Top Places to Grow Old

I found this article on Yahoo! and wanted to share – I always day dream about one day living abroad. Whether it’s in the near future for work or it’s in the distant future for retirement, it’s always on my mind. In creating this list they used four factors: Income security, health, employment/education and environment.

15. Finland

14. Australia

13. The United Kingdom

12. Ireland

11. Austria

10. Japan

9. Iceland

8. The United States

7. New Zealand

6. Switzerland

5. Canada

4. The Netherlands

3. Germany

2. Norway

1. Sweden

Where do you want to live abroad? 

for Sigve

In 2008 I was blessed with the opportunity to study abroad for 6 weeks in Norway. And although my time there was short it was a major life changing time for me and, I think, shaped me into the person I am today. I have one man to thank for this, my Norwegian professor Sigve. He came into my Engineering Economics class and gave a presentation on an opportunity for engineers to study International Marketing and Advertising for 6 weeks in Norway. He told us about the town and what there was to see and learn. At that moment I knew that this was something I had to do. As a result of this experience I made strong connections with people that will forever be my friends. He took some of us out to dinner, let us hang out at his house and took us golfing on a beautiful lake. 

I learned today that our professor has passed away. Everyone from our class was touch by all he taught us in and outside of the class room. To a good man, skål!

May you rest in peace

Sigve, Sevil, Jack

Kyle, Sigve, Scott, Ryan

our class

Norway

Are You Blending In?

When traveling to Europe you don’t want to stick out as “an American” … or at least I don’t. But it is kind of difficult because everything from our clothes to our hair style and mannerisms can send up that we’re not from here flag. Here are some helpful tips to traveling in Europe. You can find the original article here.

1. Hotel key edict – Many places in Europe are big on conserving electricity and being energy efficient. That being said many hotels require you to insert your key into a slot near the door to your room to turn the lights and TV on. That way when you leave the room everything is off…and you won’t lose your key in your room. I saw this when I stayed in Budapest.

2. Tipping rules – Always research the tipping rules in the country you are visiting. Some countries don’t require you to tip at all and in others over tipping can make you look naïve (and then they will think that you came to their country and didn’t even research their customs). Also, make sure to carry the local currency for tipping too, if you are out and you need to tip you can tip using the American dollar but just make sure to apologize (since they will now have to convert the dollar to their currency).

3. Currency – Make sure you have called your credit cards and banks telling them where and when you will be traveling. You also need to have plenty of the local currency (you can get them from any bank in the US) on you for souvenir shops and local restaurants. Any currency converter/hotel is going to charge you for converting the money.

4. Bedding – In Europe it is very common to take two twin beds to make a king. You can call down to the front desk and ask to see if they have a larger bed but they most likely will not…so you'll have to deal with that seem down the middle of your "king".

5. Hello/Goodbye – Its always best practice to learn the basic, "Good day", "Good evening", "Thank you" in the language of the country that you are visiting. I think that this is showing that you are putting an effort into learning their customs, language and culture and they would be more inclined to help you.

6. Do you need a bath? – Maybe this is why bathrooms are so small in Europe and when watching House Hunters International you don’t see tubs. In America most people bathe everyday and some even indulge (or waste) and take 20-30 minute showers. In a large amount of the world bathing is a practical necessity and not a luxury.

So…in the end, if you want a king size bed and luxurious bathroom you might as well just stay in the US and head to Vegas.

Happy Travels!

Rick Steves: Study abroad is necessity, not luxury

So to continue my one post a week trend I will now be talking about travel instead of sharing my stories…because I have no more (until Vegas next week). I was surfing the web and saw this article written by Rick Steves, a travel expert of sorts, about study abroad and how it is something US students MUST do to keep up with the world. Typically when you meet someone from a different country they know 2, maybe 3 or 4 languages verse the typical American that only knows one…English. Steves says, "Ninety-six percent of humanity lives outside our boarders – and we risk being left in the dust if we don’t know how to effectively engage the world."

photo credit

Being a part of the only 2% of American students that were able to study abroad, I too think studying abroad is a must for this country's future. I only studied abroad for six weeks and I sure wish it had been more! I became who I am today in those short six weeks and I grew up so much as a person (as crazy as that sounds). Unfortunately my degree program didn’t offer any study abroad programs so I took one through the business school in International Marketing and Management. I did what I had to do to study abroad and make myself stand out to future employeers. While I was there I met some local people and they are some of my best friends now! Checkout Rick's article HERE!