Naomi at Akita Week 6: きりたんぽ and 栗駒山

October 14, 2016

This past weekend we had a four-day weekend due to the AIU Festival!! It was two long days of food, performances, games, food, and food. Many students/clubs came together and set up food stands. There was even an Okinawa Soba (my favorite food from home) stand! Some of our friends were selling food as well like cinnamon waffles, which were amazing by the way, hot dogs, curry udon, fried meat/cheese/pumpkin, and bubble tea. I was able to go on the outside of a bridge connecting two of our buildings to snap a picture of some of the stands. Unfortunately, I had to crouch down and go through some barriers that were filled with spider webs but it was worth it. The web did get on my cap but I was able to refrain from yelling. Also, halfway through the festival, Patrik decided to take a break and re-dyed his hair blue. I helped him out since he couldn’t see the back of his head. When we returned to the festival everyone pointed out how blue his hair was and of course, he responded with “I swam across the China Sea and back and the ocean rubbed off.” Oh, wait, he had another response that is my favorite: “I married a mermaid.”

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Before we headed out the first day, I went to Patrik’s room to get my daily dose of coffee, of course. Unfortunately, he ran out of cup noodle containers so I had to use an actual mug. After inhaling some coffee, we met up with some other friends and walked around. ワン (One), the school’s mascot, was walking around so of course, I told Patrick to take a picture with it. This is the pose he chose.

I took a couple of pictures of some of the events/performances that were held during the festival. Well, the first picture is of two of my friends from Colorado, Isabella and Annabelle, practicing for their dance performance. They’re both in a hip-hop club. Patrik tried practicing with them for a minute, as he was in the hip-hop club for about a week before he dropped it. He couldn’t recall any of the dance moves though so he ended up just moving in weird motions. There were about 5-8 different dance groups that performed that night. One of the groups danced to Michael Jackson, which made me super excited. I was dancing towards Patrik while we were standing in the crowd and he just laughed at me; it was a great feeling. On the second day of the festival, I woke up super early…well, 10:00am, to watch some of my friends perform. Two of my friends that attend AIU sang a couple of American songs and it was beautiful. Bea’s voice was so soothing. Afterwards, I went up to them and saw Bea holding a stuffed animal of Woody’s horse from Toy Story. I think the horses name is Bullseye? It was so random but apparently, Bullseye is their third member of their small band who couldn’t attend. I thought it was cute and worth mentioning.

The second day of the festival also started with me going to Patrik’s room to drink more coffee. Well, I went to his room after watching my friends perform earlier in the morning. I told him that I was going to buy a bowl of きりたんぽ (Kiritanpo) for breakfast because it was cheap and also something I needed to try while living in Akita. Patrik still ate breakfast though: a container of yogurt with his milk coffee and bread chunks mixed in. That right there is the definition of poor college life. He still ended up buying a bowl of Kiritanpo though, as did another friend that joined us. Kiritanpo is a famous dish in the Akita prefecture. Freshly cooked rice is mashed and wrapped around bamboo sticks, forming a cylinder shape, then toasted. That’s the main part of the dish but there are also mushrooms, chicken carcass, green onion, ginger, shirataki noodles, and burdock root. Two ladies working behind the stand tried talking to us about the chewy smashed rice. They wanted to teach us that it was made of rice. Patrik and I understand some Japanese so we were able to respond; they were so 元気 (lively) and their smiles made our day. Griff, Patrik, and I took our bowls and went to the side to eat our bowls of Kiritanpo. It wasn’t too cold out but the hot soup was perfect. The three of us finished our bowls so quickly then headed over to buy some cinnamon waffles.

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My friend, Isabella, invited me to join the Wandervogel Club. I ended up joining along with a couple of other friends and man, what a great decision. Emil, the leader of the club, sets up monthly trips and this past week we went hiking on 栗駒山 (Mountain Kurikoma). It was the perfect time to go because of all the fall colors. We still had an hour left to drive before we made it to the mountain but made a pit stop for a bathroom break and the view was already so beautiful. Takao (right of the picture above) took my camera and snapped pictures of everyone. Every time I’m around him with my camera he asks to take pictures. He’s even thinking of buying his own now!

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Emil told us that it would be -3 degrees Celusius at the top of the mountain so everyone obviously dressed in thick layers. I was wearing pants under a pair of sweatpants, two pairs of socks, a t-shirt, long sleeve, sweater, rain jacket, and jean jacket. I need to buy a winter jacket…but yes, the point is we were all wearing a lot of layers of clothing. Probably 13 seconds after we started hiking, everyone started stripping off their clothes. Halfway up, some of us were sweating. I even sweated through my shirt and onto my backpack. I’m not going to lie, I’m very much out of shape so hiking up the steeps parts of the path was slightly difficult. I was messing around and jokingly yelling while making the trek. Okka started singing “Marry Me” by Bruno Mars and some people started joining in. Isabella practically free-styled for some of the trek. I think the pain from hiking was getting to us. The pain was definitely worth the view climbing up though. The vibrant colors of the trees were beautiful. The way the trees were set up made it look pixelated in some areas of the mountains. We started getting higher than the clouds. We even saw a helicopter in the distance surrounded by clouds and it was the coolest thing; I wish I took a picture of it but my camera wouldn’t be able to zoom in that close.

Look at the clouds! It was such a beautiful sight. We were all so relieved when we finally made it to the top. The last minute of the hike was the hardest because of the steepness but we all forced our way up. As soon as we got to the top we took a quick group picture with the flags that Emil made. A minute later, we immediately started getting cold and put back on the clothes we initially stripped off. Emil brought some pots to boil hot water for everyone so we could all eat cup noodles. We stopped at Family Mart (convenience store) before driving over to the mountain so we could buy some breakfast and cup noodles. Oh man, it was delicious. Takao was sharing his snacks with us while we waited for the water to boil. My mouth was watering for the noodles though. The hot spicy soup was delicious. It warmed up my fingers momentarily so I was able to use my chopsticks correctly. For the next five minutes, everyone was slurping away at their noodles.

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After we made it back down the mountain, we realized that we were two hours behind the schedule Emil set up for the day. Fortunately, no one was in a hurry to get back on campus so we all agreed that we would go to the onsen (hot springs) and get dinner together. We drove about an hour to the onsen. It was a life changing experience. I recommend everyone go. It may be uncomfortable for you to undress completely in front of other people but here no one cares so it gives you ease. The girls and boys are obviously separate so it’s not bad at all. Isabella and I practically ran into the locker room after paying our 600-yen. We were both so cold and I know Isabella had been waiting all week to go to the onsen. She was practically yelling “ONSEN!” with every step she took up that mountain as motivation. It was my first time so I didn’t know how hot the water would be; my skin was on fire! It was so refreshing though; I felt like a new person. We had an hour in the onsen and I knew I wasn’t able to take the heat for that long. I was hanging off the ledge with my arms hanging on the side. Isabella ended up just laying on the ledge so I decided to join. The cool wind felt wonderful. I still can’t believe I was comfortable laying out completely naked like that in the freezing cold. Afterwards, we all took a shower and headed to a restaurant. I don’t remember the name of the restaurant but it served set Japanese meals. I sat with Takao, Adiya, Bea, and Isabella. Takao, Adiya, and I all got カツ丼 with a side of Miso soup. カツ丼 is a popular Japanese food with a bowl of rice topped with deep-fried pork cutlet, egg, and sautéed onions. The egg is cooked in a sweet and salty broth as well and it’s so delicious. I wanted to eat another bowl. After dinner, we drove another hour and a half back on campus. We didn’t get back till 12am…we left campus at 6am the day before! All of us were so tired but it was worth it. I can’t wait till next month’s trip!

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Jack in NZ: Work

October 14, 2016

“Work work work work work work” – Robyn Fenty

“You don’t gotta go to work, but you gotta put in work” – Brian Lee

“Work sucks” – Tom DeLonge

I wish the bathroom were further away from my desk. I could use a nice long stroll to put some substantial physical distance between me and the rest of my work. Unfortunately it’s close by. Perhaps I could wander upstairs a few floors, do a lap around the library, hope I bump into a friend and get sucked into conversation. Better judgment prevails and I’m in and out and back at my desk, bladder emptied, legs minimally stretched, mind still resisting the remaining four steps of Dunedin tap water lead concentration data processing. I fidget for several minutes, taking a long drink from my water bottle. I’m not thirsty, but it’s something to do, and ensures I’ll get to repeat my brief walk past a dozen-odd bookcases to the bathroom within the hour. Maybe I’ll pick up a book and page through it for a while. I’m stuck in the history section, and though I’ve never been a big fan of the subject, these are desperate times. The girl at the desk to my left gets up. I take off my watch and put it on the desk next to my computer, adjusting it several times so the band and the flank of my laptop are exactly perpendicular. I look out the window and watch pedestrians walk by. No one greets another as they walk past. Virtually all of them stare down at their phones or turn the other way with deliberately nonchalant motions. I listen to people shuffle and fidget. A page turns. The girl at the desk to my right gets up. Another page turns. Someone about 20 bookcases over coughs, giving another the tacit permission to do the same. The cycle repeats. The cough and throat-clearing wave passes down the row of desks. I participate. Pens click and are set down with varying degrees of noise. There’s a soft clicking and clacking of laptop keyboards amid the sound of cars driving by. A fluorescent light is on the fritz behind me and makes a plinking sound as it stochastically flashes. I believe it’s as close as I’ll get to Chinese water torture, god willing. The girl who left the desk to my right returns. No sign of the other. Perhaps she’s taking a lap. There’s a palpable air of brow furrowing and nail biting and absentminded finger drumming. Two pretty girls walk by with a Bernese mountain dog and half the people near the window turn their heads. I take another sip of water. I remove my glasses and man handle my face to make sure it’s still there. As far as I can tell, it is. I put my glasses back on. I take them off again and clean them. They’re not dirty. A man with a large green umbrella walks by outside. He stops, checks his phone, and goes back the way he came. I clean the small amounts of gunk from under my nails. I swivel side to side in my chair and open my phone, checking each social media app, finding nothing new. I check each of them again.

This is how the past few weeks have gone. I pick at work for several days, like a child pushing peas around his plate so he can please be excused. I resolve to get things done early, then spend hours on YouTube chasing a tireless rabbit down its infinite Internet hole, rationalizing videos like ‘Jon Stewart destroys Bill O’Reilly on his own show’ and ‘Seven times Neil deGrasse Tyson blew our minds’ have some vague educational benefit. Mid-week rolls around with minimal work production, and weekend plans begin to crop up. A glorious light at the end of the tunnel. Mountains, trails, friends, a departure from cyclical procrastination and concerns of studying, the only thing motivating enough to get me to sit down at a library desk for hours on end and claw my way through lab reports and lecture notes. Forty-eight hours of freedom. All that remains between me and a weekend of fun is the Eurydician task that is my lab report. I must not look back.

I can only hope that with 20 days left in my semester abroad I can change my work habits. There are so many things I want to do before I go, and piles of work to complete before I can do them (it’s possible I’ve neglected to take notes on a lecture or 30). With a little effort, I’m sure I’ll be able to. Though perhaps this post is proof negative, I’ve spent an hour on it instead of doing my assignment.

A car horn honks.

The girl to my left returns.

A seagull floats past.

I get up to walk to the bathroom, but I don’t really have to go.

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Naomi at Akita Week 4: 東京 chillin’

September 30, 2016

This past week/weekend, I took an overnight bus to go visit my close high school friend, Diane, in Tokyo. I was on the bus for about 11 hours and you would not believe this, but I forgot my earphones back at the school. I almost cried when I reached into my empty pocket. I ended up buying earphones at ドンキホーテ in Shibuya for the night bus back. Anyways, the first day I got there Diane had work from 11AM-5PM so I headed to Asakusa to meet up with some AIU peeps that also decided to head to Tokyo. We walked around Sensō-ji, an ancient Buddhist temple. I just learned it’s actually Tokyo’s oldest temple, as well. After walking around, we had time to spare, so we walked around and found a barbershop for Nico to cut his hair. He ended up paying half the price because the barbers were too afraid to cut his hair too short. They were really sweet though. One of the barbers asked Jeremy, Thomas, and I to come sit inside since it was sprinkling. We decided to sit outside though, as you can see in the picture above.

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After a long night out, Diane and I decided to head to Yokohama. My mom suggested we go there since they have a Cup Noodle Museum. It was only a ‎¥500 entrance fee. One of the floors even had a workshop where you could make your own cup noodles. Unfortunately, there were too many children and Diane and I were too hungry to wait. We ended up heading to Chinatown and eating there! There was so much panda merchandise and stores selling Baozi (steam filled buns). After walking around everywhere, Diane and I headed to her rehearsal – she’s in a startup band with Avex. I brought my camera with me because she wanted me to take videos of them performing so they could look over it. I couldn’t help smiling the entire time I was recording. They were killing it. Diane is the vocalist, along with another girl. She has always been a good singer. Going to karaoke with her can be intimidating sometimes because she belts the songs out, especially when Lady Gaga comes on. We actually went to karaoke the night before though and we all sang Jackson 5. Well, she sang it and the rest of it just yelled obnoxiously.

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Unfortunately, it rained the entire time I was in Tokyo so I didn’t take many pictures. BUT, on my last day the sun decided to come out. We woke up in the afternoon after a night out and headed straight to the Sky Tree. The picture above doesn’t do it justice. It’s the tallest structure in Japan at 634 meters. I wanted to go to the top despite the price (¥4000) but there were too many people. You had to stand in line to get a ticket to make a reservation to buy a ticket. We didn’t have enough time to wait and we didn’t want to wait either so we headed to Tokyo Tower. This is definitely worth mentioning though, the train from Sky Tree to Tokyo Tower was wonderful. The air conditioning was so refreshing and the felt seats felt so nice (lol). The entire time I was there, Diane and I made sure to stand in the area where the AC was blasting on the train. Thankfully the trains weren’t too crowded most of the times we went on. Anyways, we arrived at Tokyo Tower after the sun had set. It was definitely not as tall as the Sky Tree but we went up to the 250th floor and the lights were beautiful. It was crazy seeing the concrete jungle below us.

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Just wanted to show you guys this picture. I took it from Diane’s balcony – she lives on the 12th floor. If you look very closely, like super closely, on the top left you can see the Tokyo Tower. Oh, one other thing I wanted to mention: the new earphones I bought at Shibuya? Yeah, I already accidentally washed them in the laundry…

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Jack in NZ: Flops

September 29, 2016

14:00; 2.5hrs until Bluff to Oban Ferry leaves; 2hrs until boarding but they’ll probably be flexible; 2hrs 50min drive from Dunners to Bluff; 1hr 50 mins to go; adequate safety margin for rest stop; ferry takes 1hr; getting me to Stewart Island at around 17:30; leaving a few hours of daylight to crank out the first leg of Rakiura; might have to do some hiking in the dark; that’s cool; might spot a kiwi; someone said they come out on the trail at night; campsite is by the beach; might see some there; what’s that song; the popular one; with the ‘doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo’?; also night hiking isn’t that bad; kinda fun; no navigational concerns; trail is well marked; have a headlamp; should be fine; do I have everything else?; tent; pad; bag; hiking clothes; sleeping clothes; Closer; binocs for birds; bird book; knife; fork; Chainsmokers; that’s the one; ‘doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo’; pot; stove; fuel; no pot lid though; that’s fine; use a little more fuel to boil water; have plenty; should be fine; socks; extra socks; extra underwear; book; definitely will have down time for reading; ‘doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo’; no extra headlamp batteries to read in the dark if they run out; notebook; pen; same deal w.r.t. writing in the dark; probably ok; replaced batteries recently; should be fine; rope; sunscreen; first aid supplies; food; tea; ‘we ain’t ever gettin older’; ‘doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo’; enough food?; yeah; plenty; should be fine; will be eating a lot; hike is 32km in three days; not bad; done worse; pack is pretty light; solo; should be fine; clear head; chill; meditate; read; write; enjoy outdoors; exercise; did I bring a towel?; yes; definitely; ‘we ain’t ever gettin older’; ‘doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo’; first night at Maori Beach; like 3hr hike in; might be able to hitch to trailhead; small island; people are friendly according to guidebook; 3hr walk in dark will be kinda cool; also some daylight for walking; next day wake up and do inland portion to North Arm; like 4 or 5 hrs; seafood possibilities there; then hike out next day; ‘we ain’t ever gettin older’; like another 4 or 5 hrs; Allan’s base camp on way to town; hang out; rest; ‘doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo’; go to town; maybe hit the pub; suss out kayak options; kayak out to Ulva for birds next day; then do some fishing; have rod; will need to get bait or scrounge some mussels or something; should be fine; kayak back to town; night at Allan’s; out early next morning; ferry at 8; need to save phone power for alarm; it’s plugged in now; turn low battery mode on; only use for pictures; should be fine; ‘we ain’t ever gettin older’; ‘doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo’; I wonder if the same flip flop driving rule applies in New Zealand; ‘doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo’; ‘we ain’t ever getting…’; no…; no…; I didn’t…; did I?…; yeah; yep; yep; definitely did… [various redacted expletives]… what time is it now?; can’t turn around to get them; would miss the ferry… [various redacted expletives]; well… looks like I’ll be hiking in flip flops… ; … ; …should be fine; ‘doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo’…

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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.

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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!!

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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.

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… 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.

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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.

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Seriously, he’s the cutest and the best.

Stay determined!

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Tori in Spain: Excitement & Doubt: Pre-Madrid Ponderings

September 8, 2016

Hello! My name is Tori Noles and I am a junior at the University of Richmond, studying PPEL (Political Science, Philosophy, Economics, and Law) and Health Care Studies. This semester, I have chosen to study abroad in Madrid, Spain at St. Louis University. Choosing to study abroad was a very difficult decision for me. I have loved my time at Richmond thus far, and was not sure I wanted to sacrifice a semester filled with incredible professors, thoughtful discussions, and strong friendships for a semester alone in a foreign country. I knew if I stayed at Richmond, I could almost guarantee another great semester would ensue. However, two days before the study abroad deadline, I completed the application on a whim.

All throughout February, I thought deeply about whether I should go abroad or stay in Richmond. My Christian faith is integral to who I am and the perspective through which I view my life and the rest of the world. One of my key beliefs is that God has a perfect plan for my life, but discerning if abroad was part of that plan was really difficult. One day I was struck with the realization that God would be with me and would use me no matter what I decided. My God is just as much the God of Madrid, Spain as He is of Richmond, VA. I believe that God has created every person to love different things, and He delights when we pursue the things he created us to love alongside Him. I longed for adventure and to get to know a new place, so after I was accepted into my first choice program, I said yes!

My summer consisted of living in Richmond, VA with a host family and interning for an anti-human trafficking organization and for Hope Church. I fell head over heels in love with Richmond and, for the first time, knew with certainty that Richmond is the place I hope to call my home after I graduate. As sweet as that realization was, it made it that much harder to leave. I barely thought about Madrid all summer, and cried when I left Virginia to go home and prepare for abroad.

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I will be sontinuing my internship with The Prevention Project, an anti-human trafficking organization, while in Spain!

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Sweet Community from my internship with Hope Church makes it hard to leave RVA!

However, once I began to get ready to leave, the nerves and excitement settled in. I got to talk to my host mom in Madrid before I left, and was comforted by her warmth and fluency in English. She told me that I would become part of their family, which made my heart happy. I’m all about relationships, and was excited to get to know my two little host brothers, as well as my host mom and dad! She asked me if I like vegetables, legumes, chicken, and seafood…. if you know me, you know that those are some of my all time favorite foods, and food is a BIG deal for me. We made plans to cook together on weekends in Madrid before I even left the United States!

With that, I packed up my 50 gallon backpack, a big black suitcase (capable of smuggling my little brother, 19 favorite books, and 5 lbs of dark chocolate), and drove to Charlotte to catch my flight to Madrid!

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Ready to go!

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The airport was a little more emotional than expected…

 

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Jack in New Zealand: Damp/Minor Annoyances

August 26, 2016

 

The Condensation Gods are displeased

They’ve cursed the city of Dunedin with wet air

The humidity permeates our sinuses

Two running nostrils accompany every student

A chorus of sniffles in every class

Panes rendered opaque with dew obscure morning views

Water pools in bathrooms up to ankles after a hot shower

Towels soak up airborne moisture like compressed sponges in a sink

Drying racks exist only notionally

A perpetual wet sheen on every dish

Clotheslines outside a sort of cruel joke

—

I’m going to track down the speaker producing the intermittent high-pitched whine outside. I’ll search every street in Dunedin if I have to. When I find it I’m going to lock it in a soundproof room. I’m going to play heavy metal music through it at dangerously high volumes until the cone pops. I’m going to mount the remaining housing on the highest point of my flat as a warning to the next speaker that decides to scream at odd-hours of the day.

I’m going to take the heater and set it on high. I’m going to seal it in a box until it gets so hot it melts itself. I’m going to take the box and get on a boat and sail far out to sea. I’m going to tie a cinder block to the box and throw it overboard. I’m going to bring the replacement heater with me. It should see what happens to those that heat improperly.

I’m going to remove the upstairs door and jamb. I’m going to repurpose the glass into a windshield, affix it to a car, and sell the car to the nearest crash test lab. I’m going to take the leftover wood and use it to build a fire, and I’m going to heat the doorknob over it until it’s nice and malleable. I’m going to take a hammer and bang the doorknob into a flat metal plate and I’m going to take that plate and etch “I didn’t close” into it and mount it across from the new door. That should teach the next one to shut.

I’m going to yank the broken burner from the stove. I’m going to uncoil it. I’m going to find all the dull knives in the kitchen and grate each and every one against the rough metal until both burner and cutlery are reduced to bits of mineral dust. I’m going to wait for a windy day, and I’m going to hike to the top of Mount Cook and disperse the dust in every direction.

I’m going to remove every wall from the bathroom. I’m going to take the boards and use them to smash the drywall into gypsum molecules. I’m going to take the gypsum and use it to fertilize an expansive vegetable garden. I’m going to pick the vegetables and I’m going to eat each one angrily. That will teach the walls to collect condensation.

I’m going to dismantle the washing machine screw by screw. I’m going to melt down all the metal components and make myself a baseball bat, and I’m going to smash the remaining plastic to pieces. I’m going to gather all the pieces, take them to a volcano, and throw them into the bubbling magma. I’m going to film the entire process, and I’m going to make the rest of my household appliances watch. Woe to the next one that malfunctions.

 

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Jack in New Zealand: Yugen

July 7, 2016

“To watch the sun sink behind a flower clad hill. To wander on in a huge forest without thought of return. To stand upon the shore and gaze after a boat that disappears behind distant islands. To contemplate the flight of wild geese seen and lost among the clouds. And, subtle shadows of bamboo on bamboo.” Zeami Motokiyo

“Discuss your preparations to go abroad – how you are feeling, anxieties or excitements, last minute projects or plans you are making, etc.” UR OIE

How do I feel about going abroad? I think this question is a little vague. I’m fairly confident that the UR Travelogue coordinator is referring specifically to the four months I will spend at the University of Otago in NZ working toward my Biology degree when he says ‘abroad’, but after several months (and in some cases, years) of students and OIE faculty throwing around the term, it’s difficult to nail down a precise definition.

If returning students and previous travel bloggers are to be believed, ‘abroad’ means ‘the best semester of college’ and ‘learning and growing’ and ‘OMFG amazing’ in so many words. If the OIE is the defining authority, then ‘abroad’ means ‘cultural exchange’ and ‘horizon broadening’ and ‘a lot of paperwork’. Even friends and family (individuals keenly aware of my specific plans) reduce ‘abroad’ to banalisms like ‘so much fun’ and ‘independence’ and ‘legally imbibing alcohol’.

‘Abroad’ has been consistently built up over the past months to mean all of these things, and while I believe everyone’s definitions come from a genuine source (perhaps from their own life-changing international study experiences, and their desires for me to have the same), I think it’s impossible for these definitions to truly encompass the ‘study abroad experience’. Each seems a little too trite to be true, and with students attending programs around the world, ‘abroad’ cannot possibly begin to define the experiences of every student.

So it’s quite difficult for me to pin down exactly how I feel about ‘abroad’. I think I’ve decided I don’t feel much about it at all. ‘Abroad’ is going to just sort of happen to me. And that’s the way I’d prefer it.

My preparations for abroad have been almost entirely practical, concentrating on packing my backpacks, leaving behind any definitional baggage that could serve as a template or filter for my experience. A laundry list of expectations will only serve to make me anxious, distance me from the present moment, and prevent me from truly marveling at my experience. A constant stream of ‘is this the best semester I’ve had so far?’, ‘am I experiencing enough cultural exchange?’, ‘am I taking enough advantage of my ability to legally imbibe?’ will prevent me from experiencing what it truly means to ‘go abroad’.

That being said, if I have any hopes for abroad, it’s that my friends, family, and the OIE turn out to be entirely right. I want to return in December to find that the only way to fully describe my experience is ‘OMFG it was so awesome’. I want the trite travel-bloggisms to be true. I want an experience so complex and amazing that I am reduced to spewing positive unintellectual platitudes upon my return, and really and truly mean them.

But in the mean time, this blog will be concerned with the experience as it happens, free from definitional filters and expectations. It may be occasionally trite. It may sarcastically spite its own triteness. Above all, I hope it will be an honest and entertaining accounting of my experience. You’ll get a sense of how I feel about my own personal ‘abroad’ along the way.

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