Spring Break in Malta

For spring break (March 9 -19), I returned to Switzerland to see my family for a few days and went to Malta for some relaxation. As Malta is right under Italy and at the tip of Africa, I had expected it to be quite warm but it's in fact so windy that I had to wear a heavy scarf on most days! From the touring I've done, it seems to be a largely agricultural country in which religion is ubiquitous. There are exactly 365 churches on this tiny island and quite a few houses contain window displays of the Virgin Mary. I also visited Gozo island, which is a half hour boat ride away from Malta - the views there are beautiful (it includes the famous Azure Window) though most restaurants only serve microwave meals.

Here are some photographs from the sunny days so far...I'm headed back to Geneva for the weekend before flying back to campus on Sunday!

Summer Preview: Politics at Cambridge University

It's official! I'll be spending six weeks at Cambridge University this summer at their Interdisciplinary Summer School.  I'm incredibly excited, as the subjects that I'll be studying sound very interesting and I've yet to travel outside of London and Windsor in England. In the mean time, I'll have a lot of reading to do as I'm required to read 14 books before the start of June. Because my schedule is already quite hectic, I've arranged to see an academic counselor to help me figure out how to be more productive given the limited amount of time I can dedicate to preparation for my summer courses. 

Here are the courses I'll be taking at Cambridge:
1. Crises in world politics since 1945
2. Third world revolutions: Cuba, Chile, Angola, Ethiopia
3. Power and politics in Britain today
4. Economics of public policy

It's possible to take three courses per session, but I'll only be taking two since they're very intensive and I'll want time to be able to attend the plenary lectures.

Below is the typical schedule of a Cambridge summer session student.

Summer Preview: Healthcare Policy in Copenhagen

This summer I'll be taking a course in 'Health Delivery and Prioritization in Northern Europe' in Copenhagen through the Danish Institute for Study Abroad. A fellow journalism major and blogger, Lisa, will also be studying there next year.
My course lasts a month and is taught by two Danish researchers, Jakob Hansen and Morten Eierstad. During this time, I'll also be participating in the Visiting Family Program - which pairs me with a Danish family for cultural immersion - while living in a Kollegium, a student residence that typical Danish university students are independently housed in. During a weekend, I'll also be able to explore Denmark by going on a biking trip in Bornholm arranged by DIS.

Take a look at this tongue-in-cheek guide to Danish society - I was reading it on the DIS site in preparation for my summer travels and found out that Danes are paid by the government to attend university - clearly a very different approach from the American way.

Bike trails in Bornholm. Photo credit: DIS website

My Op-ed in The Defender

One of the great things about being at a small college is that if you write something into the student newspaper, they're very likely to publish it - and sometimes you'll even get e-mail responses from fellow students. A few weeks ago, I wrote an op-ed for The Defender on how the course evaluations students fill out at the end of the semester should be open for the student body to access - you can read it online here!