European Spirit
European Spirit
  • 최영훈
  • 승인 2007.09.04 18:56
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Young-Hoon Choi
Senior, Dept. of Economics and Finance

My two friends and I traveled to nine different Europe countries during the last winter-vacation on the 'Window to the World' program. Traveling to Europe was not my first overseas trip, but it was still very meaningful for me, and I was so excited to go abroad again.
I had really enjoyed visiting Australia for a year on a working-holiday visa, and the two weeks I spent in the U.S.A, supported by KITA, for the purpose of conducting interviews related to FTA, was also a really great experience. My third overseas journey, my trip to Europe, allowed me to explore the history of western countries in detail as well as conducting research for our report.
The first place I visited was London the capital of England. Most English people were exactly as I had expected with big noses and peculiar English accents, although I thought that I would have seen more Englishmen carrying umbrellas. On the way to our accommodation, from Heathrow Airport, I could not take my eyes off the people and places that I saw. It was midnight when we arrived at our lodgings.


The Eiffel tower in Paris

The next day we started working on our report. First we went to 'Harrods,' which is a very famous department-store in the U.K. It is well known that the pride of the UK, David Beckham, often enjoys shopping there with his wife.
Our plan in London was to look into cosmetic and perfume shops. On our fifth day we visited a very expensive shop. The clerks looked at us suspiciously, perhaps thinking that we were not promising customers who could afford to purchase their high-end goods. We had expected this kind of treatment so it did not matter to us; we just kept our eyes from the clerks.
My reliable photographer, Sang hyun, took a lot of pictures with his great professional camera, a Cannon EOS 30D, while Ji-hoon and I investigated the popular brands on offer. It seemed like a secret investigation.
England is, in my opinion, the home of western culture. Everything I saw and every place I visited was so fine and noble. My favorite places included the London Eye, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, the British Museum, and Hide Park. The English Premiere League is also a famous British institution.
The place that remains in my mind, however, is Notting Hill. It was very 'English' exactly as in the movie of the same name. I was a huge fan of the movie. There were ordinary people shopping in an outdoor market. I found the place not 'fabulous' but warm and peaceful.  Unfortunately, all the pictures we took of Notting Hill were accidentally lost. I was very sorry about that. All I have now is a postcard I brought from Hugh Grant's book store.
Leaving England, we passed through Holland, and arrived at the City of Munchen. It was a pity that our itinerary did not allow us to stay longer than two days. However, we still managed to do many things.


A Blvgari shop in Roma

On the first day, we enjoyed the city and drank beer in a Hofbrauhaus. It was really exciting and fun. We met some Kyungbuk University-students who were also traveling on the 'Window to the World' program. It was really great to meet them. I think our time there influenced us in a good way because, by talking with them about the difficulties of conducting a report, we were encouraged and re-motivated. At that time I really felt that the 'Window to World' program was good for both students and the university.
The next day we visited a 'Logona' shop. Logona is a type of German cosmetic made from natural and environmentally-friendly ingredients. The cosmetics, which are not advertised in the media, are produced using only natural vegetable and organic materials. The strategy of not exposing goods in advertisement made it difficult to find information about the companies. The clerk in the Logona shop was kind and was very good at speaking English we found that Germans tended to use English more fluently than other European counties. When we explained the purpose of our visit, she very kindly explained the goods in detail. I was very impressed with her kindness as well as her beauty.


With naughty Swiss girls in Luzern

After finishing our report and enjoying a two-day trip to Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, the next city we visited was Rome in Italy. There were lots of things to see and talk about in Rome; as many as the U.K. Rome is the most beautiful city I have ever seen. On our first day in the capital, we visited the headquarters of Bvlgari.  However we were very anxious and they did not allow us to enter the building. Completion of the contact-list is important in performing an overseas report. I suspect, that if we had worn suits and had appeared to be good-looking guys, they might have at least allowed us to meet someone in charge.
As our Plan-A was blocked, we implemented Plan-B. At one of the BVL shops, we kept performing our jobs. We kept our eyes on customers visiting the shop and noted which kind of goods were the most popular. We also got useful data by stubbornly asking the clerks many questions. We also visited several other cosmetic and perfume shops, and noted the exhibition-rate of BVL products. Finishing our report, we took a two-day 'Roman holiday' and visited almost every renowned place in the city including the Colosso, the Piazza di Spagana, the Citta Del Vaticano, and the Basilica de San Pietro.


London's Buckingham

However, it is "La Pieta," the sculpture made by Michelangelo that most significantly remains in my mind. When I first saw this splendid and sophisticated work of art inside the San Pietro Basilica in Rome, I felt something special inside. It seemed like I had finally got the chance to look behind myself at the things which I had been missing such as the reason why I take breath and the real purpose of my life. You may wonder if one sculpture could really make one reflect on one's life. For me, it truly did. I realized that life is really valuable and that I should try to do my best.
Our next city was beautiful Luzern in Switzerland. We climbed Rigi Mountain. The beauty of nature and the rural houses made me think that I would like to live there when I retire.
The last city of our three-week journey was Paris. On the Avenue des Champes-Elysee, we found a specialty-store for cosmetics and perfume called 'Sephora.' It was such a huge shop; 12,000 different items were being displayed. We could see all types of cosmetics and perfumes. Moreover, we visited the Paris Yves Rosher-shop and were able to finish our report.
We enjoyed the rest of our time in Paris and visited the well-known sites of the Musee du Louvre, the Chathedrale Notre Dame de Paris, the Tour Eiffel, and Montmarte.


Vaclavske Namesti in Praha
Europe taught me a lot. By visiting several cities, conducting the report, and having fun, I learned more than I had expected to. I could count on my friends Sang-hyun and Ji-hoon and they always did their best. I appreciated that. Sometimes we held conflicting opinions, but, throughout the journey, we made our relationship much firmer.
I am sorry that I cannot apply for 'Window to the World' again; it gave me many valuable memories. One thing I can surely say is that the world is wide and there is much to learn abroad.
The international program being supported by the university is a golden opportunity for you to develop a 'global' mind. So, I hope many of my classmates will try to open the window to the world and learn many valuable things, as I did last winter-vacation.

 

Picture by EUM


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