I was lucky to visit the University of Creete for the CreteLing summer school. It is a linguistic summer school where well-known scholars teach classes for two weeks. There were introductory and advanced-level classes. For example, in my custom schedule, I combined an introductory neurolinguistics class, the science about mapping language functions onto the brain areas, and an advanced morphology class, the subfield of linguistics focusing on the meaningful components of words.
It was a nice opportunity to know more outstanding people in my field both students and professors from all over the world. The bonding went smoothly because we could share the meals and nice summer views of Crete, its gorgeous hills and sea. Now I have people from different countries with whom I can discuss linguistics and have a good laugh.
Students also could present their works during the poster session. I participated in this activity and received a lot of useful feedback. Now I feel ready to present my work at real big conferences, I became much more confident and inspired after the summer school poster session.
If you’re interested in wine, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of the grape variety ‘Müller-Thurgau’. It was created at the same location where you’ll find Geisenheim University (HSG) today, a place that lives and breathes wine. They offer various programs related to wine business, wine production, beverage technology, and agriculture, to name a few. UNG and HSG cooperate, and in the summer semester of 2024 I had the opportunity to study in Geisenheim with the Erasmus+ program. I recommend you do as well!
Considering I don’t speak German, the program most suitable for me was ‘International Wine Business’, given in English. Essentially, this program is focused around the business and marketing side of wine, as opposed to the production. Seeing as my major is viticulture and oenology, this provided a great opportunity to diversify my experience. HSG is used to receiving students from abroad, and everything from the enrollment process to getting settled as I arrived was streamlined and easy. The provided assistance really takes a lot of pressure off, and makes the experience much more enjoyable.
‘International’ is not just in the program name – the majority of the students were from abroad, and I studied with people from Bolivia, South Africa, Georgia, and Canada, among others. A decent part of the class was made up of German students as well, resulting in a lovely mix of cultures, languages, and personalities. Social gatherings both within and outside of the university were frequent, fun, and interesting. Since we all shared the same interest in wine, conversations could go from football (European Championship during this time) to phenolics without skipping a beat. Weekly gatherings by the old wine barrel on campus, where you could always get to know new people and new wines, was especially memorable.
Lectures were similar to what I’m used to at UNG. There was a MiTeam equivalent where all material was uploaded and easily accessible, and I never had trouble understanding what was expected of me. The professors were competent, helpful, and passionate. We had a fair amount of guest lecturers from various parts of the wine industry, something that is always interesting and brings new perspectives. One thing that differed considerably from UNG was the amount of tastings and masterclasses. We had an average of two tastings per week, and I have tried more wines in one semester at HSG than five semesters at UNG. I believe this drastically improves the students’ ability to understand wine, and is something I would love to see more of at UNG. In addition to tastings, I had the opportunity to join several day trips to other wine regions.
Daytrip to the wine producer Dr. Bürklin-Wolf in the Palatinate (Pfalz).
Geisenheim is a cute, small town in the middle of the wine region Rheingau. The region is overflowing with wine producers, and there are several in walking distance from the Geisenheim town center. The railroad that runs along the Rhine river provides access to the rest of Germany, and Frankfurt Airport is only an hour away. One stop with the train gets you to Rüdesheim, a beautiful historical town with lots to see and do. And if you’re craving a bigger city, the same train will take you to Wiesbaden in less than an hour.
View over the vineyards. Rüdesheim to the left.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Geisenheim, and when I return to Slovenia it is with more experience, new personal and professional relationships, and a broader, deeper, and more diverse understanding of the wine industry. I encourage you to seek out the same experience if you get the chance!
Med bivanjem v Gironi v okviru programa Erazmus, sem se udeležila prijekta z naslovom “Illustrating Stories”, kjer smo se osredotočili na risanje in ročno izdelavo interaktivne fizične kjige. Cilj projekta je bil skozi ustvarjalni proces združiti pripovedovanje zgodb in umetnost v unikatno obliko knjižnega izdelka. Delo je vključevalo vse, od prvotnih skic, do končne realizacije knjige, ki je bila oblikovana tako, da bralcu omogoča interakcijo z zgodbo na fizičen način.
Prvi dan smo se spoznavali in se pogovarjali kaj bomo delali med našim druženjem. Nato smo si začeli zamišljati ideje. Mentorica je poskerbela da je od vsakega izvedela vsaj začetno idejo, saj se je tako najlađje pripravila da nam lahko čimbolje pomaga v nadaljnih dneh.
Drugi dan smo imeli organiziran izlet v Barcelono, kjer smo si šli ogledat znane umetniške stavbe. Ideja tega je bila, da nam da navdih za naše nadaljno delo. Pogledali smo si Casa Milà,v Casa Amatller, Casa El Calvet in Sagrada Família. Vse smo si ogledali od zunaj saj nismo imeli dovolj časa, da bi šli na ogled vsega tega.
Sreda in četrtek sta bila delavna dela. Risali in ustvarjali smo od 09:00 -16:00. Vmes smo imeli pavzo za kosilo, ki nam je bilo priskrbljeno. Vsako jutro smo se podpisali in si nato lahko zbrali naš meni. Bilo je za vsakega nekaj.
Petek pa je bil dan, kjer se je printalo in delalo ročno delo. Učilnica je bila polna lepil in škarij. Vsak je izdelal svoj lasten, unikaten izdelek. Po kosilu smo imeli predstavitev naših del pred vsemi in podelitev priznanj oz. potrdil prisotnosti. Na koncu smo naše izdelke poslikali v skupinski fotografiji. Odslovili smo se z toplimi nasmehi in naslednji dan smo se odpravili domov.
Vesela sem da sem lahko bila deležna tega imenitnega programa, saj mi je prineslo mnogo novih izkušenj in prijateljstev. Hvala Erazmosu za to čudovito priložnost, hvala Gironi za toplo gostoljubnost in hvala naši šoli za omogočen izlet.
When I think of Erasmus, the first question I ask myself is, why didn’t I go earlier?
All I knew about Erasmus was that you had to fill out a bunch of paperwork before leaving, but few people talked about what actually happens once you get there. It’s not just about meeting new people, cultures, and food, but also discovering yourself in various situations. In my case, on the other side of the world in a different time zone.
In Singapore, I had the opportunity to discover many fascinating aspects that define it. Some of them include efforts to preserve nature and coexist with technology, hospitality towards diverse cultures, and the encounter with various cuisines that I enjoyed during my stay.It was also exciting to see a city where a jungle and a botanical garden are seamlessly integrated into an urban environment.
One interesting thing I realized while I was there is that no matter where I go, I will find people with similar personalities to those I already know at home. This might help those who worry about not finding friends there. Also, you will have the chance to interact with people you would probably never talk to back home. So, I suggest leaving your prejudices behind and giving new acquaintances a chance to change the possibly wrong opinions you might have had about anything. Sometimes it’s nice to know that you were wrong.
As for LASALLE College of the Arts, where I had the opportunity to stay for two weeks, I have nothing but praise. This includes the professors and staff, as well as the students who participated with us in TropicalLab, and with whom I continue to keep in touch even after Erasmus, as well as with the other participants of TropicalLab.
I hope the photos express what words fall short of describing.
If you have any questions about my stay or are considering a visit, feel free to contact me via email at ana.evtic@gmail.com or through my Instagram profile @anaevtic — I’d be happy to help. You can also check out some videos and photos from my trip in the “singapore” highlights on my instagram profile.
Thank you, Erasmus, for making this possible, and I hope there will be more experiences like this in the future.
From July 12th to July 27th, I had an amazing time at the CreteLing2024 Summer School in Rethymno, Crete, Greece. It was the perfect mix of learning, exploring, and meeting new people.
Learning Highlights
I took three super interesting courses: “Introduction to Neurolinguistics” by Yosef Grodzinsky and “Ellipsis” by Kyle Johnson and David Pesetsky. These classes were a deep dive into how our brains process language and the quirks of syntax. I also dropped in on “Language Change” lectures by Paul Kiparsky and David Goldstein. Plus, I joined workshops on evolutionary methods in linguistics and pronominals in experimental syntax and semantics.
Making Connections
Meeting new, cool people was one of the best parts. The CreteLing2024 crowd was full of passionate linguists from all over the world.
Enjoying Crete
When I wasn’t studying, I made the most of Crete. The sea was perfect for cooling off, and I visited some amazing tourist spots in and around Rethymno.
Welcome to the UNG Mobility Blog, on which students and staff are going to share their mobility experiences. Here, you will also find other things related to mobility. more →
