Our day began sharply at 12 AM with us preparing to depart from the Alinea hotel to the Lanarca airport. Walking to the bus stop with out suitcases was a surreal experience because it finally put into perspective that we were leaving for good. This was the same walk we took every morning for our…
Tag: Aqsa Owais
Day 13: ALERT! LAST DAY! This is NOT a Simulation!
Today was our last day in Cyprus! I woke up feeling a mixture of excitement for going home, travel anxiety, and sadness about leaving this beautiful, culturally-rich country. We began the day by eating breakfast and walking to the Bernard Schulte Shipmanagement Training Center in near the new Limassol Marina. I loved observing the Bridges…
Day 12: “The Ships Kept Moving”
I started the day by watching the sunrise with Dr. Streiner and Jodi, our program coordinators from the University of Pittsburgh. Despite seeing the sunrise numerous times, the sight of the blazing red sun peeking from the Northern mountain range over an ocean filled with shipping vessels never gets old. After breakfast, we went to…
Day 11: Medochemie and Analyzing Global Healthcare Challenges from a Technological Perspective
It is a little know fact that technology initiatives often fail in the healthcare industry, stifling innovation. This fallback is credited to the isolated, fragmented, and guarded nature of the industry. While it may be easy to overlook in our day-to-day lives, I was reminded of this mentality when I asked Medochemie about their approach…
Day 10: Emerging Technologies in Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals
Blockchain is a form of emerging technology under the Internet of Things umbrella term that is revolutionizing the way data is collected, stored, shared, and manipulated. It does so by creating a digital ledger of transactions that is copied and distributed across a network of computer systems that are interacting with the data to one…
Day 9: Exploring Ancient Cypriot Culture Through Rocks
As we reach the end of this trip, I am realizing how much of a texture person I am. I love traveling to different places and feeling everything around me. From the smooth pebbles on the serene beaches to the coarse limestone in the cathedrals to the leaves of ancient Cyprus trees, textures allow time…
Day 8: Time Traveling Through Cyprus
We started off the day by visiting the Kolossi Crusader Castle in the Kourion Ancient City in the crusader period. As we approached the castle, we were surrounded by orange farms and grape vineyards. My favorite part of visiting the Crusader Castle was traveling to the top of the castle and seeing the surrounding the…
Day 7: I See a Sea Full of Possibilities
Cyprus, revered by the world as the “Playground of the Gods”, is undeniably beautiful. Situated in the midst of three continents, Cyprus has an inescapable charm from its humble waves, unbroken sunshine, and pleasant winds. Where some may see Cyprus as paradise on Earth, I see it as the perfect environment to experiment with and…
Day 6: A lesson in teamwork and corporate culture
We started the day by visiting the Wargaming headquarters. As an avid gamer, I was beyond ecstatic to learn more their corporate culture and game development process. One thing that the Head of Human Resources said that struck out to me was how Wargaming emphasizes “work-life harmony” and exposure to company culture and values. This…
Day 5: Eha allergía kunnes: An analysis of the Cyprus healthcare system and more
Instead of starting my day with a sunrise, I started it in the Emergency Room at the Mediterranean Hospital of Cyprus. It started with me accidentally eating gelato that was cross-contaminated with tree nuts, to which I was allergic. Thankfully, I was surrounded by a group of students, that called Jodi as soon as I…
Day 4: Getting Deep with Shakespeare
Seeing Othello’s castle in Famagusta reminded me of a famous Shakespearean quip, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other word would smell as sweet”. Even if this may be possible in a perfect world, this is nothing more than a romantic ideal. This claim is especially true when referencing…
Day 3: γειά σου Cyprus! The sun rises in Cyprus.
Yia Sou (Hello) everybody!!! Today was our first official day in Cyprus! My day started at 5:30 AM, with me walking on the pier with Sebastian to watch the sunrise. Even though clouds mostly obstructed the sun, it was still a breathtaking view. One can even view the blocked view as symbolism for all the…
Day 2: Pivoting Culture Shocks into Learning Opportunities
We landed at Frankfurt Airport in Germany at 7:49 AM and promptly proceeded to procure a German breakfast. I tried a Gouda cheese pretzel from Heberer’s Traditional Bakery. While the pretzel was nothing to write home about, observing the norms and customs that the employees and customers followed was fascinating. For example, I noticed one…
Day 1: Cyprus is in “PLANE” Sight
Despite my budding excitement about traveling to Cyprus and navigating a foreign culture and environment, I was initially anxious about traveling with a new group of people internationally. However, I began to feel more at ease once I got to know everyone during the course of our travel. As we travelled together for over 18…
Cyprus Feels Closer Than a Dream
Hi everyone! My name is Aqsa Owais and I am sooooooo excited to be in Cyprus in LESS THAN ONE MONTH!!!!! It’s crazy that, a few months ago, I would never have even dreamed of studying abroad right after my freshman year of college. I am a rising sophomore at the Swanson School of Engineering…