In This Issue
Newspapers
World Newspapers
camera
About The Photos
Many of the photos in this newsletter were taken by students just like you and entered in our 2009 Photo Contest. Check out our website for details on how you can enter this year's contest.
Hawks Abroad
Spring 2011
Greetings!

Greetings from Iowa City!  Students here are preparing for midterms and Spring Break, but you are living the dream.  Congratulations on your decision to study abroad!

 

In this edition of Hawks Abroad, we feature:

  • A call to all bloggers to share your blogs
  • Information about our photo and writing contests
  • We need your photos
  • UI Study Abroad Facebook page
  • Cooking overseas
  • A compendium of news from "back on the farm"
  • Links to local, regional, and international newspapers
 ENJOY!

 

CongratsCongratulations!

You're finally overseas and we know you are probably having a fabulous time and by now getting truly familiar with your host country.

 

Our office will be sending you periodic updates on stuff going on State-side, and offering some tips and advice on how to make the most of your time abroad. In the meantime, you might want to review the information on our pages for students abroad, and also the

cultural adjustment information we went over during pre-departure orientation.

BuddiesAre you writing a blog?

We'll help you get famous! Just send us a link to your blog. We'll select several to

feature on our web page

(please keep it clean - remember, your Grandma might read it!) and refer to prospective students to it. We'll also select a blogger to feature on our Facebook page. We need new bloggers for 2010-11 academic year! Want to share your blog? Send us a note.

CreditPhoto & Writing contests

The Office for Study Abroad sponsors an annual photo & essay contest, with cash prizes given for the best photo and the best essay by a study abroad student. The deadline for entries is Oct. 22. The

Returnees section of our website provides details. If you've taken a photograph that sums up the place you are living now, or written a journal entry that is insightful and interesting, please consider entering the contests.

 

One of last year's winners: "La Corrida de Toros" by John Hennigan (Spain)
PhotosNo contest: OfSA seeks
your photographs

The large-screen television mounted on the wall of the Office for Study Abroad Resource Room continuously scrolls through photos taken by UI students who have studied abroad. If you have some shots to share but don't feel like entering the photo contest, please go ahead and e-mail your favorite picture to us. We'll include it in our slideshow. Remember to include the location of the photo so we know all the places we want to travel next!

FacebookUI Abroad Facebook page

Here's a way to connect with other UI students overseas and again when you are back on campus. Please have a look at our page and join us, or search Facebook for "University of Iowa Study Abroad".

CookingCooking Overseas
Whether you are already an accomplished cook or just learning some basic recipes, our pages about cooking abroad are full of information and tips that you can apply in your host country.  Maybe you have always lived in the dorms here in Iowa City and this is the first time you've had to cook for yourself.  Or maybe you're used to eating at restaurants but find that your dollar doesn't go as far overseas as you thought it would.  You can eat healthier and less expensively if you cook for yourself, and these pages tell you how. 
OverseasIntroducing the new...
                 GREEN PASSPORT!
green passport

Now that you are abroad, maybe you have picked up on some environmental considerations of your host culture, or perhaps you are realizing that some parts of the world do not have the environmental education we have here in the U.S. If you are thinking about the impact of your study abroad experience on the environment, have

 

you thought about signing up for the green passport program? It's a great pledge you can make to become an environmentally-conscious international traveler.

Visit greenpassport.us for more info!

 

EmissionsGive Back- Help Offset Your Travel Carbon Emissions:

As you begin all those great program excursions or independent travel adventures, consider making a donation to offset your CO2 emissions at  sustainabletravelinternational.org.

 

On this site you will be able to use their carbon calculator to determine the right amount to donate to offset your carbon footprint.

 

NewsBack on the Farm:
Local and National News

Local and University News

 

Blizzard hits IC! For those of you currently enjoying your semester in balmy climates count yourselves lucky!2011 blizzard Your fellow Hawkeyes spent several weeks battling the elements earlier this semester as a blizzard wreaked havoc on Iowa City. So much havoc in fact that Governor Brandstad officially declared Johnson Country a disaster area. But it wasn't all bad; no school and lots of sledding were a good distraction from the subzero termperatures!
  

 Back in the Land of Lawsuits...In Iowa City news, Apartments Downtown, the IC rental tycoon that runs hundreds of rental units throughout downtown and the campus area is being sued for possible legal violations within their leases. Over 50 current and former tenants have come forward with complaints of swindling behavior by their landlords (including one charging a student for a door damaged when someone broke into their apartment!). The case to build up evidence is still in the works.

            
----------------------------------------------------

 

National News
wisconsin protesters
Democracy in the Heartland
Amid the recent successful political uprisings around the world Wisconsin is witnessing its own homegrown displays of activism. For days protesters have filled the streets of the state's capital to oppose a bill that would cut funding to labor unions and strip many workers of their bargaining rights. It is being promoted as a solution to close Wisconsin's budget gap but is widely criticized. So much so that all of Wisconsin's Democratic senators have fled the state in order to prevent a vote taking place. 
---------------------------------------------------
 
And the Oscar Goes to...
The Academy Awards took place recently. If you're looking for good films for a lazy evening in here's a brief overview of some of the winners:
Best Picture: "The King's Speech"
  
Best Actor: Colin Firth ("The King's Speech")
  
Best Actress: Natalie Portman ("Black Swan")
  
Best Foreign Film: "In a Better World" from Denmark
  
Comments and suggestions about Hawks Abroad are welcome. Please contact the Office for Study Abroad by e-mail or phone +319-335-0353.