Sep 27, 2019 | Blog, Testimonials, Tips, Worldwide
Study in Vancouver: A Great City for Students Many people dream of studying and living in Canada and often Vancouver is the city which comes to mind. Vancouver is a coastal seaport city located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, also known as Beautiful British Columbia. What’s more, Vancouver offers a unique and extraordinary experience in terms of lifestyle and educational opportunities. Here are some reasons people want to live and study in Vancouver. Benefits of studying and living in Vancouver Universities and Colleges: In Vancouver, there are a few universities and colleges which are ranked high in quality of education. For example, the University of British Columbia is in the top three universities in Canada. Other institutions include Langara College, Columbia College, Kwantlen Polytechnical University, and Simon Fraser University. Moreover, there are many programs available for different types of students. Climate in Vancouver: Apart from rest of the Canada, the weather in Vancouver is pleasant and soothing. You can feel the drizzling of the rain on your face in the month of September. Here in Metro-Vancouver, there are plenty of places where you can enjoy the beauty of nature like Grouse Mountain, Stanley Park, and Capilano Suspension Bridge. Public Transportation and Lifestyle: Getting around in Vancouver is easy. All the credit goes to the government who manage a vast network of public transportation. Moreover, travelling by public transportation is cheap compared to having your own car. This means that you spend less on a monthly basis. Diversity: As people from different countries come here to study, it makes the city richer in diversity. People from Asia...
Aug 28, 2019 | Blog, Language Varieties, Testimonials, Tips, Worldwide
What is culture shock? As the phrase itself states, culture shock is the feeling you experience when facing a cultural situation that is new, different and unknown to you. Although the word “shock” seems rather unfriendly and negative, undergoing culture shock doesn’t necessarily have to be an unpleasant experience. Believe it or not, it can turn out to be a really enriching, positive and life learning one. But, how do you survive culture shock? Top 7 things that can cause it First of all, we need to understand that culture shock can be presented to us in both obvious and more subtle ways. We can experience culture shock when coming in contact with different: Languages – Especially when meeting somebody from a faraway country whose language is not only spoken differently but it is also written differently. For example, an English speaker being introduced to a Chinese speaker or a Korean speaker being introduced to a Portuguese speaker.Weather – This can be even harder for those used to extreme weather. For example, an Alaskan native used to very cold weather traveling to an island on the Caribbean.Landscapes – Imagine moving from a mountainous town full of lakes and forests like those in Switzerland to an arid landscape full of cacti like in Arizona, United States, or the other way around. Food – Here we’re talking not only about tastes, colours and smells, but also about quantities, meal schedules and customs. For example, in Latin American countries as well as in some European countries, people tend to have a snack between lunch and dinner called “merienda”. And don’t even get...
Jul 31, 2019 | Blog, Language Varieties, Testimonials, Tips, Worldwide
Travel to South America, the fourth largest of the world’s continents Ready to travel to South America? Here are some things you should know about it. Firstly, South America is located in the Western Hemisphere and constitutes the southern part of the Americas. Secondly, it consists of 12 independent countries— Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela —, the overseas department of French Guiana and some outlying islands. Thirdly, South America is connected to the rest of America by the Isthmus of Panama and is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Lastly, South America is also home to a wide variety of climates, breathtaking landscapes and rich cultures with its north-south extent of about 4,700 miles and its east-west extent of about 3,300 miles. Feel like home South American people are known to be kind and warm hearted. When greeting, they tend to go for a kiss on the cheek, even when you haven’t been formally introduced to the other person. They are used to being open with foreign people and are always willing to show their culture to the rest of the world by sharing a mate with you, teaching you some capoeira moves or making you a delicious ceviche. Language variations When traveling to South America, you must remember that the main spoken language in most countries is Latin American Spanish, but it is not the only language used in this southern continent. Portuguese is the official language of Brazil, and other languages such as English,...
Jun 24, 2019 | Blog, Tips, Traditions, Worldwide
More than a drink Just as British people religiously enjoy their 5 o’clock tea, some countries in the southern hemisphere share a very popular drink: “el mate.” This tea-like infusion (also known as chimarrão in Brazil) is made with yerba mate and is enjoyed by children and adults at any time of day. What’s more, it has been an integral part of the culture in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and southern Brazil for many years now. So, let’s learn a little more about this important drink. Origin of “el mate” and yerba mate Yerba mate was already being consumed long before the “new world” was discovered. Actually, it was the Guaraní people who inhabited parts of South America who introduced the plant to the European settlers. The settlers began to cultivate it and to make it well-known throughout the rest of the southern regions. Although the yerba mate cropping tradition almost disappeared when the Jesuits were expelled from the region, native people took over and transformed it into commercial harvesting. “El mate” is also related to the image of “el gaucho”, a popular cowboy-like figure from Argentina, Uruguay and the southern part of Brazil. El gaucho is commonly depicted as a horseman dressed in leather boots or espadrilles, a long-sleeved cotton shirt and baggy pants (bombacha), carrying a bola (best known as boleadora) or a long gaucho knife (facón). How to prepare “el mate” First of all, to start “el mate” we need the following things: Yerba mate –that is, the processed ground leaves of the yerba mate plant.A mate –that is, the receptacle where we’ll put the yerba mate....
Feb 28, 2019 | Blog, Testimonials, Tips, Worldwide
May the Popular Places in Germany Be Popular Everyone knows Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Cologne or Düsseldorf. Everyone also knows Bavaria, the Black Forest National Park or Neuschwanstein Castle. And certainly, there is a reason why everyone knows these popular places in Germany: they are beautiful, there are many (German) things to do and they overflow with tourists. But Germany has so much more to offer than these big cities and Bavaria. German Cities and Architecture If you really like cities, go to the west of Germany to a region called “Ruhrpott” in North Rhine-Westphalia. In this region there are a couple of big cities close together and well-connected by public transport. It may not be the most colorful place to be in Germany, but definitely worth visiting. In addition, cities like Cologne, Düsseldorf and Bonn are located there. Another city worth mentioning is Cochem. It is a nice colorful city built directly next to the Mosel River. Take a stroll along the promenade, for instance, observed by the Reichsburg Cochem, the Medieval toll castle, rebuilt in fairy tale style in the 1870s. The castle dates back to the 12th century. Meanwhile, modern looking house façades pair up next to half-timbering houses and the stone constructions of the Enderttor, the largest of Cochem’s three Medieval city gates. Cochem, however, is not the only city that offers rivers and castles. You will find them in many other places as well. Half-Timbering Houses If you are interested in architecture, you’ll like the historic old German towns, filled with many buildings in Fachwerk ‘half-timbering’. The UNESCO World Heritage City Quedlinburg, for instance, offers...
Jan 7, 2019 | Blog, Communication, Tips
How to get started New year, new website? Launching a new website can be a stressful experience for the creator. Many questions and concerns can arise, as there are a lot of elements to take into account: content, marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), analytics, design, images, etc. In this blog post, you will find useful tips to get you started in creating an inviting and resourceful website for a successful website launch! Keywords, Keywords, Keywords First of all, bear in mind that you should apply and review the following suggestions regularly. Doing it just once before your website launch won’t be as effective. To start with, you have to think of the content and the design of your website. Who do you want to address? Is your content interesting and relevant enough for your audience? But most importantly, and before writing any content, look out for the best keywords to use and work with SEO. You want to go for balanced keywords that have a high ranking in volume but a low ranking in difficulty and competition. Selecting the right keywords is one of your most challenging tasks. They determine how high your website comes back in the search engine results. If you’re interested in SEO and global websites, check out our post about it! Design and Social Media As for the design, you should test it with browser emulators. See if it works well with major search engines like Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and Opera. You also have to think about your potential clients, find a good strategy to get noticed and make your website stand out....
