| Page 60

Transported back in time…

April 2, 2012

I just came back from the most incredible trip to Myanmar (formerly Burma, but the United States chooses to use the name Burma as a political statement against the current Burmese government). I have to admit, before arriving in Bangkok I was not at all aware of anything going on in Burma. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. It was not until a dinner with friends in Bangkok, who are passionate about Burma, that I learned about the fascinating country and its political situation. When you think of the world’s worst dictators, many of you may think of Kim Jong Il of North Korea, or Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, but did you know that Burma is one of the world’s worst dictatorships, responsible for some of the world’s worst human rights attrocities? It is only in the past year that Myanmar has been creating better relationships with the West, and that the West has been easing some of the sanctions and boycotts against the country. But as many people told us, though progress undeniably has been made, in reality, things may not be so picture-perfect.

What really sparked my interest in this country, before my visit, was the story of Aung San Suu Kyi, depicted in the recently released film “The Lady.” Suu Kyi is the leader of Burma’s opposition party. Her father led Burma to freedom from Britain in 1947, only to be assassinated shortly after, leaving the country in the hands of a dictator. Though she grew up in Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi later married an Englishman and had been living in England with her two children when she became the leader of the opposition party in Burma. Though she claimed victory in a general election in 1990, the ruling party refused to accept the results and placed her under house arrest, where she spent 15 years, living away from her family in England and therefore sacrificing her life with her children and her husband. Aung San Suu Kyi was released in 2010, and is a candidate in the Burmese parliamentary election to be held on April 1^st.

Needless to say, this country is fascinating, and it is in the midst of one of its most critical times in history, so I definitely had to see this for myself. On top of that, because Burma has literally been shut off from the world for so many years, we were told it was like going back in time to Asia 100 years ago. Until recently, the Burmese did not have access to news from outside of Burma (purposefully controlled by the government). A cell phone there costs around $1000, and the down payment for internet in your home is $2,000. In most places outside of the capital, a “taxi” is a horse-drawn, or ox-drawn carriage.

Because we spent five very packed days around the country, I will give you the highlights of our trip:

1) Yangon (formerly Rangoon, and formerly the capital of Myanmar).

There is not much to see in the city. We spent only a few hours our first day, and a few hours our last day, exploring the Yangon. Other than the Shwedagon Pagoda, an impressive and revered Buddhist religious symbol, there really wasn’t much to do. The city is quite run down, and much less developed than Bangkok, understandably so.

2) Kalaw

Kalaw is an incredible mountain town, which we reached through a 12-hour overnight bus from Yangon. We arrived at 2am, with no hostel booked, and no plan at all – it didn’t take us long to find the “Winner Hotel,” but the temperature had dropped overnight, so it was freezing. In Kalaw, we did a trek into the mountains with two tour guides who were both 21 years old, named GuGu and Chaw Su. We spent the whole day wandering through the mountains – the trek was not difficult, which was fantastic, because it not only gave us a chance to talk with the girls and learn about their lives in Burma, but it also gave our guides a chance to stop and point out different plants and crops along the way. It is truly incredible what is grown in the mountains there! We saw oranges, pears, raspberries, gooseberries, ginger, cabbage, papaya, banana, pineapple, and much more! We stopped in two villages and two monasteries along the way, each time having a chance to (through our guides) talk with the families we met, sit down for tea, ask them questions, and laugh with them. It was truly fantastic to be able to talk and interact with native people in a non-touristy setting.

In Kalaw, we also had delicious food – a broad-bean, peanut, tomato, and onion salad, noodle soup, and curry. While curry in Thailand is coconut milk-based, Burmese curry is largely oil based, so it was interesting to try the different foods.

3) Inle Lake

Just a two-hour drive from Kalaw, Inle Lake is one of the most popular destinations for tourists. Similar to Kalaw, the town itself is very small, and very primitive, boasting half-paved, half-mud streets lined with small hostels, small houses, and shacks. We spent an entire day (8 hours) on a boat ride around Inle Lake. It was one of those long “typical” Southeast Asian boats, propelled by a motor. The lake is enormous, so it was a 2-hour boat ride to our first destination. Throughout the day we made many stops, including: a shop where silk is produced, a shop where cigars are made, a delicious restaurant, a paper making shop, a silversmith, and a few more destinations. Inle Lake is entirely made up of small villages, comprised of houses and buildings, which are on stilts. Therefore, to get to each new shop, we had to go by boat, which is how locals get around as well. The post office, for example, is a small house on stilts in the middle of the water. Surrounding the villages are also endless fields of rice and other crops. So throughout our day we observed men and women working to harvest and plant their crops. We were able to stay out on the lake for the sunset, which was absolutely magnificent.

Before our 15-hour bus back to Yangon from Inle Lake, we rented bikes and biked in the area, again surrounded by endless rice fields; I’ll let the pictures do the talking, because it was absolutely breathtaking! I came back from the weekend completely happy and refreshed; though I was exhausted, it was refreshing to have seen such an untouched nation, and to have been able to experience another country knowing so much of its history and current political issues. Even more importantly, we were able to fully interact and speak with locals to hear their perspectives, and those moments are what made the trip so incredible.

Below are some photos from the trip:

1 Comment | Samantha in Thailand, Spring 2012 | Tagged: Adventure, Culture, Politics, Public Transportation, Sightseeing, Thailand, Travel | Permalink
Posted by samanthainthailand

Tel Aviv Without a Plan

March 30, 2012

So far this semester, I have only been to Tel Aviv once, only for a weekend. Many of the international students have gone several times to experience Tel Aviv’s vibrant night life, but that aspect of the city doesn’t have that much appeal to me. So I hadn’t been aching to go, but when my friend Eva asked if I wanted to join her, I didn’t refuse.

A little background on Eva: She was born in Hong Kong, lived part of her life in Texas, returned to Hong Kong, and now goes to college in the States. Last semester, she did a Semester at Sea program, where she lived on a ship that traveled literally all the way around the world. So, needless to say, she is a seasoned traveler. We chose a hostel with no problem, and planned our bus and train times for the trip. When we arrived in Tel Aviv on Thursday, we spent the day hanging out and touring Old Yafo with a couple other international students who were there for the day. When we woke up Friday morning, I expected to carefully plan our day so that we would be able to visit all the museums and such that would be closed on Saturday. So I started making suggestions of possible plans.

Me: “So, what do you think of checking out this Bible Museum, or going to the Art Museum to find the street festival the lady at the tourist counter mentioned yesterday?”

Eva: “Meh. We’ll see what happens.”

Taken aback, I tried a couple more times to suggest plans, but each time, she refused to discuss them with me. I was rather frustrated. So we set out walking, really in no particular direction at all. I wasn’t sure how to handle it at first, and the controlling side of me was rebelling at the thought of aimlessly wandering the city with no plan or goal in mind. Finally I made up my mind to try my best to forget about a plan, and just go with the flow. I guess really that was my only option anyway, as Eva had pretty much taken control of the situation.

So we continued wandering, and entirely by accident, we bumped into this really neat crafts market, with some really amazing handcrafted items made by the vendors. There was a lady who made baskets with rolled up, painted newspaper, there were painters, jewelry makers, you name it. It was really fun, and we ended up spending a couple hours just wandering around. Eva also was determined to practice her basic phrases of Hebrew with every shop owner that would give her the time of day, and hilarity ensued.

After the market and a stop for some freshly made carrot juice, we continued our wandering and ended up at the beach, where we ended up hanging out and playing a strange form of tableless beach ping pong that is really popular on the Tel Aviv beach. Then we explored a little more and met a couple friends for dinner that we had run into the day before.

That is how our weekend progressed, and once I was able to leave my comfort zone of carefully planning every step of the day, it turned out to be one of the most relaxed, enjoyable weekends of touring I have ever had. The weather was beautiful, and the Tel Avivians were extremely helpful when we were standing on a street corner trying to figure out our map; on multiple occasions people even stopped to ask us if we needed help. I think if we had minutely planned the day, I would have been focused on our next destination in my mind, and I would not have noticed all the life going on around me.

Leave a Comment » | Rebekah in Israel, Spring 2012 | Tagged: Adventure, Culture, Friends, Israel, Language, Travel | Permalink
Posted by rebekahinisrael

Barbados, week 9: Carnival Chaos

March 30, 2012

The most hyped weekend of the year, at least for college students, is now in the books: Carnival, or KadUWIval as it is formally called, came with much fanfare and it certainly proved to be one of the most culturally different experiences of which I had the pleasure of being a part. You see, back in the United States, there are parades, and there are circuses, and there are parties, but never has one event been so bold as to combine elements of all three. It was one of those special times where you don’t really know what something truly IS until you’re smack in the middle of it, going “Ohhh… so THIS is carnival”.

I may have taken some liberty with my previous statement, as, in reality, if one searches for UWI and/or Barbados on YouTube, videos of Carnival are the first thing that appears. Carnival, for the avid YouTube video consumer, should be the first thing one will have known about Barbados before actually being there. My experience was a little different, however. I was walking across the campus lawn, noticing a greater buzz of activity surrounding the area than normal, when a tall Bajan guy approached me, “Hey man, you jumpin’ for Carnival?” “Jumping? Uhm, no, I don’t think so, man, what exactly is it?”

Simmz, as I would later find out he was called, gave me the rundown on how it would work. First, you join a ‘band’. This is the group you will be organized into and ‘jumping’ with at the beginning of Carnival. Each band has specific outfits the members wear, with different costumes for girls and guys. The Carnival parade starts down near the cruise ship port in Bridgetown and ends on campus in Cave Hill. What takes place during ‘jumping’ is this; the bands line up behind a huge truck stacked with speakers and posters, and once the music starts and the truck tires begin to roll, you have nonstop dancing, socializing, and picture-taking until the sun goes down and one finds themselves back at UWI.

I liked what Simmz told me, so I signed up for Carnival with his band, Island Army. Now, usually, friends confer with friends before choosing his/her band, but since I didn’t really know what was going on and if there was a deadline or not, I dismissed the notion of conferring before choosing. After all, Simmz had approached me out of nowhere and wanted me to be in his band — who am I to deny such adamant recruitment? It turned out to be a good choice, anyways, as I talked to my Bajan friends Devito and Quaisy and they, as well, had joined Island Army. The rest of the exchange group students had either joined the Halls Band or a band called Island Roots.

Fast forward three weeks, and it’s the morning of Carnival. Girls are running around freaking out about how small their outfit pieces turned out to be, and the guys are still sleeping because all they have to do is wear their band t-shirts. Carnival, I was beginning to realize, is maybe 5% about the guys and 95% about the girls. No one is lining up to see me in my t-shirt — they’re there to check out the girls in their hot pink or leopard print outfits. And as far as the outfits are concerned, less is definitely more. Feminists may decry the event as objectifying women, but I think it is 100% cultural that they dress like that, and I don’t think you’ll find many Bajans that’d say otherwise.

Now, as far as the dancing that went on…well, that was cultural, too, I guess. Caribbean women know how to dance — as children they are dancing soon after they can walk. It’s no timid “I don’t really know how to dance, and I’m scared that people are looking at me” type of dancing one might frequently encounter in the United States, but a more full-bodied expression of rhythm and feeling. I’m not going to lie, it was a little nerve-wracking for someone not completely sold on his own dancing ability to dance with exotically dressed, beautiful Caribbean women, but I was set on partaking in Carnival to its fullest, so dance I did. For nearly three hours. But Carnival was also a time of fraternizing with friends as well, and it was fun to see all the people I’ve met in the past two months out on the same street having fun together. You begin to feel like maybe you’re not so much of a stranger after all when a friend comes up to you every five minutes and tries to get another girl to dance with you.

The Carnival procession finished up on UWI campus, and there everybody immediately remembered what they somehow forgot for the previous six hours: I’m incredibly hungry. I had another “American” moment when I thought the contents of a yellow bottle was obviously mustard and so doused my hotdog in it. It was Bajan hot sauce, and thus I proceeded to eat one of the spiciest hotdogs of my life. But the day was far from done. A big draw for a lot of the UWI students was the Carnival after-party, with one of the parking lots being craftily turned into a penned-in version of the last five hours’ various activities.

I liked Carnival for two reasons: One, nothing, or at least nothing I am aware of, exists like this in the United States’ Northeastern region. Nothing. Two, it was a genuinely fun time dancing and socializing out in the beautiful Caribbean sun.

In fact, some past exchange students had flown down just to relive the epic weekend that is Carnival. God-willing I save up enough money, I hope to be that guy next year.

Leave a Comment » | Ryan in Barbados, Spring 2012 | Tagged: Barbados, Culture, Food, Friends, Host University | Permalink
Posted by ryaninbarbados

I get by with a little help from my friends

March 30, 2012

Hello to all of my faithful readers. It makes me happy when people tell me that they’ve been keeping up with my posts.

In a few days, I will have officially been here for two months, and I’m still enjoying my time here. One of the main reasons I’ve been enjoying my time here is because of all of the new friends I’ve been making. I’ve literally made friends from all over the world; Australia, Denmark, Canada, Chile, and of course The Netherlands. When we’re not in class, we do a variety of things: going to the movie theater, travelling, cooking and having dinner together, sitting outside studying and relaxing, and playing cards. Those are just a few examples of some of the things we do in our spare time.

Living in a foreign country for a significant amount of time with people from other countries is an eye-opening experience. I was born and raised in the U.S. (Virginia, to be exact) so the way things are done in Virginia seem to be the most natural way of doing things. With that being said, learning about how things are done in other countries reminds me that there isn’t one right way to do things. I’ve compiled a short list of cultural differences that you may or may not be familiar with.

1. Chips can mean chips, or they can mean fries, depending on the context.

2. Biscuits can mean biscuits or cookies, depending on where you are.

3. Outside of the U.S., football and American football are two different things.

4. The Netherlands is, thankfully, not as humid as Virginia.

5. “Convenience” stores are not necessarily convenient (most stores are not open on Sunday).

Leave a Comment » | Spring 2012, Whitney in The Netherlands | Tagged: Culture, Food, Friends | Permalink
Posted by whitneyinthenetherlands

Standing on the Edge of the World

March 26, 2012

I’ve never before experienced a feeling quite like I did standing on the rim of a crater in the Negev desert this past weekend. I felt all at once the vastness of the desert, my own comparative insignificance, and how incredibly blessed I was to be able to witness such amazing beauty.

We started our trip by leaving campus at 5:00 A.M. on Friday morning. Driving south, we could see the diversity in Israel’s landscape as the lush green fields gave way to sand and rocks. After a drive of about six hours, our bus left us at a trailhead on the side of the road, and we set off on our 8 kilometer (about 5 mile) hike. We were about 75 students, plus 4 guides, two guards, and a medic. At first, the hike was relatively flat and easy, although it was surprising cold and windy, and huge dark clouds threatened to rain on us. Then we arrived at the edge of the Ramon crater. The view was beyond spectacular.

We then had to pick our way down the steep descent, through the crater, then climb out the other side. We all celebrated when we made it up the last stretch. But alas, our rejoicing was premature – the bus had not been able to make it down the road to meet us, and we were going to have to walk another two miles! At this point it was only our will that kept us going. But finally we made it to the bus just as it started to rain. We then drove to the center of another crater, to the Bedouin camp where we would be spending the night. We all pitched in and made a huge dinner of Israeli salad (chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions), stir fry and rice, hamburgers and hot dogs, and of course, lots of pita.

Sleeping in the tent was quite an experience. I remember waking up in the middle of the night, and even though I was cozy in my sleeping bag, I felt how bitterly cold it was outside. Waking up to the sun casting morning shadows across the crater, we set off on our second day of hiking. This time we climbed up the edge of the crater and walked along the rim, and a couple of times, we had to climb rock scrambles where one slip could send you rolling down the edge of the crater. At one point, there were even iron handles drilled into the rock; we knew when we saw those that this cliff meant business. But we all made it through safe and sound, circling the rim of the crater around until we ended up back at our camp just before sunset.

We then set off for Eilat, where we stayed in a lovely hostel that fed us an amazing hot breakfast the next morning, which we were all incredibly grateful for. On Sunday, we could either choose to stay at the beach or hike in the Eilat mountains to a peak where you can see Jordan, Egypt, and on a clear day, Saudi Arabia. I chose the hike, even though I was pretty worn out from the past two days, and I was so glad I did! Looking out over the Red Sea as it lay nestled in the midst of desert mountains was an exhilarating moment, to say the least.

It is really hard to describe in words how I felt throughout this weekend. It was definitely the farthest I had ever been pushed physically, and the camaraderie the shared experience built within the international students was really great. Passing each other on the way to class on Monday morning, we all knew not only how sore we were, but that the endless sweeping desert vistas we had seen together would be printed on our minds for the rest of our lives.

7 Comments | Rebekah in Israel, Spring 2012 | Tagged: Adventure, Culture, Food, Friends, Israel, Nature, Sightseeing, Travel | Permalink
Posted by rebekahinisrael

Midterms: No Fun

March 16, 2012

Yes….another blog post about school. School has been consuming much more of my time than usual these past two weeks because I have had midterms! Which has meant two weeks of catching up on the whole semester. The way midterms are administered at Thammasat was very interesting though, and something I personally would love to see implemented at UofR for final exams.

Midterms at Thammasat are scheduled just like finals at Richmond: one week is set aside with no class (usually) and three-hour midterms scheduled throughout the week. Students are required to wear full uniform to midterms. When you show up the day of the exam, the classroom is closed, but there is a class list outside with a corresponding number next to each name. The numbers are completely randomized, and are not known until before the exam. Once you walk into the classroom ten minutes before the exam, each place has an exam and answer notebook already set down, with the place number right next to it. So after entering the room you must gather your necessary exam materials (pens, pencils, calculator, ID card, water, etc…) show the proctors that your cell phone has been turned off, and place your bag at the front of the classroom. Then you find your number and corresponding seat, and can start the exam. The places, however, are set far apart so that there is no possible way to cheat on the exam, which personally I find fantastic. In one exam, we even each had our own table. On the whiteboard at the front of the room is projected a countdown for the time left of the exam, and for the last half hour, last fifteen minutes, and last five minutes, an automated voice reminds you of the time left. Two proctors monitor the exam and continuously walk around the classroom in and out of every aisle to make sure there is no cheating. You are not allowed to use the restroom, and once finished, you leave your exam on the table and leave the room, while the proctors come and collect your completed test. The only downside in this system is that the professor is not there to answer questions about the exam. I would love to see this system implemented at Richmond for final exams.

Now that midterms are over, however, I am off to Myanmar (Burma) for five days! I will leave you with a photo of me in my Thammasat uniform:

Leave a Comment » | Samantha in Thailand, Spring 2012 | Tagged: Academics, Culture, Thailand | Permalink
Posted by samanthainthailand

Barbados, Week 6: Island Hopping in St. Lucia

March 16, 2012

When I see tall things in the distance, one thing pops into my head: I must climb that. I was perusing my sister’s photos of her own St. Lucia vacation when I stumbled upon the Pitons of St. Lucia. Like a mismatched set of gigantic fangs, Gros and Petit Piton rise out of the Caribbean Sea on St Lucia’s west coast and are its most recognizable landmarks. They are so important to St. Lucia, in fact, that they named their own indigenous beer, Piton, after them.

I flew into St. Lucia on a late afternoon REDjet flight on Friday, a flight all of twenty minutes, knowing only where my hotel was located and that it had balcony views of Petit Piton. Unlike the United States, finding a cab is never an issue; they will find you, and quickly. I knew the price was set at US$65 from Hewanorra Airport to Soufriere, so I got a kick out of my cab driver when he told me “It’s $75 but, for you, i’ll knock it down $65”. So nice of him to charge me regular price! But as the drive progressed and we began talking, and I learned that he goes by the name “Cow”, we bonded as much as a taxi driver and tourist can. I learned that he owns 4 acres of banana trees as well as driving the taxi van 7 days a week, and that he has three daughters from four different wives. That is one busy man, I thought to myself.

Cow offered to drive me to Gros Piton the next morning, but I would have to be ready by 6:00 a.m. Of course one of the two nights I was in a spacious, comfy, air-conditioned hotel room I wouldn’t even be sleeping for more than five and a half hours! Soufriere, however, is settled in between beautiful, lush mountainside opening up onto a quiet fishing bay, so when I woke up at 5:30 a.m. with light clouds rolling over the jagged mountaintops and the sun illuminating just enough detail, and it was definitely a sight worth seeing. All I had to eat was a bag of peanuts that morning, with two water bottles packed for my climb, before my guide Shem and I began the ascent of Gros Piton just before 7:00 a.m. It was a good thing we left so early, though, because even by the quarter mile mark, I had sweat pouring down my face while Shem had not even broken a sweat. I guess that’s the difference between casually keeping in shape and hiking a 2,619 foot peak everyday. The trail consisted, at first, of inclined packed dirt with a few areas of steep broken rock that would have to be navigated with use of all four limbs. As the path hit the half-way mark and continued upwards it morphed into steeper switchbacks with crude earthen stairs and wooden railings nailed between especially steep sections. If it had been just me, I would’ve taken my sweet time, but Shem was under the impression that a young man of my age was capable of going faster than I wanted, and thus I pretended to be hardly winded when we would stop for breaks. With aching limbs, I reached the summit look-out point about an hour and ten minutes after we began, and there it hit me that it was completely merited to be so winded, because I was really, really high up. The view was stunning: You could see nearly the entire length of the island, with many of its uneven peaks shrouded in early morning clouds. Soufriere was just a cluster of houses behind Petit Piton across the bay, and you could see numerous sailboats jetting around the west coast.

The way down was a bit easier, and in the fifty minutes it took us to descend from Gros Piton’s glorious heights, I learned a little bit about my guide, Shem. Although I didn’t ask his age, he must’ve been somewhere between 17-19 years old, and had graduated from school in Soufriere. Shem lived near the base of the Piton and had four brothers and two sisters, but he was a middle child. He had been working as a guide on Gros Piton for two years, hiking the mountain at least once, if not twice, daily. He told me the fastest he had ever climbed Gros Piton was in 55 minutes, but the slowest was with a group of older tourists who took 4 hours to make the climb!

Traveling to unfamiliar destinations is exhilarating, but, at times, it can be just as frustrating. Upon coming back to town, I needed to take out money for my celebratory post-hike meal, but of course Saturday was the day where the Bank of St. Lucia in town was inconveniently switching its location to a waterfront building. The ATM would not be operable until Monday. Cow had to pick up a couple in the northern capital city of Castries at 12:00, so I had to take an hour drive north with him, take out money in Castries, and take a public bus an hour back to Soufriere. Exhausted, dirty, and desperate, I stumbled into Archie’s bar and restaurant around 1:30 p.m. and had the best chicken rotis and salad of my life. Despite my limited time in St. Lucia, the only activities I could muster the energy for the rest of the day was to nap on the beach, nap in my hotel room, eat dinner at Archie’s, and wander the town streets and talk with some locals until around 10:00 p.m.

Sunday I played the typical tourist role, with Cow taking me and a couple from Arkansas around to the drive-in sulfur volcano just outside of Soufriere along with a trip to Toraille Falls. It made for some good picture taking, to be sure, but it did not have nearly as an authentic, organic feel to it as did yesterday’s hike up Gros Piton. Cow agreed to drive me over to the east coast for some sightseeing before my afternoon flight back to Barbados, and I even got a dip in at a beach down the road from the airport before my 5:00 pm flight. I wouldn’t recommend cutting one’s time that close, however, as I enjoyed myself at the beach so much I almost missed the cut-off for check in. All in all, a great weekend away that I would recommend for anybody — well, anybody who enjoys challenging physical exertion, that is — and a nice break before my head is buried in the books for midterms at UWI!

2 Comments | Ryan in Barbados, Spring 2012 | Tagged: Adventure, Barbados, Culture, Public Transportation, Sightseeing, Travel | Permalink
Posted by ryaninbarbados

Barbados, Week 7: Partying with the Hindus

March 16, 2012

This past Sunday, March 11th, was Phagwa, the Hindu celebration of their New Year and the coming of Spring. This was not something of which I had any knowledge, however, until my Cultural Studies professor told us about it last week. The fact that there were Hindus in Barbados had never even occurred to me, and thus my curiosity was piqued. I knew nothing of Hinduism, except that it had its origins in ancient India/Asia, and wanted to see how they expressed their thankfulness and positivity toward a new year.

As it turns out, they do so by dousing each other in colored powder and splashing each other with paint for the greater part of three hours! Would not have been my first guess as to the method of celebration, but it was a lot more fun than any of the students expected. We were told to wear old clothes, and somehow everyone got the idea in their head that it would be best to wear all white; when 15 white kids wearing all white clothes piled out of the van upon arriving at Phagwa I had to laugh- it looked like we were ready for Halloween.

No sooner had we stepped out of the shuttles than people began patting us on the face with baby powder and welcoming us to the celebration. Now we looked really, really white. The festival was held in the parking lot behind the Hindu temple, with a large tent at the back of the lot providing shade for those who wished to sit down or simply had enough of getting paint thrown at their face. On another side of the lot one could find tables upon tables of traditional Indo-Caribbean food and drink. Wanting to eat my food without fear of paint contamination, that’s where I went first. My meal consisted of curried rice and potatoes, spinach, yams, and an unknown spicy dressing. Most people know to only take small portions of unknown foods, but I decided it was a good idea to take three heaping spoonfuls of the spicy dressing and slather it all over my rice. Besides all of the fascinating religious and cultural things I learned during Phagwa, I think one of the most important lessons learned was that American “spicy” food and Indian “spicy” food are not on the same level…not even close.

Then things got colorful. More people began arriving with liter bottles filled with water-based paint and bags of powder. As musicians played what I assumed to be Hindu music on stage, everyone began running around and dousing each other with as much paint as possible. I didn’t have any paint, unfortunately, but I bought a few bags of colored powder and went around to friends and strangers alike and attacked them with a barrage of color, albeit gently. The gesture was returned tenfold as I was covered head to toe in red, blue, orange, pink, and green paint and powder within minutes. When I finally looked at myself in a car window, I very closely resembled an Oompah Loompah (from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).

Later in the celebration they brought on a pretty eccentric performer who proceeded to take the stage and make jungle animal noises. Supposedly he was trying to provide some context for his next displays of skill, as he demonstrated how to break open coconuts as they had done in the jungles of Guyana before the advancement of modern technology. For his next act he proceeded to place a chicken on his head and play some rhythmic drum lines as the crowd cheered him on and danced. I, personally, was equally impressed with the chicken’s ability to balance on the man’s head the whole time. Before we left Phagwa, the temple pundit allowed our group to check out the Hindu temple, which featured detailed drawings and almost-life-sized statues of what I can only imagine were their sacred dieties. A very cool experience, considering he even let us inside looking like a rainbow had exploded all over us.

Leave a Comment » | Ryan in Barbados, Spring 2012 | Tagged: Adventure, Barbados, Culture, Food, Friends, Religion | Permalink
Posted by ryaninbarbados

Living, Learning, and Volunteering in Maastricht

March 16, 2012

When I was in high school, I was heavily involved with community service. My school did not have a community service requirement that had to be fulfilled in order to graduate; I simply did it for the satisfaction of knowing that I was helping other people. I knew I wanted to make this a part of my college experience, so I was excited when I received an email from the University of Richmond’s Bonner Scholars Program, suggesting that I should apply.

The Bonner Scholar Program consists of hundreds of students at 27 different universities across the United States who are anxious to help and serve their community. When the program was founded, it was noticed that students generally had to choose between working part-time to help pay their tuition or doing community service. Since the Bonner Scholar Program provides a stipend for completing a certain amount of volunteer hours, students no longer had to choose; they could have their cake and eat it too. Since it did seem like the best of both worlds, I decided to apply and was accepted!

Since I did not want to put my service on hold for a semester, I decided see if there were any non-profit organizations in Maastricht that would like to have an extra volunteer. I found that it was very difficult to find non-profit organizations in Maastricht. Maastricht is not a very large place (a fair amount of people bike or walk around Maastricht on a daily basis, since it is small enough to easily navigate by foot). Also, I discovered from a Bonner who previously went to Maastricht to study abroad that doing voluntary service work is not as common in The Netherlands as it is in the U.S.

With that being said, I was more determined than ever to find a place to serve. With the help of the director of the Bonner Scholar Program, I was finally able to get in contact with a place in Maastricht — Books4Life. Books4Life is a non-profit organization in Maastricht (and Amsterdam) that sells books and gives the proceeds to charity. The majority of the proceeds go to Amnesty International, and a smaller portion goes to a local charity that is chosen by the B4L staff. Everyone has been very welcoming to me here and I enjoy being here. I get to meet and interact with people from all over the world who are here as exchange students. I even had the privilege of seeing an award-winning book from a special collection in the local library! If you’re looking for a laid-back place to meet up with friends or buy a variety of books, then B4L is the place for you. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here so far and recommend B4L for any future Bonners who may come to Maastricht.

Leave a Comment » | Spring 2012, Whitney in The Netherlands | Tagged: Culture, The Netherlands | Permalink
Posted by whitneyinthenetherlands

Six cities in two days

March 12, 2012

This weekend I had the privilege to visit six cities in The Netherlands in a span of two days. It was definitely two of the busiest days of my life, but it was worth it. We left at 8am on Saturday and headed off to Utrecht. In Utrecht, we took a quick tour of the city, which is the religious centre of The Netherlands, and also contains the largest university in the country (Utrecht University). After that, we climbed all 465 steps of the Dom Tower. The Dom Tower is the tallest church tower in The Netherlands (a little over 368 feet).

The next stop was The Hague. The Hague has famous buildings such as the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. The House of Parliament and the Queen’s working Palace is also in the Hague, but unfortunately she wasn’t there during our visit. There are also several embassies here (I saw the United States’ embassy) and the Peace Palace.

Next up was Rotterdam. We stayed at a really cool hostel — my first hostel experience! As we drove under the hostel, they pointed it out to us and we realized that it was made up of cubes! Even after staying there for a night, I still can’t understand how a building made of cubes is possible.

The next morning, we all woke up and made our way to Kinderdijk, which is famous for its windmills!

Next stop: Volendam. Voldendam was a very tourist-oriented place. While we were here, we took a picture in stereotypical Dutch clothing (clogs included). The traditional cheese markets are also located in Volendam, but unfortunately, they take place on Wednesdays, so we weren’t able to see them in action.

Saving the best for last, you probably guessed by now that the last stop was Amsterdam! After a tour of the city, we had pannenkoeken (a Dutch pancake comparable to a crepe)– I had a pineapple pannenkoeken with sugar and syrup on top; it was absolutely delicious!

After a long, fun-filled weekend, it’s back to Maastricht and time to hit the books! Can’t wait to update y’all about the next part of my adventures living and learning in The Netherlands!