At least that’s what it feels like anyways. I am standing over the precipice, looking down, ready to take the step forward, the step that will plummet me into a colossal life experience that will forever shape part of who I am. I cannot begin to explain how blessed I feel to have this experience. I am going to be learning, exploring, and living in Southeast Asia for four months. Vietnam will be my new home for a time. How crazy is that?

Anyways, for the purposes of this blog, let me tell you a little about myself.

My name is Michaela Rabinov, I am a creative advertising major, and a dance minor. I was born and raised in Kaneohe, Hawaii, but have been living in Chicago for the past four years for school. I do go home twice a year though for breaks.

That is where I have been for the past five weeks. Hawaii. Hawaii is like no other place in the world, and my love for it will never die, but it is an island, and once you have experienced the bigger world, you begin to yearn to experience more and more of the bigger world. Once I started traveling, I could not stop. I have always been a bit of a risk taker/adrenaline junkie/soul searcher/whatever you may call it,  and yet, I have never gone to a new place for five months without knowing anybody, or speaking the language at all before. So this is new, and I.am.so.excited.

Yesterday, I (over)packed my bags, and left Hawaii for Portland. I am here for a couple of days before I have to fly to Chicago for five hours (because it was vastly cheaper to book round trip tickets). Then I fly directly to Shanghai (15 hour flight) where I will spend five days going to Xi’an, Huangshan, and Hangzhou. Then I will finally fly to Ho Chi Minh City to meet up with my fellow loyolans and future adventure buddies.

One of the strangest realizations that I have had so far in this experience was when I was at orientation a couple of months back. I was sitting in the room looking around, and all I could think about was that I didn’t know a single person sitting in that room, but that come December, at least a few of them will probably be considered some of my best friends. Life is kind of amazing that way.

I feel like I have so many expectations for this experience, and yet, I have no idea what they are. So in a way, I guess I have no expectations, which is probably a good thing.

I do have some fears of course, the usual ones, like what will happen if I get mugged and my passport is stolen, or if I get sick, or get malaria (I have some pills for  that), or have any of you seen the movie Taken??? (just kidding, sort of). My biggest fear is honestly my return to Chicago, after this semester is over. It will be the middle of January (I hate winter), and I already know that reverse culture shock is worse than actual culture shock. I am making a huge effort to focus on the present, and to enjoy what I have now though.

The past five weeks in Hawaii have been filled with many experiences. Four days ago, I had my wallet, phone, and a few other things stolen, and so I had to scramble to replace those important items before I left, but during my time home, I also got to swim with sharks, hike some mountains, surf a few waves, and get scuba certified, among many other incredible adventures. The way I see it, the positive experiences always outweigh the negative ones, and the negative ones just have to be seen as learning experiences. This is why I feel ready to take on whatever it is that Asia throws at me. I am entering these next five months with an open mind, and an open heart, and I am ready to take in everything.

It’s around 5am in Chiang Mai. I’ve been up for the past two hours listening to the pitter-patter of monsoon rain as it falls on the green plastic roof of our guesthouse. This first blogpost has to happen eventually so it may as well happen now – in the dark on a moist chair cushion outside my room.  

I’m outside because I don’t want to wake Emily, a fellow Loyola student and one of my dearest friends. Emily and I met our freshman year at Loyola University Chicago’s John Felice Rome Center. Both Rome Start students we lived in adjacent rooms and became friends over a bagel and cream cheese one fateful November morning. The rest is history. We both decided to study abroad in Vietnam for different reasons and it was a wonderful bonus that we just so happened to get to share the experience together. Both of us has saved up for this for the past two years, ever since we returned from Rome. It’s all been leading up to this and now we’re about five days into a two-week long trip to Malaysia and Thailand before our program in Ho Chi Minh City starts on August 24th! Having been in Rome we watched students jet off every weekend to different countries and both of us valued our quiet weekends getting to know the city of Rome. We wanted to travel before the program because once we get to Vietnam we would like to spend the weekends exploring the diverse country and HCMC as much as we can!

The start of the trip was rough. Emily was almost refused entry on our flight from Seattle to Taipei and then Taipei to Kuala Lumpur because she didn’t have the credit card the flight was bought with (i.e her father’s card). It took her three hours to successfully check-in and then we stumbled upon another little issue. Emily found a wallet in the bathroom, we couldn’t find any airport employees and a cranky TSA women told us she wouldn’t help and that we had to call the police. Thankfully, the woman had an AT&T bill in her wallet so we were able to call her up and do a rad wallet-pass-off through the security gates via a different TSA agent as she had already left for baggage claim (thank goodness EVA Air didn’t want to let Emily on the plane!). After 24+ hours of travel we arrived at our AirBnb in Kuala Lumpur and had no idea how to turn on the hot water so we both subsequently took freezing showers after having cooled the room down to a chill 18 degrees Celsius. We learned after that all we had to do for hot water was flip a switch on the bathroom wall. Later, I found a pack of exploded Goldfish in my checked bag that had turned to delicious cheddar sand all over my clothes and shoes. Things shaped up in KL: I had some tasty nasi lemak, watched a monkey steal apples from a man and listened to the call to prayer (a sound that reminds me of my old home in New Delhi, India).

 

I did not wake up this morning at 3am because I am jetlagged but rather because I am anticipating breakfast, this entire day and the next four months. I woke up this morning because I have so much to look forward to and I literally could not sleep. Also who can complain about waking up at 3am when you get to watch the sun rise over the lush greenery and rooftops of Chiang Mai? How wonderful is life.

 Isabelle

 

 

 

Growing up in a family where a family road trip every summer was the norm and a “vacation” day or two, crammed with activities from museums to presidential libraries, was added to any out of town baseball game, tennis tournament, dance competition or college visit, I guess you could say the travel bug bit me early.

I am so grateful for those early years of travel, and all the unforgettable moments they provided. Learning about different regions of my own country has equipped me with an open mind and passion for learning about cultural differences that makes traveling outside of the States that much more rewarding.

Since my first trip abroad in 2010 and my departure for this journey, I traveled to 13 countries on 4 different continents, over half of which were exclusively for educational purposes. All of these experiences left me wanting more. More time, more immersion, more growth.

In fact, I had planned to spend my sophomore year doing the full year program at Loyola’s John Felice Rome Center in Rome, Italy. I adjusted my course schedule, applied, was accepted, and then something, I’m not quite sure what, told me not to go. Thankfully, I listened.

On my first day of classes, and what would have been the start of my second week abroad, my father had a severe stroke and lost his speech and mobility of his right side. Over the next 10 months he fought – first to recover, and then Stage IV Lung Cancer before passing away in June 2014. Within those 10 months, I also lost 2 dear friends, a close teacher and my grandfather.

All of this eventually took a huge toll, causing me to lose my passion for travel, and for learning. I became afraid of anything that might upset the status quo. After a year and a half of going through the motions, it was time for a change – a drastic change – to get me back on track personally and academically. That’s when I decided I needed to do something that had always brought me joy, something that always challenged me, and something that I had grown to love during long family road trips and my previous time abroad.

I decided first on Vietnam, but I quickly learned about other programs that peaked my interest, and was determined to fit in as much as possible in the time it would take me to finish my degree.

By October 1st of last year, I had already applied to Fall 2016 in Vietnam, as well as two summer Faculty-led programs Loyola was offering – China Green and Seoul, Korea. My mind was set – I would be going abroad for over half a year, traveling, alone if need be, in between programs to further my understanding of Asia.

In January, on my 22nd birthday, I was accepted to all 3 programs (one of the best birthday presents I have ever received!) and there was no turning back. I became obsessed with traveling as much as I could in the years to come.

There were two major issues:

1. Loyola has a two semester study abroad policy.

2. My plan would not fit into the traditional “4-year plan” seen as how I was technically finishing my 4th year already.

I memorized the courses offered, the opportunities provided and the classes I still needed to complete. After some highly organized planning that may or may not have fried my brain, I had devised a plan that would allow me to finish my degree abroad… and add two minors…

Fall 2016 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Spring 2017 Uppsala, Sweden
Full Year 2017-2018 Rome, Italy

I appealed to study abroad for 4 semesters, attaching the detailed academic plan I had laid out for myself, along with a 10 page letter explaining why these programs and this timing was the best way for me to complete my degree. With the support of my family, my advisor and the study abroad office, my appeal was accepted.

Even with two years of new places, new friendships and new foods to look forward to, planning to study abroad proved to be a stressful, painstaking process, especially having close family and friends I would be leaving behind. The eight months I had to plan my trip were not enough time to prepare myself for what was to come. I had my doubts almost every week, but I knew how much pushing through would benefit me.

I have been traveling for three months now and it still isn’t always easy to be gone. I am writing this while sunbathing on a boat in the Gulf of Thailand, the sea breeze blowing through my hair and mountainous islands all around. I am surrounded by beauty, but I miss home more than ever.

In a few weeks, it will be the first Bears game of the regular season, which I attend every year with my Aunt and Uncle and haven’t missed in over a decade. Last week, there were bombings throughout Thailand. Knowing my family will now be increasingly concerned with my safety makes me long for home even more.

Though I know it would bring me all the joy in the world to be sitting at home eating some of my brother’s mouthwatering dishes using vegetables from our garden, I couldn’t be more happy with my decision to study abroad at this point in my life. I know that with every passing day I am growing more confident in myself, more aware of other cultures, and more prepared for what the rest of my journey holds.

In just 10 days I arrive in Ho Chi Minh City to begin the next leg of my journey. I will meet new people, try new foods, learn (as much as I can) a new language, and continue to develop myself personally, academically, and professionally. I am not quite sure what to expect, but I am excited to see what the next four months will bring.

This time, I am ready.

Am I prepared? Have I done enough research on local culture? Am I bringing the right shoes? Should I have used a different bank?

With only one week left until I leave for four months in London I’m wondering if I prepared correctly. With so many thoughts swirling my head it’s hard to focus on actually getting anything ready.  I’ve drafted my next Target run list three times already. But don’t I need an extra travel size deodorant? No.

I continually need to remind myself to pack light. Only bring what is necessary and will be used often; clothes that can be worn with many outfits, shoes that are comfortable, only toiletries I use on a regular basis. With only one checked bag, I know I don’t have space for everything I WANT to bring but I haven’t been able to bring myself to start making the tough decisions about which things need to stay home.  And to think that two years ago I thought I wouldn’t be able to fit everything into one car!

 

Besides just stuff I am bringing, there is way more to prepare. Do I have all the correct credit/debit cards? How do I get an absentee ballot for the election? How can I handle all that and moving across the country?  Luckily for me I am headed to a big city, which is sort of in my comfort zone after living in Minneapolis and Chicago. I have experience with navigating public transportation, interacting with different types of people and the fast pace which will help me adjust to London.  Of course, I have never moved across the ocean without knowing anyone before. But I got this, right?

Either way I’m heading off soon. I am hoping writing about my experiences abroad will give me a chance to reflect on what I want to take away from my semester.  I just hope I am doing this right.

Hi it’s me. Literally one week ago I boarded a plane to China and since then I’ve been going nonstop. Currently, I’m sitting in the middle of  Tibet, 5 days into our 13 day trip to follow the Silk Road route.

To say coming to China would be a culture shock is an understatement, but it is an experience that I’m greatful for. The amount of people in all the cities especially Beijing is almost overwhelming, and makes Chicago seem like a rural town. We walk around each city and are constantly stopped because everyone wants to take pictures with us. Funny story: when Josh and I landed at the airport, we were immediately caught in a crowd of young teens and paparazzi trying to get a picture of a famous young Chinese star. Still wondering who exactly it is, but I guess I can say we met someone famous.

The trip we’re on right now has taken us to Xi’an where we biked the 6000 year old city wall, to Tibet, and we still have a trip to the Gobi desert where we are going to camp and ride camels to watch the sunrise. Each city and experience makes me appreciate the cultural differences I have to overcome by coming to such a foreign country.

I’m currently blogging from my phone in a coffee shop because I left my American SIM card in Beijing and wifi is spotty. More pics and details to come when I get wifi or when we return in 8 days.

Xoxo

Our trip has finally calmed down enough for me to get to sit down and blog and sleep (!!) and think about what I’m actually doing aka studying abroad for 4 months.

Yesterday was by far the most “zen” and top 10 days that I’ve had in my life ever which is why it gets it’s own post. We traveled to a town in the GanSu province called Xia’he, which, is a significant Tibetan monastery town.

We started off the day by waking up at 6:30 am (well some of us) and walking to the Labrang Monastery, which attracts Tibetan pilgrims in the thousands. Here, we joined a local pilgrimage by circling the 1.5 mile long Monastery wall and turning the thousands of prayer wheels. While I didn’t go the entire way, it was amazing to see people in their element. To think of all the work that goes into making each wheel and even just the dedication of people who walk that route every morning is astounding.

Then, after eating breakfast at our hotel, we went back to tour the inside of the Monestary. While we were not able to take pictures inside each temple, I can assure you that each temple was so colorful and elaborately decorated.

Then we had some free time to roam the city and barter for clothes and eat. This brings me to my interesting point: the Yak. This city had yak everything from yak milk to yak meat, seems to be their staple which has lead to our running joke of yak style.

After family style lunch we visited a nunnery again near the monastery, except this time we were able to hike up to where they would do a sky burial and all the way back to the city. While we didn’t see a sky burial (which consists of chopping up a body, sprinkling it with spices, and letting it sit so that vultures can eat it and then poop it out all over the world) we were still able to climb up very high and look out over the entire monestary.

Then we treated ourselves to a nice snack of homemade dumplings (my favorite) and went for a picnic/ Tibetan pop party and bonfire in the grasslands. I’ve learned how to channel my sound of music self, but unfortunately cannot dance Tibetan style.

That’s all for now. Until next time ✌️

When travelling somewhere new and exciting I always say that making a list of what you want to do helps. There is always so much to do and there is rarely enough time….unless you happen to be in one place for about 5 months. Which, it just so happens, is the situation I am in! Below is the list of things I hope to accomplish (besides schoolwork) during my time here in Cape Town.

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Cape Town Bucket List:

Hike Up Table Mountain

Hike Up Devil’s Peak

Hike Up Lion’s Head

Go Shark Cave Diving in Gaansbai (Shark Alley)

Skydiving

Bungee Jumping off Bloukrans River Bridge

See the Big 5 (Lion, Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, and Leopard)

Visit the Penguins at Boulder Beach

Go to all the markets! (Hout Bay, Old Biscuit Mill, etc.)

Bike along the Sea Point Promenade

Surf in Muizenberg

Go to the Vergenoegd Wine Estate and witness the March of the Ducks!

Recreate the picture of Mom on Victoria Falls

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

Feed a squirrel at the Company Gardens

Have wine and cheese at the top of Signal Hill at sunset

Have high tea at Mount Nelson Hotel

Hug a Lion

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I know I will be adding to this list and crossing thing off as my adventures continue so I will try and keep it updated as much as possible!

ALSO, if you have any suggestions of activities I should do during my time please let me know!!!

Being abroad is a big, fat melting pot of every emotion you could ever imagine. From A-Z, this is an all-inclusive, anti-discriminatory category. Some days you feel so many differing emotions that you wonder if it is actually possible to feel so much yet fail to be cognizant of what you really just emotionally experienced. Language, accommodations, city, people, lifestyle, customs, and culture: all foreign to you, yet you’re the foreigner—a backwards and stomach-lurching feeling that is all too real. Ok, truth. But that is the thrilling excitement of existing in a place in which you’ve never been previously exposed to before. It challenges the mind to remember what independence and confidence is, making you realize that, oh yeah, I really can do more than I believed to be true, or even thought possible. Exiting the comfort zone only helps you grow from the inside out, and taking risks and seizing opportunities is only advantageous to you as a whole person.

A month and a half after arriving in Santiago, Chile and I promise you that this metropolitan region has been navigated, cursed, loved, praised, and become a home to this first-time visitor. In this short chunk of life, I have hiked multiple hills, or ‘cerros’, that have allowed me to panoramically view the smog-ridden, yet still beautiful, city skyline; I have attended family barbeques, or ‘asados’, in my own backyard in which, I kid you not, I have not understood one word of the supposed Spanish that has been thrown around—Chilean colloquial Spanish, take mercy on my soul (and yes, I was just standing there like an awkward extranjero looking at my big brothers with doggy eyes of confusion until they explained things to me in what the rest of the world knows as actual Spanish). I have visited all three houses of the lovely poet and Nobel Prize of Literature awardee, Pablo Nerudo; I have eaten the best veggie burger my taste buds have ever encountered; I have attended a Santiago meet-up for locals and gringos alike, where I met two of my now good Chilean friends; I have skied the slopes of the Andes mountain range with a Reggaetone lovin’ crew; and I have danced the night away (eh, until 3am—early for these locals) at a Chilean wedding. I have watched the Chilean news and local Chilean soap operas (Teletrece, Srs. Papis, and Pobre Gallo, if anyone is interested) with my host brothers almost every night since being here; I have learned how to TRULY eat an artichoke; and I have tried these Chilean fried things called sopaipillas (street food: aka buy on the street…it’s called street food for a reason) and I haven’t turned back since. I have had a picnic in the park with friends and $1.50 wine to celebrate a 21^st birthday; I have been told to “Have a wonderful day” every morning by a jolly old man when on my daily commute to school; I have come to fit into all of my jeans much better (sorry USA, your food is toxic); and I have met students and friends from France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Holland, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, etc. I have been off-road biking in the Chilean countryside, totaling anywhere between 25 to 35 kilometers; I have seen Saturn, Mars, the Milky Way, and a star cluster through a gigantic telescope at an observatory in Chile’s northern desert terrain; I have gone to a market where anything and everything was free, a true ‘take-only-what-you-need’ mentality; I have been jipped $11,000 Chilean pesos in change at a restaurant until it was kindly demanded back by us gringos J; I have attended a Chilean middle school fundraising Bingo night to watch my girl Ellie Kust do her thing and perform her musical talent on stage (yes, you are now highly encouraged to check her out on SoundCloud); I have been taught how to dance by a Chilean in a rooftop bar too small for dancing; and I have attended a Chilean vegan festival with a very, very happy heart (and a stomach full of mango juice, a sushi burrito, chocolate peanut butter cake, and an endless amount of samples).

I can say that I’ve had my wallet stolen at a bus terminal only to have it returned by an anonymous and kind (or maybe just karma conscious) individual; I can say I lived with three amazing Chilean big brothers only to have them leave Chile for a big European trip; I can say that I’m one of the seemingly few vegans (I know, there’s gotta be more of them than I realize) living in this big city, yet my host family and like-minded restaurant owners have made this situation adaptable, comfortable, and easy to maintain; I can say that I’ve already experienced strep throat, yet my dentist host brother personally prescribed me antibiotics, saving me a trunk of Chilean pesos, an insurance headache, and a lot of my time; I can say that my computer completely died on me for 4 days straight (legit black screen of death), yet my REAL big brother who is 4,918 miles away magically fixed it for me; I can say that my local Jesuit university was seized and taken over by the reform-seeking students, yet through it I have thoroughly learned about Chile’s educational, social, and political history; and finally, I can say that I arrived at school for my first day of class only to find out that the class (and many others, mind you) didn’t actually exist, yet very patient advisors took the time to sit down with me and inform me of other similar courses that are available and, to my knowledge, existent.

There are inevitable obstacles, challenges, highs, and lows to juggling life as an American and native English speaker in a South American city and Spanish-speaking community. What I have found, though, is that it is empowering. Figuring out how to survive life in a different hemisphere isn’t an easy task for everyone, and no matter who you are, I believe it comes with adjustment. Yet, with the city at your fingertips and a plethora of others who are along for the ride, navigating the world doesn’t seem like such a scary thing. I entered this country not knowing a soul, and I have already had the blessing of meeting remarkable humans from around the globe, all here on a similar journey. Many times since being here I have humbly paused upon the thought of how much different my life would be if I had never chosen to stress myself out in order to get processed and approved to enter this country. The experiences I have had, the humans I have met, the sights that I have seen…none of them would exist if I had never taken a leap of faith upon myself. And for that, cheers.

 

Sometimes while we are away from home, experience new and exciting things, we forget that the world around us goes on. This afternoon I learned of some news that made my heart sink and I want to take a moment to talk about it:

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I want to take a moment to talk about one of my favorite places on Earth: Italy.

 

When I was 7 I threw a coin into the Trevi Fountain in Rome. The tale goes that if you throw one coin in the fountain you will return to Rome again one day. That was my hope, my wish, my dream…

 

Last summer I spent two of the greatest months of my life backpacking around Europe. I set aside two weeks of that time to explore the beautiful country of Italy, and I knew then as I know now that two weeks was not long enough. With its vibrant cities, historical sites, amazing culture and mouth-watering food Italy is a place that is, or should be, on every person’s bucket list. To hear about the devastating earthquake that took the lives of so many people breaks my heart. My favorite thing about Italy is the fact that when you walk the streets in any town, you are transported back in time. Seeing the pictures of all that history and beauty brought down to rubble is gut wrenching. I know people who are in Italy now and some who are planning on studying abroad there soon. I hope everyone is safe and that while you are there you take the time to soak in the awe of the world around you. Italy is a place I will never forget and it will forever be a place I hope to return to. I threw a coin in the Trevi fountain last summer with the same dream I had when I was 7, that one day, I will return to Italy.

 

Rest in Peace the victims of the Italian Earthquake