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Jackie in Switzerland: le mal du pays

April 27, 2015

Homesickness has hit. I have had the sense of missing my family and friends for this whole semester, and I thought that this was homesickness [the French call it “le mal du pays”]. It was only after my Spring Break trip that I learned what homesickness really is.

The French call it le mal du pays, which seems to be a better description to me. Obviously I have been having an amazing time studying abroad and I wouldn’t change my situation for the world, but that doesn’t stop me from missing my home. After seeing Snapchats, Instagrams, and tweets about socials, away weekends, and of course Pig Roast, I realized how much was going on in Richmond without me. After talking to my parents, I learned that my little cousin has started walking and talking. No matter how incredible it is to study abroad, it is impossible to not miss all of the things from home.

The snow is gone and Lausanne is brightening up! Even when I feel homesick, it is hard not to fall in love with this view

I had thought that the hardest part of studying abroad would be the classes, cooking for myself, and especially the French! But in the end, the balance between home and here has been the most challenging obstacle for me. I want to stay involved in Richmond and keep up all of my relationships with friends, but at the same time, it is hard to keep up at home and really immerse in life here in Switzerland. Luckily, I have the most amazing friends in Richmond and in Pittsburgh who make me feel loved and missed.

Even though sometimes I feel so far away from Richmond, I love staying involved in any way I can. It was so fun to take the pledge in support of the Start by Believing campaign halfway across the world!

After talking to a lot of other study abroad students, we realized that there is this idea that we all want to show the very best side of study abroad. We want to travel to the coolest places as much as possible just to let everyone at home know that we are having a good time and that we are okay. There’s almost an invisible pressure to have an absolutely perfect study abroad experience that we forget to actually experience it without worrying about what our friends back home think or about what we are ‘supposed’ to think.

Me and Amelia

Me and Amanda

I am so incredibly lucky to have met so many amazing people from all around the world!

I think that in my blogs, I have always highlighted the positive, once-in-a–lifetime experiences of study abroad, but there are also parts that are not so easy. I am getting better and better at really getting into the experience instead of worrying about what I’m ‘supposed’ to be doing (of course I learn this towards the end of the semester). That being said, I think that it is a skill that everyone has to learn, and studying abroad has helped me do it. It’s hard sometimes to do what you want to do, instead of what we are expected to do, but you have to do what makes you happy.

For example, some of my friends went hiking the other day, and despite my adventurous rock climbing and skiing skills, I really don’t like nature all that much. I almost went to the hike, just because I felt like since I am a study abroad student, I ‘should’ be out and about seeing the country. BUT instead I stayed in, watched Scandal, and ate Ben and Jerrys. Such an exciting study abroad life. In the end, I had to realize that studying abroad is an experience for me and no one else.

The less glamorous, but equally fun, part of any study abroad experience. And YES its totally okay to do this instead of jetting off to Paris for the weekend!

After getting over my wave of homesickness and eating way too much ice cream, I am getting ready for the last month of classes, which means lots of papers and tests. I haven’t mentioned this in a long time, but my French is actually improving! My hall mates are amazing and insist on speaking to me in French, and my conversations with them have helped so much.

Next week I have an hour long presentation on the Swiss Book as a vector of Cultural Diplomacy in the United States (thrilling, I know). Just before the trip, I will be visiting Gruyeres and the Cailler chocolate factory. Rumor has it that at the end of the factory tour, there is a 10 minute, Hunger-Games style all you can eat extravaganza. This makes me happy, and you can expect a detailed blog about this as soon as I get over the sugar high.

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Kyungsun in Scotland: The Happiest Country In the World

April 23, 2015

The iconic picture of Denmark: Nyhaven

When I arrived in Copenhagen, I was more excited to see my friend Amaury than the fact that I was in one of the happiest countries in the world. I was just happy to be in the presence of a familiar friend. As expected, it didn’t take long before we skipped the small talk and dived into a discussion about how our study abroad experience has transformed us. It was a warm relief knowing that he had been sharing similar struggles of changing friendships and becoming more independent like me.

The next day, we spent the entire day exploring the city. The best part about having a friend show you around is that you get your own personal tour guide. It was astonishing just how much Amaury knew about Denmark. He knew everything from the current politics to the historical significance of the main buildings. Two places in particular held the most meaning for me. As expected, my pictures don’t capture the full energy of the moment, but I hope I can still convey the spirit as well of the beauty of the city.

Christiana

The first thing I noticed was the sign. Welcome to Christiana! Once we went under the arch, Amaury told me to turn around as if I was exiting. You are now entering the EU. Huh?

The second sign said that I wasn’t allowed to take pictures.

The third sign said that I was supposed to have fun.

A taste of Christiana (we were only allowed to take pictures before entering)

Walking into Christiana was like stepping outside of Denmark. When I first walked around the streets of the Copenhagen, I saw the traditional colorful buildings, comparatively clean streets, beautiful people, and places to shop everywhere. But Christiana is the part of the city that is still not developed and not developed by choice.

I asked Amaury where he had brought me to and he said that Christiana was a community that represented freedom of expression. Indeed, I saw graffiti and color everywhere. Any white space was anyone’s canvas. You can build your own house in Christiana. But no one owns anything. Rather, everything is owned by the community. You are only allowed to live in Christiana if you are accepted by all 850 members in the community. It is also a town that claims that it’s separate from Denmark (hence the EU sign), but not recognized by any formal body.

After moving past the initial front, I was overcome with a tangible sense of peace that filled the area. But when I looked at the various colors and shapes of the houses, I also felt an uneasy feel of chaos. Nothing conformed to the thing next to it. Yet Amaury told me that there is a deep woven bond of community in Christiana that allowed everyone to enjoy a harmonious life. I suddenly found myself questioning the value of standardizing everything from our houses to our education – do we do it for the ease or for the control?

Did I also mention that weed is everywhere? On what is known as Pusher Street, stalls are lined with people selling, smoking, or buying weed (hence, no pictures). The police know this. The government knows this. And the teens at the local high school across the street certainly know this. Yet it’s an accepted part of Danish society. Occasionally there are police raids (which is why you’re also not allowed to run in Christiana). However, my expert tour guide told me that overall, the Danes want to maintain the essence of Christiana for what it is because it represents a part of Denmark’s history.

I left dizzy with questions and confusion. It made me question a lot about the ways in which we as communities and societies achieve things like safety, individual expression, and justice.

Amalienborg

Denmark continued to surprise me. Thursday was Queen Margrethe’s 75^th Birthday. All I knew was to be at Amalienborg Palace, where the Queen lived, by twelve o’clock. Amaury was unfortunately in class. The morning was pretty calm as I was exploring Rosenborg Palace. Then I saw the band and guards lining up and when I turned the corner, people were everywhere. Little did I know this is where the party started.

It was actually a relief knowing that the guards were kicking off the celebrations with loud fanfare and a parade through the streets. This meant all I had to do was follow them to the other palace rather than stand out as a lost tourist. My favorite part about the parade is that anyone could simply be a part of it. The police encouraged everyone to make way for the guards and band, but a swarm of people trailed alongside or behind the line.

On my way to Amalienborg Palace, I was handed a flag and again, turned a corner and saw everyone waiting to enter. But for some reason we weren’t being let in and the police kept pointing people to the left. I didn’t understand what anyone was saying but I decided to trust my instinct and follow the crowd.

It was a good move because I found the actual entrance! What I loved about the moment even before the celebration started is how energized everyone was to see the Queen. Amaury had told me the day before that the people loved the Queen. When I also asked what the Queen did outside her political duties, I was surprised that Amaury’s host family knew the answer. She apparently makes costumes for plays and paints.

Close up with Queen Margrethe!

Front row view to see her pass by!

It was an interesting atmosphere to be in – I felt like the Queen was approachable. Even the Palace didn’t have any gates or barriers. You could just walk right up to the front door and knock on it if you wanted. I was told that it’s because the Danish Royalty embody the strange balance of humility and pride that make up the Danish lifestyle.

Amalienborg Palace

These two places are sadly only two snapshots out of the near 700 pictures of what I experienced. Copenhagen is a city like Edinburgh in that it has a great mix of nature, history, and modernity. Unfortunately, Copenhagen is also much bigger than Edinburgh. I didn’t get to explore the city fully, but I know I have to come back. As you can tell, Denmark was a place that really made me think about how the country has become such a loved, happy, accepting, humble, yet prideful country and much more.

I think this is the value of traveling. It makes you realize that other people do it differently. They provide welfare differently. They view wealth differently. They deal with social justice differently. And most of all, it makes me appreciate the various ways we all strive for the same thing.

Rosenborg Palace and King’s Gardens

Leave a Comment » | KyungSun in Scotland, Spring 2015 | Tagged: Denmark, Friends, Host University, Reflection, Sightseeing, Travel | Permalink
Posted by Klee

KyungSun in Scotland: Not All Who Wander Are Lost

April 9, 2015

Isn’t it amazing when the sun comes out? Suddenly everything is brighter, more hopeful, and alive. My beloved Edinburgh has brought me the perfect weather for my spring break. These past few days I’ve finally had the chance to explore more of the city. I had a great time playing tourist, getting lost on random streets, and picnicking on a hill watching the sun set. If it all sounds like a romanticized dream, blame the weather. It has a way of transforming the mundane into something beautiful and exciting.

My friend Bec and I picnicking on Calton Hill

Sun setting over Calton Hill

My friend Meghan and I greeting the spring!

What I love about my friend Meghan is that she is her own compass. She never comes with a plan, map, or on time. But she and I balance each other out. I like to have a general idea of where to go, but am open to however we get there. Detours are also highly welcome. Therefore, it did not fluster us that we got lost (several) times and ended up stumbling upon (several) amazing hidden views on our way to Haymarket, our final destination.

Onto the market we go…

We had walked less than 2 minutes when we made our first stop. We had to get ice cream. All our friends have been raving about this place called Mary’s Milk Bar. They feature everything unique from hot chocolate floats to chocolate and olive ice cream. In fact, it is so popular that they can afford to close and open at random hours during the week. As expected, the first sip of my milkshake was amazing. I have no recollection of the sips after because when I looked down there was nothing left. Okay, it wasn’t the best milkshake I’ve had. But it was the most delicious flavour I’ve ever had. Almond and apple rhubarb milkshake will forever remind me of this day.

Mary’s Milk Bar

With (empty) drinks in hand….

We just followed the skyline. Whenever we saw a cool, pointy tip peaking above the square buildings, we ran toward it. The first of these ended up being St. Mary’s Episcopal Church. But for a second I thought I was in Spain again. Everything around Haymarket is pretty new, clean, and modern. I was therefore surprised to suddenly see this beautifully old, detailed, and ornate church. We peeked inside and it was just as striking as the outside. But this feeling lasted about a minute. I felt like I’d seen this before.

St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Edinburgh

St. Giles Church in Edinburgh

Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland

Something that hit me while wandering is the creeping fear that I am not appreciating everything enough. When I was inside the church, I tried to shake off the sudden feeling that these amazing structures were beginning to become “normal” to me. But how can we appreciate each structure or view as its own unique piece? My best guess is that the key to appreciation is the story behind it. Although I’m not a huge fan of history or have access to guides, I think it’s important to understand the how and why something came to be. Otherwise, all the beautiful views just start to blur together.

For the second half of my spring break, I’ll be making my way to Scandinavia to see more breathtaking views. My first stop is Norway, where I’ll be doing a day long train tour to see the grand fjords. My second stop is to my long-awaited trip to Denmark, where I’ll be reunited with my first friend from UR outside Scotland! However, this time I’ll be sure to not only see pretty views, but also hopefully have a story to tell about each one.

Leave a Comment » | KyungSun in Scotland, Spring 2015 | Tagged: Academics, Food, Friends, Scotland, Sightseeing | Permalink
Posted by Klee

KyungSun in Scotland: Falling in Love

April 7, 2015

Love came unexpectedly. It creeped in slowly and hit me this past week. I am in love. It’s the kind that flutters your heart, makes you smile at the thought, and draws you in to drown you in it more and more. Of course, it didn’t start out this way.

Opening scene: When I first arrived in Edinburgh, everything looked bleak. I was welcomed by the city with ice cold wind, miserable rain, and slippery cobblestone streets. But I kept telling myself it would get better. Edinburgh was my perfectly ideal city with its cross between modernity and history and nature. I just had a rough start. Conveniently, my first shopping outing ended up being an episode of my bag ripping and my food spilling out on the streets. It was the perfect beginning to my Scottish romantic comedy, where everything that happened was ridiculous and silly.

Yet I still found joy in the little things. I marveled living next to a castle, trying different restaurant with friends, dancing at ceilidhs, and seeing breathtaking views straight out of National Geographic. I was energized by the freshness and newness of everything I saw and did. Every little decision I made from buying my own food, to cooking my own meals, to booking my own flights were also small moments of empowerment. I felt like I was growing more independent and despite the occasional detours, everything was working out well.

Loch Lomond

The Climax: I got hurt. It hurt realizing that some friendships weren’t as strong as I thought, it hurt when I was going through a tough time and had to bear the burden alone, it hurt that my exchange friends couldn’t sense my pain or comfort me or that I couldn’t even open up to them out of fear, it hurt that I missed friends and family back at home and am now realizing and appreciating that friendships take a long time to build.

While I’ve been here I’ve been changing, growing, morphing into an independent adult while some people remained the same. Part of the change meant realizing when I shouldn’t waste my time with people who weren’t worth it, moving past the disappointments, and interacting with different types of people. Part of the growth meant being okay with savoring moments on my own when there wasn’t anyone around to share it with or when people back at home didn’t understand what you saw or did. It also meant being vulnerable with people I’ve only known for two months and yet taking that step to open up to them that I would normally only do with close friends. Taking that chance meant some people responded well to it while others didn’t. Yet because I took that chance, I’ve made close friendships faster than I have ever before.

Lindy: My friend, flatmate, & hiking partner

The (Near) Ending: Now I’m in the process of emerging from the things I’ve went through from the homesickness to changes in friendships to developments in new friendships to discovering my passion and to learning more about my strengths and weaknesses. Spring break is now here and these past two days have been nothing but sunshine. I see shorts, dresses, sunglasses, flowers, and changes that I welcome.

More importantly, I found love again. I see the place that I live in as my home, as a place where pain happened, but also endurance, and character through endurance, and hope through the character. Now I fear leaving. Time is running out and I feel like I still have so much to learn, so much to see, do, and experience. I will miss being able to travel with friends, learning, and stumbling upon beautiful landscapes.

Loch Ness

I love Scotland. I love it because of what it is but also what it has done for me. Although I’ll have to leave all this behind soon, slowly, with time, I’m preparing to let go. Rather than think of the fear and anxieties of leaving, I treasure the moments of spring, friends, and traveling all the more. Love is freedom and the love that my parents had for me enabled me to come here and love is what drove my growth during my time here. Now, it’s my turn to show my love for Scotland.

Calton Hill

1 Comment | KyungSun in Scotland, Spring 2015 | Tagged: Friends, Preparation, Reflection, Reminisce, Scotland | Permalink
Posted by Klee

Becca In Hungary: Spring Break Adventures!

March 31, 2015

Never have I imagined that in one week I would be able to visit five countries, ski on the Olympic slopes of Austria, explore the canals of venice via a gondola, stroll through ancient ruins in Rome, run across an entire country, and much more. This past week was definitely one of the most exciting, thought-provoking, adventurous experiences I have had in my life. Instead of explaining every detail of the trip I went to talk about the highlights of the trip and also important lessons I have learned from this trip (To get more details about my trip check-out the website created by fellow University of Richmond student Jackson: http://54.165.202.145/travel/ . This site has the specific counties we visited as well as pictures from the trip).

Highlights of the Trip:

Skiing through the Alps in Innsbruck, Austria

Running through Liechtenstein. The run started in Austria and ended in Switzerland

Finally reaching the boarder of Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

Biking to the Lindt factory in Zurich

Exploring the Islands of Murano and Burano in Venice

Taking a gondola ride

Visiting Ancient Rome

Lighting more candles from my family

Things I learned:

1) Always assume the worst case –> Now before you peg me as a pessimist, hear me out. As a computer scientist, we are told to always consider all possible cases when constructing an algorithm. When deciding how fast the algorithm will run we almost always define the runtime based on the worst case scenario. While traveling, it is best to assume the worst case in the running time of public transit, tours, and other events whose timing is out of your control. For instance, on the last day we had signed up for a tour of the colosseum that was suppose to end at 6pm giving us plenty of time to get to the airport for our flight at 9:30pm. Oh course, though, our tour began to run late causing us to leave the tour early. When we get to the metro we found too long of a line for tickets. Instead of 12 minute metro ride to the train station that would take us to the airport, we embarked on a 30 minute run. While in the train station we fought through more lines and language barriers, but we did finally get to the airport right in time. Originally, I had expected the process of getting to the airport to take maximum 1 hour. In reality, it took closer to 2 hours. When it comes to traveling getting from one place to another always takes longer than expected because there are always unforeseen road blocks. So now when I approach the problem of getting from point A to Point B I always assume the worst case running time.

2) Always get a paper map of each city you are in (with public transit)–> Before the trip I spent hours upon hours working out every detail of the trip. Each day I had a plan of what to do and how to get there. Even though I felt like I had prepared for everything I oh course missed some details. Most of the time we could turn to Google maps for assistance when we strayed away from my daily plan, however in some places Google maps would not work. For instance, when exploring Liechtenstein we could not use our data because each megabyte cost $15.00. Technology is wonderful, but unfortunately it is not as reliable as the good old paper map. Luckily, we had a wonderful map of Liechtenstein and thus had no problem navigating the country.

3) Pick your travel buddies wisely –> A huge reason my spring break went so well is because I had a great travel buddy. I spent the trip with one other person making it easy to plan activities that we would both like. When planning a large international trip you will inevitably hit many road bumps, and you want to make sure you are traveling with someone you can work with to solve these problems. I give many thanks to my travel buddy Jackson for helping to make the week sail as smoothly as possible!

Comments Off on Becca In Hungary: Spring Break Adventures! | Becca in Hungary, Spring 2015 | Tagged: Academics, Austria, Friends, Italy, Sightseeing, Switzerland, Travel | Permalink
Posted by Becca F

Jackie In Switzerland: More lakes and mountains (still beautiful)

March 25, 2015

After so many weeks of hard work in Lausanne, I decided that it was time to get out of the country for a little break! My friend Ayumi and I picked the small French town of Annecy to spend the past weekend. We had heard that people called it “Little Venice” and it definitely did not disappoint. Canals and rivers crossed the entire city, with countless walking bridges that gave the most perfect picture of the old, colorful buildings which lined the canals. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, we found the lake. You would think that a giant lake would be easy to find, but it took us about 5 minutes to get completely lost, and then another 45 minutes of walking to find it. And it turns out, it was about 15 minutes from our Airbnb! We are clearly seasoned travelers.

This town definitely felt like Venice with all of the tall buildings lining the canals. It was the perfect place to spend a relaxing weekend!

That being said, the view was worth all of the exhausted-walking in the world. I hate to be repetitive, but I really don’t think that I will ever get sick of mountains and water. We sat in front of the lake and ate our nutritious breakfast of cheesy quiche and macarons (which, by the way, are my absolute favorite food on the entire planet) and got to look at this amazing view. The weather was beautiful and so many families were out enjoying the lake with their families. We couldn’t stop talking about how lucky we were to be experiencing this, and how unreal it felt. It finally hit us that we are really here, thousands of miles from home, seeing the things we dreamed about seeing for our entire lives. At the same time, I can’t help but think of all the places I still have to see, all of the places that are on my list and all of the incredible places that haven’t even made it onto the list (yet).

For as much as I love food, I have to say that macarons are my favorite food in the entire world, no exaggeration. Here, there are 2 raspberry macarons, a salted caramel and a violet macaron.

As much as I would love to eat macarons for breakfast, the quiche was so fresh and amazing that it was almost as good as macarons for breakfast (almost).

Voilà our view from breakfast! This was about the moment when we realized how awesome our lives are.

And now onto a slightly embarrassing confession. During our time in Annecy, surrounded by all the beautiful canals and bridges and old buildings, we spent a solid hour in Monoprix, the French equivalent of Target. We had gone in to find snacks, and we left with about 100 euros worth of groceries to take home. I have not mentioned this before but Switzerland is PRICEY. For the first time in my life, I have to shop like a real adult and unfortunately after a month in a half here, I can tell you which brands sell the cheapest pasta sauce per gram (I really sound like a middle-aged mom now and its beginning to scare me). When we finally got to France and saw that everything is about 3 times cheaper, we went absolutely crazy. We came to France for the mountains, but the best find was the cheap groceries.

Words do not do justice to my love for Monoprix.

After calming our thrifty grocery-shopping selves down, we finally got back to the city. We visited all of the little boutiques in town and really just walked around to see all of the amazing old architecture and bridges. Of course, we got a classic tourist picture on “Le pont des amours” and another with the mountains and lake in the background.

[Picture of the city] Caption: Annecy felt like the perfect historic little town, each building had its own character.

So touristy, but so pretty.

With all of our walking and shopping, we were starving and decided to have dinner in a French fast-food restaurant, Quick. I know it sounds weird to pick fast-food while in France, the center of all culinary genius, but all we really wanted was a burger and fries. As an American, I am proud to report that McDonald’s is a much tastier choice for greasy, unhealthy food, even though Quick was throwing some major shade with the caption on their boxes.

This phrase was all over Quick. It means ‘This isn’t the American burger’. Cue the fast food burger battles.

On the more sophisticated side of food, we also visited the Sunday market in Annecy, which was special because almost everything is closed in Switzerland on Sundays. We were expecting a small market with mostly fruits and vegetables, but what we got was so much more. Throughout the streets, there were stands with cheeses, meats, pastries, spices, and wines in every direction. The market was amazing because of all of the food, but even more so because all of the people. It was easy to see that this market was a weekly event that brought the whole town together each week to enjoy lazy Sundays together. The French use a term called “la convivialité” that is basically all that makes life enjoyable and happy. This market was the definition of convivialité!

All in all, we had a great relaxing weekend in Annecy, and it made us really appreciate how lucky we are to be spending a whole semester in one of the most beautiful places in the world. That being said, on Sunday afternoon, we were beyond relieved to be heading to our temporary ‘home’ in Lausanne, high prices and all.

Loving Annecy, but looking forward to making it home!

Leave a Comment » | Jackie in Switzerland, Spring 2015 | Tagged: Food, France, Friends, Nature, Sightseeing, Switzerland | Permalink
Posted by jackieinswitzerland

KyungSun in Scotland: Getting Plugged In

March 23, 2015

Sometimes I forget that I’m not a typical exchange student.

This past week, my other exchange friends reminded me that essays, tutorials, and societies still existed. These three things about Uni (University) life had far slipped from my mind once I began my internship. Although I do not miss the workload, the one thing I do wish I did was to join more societies. I did do the Music Society, but I unfortunately wasn’t able to attend the concert. I had booked trip to Ireland and realized at the next rehearsal for that concert was that same weekend. #fail

I admit, I do have a lot more free time compared to the other exchange students. But let me dispel your first worry that I probably sit in my room all day. I wrote in my first blog post that if I have spare time, I would spend it going out to explore a new part of the city. I am happy to say that I’ve been keeping up with this promise.

Things I’ve discovered so far on my spontaneous walks in the city include:

Some extreme and strange street performances. Its not uncommon to hear bagpipes on the streets, but my ears perked up when I heard Leonard Cohen’s, “Hallelujah” (one of my favorites). It was played via the flute pipes by a man wearing a Native American headdress. I also saw a man eating fire and another playing the violin while on a suspended line.

Street performance on the Royal Mile

Delicious local food. The best food can always be found at farmer’s markets. I found a great one in Stockbridge that had some noteworthy Kenyan Samosas and Spanish paella. Yum.

Stockbridge Farmer’s Market

Celebrity sightings. I only noticed that fame was in our presence when I saw the traffic commotion of…the Irish Rugby team in front of the Balmoral, aka the most expensive/grandest hotel in Edinburgh. I looked them up later and discovered that they are currently 3rd in the World Rugby rankings (as of 3/2/2015).

Irish Rugby Team Sighting on Princes Street

Each time I go out, I see more of why all my friends, professors, and advisors have told me that Edinburgh is one of their favorite cities. There is always music somewhere, the people in general are reserved, but friendly, the buildings are beautifully historic, and the city is so alive in its own Scottish culture, but also in other cultures. Its not uncommon to see an Indian restaurant, Pizza Hut, a Scottish tourist shop, and French pastry shop all in one row.

While it is easier to get plugged into Edinburgh city, it definitely has been more difficult to get plugged in at Edinburgh Uni. There aren’t many social events that unifies the campus like a football game or a Pig Roast would on a given Saturday. Rather, it’s a more common part of the European uni life to be part of the campus by being part of the communities already within the campus. Aka, by joining multiple societies.

One of the many overwhelming pamphlets I recieved during orientation

But joining a society while doing the internship has been semi-difficult. There are interns who are actively part of societies; one of them recently had a show that we attended through the Opera Society and another two are part of the Sports Unions. But for me, the key to getting more involved at school and meeting more Scottish people has been to go to society events.

Just last night, I went to the Improverts Show, an improvise comedy society, and it was one of the best Friday nights I’ve had. My flatmate and I were warned that we probably won’t get tickets unless we bought them ahead of time. But fortunately we got in line early enough before they sold out. And I could see why we were warned. It was packed and hilarious. Its also a very popular Uni event because apparently, they sell out for every Friday show. That’s a pretty good track record.

The Improverts!

Here is a snapshot of what the pre-show looked like:

There is never a shortage of events here at Edinburgh. This week, I’m going to a Harry Potter themed pub quiz, a theatre festival for social change, and my Scottish neighbor invited us to see her play, Candlewasters. I find out about most of these events through friends or my kind Scottish neighbor. There is no convenient “Spiderbytes” equivalent here at Edinburgh and you really have to dig through Facebook and read the posters throughout campus. But despite the sheer number of events, this has also meant that I’ve also been able to find a lot more entertainment/fun things to do that fit me better. It’s definitely one of the things I’ll miss most about Edinburgh.

P.S. If you want to check out the list of Edinburgh’s 240+ awesome societies for anything and everything, check out: https://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/getinvolved/societies/findasociety/.

Leave a Comment » | KyungSun in Scotland, Spring 2015 | Tagged: Culture, Friends, Host University, Music, Scotland | Permalink
Posted by Klee

KyungSun in Scotland: Storm Warning

March 17, 2015

They say homesickness abroad is inevitable and it finally hit me this past weekend.

I bought a ticket to the Isle of Skye, one of Scotland’s most beautiful islands, where we spent 2 nights and 3 days exploring waterfalls, cliffs, and beautiful lakes/rivers. It was supposed to rain all weekend, but I figured I could tolerate Scotland’s weather by now. Plus, Scotland is notorious for quickly changing weather and I prayed that we would see some flashes of sunshine. Unfortunately, we only saw sun on the last day of the trip.

Going into the weekend, I was burdened with a lot of things going through my head. I was dealing with personal issues from home, figuring out my summer internship, in the midst of planning spring break travels around Scandinavia, and trying to arrange my living situation next year with my roommate. I had hoped that going out to see some of Scotland’s Highlands would help me clear my head. There’s something about being in a spacious landscape that always makes me feel a sense of freedom. It’s like my problems become minuscule when compared to the massiveness of land before me.

Three Sisters Mountains in Glencoe

Crossing the Skye Bridge

Although I saw some amazing views, the weather definitely made it difficult to fully enjoy them. Winds reached about 27 mph and we had continuous rain. Our tour guide said that it was the worst weather he has seen in the island and highlands in all of his 6 years doing the tours. It certainly wasn’t an uplifting fact, but every time we made another stop, I made an effort to brave the storm to see the views. I also got to know a lot of other exchange students simply because of the bad weather. We all suffered the stickiness of wet socks, drenched clothes, and the struggles of taking decent photos amidst freezing, high winds.

Braving the storm!

Kilt Rock

However, our tour guides from Haggis Adventures still made the trip a lot of fun. Our two guides – Heather and Andy – constantly joked back and forth and even had us sing along to our favorite ’90s classics, including “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys. My favorite part was when they told fun stories about the islands like the story of a river that supposedly makes you more beautiful if you wash your face in it for seven seconds. With them, I felt like I had actually gotten to know Scotland better rather than just seeing pretty views. On the last day when the weather finally cleared, they even took us back to Glencoe (where we were originally supposed to go but had to sacrifice due to the weather) even though it was above and beyond what they were paid to do.

Believe it or not, Andy once lifted a tree 2x his size for a competition!

Andy says he is the living proof of the water’s powers

Passing through Glencoe

The thing is, I didn’t know anyone on the trip. I was both excited and dreading this fact. On one hand, I was excited to get to know the other exchange students. But on the other hand, I just wanted to be in the presence of old friends where we could have comfortable silence. I’m usually a very outgoing person, but with all the things running through my head and the stormy weather, it was difficult having to “be on” all the time. During the moments when we were just riding the bus with nothing to do, I was overcome with sadness. I missed my mom’s cooking and longed for some warm stew. I wished my friends were here to talk through the problems I was having. I just wanted a sense of familiarity. For the past two months, I’ve been constantly been experiencing one new thing after another trying to make most of my time here. As fun as it is, it is also exhausting and I had reached a point where I just wanted to be in the comfort and relaxation of home. I didn’t want to leave Scotland, but I wish there was a way to transport my house here.

So that I don’t dwell in this homesickness for too long, I’ve been skyping friends from back home. I’ve also made sure to have more meaningful conversations through letters and postcards rather than through facebook messaging. On Thursday morning, I leave again for another adventure to Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day weekend. This time I’ll be going with my flatmates who have become my close friends and my sense of familiarity in Scotland. Until then, I plan on taking things slow in this race to make the most out of my abroad experience, enjoying my time at Holyrood (Parliament), and finding downtime like my new favorite animal, the Harry Coo.

Harry Coo otherwise known as the Highland Cows

1 Comment | KyungSun in Scotland, Spring 2015 | Tagged: Adventure, Family, Friends, Nature, Scotland, Sightseeing | Permalink
Posted by Klee

Fabiana in China: I Was The Donkey

March 17, 2015

As I finished reading the story, I remembered where I was about two months ago. I had fallen into an empty well and had no one to save me but myself…

After successfully finishing two textbooks since we first started, we began a new one last week. It welcomed us with a very curious and inspiring story:

In summary, the text talked about an old donkey that had fallen into an empty well. The owner and his neighbors did not know what to do to help this poor donkey out, so they decided to fill the well with dirt so the donkey would not suffer anymore. As they shoveled dirt in, they listened how the donkey become more and more silent. After some time they were all curious about what the donkey was doing, so decided to look down: as the dirt fell on top of the donkey’s back, he swayed his body and made the dirt fall to one side. He then took a step on top of the pile of dirt and repeated this motion as more dirt came in. When the pile got high enough, he took a big jump on top of it and trotted out of the well.

“I am that donkey,” I quietly whispered in class, and smiled right after.

I smiled because I realized I had been doing exactly the same: shaking the “dirt” of my body and stepping on top of whatever wanted to knock me down. I still have to jump out of my well, but I can see the light, and I am not far away from it.

From increasing the amount of Chinese vocabulary words learned each day, to increasing the amount of times I have to refer back to my English dictionary to check the English translation the book provides, I can now say that if I would ever take the SAT again, I would ace the reading part. Haha. But actually.

In order to shake out this week’s stress the program surprised us with a very entertaining weekend. On Friday, we had a scavenger hunt on Peking University’s campus. I was asked to recall Chinese famous dishes and New Year’s traditions, ask a “handsome” Chinese guy for his phone number, complete character writing in order to find hidden messages, and many more tasks. We had a beautiful day that accompanied the afternoon and delicious snacks waiting for us at the finish line! It was a lot of fun!

Snapshots from PKU during the Scavenger Hunt

That same day, I finally decided to go to that Kickboxing lesson I was long thinking about. With the scavenger hunt in the afternoon and the kickboxing lesson at night, I was destroyed. Although my body still hurts from it, the 加油s (“you can do it!”) I received from random kickboxing peers that day made the muscle pain worthwhile.

On Saturday, we all went to THE GREAT WALL! How exciting! We had a big bus waiting for us back in PKU (Peking University) and left for our half-day adventure. Although I had been to The Great Wall about two years ago, this time somehow felt more magical. We had all broke down into small groups and hiked our way to the very top. Well, except a couple of friends and I that didn’t really make it to the top. In my defense, I thought there was no such thing as a “top”! I could only see more of the Great Wall in the distance, and when we got tired we just started to walk back down. Apparently if you keep hiking up like some of my classmates did, there is a way to use a slide to get back down! So keep this in mind if you’re planning to come and visit! (I guess I now have an excuse to go back).

After that adventure, I had to end the day with my favorite dessert in China: Bubble Tea. Tapioca pearls, milk, tea, and your roommate’s smile are all you really need to end a day like this. With three more weeks left of actual teaching until the end of semester trip with the program begins, I can truly say I wish I would have extended my stay in Beijing for one more semester. I think I can speak for everyone in the program when I say that I still feel I have so much left to learn! Chinese language learning seems endless, but we all just simply love it! It’s sort of like a love-hate relationship. We can’t get enough of it!

Till next week!

Comments Off on Fabiana in China: I Was The Donkey | Fabiana in China, Spring 2015 | Tagged: Academics, China, Food, Friends, Language, Reflection, Sightseeing | Permalink
Posted by Fabiana in China

Becca In Hungary: Connections!

March 2, 2015

When I was six years old my family made the big trip to Disney World in Florida; the trip that every kid never forgets. The most memorable part for me was the exhibit where you swirl around a magical world on a small boat while the song “It’s a Small World After All” plays. As a six year old the song just didn’t make sense to me because in my view the world was just a huge playground ready to be explored! I thought the 100 foot walk to my best friend’s house in my neighborhood was a large distance, so the idea of this world being seen as “small” was just preposterous to my young mind. To this day I still see the world as a massive complex network of people and places, but these past two weeks have shown me how interconnected this world really is.

The first connection I was able to make was meeting up with my previous University of Richmond roommates, Aileen and Rayna. They are studying abroad in Germany and Denmark respectively, and this past weekend we all met up in Prague. I really had to step back and reflect on this because it truly is amazing how out of 6 billion people in the world and even more opportunities, somehow the three of us were able to all come together and meet in a new country which we had never explored before. How cool is that!?! I loved being able to visit some of my closest friends and create meaningful memories with them.

My UR friends and I exploring Prague

While in Prague, the three of us went on a tour of the city. While on the tour my friend Rayna was approached by an individual in the group who ended up being a friend from her grade school! This just blew my mind because again even in a world so big we are still so interconnected.

Some main attractions in Prague

My favorite part of Prague was visiting the Pinkas Synagogue which holds pictures drawn by children during the Holocaust. Through these pictures visitors could see the children’s fears, hopes, desires, and prayers. The thing that struck me that most about these pictures, though, was the fact that even though these children were enduring unimaginable pain and loss, they always drew the Jewish people with a smile on their faces and frowns on their perpetrators. I was moved by their ability to see such hope and happiness despite the pain they had endured.

After visiting the Jewish district in Prague, I decided that this weekend I wanted to explore Budapest’s Jewish District in order to draw parallels between these two countries. On this tour I began to see all these connections between the countries I have visited and these connections have really opened my mind to how interconnected our world truly is. For instance, in the 19th century Austria came to “liberate” Hungary and bring Catholicism to their people. The ruler of Austria during this time was the Habsburg family. When I visited Austria, I was able to visit the Habsburg palace. What I found interesting was during the Jewish District tour in Budapest the tour guide was very negative about the Habsburg family and discussed their blatant discrimination against Jews. However, while in Austria, the people spoke highly of the wealth and power of the Habsburg family. It really goes to show you how skewed history can be. This idea reminds me of the quote”“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” By traveling to different countries I have had the oppertunity to see different countries prospectives on the same historical events. I able to draw my own connections between people and places and begin to feel even more connected to this beautiful and expansive world.

Comments Off on Becca In Hungary: Connections! | Becca in Hungary, Spring 2015 | Tagged: Austria, Friends, History, Hungary, Politics, Sightseeing, Travel | Permalink
Posted by Becca F

Jackie in Switzerland: le mal du pays

Kyungsun in Scotland: The Happiest Country In the World

KyungSun in Scotland: Not All Who Wander Are Lost

KyungSun in Scotland: Falling in Love

Becca In Hungary: Spring Break Adventures!

Jackie In Switzerland: More lakes and mountains (still beautiful)

KyungSun in Scotland: Getting Plugged In

KyungSun in Scotland: Storm Warning

Fabiana in China: I Was The Donkey

Becca In Hungary: Connections!

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