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A Weekend in Barcelona
Although the Spanish capital had a lot to offer, I was of course looking forward to the trip that our program had planned to Barcelona for the second weekend. During my time in Barcelona, I was able to learn about a whole different region of Spain, including transportation, cultural differences, and the history of the conflict between the northeastern region and the rest of Spain.
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Cultural Differences: Things I Learned in Spain
By living abroad in Madrid, Spain for a month, I was able to experience and learn first-hand a number of cultural differences when compared to life in the United States. As a Spanish minor in college, I have had the opportunity to learn about many different cultures in Spanish-speaking countries. However, getting the chance to immerse myself in the culture outside of a classroom setting was a special experience. During my time abroad, I learned about various cultural differences in Spain such as daily life/meal times, social norms, language, and much more!
How I Spent a Day in Cinque Terre, Italy
Manarola Cinque Terre is one of the most picturesque places I’ve ever visited. It’s made
Apto Wins 1st Place in Nashville Business Journal Innomadness Competition
Apto thanks its internal team, investors and supporters around the world for their diligence in voting during the course of four rounds of the Nashville Business Journal 2022 Innomadness competition. The on-line competition positioned 16 Nashville start-ups in a friendly bracket-style competition geared to bring awareness of the burgeoning Nashville tech community.
Pow Wow Etiquette
A pow wow (term often used in North America) refers to a social gathering/social celebration for Native American tribes. Many times these pow wows contain competitions for dancing and singing, can sometimes be intertribal, and are often open to the general public. But there are some important rules/etiquette to follow should you choose to participate!
Know Before You Go: How learning about a country can lead to a much richer travel experience
As the saying goes, knowledge is power.
It’s true for travel as well, especially in the post-pandemic world, where travelers and would-be expats need to consider even more variables than before, such as entry requirements and health protocols that may differ from country to country.
It won’t be a piece of cake. Travel will require more research and planning, which is bad news for those of us who like to get away on a whim to explore a new destination.
The good news? Learning about a country’s people, language, and culture before traveling can lead to a much richer experience when you get there.
Relocating Overseas: How finding a community and staying grounded will help you thrive in expat life
It was somewhere around here, in the 9th arrondissement, that I fell hard for Paris a decade ago. Long before I could call myself a parisienne, long before I found a job as a content writer for a French tech company. It may not sound bohemian or romantic (sorry to disappoint), but it pays the bills. Living here doesn’t come cheap, yet you couldn’t tell by watching movies set in Paris and dreaming of working from a café in the Latin Quarter.
Graduating and Getting a Job During a Pandemic… It Is Possible!
Make the adjustment to online classes with no prior notice, complete a remote internship, graduate from grad school, get a full-time job…. All during a pandemic. It is possible!
The thought of graduating from graduate school and securing a full-time job was already overwhelming for me… then the pandemic hit, and it almost seemed impossible for a while. But what really got me through finishing my graduate school program (online), graduating (online), completing an internship (online), and getting my first full-time job were my personal relationships and human connections.
Why Our Stories Matter: Featuring Via TRM
In honor of International Education Week, Apto and Via TRM would like to share some reflections on how our international experiences have impacted and educated us.
These experiences evolve from a moment of learning and growing in the present into stories we’ll tell for years to come. Stories which, when reflected upon, continue to shape us over the course of our lives.
Fascinating Facts About the Icelandic Language
In 2018, I visited Iceland after taking an 8-week course focused on the history, biology, and culture of Iceland and its people. According to our tour guide, Hrefna, even though most Icelanders speak English, adults don’t generally speak English with each other, only Icelandic. They are very proud of their native tongue, and many are involved in efforts focused on maintaining the language, which is what Icelandic Language Day is all about!
Why Your Story Matters
My friend Charelle is a successful American business owner. She is also a writer and storyteller and, like me, categorically an introvert.
I’ll never forget the first time I heard Charelle tell the story of Sue. She was paraphrasing the story from her book, and I so thoroughly internalized it, because the payoff was powerfully thought-provoking and relevant.
The Challenges of Bringing International Education Online
The things that we’ve been doing for so long don’t necessarily translate well to the online environment or going from a synchronous to an asynchronous mode. In general, the canned content, or the standard content we already had only goes so far. Specifically with internationalized learning when you’re trying to help people learn something about other cultures, we need people to be able to connect with each other, there’s only so much that that canned content can do.
Is Retraining our Brains our Generational Burden or Privilege?
Do you remember the first time you became aware that you were different from someone else? Maybe it was your gender, or confusion about what gender was even all about?? Maybe it was based on the color of your skin, or the language that was spoken at home, or what your parents packed for you to take to lunch – or what they couldn’t afford to.
Somewhere along the way, you felt “different.” Somewhere along the way you learned that there is an “us” and a “them.”
