Before the Beginning...

Well I leave in less than a week for what I'm sure will be one hell of an adventure.

I'm not entirely sure how I will end up utilizing this blog. In adventures past I have made a point of journaling everyday...so I feel like it is safe to say that this blog will not be strictly business but will also include some of my day to day life as well (especially since I know my dad will be following this blog very closely and needs to make sure I'm alive). So bare with me on the half thoughts, fragments, ramblings and emotions and I'll try to give you some good pictures and meaningful reflections

However here is a brief introduction...I am a two day old alumni of Xavier University majoring in the Philosophy, Politics and the Public Honor's Program and an International Studies major. As a Winters-Cohen Brueggeman Fellow I have been given the opportunity to take part in a year of independent study followed by a grant to pursue my research with international travel.

My project has changed quite a bit from the project I applied with but here is a short bit about what I'm doing now: I initially wanted to see how sustainability initiatives were impacting life in Germany but then I thought a more fundamental question had to be asked about if environmental consciousness plays a role in a sense of unity (within a town, a country or something bigger, such as the European Union). And with that question in mind I have designed a survey to see if there is a link between people who support environmental initiatives on these scales and how they view their individual role in the EU. My trip will now be focused on collecting survey data (it has already gone out in a few languages but I am hoping to spread it around more) and hearing testimonials from people from different countries and regions with a variety of political backgrounds. 

I will be leaving a week after graduation and will be gone for eight weeks.  A quick overview of my trip: starting Ireland (which is in the midst of a union strike) to the UK (which just had an election with a surprising number of seats going to the conservative party and the leader of the independence movement wanting to step down), Paris, Barcelona and Valencia (the regions in Spain are highly independent and hold a very strong sense of regional identity); Greece (which has a rocky history in the EU), Macedonia, Romania and Hungary (the three of which are "relatively" new to the EU and have a unique culture...then finally to Germany where I will be staying for a while because it's my favorite and Germany as a political unit seems to have the strongest stake in EU politics in the past and I want to hear what the people have to say about it and then ending in Italy- which has a very relaxed economy and lifestyle compared to many of the other countries.