Some closing thoughts from Study Abroad

I write this entry from my laptop about 10,000 feet up over the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on a westbound flight to the US. For the past three and a half months I have been afforded one of the most amazing experiences in my life. When I departed the US on Sept 4, 2008, I began a journey that I will never forget. During the course of this journey, I visited five separate countries plus Scotland. Each country has provided a unique experience in which I was able to interact with people from different cultures, and I also learned a great deal about myself. During the course of my time abroad, I was able to travel solo in a foreign country, and I was able to find a comfort zone for myself at the University of Sussex. Coming from a university of only 1800 students, that is an impressive feat at the University of Sussex with over 10,000 students. The friendships that began abroad will be continued for a long time to come, with frequent visit around the country (specifically the area from Pennsylvania to Maryland to North Carolina, and also to Jackson, WY.). Just a couple of weeks ago I was sitting around the Thanksgiving table with a group of friends talking specifically about what we were thankful for, and I think we reached an agreement that we were all so happy to have built such strong friendships abroad. As is always the case when I am around people who I don’t know very well, I was quiet in the beginning. I think as soon as the first couple of weeks were over though, I began to make more friends. One day I know I will never forget was my 21st Birthday, which I celebrated just 2 days after arriving in England. While that certainly was tough, I enjoyed myself, and had fun meeting more people.

During this trip I did learn a few things about myself. The first being how much I really cherish the friendships I have made at Bates. Speaking of Bates, I realized how lucky I am to be attending such a good academic institution. I think, that while I found the classes worthwhile at the University of Sussex, the caliber of the lectures, students, and faculty, was not matched at the University of Sussex. The students I interact with daily at Bates are far different than the students at Sussex. Given the different type of learning system used in the UK, where it is essentially self-taught through immense reading, I think it can be expected to attract different students than Bates.

One last thing I found interesting about being abroad, was impact the 2008 US Presidential Elections had on the rest of the world. While I will devote a later blog post to my experiences, I did find it fascinating to talk to the Brits and learn about which candidates they supported and why. I certainly found many of them to be well informed and strong arguers. I do think the election of Obama has improved the image of the US abroad, and thus the reception that US citizens receive abroad.

I know that I am leaving England on both a high note and a low note. I am excited to get home and see family and friends, but the opportunities I have enjoyed in England and Europe will certainly be missed. I have changed a bit since being abroad. I am growing a beard for the first time and I also have learned to enjoy art and museums much more! Well that is all for now. It looks like they are giving me more drinks or something of that sort. The nine hour and two minute flight from London to Cincinnati provides plenty of time for reading, sleeping, and reflecting.

As always, Pray for Snow!

Cheers,

ZGSKIER

Destination: Switzerland

So last time I wrote on this blog I was headed off on a solo adventure to Switzerland. I flew there via EasyJet one last time out of London Gatwick Airport. Again I continue to be impressed by the efficiency of the train system here and how easy it is to get to Gatwick Airport from Brighton. Once in Geneva, I ran through passport control and customs and caught my train. Unfortunately I didn't get a passport stamp in Switzerland because apparently they only stamp for visas. :( Anyways caught the train 20 minutes after landing, which was good because otherwise it would have been an hour wait. Two and a half hours later my train arrived in Interlaken in the rain. I got off the train and town was eerily quiet. I checked my watch and it was only 10 PM! I wandered around town for a while and after getting a bit lost, stumbled upon my hostel. After getting my key, I went up to my room and the key wouldn't open the door. I tried several times, but no luck. Apparently the girls in the room had locked it from the inside so I had to bang on the door and wake them up and get them to let me in. Wow, great first impression! They turned out to be very nice Aussies who I had breakfast with the next morning and then saw one of them later in the weekend at Zermatt. 

Friday I spent my day wandering around Interlaken, and then took the train around the Jungfrau region. Although it snowed most of the day it was amazing. The mountains, mainly the Eiger, were so impressive. Much more massive and rugged than the Rocky Mountains. The views were amazing as I took the train from small town to small town. I walked around each small town including Grindelwald, First, Klein Scheidegg, Wengen,  and finally Lauterbrunnen. Wengen was a gorgeous little ski town that reminded me a bit of the small aspects of Snowmass. That night was spent in a hostel in Lauterbrunnen. Very small town with only a couple of things open where I met some more nice backpackers. 

Saturday had me hiking through the alps a bit in the area around Lauterbrunnen. I hiked from Lauterbrunnen to Grimmelwald, and Murren, and some other smaller towns in between. The clouds lifted a bit and was able to see the mountains. AMAZING!! After hiking for the morning I took the train from Lauterbrunnen to Zermatt. The train ride across the Swiss country side was gorgeous and as I approached Zermatt it got even better. Zermatt is such an amazing little ski resort town and had major similarities with Aspen. One thing I did like about some of the Swiss towns was that they were car free. So much more environmental and you can walk down the middle of the streets! I again met some nice Californians in my hostel this time, who I enjoyed a couple of beers with before going to bed early in preparation of day number 1 of skiing. 

Skiing in Switzerland was everything I imagined and so much more. Sunday I awoke early, before the sun rose, to look out the window of my hostel and find a crystal clear morning and a perfect view of the Matterhorn. It was the first clear day I had experienced in Switzerland and I loved it. Needless to say, I hurried down to the ski shop, rented skis and made my way to the mountain. Every run was a powder run (as long as you didn't mind skiing outside the stakes where they warned there might be crevasses). I basically followed some locals around all day. The views were spectacular and it was just an unmatched experience. Switzerland was an amazing last trip, but I am definitely not ready to leave Europe....which happens in just a matter of hours now. Anyways, I will write a post tomorrow on my flight about some closing study abroad thoughts. But for now, Pray for snow!

Cheers,

ZGSKIER

Tragedies and Protests of the Violence in Mumbai

A week ago, the world witnessed an atrocious act of terrorism in Mumbai where over 175 people were killed and many more wounded by Pakistani terrorists. There have been gripping stories all over the print and visual media of survivors and those who were killed. The story of the terror that occurred at the Chabad House in Mumbai is particularly disturbing because this was the first instance of a Jew being targeted simply being a Jew in India. My thoughts and prayers are with Rabbi Holzberg's family, and son. We also hope that Rabbi Dov Goldberg, the rabbi who has been selected to replace Holzberg, will continue to serve the Jewish community of Mumbai successfully. This past weekend's edition of The International Tribune noted the particular fear and rage that ran through the city. It gave amazing detail to the stories of survivors baricaded inside their rooms at the Taj hotel and others. The notion that was presented through the Tribune, was that terror is nothing new in India, and time after time, the Indians have found the power to stand up, clean up, and return to normalcy as quickly as possible. The quicker they do return to normalcy, the better. If you have a chance, it is certainly worth reading this. 

In the Tuesday edition of The New York Times, Op-Ed Columnist Thomas Freidman addresses the topic of the Mumbai attacks. The interrogation of the lone surviving terrorist has shown that the group is from Pakistan. Although we should be critical of anything this survivor says since it can't easily be checked, I do believe this part of it.  If this is in fact true, Freidman hit the nail on the head when he called for the masses of 'ordinary people' of Pakistan to rise up against the Mumbai terrorist and say that they do not condone this representation of Pakistan. Without doing so, not many people are likely to talk to actual Pakistanis and hear the words from their lips that they do not condone the bombers. A stereotype will emerge labeling Pakistan as a supportive nation to the message trying to be sent by the attacks in Mumbai. The ordinary Pakistanis must stand up and support their Islamic brethren in rebuffing any notion that Pakistan or its people supported the Mumbai bombers. What was the message the attacks were trying to send? I think as the interrogation and investigation continues, we might continue to learn parts of their purpose, but we will never learn the whole thing. 

While this blog topic certainly doesn't fit into the sphere of US politics or the economy, I think it was an important issue to address and I though Freidman made a very strong argument. The 

address for this article is linked to the blog! The next blog will most certainly reflect on my travels through the Swiss Alps and possibly some fresh powder?!?!

Happy Skiing/Studying.

Pray for snow!

ZGSKIER

Amsterdam with a fellow Batesie

So this is the first of a series of blogs which will look back at some of the travel I have done since I have been here in England/Europe. 

Just a couple of weeks after arriving here, I decided to join my friend Alix and a couple of her friends in Amsterdam for the weekend. In classic easyJet non-chalance, I booked the ticket about two weeks ahead of travel. When I showed up at Gatwick, I got there about 1.75 hrs before my flight thinking that since it was international travel I needed to be there at least two hours before. Boy was I wrong. I got through security in a breeze and ended up just getting dinner and sitting around. I kept waiting for easyJet to post my gate number, and as the departure time got closer and closer, I actually started getting concerned that something was wrong. Little did I know, this was standard protocol. Regardless, I made it to Amsterdam and met up with my friends. The following day included walking most of the city, seeing the Anne Frank House, and then relaxing in the afternoon and sampling some of the local agricultural products. The next day my friend Alix and I split off from the other two and went to the Rembrandt museum amongst others and had a very nice day. That night came the biggest shock of the trip as we walked through the Red Light district on a Saturday night. I was amazed how busy the place was both with tourists and local clients, if you know what I mean. ;) Unfortunately I was unable to take any pictures in there because apparently if you do, the pimps will chase after you and destroy your camera. Also, I made eye contact with one guy on the street, which I guess is a sign that you want to buy drugs. This guy was clearly a dealer because his eyes got as big as saucers and he started to pounce. I quickly looked away and pretended I never saw him. It was absolutely a cultural shock to walk through there, but definitely something worth doing when in Amsterdam. Later that evening we found a bakery, of sorts, and enjoyed the interesting goods that we purchased there before walking around the city some more and looking at the lights and such. The next morning I left early to return to dreary ole' England. I decided it would be a good idea to walk to the train station in order to save money by not taking the cable cars. It was a bit further than I remembered and as a result, ended up cutting it rather close when I got to the airport and catching my flight. Regardless, I did make it. I remember getting on the plane and thinking, this is some place I REALLY would like to come back to again. It was such a pretty city with the canals and small streets. Also, the history of Amsterdam is amazing and goes much further back than anything in the US. If I had planned the trip differently, I would have made for time to travel out into the country-side of Holland, also I would have taken an evening boat cruise around the canals. Besides that, I had a great time in Amsterdam!

Role of Foreign Bailouts on the US Recession

When I decided upon the title of this post, I felt like I was coming up with an essay title... I guess I have written a few too many essays this week. 

Recently the EU and the UK have named plans for multi-billion dollar bailout packages, after the famous $700bn bailout authorized by the US to help curb the recession. Shortly thereafter, the UK announced it would bailout the financial sector to the tune of 37bn British Pound Sterling. And in the last several days the European Union named a 200bn Euro bailout plan. So will these bailout plans actually work is the question on everyone's mind.

I think there are a couple of key indicators to watch over the next 18-24 to determine whether these bailout plans were a waste of taxpayer money, or if they actually saved the financial sector from complete collapse. The first indicator to watch is the price of oil on the International market. In mid July, oil traded for $147 per crude-oil-barrel, whereas the most recent figures from Friday November 28th show that oil is being traded at $53 per barrel. This sharp drop over four months spells uncertainty and turbulence in the market. Until we reach a more steady oil price, we cannot expect the economy to improve. This is evident by the steady oil prices seen during the mid-1990s, whereas now we see huge rises and drops in the price of oil, which the world has an intense addiction too. 

The second important indicator to look at is the speed with which these bailout plans can my implemented into the market place. The proof may already be in the pudding on this one. This is evident by the worsening recession and continued worsening financial crises. Furthermore, the increased unemployment claims on a monthly basis are the result of a contracting economy because of a lack of capital investment. If the US bailout package for example is handled properly, the taxpayers do stand a chance to make back some of the money. 

The last indicator to watch is the movement of people. If people go to the shopping malls this Christmas season, if they go on vacations, if they go out to dinner rather than eat at home, if they eat less SPAM, then we know that the recession will come to an end sooner rather than later. However, the less money people spend, the deeper the recession could go. It sounds crazy, but the money must get put into the economy in one of two ways, either from household consumers or from the government. Obama has proposed a strategy to improve the economy through government spending to improve bridges, schools, and other infrastructure. But what will the EU and UK do? I think the world will wait to find out. 

Those are my thoughts on what might happen with all these billions of dollars spent on bailouts. 

Cheers, 

ZGSKIER

My first blog!

Ok, So I am a bit new at the blogging scene, but after reading some friends blogs, I decided that I better be starting one before the world passes me by. I am currently wrapping up my semester abroad here at the University of Sussex in Brighton, England. While being here I have done some substantial traveling and you can expect to read some of my thoughts from traveling in later posts. I expect this blog to be a forum where I discuss some politics, a bit about the economy, and of course rave about the AMAZING powder I hit on occasion. I look forward to hearing everyone's comments on my blog! To give anyone reading this an idea of what I might be talking about in my next blog post, I am considering what the effect of the British and EU bailout packages might have on the US recession. 

Thats all for now!

Cheers,

 

ZGSKIER