Tips and Tales From Around the Globe

Written by guest Author - Xavi Krauss, Alumni of Spring 2022 Internship in Florence, Italy.  

Florence, Italy, is named the magical city for far too many reasons. 

In January 2022, I had the opportunity of a lifetime to intern there with the fashion company, Avavav as a marketer. It is true when they say you will feel at home, especially when you are about to meet new friends and make lasting memories. Here is a guide to some of my favorite eateries, the city's best views, and weekend trips that will make your experience feel like a temporary local and get the most out of your journey!

One thing about New Yorkers, we love a weekend getaway. Sure, the city is excellent, and you always have things to do but occasionally, we like to trade the hustle and bustle for some peace and quiet.  

No shade to the hit Netflix romantic comedy series but let’s be real, your internship experience in Paris will not be á la Emily in Paris. To put it simply, the average Parisian employer does not have the streaming giant’s production budget to turn a look for the aesthetic (Lily Collins’ character, Emily, really can pull off a bold print) or orchestrate the perfect accidentally-on-purpose meet-cute. Sure, your internship experience probably won’t be exactly like a highly produced rom-com series but that doesn’t mean that you can’t gain valuable experience interning abroad in Paris!  

New York City is one of the best cities in the world. It is a treasure trove for culture, food, people, and beautiful scenery. The only challenge might be finding the best spots to access all these wonderful experiences. Here are six super helpful Instagram accounts you should follow during your stay in New York City.

My name is Wes, and as a nontraditional student participating in GE's program, I highly recommend pursuing this once-in-a-lifetime experience.  

All around the world as midnight strikes and 2022 begins, we all celebrate a little differently. But one of the things we have in common is celebrating the past and the present. As the world starts slowly opening up again, this year we wanted to highlight different New Years traditions and customs around the world! 

There is nowhere quite like London. I first lived here as a college student, when I studied abroad during my junior year. I always planned on going back to London right after I graduated, but I graduated in 2020. You know what that means. Fast forward to a year later, and I'm part of the first in-person program since last March.

This summer, we welcomed the first participants on our new intern abroad program in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Although a much smaller city than London, Edinburgh’s strong and varied economy provided excellent opportunities for our interns, especially in the third sector, tech, and IT industries.

In the months leading up to the coronavirus pandemic, recent graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Rachel, secured a spring internship in Dublin to work in agriculture at a chemical and biology company.

“After graduation, your personal travel time is not a guarantee, especially once you start job hunting or you’ve accepted a job. I thought to myself, “When will you ever have the opportunity to travel and work like this again?”.”

Rachel took some time during her undergrad to plan her internship abroad so she would not have any world travel regrets. She found the Global Experiences intern abroad program and knew it would be the best choice. “I was so surprised to see they had internships in Agriculture/Ecology, and when I did, I could not pass up the opportunity!”

And so she was off -- only for the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the pandemic forced her to return home early.