Kimberlee in Mongolia: Mongolian Food

April 3, 2014

I have to admit that eating Mongolian food was by far my biggest fear with coming here. I’ve had a lot of stomach issues since Uganda, and the stereotype of Mongolian food is that it’s fatty, greasy, and vegetable less- all opposite of what a recovering stomach needs. During our first dinner at the hotel, we were served traditional Mongolian food, which definitely left me with a huge stomachache! But since then, I’ve been able to maneuver these food obstacles with relatively few problems.

 

The number one thing that I’ve noticed about Mongolian food is that it has 2 main staples: meat and dairy. Their meat seems to usually be beef, mutton, or goat, but I’ve also had chicken once too. If I had to choose 1 word to describe their meat, it would be “fatty”. Contrary to the United States, fatty meat is more expensive and more valuable in Mongolia. I’ve had some of the biggest chunks of fat that I’ve ever seen floating in my Mongolian soups. A lot of “meat” I’ve eaten is pure fat. Many Mongolians keep telling me that they prefer the fat because of a). the taste and b). to keep warm in the winter. These seem like valid arguments to me.

 

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Relatively non-fatty meat from my Mongolian host mother’s perspective.

 

And by “dairy”, I mean anything and everything dairy related. I have to admit that I had no idea that so many products could be made out of milk. And they don’t let any milk go to waste either- they milk cows, goats, sheep, camels, and horses. I have a feeling that I’m missing some animals, too. The main foods seem to be milk tea, yogurt, and various types of curdled milk products. I’ve tried various creations, and I have to admit that from my ignorant, non-Mongolian perspective, they can only be described as “putrid”. My family enjoys this strong flavor, and I’m slowly trying to shift my own taste palate.

 

Thankfully for my stomach, my host family has relatively non-fatty food by Mongolian standards. The first day I came, Eme (my host grandmother) asked me what my favorite food was. When I answered with “any kind of soup”, I didn’t expect to have soup everyday! But I’ve been loving it. She puts lots of potatoes and carrots in her cooking, and I enjoy a nice, hearty meal every night. And if I’m lucky, we’ll have some leftover for breakfast!

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The typical soup Eme makes for dinner, along with a delicious, yeasty dough for dipping.

 

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These are another staple in our home. They’re called “hoshor”, and are kind of like a large, fried dumpling with beef and onion inside.

 

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Kimberlee in Mongolia: A Sunny Saturday

March 31, 2014

After almost a week separated from my host family, it was so nice to finally have the chance to spend time with them again. Who knew that after two weeks I’d be so attached to them? What an incredible feeling to have already formed strong bonds.

I began my day with a short trip to a conservation center/museum with Tuugi’s 7th grade class. We basically watched a 45-minute video on the deterioration of Mongolia’s environment and later wandered around many stuffed Mongolian animals. Although the tour was in Mongolian, most of the signs were also in English. That made it a lot easier for me to be engaged with the museum’s artifacts, and it was interesting to learn about the endangered species unique to Mongolia. The center was entirely funded by the Japanese government, so everything inside was covered in “From the People of Japan” stickers. Fun Fact: Japan is Mongolia’s biggest foreign aid provider

After lunch, my host family decided to visit some family members in the countryside. We drove about an hour outside of the city to a little village wedged between the mountains. It was absolutely stunning. We pulled up beside a giant herd of sheep and goats, and the kids immediately sprinted out to start chasing them.

 

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Temuujin chasing after the sheep

 

After the kids (both the human and the goat ones) became too exhausted to play anymore, we were invited into the ger for some tea and cookies. It was incredible to finally be inside of a ger. It was a lot larger, brighter, and sturdier than I imagined. There were lots of tapestries of horses and rams, and there was even a TV run by solar panels. All I could think about was what it must be like to wake up every morning in a ger to an amazing view outside your door. I guess I’ll be finding out what it’s like soon.

 

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The view from inside the ger.

 

It was also there that I finally figured out that we were visiting Grandma’s late husband’s sister. Because we had stopped by without calling (which seems to be a typical practice), we had just missed her driving into the city. Instead, we were hosted and shown around by her husband. I was able to introduce myself in Mongolian, but I missed hearing his name in his response. He was very hospitable, and gave us a mini-tour of their barn and animals.

Most of the animals were scared of humans, but there was this one goat in particular that kept following us around. He would always be nudging my arm while I was trying to pet another animal or take a picture. He was the only “billy” (male goat) of the herd, and was the father of all the baby goats running around, so I called him “Papa Goat”.

 

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Papa Goat and the traditional Mongolian ger

We started to drive home just as the sun was setting, and it was a beautiful backdrop to what was truly a wonderful day. Tuugi, Temuujin, and Tulga all passed out on top of me in the backseat of the car, and it was nice to have some quiet time for reflection after a busy day. Looking back, we technically hadn’t done a lot, but it was a fun and fulfilling day. I count myself very lucky to have a host family that is always looking out for me and introducing me to new things. Simply put, it was the kind of day where I knew that I had made the right choice in choosing Mongolia.

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Kimberlee in Mongolia: Excursion to Erdenet

March 28, 2014

Our group officially began our first long excursion outside of Ulaanbaatar to a small city called Erdenet. It’s the third largest city in Mongolia, and is located northwest of the capital. We mainly traveled here to study the copper mines, local factories, and the ecological issues facing the city.

 

Traveling to Erdenet was an adventure in itself. We took an overnight train from Ulaanbaatar to Erdenet, and I got to experience a sleeping cabin in a train for the first time. It was crazy that we were able to fit 4 people in that tiny cabin! I’d estimate that it was around 5-6 feet across. There were 4 cots and a top shelf for our backpacks. I slept on one of the top bunks, and I was terrified that I would roll off during a sharp turn. Thankfully, this didn’t happen.

 

We left Ulaanbaatar around 8pm, and arrived in Erdenet at 6:30am. After breakfast at the hotel, our program activities immediately started. It was difficult to not doze off with only a couple of solid hours of sleep, but somehow we managed. It was awesome to wake up in a whole new city. I noticed that there was a lot less pollution in Erdenet. Like Ulaanbaatar, I was struck by the dramatic contrast between the beautiful landscape and the rapid industrialization. Erdenet has a very interesting history because its existence is directly connected to the opening of its copper mine. Without the mine, there would be no Erdenet.

 

After a few lectures from local officials about the issues that Erdenet faces, we set off to the copper mine in the outskirts of the city. This mine is roughly the 10th largest producer of copper in the world, and has supported Erdenet’s (and even Mongolia’s) economy for decades. It was difficult to see the beautiful landscape destroyed, but in some ways the locals consider it a necessary evil. The existence of this mine supports the city’s economy, and gives many jobs to Mongolians. It’s a concept that I think I’ll grapple with for the entire semester. It’s even harder to have a solid opinion on it because many Mongolians we’ve met are also conflicted about the mining.

 

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The open pit copper mine in Erdenet.

 

Although learning about the copper mine was interesting, it was nice to have some other activities to get to know the city. Everyone talked about the mine, but the city had so much more to offer us! We hiked, visited a cashmere factory, and even met with local university students. We had our “drop-off” in Erdenet city, and were placed in the hands of the university students. My group had to research the theme of “transportation” for two hours, so we headed to the local train, bus, and taxi stations. It was awesome to explore the city with a few of its inhabitants! I can honestly say that Erdenet was both an interesting learning experience and a great opportunity to explore a different city.

 

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Our entire group of both SIT students and Mongolians after the drop-off.

 

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A horse skull that a student found looking over the city of Erdenet.

 

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Kimberlee in Mongolia: International Women’s Day

March 17, 2014

Even though I barely heard about it in the US, International Women’s Day is a big deal here in Mongolia. Everyone from my host family to the SIT staff kept reminding me of the “big day”. Up to a week before the “big day”, I saw many people buying roses, cakes, and fancy chocolates! The way Mongolians celebrate Women’s Day seems to be a combination of a Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day in the US.

My host sister Tuugi had a school concert in the outskirts of the city on Women’s Day, so our family headed out there for most of the day. It was great to get out of the city for the first time! It’s amazing how a short drive outside of the city can drastically alter the landscape. The drive gave me a taste of what I will get to see later in the semester during our excursions and nomadic homestay! I must’ve been oohing and ahhing a lot because after a while my host brothers started pointing at random things and shouting “WOW!”

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One of the many scenic landscapes I witnessed

Once we got to the concert, we were so late that we only got to see Tuugi perform for a few seconds. It was kind of like a school-wide talent show, and we missed almost all of her portion. Thankfully, the rest of the show was interesting, even though I had no clue what was going on. There was an array of acts, and it was interesting to see what was acceptable in the school environment. For example, there was a student-made video that humorously portrayed a middle-school student that came in to shoot/beat up weak students. There’s no way that that would be acceptable in the US, but it got a lot of laughs here. Another surprise was when a group of students performed traditional Irish-step dancing. There was also a fashion show that had an interesting mix of traditional Mongolian accessories with western-style clothing. I especially enjoyed the performances that included traditional Mongolian instruments.

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To the far right is a student wearing a traditional headband with her western-style dress.

After the concert, my host mother pulled over to the side of the road to give us the chance to run around and enjoy the fresh air outside of the city! It was great to play outside with Temuujin and Tulga for a bit- they were especially excited by the jet we saw in the sky.

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Chasing after the jet

Once we got home, we celebrated Women’s Day together. After dinner, we ate cake and passed out the candy we had bought for each other.  I think that when I look back at this picture, I’ll always remember what an exhausting, yet wonderful day it was.

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I got Temuujin to take a picture of all the women, and we even got Undral to hysterically laugh at exactly the right moment.

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Urbanization in Ulaanbaatar

March 7, 2014

Our group had an interesting meeting with the head of Zorig Foundation in Ulaanbaatar. Zorig was a leader of the Democratic Revolution in Mongolia in the early 1990’s, and was an influential politician until he was assassinated. A main goal of the foundation is to focus on community development in Ulaanbaatar, and the head of the foundation lectured to us about the process of urbanization in Mongolia.

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Sükhbaatar Square at the center of Mongolia. These are some of the many new structures built in the city.

One of the most interesting aspects of the lecture was when we discussed the concept of “community” in Mongolia. As it’s a traditionally nomadic culture, there’s no word for “community” in the Mongolian language. Therefore, the concept of cities and Ulaanbaatar itself is a modern invention to Mongolians. Only about 2 generations of Mongolians have lived in Ulaanbaatar so far. The newness of the city and communities is important to keep in mind when discussing the issues within Ulaanbaatar.

Currently, about one-third of Mongolia’s population is nomadic, but about 30,000 people are moving into the city every year. The population of Ulaanbaatar has doubled since the 1990’s, and the city is overwhelmed with the sudden influx of people. Many of these new people are slightly mislead to believe that Ulaanbaatar is a city of multiple opportunities. Although there are many vacancies in employment, they require high-level degrees that formerly nomadic people aren’t often qualified for.

Many of these formerly nomadic families move into the “ger districts” on the outskirts of the city. In general, ger districts are the most vulnerable communities within Ulaanbaatar. Gers are the traditional homes that Mongolian nomads live in- imagine a sturdy, round “tent” with one room that everyone shares. It’s designed to disassemble quickly, and not so much to be connected to central heating or electricity. Therefore, many people in these ger districts have no access to running water and central heating, and generally have worse quality of life compared to those within the city.

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If you look closely in the background, you should be able to see the ger districts on the outskirts of the city.

Ulaanbaatar is the coldest capital in the world, and is also generally regarded as the second most polluted city. At first this may not seem directly connected, but it’s almost entirely caused by people heating their homes, most specifically in the ger districts. Many people heat their homes with coal because it’s abundant and cheap. This is the main reason why they use coal to heat their homes, and have therefore contributed significantly to the pollution of the city. Pollution is considered to be of the worst issues that Ulaanbaatar faces, and the destruction of the environment is a main theme in my SIT program.

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Kim in Mongolia: Orientation Week

March 6, 2014

So I’ve finally landed in Mongolia, and am settling down in a hotel in Ulaanbaatar. My first impression of the city is that it’s very…gray. From what I’ve seen, there doesn’t seem to be large buildings in the city. But there are definitely a lot of Soviet-style apartments, not unlike the ones I saw in East Germany.

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View of Mongolia from the airplane

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View from our hotel!

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The welcome dinner on our first night

I’ve actually been a bit surprised by the weather. It’s been overcast and cold, but not to the extent that we’d been warned. It was around 15 degrees Fahrenheit for most of the day today. Our program director told us that this season is projected to be warmer than usual, which I’m pretty thankful for. I’m hoping that I can enjoy my commutes around the city, instead of rushing to my destinations because of the cold.

For our first day, we were taken to SIT headquarters to begin our orientation. It took about 30 minutes to walk there, and it was great to see the city for the first time. I didn’t take any pictures on the way over, just because I wasn’t sure what the picture-taking policy was in Mongolia. However, we’ll be exploring the city more tomorrow, so I’ll try to take a lot then.

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On our way to SIT orientation

During our orientation, we learned about safety, basic Mongolian, and even had an American talk to us about cultural differences. These are all topics that we’ll be discussing in greater detail, but it was nice to have some brief introductions. As our program director Ulzii Bagsch said today: “the whole semester will be your orientation”. This could not be more accurate.

Here are some things I learned about Mongolians today:

–       Giving/receiving things with your left hand is considered very impolite.

–       Mongolians are extremely superstitious, and also consult shamans before making important decisions. For example, they decide when to begin long journeys or have surgeries after consulting with their shamans. This is apparently so important that Mongolian shamans now give chants and advice via phone and Skype to Mongolians overseas.

–       Going off of the point above, Mongolians believe that Tuesdays are unlucky, so nothing big happens on this day (including haircuts).

–       Although hard liquor like vodka has only been in society for the past century, alcoholism is a big issue in society. The program leaders told us that in the cold months, the city has to pick up dead bodies of people who passed out in the streets and froze to death.

–       Mongolians apparently don’t help strangers because they believe that it’s none of their business. If you’re being harassed/abused/hurt in the streets, the likelihood that people will be indifferent to your situation is high.

–       Touching the heads of older people is considered extremely scandalous. Anything associated with heads is seen as almost sacred. For example, you can’t wear another person’s hat, because it touched their heads. Additionally, putting things like hats or even books (because they give knowledge to your head) on the floor is considered impolite.

–       Mongolia men hate it when Mongolian women date foreigners. The American told us that he has foreign friends who are married to Mongolians, but they have to pretend like they aren’t affiliated in public. This obviously means no PDA, but then also having to walk a few steps behind their wives in public. If they don’t do this: “the women will have their heads shaven, and the men will be beaten up by Mongolian men”.

Besides learning these small facts about Mongolian culture, we also had a session on Mongolian. All I can say is that it’s going to be much more challenging than Uganda. I’m finding it extremely difficult to keep up with learning meanings and pronunciations when I can barely read the words! Our teachers told us that Mongolian is related to Turkish, but to me it kind of sounds like a very rugged version of Korean.

The SIT building itself is very cozy and warm. It’s more of a house, with two floors, a kitchen, dining room, and small classrooms. It feels very welcoming, and the SIT staff is super friendly. There are 7 of them and 9 of us, so we’re basically equal in number!

Another cool thing about SIT Mongolia is that they have 2 cooks that prepare lunch for us! SIT Uganda definitely didn’t have that. So instead of always venturing outside for lunch, we have home-cooked meals that we eat together.

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The SIT office is very cozy!

This is the living room- we ate lunch on the floor around the low table. The map on the wall is of Ulaanbaatar. Ulzii Bagsch explained to us that the shaded areas of each district indicate the communities in the city!

Overall, it’s been a great first day. I can hardly believe that I’m here, and am trying to take in as much as I can. I’m trying to focus on not comparing everything to Uganda, but I’ll admit that it’s been difficult. I realize that it’s human nature to compare what you see to what you already know, but I can already tell that Mongolia is a whole different animal from Uganda. I’m excited to see what’s in store for me this semester!

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Kim in Mongolia: Pre-Mongolia Introductions

February 28, 2014

Hello Everyone! My name is Kim, and I’m currently a junior at the University of Richmond. I’m an Interdisciplinary Studies major, which means that I’ve created my own major to suit my exact interests. My major is Education & Development, and it’s a mixture of classes in history, political science, education, and international studies.

As a brief introduction to my background, I was born in Japan, and moved to the U.S. with my parents when I was 4. We lived briefly in Falls Church, Virginia, but I grew up in Maine until I left for Richmond. However, I spent many childhood summers in Japan going to school and living with family, so I definitely consider myself to be a Japanese-American. I’m actually in Japan right now, and am visiting family in Hiroshima before my program in Mongolia begins.

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The view I see every morning from Hiroshima

Another pretty important factor about my background is that I received a scholarship to study abroad in Germany for a year in high school. Combined with my last semester abroad in Uganda, Mongolia will be the third time that I’ve studied abroad. As with any combination of experiences, I think that they will always be inevitably connected in my mind. I will keep this blog focused on Mongolia, but I can’t promise not to occasionally mention interesting connections!

You might be wondering why I’m blogging so late, especially compared to Austen. While it’s true that most spring programs begin in mid-January, the official start date of my program is February 24th. The best (and only) explanation I’ve heard is that the program doesn’t think that the students can handle the Mongolian weather before this date. Apparently the average temperature there now is around -30 degrees Fahrenheit. We’ll see if this is true, although I’m naively hoping that it’s not!

The program I choose to study abroad with is administered by the School for International Training (SIT). If you’ve read Mel and Blair’s blogs, you’ll remember that their programs in Ecuador and Chile were also from SIT. The set-up of the programs is similar: some classes at the local university, urban/rural host families, and a 4-week Independent Study Project at the end. It’s incredible to have a structure that allows for independent, hands-on learning. I thoroughly enjoyed this set-up in Uganda, and I am eager to try this again in Mongolia.

However, the journey to specifically choosing Mongolia was harder than I originally thought. My time in Uganda was unbelievably challenging in so many ways that I couldn’t imagine not having another experience that forced me to question my beliefs daily. All throughout my sophomore year, I was 100% convinced that I wanted to spend half a year in Africa, and the other half in Asia. But when it came down to choosing a program, I found it difficult to settle on one. I was worried that by being in northeast Asia, I wouldn’t be as challenged as I was in Uganda.

In the end, I had to revisit my main goal for studying abroad. I wanted to go to a place where I wouldn’t get half the same experience exploring on my own. Mongolia is an incredible place that is rapidly changing, and I wanted to get a taste of it before it was too late. There are many components to this program that will give me experiences that I couldn’t get on my own. I’m most excited to have the chance to live with Mongolian nomads for 2 weeks! Opportunities like this allowed me to confidently settle on this program.

I’m so excited to explore a new side of Asia, and to share it with you through this blog. This time next week, I’ll be settled in Mongolia! Thank you for taking the time to read this, and please look forward to my first post from Mongolia!

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Austen in Ireland: Introductions

January 17, 2014

Hello all

My name is Austen and I am departing for Europe within a week!  I am from Richmond, Virginia, although I was born in New York.  At the University of Richmond, I am double majoring in psychology and cognitive science as well as minoring in economics.  I chose to study abroad at University College Dublin (UCD), the biggest university in Ireland, just outside of the city of Dublin.  I have heard some of the greatest things about the unique culture of Ireland and just how friendly the Irish are (they also supposedly have great humor)!  Also, I have never been to Ireland and I really wanted to explore a new place as I have been to continental Europe multiple times because my parents love traveling as much as I do.

One thing that appealed to me about UCD specifically is that it is the largest university in Ireland with over 24,000 students, which is interesting to experience after going to such a small school in Richmond.  It has a very large percentage of international students with 20% of the school population being international.  It is also ranked in the top 100 universities in the world.

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UCD Dublin school crest

One of my main goals is to really assimilate myself in the Irish culture through my study abroad adventure.  For my living situation, I will be the only American with five Irish students in my apartment so that is a start!  I really wanted to go to an exchange university where I would be with students of the host nation.  For this reason, I chose to travel to an English-speaking nation to allow me to bond with others much easier.  I studied abroad in France during the summer but it was tough to make friends with the French (probably because of my horrible accent) so I made friends with mostly Americans.

Another goal is to see how different the learning environment is outside of Richmond.  Since it is a much larger university, there will most likely be larger classes but possibly more resources as well.  It will be interesting to see how different academics will be at UCD compared to Richmond.  There are generally fewer assignments which count for a larger part of the grade and finals week will certainly be a very chaotic time since some finals can account for more than 50% of your grade!

I really want to see the countryside of Ireland, which is supposedly beautiful, such as the Cliffs of Moher.  I also want to see a lot of Europe, like Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, and Rome to name a few cities!

I have learned the importance of being able to appreciate cultures and places from my parents and I really hope that this semester will teach me even more about a different culture, much like my experience in France over the summer did (a reason for studying abroad again).  I also hope to take an Irish language course and an Irish culture (Irish studies) course, which will help me learn even more about Ireland.

I am nervous and anxious in a way to be leaving all my friends and to make a whole new group of friends but I really like that I am the only one from UR so I can make a complete new friend group and immerse myself in the new culture.  It will be fun to live in an apartment with people I don’t know and will definitely require cooperation and teamwork!  I’m also so excited to start a new adventure in my life.

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UCD even has a lake in the middle of campus like Richmond!

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Rhiannon in India: From Home

January 3, 2014

I have been back home for about a few weeks now, and I have to say it is a little strange to be back. I feel like after landing at the Raleigh airport, I haven’t had the chance to look back, swept away instantly by the happenings of everyday life back home. However, I’m excited to see how my experience abroad impacts my life going forward.

Back when I said I was going to India for 5 months, many people asked, ‘Why don’t you just study in Europe? India is the kind of place you want to spend two weeks, not five months.’ If I had visited for two weeks, I think I would have come home totally overwhelmed, having seen many things but understood very little. Even now, after spending five months in the wonderful country, I still find myself questioning what I truly understand from my experience, but I’m glad I spent a semester there so that I could integrate and meet many people.

When we first arrived in Hyderabad, our advisors asked us to write down five goals that we hoped to achieve during the semester. Some of mine were practical, like learning a few phrases in Hindi, and learning a few Indian recipes, but others were more theoretical. One of them was to live like a typical Indian in India by the end of the semester. I think that I really achieved that, and by the end of my stay, was able to blend in relatively well – despite the blonde hair. Living with Nivedita and Prerna, surrounded by friendly neighbors who took us in like family, was the best choice I could have made to begin living a more ‘normal’ lifestyle in Hyderabad. Spending time with them will remain some of my favorite memories for a lifetime

I want to thank my host family, my neighbors, and my friends in India who helped me acclimate to life in India. I also want to thank everyone who followed my blog, read about my experiences, and gave me tips or comments. I am so glad I decided to keep a blog about my trip, because sitting down to write it gave me some of the best time to reflect on my experiences abroad

Thanks for reading!

Namaskar.

Sunset from Apartment

The sun setting over Hyderabad from our apartment

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Mel in Chile: Everything you want is right outside your comfort zone.

December 15, 2013

This is the post we have all been waiting for!!! THE END OF STUDY ABROAD YAYYY! That is in fact true. Some days ago I finished my study abroad semester with an SIT program in Santiago, Chile. I imagine the following text will be suspiciously similar to other testimonies of study abroadlings but I’ll do my best to make it a bit different. I will be honest.

In my last entry I talked about how the topic I chose for my independent study project was outside of what I have chose to study at UR. I was a bit nervous about writing so much on something incredibly new but I thought, “ Well this is one of the best opportunities I will have. The grades don’t count as long as I don’t completely blow it. Might as well!” The project was one of the most enjoyable activities I have overtaken. It was refreshing to read things outside of what I am usually exposed to but I was also lucky because I had the opportunity to link traveling for my personal pleasure to my research. It was sort of a multitasking situation.

It was only when I came home that I saw an article circulating around the Facebook community addressing college students who study abroad. It was an article from The Onion hinting, through their infamous satire, the message that study abroad was an excuse to party in Europe or meet cute Latinos in South America. Even more off putting than the article were the responses from fellow study abroaders affirming the overall message of the article! Now I will not make myself the “responsible” student who studied abroad only for the educational opportunities and the broadening of my perspective by living in another culture. I will be honest in saying some of the comments were funny but true. Like all articles form The Onion, it was genius.

On the other hand, I couldn’t help but remember all the times I had Skyped with friends and family and talked to them about how much I was learning during my study abroad semester. So when I read the article from The Onion I of course laughed but I also couldn’t stop this strange feeling of “Well that isn’t entirely true. Maybe not even the slightest bit true!” As I said before, I will not deny the Shenanigans, the traveling, the going out with other travelers that were passing by on their way to Patagonia, making new friends with my group, the salsa classes, enjoying the fiestas patrias…and well everything else that comes with study abroad. But…is that so bad? In my opinion, study abroad works best when students take complete advantage of what your city has to offer. We are used to learning only coming from academic spheres, everything from lectures, articles, classes, and books. If you are willing to accept it, an opportunity to study abroad is an opportunity to learn. To learn from people, the culture, other foreign exchange students, the host family, street performers, and everyone around you.  I would highly recommend taking an opportunity to study abroad. But it does not end there. Learning takes initiative and requires a person to be proactive and to be open to new concepts. You will be uncomfortable; you will miss UR, your friends, your professors and the resources offered at our university. The point is to see beyond your previous accommodations, stop comparing between your home and host institution and simply allow yourself to grow from the experience.

“Everything you want is right outside your comfort zone.”

– Robert Allen

The following are images of Chile:

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This is an image of the Gran Torre de Santiago- the tallest building in Latin America.

indomita vineyard

Old wine bottles at Indomita

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View from Pablo Neruda’s house in Isla Negra.

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We watched the sunset at Valle de la Luna. One of the most beautiful places on Earth.

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