Study Abroad Report Fall 2017 .hk

Study Abroad Report Fall 2017

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

GIACOMO ROSA

Monthly Activity Log

August 2017

I arrived in Minneapolis on August 24th. My exchange buddy, Shawn, very kindly picked me up at the airport and brought me to Ikea before leaving me at my hall. During the semester I stayed at the University Village Apartments. The location is not bad as it is 20 minutes by train from the business buildings and near several restaurants. It is also right next to the TCF Bank Stadium, where the Golden Gophers play every 2 weeks. During my first month the weather was very pleasant, and I could easily visit the city wearing a t-shirt and shorts. On the first few days I joined the meetings and orientation activities organized by GLOBE (the university organization which assists exchange students at UMN). The activities were fun and gave us exchange students lots of opportunities to meet with each other and other GLOBE exchange buddies.

Fall 2017 Exchange students

September 2017

I spent most of September visiting the city and partying with other exchange students. While I had a great time and met lots of people, in my experience most parties at UMN start roughly at 9pm10pm and end by 2am, which I feel is kind of early compared to what people from Hong Kong or Europe are used to. The weather was still nice and warm, so I tried to take advantage of that. I also started going to the gym, which is huge and very well equipped. An event which I attended and really enjoyed was the Minnesota State Fair. Tickets were relatively cheap, and the fair was filled with kiosks which sold all types of food, from wild-boar shank to deep fried Mars bars. There was also a large pavilion with all sorts of animals inside. While some people did not like the view of it and nobody liked the smell, I really enjoyed seeing what pigs were up to before becoming bacon.

USS Pizza

Orientation activity at the park

October 2017

On October my workload started to increase (still not that heavy though) and I had my first midterms, so I started allocating more time to my studies. There was still plenty of time available to visit the city though. I went to my first Golden Gophers game and really enjoyed it. While we all know that American football is an inferior sport compared to real football, the music and cheerleaders were very entertaining and at a certain point even a parachutist dived into the stadium. Can't argue with that. I also visited Duluth, a town a few hours by car from Minneapolis. The town is right next to a nice big lake and near it there is also a nice lighthouse which I recommend you visit if you travel to the lake. By the end of October, it started getting pretty cold though, so I ended up going out less, especially at night. University Village Apartment rooms, however, were well insulated and had heaters, hence my room was nice and cosy at all times.

Me at the lighthouse

Minneapolis from the boat

November 2017

By November the lady working at the Starbucks in the business building memorized my usual breakfast order, and that was nice. During the first half of the month I had my last midterms and several assignments, so not much happened. I did however go on a 4-day trip to California during thanksgiving holidays. I got to travel around LA and visit wonderful locations such as Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Hollywood and the LACMA. The sunny and warm weather was also a nice change from Minneapolis's standard -10?C, and overall the trip was great, fun and relaxing. The 7.15am group meeting for one of my classes I had to attend 6 hours after getting back in Minneapolis not as much.

Streets of LA

December 2017

I spent most of December working on a group project for one of my classes and studying for my two finals. While most of my friends were already done by December 15th, my finals were on the 20th and 21st, so that was annoying. On the up side, on my second-last day in the US I visited the Mall of America, the largest shopping mall in the US. The size of it was impressive, and it even had a theme park built inside it. The other highlight of the month was the ball that GLOBE organized for exchange students inside the TCF Bank stadium. It was a formal ball, so I got to dress fancy and take pictures and stuff. It was also a good occasion to say goodbye to many friends before we all left Minneapolis.

A picture from the ball

General exchange info

Visa Procedures:

You should follow the instructions UST provides and send all the required documents to UMN. It is important to follow the timeline and apply for US visa as soon as possible. Going to the US consulate to get the visa is a long, time-consuming process and for the first hour or so you will have to que outside of the building. If they staple your DS-2019 form inside your passport when you are given the visa, do not remove it prior to entering the US.

Orientation activities

Orientation activities are very well organized, and I advise you attend all of them, as its during these activities that you initially meet all other exchange students. Activities included a few meetings, a tour of part of the campus, an evening in the park to play sports and a boat tour in the Mississippi river.

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