You've had a lot of time by now to learn about our Summer programs, either through our site, student stories, info sessions or meetings with our staff and with program directors. So now's the time to start applying if you haven't yet! Below you'll find links to info on our summer programs. The deadline to apply is March 1!

Here you can learn how to apply. You'll find a list of all the necessary forms to fill out and documents to provide us with. 

• Germany Photojournalism Summer Experience
• Czech Republic Advertising Program
• Germany (Leipzig) Summer Program 

Don't forget! If you want to study abroad this summer or go to D.C., you've got to get us your application materials by Thursday, March 1. 

by Fedor Zarkhin

If you're thinking about going to Buenos Aires either next semester or in the summer, you've come to the right place! Below you'll find links to articles online and to stories written by our very own students! So read up and get ready for the info session tomorrow. As the title says, it's on Tuesday at 4pm in Tucker Forum. You'll also want to set up an appointment with the director, Carolina Escudero, but we can talk about that tomorrow. 

Enjoy!

Katie Artemas writes about her decision to do an internship in Buenos Aires.

Lauren Delaney tells us about some of her adventures in the land of amazing beef and Tango. 

A New York Times article about wine-tasting in Buenos Aires.

Fodor's guide to Buenos Aires.

Yahoo's guide to Buenos Aires.

By now you've heard and read a lot about our programs, and maybe you've even attended an info session or two. But the mother of all info sessions is coming up Wednesday, so be sure not to miss it!

Come to our Study Abroad fair, where you can learn about all the different programs! You'll get to talk to students who've participated in most of the programs and talk to program directors.

But besides for learning stuff, you could even win stuff! All you'll have to do is fill out a little form. After the fair we'll do a drawing, and the winners will get one of the following prizes:

·         $1000 Travel Scholarship (that's right, a thousand bucks)
·         Nook (so you won't be bored on that plane to the other side of the world)
·         Small Genuine Leather Travel Case
·         MU Passport Wallets 
·         Student Universe Passport Wallet
·         MU Luggage Tags
·         MU Luggage Handle Identifier Wraps
·         $20 Gift Cards from Starbucks, Which Wich, Ingredient, Noodles & Co., and University Bookstore
·         Travel Journal

Study Abroad Fair: Wednesday, February 22, 11am - 2pm in RJI100A. Are you gonna be there? You bet your socks you are.

AND – we're going to be doing a drawing from the people who 'like' us on Facebook from Feb 22 to Feb 29. The lucky man or woman will get a $25 gift card for Starbucks. That's, like, 10 free coffees for clicking a button. Not bad. 

by Fedor Zarkhin

How would you like to take courses in a university that's two and a half times as old as the United States? Or explore a city that was a crucible for the movement that ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall? Or visit the church where both Bach and Mozart performed?

You could do all that and more this summer through our program in Leipzig, a city in eastern Germany that's over 1000 years old. Students will improve their German language skills and take excursions to media and cultural sights in the area.

Interested? Read on:

Hostelclub.com has a great list of things you'll simply have to see if you go to Leipzig. There's "The Jewel of Leipzig," which is the train station. Might sound mundane, but trains and train stations are something of a bigger deal in Europe than they are in America... 

The website also recommends going to Auerbach's Keller, a restaurant that's been open since 1530. Just try to wrap your mind around that... a 482 year-old restaurant. 

If you're interested in art, the New York Times tells us Leipzig is a good place to be, not only for the music but for other kinds of art as well. And this other New York Times article will tell you what to do during the day, at night, and where to eat. 

And here's a great little YouTube video showing scenes from Leipzig. Looks beautiful!

Finally, make sure to take a look at what WikiTravel has to say. As usual, you can find an enormous amount of information, from food and transportation to sights and events. 

If you have any questions, email us or stop by the J-School International Programs Office. And if you're reading this and it's not yet 4pm on Wednesday the 15th... get moving to the info session in Tucker Forum!

by Fedor Zarkhin

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If you go to Seoul this summer to attend the international conference held by the East-West Center, you'll probably be so busy you'll barely have the time to tie your shoes. As members of the conference news staff, you'll produce content every day, as well as work on individual projects. In no time at all you'll become mini-experts on new media in South Korea. 

But don't you worry! We won't fly you somewhere 15 time zones away just to watch you sweat. Instead you'll have the chance to see what this fascinating country, South Korea, is really like.

And it really is a fascinating place, full of contradictions. On the one hand every subway station downtown has what looks like a gigantic ipad with a touchscreen map of the city. In the streets, however, you'll find markets like colorful beehives with locals and tourists picking the choicest piece of fish, kim-chi, octopus, butterfly larva or just about anything else you can imagine.

Seoul, South Korea's capital, with a population of about 10.5 million, has a virtually endless amount of things to see and do. Seoul is a city that has managed to become a modern megapolis while maintaining its cultural heritage. You'll find palaces of Korean emperors, museums with ancient artifacts and people doing traditional dances in the streets. Once you get your fill of the old culture, however, you can head to one of numerous popular downtown spots, where you'll find restaurants to suit all tastes – beef, pork, chicken or intestine barbecue, raw fish, shark (very expensive), sweet potato pizza and much more. In between the restaurants you'll find bars and clubs and places to listen to live music, most of them places with unfettered character and open people.

So, let's read up on Seoul, starting with the New York Times. This article tells us that Seoul is the place to be – that it's just as cool as Tokyo, but cheaper. You'll find info on things to see and things to do. 

This New York Times article addresses Korean food. Don't underestimate it. Some people would say that going just for the food might not be totally unreasonable.

Next, check out Time's list of things to see and do in Seoul. Starting with Korea's most famous palace, passing through mountains just north of Seoul and ending with a Korean Feast, you'd be good to go just by following this list. 

...and, of course... don't... forget... the... INFO SESSION TOMORROW, FEBRUARY 14 AT 4PM IN TUCKER FORUM (Bring a date, if you want to.)

by Fedor Zarkhin

This summer you can spend three weeks and a half in three different German cities, attending a photojournalism festival, intensive workshops and touring German publications and meeting photo editors. But what are the three cities you'll visit – Hannover, Hamburg and Munich – really like? What makes them so special, and what'll you do during that precious free time you'll have to explore?

Let's start with Hannover. The capital of Lower Saxony, this city is probably most famous for its Herrenhausen Gardens. They're over 300 years old, with mazes and one of Europe's highest fountains.

But the main attraction will certainly be the 2012 Lumix Festival for Young Photojournalism. There, the group of 10-12 Mizzou students that you might be a part of will get to see exhibitions and listen to lectures given by internationally known photographers, among other things. 

This is a trailer for the last photo festival in Hannover. This year's trailer isn't available in English yet, but this one has most of what you need to know. 

Let's move on to Hamburg. There, students will meet photo editors and visit newsrooms, and it's very much the right place to do it: The New York Times calls Hamburg the "media center of Germany," among other things...

"Hamburg, maritime and media center of Germany, is a city of jarring juxtapositions. The industrial waterfront heaves with rusty docks, while its center is filled with emerald parks, blue lakes and cream-colored villas. Sex workers ply their trade along the neon-lit Reeperbahn, while old-money families have made this Baroque port into Germany's richest city. And despite playing second fiddle to the cultural juggernaut that is Berlin, Hamburg breeds its own brand of the cosmopolitan cool — with a large Turkish population, gay enclaves and fashion centers — who mingle at chichi restaurants and steamy underground clubs. Where else but this high-low metropolis can you window-shop for Cartier diamond necklaces during the day and slum it with punk rockers at night?" 
– Denny Lee for the New York Times

Enough said, right? Read the full article here if you're intrigued (which you should be). Also, make sure to take a look at the New York Times Hamburg slideshow. 

And now we can move along to Munich, the last stop on the program. The New York Times (yes, we like to quote the New York Times) also has a good article on Munich, calling it "the hot spot of the moment."

And about.com has a less poetic but perhaps more practical guide to Munich, listing the top ten sights with links and pictures. Highly recommended.

So keep reading and keep looking at the pictures. But most importantly, if you're even remotely interested in going to Germany this summer... COME TO THE INFO SESSION TOMORROW! It's from 4pm-5pm in Tucker Forum, and you'll get all your questions answered because Rita Reed, the director of the program, will be there. 

See you then!

Visit the Duomo and marvel at the Pieta; sip cappuccino in a 15th century piazza; gaze at the Arno at sunset and admire a bridge that survived five centuries of war; hear the strains of Puccini in a medieval cathedral. Students can enrich their academic understanding of the foundations of Western art at the same time that they experience the excitement of living in a city large enough to be cosmopolitan yet small enough to traverse by foor and public transportation. 

Spend six weeks in Florence learning about the leaders of the Renaissance and their continuing impact on modern culture through a six-credit program directed by Dr. Andrea Heiss, director of the Arts-in-Depth Program, and the CAPA institute. 

This program offers students an introduction to the icons and egos o the Renaissance who continue to influence cultural reporting, the arts, and journalism today. The same ideals respected by students in journalism as well as those in the arts, sciences and humanities were developed by the thinkers, writers, inventors, artists and architects more than 500 years ago. 

There is an info session next Tuesday to learn more about this program in Tucker Forum, 4pm-5pm. If you're not sure if you want to go or not, check out some of these links to learn more about the city. 

1. This article in the New York TImes has a list of things you must do if you've got only 36 hours. Now take that list and imagine you've got a month and a half.
2. This travel blog has a list of the best things to do in Florence, plus great photos. 
3. In case you weren't aware, Italy's also famous for its ice cream. So check out this about.com list of good places to get some in Florence. 
4. And, of course, don't forget WikiTravel! It's got everything you need!

And if you want to learn a little more there's always YouTube:

Now that you know all you ever wanted to about Florence, it's time to learn more about the J-school's program there. If you come to the info session Tuesday, February 7 in Tucker Forum 4pm-5pm, you can do just that. Andrea Heiss, the program director, will be there to tell you all you want and need to know!

Prague may be almost 5,000 miles away from Columbia, but thanks to the marvels of this invention called "The Internet," there's almost no limit to what you can learn about this city. But, of course, to really get to know it you would have to go there... which happens to be something you can do this summer through our Prague Advertising Program. And as luck would have it, there's an information session on the program coming up on Monday, February 6! 

But in the meanwhile, read up and learn about the many things you could see and do in just one month in Prague:

1. Lonely Planet has a pretty comprehensive guide, from Prague's history to transportation in the city.

2. WikiTravel has a LOT of information, including a list of sights in the city. 

3. This Czech site (in English) has a great list of things to see split up into categories based on areas of the city. It's almost overwhelming the amount of sights they list!

4. pragueexperience.com has lists of concerts, plays, bars, clubs and tours in Prague.

And, of course, don't forget to look at some pictures of the place! This gallery has lots of pretty ones.  You can also watch this beautiful slide show on Youtube. 

If anything you've read has piqued your curiosity, make sure to go to the info session! Information about the program including the courses you'll take and some of the things you'll do is available right here. 

Prague Summer Program Info Session: Monday, February 6, 4pm-5pm Tucker Forum.

...and just in case you're still hesitating, watch this Lonely Planet video of Prague. 

Please join the Missouri Transatlantic Center and Humanity in Action Monday, Oct. 17, at 12 p.m. in Fred Smith Forum for a special presentation. “Exploring Diversity in France” is a special discussion series sponsored by the Embassy of France to the United States.

Tara Dickman
Tara Dickman is the National Director of Humanity in Action France. She received her Master's Degree in Comparative Politics from New York University, where she examined how cultural approaches to minority rights in international law impact the understanding of the 2005 riots in the French suburbs. Tara was raised in Paris and in the Parisian suburbs, where she remains active in social, artistic and civil rights issues. In addition to her work with Humanity in Action, Tara consults on racial profiling for the Open Society Justice Initiative and leads community organizing trainings. Tara received her BA from the Institute for European Studies of Paris 8 University, where she also followed a graduate program. She also conducted comparative research on race and urban politics at Brown University. Tara was a participant in the HIA Fellowship program in Paris in 2007.

Soraya Khadir
Soraya Khadir is a Project Assistant and Consultant at IMS-Entreprendre pour la Cité, a network of companies working on Corporate Social Responsibility in France. Her work focuses on preventing discrimination and promoting diversity in the workplace. Soraya holds MA degrees from Université de Cergy-Pontoise and Institut Français de Géopolitique of Paris 8, where she researched the political referendum process and the geopolitical impact of California's "Three Stikes and You're Out" policy. Her interest in diversity issues, which comes from a combination of both personal experience – having grown up in Parisian suburbs – and academic studies, has always pushed her to try to study misperception and bias. She is particularly interested in how misunderstanding of "the other" can lead to unfair and even dangerous decisions and behaviors. Soraya was a participant in the HIA Fellowship in New York City in 2007.

Cédric Maréchal
Cedric J. Marechal is a graduate student at La Sorbonne, where he studies International Relations. His graduate dissertation will examine the effects of U.S. “soft power” diplomacy on race relations in France. For two years, Cedric served as an elected member of La Sorbonne-Student Union, where he focused on organizing student awareness campaigns on university policies. Cedric was born in a suburb of Paris, but grew up in Martinique. He intends to pursue a PhD in International Relations next year. Cedric was a participant in the HIA Fellowship in Lyon in 2010.

About “Exploring Diversity in France”
This program is a special series bringing together American and French scholars, students and audiences to discuss the role and concept of diversity in contemporary France. The program is sponsored by the Embassy of France to the United States and developed in partnership with Humanity in Action, The New School, Yale University, Georgetown University and the University of Missouri.

Want to study abroad? Planning to study abroad? Then you should come to the Journalism Study Abroad Fair.
 
Friday, September 2nd 
10 a.m. - 1 p.m. 
Palmer Reception Room (Reynolds Journalism Institute, 100)

At the fair you will have the opportunity to speak to past program participants in each program and to meet the illustrious International Programs staff who can answer any and all questions you may have about studying abroad. 

As if that weren't enough motivation, we will also be holding a drawing for the following prizes:

• Two Amazon Kindles
• One $1,000 study abroad scholarship 
• Two $500 study abroad scholarships

For more information please visit the brand new MU Journalism Abroad website, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. 

Hope to see you there!