SMEAL International Programs

Newsletter Spring 2010,

Joshua Bell studied in Warsaw, Poland for his Spring 2010 semester. He is currently completing his senior year at PSU, dual majoring in Finance and Economics.

“Why Poland?”…The number of times I was asked this My favorite place in simple question is more than I like to remember, but the Warsaw had to be the memories and experiences I Stare Miasto, the old-

“My new home along had while studying abroad last est section of the city, with the nine other spring at the Warsaw School which was completely Americans on the pro- of Economics in Poland, are destroyed in WWII, gram was in an ALL priceless. Being an avid trav- but then rebuilt a few Polish dorm, where we eler, I knew that I wanted to years later. Having were able to inter- study abroad and return to been under Commu- act one-on-one with the Europe, where one can easily nist rule until 1989, other Polish students. hop from one city and country Poland has really advanced in the last 20 years in order to to the next via plane, rail or become one of the powerhouses of Eastern Europe. bus. Having already explored Western Europe and dealt with their expensive prices, I was off to a land where the My classes took place at the university along with the American dollar would triple in Polish Zloytchs. other Polish students, where there were five CIEE courses offered only to us Americans, in addition to the required Polish language course. I must admit that Polish I began my semester is one of the hardest languages to learn to speak, with 33 abroad with a week in Lon- letters in the Polish alphabet and the W being pronounced don, where after taking in as V in English, for example. We also had the option of all of the popular sites I taking any additional classes with the other Polish stu- was off to Warsaw, to my dents, where I chose to take International Competiveness, home for the next four Public Finance, and A Review of Classic American Mov- months of my life. I re- ies, which the Polish students take to improve their Eng- member that upon arrival lish-speaking skills. into this snow-covered ter-

rain, I knew right away that As the semester rolled on Warszawa continued to amaze I was no longer in Western me beyond my wildest expectations. The people and cul- Europe, which was exactly ture were more than I could have ever asked for from what I wanted. studying abroad. Throughout the semester I found that a huge part of Polish culture and society was the National My new home along with Opera where we Americans saw the ballet of Romeo and the nine other Americans Juliet, the first ballet that I on the program was in an ALL Polish dorm, where we had ever seen. We also saw a were able to interact one-on-one with the other Polish stu- Beethoven/Chopin concert dents. The beginning of my semester in Warsaw also held at the National Palace in marked the first time (in my entire life) that I began cook- honor of Frederic Chopin, the ing food other than Easy-Mac and Raman Noodles. The famous Polish pianist whose groceries were so cheap compared to the States and I 200th birthday was being really admired the concept of being environmentally celebrated the entire year friendly and having to bring throughout the country. International Study your own grocery bags to the Scholarship http://ugstudents.smeal.psu.edu/ store or being forced to pay My program included two all-expense paid field trips academics-advising/scholarships- for them. within Poland. The first trip was a study tour to the city and-awards of Gdansk, located on the shore of the Baltic Sea. The SMEAL International Programs Newsletter—Page 2 train ride was six hours (compared to 16 hours 20 years ago), but we were able to see even more of the Polish Poland experienced one of countryside (which is very flat since Poland is a huge the country's most tragic plain), as well as the summer country side homes, which losses during my semester once belonged to the Russian Communists before its fall abroad when a plane carry- in 1989. The entire weekend we enjoyed the traditional ing the President and 95 Polish cuisine native to the region, including the fresh other officials crashed in seafood from the Baltic including sander, crayfish, the Katyn Forest in western salmon, and prawns to name a few along with the typical , where over 22,000 Polish meal of pierogi. Poles were murdered by Stalin's secret police 70 The most significant experience was our visit to the years ago during WWII. Solidarity Museum, where we learned about how the The Republic was on its Polish stood up for their rights against the Communists. way to commemorate the loss of this Polish intelligence, Their victory against the Soviets was a predecessor to but they too would not make it home alive. It was taking other countries throughout Europe following suit in the part in this week of national mourning that I felt like a true pursuit of their rights. We finished our weekend by mak- Pole, someone who had lived through something tragic, ing a visit to Wisterplatts on the Baltic, which marked had to once again remember the past, but look to the the place where the Germans started WWII as well as a brighter future. visit to the neighboring town of Sepot, known for its popular beaches in the summer and where we walked on They say, "Time flies when you are having fun!” and be- the pier extending in the Baltic fore I knew it my four short months abroad had come and Sea. It was while tasting the gone. Studying abroad is not only fun, but it is able to extremely cold salt water of the teach you so much more about the culture and surround- Baltic (which could freeze your ings than you ever can learn in a classroom! It was not hand in a matter of seconds) only great to be able to study in Poland and to learn about that I looked up and realized all that this country has to offer, but to then be able to have where I was on the map. What I such access to the surrounding cities and countries of had gotten the opportunity to Europe was an added bonus. My adventures living out of a experience and discover during carry-on and jumping from hostel to hostel include the my four months abroad made countries of , Sweden, , The Nether- me realize how fortunate I was lands, Belgium, Italy, Czech Republic, Poland, , to have had the opportunity to Slovakia, Hungary, and Bulgaria, before ending study in Poland! my journey abroad in Istanbul, Turkey. Happy Valley is a great place, but the opportunity to study Our second trip was a week-long study tour to Krakow abroad is life-changing. As St Augustine once said, "The (a southern Polish city). It was here that I visited one of world is a book, and those who don't travel read only one the largest salt mines in the world in Wieliczka, saw a page." Do widzenia! (Goodbye in Polish) panoramic view of the city from the bell tower of the Wawel Cathedral (where many Polish dignitaries are laid to rest), and one of the most eye-opening experi- ences was our visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concen- tration camps, where millions of Jews from across Europe were murdered by the Nazis during WWII.

While in Poland I also made my way to several other Polish cities including Torun, Poznan, and Wroclaw. A Contact Heidi Wright at really great thing about my [email protected] program was that all per- With questions or comments. sonal travel within the country could be reim- Other Newsletters: http://ugstudents.smeal.psu.edu/ bursed as well as entries to study-abroad museums, concerts, etc.