#eu program

This summer has been one of my favorites so far! I spent the summer on a 10 week program traveling around the EU. My name is Shekinah Hall and I am a Public Policy major and with the focus of my studies being domestic policy, I feared I would be a bit out of my element taking a full load of International Affairs courses. To my great pleasure, that fear quickly disappeared and in its absence was an abundance of space for me to gain an incredible amount of knowledge from my professors, classmates, people I met abroad, and the incredible places I visited.

We had the opportunity to talk with people working at various institutions, visit sites and museums filled with rich European history, and be fully immersed into strong and proud cultures in France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Ireland. This program taught me the importance of the transatlantic relationship and the long history the United States has with the Europe, and more specifically the EU. Although the idea of the EU can be difficult to fully grasp, it is absolutely essential to understand the EU as a peace project to understand the ongoing process of European integration today and the vital role the EU’s success plays in maintaining the most peaceful era of history the world has ever seen.

Before this program – as this was my first time traveling outside of the United States – I considered myself a traveler through the heart and mind. However, as much as I read about and prepared myself to see other parts of the world, nothing could have really done as much justice as being there myself. This program was all-around amazing and I would absolutely recommend!

Hey guys! It’s Henry (IAML) with another blog! At the end of the Brussels portion of the EU program, we had a very special opportunity. 2019 is the 100th anniversary of the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I. Thus, we were invited to a special symposium at the Palace of Versailles to commemorate this occasion. 

So, at 9:00 am we boarded a bus to make the four-hour journey back to France to attend this symposium. When we finally arrived in Versailles, we took time to take a tour of the palace. It was unlike anything I have ever seen before. The palace was plated with gold and the most ornate building that I had ever been to. It was amazing to think of the immense amount of history that lies within this building. 

After the tour, we were treated to a three-course dinner at a local restaurant. The next day we had to be up bright and early at 8:00 am to make our way to the symposium that took place in the Palace of Versailles. The Symposium lasted all day long and included four different presentation and Q&A sessions ranging on topics from the history of the Treaty of Versailles to American philanthropy and humanitarian aid during World War One. 

In the middle of the day we got to have lunch in the expansive gardens that extend behind the palace. This was truly a once in a life time experience that I am so grateful for. After leaving Versailles the next day, our next stop was Mont St. Michel, an extremely small and beautiful island off the coast of France. Yet, before arriving at Mont St. Michel, we stopped at the American Cemetery in Normandy, France. This was a solemn place of great loss and tragedy. It was strange to me how something so terrible could have happened at such a scenic and beautiful place. After our short visit to the museum and a tour of the cemetery, we were back on our way to the island. Upon arriving, Mont St. Michel did not look real, it looked like a large sand castle in the ocean. We had the amazing chance to stay in the very limited hotel space on the island for the night, and once all the tourist had left for the day, it felt like we had the entire island to ourselves. While we were only there for one day and one night, we experienced most of the island because it is so small! The next morning, I got up and visited the huge Abbey that dominates the island. It was amazing to walk through a building where some parts had existed since the 8thcentury. After that visit, this weekend came to a close when we boarded the bus for the trip back to Brussels. 

Hey guys! It’s Henry Tharpe, IAML, and I have a quick blog update from Switzerland! 

During our time in Brussels we had one free weekend where we could travel. I took this opportunity to visit Switzerland, a country that I have always wanted to see. So, at 5:00 am on Saturday morning I was off to the airport to take a one-hour flight to Geneva. Geneva is a smaller city in Switzerland but proved to be the perfect size for a small weekend trip. Surrounded by the snow-capped Swiss Alps, Geneva sits on a lake that is am amazing color of blue. I found a hotel right in the center of the city, so all of the main attractions were walk able. The first day I saw the famous fountain which is just a jet of water that shoots 140 meters into the air. You can see it from almost every part of the city. 

I also visited a church that was constructed in the 12thcentury that sits on a hill overlooking the city. After walking around the city and exploring the narrow streets, I decided on Fondue for dinner which is very popular among Swiss people.  After a course of cheese and chocolate fondue which was delicious, I made my way to a park overlooking the lake and the mountains to sit and watch the sunset. The next day, I had a flight to catch at 6:00 pm so I did not have much time. I got up early and made my way to the United Nations headquarters in Geneva. As an INTA major this was an obvious choice on my list of sights to visit in Geneva. By the time that I was finished at the UN it was time to head to the airport to get back to Brussels.  

Hey guys! It’s Henry Tharpe, IAML, and it has been a while since my last check in from the EU program. As I mentioned last time, our next stop would be Belgium. 

Well the three weeks that we spent there were filled with lots of work and lots of play. Consequently, this blog post will be an overview of our time in Belgium, it would be impossible to outline the details of all the amazing things that we did. After getting an unlimited metro card, we were off to our first site visit: the NATO headquarters in Brussels. Here, we were treated to many interesting briefings by high level NATO officials on a variety of topics from nuclear proliferation to alliance management. Not to mention the three-course lunch in between. The next day we were happy to welcome Dean Royster, Dean of the Ivan Allen College, to our program. Thanks to her work with the Royal Museum of Central Africa, we were able to have an exclusive tour and reception at the profound and reflective museum. Our next big site visit was the European Parliament, one of the three governing institutions of the European Union. In the following weeks we would visit both the European Council and the Council of the European Union. Together, these three institutions make and enforce the laws for all 28 members of the EU. For each site that we visited, we were usually given presentations about the work and issues that the institutions are currently facing along with ample time to ask any pressing questions that we may have for the speakers. Other site visits include the European External Action Service, the US mission to the European Union, and the Brussels Parliament.

However, there was much more to Brussels than just the site visits. One of my favorite aspects was getting to stay with hosts families. Each student is welcomed into the home of a family in Brussels where you live for the entire three weeks. Every night our family cooked us dinner which was usually full of traditional Belgian food. During this time, we also got to have conversations with them to learn more about typical life in Belgium. Getting to know these new perspectives was extremely interesting because it was surprisingly different than home. It is always nice to understand new customs and a new way of life. 

While we were in Belgium, we took a day trip to Ghent and Bruges where we took canal tours and had free time to explore each city. They were both beautiful towns loaded with history dating back for centuries. Brussels was also full of food. For example, there are stores that are solely dedicated to selling fries and Belgian chocolate is famous around the world, so I did a lot of eating while we were there. Some of my favorite moments just came from walking around the city and exploring shops and restaurants along the way, and Brussels always has some activity going on. There are parks all across the city to enjoy and musical festivals happen almost every weekend. I was lucky enough to be there during a large festival with concerts all across the city and it was completely free. Our time in Belgium was concluded with a fourth of July celebration with all of the students and their host families which was a nice end to this chapter of the program. 

Hello! It has been about a week since the EU program left Metz, and we have been very busy. 

Last Saturday, the group boarded a bus to The Hague in The Netherlands. After about a four hour trip, we arrived in The Hague and stayed in The Netherlands for 4 days. For this portion of the trip, we stayed in a hotel that was very close to the center of the city. 

The first day that we were there, we went to a restaurant to try a traditional Dutch dish called Pannekoeken which is very similar to a large pancake. The restaurant was right on the North Sea, so after dinner, we all got to walk on the beach. 

The next day, we visited the International Criminal Court which is headquartered in The Hague. Here we got to see a courtroom and listened to a presentation about the priorities of the court and had an opportunity to ask questions at the end. After the ICC, we had free time to explore the city on our own. 

The next morning we woke up and got on a train to Amsterdam where we had a free day. I spent most of my time in the Van Gogh museum which was an amazing exhibit. If you want to go some time, buy your tickets ahead of time because they sell out very quickly. We had to leave to return for The Hague at 5:30, so we only had a short day in the city. 

Finally, we departed The Hague for the Supreme Headquarters Allied Command Europe (SHAPE) which was about a two-hour bus ride. At SHAPE we got to have a tour of the campus, a presentation, and a question and answer session. 

Those are the highlights from The Netherlands, next, we will be on to Brussels.

Hi there IAC! This past weekend, I enjoyed an awesome long weekend in beautiful Barcelona, Spain. Although I did not have class for part of the week, I still had a weekend full of interesting museums and educational tours. 

First on the list was the famous Sagrada Familia, designed by esteemed Catalonian architect Antoni Gaudi. Did you know that the building has been over construction for over 200 years? The project is publicly funded and has frequently run out of budgeting, while the revolutionary architecture required many revisions and modifications. The building draws inspiration from nature, and is intended to return the church-goer (or tourist!) to the fundamental yet intricate world around them. 

*Exterior of Sagrada Familia. Notice the Christmas Tree and bird’s nest in the center!

*Pictures can’t do it justice- the colors were mesmerizing.

Our second stop was the Picasso Museum in Barcelona’s Gothic quarter. Picasso became somewhat obsessed with one painting called “Las Meninas” by classical Spanish artist Diego Velázquez, and duplicated it over 30 times! In doing so, Picasso experimented with his new cubist and distortive style, but still managed to maintain the integrity of the original. I was especially surprised by how such a classical painting could be so heavily “modernized”. 

*This is my favorite picture from the Picasso Museum. It shows one of Picasso’s studies of “Las Meninas”, while visualizing the contrast between old and modern with the medieval archway and gallery wall.

Finally, we visited Antoni Gaudi’s first residential project, called Casa Vicens. Located in the north of the city it was originally built as a country estate before being overcome by Example-style (gridded) city planning caused reductions to the estate. 

It was amazing to see the level of detail that had been painstakingly restored over the past few decades. I also learned that one of my personal favorite architects, Frank Lloyd Wright, is one of Gaudi’s professed contemporaries. Compare the next two pictures to see the similarities between their two styles.

*Front facade of Casa Vicens. 

*Scale model of Lloyd Wright’s Chicago home project.

In short, I had a great first time in Spain! Being exposed to so much art, history, and architecture allowed me to connect my inspirations and interests to another culture that is so much different than the one back home. Being on the International Plan at GT, I find these experiences invaluable and am so happy to be able to share them with you! Next stop, Brussels! 

I just returned from 10 weeks traveling around Europe as part of the EU Study Abroad Program. It was an incredible immersive experience. I took classes in transatlantic relations and EU studies, human rights with Dr. Markley, as well as international security with General Cuzzelli. On top of this, we also had the pleasure of being guest lectured by Dr. Young.

We went on a massive amount of site visits speaking to diplomats, foreign service officers, topic specialists, members of parliament, etc. Some of the places we got to visit include the European Commission, the International Criminal Court, the European Court of Justice, as well as embassies, think tanks, and many other prestigious institutions all organized by our wonderful program leader Dr. Birchfield.

I got to visit Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, and The Czech Republic. It was an amazing experience with free weekends to explore Europe on our own as we pleased. Definitely recommend!

After spending the first part of their program at Georgia Tech - Lorraine, our students on the EU study abroad program, led by Dr. Vicki Birchfield, have arrived in Brussels. So far, they have visited the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Allied Command Operations, Strasbourg, and the Schuman square.

“This program brings together students who are interested in learning more about the European Union. It all starts at the GTL campus in Metz, France where students are taught foundational knowledge of the EU, it’s member states, and the institutions. The second phase of the program takes place in Brussels, where students visit institutions, such the European Parliament and the European Commission. The students are briefed by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on important issues such as Artificial Intelligence and EU-US relations. After this phase, students travel to The Hague and Berlin, with the program ending in Paris. In addition to visiting institutions, the students also have the opportunity, throughout the program, to visit other important sites like Google Brussels and the Supreme Headquarters for the Allied Powers of Europe (SHAPE). This program not only expands students knowledge but also instills important professional development skills. If you’re interested in learning more about the EU, it’s role in the global order, and its relations with other countries, this program is an amazing opportunity!” - Victoria Massaro, 4th Year, International Affairs and Modern Language major