they are not open to the public. Burg Monschau, as it is known, dates back to the 13th century and served for centuries as the seat of the Counts of Jülich, who controlled this strategically important valley crossing. It later passed through various hands and was partially dismantled over the centuries, leaving the atmospheric ruins that stand today. We explored the sections that are partially accessible. It is really cold and dark inside. There were another two chapels on the way up as well. Afterwards we hiked back down and crossed to the hill opposite the castle where there are smaller ruins of another fortification, with information panels telling the broader history of Monschau.

Before leaving we walked to the Historische Senfmühle Monschau, a historic mustard producing mill that is still operating today, using locally grown ingredients to produce a wide variety of mustard sauce flavours. My favourite was the classic honey mustard with poppy seed, and I bought a big jar to take back. Sadly the mill itself is only open by guided tour, so we just walked around the shop and browsed the hundreds of different flavours of wines, sauces, juices, and even mustard chocolates locally produced in Monschau and the surrounding area. I fell asleep on the bus home.

I immediately used the honey mustard poppy seed sauce to top off my dinner. Its recommended to eat with Salmon, which I just happen to cook that day.

2 - Ordensburg Vogelsang

Ordensburg Vogelsang was one of four elite ideological training schools established by the Nazi regime to groom the next generation of NS party leadership, and it is today the largest surviving architectural relic from the National Socialist era. Built from 1934 onwards on a dramatic hillside overlooking the Urftsee reservoir in the Eifel, the complex was designed to be monumental and imposing, a physical expression of Nazi ambitions rendered in stone. It functioned as a brainwashing school where selected teenagers would be sent to undergo rigorous physical and ideological training, with the goal of producing completely obedient, fanatical party loyalists ready to fill prominent NS positions after graduation. Admission was not based on academic merit or skill but purely on demonstrated loyalty to the party and the Führer. A number of its graduates were immediately drafted into the Second World War and deployed to oversee occupied territories in Eastern Europe, and several were subsequently convicted of war crimes after Germany's defeat.

This is probably one of the most in depth museums covering the political and educational dimensions of Nazi Germany that I have ever visited, with a strong focus on the pre war period that sets it apart from most other museums on the subject. There is an enormous amount of factual information and authentic artefacts on display that I have not seen elsewhere. I spent at least two hours inside and that was at a genuinely rushed pace. I also did not have time to explore the outside of the complex, which extends all the way down the hillside with many other structures still standing. It is also very quiet out there and honestly quite unsettling. It is a fairly eerie place and I did not particularly want to walk around alone. I would strongly recommend visiting if you want to understand how authoritarian regimes construct and propagate radical ideology, because I learned a great deal that I had not encountered before. One last thing worth noting: although the natural scenery surrounding the site is genuinely beautiful, the complex itself is deeply ugly, built entirely from brown and grey stone in relentlessly square and rectangular forms with almost no aesthetic grace to speak of. Which, in a strange way, feels fitting.

the museum also have a panoramic restaurant, which has great food for it's price, the portion is so big its enough to feed 2 people, for just 14.9 Euros its definitely worth it.

Next week will be even busier as I need to submit the final symposium poster and report.

Yuqi SUN

Department of Robotics, Robotics

Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Computer Science

Engineering - IPE: Undergraduate Research Program at RWTH Aachen in Aachen, Germany

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Connor in Shanghai - SJTU - Week 6: Exploring Shanghai and Hangzhou

On Monday night, I went to a delicious restaurant and had spicy tofu, rice, and potato noodles. It was so good, and came from a restaurant called 黃蠵干饭食堂, downtown near the Bund.

Later, we learned anchient chinese rubbing (ta_pian) which is a technique for printing images onto thin paper. This was an activity as a part of the class that I am taking called intro to Chinese culture, but was also open to everyone in the program.

This week, we also took a trip to the indoor skiing mountain in downtown Shanghai, which had a beautiful castle and scenery outside. After we went inside, the temperature changed dramatically, instantly changing from over 90 degrees f to below freezing. It had multiple floors, from easy, to medium, to hard. The final floor even had chairlifts and a black diamond level difficulty slope. It only had 3 routes, but it was very fun and unique I strongly recommend anyone visiting Shanghai to try it out.

After the skiing experience, we visiting Hangzhou as a part of the group tour led by the program. First, we visited the lake, where, although it was quite rainy, it was still really cool to see and beautiful.

Afterwards, we visited a beautiful green mountain area near the west lake scenic spot. It was where they make and grow famous Hangzhou tea leaves, and we got to hike all the way to the top of the mountain, past a small village where I also got to buy some tea.

We saw a really fat cat, hiked more through a forest on the top of the tea mountains, and were able to look down on an absolutely stunning view, it didn't even feel like we were in the same country.

We then stayed at a really luxurious hotel, and stayed the night. When we woke up the next day, I ate a quick breakfast at the hotel, then went to our next activity. Unfortunately it was not rainy anymore, and was much hotter, but that ended up being for the best because it allowed us to experience Hangzhou while it was sunny, which was pretty nice when we visited the lake.

During the end of the trip, I bought some bread from a shop in Hangzhou which was some of the most tasty bread I've ever had. Then, we got on the bus ride back to Shanghai to finish off the week.

In the end, week 6 was another absolutely amazing week. Every week here has been exciting and it's so fun exploring new places and discovering new things while traveling China. It has been a life changing experience that I would 10/10 do again.

Thanks for following so far! And see you next week.

Connor Madriago

Mechanical Engineering

Engineering in Shanghai - IPE and SJTU in Shanghai, China.

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Marisa in Scandinavia | End of Study Abroad Reflection

Looking back at my experience in Stockholm and Copenhagen, it’s crazy that it’s all over. The 7 weeks went by so fast, and I know I’m going to miss it. I already miss the long sunny days where the sun set past 10 pm, when people were still out in the parks enjoying the weather. I learned a lot about Scandinavian culture and about myself and how I react when I’m outside my comfort zone. I learned how to budget my money when living abroad (especially in Copenhagen), and a few life hacks for spending less. I gained confidence in doing things alone, like my solo backpacking trip (which was my first time solo backpacking!!), and going to the gym. This increased confidence will help me with my everyday life and hopefully encourage me to go outside my comfort zone more and try new things. I didn’t experience any culture shock, and everyone knew English, so there wasn’t a language barrier, but I’d say a big difference in culture was the lack of diversity. I come from a diverse city in northern Virginia, and UM is more diverse than other universities, so I noticed the difference after the first day. This didn’t cause any problems, but representation helps with feeling more comfortable in another culture. Lastly, my second class on drug development really helped me as an engineer. It opened my eyes to how countries in the EU operate within the medical landscape, and certain career pathways I can take. This helps with my overall worldview since that is needed as an engineer. 

I really enjoyed my experience and I’m glad I got a lot out of it. I hope my blogs helped you all get a feel of what it’s like in Scandinavia and doing this specific program. I also hope this encourages people to pursue study abroad because it is so worthwhile and life-changing!

Goodbye!

Marisa Lucero

Biomedical Engineering

IPE: Engineering in Scandinavia

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Marisa in Scandinavia | Week 7: Academics

Hi! I am officially done with my studies abroad, so in my second-to-last blog, I will go over what I learned, what my classes were like, and the overall academic program of DIS. For its Summer study abroad program, DIS offers 3 sessions, with session 1 starting May 26 and session 3 ending August 1, with each session being 3 weeks. You can choose whether to have the sessions in Stockholm, Sweden, or Copenhagen, Denmark. Session 2 includes the 5-day-long study tour at a decided location related to the individual class (see my previous blog post about my study tour experience in Edinburgh!!). HOWEVER, if you apply for this program through UM-IPE, the university only has sessions 1 and 2 available to take (at least for this summer). This is probably due to expenses and credit transfer. Additionally, the program has only 1 class happening per session. This is different than other study abroad programs (ex. CEA CAPA at Paris) that have two classes concurrently for 6 weeks. 

For session 1, I chose to take the class Understanding Terrorism: Causes, Solutions, and Dilemmas in Stockholm, and for session 2, I took Medical Biotechnology and Drug Development in Copenhagen. Thankfully, there were two classes I was interested in and could be counted for degree credit that were in separate cities, because studying in two different countries was a main advantage of this specific program. 

Session 1:

For session 1, my class was at an egregious time of 5pm-8pm every day. Thankfully my class had 5 people total, so lectures went quick and we got out early most days. This meant I did all of my sightseeing before class. DIS’s classes were held in the KMH music college so the rooms were really nice, and the student hub had books and supplies to rent. 

[Caption: a screenshot of the student hub from DIS's virtual tour on their website]

My terrorism class was super chill with a few readings, short papers, and a final 7-page paper at the end as the final. I know other session 1 classes had a few field trips throughout the course but my class didn’t have any. The workload was extremely manageable and I was experiencing Stockholm more than doing schoolwork outside of class. 

Session 2

In Copenhagen, my drug development class was definitely more intensive, with classes being 9am-3pm and multiple presentations and exams due. We had multiple guest lecturers come in to talk about their specific job within the drug development industry. We had a presentation on what we learned from the study tour as well as a presentation about a Scandinavian company and a developing drug of theirs. With the classes being long and presentations needing time to prepare, I think I worked on classwork more than experiencing Copenhagen. The class was super rewarding, however, because I learned a lot about the industry and which careers I want to pursue. DIS also gave my professor a budget for treats, so almost every class we got a pastry or sandwich. We even had a concluding beer at a brewpub after the last class! The DIS classrooms were spread out in different buildings within Copenhagen, and the student hub was nice with supplies and books to rent as well. 

[Caption: the student hub at DIS's Copenhagen location]

All in all, my classes were great and super interesting. DIS has great professors for the classes, and lots of support available for the students. I am glad that I passed both and will get the transfer credit for my major. 

[Caption: My class at our concluding beer at a brewpub!]

Marisa Lucero

Biomedical Engineering

IPE: Engineering in Scandinavia

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Iceland Week 4: Midterm Preparation

Hey what’s up guys, welcome back to another post from Iceland! We had a midterm this week, so most of our free time was spent studying. On top of this, we also have an EECS project due Monday and must have groups and ideas for our Sustainability projects by then. Even with all this, we’re still able to have fun!

The midterm has definitely taken up the most of our time, since we have learned a lot C++ in the last few weeks that has made most of us very worried. As there are only 2 Computer Engineering and no Computer Science students, most of the program has their work cut out for them. When taking the midterm, as one of the CE students I felt like the material was decently difficult to learn, but was manageable after a few lectures. I can’t speak for everyone with that, but I’ve heard similar things from a few others. I’m excited to see what else we cover in this course, since I believe our next area is searches and sorts, which is very important for most programming fields.

Studying wasn’t the only thing to happen in DRA room 200 this week, though, as something went bad in the guys’ fridge during and a few of us were insistent on getting to the bottom of it. The smell would radiate through the apartment every time the fridge opened, and it would linger for a while before going away. Carlo, Cam, and Julian decided to mask up and sniff every item in the fridge until they found the expired item, and they did. A bag of broccoli of unknown origins was the culprit, and it was quickly disposed of while a study session was going on. It was quite fun to watch, but I would rather not have to go through that again. 

Cam (left), Julian (middle), and Carlo (right) searching the fridge

Zuzia (left) and Jacob (right) studying for the midterm while this is going on

After the midterm, the EECS project was the next point of interest. We were given the project last week, and told that we could group into pairs to submit together. I paired up with Adrian, and we were able to finish the project on Wednesday, but I’m sure other groups will need all the time they can get, since that project had some decently difficult elements to it. We had just learned pointers, classes, and inheritance, which we were expected to group together to create a payroll system with multiple employee types and a new “Money” object that we use to keep track of monthly income.

Overall, this week seemed to be a lot of working and studying, but I think this work has amounted to quite a bit of knowledge that we can all carry back to the US. As always, even if it isn’t so applicable this week, from Chris: You don’t see this every day, but I do!”

Camden Milnamow

Computer Engineering

Engineering in Reykjavík, Iceland

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End of Trip Reflection

I had a great time in Ireland. I believe I saw a ton of the island in my short time here. I think I would have made my past self proud. Seeing the cliffs of Moher was one of the coolest things I did on this trip. I see why they were the Cliffs of Insanity in the Princess Bride, it's because they are so insanely gorgeous. Spending seven weeks in Dublin has made me way more familiar with the city than I had ever thought possible. Streets that were once maze-like are now easily traversable. I can not wait to see Dublin again some day and see how much I remember. 

Food wise, I think I got the main staples. I have tried traditional Irish dishes like Guinness stew and bangers and mash. Dublin has a wide variety of food from all around the world. I still believe the best thing I ate in Ireland was Indian food from a restaurant in Dundrum. From my time here, I think my palette has grown. I’ve never been a picky eater, but trying things farther outside my comfort zone has made me appreciate food more as a whole. 

Academically I think I did pretty well. After final grades are released I’ll know more. The history program at UCD was a ton of fun. The field trips they took us on as a class were a highlight of the trip for me. Physics was challenging, but I liked the material and the course instructors were very nice and patient. 

Overall the summer program offered at UCD is a blast. I had an amazing time here and I fully recommend it to anyone who is considering coming here.

[umichenginabroad]

Ireland Week 7

My last week here at UCD. These past seven weeks have been a blast. Everyone I met was amazing and the time I spent with them was too. The biggest thing that happened this week was finals. Preparing for these tests, especially the days leading up to them, was stressful. My history exam was on Tuesday and I had been researching the topics I needed to write about almost every night. Physics was a whole different beast. We covered so much in the past seven weeks that it was difficult to pick out the most important material. With that all being said, the tests themselves were pretty easy. The two essays I had to write for my history final were pretty easy to churn out. The physics exam had a ton of easy questions.

With finals out of the way and the end of my Irish college career in sight, it makes me want to reflect on the time I spent here. The first few weeks went by at light speed. I saw so many new things and experienced life in a completely different atmosphere. After a while I started to get into a rhythm, and the days started to become different again. This was when I had the most fun. Going to class, eating lunch, and then hanging out with my friends in this country we were slowly becoming more familiar with, was one of the greatest experiences I have. This pattern made the trip as a whole completely worth it to me. If anyone asks me if they should study abroad, I will tell them wholeheartedly yes. I believe everyone should experience something similar to what I have these past seven weeks.

Some miscellaneous recommendations to anyone who is going to be doing this program next year.

My favorite activity to do on campus was Tuesday night clubhouse trivia. My friends and I won this last Tuesday and got a free shot for it. 

If you like the outdoors, you need to go hiking here. The amount of trails and sights to see is truly out of this world. 

My favorite pub is called O’Donoghue’s Bar. The vibes in there are great and there's a delicious takeaway spot across the street where you can get a spice bag.

When you go to Belfast, you should stay the night and explore the city.

I had a great time here and I am sad to leave. That being said, it was nice to share my travels.

See ya,

Jackson Smith Mechanical Engineering coming for the last time from UCD Dublin, Ireland

I saw Maroon 5 the other week and forgot to share.

This is a cool building I saw in Kilkenny.