Travelogue
Due to the reciprocal agreements with various universities abroad, USC Upstate is able to offer students the opportunity to study or conduct internships in places around the world, such as Costa Rica, England, Italy, France and Germany. Faculty also travel abroad during the summer months for further study, special appointments, and awards.

Some students and faculty have submitted journal entries to describe their experiences. Read below to learn about culture in other countries, what it's like to study abroad, and more!

Hello! Students and professors here filled room 0.02 yesterday as I presented my photo series, "What Is German To Me". I discussed some of the differences I have noticed between Germany and America and commented on some of the pictures. I think they all responded well to it. Following the presentation, Dean Carola Zwick gave me presents from the school. Carola and I will sight see in Berlin, where she lives, on Saturday.

The weather is so pleasant now and cotton is blowing in the wind, but everyone is sneezing because of it. Also on the flip side, I am now able to wear the summer clothing I brought with me.

Last night, instead of attending the beach party, I watched three hours of Charmed and the O.C. with Alice. I haven't watched TV in 2 and a half weeks, so it was blissful entertainment. Some of the commercials we see in America are the same ones that are shown here. "Sex and the City" and "Desperate Housewives" are quite popular here and are shown on Tuesday nights.

There is nothing on the plate for today really, just looking around and taking more photos. I may visit the cinema to see Batman Begins, but I have also bought a bottle of German red wine, so I'm not sure how the evening will be spent.

On Tuesday, I spent the day and night working on my presentation that I am to give in 30 minutes. I made it into a Quicktime movie that is a little over four minutes and I will talk about the photography with some Q &A afterwards. I am all dressed up and ready to go.

The weather has FINALLY warmed up. Students are now enjoying their lunches and free time on the lawn. On Monday, the first real warm day since my arrival, I walked around Magdeburg for three hours and later that night I went for a run. I had to take advantage of the warmth that day because it has been so rare. I am ready for Folly Beach and more surfing when I come home.

Tonight, there is a party for the students at a park. Magdeburg has a lot of parks so I don't know exactly where it will be. If my blogs haven't been saying it, I've been attending a lot of party "functions". I will report back later. Ciao.

Hello! Last night, Alice, Reik, Reik's parents and I attended the wedding reception for Reik's cousin Andrea Wendt who will marry Falko Neils on Saturday in a village called Leppin in Stendal. The night was filled with lots of dancing, beer, food and desserts. At the party, I met an Italian girl by the name of Laura who is from Naples. She is here on holiday with her German boyfriend.

Today, Professor Annette Knieling's class held presentations in English where they showed off designs for treehouses. I took pictures of their illustrations to show you their concepts. Also, I have photographed my flatmates at the request of a certain graphic design professor at USC Upstate. I must get back to work now, there are many pictures to tone and to get posted. Tschuessi!

Last night, the girls and I chatted and laughed late into night with red vine, beer, Pringles and chocolate. We talked mostly about boys and clothes, a typical girl conversation. The boys next door heard us and invited themselves in, wanting to play, but we quickly sent them away.

Today, I had a mini-presentation in class, where I showed and talked about photographs I have shot Germany. The students seemed liked they enjoyed it and asked a few questions about my lens choices and techniques. I also explained to them why I was drawn to a certain object or people and made comparisons between Germany and America. I will have another presentation next Wednesday night, so if you can come, you're all invited!

In a few hours, Alice, Reik and I are going to a wedding reception where it is tradition for everyone to throw dishes. It should be interesting because I've never been to a reception like this before. I'm expecting it to be madcrazyfun. I'll fill you in later on what happens tonight.

This is non-German related, but art related. This is the last weekend for the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, SC. If you do not have any current plans, you should DEFINATELY check this out. You can visit www.spoletousa.org for information on performances, ticket prices and places to dine. I have nothing but great things to say about the women and men who run Spoleto. They are absolutely wonderful and it's so cool to be surrounded by artists who come to Charleston from all over the world. If you don't have a lot of cash, there is Piccolo Spoleto, too. PS usually offers free performances to the public, some may ask for a kind donation, and some events will cost a minimum fee. If I were in the States, that's where I would be this weekend.

I must go now to get ready. Take care.

Cheerio!

It has been a rather uneventful day. I didn't have to attend any classes today so I slept in quite late and had a little breakfast. My flatmate Steffi and I went to the post office and mailed some items back to America and we took a stroll in the park. Now, everyone is at work performing their respective jobs. After a week and a half, I do feel I'm settling into my new environment and can manage getting to school alone and shopping for groceries.

I've just finished hand washing some of my clothing. Earlier today I was searching for something to wear when I couldn't BELIEVE the smell coming out of my suitcase. My clothes must have had a Funk Odor Party after the last few days and I'm just beginning to notice how bad I needed to do laundry. I whipped out a 4 lb. box of Cheer laundry detergent that I brought with me, threw the clothes into the bathroom sink and went to work. Right now, the clothes are drying on a rack I've hung them on. I guess now I can be considered a domesticated traveler.

That's all for now. Cheers.

Cheerio,

Tonight, I went to Cinemaxx Magdeburg, the local movie theater where my flatmate Steffi works, to watch Star Wars-Episode 3 in German. I easily followed the plot from the story shown before me because it was ALL ACTION. However, it was a little strange listening to Samuel L. Jackson's dubbed lines because he has a SMOOTH voice that no German dubber can match. YODA, what can I say...I don't care what language he's speaking in because his actions speak louder than words. Everyone laughed during his fight scenes because his opponents were so much larger than he, but he used "The Force" to bring them down. We all rooted for him. When I return home, I'm definately going to see it again, not so much for the action, but to hear the film in English.

My ticket cost only 5 Euros. For 1 more Euro anyone can be placed in a good seating area to view a film. In those areas, there are assigned seating arrangements and I kind of found that out the hard way because I decided to sit up top in the middle, like I usually do at home. This apparantly was the "good" section where you had to pay an extra Euro. During the time it took to show the commericals and trailers, I was moved three times from my original seat. All I can say really is that it was a unique experience.

For you Tom Cruise fans out there, I read today that he will be in Berlin on June 14 for the premiere of "The War of the Worlds." Fans will have an opportunity to meet Tommy Boy at the Madison Hotel. I would suggest booking your flight, hotel and transportation reservations NOW. Well, what are you waiting for? I said NOW.

Tomorrow, Steffi is taking me to the post office so I will be able to mail some postcards to loved ones back home. So, if you're a loved one, look in the mail soon.

I must go now to rest up and refuel my jet engines. Ciao.

Hello from Germany! The last few days have been quite an adventure from attending classes, visiting historic places, eating different foods to learning a new language. There is never a dull moment. This weekend, all of my flatmates are away visiting relatives for the weekend, so I am here alone taking a little break from the busy week I've had. I need to run to the store and do some grocery shopping because the stores are closed on Sundays; mostly everyone has the day off to rest and hang out with family and friends. Also later today, I plan to run a mile or two and maybe visit Rialto, a pizza/pasta joint recommended by Prof. Jay Coffman.

Yesterday morning, I paid a visit to Bauhaus in Dessau, Germany with my tour guide Alice Rabe, who is a student at Hochschule-Magdeburg Stendal (FH). We spent a couple of hours looking at the houses and exploring the town. After coming off of the train from Magdeburg, we'd discovered we had to pay 50 cent Euros in order to use the restroom! When we go grocery shopping, you must pay 15 cent Euros for each of your bags. That's why I must remember to bring the one I bought the other day. Alice has some business to do in Hamburg on Monday, so I will follow her there. Hamburg is an industrial, port city, much larger than Magdeburg, and I would like to do a comparison study there.

I am sending photos of my travels, which will be posted here, but for in-depth caption information, please visit www.yofoto.blogspot.com. I must go for now.

My clothes and other goodies arrived yesterday afternoon thankfully. I attended my first class, the Basic Techniques and Designing Possibilities, yesterday as well and was introduced to more professors by Dean Carola Zwick. I am to do three projects while I am here based on drawing and photography.

My hosts and I are attending an REM concert tonight near home. We have been playing and dancing to their music all week long. The Germans especially like the song, "Losing My Religion."

The food is nice and I've noticed the portions here are small. I have tried the beer here, which everyone told me to do, but to be frank, beer is beer to me and I prefer wine. For transportation, the people here either walk, ride their bicycles or the train, or drive their small automobiles. Because of the heavy exercise, the people here are slim and fit, but they smoke A LOT. The most popular cars to drive are VW's or BMW's and I've only seen TWO SUV'S!!! There isn't a lot of clutter around town, everything from the architecture to the design of the area is neatly structured and artsy. More later. Ciao.

Yalonda M. James, USC Upstate Student, Magdeburg-Stendal University in Magdeburg, Germany

Greetings from Germany! I arrived safely in Berlin yesterday morning and quickly discovered my luggage didn't arrive with me. Officials discovered it's in Frankfurt, but no problem. The Brown people (UPS) are to have it delivered today or tomorrow. My travel guide, Alice Rabe, took me to the mall this morning to shop for clothes, so I am squared away. I am currently at the Hochschule Magdeburg-Stendal University in the department of industrial design meeting professors and I will attend my first art class tomorrow. It's not a photography class, but a drawing class, which will be a challenge. I will also be involved in working on a product interface project while I'm here. This university is large and filled with Mac G5's. I'm in heaven.

The weather yesterday was excellent with the temperature being in the low 80's. Today is more cooler with a temp in the mid-60's by my estimation. We experienced a storm early this morning that awakened my flatmates and me.

I am learning to settle in and will begin taking photos soon, so please continue checking in. Tschuessi!