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Clara in Italy: Settling in??

September 19, 2016

This is probably one of the fastest-paced programs I’ve ever been in, in that every day feels packed and it is in fact almost a month shorter than a typical semester. So here we are cramming a semester of work into about 80 days! Woo! That does make it really hard to keep up with everything that I’m supposed to be doing, I have to admit.

We’re here in Cortona, a hill town in Tuscany, and the view is super killer.

Admittedly, walking up and down the hill multiple times a day is also kind of killer… Oh well, I suppose it might balance out the gigantic Italian meals that we keep eating. Not gonna lie, all I want is a simple, one-course meal with rice and Chinese food. D: Not that everything isn’t delicious or anything, but dang. I feel quite squishy and sleepy every night when we hike back up to our dorm immediately after dinner. It’s honestly one of the weirdest parts of being here. I could definitely stand to have dinner last a little less time. Three hours is very long and exhausting.

Pretty much every Saturday, we head off to a different city in Italy to talk about art history, which is very cool. (Also exhausting.) In the last two weeks, we’ve already been to Siena, Assisi, and Perugia, and seen some really pretty amazing stuff. Especially this 13th century graffiti on the walls of the Palazzo Publico! What!!

graffiti1 graffiti2

If you look closely on the upper red strip in the first picture, there’s a “1464” scratched into the stone. Above it to the left on the white, there’s a “1482”. There’s stuff in Greek in there! And also some stuff from the 19th century–at least one little inscription from 1848. I’m always here for traces of humanity and imperfections. Masterpieces are all well and good, but I’m more interested in scratches on the wall and personalized inscriptions in books. And unfinished paintings, because understanding process is so valuable, you know?

And reliquaries of course! Well, those are a special interest to me too I suppose, since I think bones are super cool. There was a lovely one that had a partial skeleton arranged nicely with a flower crown and a lot of jewels. Bury me like this. Feed my flesh to the plants or whatever, but make me into a nice mantelpiece with flowers.

… that’s kind of weird, isn’t it. But I think he looks pretty good for being dead all these years.

Speaking of bones, I’ve already amassed a nice little collection of natural history stuff since we got here! A lovely starling skeleton, some juvenile pigeon bones, a whole bowl of empty snail shells, and some very interesting insects, including a full grasshopper shed and a cicada shed. Oh, and two snake sheds that were inside a hole in the wall! Plus a convulvulus moth and a fiery hunter beetle. The faculty resource room has some really amazing insects as well, with some seriously giant beetles. Cool as heck!!

At least look at my starling skull. I think it’s quite beautiful.

Classes are going well, but a little stressfully. I’ve almost filled a whole sketchbook since I got here, and the number of photos I’ve taken is sort of staggering. But hey, I’ve got a flickr now and I think I’m getting a little bit better at taking pictures. Sort of. It’s a little up in the air. Follow me or something. I’m doing my best.

To finish, here’s a picture of darling Squiggle, our newest stray University cat with a bent tail and the guy bringing harmony to the cats.

squiggle

Seriously, he’s the cutest and the best.

Stay determined!

Leave a Comment » | Clara in Italy | Tagged: Adventure, Art, Food, Italy, Study Abroad, Sunset, Travel | Permalink
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Tori in Spain: From Confusion to Confidence

September 12, 2016

Tired. Intimidated. Inadequate. Confused. Lost. Overwhelmed. Unable to understand.

These words characterized my first two days in Madrid.

I didn’t sleep on the plane from Charlotte to Madrid, but watched an old movie called The Color Purple and cried 3 times during it.The Marine next to me thought that was hilarious. Whatever. It was the best movie I have ever seen. Needless to say, I entered my first day in Madrid in an exhausted, emotional daze. By the time I went to sleep the first night, I had been awake for about 40 hours.

My greatest fear in coming abroad was that it would be a waste of time. I feared I was not supposed to be here, that I made a selfish decision in leaving Richmond, and that my time here would serve no purpose in the beautiful narrative God has woven throughout the history of humanity. How can I love people well when I don’t know their language well enough to express that love for them? Are they all casting me off as an ignorant American tourist before I even say a word? How can God use me despite my pride and selfishness and weaknesses? Although on a surface level it seemed like my first couple days were going well, these questions weighed heavily on my heart.

When I arrived in Madrid, my roommate Amalie picked me up from the airport and helped me take the airport to get into our apartment. She had already been in Madrid for a week and had it dowwwwwn. This girl could navigate like a pro, her Spanish was already back up to speed, and she had already met our host mom earlier in the week. I was thankful for her help, but had a sinking feeling I was already behind and would never catch up. Classic me, making everything a competition instead of just being grateful for a friend who already was beginning to grasp the culture of Madrid, and was willing to walk with me while I figured out this place I would call home for the next 4 months.

Stumbled upon Palacio Real in our first night explorations.

The first day, Amalie and I picked sides of the room we would share, unpacked, went on a walk with our host mom and new baby brother, had dinner, explored downtown Madrid, and met up with a couple friends who had also just arrived. It was a long day, I was running on zero sleep, and I just felt really confused, incapable, and out of it the whole time.

One of our first dinners with our host family!

The second day we had our orientation at SLU Madrid, the university we would be attending, and it was discouraging at best. I felt sure that the caliber of my classes and professors would not meet my expectations due to my deep love for the faculty and programs at U of R. It also seemed like every person had come with a huge friend group from their school, and I was a lil’ fish in a big pond of people who all knew and liked each other. My usual outgoing and extroverted self just wanted to curl up in a ball and journal away my frustrations rather than being with people.

Fortunately, Jesus doesn’t waste things. The story He desires to tell through us will be told. I serve a God who is in the business of instilling purpose, meaning, and value into even the darkest and most broken places and people. Regardless of my abilities or inabilities, He promises that He will use me wherever I am, and that I am simply enough, nothing more or nothing less.

My third day in Madrid was my first day of classes, and it blew my expectations out of the water. That morning I was able to wake up early to read and journal on the porch, and I wrote down all of my doubts and fears, and asked God to take them from me. As soon as I stepped into my first class, they evaporated. My ethics professor wrote his dissertation on Altruism and Egoism, which is very similar to what I hope to write my senior thesis on! I felt confident speaking Spanish for the first time, and my Public Health and Social Justice class was amazing. The professor had just returned from Guatemala distributing HIV/AIDS prevention medication to the population there, and a guy in my class had worked with the Nobel Peace and Clinton Foundation the past summer.

Puerta del Sol, Madrid

Jesus surprised me a lot, took away my fears, and reminded me that He has placed me in Madrid for a purpose. I left school filled with excitement about discovering what that purpose is.

Leave a Comment » | Tori in Spain | Tagged: Culture, Discovery, Family, Food, Madrid, Spain, Travel | Permalink
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Naomi at Akita: Don’t Stop Believin’

September 12, 2016

So, you wouldn’t believe this BUT we ended up missing the train again. No worries though because we ended up finding ANOTHER festival – Akita Music Festival. It was around 9am so there weren’t too many people. Everyone tried cow tongue and matcha (green tea) flavored soft cream. I’m not sure what I was expecting but cow tongue tastes very salty and gamy. The mascots we took a picture with are from TV stations, I think. After the festival, we also found a huge garden filled with lotus flowers. Our friend Okkasan (Okaasan is mom in Japanese so you can imagine how much we enjoy yelling his name) told us that we could eat the seeds. They tasted like almonds – 美味しいかった！

Finally made the train to go to Shimohama! It cost only ¥500 by train to get there. We practically had the beach to ourselves, besides the guys wearing the pink speedos. We swam, played soccer, wrestled, swam, swam, got stung by jellyfish, wrestled, swam, soccer, swam, got stung by jellyfish, swam…mid-afternoon we ended up finding the Orange House that served かき氷 (flavored shaved ice) and drinks. The Ojiisan working there let us sing karaoke so everyone sang Bohemian Rhapsody, Party in the USA, Sorry, Just The Way You Are, and several other hits. After spending 7 hours at the beach and seeing the sunset, we head back to Akita Station and ate some udon and tempura. Udon, thick wheat flour noodles, is usually served hot but we were all exhausted and hot from the sun so cold udon was the way to go. By the way, none of us brought sunscreen…almost a week has past and our skin is still peeling.

By the way, at the beach, Patrick and I wanted to swim out as far as we could, which was a horrible idea because I ended up getting hit by a banana boat. The bruise has gradually gotten worse throughout the week and most people say I look like I’m wearing eye shadow HAHA I’m proud of this bruise. I feel like that and my painful sore arms are an accomplishment for my swimming distance.

Friday night and no one planned anything! At the last second, the 10 of us decided to go to a karaoke place. Unfortunately, we had to wait at the station for 40 minutes till the next train to Akita so, naturally, we decided to take a group picture and this is what happened. When we finally arrived at Akita, we found out we couldn’t karaoke because people under 20 years old need to have a parent with them after 11pm. Since our plan was to stay out all night, we ended up hanging around the city. We listened to 80s music throughout the night, singing and dancing our sleep away – we basically sang karaoke. Four of our friends left earlier though and missed the beautiful sunrise. I’m not lying when I say we stared at the sunrise for about an hour. It was unbelievable – crows flying above us, roads filling with passing cars, people heading to work.

IMG_0017 (2).jpg

After the sunrise, we took the train from Akita to Wada. The bus back to school picks us up from Wada station, except we decided to walk back to school since the bus wasn’t coming for another two hours. All we passed were rice fields and trees – everything green.

Leave a Comment » | Fall 2016, Naomi at Akita | Tagged: Beach, Food, Hike, Japan, Sunrise, Travel, Udon | Permalink
Posted by naomiatakita

Naomi at Akita: Horsemeat with Soy Sauce

September 8, 2016

Successfully moved into my apartment (Global Village) for the next four months. I have been here for almost a week now and all of my roommate’s stuff is piled up but she has yet to be seen. I’m very excited to meet her though! There are two people to an apartment and we both share a bathroom and kitchen. A couple of cats, especially a grey cat, tend to walk around my apartment. We aren’t supposed to feed them but they’re so かわいい (cute).

Our Welcome Dinner was full of study abroad/exchange students and first-year students at AIU. After a day of information sessions, we were finally able to grub. Kiritanpo Nabe, a famous Akita dish, was also served. Unfortunately I couldn’t take a picture but I’ll make sure to post one later. SUPRISINGLY, during this dinner, I spotted someone wearing my high school T-shirt. I ended up talking to him and he just graduated from Kubasaki High School and is now attending AIU. What a small world. After dinner, I joined him and his friends to play basketball!

We ended up missing the train to the Omagari Fireworks Festival, Tohuku region’s biggest fireworks festival that was expecting about 760,000 people. Firework teams from around the country attend and compete to see who can put on the best show. It’s alright we missed it though because we ended up finding another festival at Akita Station. A man was walking a bunny on a leash. Yakitori (basically meat on a stick) and chocolate covered bananas were at every food stand. A professor was at the festival as well telling us about all the stores only walking distance away from campus. It was upsetting when we discovered he was actually a professor from Akita National University, not Akita International University. The six of us ended up hanging out at a gazebo till we had to catch the train to Wada Station and the bus back to campus. A very chill night filled with laughter over stories back from home – Slovenia, Belgium, Washington, Colorado, and Virginia.

Our Kanto Club performed for all of the parents, faculty, and students after our matriculation Ceremony. Apparently there’s a famous Kanto Matsuri (Kanto Festival) held in Akita every year where performers balance kanto (long bamboo poles) with paper lanterns attached to the end. These students would take turns balancing the kanto on their heads, shoulders, and even backs, while adding more pieces of bamboo poles at the end of the stick. There were also other students to the side banging on taiko (Japanese drum). Unfortunately, one of the students was unable to balance the kanto and ended up running it into a tree!

There was a break during orientation so I decided to take a walk and explore more around the school…we really are in the middle of nowhere. It’s so nice and peaceful. While walking, I followed an uphill, narrow path on the side of the road and almost ran into about three spider webs. Go Spiders, right? My school mascot back home is the Spiders, by the way. I walked until I hit a gate that led to the airfield – the Akita airport is only a 10-minute drive away. I ended up walking back to campus, but I must admit, the plethora of trees and beaming sun with Chance The Rapper playing in my ears made for a very nice walk.

Three of my friends and I decided to go on a walk in a nearby park and ended up running into some very nice people. We attempted to hold a conversation with our broken Japanese and actually ended up talking for almost an hour while constantly being bitten by mosquitos. Guess how old Suzuki-san, the man wearing the red shirt, is…he even asked us to guess. We all guessed 70 years old. Turns out he’s 90 years old! He looks much younger than that – it’s probably the miso soup. Before we left, Suzuki-san forced us to take a can of horsemeat with soy sauce. We plan on seeing them again and getting ice cream together.

Leave a Comment » | Naomi at Akita | Tagged: Akita, Culture, Festival, Food, Japan, Travel | Permalink
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Jack in NZ: Email

August 1, 2016

“I had had an adventure, tasted forbidden fruit, and everything that followed in my life – the food, the long and often stupid and self-destructive chase for the next thing, whether it was drugs or sex or some other new sensation – would all stem from this moment.” – Anthony Bourdain on eating his first oyster

“We’re the first culture in the world that puts 1,500 miles on average under each morsel of food” – Joel Salatin

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes.” – Proust

“’I do work,’ said Frederick ‘I gather sun rays for the cold dark winter days.’” – Frederick by Leo Lionni

“Drink your tea” – Eastern Towhee

To: Parents

Cc: Sister

Subject: Re: Feeling like a Kiwi yet?

Message:

Unfortunately the weather this week is pretty lame, so I’m staying around Dunedin. I’m planning on doing a local hike and catching up on work and reading/writing.

Penguin colony was pretty neat, saw about 20 birds (~1% of the world’s population, pretty crazy), and the surrounding area was beautiful. It was a secluded spot, protected by farmland on all sides, difficult to get to without some sort of Department of Conservation/farmer connection.

I’ve resolved to feed myself from the farmers market as much as possible, got a good-sized and reasonably-priced haul yesterday, including some lamb chops, ground venison, whole walnuts, and a winter savory (a thyme relative) plant. Also went to an Indian grocery store and bought some whole star anise/cardamom pods/garam masala and cheap peanuts. The owner was there and we chatted about India (he was a Sikh from Delhi) for a minute.

Otherwise, I’ve just been doing work around here. I haven’t been going to my biology or chemistry lectures because they post them online, but I do sit down for a few hours each day to take notes/do homework etc. Working at home is pretty nice, I get to stick to a sleep schedule and snack throughout the morning, also no running back and forth between my house and campus. Chemistry is very dry (and the labs are soul-sucking, I almost wish I took the upper-level section), biology is much more interesting. My writing class is very enjoyable. I’m narrowing in on a topic for my major project (something related to the philosophy of farming/food, looking at it from scientific/social/spiritual/artistic viewpoints). More stuff about classes will be in the next blog.

I’ve also been making progress in Modernist Cuisine (the massive 2500pg (only 2319 to go!) cooking tome by a former Microsoft CTO) and On Writing by Steven King, and paging through Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, which is incredibly entertaining. I’ve been trying to sit down and write for an hour every day, but it’s been kind of hard to make it a habit, sometimes it flows and other times it doesn’t (I’ve noticed word output is generally proportional to my caffeine intake, though quality varies (I’m gradually learning that editing is a useful skill to cultivate)). The blog should be submitted by tomorrow, but it seems to take a few days before the abroad office publishes. I’m decently happy with this one. It’s a little funnier and lighter than the previous two. Sticking to the ‘ideally weekly’ schedule the office has set (but not enforced (so far)) is going to be difficult. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s better for my sanity to put out something I’m happy with every two weeks than it is to rush to get something done that I’ll cringe at later, possible stipend reduction be damned (though as I continue to cultivate the writing habit I think it will get easier to churn out good quality stuff more frequently).

I’ve recently binged a bunch of Joe Rogan’s podcasts. He hosts a great talk show and has had guests like Russell Brand, Sam Harris, Eddie Huang, etc. on to chat about interesting things. My kiwi-host is a big fan of him and is a neuroscience student. He lent me one of Sam Harris’ books and we’ve had some interesting talks about, as Dewey Finn would say “your head, and your mind, and your brain too”, as well as nutrition and exercise (he’s a big weight lifter).

I’ve been running more regularly (5/7 nights this week), and I feel like I’m getting back into the swing of things. I’ve also been meditating regularly and highly recommend it (along with exercise) for everyone. I’ve been doing 15-20 mins a day and it’s been great for stress reduction, mood, general appreciation of things. Here’s a good video if you are interested in trying it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtsdz_jhB7c

Dan Harris has a pretty interesting story on how he came to start meditating. He had a panic attack on Good Morning America as a result of cocaine/ecstasy abuse related to anxiety/depression issues. He subsequently took time off to research happiness and discovered mindfulness meditation, and wrote a book about it called ’10% happier’ (which I have not gotten the chance to read yet). He had an interview on the Colbert Report that was pretty good.

The social scene around here has also been pretty fun. I went out to a party on Thursday with some new friends I met through a Richmond friend (his flat complex is the place to be), and I met a fun Kiwi girl who I saw again on Saturday night (don’t worry Mom, haven’t fallen in love yet (with a girl, at least (the country may be a different story))). I’ve been hanging out more with one of my flat mates who’s fun and likes to cook. I went to a coffeeshop after my farmers market visit on Saturday with her and some Richmond friends. We ate chocolate chip pancakes that were as delicious as they were overpriced and drank flat whites.

I’ve also picked up a book on hydroponics and intend to get a setup going soon (no fish allowed in flats, but I don’t pay for the electricity so I can get some grow lights). My fern is on its last legs, one day it was fine, the next it was withering, gave it some water and put it closer to the sun and it’s perked up a little (though I don’t have high hopes). The other plant is still hanging on. I’ve also purchased a pretty sweet-looking cactus. It’s about three feet tall and has badass spines. It is difficult to kill, so hopefully it won’t be joining the fern.

Overall things are going very well. I’m cultivating a fun and productive routine, taking care of myself, and enjoying the outdoors (whether I like it or not (last night’s jog through the botanical garden had an unfortunate sleet interlude)). I’m hoping to get a car or some other form of transport lined up to do more weekend traveling. I think spring break will be the next big opportunity, and I may go with some friends to the Abel Tasman track in the northern part of the South Island. I also don’t have to hurry to see things as much as I thought. I’ve got about 5 weeks of time during the finals period with only two finals to take (writing project is due before the period starts and counts as my final (and it’s also going to be fun to write)), so I’ll have a large stretch of uninterrupted time to travel while the weather is nice.

Hope things are going well at home. I wish I had saved up more summer memories (I think I appreciate Fredrick the more I meditate), still cold and damp here.

Lots of love and safe travels,

Jack

Leave a Comment » | Fall 2016, Jack in New Zealand, Uncategorized | Tagged: Academics, Food, Friends, Host University, New Zealand | Permalink
Posted by jackinnewzealand

Tony in Switzerland: Feeling Irish

March 22, 2016

Hello everyone! You’ll be surprised to hear that I’ve been traveling a little bit. My biology classes did not meet for the majority of March, allowing me to front load some of my travels throughout Europe. First up was a trip to visit fellow blogger Maddie!

During my first day in Galway, Maddie took me around her campus at NUIG. The campus is located nearby the local cathedral. I’m so used to seeing architecture that is French-inspired that the Irish aesthetic was a stark change.

We also took a visit to the local market, which incidentally means a trip to the celebrated doughnut stand. If you go to Galway, go to this doughnut stand.

What would a trip to the western coast of Ireland be without visiting the countryside? We were able to take a bus tour toward the Cliffs of Moher and the surrounding hills.

Maddie described the Cliffs best as a form of “bleak beauty,” but I could not be more amazed by how naturally exposed the Cliffs are.

The more I visit, the more I walk, and the more I wear down my boots. I might have to buy a new pair soon enough, but the sea breeze and the Irish views were well worth it.

Seeing someone from Richmond was definitely a fun way to experience life abroad. Lausanne and all of Europe can feel so unfamiliar at times, but it’s always nice to know that there are connections to home everywhere. Check back next time to see who else I run into!

Leave a Comment » | Spring 2016, Tony in Switzerland | Tagged: Adventure, Food, Friends, Sightseeing, Switzerland, Travel | Permalink
Posted by Tony in Switzerland

Maddie in Ireland: Webs

March 22, 2016

One of the greatest parts of having a spider as a mascot— besides being the only mascot smaller than a cracker that is able to scare a full grown man out of the house— is that there are (stupid) puns aplenty. Seriously, there is so much material to go off of. Web, fly, legs, silk, etc. Some are funny (e.g. I can talk about how there was a spider on my keyboard earlier, but, don’t worry, its under ctrl now), and others are more *ahem* sentimental. In this case, I will go with the word play that is most broadly-used, basic, and boring (yay alliteration!) and talk about how we, all the student Spiders, are connected to each other. We all spin webs. We’re joined, we’re connected, we’re a community.

Being a part of such a community means having long-lasting, wide-reaching friendships… the kind of friendships that cross borders… Can you see where I’m going with this? Yes, that is correctomundo, not once, but twice, have I met up with other Richmond students abroad. The first was a visit to Oxford England to visit <Name Redacted the First> and <Name Redacted the Second>. The second was when Tony <name not redacted ’cause he also totally writes for UR Travelogues>, who is studying in Switzerland, came to visit me in Galway. Some of the best memories I have were made during those visits. Maybe it was because I was around a bit of home for the first time (since I’m the only UR student here), maybe it was because the visits were an excuse to spend money and eat too much food, or maybe its because it was a chance to share my new world with someone else. I don’t know. But for whatever reason, those wonderful memories were formed and I want to share them; here, presented numerically for your reading pleasure, are my five top favorite moments from those visits.

Be warned, the majority of them have to do with food.

Fries

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a city at night and a city during the day are two entirely different places. After spending the day giving me a tour of Oxford, <Name Redacted the First> and <Name Redacted the Second> decided it was time to show me Night-Oxford. It was a great time, but it isn’t relevant to this entry, so I will skip over the night-tour to the ‘goodnight’s. I was staying with <Name Redacted the First> so when it got late enough, we, as a group, were forced to split up. As we were waving goodbye, <Name Redacted the Second> called out and told us to turn around and grab some 2 a.m. food with him. We agreed and he took us to a very small, greasy food truck selling pretty much every food you could want at 2 a.m. One friend ended up buying a doner kebab, another grabbed a hamburger, and I bought some french fries covered in cheese, garlic mayo, and some sort of mild curry. They were the best french fries I’d ever had, hands down, no contest, indisputably and I will never forget gorging myself on them, sitting on a cold English sidewalk and sharing silent smiles with friends… But no seriously, I gorged myself on those fries. It was gross.

Tbh, I forgot to take a picture of the fries, so here is a picture of other delicious food I consumed. In case you were wondering, a Nutella bagel tastes like how Disneyland feels.

Kebabs

Alright, so I talked about 2 a.m. eating with <Name Redacted the First> and <Name Redacted the Second>, now its time to talk about 2 a.m. eating with Tony. This time I was the one showing off the city at night, and the one suggesting a delicious hole-in-the-wall. We bought kebabs, fries, sodas, fried rice, aaaaand salads. See Mom and Dad? I eat healthy.

See? Healthy.

Moher

Once before I visited the Cliffs of Moher and during that visit I fell in love with them; buuuut that trip was when I was new to Ireland, back when every single thing I saw was breathtaking and I was a nervous little thing who was terrified of doing anything by myself. This visit, I was in ~control~. I was comfortable and with that comfort came a new view of the world, including those magnifi-freaking-cent cliffs.

You know how people talk about falling back in love with their partner after twenty years of marriage? Well that was me and those cliffs. Obviously you can’t marry a natural landmark and I’ve only been old enough to get legally married for a short time, but I’m going to use that comparison anyways. Back off. Stop your judging and just let me write. Ugh.

Babyyyyy

Stonehenge

This is kind of a biggie (and its also really easy to understand as to why its a favorite), buuuut <Name Redacted the First> and I visited, duhn da da duuhhnnnn, Stonehenge. We spent the whole day traveling there, braving the extremely inconvenient mist and slippery footpaths, and then spent the rest of the day just staring at it. I’m not going to spend much more time talking about this though, because it is impossible to describe Stonehenge, except to say that it truly deserves to be called one of the wonders of the world.

No Caption

Oranges

At one point during my visit to Oxford, we were just too tired to do any more touristing, so we just sat down, drank red bulls, ate chocolate oranges, and watched SNL skits. It was relaxing and slow-paced and enjoyable and a very wholesome type of fun… a very nice contrast to the quick paced glitz and glamour of exploration. It was the kind of afternoon that probably had some sort of moral that could be learned from it. Something about friendship, maybe.

Well, th-th-th-thats all folks!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Maddie

1 Comment | Maddie in Ireland, Spring 2016 | Tagged: Adventure, Food, Friends, Ireland, Nature, Sightseeing, Travel | Permalink
Posted by MaddieinIreland

Tony in Switzerland: Campus Kings and Castle Queens

March 1, 2016

It’s the last full week of February, everybody, and now that classes are starting up, the exchange student network (ESN) has been keeping international students busy. Last week, I participated in welcome week activities ranging from touring the city and exploring the campus.

UNIL’s mascot is the sheep, which gives the administration a perfect excuse to have sheep roaming the campus. The ESN highly encourages taking a selfie with the sheep before you leave UNIL. We’ll see.

Welcome week also marked the end of my intensive French class that I took before the start of the semester.

To celebrate the end of the vacation class, we all went out to an authentic Swiss restaurant in front of Lausanne’s cathedral.

Before the semester officially began, I also went on a trip to the Château de Chillon right outside of Lausanne. The castle overlooks Lake Geneva and offers the best spots to take pictures.

Switzerland is a postcard, and I feel like every picture I take is a stock photo from Google.

My friends and I took a self-guided tour throughout the castle, which really meant looking for the best windows and towers from which to take pictures.

Like I said, we searched hard for the best photo ops. This is the view from the windows in the castle’s dungeon. It almost makes prison life look less miserable.

In one room of the castle, there was a video projection on the stone wall. The silhouettes of actors came in and acted out the siege of the castle in the 1400s.

As of February 22nd, I am officially a student at the Université de Lausanne. In other words, I officially started classes this week, which is only mildly intimidating. I’m auditing courses to see what I might want to add on to my overall schedule by March 20th. It’s a very lenient system, but here’s hoping everything will transfer back okay!

Leave a Comment » | Spring 2016, Tony in Switzerland | Tagged: Academics, Food, Sightseeing, Switzerland, Travel | Permalink
Posted by Tony in Switzerland

Colleen in Singapore: Northern Thailand

December 28, 2015

How lucky am I to have a mother that traveled halfway around the world to come visit during my recess week? Meet my mother, Patty. After giving her a tour of Singapore we made our way to the city of Chiang Mai, located in Northern Ireland.

After flagging down a tuk-tuk at the airport, we made our way to our charming hotel, Tanita House. Tanita is a family-owned hotel, made up of a few wooden cabins with plenty of greenery. There is also a great little cafe on the hotel grounds. The almond iced coffee did not disappoint.

Patty and I decided to take a thai cooking class on Sunday. Before being taken to Thai Cooking School’s organic farm for the class, we made a quick stop at a local market to learn about classic Thai ingredients.

The cooking class lasted for several hours, and I can confidently say that I ate more than any previous Thanksgiving dinner. It was cool to use ingredients straight from the farm (we handpicked them ourselves) and to see all of the ingredients come together to make delicious curry, stir fry, tom yum soup, pad thai, and mango sticky rice.

The next morning, Patty and I had a full day tour of CHiang Mai. Our guide for the day, Tong, picked us up at Tanita early so we could make morning alms as offerings to the monks . After morning offerings, Tong gave us a tour of Doi Suthep, the most famout temple in Chiang Mai. Today, Doi Suthep is a Buddhist Monastery.

After grabbing lunch at a local joint, Tong took us to visit the Karen Long Neck Hill Tribe. Here, we learned about the various traditions and culture of the tribe.

The last activity of the day was elephant riding at a local elephant conservatory. We took a bamboo raft to get there, passing many elephants on the way.

Leave a Comment » | Colleen in Singapore, Fall 2015 | Tagged: Adventure, Culture, Food, Singapore, Thailand, Travel | Permalink
Posted by Colleen Egan

Jiaqi in Italy: Things I Wish I Knew Before Studying Abroad in Milan

November 12, 2015

1. Research about the city and know more than the touristic center

I can not be happier when I find out this incredibly valuable article that truly captures the essence of Milan. It helps me navigate the city and pull out the most intriguing, local spots immediately, in which some places that many expats in Milan would not even think of. Doing some research about the city you are going to is definitely the key to a happy new start in a new environment, since you will start seeing the best of the best, while others are probably still confused by the currency change.

View of the Piazza Duomo

View of Milan

2. Take it easy

No matter where we are, in our home university or anywhere around the world, the biggest problem facing us 20-somethings is purely peer pressure. Yes, you will find the competition out there once you start your first day of class. Ambitious youths compete against each other on how many new cities they have visited so far, how many European capitals that they have taken a stroll through, and perhaps how many new friends they have made. Studying abroad is not playing the statistic game that we have already tired of in school; it is rather a new chapter in our life in which we can choose to be the best version of ourselves. Why not enjoy it? Take your time, learn to cook the local cuisine, sip in a local specialty tea or drink, and marvel at the fall color in an exotic country.

Sunny afternoon in the park

Parco Sempione

3. Go Off the Beaten Path

Milan is much more than fifty shades of gray, a funny term that Italians use to refer to their country’s industrial city. The city’s hidden gems never cease to amaze me. Every neighborhood has a particular but equally charming vibe, either luxurious-chic, alternative-hip, or down-to-earth humbleness. Navigli, my favorite neighborhood in Milan, has the cutest cafes in town and some hidden mysteries that only the local history experts know. It used to be a working-class canal neighborhood where all the poor ladies washed laundry for rich families; it used to be the inspirational studio of Milan’s legendary artist Leonardo Da Vinci; it used to be an artist bottega where pupils sit by the canal from sunrise to sunset to draw people from lives. Learning the history of your city’s neighborhoods not only strengthens your understanding of the culture but also makes you much more an interesting guide when your family or friends come visit you.

Navigli neighborhood

Hidden garden in Navigli

4. Most importantly, embrace what you have!

It’s not that uncommon to hear complaints about a new, gigantic city from some abroad students. Depending on your own capacity to adapt to a radically different environment, moving to a new country is a personal revolution that will probably trigger resistance! What you need to do is simply to relax – and you’d be better to do it the local way. Take my city Milan as an example, relaxation means a “caffè” (italian expresso) in the afternoon, an aperitivo from the rooftop bar with views of Duomo, a stroll through the fashion district, a people-watching game at the chic crowd.

Duomo

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