ADVENTURES AT FRANKLIN

HIGHLIGHTS: - visiting Josip Broz Tito's grave. Yugoslavian leader from 1945 -- 1980 - staying at a fancy hotel with famous guests!  - exploring the many areas of the city which still are scarred by the most recent wars in the 1990s  - meeting with staff at the OSCE's (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) mission to Serbia and discussing their goals. - standing on the very hill where clashes between Western and Eastern Empires occurred Serbia's aggression towards Kosovo lead to a NATO bombing campaign of 1999 which left the Serbian Foreign Ministry building (and many others) in shambles. That was more than a decade ago yet it stands today in more or less the same state it was in 1999, minus the trees.  Finally getting some use out of my passport pages! In the European Union and Schengen visa areas they rarely stamp your passport. But Serbia is not EU so I finally got a stamp! Although nothing will beat the border agent in Croatia who gav...

Hello again! Today I am really in Bosnia, yesterday I was in Serbia and tomorrow I am heading back to Croatia. Is my Academic Travel trip crazy busy? Yes. Do I love it? Absolutely! I feel so blessed to have the chance to not only explore such a unique region of the world, but do so in a very unique way! Thus far we have met with economics professors, war veterans and former politicians. Like I said, it has been busy! So today I am going to talk about our first stop in Croatia...{drum roll} ZAGREB!  Fun Facts:  - While on our walking tour we passed by "The Museum of Broken Relationships"  We didn't get the chance to go in, but the tour guide explained to us that it accepts donations from around the world of leftover artifacts + letters from ex-relationships then tells their story. It is a  "unique" (noticing a theme here?) idea for a museum, to say the least. In fact it won "most innovative museum" in 2011.  - Zagreb develope...

I am so pleased with this academic travel so far! It is only day three and I feel as though I already have had so many adventures! I don't have too much time to write now, as I have been busy exploring Slovenia and Croatia, but I thought I would share some photos from Ljubljana, Slovenia, our first stop on the trip!  Fun facts about Ljubljana:  - Capitol of Slovenia and largest city  - The dragon is the emblem of the city because, as legend goes, Jason (as in mythology's Jason + the golden fleece) killed a dragon in Ljubljana.  - home to the first philharmonics school in Europe  - entered into the European union in 2004  day+night with the dragon of slovenia  snapshots from our walking tour around town the group picture was taken in a former templar knights monastery while we listened to the guide explain some regional history autumn leaves kavalir = a FREE service you can call that takes you around the pedestrian only ...

I can't tell you what a relief it was to make it through this week! Midterm exams + papers + work = one rough week! But none of that matters now, because it is the best time of year here at Franklin! Academic Travel time!!! For this semester's academic travel I am enrolled in a course  which focuses on the recent history of the former Yugoslavia. Our travel group will be immersed in learning about the dramatic events of the 20 th   century that led to the formation of the Yugoslav state, to its tribulations during World War II, its relative stability during the period of the Cold War and its violent collapse in the 1990's.  The Civil War in Yugoslavia and its effects will be a main theme in meetings and discussions about the successor states and their problems today.  Economic problems, political problems and questions of law and order (such as the prosecution of those accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Civil War). Beyond visiting the class...

some snapshots of my mom + me on our latest adventures Please excuse the short hiatus in my blogging, I promise there was a reason. In fact, it just might be the best reason ever: my parents were in town!! We had an incredible ten days together with a weekend in Paris, France + a few days in Lugano + the next weekend in Cinque Terre, Italy. It was their first time visiting me at Franklin and also their first time in Switzerland/Italy!  I still am in awe of how spectacular our trip was! I only missed two days of class total (worth it!) and was left with memories that will truly last a lifetime! But never fear, I will save most of that sapppy stuff for my personal blog . So without further adieu let me introduce you to my mother! Meet Amy Oglesby. Mother extraordinaire. Just to give you a little background; I am the oldest of nine children (the youngest is seven years old), my family currently resides in Salt Lake City and my mom is too modest to admit it, but she is pre...

Anyone who has read more than one blog post should know by now that I can't say enough about the educational value inherent in traveling. I love travel! And I truly believe that the cross-cultural exchange, communication skills, plus the flexibility & adaptability it promotes is invaluable in today's world. But that being said, I also have a deep appreciation for the more "traditional" classroom style of education. My maternal grandmother and grandfather were both long time educators. She worked as a kindergarten teacher and he as a elementary/middle school principle for 30+ years. So the value of education was instilled in me at a young age and has only grown over the years. One of the major draws for me to attend Franklin was their academic program. I was excited by the thought of learning with professors/peers that hail from all across the world and the International Relations program seemed to be a perfect fit with my interests. Now that I am here, I ...

Reason #28 why I love Franklin: An orientation week that puts any other university's orientation to shame. Seriously! How many incoming college freshmen can say that as part of their orientation they went hiking in the Swiss mountainside, jumped into a glacial river, explored castles and ate copious amounts of delicious fondue/gelato/pizza? It just doesn't get much better than this. And I was lucky enough to attend orientation for the second time in 2 years! No, I didn't flunk my Freshmen year. I applied and was selected to be an Orientation Mentor aka OM . Basically the job of an OM is to help design and facilitate all things orientation! We are assigned small groups of about ten incoming students whom we get to know on a personal level and spend a lot of time with during orientation. Within these orientation groups we lead campus tours, have group discussions on safety, time management, academics, Swiss culture, travel etc. After orientation week we primarily are ...