Category: Column

Ioannis Ntountoumis │ioannis_doudou@hotmail.com “The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2012 is to be awarded to the European Union. The Union and its forerunners have over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe”. Thorbjørn Jagland (Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, … Continue reading The Nobel Peace Prize as a Reminder of Peace for the European Union

When did the ‘exotic’ become more available than the traditional, and how did we move so quickly from dial-up internet connections to Wi-Fi on high-speed trains? While sipping from an extra-sweet coffee, subconsciously aware of the fact that the coffee beans must have been picked by impoverished women and children in remote plantations somewhere in South America, … Continue reading The Christmas Spirit: between malls and memories

Wong Tsz Every year I send Christmas cards to my family and friends around the world. It is a very important tradition for me: one which I wish to keep for the rest of my life. I wrote my first Christmas card at the age of six when it was a school tradition to write … Continue reading On Christmas Cards

Penelope Vaxevanes │ prosiliomani@hotmail.com The train goes fast into the night. Soon it will cross the border. I should be using the distraction-free time for work but instead I keep thinking about the therapeutic weekend I just had. A weekend that was filled with three things: food, sleep and endless discussions about guys. It would … Continue reading Darcy vs. the modern girl

Dear Miss Help, Everyone knows that one of the greatest things about MA Euroculture is that I get to live in at least two different places during my studies. But, at the same time, I am heartbroken! I am in a relationship and it is really difficult with all this moving around. It’s like my … Continue reading Miss Help… Long-distance relationships!

It is easy just to be proud when you realise how many people are willing to know about your home country. ‘Because it is France. It is ‘Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité’. An ideal that cannot ring true to everybody if one does not have the same rights. On the 6th of May 2012, from a little city in Italy … Continue reading Hoping to be proud

I have been lucky enough to travel around the Balkans a lot. It’s not just the region I come from but also a beautiful place, even if often underappreciated as a tourist destination outside of its seaside resorts. It also offers some of the best food you would ever try, and foodies from around the … Continue reading Dobro doshli!* To the Balkans and Enjoy Your Stay!

If my experience with culture shock has taught me anything, it’s that I’ll just have to sit it out. Still, my head can’t tell my heart to be happy. Albert Meijer | albert_meijer@hotmail.com I take my coffee to a table that looks out over the university campus. In many ways, this square could be anywhere … Continue reading Juggling Culture Shock

Packing every semester, leaving everything behind and starting the process all over again is something that you love or you just get tired of. How long can you keep going? For some MA Euroculture fellows, the period of the Master programme is already too much. For others, it is just the start of a long-lasting … Continue reading “We don’t say goodbye” – Long Distance Friendships: Can They Work?

Eunjin Jeong │eunjin.lynn@gmail.com To my surprise, I was a bit tongue-tied when I first met Alex in front of Pushkin’s statue in Pushkin Square, Moscow on a Sunday afternoon. He was emitting aura which made me forget what I had prepared to say. What am I doing in Moscow? Unfortunately, it seemed like I couldn’t … Continue reading Archive 2012 || Finding an Alumnus (1) – A Journey to Moscow