Trish Wilson's European Adventure
6/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
June 7, 2010
Through the Center for International Business (CIBE) program, Trish Wilson and 23 of her classmates from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business traveled through Europe for three weeks to learn about economics through a European perspective. They visited Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and the Czech Republic, learning about the European Union and economics while also touring the sites and having fun. Trish chronicled her experiences once she returned to Ann Arbor.
We started in Koblenz, Germany, where we studied at the Business School in Koblenz. We stayed in Germany for a week and throughout that time we visited the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, saw the famous cathedral in Cologne (which took 600 years to build) and visited the Ford factory. In class, we focused on the monetary policy of the European Union and why European countries adopted the Euro. We also studied Foreign District Investments (FDIs) and importing/exporting in Europe. At the end of the week, my group studied how France looks at FDIs, exporting and importing.
Next we traveled to Budapest, Hungary, where we spent the weekend. It was nice to have some free time to explore and sightsee. Budapest was beautiful, however, the cab drivers drove really fast and it got scary sometimes. Regardless, it was nice to have some time off.
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From Budapest, we traveled to Bratislava, Slovakia, where we spent another week. We focused on the differences between Eastern and Western Europe and at the end of the week did a presentation on an Eastern European country, similar to how we handled our presentation in Germany. On the tourist side, downtown Bratislava offered shopping, great dining, fairs during the day and lots of fun things to do at night. In Bratislava we studied at the University of Economics, and each day at lunch we had authentic Slovakian food provided by the university.
We were free the next weekend so the girls on the trip decided to take a train to Prague, while the boys took a trip to Amsterdam. Prague was absolutely beautiful, though a little too packed with tourists. In Prague, we saw some of the famous monasteries and castles, the John Lennon wall, the Jewish quarters, the Museum of Medieval Torture and the Central Square in Prague.
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We finished our trip with the week in Vienna, Austria, studying European tax law at the Business School in Vienna. The material was difficult and we took an exam at the end of the week. We were also given a guided tour around Vienna, experienced great shopping on the main streets and had a nice goodbye lunch at one of the castles.
We were all impressed with each school's faculty and the professors' enthusiasm and passion for teaching, especially in Germany. The facilities at each university were also excellent. Prague and Vienna were my favorite places on the trip because of the beautiful scenery and buildings.
Another thing that impressed me was the food! I loved the cuisine in each country we visited, especially Germany. I was surprised that few stores or restaurants took credit cards. I was also surprised at how easy it was to travel from country to country in Europe. I went in very nervous about traveling alone within Europe, but it was much less stressful than traveling in the U.S. The best souvenir I brought back was the chocolate for my family (I had some too). The chocolate in Europe is slightly different from the U.S. -- it's even more tasty!
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