Category: 6 – Experience Map

After 6 months of hoarding maps, postcards, business cards, photos and tickets I have finally put together an experience map. It is a completely geographically incorrect map of my time in Italy from February to July 2015.

The left hand side encompasses Verona, the place I called home for 6 months of my life.

Towards the bottom the map turns into the rest of the Veneto including Venice and Lake Garda, where many lazy lake side afternoons were spent. Around the edges I have added Bologna and the Color Run in Trento.

Moving up the wall my trip to Lithuania is to be found, a few magical days where I met a friend from Grenoble – aka the new bosom friend in reference to other blog post about postcards and year abroad goals. After our rendezvous  at midnight in an adorable airbnb apartment, we spent a blissful few days pottering around Vilnius, piling on the pounds with every zeppelin consumed and getting the obligatory year abroad piercing.

Moving, hmm well eastward across the wall anyway, we arrive at Naples, land of pizza, the city with the small town vibe, home of the good luck terracotta chili, known to some as ‘a dump’, bursting with life and energy, and one of my favourite places in Italy.

Below Naples meets the Amalfi coast, almost geographically correct that time, the place that sun kissed lemony dreams are made of. I feel that no further explanation is required here. Finally in the bottom corner I dedicated a space to my precious wwoofing adventure, an experience that I would recommend to everyone. I have also written another post about wwoofing.

I would encourage anyone to spend some time living abroad and these photos below show just some of the reasons. A year abroad is whatever you make it, and when you take the opportunities available to you the experiences can be fantastic.

Bethan Evans

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Hands down the best experience I have had!

My year abroad in Geneva has been hands down the best experience I have had! I have met some amazing people, explored beautiful places, tried new foods and found another home in a new city.

I have drawn an outline of both my hands on which I have mapped out the various places I have explored during my time in Geneva. My left hand shows places and people I met during the first semester while my right hand shows the same for the second semester.

Both semesters have been incredible and as you can see I still did lots of exploring this semester too. I have definitely got the travel bug!

I cannot believe that almost a year has gone by since I first arrived in Geneva! I remember feeling so lost and confused around the city when I first arrived which is hilarious now as I know the city like the back of my hand.

Switzerland is a beautiful country and I can guarantee that if you come visit (which you all should!) then you will have an amazing time.

Tara for now friends. See you soon in Scottish land xxx

Filed under: 6 - Experience Map

The top two scenarios in which a girl realizes how small her hands are 1) a boy pressing his palm against hers in order to compare their size and 2) trying to reduce the most amazing year of her life to a few (miserable, in this case) drawings and words scribbled on the outline of her hand.

Here is my attempt at point 2.

I believe that because of my childish drawings and the phone camera I took the picture with, a few clarifying sentences might come in handy (starting from the pinky and moving to the right).

Anna: My favourite flatmate who made Madrid unforgettable. She was the closest friend I had there, and that is why she deserves a whole finger!

Triskel Tavern: The place where I felt welcome during the first months abroad and where I felt at home during the last. This is the bar where I would go every Thursday night with my favourite people to listen to my favourite songs and drink a glass of my favourite wine. This is also the place where I met the Malasana crew or, in other words, the circle of artistic and inspiring people I had always dreamed of being part of.

Spanish language: During my exchange I realized that Spanish is actually not that daunting and I grew to love it.

Malasana: The neighbourhood where I would most often hang out with friends or go for a walk. Beautiful, alternative, artistic, with the revolutionary spirit of the early ages of democracy still lingering in its streets, full of bookshops and charming cafes, full of life.

Spanish diversity: breath-taking mountains, gorgeous beaches and spectacular cities. Spain has it all.

Travelling: Probably the best and most rewarding part of my experience abroad.

Nadezhda, Madrid

Filed under: 6 - Experience Map

For my experience map I chose a map of the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) network, because this was the most common way for me to get around Singapore. The background is made up of a map of South East Asia and the Singapore flag. I illustrated the stations I went to regularly with some memories, activities and landmarks:

• Dover: the station closest to my home at uni, where I walked to several times a week
• East West Line: the main line going from my home to the city centre
• Harbourfront: a shopping centre not too far from my home, and the gateway to Sentosa island
• Chinatown: an area that I visited for the night market, the hawker centre and the gay bars
• Clarke Quay: the main area for partying with many bars and clubs, although we often just drank outside on the bridge
• Botanic Gardens: one of my favourite places in Singapore where I used to go for walks
• Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay: my favourite place in Singapore, which I wrote a separate article about
• Bayfront: the famous Marina Bay Sands hotel and mall
• Bugis: the “Arab quarter” with a beautiful mosque and many nice cafés and restaurants
• Little India: a laid-back area with cheap shops and the best food
• On the right: the way pointing to the airport, with flags of the countries I traveled to (Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam)

Nora, Singapore

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Filed under: 6 - Experience Map

I have marked out on my experience map the places where I have spent most of my time. I realised whilst doing this activity that when I am not in uni, I pretty much spend my time either at the lake with friends or going for a bike ride through the park. One thing I really love about this city is how open and green it is.

I felt the need to add the train station to my experience map because I have visited so many other places whilst I have been here, and at times It has felt like the train station was my second home. Also because even though I have been living here for a year, I still haven’t got used to all the shops closing on Sunday – lucky for me there is a supermarket in the station that opens especially.

Vida, Germany

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Many of the drawings on the map are inside jokes and personal experiences, so rather than explain everything I’d prefer to simply list details from the map below (from the pinkie finger towards the thumb, then the back of the hand):

1) Angkor wat – viewing at sunrise
2) Anh and Yukei – Singapore flyer and Vietnam
3) KDT (Korean Dance Team)
4) Anh and Ambika – Thailand and Botanical Gardens
5) Vietnam – Lenin
Back of the hand) Chinese, Running Man logo, Thai iced tea, Thai, cat cafe, Singapore flag

Filed under: 6 - Experience Map

Here is a picture of my experience map. I am very fortunate to have had two experiences during my year abroad, one in Verona and one in Paris. To explain a little about my experience map:

Verona:

• Important places; the arena and Piazza Erbe which I would pass daily on my way to university. Lago di Garda and Milan were two places we often took day trips to.
• I taught English to the children of two Italian families.
• Italian cuisine definitely makes an appearance on my experience map. Who can complain at pizza, pasta and gelato for dinner every night?
• Of course I have included friends as I made so many new friends who I hope I will stay in touch with forever.
• And finally the university. I studied three courses, history of cinema, history of art and contemporary history, as well as a B2 course in Italian.

Paris:

• I live in a lovely area of Paris known as Le Marais which is famous for small boutiques and lovely little cafes and restaurants.
• At university I studied translation, which I really enjoyed. It has made me sure that I want to do a masters in  translation after I graduate.
• I have visited lots of museums, big and small. I think my favourite was the Edith Piaf museum. It is not a famous museum in Paris but it was very interesting. The museum itself is in an apartment that Edith Piaf used to live in before she was famous. It is visit by appointment only.
• I had lots of visits from family and friends during my time in Paris as it is a little easier to get to than Verona was.
• I celebrated my 21st Birthday in Paris. We went to a nightclub on the Champs-Élysées and we got a free bottle of champagne. A very chic affair.
• I also visited the cinema a lot whilst in Paris, seeing films in French, English and Italian.
• Finding the time to read for pleasure is always difficult when you are a student but I have a collection of French books which I have read since my time in Paris.
• French wine and pastry have played a big part in my time in Paris. When I go home I will really miss going to the boulangerie in the morning for a warm and flaky pain au chocolat!

Filed under: 6 - Experience Map

This is my experience map in Milan city centre: as you can see, I am lucky to be able to live so close to the city centre! The supermarket is about 20 minutes away, the Duomo is only about 15 minutes away, and so is… Read More