Webster University Geneva offers a yearly outing to Tuscany directed by the Head of the Department Francesco Arese Visconti.
This year, one of the students of the group called Giulio Giannicchi documented the seven-hour car ride to Tuscany.
We hope you enjoy the video!
In Portland, Oregon during mid August, Nike Adewumi packed her bags and said goodbye to her family. During the next four months, she would find herself in Geneva, Switzerland for the first time. Though she traveled 5,374 miles to experience Webster University’s graphic design program and observe beautiful scenery, the highlight of her experience was making new friendships and exploring Europe with them.
Studying abroad through a university can present students with a variety of opportunities. Within the span of four months, those who study in a foreign country have the chance to travel to places they have never seen, be immersed in a new culture, and establish international connections and friendships that can last a lifetime.
For many, an experience abroad is not a solo adventure. Some may choose to navigate a new culture by themselves in hopes of finding themselves. These students venture out into the unknown alone, challenging themselves by navigating new and unfamiliar spaces. For these students, there is a hope to become a more culturally diverse and well-rounded individual by testing their limits.
On the contrary, many other students choose to connect with other like-minded individuals in hopes that they can share their experience with new people. Oftentimes, fostering these friendships becomes a focal point of navigating a new, unfamiliar culture.
While developing relationships and connections during an experience abroad is great, it is also challenging to grow close to individuals and then live distantly a couple of months later. Unlike simply moving on from a school or job, a study abroad student returns to their roots that may be thousands of miles away, leaving friends and a culture that they may never be near again.
Though this makes for a challenging goodbye, the connections and relationships that are nurtured throughout an experience abroad are substantial and meaningful. Being in such close proximity to others while both being thrusted into an unfamiliar environment and culture fosters closer bonds, despite the time period being short. This opens up a larger conversation as to the impact and meaning of friendships that are cultivated while studying abroad.
Being that Webster University Geneva is a hub for study abroad students and a popular destination in the university’s international course catalog, many students in Geneva can relate to these feelings.
Tijana Ilic, a study abroad student from the Webster Vienna campus, says that coming to the Geneva, Switzerland campus was a ‘no-brainer.’ Though she came to Geneva for the scenery and activities available, her experience in Switzerland is largely defined by the varying cultures she was exposed to through friends she has made.
“I’ve made so many friendships,” Ilic says. “It was really nice to meet different people from different backgrounds and ethnicities. I was able to learn about new cultures. Since I’m from a predominantly white community and culture, it was really interesting to hear from different peoples’ perspectives. Sometimes, I don’t really think about it that often, because I haven’t been immersed in that kind of environment.”
Despite the study abroad experience only lasting about four months, students are likely to grow close to one another during this time period. Because individuals are placed in new situations and inhabit an unfamiliar land, many are more likely to bond with familiar faces in supporting one another. Study abroad student Nike Adewumi can attest to this feeling firsthand.
“I definitely feel like since we’ve spent so much time together 24/7 and we’re constantly around these people, I was forced to bond super quickly,” Adewumi explains. “Because of that, I think there’s a high chance that these relationships will last. Not necessarily on a daily basis, but as in I have someone I can always turn to and visit when I’m nearby, that type of thing.”
While studying abroad, many students find themselves in the position to travel to new places. This experience is enhanced when you have friends to tag along with you. Because bonding tends to be accelerated among study abroad students, it is easy to plan trips with friends. Tijana Ilic is glad that she took advantage of this opportunity.
“So far, my favorite experience was my fall break trip that I did with friends in Barcelona and Venice,” Ilic comments. “It was great because most of us were together and it was our first time in those places. It was nice to explore the cities and have adventures. It was especially great because we were on break from school, so we enjoyed our days where we could just laugh on the beach or eat new food together.”
As a Resident Assistant in the Les Berges Webster Geneva residence, Josep Garcia has a unique experience when it comes to students studying abroad. Through his position, Garcia has met and assisted six different groups of study abroad students. Because he is familiar with what a study abroad student experiences while studying in Geneva, he knows where to funnel his efforts in developing new relationships.
“Most of the time, the people that come here study International Relations classes because they tend to be political science majors or International Relations majors,” Garcia says. “So, I try to take those classes so we can have some classes together, and then it’s easier to build a relationship.”
As a result of Garcia coming in contact with so many different people through his job, he has had positive and negative experiences with study abroad students, with the fall 2022 semester being a highlight of his time at Webster University.
“Many of the study abroad students that come are very privileged, so I don’t really talk to them because they don’t really try to get to know the culture of everyone,” Garcia remarks. “They just come here, take pictures, and they leave. This is actually the first group of study abroad students that are friendly and try to get to know everyone for who they are. They’re not here to just take pictures and post them on Instagram.”
At the same time, students have had largely positive experiences while studying abroad. Ilic notes that being in a more tight knit environment makes planning throughout the semester more seamless as well, whether that be trip planning or making small talk in coffee shops.
“I think the highlight of my experience was all the group activities we have done, and how we connect,” Ilic says. “Everyone is so easy-going and it’s easy to do activities and plan with each other. A lot of the time, I think this is harder in bigger groups. I’ve liked hanging out with everyone, even if that means just gossipping or chatting.”
When the study abroad experience comes to a close, it may be difficult to sustain relationships from miles and miles apart. However, Garcia believes that this distance shouldn’t deter one from developing new friendships.
“Everyone is going to leave at some point, even if you’re in the States and leave high school, everyone goes to different schools,” Garcia explains. “If you think about the fact that people are going to leave and not be here forever, then you wouldn’t make any friends ever. It’s worth it to make as many friendships as possible if they’re good people.”
Though time may be limited with friends while studying abroad, it is clear that making new friends in a new country is what makes time there special. Navigating a new country and culture may be a bit unnerving at times, but having a few friendly faces in your corner can easily make you feel more at home. What else are friends for?
FINDING A LOCAL BAKERY – BUILDING A CONNECTION
If you want to live like a local in a new place, it is imperative that you make connections with the people around you. A great way to do that is find a business to support and frequent that place as often as you can. Food is a great place to start, and in Paris, who wouldn’t want to routinely eat croissants and pastries? So, my travel companion and I found Maison Landemaine, a bakery that was one minute away from our hotel. We visited the bakery every morning Friday through Monday, and sometimes later in the day when we had a sweet tooth. We often saw the same employees, who were very kind and remembered us after a couple visits. Recognizing a friendly face in a new city instantly makes you more comfortable and feel less like a visitor.
TAKING THE METRO
In my opinion, routinely utilizing public transportation in a new city is one of the biggest steps you can take in order to feel like a local. Taking the Metro in Paris is not only extremely convenient, but you’re literally sitting side by side with locals. Instead of repeatedly paying for bus tickets or Ubers, buying a metro pass for as many days as you’ll be staying saves money when you’re hopping from place to place. For example, I purchased a three day metro pass for 30 euros, while a one time ticket is two euros. With going from museums to restaurants to tourist stops, this was definitely worth it.
*Tip = do not place your metro pass near your phone for long periods of time, this demagnetizes the pass. I learned my lesson with this at least four times and it was quite embarrassing to keep asking for a new pass.
PURCHASING A MUSEUM PASS
There is no doubt that Paris is an art lover’s dream. Because I love art myself and have been studying it for some time, I had to make sure to visit as many museums as possible. When researching tickets for various museums before my trip, I stumbled across the option of purchasing a museum pass. You have the option of purchasing a museum pass for two, four, or six days, and with this pass you are able to get into a vast array of museums and attractions throughout Paris. I decided to purchase a two day pass for 52 euros, and visited about eight spots throughout Paris where the museum tickets ranged in pricing from 10 to 15 euros. So, if you want to see a variety of museums, I urge you to take advantage of this. Plus, the pass allows you to skip lines, which in the tourist capital of the world is very nice.
FINDING A DINNER SPOT
When traveling, we all want to visit restaurants and eateries that not only have great food, but are Instagram worthy. I urge you to hop on to TikTok or Instagram and see what Paris has to offer, and make a reservation for the spots you find. I was in Paris for my birthday, so I wanted to have a nice dinner that night, and I found the restaurant, Bambini on TikTok. The restaurant was beautiful, the food was amazing, (the truffle pasta specifically was to die for) and our dessert came with a sparkler and four employees who sang happy birthday. It was a memorable experience that I will never forget that came about just from scrolling on TikTok.
SAFETY IN PARIS
Because Paris is a tourist destination, some people take advantage of tourists that are not familiar with the area, and pick-pocketing and theft is common. Stay off your phone, bring a bag that can be worn in front of you, and be mindful of your surroundings. Just by utilizing a few of these tips, a trip to Paris suddenly becomes a bit more seamless. Hopefully, my visit makes your future stay one to remember.
By: Fiona Maliqi Maliqi and Mimoza Zenullahi
For this project, me and Mimoza worked together and we decided to do different nationalities restaurants that were easy to access and within a budget of a student because we ourselves were having a hard time finding good restaurants to eat at. We did different nationalities because we wanted to try different kinds of foods, and we also got to try a couple of foods for the first time and we were very impressed. We wanted those restaurant suggestions to be available for everyone and not just the people that were going to see our project so instead of doing a PowerPoint presentation, we decided to create a website that everyone can access to see our reviews and suggestions and we also are planning to add other restaurants when we have the time to check them out. We did our restaurant research on Google, but we could not afford to try many restaurants and choose the best one so we checked reviews, we checked the location and we chose the most easily accessible restaurants and student budget-friendly.
We also interviewed the owner of the Albanian restaurant, he was very kind and was open to answering any questions we had. He told us when he opened the restaurant, who he opened it with and how’s the work going so far. It was a short interview but we got good answers.
Albanian restaurant -The Supreme Grill
We liked it, the food was pretty good, the service was excellent, and the workers there were nice. We didn’t like the interior but the outside had a great view. It was a little far so that’s the only downside to it. It was medium affordable. We paid around 20 CHF each. We can certainly say that this was not the best Albanian restaurant in Geneva and we look forward to trying all the other ones. We plan on adding them to the website too. We got qebapa (a type of meat that is greatly liked in Kosovo) and trileqe (a type of dessert made with three different kinds of milk, and caramel on top). We saw that the other Albanian restaurant had fli and other types of Albanian food too so we are looking forward to trying that one in the future.
Japanese- Sushi Shop
We loved it, the food was excellent, the service was very good, and the workers had a little bit of a hard time explaining things in English but they were very nice. We liked the interior too, it was like a simple and modern environment. It was very near so we liked that. And we got to try a lot of new foods. It was very affordable considering sushi prices. We both paid 25CHF which we considered cheap for Geneva. As this was the first time for Fiona to eat sushi I can say that she actually likes it a lot and is down to try other dishes too. The cheese Californian roll was her favorite so far. What was the weirdest but a very delicious dish was the avocado and Nutella roll which we did not expect to taste good at all but it surprised us a lot.
Mexican– Tacos Tacos
It had good food, but it wasn’t really authentic Mexican so we plan on trying another restaurant we saw, the menu had a lot of choices though, the place was good-looking but basic. It was very near to Les Berges for the Webster students that live there and it’s like 10 minutes away from Cornavin. It was the most affordable one. We paid around 15 CHF each.
Italian– Molino- it was our least favorite. The food was good but we’ve tried better Italian food. It was a little expensive for our budget so that’s our biggest critique. We both paid around 35 CHF. It was very near Cornavin so that could be a plus. The interior was nice and cozy but very formal at the same time.
Lebanese – Perfums of Beyrouth – GREAT food, we loved the shawarmas, the service was great, the workers explained everything to us, they were very welcoming, the place wasn’t very good looking but still comfortable. It was a walking distance from Cornavin so that was the biggest plus. It was pretty affordable. We paid 20 CHF here as well but that was because we tried more food, if you want just a type of food it is way cheaper. Same as for the Albanian restaurant, we plan on visiting other Lebanese restaurants too
since there are already 2 other restaurants on our list.
By: Zani Bislimi and Ismael Monomoh Dominguez
This bar was located next to the Mont Blanc bridge. One special feature about this pub was that on weekends they welcome local artists to perform and it gave really chilly vibes which we recommend to go just for a simple date on a week day. The price of the pint was 6 CHF which was a medium range between all the bars we looked at. Although it was a really nice and welcoming environment, what really stood out was lack of selections when it comes to beers and the terrace was uncomfortable, when it comes to chairs and tables. We rate this place a 7 out of 10.
Le Phare
This pub is located two streets away from ¨Manor¨. This bar in our opinion wasn’t really that special. 2 things that stood out though were the snacks, which really had a lot diversity and they often do themed months and a discount on a specific themed cocktail. However, when it comes to beers it was weird because they did not have 0.33 cl pints but only 0.25 and 0.50 cl. Which means we obviously took the 0.50 and it cost 9 CHF which is a lot. We rate this place a 5 out of 10 because it was too crowded and not really our style of drinking. We recommend this place for people a little bit older and especially for the LGBTQ community because that bar is known to really support them.
Lucky Brothers
This bar was located just by the bus stop of Coutance, when it comes to our opinion this was the bar, we liked the most. It was really friendly, a lot of diversity, a lot of good food and a good selection of pints especially for Belgian beer lovers. What stood out to us was the sportsy way of managing the pub and the customer service which made us feel comfortable just like at home. We ordered 0.33 cl pint which costed us 5.60 CHF each. We truly recommend this place to people that like watching sports and we rate it a 9 out of 10.
Roi Ubu
This bar is located at the entrance of old town. This bar was easily the worst rated because of its simplicity during the day. When it comes to night life, this bar is always full of people and a lot of energy. The best part was the outside tables and chairs where a lot of people passed and big circles of people staying close to the bar. The price was the worst, for a 0.33 cl it was 8. 50 CHF which really did not make sense. We give this bar a 4 out of 10 because of the price and boring vibes during the day.
Café La Clemence
This bar was located at the center of old town, this was the coziest bar out of the 5. Two interesting things we saw were the terrace which was amazing especially for cold weather because it had outside heaters which made you feel just like home. The other thing was the price of the beer which was really cheap, for a 0.33 cl it was 5.00 CHF and it tasted good. We really liked the place and we suggest to everyone, especially during weekends. By that we give this bar a outstanding 8.9 out of 10.
By: Zuzanna Andrzejewska and Ileana Passebecq Ghanty
