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Americans officially banned from entering EU, at least for now
The European Union agreed on a list of 15 countries that would be allowed to travel in its bloc. U.S. citizens were not on it.
30 June, 2020
photo by scaliger/ Adobe Stock.
- The European Union made an agreement on a list of 15 countries that could travel in its bloc from July 1st.
- Citizens of the United States, as well as Russia, Brazil, and India, are not on it.
- The exclusion of the U.S. reflects concerns over its coronavirus surge.
<p>From July 1st, when its external borders will re-open, American tourists won't be welcome in Europe, decrees a new agreement from the European Union. The bloc decided on a list of 15 safe countries whose residents would be allowed to travel in the EU. Why is the United States not on it? A tremendous surge of new COVID-19 cases, demonstrating that while the EU tackled the first wave of the coronavirus, the U.S has not. <a href="https://bigthink.com/coronavirus/europe-travel-ban" target="_blank">Previous reports </a>stated that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in negotiations with the EU, but those must not have gone the way the U.S. planned.</p><p>This graphic shows vividly the very different directions the two regions are going:</p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQyNzgxMC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzOTM5OTg2NX0.-iz3XOfQ7TspkN4ijWXPk9DrzQtO9U1t33Lq2nY_Vbg/img.png?width=980" id="3afef" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cdaae1893efc654e4792541f8492de70" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Byron Manley/Henrik Pettersson, CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/30/europe/european-union-travel-us-graphic-intl/index.html
<p>While new cases reached their peak in the EU around mid-March, they've been on an evident downward trajectory thanks to early lockdowns, mandated masks, and science-based cautious re-openings. The U.S., with inconsistent government messaging and actions as well as a divided public, has been <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/" target="_blank">adding about 40,000</a> cases every day. Dr. Fauci has been <a href="https://www.axios.com/fauci-senate-testimony-coronavirus-9d0204a8-f8e5-4deb-a8f7-07dcbd41d11c.html" target="_blank">warning</a> Congress that he wouldn't be surprised for this amount to reach <strong>100,000 </strong>if we don't get the situation under control, and he didn't sound very confident that we would.</p><p>The U.S. leads the world in overall cases (2.6 million) and deaths (at least 126,000). By comparison, the EU bloc has 116 million more people than the U.S., but <a href="https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/covid-19-pandemic" target="_blank">over a million fewer</a> cases. The head of the CDC also <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/06/26/883799638/u-s-sets-daily-record-for-new-covid-19-cases" target="_blank">thinks</a> that the official tally is severely undercounted, with the true number of infected in the U.S. being around <strong>20 million.</strong> </p>
<p>Other countries excluded by the EU include Brazil, India, and Russia, where cases are spiking as well. Who is on the list of allowed countries? China, with some conditions. Also allowed are citizens from Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, and Uruguay.</p><p>The decision by the EU will be re-examined with relative frequency, up to every two weeks. But for now, Americans wishing to travel to Europe would have to wait.</p>
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LIVE JUNE 30 | Happiness hack: Approach life like an Italian chef
If you're interested in reinvention and adaptability, turns out Italian cooking is an instruction manual for life.
27 June, 2020
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<p>
What does an adaptive and inventive life look like? Well, it looks a lot like Italian cooking. <strong>Tuscan chef Gabriele Corcos</strong> and <strong>American actor Debi Mazar </strong>bring their creative forces to Big Think Live to discuss risk-taking, career pivoting, and why your approach to food can be an instruction manual for reinvention, love and family.
</p><p>
Ask your questions during the live Q&A!
</p><p>
<strong>Join at 1pm ET on Tuesday June 30. Streaming via <a href="https://youtu.be/pqqL3WMu9-w" target="_blank">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BigThinkdotcom/posts/10157454482278527" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and via <a href="https://edge.bigthink.com/live_streams/97">Big Think Edge</a> (for subscribers only).</strong>
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Europe to ban American travel as U.S. struggles to contain pandemic
The European Union is debating over two lists of nations from which it will accept travelers starting July 1.
25 June, 2020
Joe Raedle / Getty
- The EU has slowed the spread of COVID-19 in most regions, while cases in the U.S. continue to grow.
- The U.S. is reportedly excluded from both lists of "accepted nations," but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested the U.S. may reach an agreement with European officials.
- A ban on American travel would surely have political consequences for the Trump administration.
<p>The European Union is preparing to block Americans from traveling to member nations when borders begin to reopen on July 1.</p><p>European officials are debating over two lists of nations from which travelers would be accepted into the Union, starting next month. Not included on both lists are nations that have struggled to contain the pandemic, such as Uganda, Cuba, Vietnam, Russia, Brazil, and the United States. </p><p>However, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. may strike an agreement with European officials.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"We've been working with them for quite some time on this," <a href="https://twitter.com/StateDept/status/1275792033693777920" target="_blank">Pompeo said at a press briefing</a>. "I am confident that we will find a set of conditions that create sufficient health and safety protections."</p><p>That may be true. But after looking at <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/annex-communication-assessment-temporary-restriction-non-essential-travel_en.pdf" target="_blank">one EU checklist for determining which nations should be deemed acceptable for incoming travel</a>, it's hard to see how the U.S. meets the criteria. The checklist suggests nations should be "comparable or better epidemiological situation as the average in the EU+ area with regard to":</p><ul><li>Number of new infections</li><li>Trend in new infections</li><li>Response to COVID-19 taking into account available information on aspects such as: testing, surveillance, contact tracing, containment, treatment, and reporting</li></ul>
<div id="855ee" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e864a6280b8f87f6019c6793638737fd"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1273742794490855424" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">As of June 15, forecasts suggest the number of #COVID19 deaths will continue to slow nationally with 129,000 to 145… https://t.co/jXO87iZJak</div> — CDC (@CDC)<a href="https://twitter.com/CDCgov/statuses/1273742794490855424">1592518921.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The U.S. has reported more than 2.4 million cases and 123,000 deaths, making it the worst-hit nation in the world. On Wednesday, American officials reported 36,880 new cases — a one-day <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/24/world/coronavirus-updates.html" target="_blank">record</a>. Texas, California and Florida have reported surges of new cases and hospitalizations in recent days, casting a shadow over other states aiming to soon relax restrictions and reopen businesses.</p><p>Meanwhile, Europe has mostly slowed the spread of COVID-19. The notification rate of new cases in the Union "was 82% lower than at the peak on 9 April 2020," according to a European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control <a href="https://covid19-surveillance-report.ecdc.europa.eu/#3_geographical_spread" target="_blank">report</a> published on June 18.</p><p>In March, President Donald Trump banned most travel from Europe, excluding U.S. citizens and travelers from the U.K. If the EU bans travel from the U.S., it would likely be seen as an implicit rebuke of how American officials have handled the pandemic.</p>
<div id="1d07c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c3aa8aa4c2a7434a4258aa2d01dc8e7f"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1275438921552257026" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">We did a great job on CoronaVirus, including the very early ban on China, Ventilator production, and Testing, which… https://t.co/eKqJO7cdDE</div> — Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump)<a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/statuses/1275438921552257026">1592923310.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Trump has consistently <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-twitter-today-us-coronavirus-cases-death-toll-covid-19-a9581491.html" target="_blank">framed the nation's response to COVID-19 in a positive light</a>. At a rally in Oklahoma last weekend, Trump said he plans to reduce COVID-19 testing in the U.S. in order to make the data seem better. Administration officials claimed he was <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/president-trump-on-rally-comments-slowing-down-covid-19-testing" target="_blank">joking</a>. But Trump later insisted he was serious.</p>
<div id="15728" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="80eda19267d836d45b5558e9bdf9ff10"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1275428354334822401" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Trump says he wasn't kidding about slowing down coronavirus testing. "Testing is a double edge sword. One way, it s… https://t.co/LIY4qYpBzN</div> — CBS News (@CBS News)<a href="https://twitter.com/CBSNews/statuses/1275428354334822401">1592920790.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br></p>Although a ban on American travel would surely have political implications, European officials said they were trying to keep the list as scientific and non-political as possible, according to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/world/europe/coronavirus-EU-American-travel-ban.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a>.
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This is how you overcome a language barrier
Don't worry about grammar rules at first. They'll only trip you up.
17 June, 2020
- Learning a language can be a tricky process, but it's important to remember that it is a process.
- Having learned 20 languages so far, Canadian polyglot and LingQ founder Steve Kaufmann's advice is to not focus on the grammar. Constantly thinking about the rules while attempting to speak only makes it harder.
- Investing time (often several months) into listening, reading, and practicing words before trying to speak a language will help you feel more comfortable with it. You will make mistakes, but you will learn from them and people will be patient with you.
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Here’s a new way to do study abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond
Would you study abroad online?
10 June, 2020
Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images
With the U.S. and much of the world engulfed in the COVID-19 pandemic, travel restrictions and health risks have threatened to make study abroad difficult, if not impossible.
<p>
But that doesn't mean students won't still want to learn about other cultures and see how people in other parts of the world approach different issues, such as climate change, income inequality or human rights.
</p><p>
Ideally, students would learn about these things in different cultural contexts by actually going to other countries. But since travel abroad to certain countries is <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/map-and-travel-notices.html" target="_blank">off-limits</a> or discouraged due to COVID-19, the question now becomes: How can study abroad still be done?
</p><p>
As a <a href="https://www.iesabroad.org/study-abroad/alumni/profiles/dr-william-%E2%80%9Cbill%E2%80%9D-g-durden#sthash.WoNeXMyS.dpbs" target="_blank">longtime proponent of international education</a>, one solution I see – and one that more and more universities are beginning to pursue – is to have students study abroad online.
</p><p>
American University, Arcadia University Northeastern University and the University of Buffalo are already <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/11/coronavirus-colleges-encourage-staying-home-to-study-abroad.html" target="_blank">advancing</a> <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/04/28/study-abroad-field-faces-altered-reality-and-unknowns-about-when-regular-programs" target="_blank">virtual study abroad</a>. Their programs range from online courses at a U.S. university's international branch campus to courses offered in partnership with foreign universities.
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<h2>A new approach</h2><p>
These options involve courses designed and taught by either U.S. professors or professors based abroad selected and trained by a U.S. college or university. This is done to make sure the course aligns with the student's graduation requirements.
</p><p>But I see another way to do virtual study abroad that I believe would radically change the way it is done. And that is, U.S. colleges and universities could offer courses from other parts of the world precisely as they are delivered there, not modified to mirror American courses. The idea would be to expose U.S. students to views from outside of the country.<br></p><p>
U.S. colleges and universities could make sure that the selected courses are accredited by reputable organizations, such as the German Accreditation Agency or the Japan Institution for Education Evaluation.
</p><p>
These courses would be delivered through the most advanced technological platforms available. They would also count toward graduation or even be made a graduation requirement. Or they could be a course requirement for a major.
</p><p>
Many universities abroad already offer courses in English that are taught remotely. Being involved with the University of Freiburg in Germany, I've seen firsthand how the online capability of foreign universities increased dramatically as they had to switch online due to the pandemic. Studying abroad online, therefore, is something that could be done right away.
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<h2>Broader understanding</h2><p>
Potential courses could involve climate change studies in Germany or mental health in Denmark. Or instructors could deal with immigration in Italy, the interplay of religion and politics in India or Israel and even human rights in Hong Kong. Students could even enroll in a set of courses on various countries' responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
</p><p>
Virtual study abroad would also enable more students to gain exposure to views from other countries because it costs much less. Not all students can readily afford travel and other costs associated with living abroad.
</p><p>
Studying abroad carries important employment and financial benefits. A
<a href="https://www.iie.org/employability">2017 survey </a> from the Institute of International Education survey found that study abroad leads to significant gains various critical skills need for the contemporary workplace. Further, 78% of those interviewed say they discussed their study abroad experiences in job interviews.
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<h2>Eliminating barriers</h2><p>
For virtual study abroad to become a bigger part of U.S. higher education, I see at least three bureaucratic hurdles must be overcome.
</p><p>
The first hurdle is resistance from university leaders. As I inquired about the prospects for virtual study abroad, several senior college and university administrators told me that there is no such thing. For them, study abroad is defined exclusively by physical travel to another country. This is understandable, of course, as many study abroad students anecdotally cite the cultural and social experiences outside the classroom as important to their overall experience.
</p><p>
These administrators, however, are misguided and out of sync with a world afflicted by COVID-19. I also see it as an affront to global climate sustainability for the only option for study abroad to involve air travel and the
<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/12/26/flying-bad-environment-heres-what-do/2350488002/" target="_blank">consumption of vast amounts of fuel</a>.
</p><p>
Secondly, U.S. higher education must accept that there are other ways to educate students beyond the way it is done in the U.S. While the desire to ensure academic integrity is understandable, demanding that international courses be just like the ones already offered in the U.S. obstructs students from encountering other ways to teach and learn.
</p><p>
And, lastly,
<a href="https://ifap.ed.gov/electronic-announcements/040320UPDATEDGuidanceInterruptStudyRelCOVID19" target="_blank">new, temporary rules</a> that let federal student aid be used for online courses delivered by a foreign university need to be made permanent. The Department of Education made the temporary rule changes in April and May so that thousands of U.S. study abroad students could complete their courses remotely here in the U.S. after COVID-19 <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/03/20/covid-19-disrupts-international-student-exchange-both-directions" target="_blank">forced them to return home</a>. Making the changes permanent will enable many more U.S. students to keep studying abroad virtually.
</p><p>
Currently
<a href="https://www.iie.org/Research-and-Insights/Open-Doors/Open-Doors-2019-Media-Information" target="_blank">only 10.9%</a> of college students study abroad at some point while they're earning their degrees. In a world shaken by a pandemic – and where many traditional higher education practices are surely to be reinvented – the virtual study abroad I envision has the potential to give U.S. students a deeper appreciation of perspectives and ideas from other parts of the world.</p><p>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/william-g-durden-759281" target="_blank">William G. Durden</a>, Joint Appointment Professor (research), School of Education, JHU; President Emeritus, Dickinson College, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/johns-hopkins-university-1256" target="_blank">Johns Hopkins University</a></em>
</p><p>
This article is republished from
<a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-a-new-way-to-do-study-abroad-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-and-beyond-138931" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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