BOLOGNA, Italy - Two Sundays ago, my first one in Bologna, soccer was nothing but an impediment to the NFC Championship Game. As I walked along the rainy streets of the city with which I was only barely familiar, it seemed as though every restaurant and pub in Emilia Romagna’s capitol had devoted every TV to football, just not the type I wanted to see. “Calcio” ruled the night.
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PERTH, Australia - What happens after the Notre Dame students in Perth have slammed shut their underused textbooks, ripped apart all paper evidence of the past semester and tossed away half their clothes to make room for cliché stuffed koalas and Australian bro tanks? The answer for most of us is travel.
BEIJING – Before I came to China for my semester abroad, my mentor, a local business owner in Florida and longtime friend, gave me two pieces of advice. No. 1: Think before you speak. No. 2: Keep an open mind.
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PERTH, Australia – There’s a reason why Australians are so connected to the oceans. It’s not just the waves or the sheer feeling of bliss when sitting on a beach. The waters have provided livelihood for the Australians as a means of trade and transportation.
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IFRANE, Morocco –My decision to study abroad in Morocco shocked many of my family and friends.
“Why would you want to go to North Africa at this time? It is not safe,” my mom said repeatedly.
Before leaving, I mentally prepared myself for the exchange. I read up on Moroccan culture, checked what clothing items were deemed appropriate to wear and looked up popular sites. I was aware that the gender dynamic would be different than in the States, but after just two months in this country, I realize how deeply engrained a patriarchal system is in Moroccan society.
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LONDON, U.K. – Festivals rock the Southbank Centre of London regularly, but a series of weekend-long outdoor markets during autumn stands out in its effort to redeem England of its less-than-stellar culinary reputation.
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Hello from around the world! As the fall semester and football season heat up, hundreds of Domers are studying away from Notre Dame in countries across the globe. Through this Observer Passport blog, members of The Observer’s staff will keep you updated on their adventures exploring new cultures, languages and, of course, food.
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Images from Abroad
Live vicariously through the staff of The Observer as they share their favorite photos from their study abroad adventures.
That realization hit us this morning as we started our day back at Grafton Street to shop for some souvenirs. We can tell that thousands more fans have poured into the city — Americans are seemingly everywhere, and the sense of anticipation is palpable. The atmosphere is unlike that of any college football game in history, and it’ll continue through the weekend.
DUBLIN — Day 1 of this trip was pretty low-key. We got situated in Dublin, took some photos for the Irish Insider and slept for the first time in nearly 36 hours.
Day 2, on the other hand, was a complete whirlwind.
Some cities would not take well to 40,000 foreign visitors arriving for a single event — much less a foreign game on the same weekend of one of the country’s biggest domestic events.
Last week, I stood toe-to-toe with Kate Middleton. Her hair was perfectly in place - not a single strand out of place. Her blue dress was exquisite, and I envied her sleek black heels. The gem on her left ring finger sparkled. The Duchess of Cambridge was, in a word, lovely.
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Confetti and Carnevale
VENICE – This year, my weekend before Ash Wednesday was not occupied with deciding what to give up for Lent as it usually is. Instead, I spent it celebrating Carnevale, an annual ten-day festival that culminates on Fat Tuesday and features parades, masquerade balls and entertainment.
ATHENS — Media coverage of the demonstrations taking place in Athens often includes footage of anarchists throwing Molotov cocktails, riot police releasing a sea of tear gas and widespread chaos.
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Where in the world is Observer Passport?
We packed and planned. We navigated airport security. We boarded our flights. We made it through months of anticipation and several days of jetlag. Finally, we're here.
PARIS--By the time December rolls around at Notre Dame, students face chilly winter temperatures as they roam the snow-covered campus. But students studying abroad during the most wonderful time of the year experience the Christmas season with somewhat more temperate climates and much less snow.
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Prague, Czech Republic—There are many things Notre Dame students studying abroad miss during their time outside the U.S., but the holidays are the absence that might hit closest to the heart. Halloween, Thanksgiving and the time before Christmas (though not the actual day itself) are all spent in a foreign country, with different customs and traditions of celebrating.
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We've all heard the familiar refrains about globalization in our classes at Notre Dame. We've been told the movements toward a global world will affect business, communication and culture. I've learned first-hand it also affects sports, and that has led me to a conclusion that will be unsettling to many — the NFL is no longer just America's game.
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I woke up on Nov. 24 at 7 a.m. to my mother throwing a pillow at me. This may seem like a normal Thanksgiving morning, but since I am abroad in Puebla, Mexico, it was anything but.
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After three and a half months of complete language and cultural immersion, the 13 Notre Dame students studying abroad this semester in Angers, France celebrated one of our most cherished holidays — Thanksgiving.
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In the United States, we celebrate the end of October by dressing in costumes, carving pumpkins and asking strangers for candy. In Mexico, the end of October calls for a different form of celebration. Instead of Halloween, Mexicans observe Día de los Muertos, meaning "Day of the Dead."
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When students think of a classroom, they picture an area enclosed by four walls, with a door and perhaps a window and desks. However, for many of the Notre Dame students studying abroad in Rome at John Cabot University this semester, the opportunity to escape the confines of a building is presented in the form of "on-site" classes. Instead of being enclosed by four walls, the Eternal City itself becomes the classroom.
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The annual battle between Notre Dame and USC goes by many names; The Battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh and the greatest intersectional rivalry game in college football among them; but let's call it what it really is: an all-or-nothing proposition. There are no moral victories in a rivalry game.
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PUEBLA, Mexico — American medicine conjures an image of sterile white walls, laparoscopic surgeries with high-tech instruments and patients who not only expect treatment, but also receive it. This world exists in television shows and even in many of our cities.
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TOLEDO, Spain — Though over half of Notre Dame students study abroad during some time in their four years at the University, not all of these students have the unique opportunity to live with a host family in a foreign country.
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When students studying in Europe think of travel destinations in the month of October, one usually pops up: Oktoberfest in Munich. However, to the south of the popular Bavarian destination lies another city with an equally rich beverage culture — Vienna.
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Italy may be home to the Vatican, the center of the Catholic Church, but the Italians' true religion is soccer, or "il calcio." The nation has captured four World Cup titles, including its most recent in 2006. This ranks them second only to Brazil in winning the most world championships. Teams in Italy's club league, Serie A, have claimed 27 major European championships, making the nation the most successful on the continent in terms of the professional sport.
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Greetings from across the globe! While most Notre Dame students are busy on campus taking classes, tailgating and cheering on the Fighting Irish, hundreds of Domers are around the world studying abroad for the semester. The Observer is proud to have six of its staff members spread across three continents and six nations this fall. To keep up with their adventures, we decided to launch the Observer Passport.
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