I’m sorry for it being so long since my last post! I survived midterms week and spent this past week in Seoul, South Korea for spring break! I will be doing a blog post about my travels later on! This blog is about the second half of the Yunnan excursion. I’ll try to keep it a little shorter this time.

Part 2

              Day 7- Feb 7- Dai Village

After a 3-hour drive, we finally arrived at the Dai village. When I looked out of the window, I was a little confused. There were tour buses everywhere; however, once I stepped off of the bus, I was bombarded with hot air. The weather was amazing compared to the cold weather we’ve been staying in. I immediately had to shed the 3 layers of sweatshirts and jackets I was wearing. Once we were paired with our homestay families, we headed towards their house. I was with Megan, Silvia, and Jessie. On our walk to the house, I thought it was weird when tour groups with loud tour guides would pass through yelling into their microphones. Why did there need to be tourists? That’s one of the things I didn’t like about the Dai village. It was such a tourist destination, that it wasn’t like any of the villages we had gone to before.   

The Dai houses are amazing. They are made completely out of wood and are on stilts. Their houses are raised, historically, so that in wet damp areas the living spaces don’t get ruined. Our host grandma was very nice. We were given fruit and a knife to peel the apples, and they were the best tasting apples I’ve had in China! We were given a simple lunch with really good beef and sweet peas. After lunch the shopping began. I ended up getting a full Dai village outfit consisting of a white top with embroidered blue flowers, and a long blue skirt with peacocks on it. I really bended in, and if felt good to be “fully Asian” by looks. A lot of other TBC students bought white embroidered shirts and apparel.

In the evening, for the Chinese New Year we had a community party. Everyone living in the village and the tourists gathered on the basketball court. The Dai people preformed many songs and dances, and we sung “You are my sunshine”, Ally and Russell did an amazing hip hop routine, and we all danced to the cupid shuffle and soldier boy. After wards, the best part was that we invited people up to dance with us. We taught them the two group dances, then we all danced together! It was so much fun interacting with everyone and even seeing Father Gene dance with us! We played a fun relay game where you were partnered back to back and had to run and pop a balloon. My group won, so we got traditional colorful umbrellas!

At the end of the community party we had a mini mash-pit of dancing with a bunch of the villagers and tourists. It was one of my favorite nights of the Yunnan trip! Afterwards, our host family went to bed, so some of us went to another host family to wait until midnight to celebrate the new year. Some of the students’ host families brought them to a lantern releasing party. Sadly, I didn’t get to go, but I hung out with friends playing games and talking through the night. To signal the new year we set off firecrackers!

Day 8- Feb 8- Dai village/ Lijiang

We had some breakfast, were given a ton of bananas and banana chips (which are amazing!!!), boarded the bus, and headed to the airport! After arriving in Lijiang and getting into our hotel, we unpacked and get ready to tour the Old town of Lijiang. After dinner Dominic (fellow TBC student) and I hung out it the hotel courtyard, then decided to go wander the town. There were so many little shops, things to do, and food to eat! It was so much fun exploring, that we got lost… it was ok for a while, but once the stores started to close, it was harder to figure out where we were. We finally made our way back, but it took a long time. There’s nothing like getting lost in China with no cell service, data, and can’t communicate clearly; nevertheless, we made it back ok!

Day 9- Feb 9- Naxi village/ Lijiang

We started off the day visiting the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Dominic, Saeger, Kasey, and I hiked towards the mountain, but didn’t have enough time to climb it.

We then went to the Naxi village. After we arrived Aly, Carlyn, Father Gene and I measured a traditional Naxi house for our architecture class while everyone else played basketball with the locals. Afterwards we had dinner at the local shaman’s house, then started our community party. This was also another fun party! There was a lot of dancing and a lot of old men trying to get everyone to dance. It was a tight space, but a lot of fun dancing with the locals!

Day 10- Feb 10- Lijiang/Dali

We went to the Zhiyun Monastery toady. It was amazing to climb all the stairs and view the temples. I sat outside the highest temple with Dominica and Molly just staring out into the mountains taking in the beautiful views and the peaceful area.

Afterwards we went to a traditional Bai house to have lunch. There I gave my mini presentation on Architecture in Yunnan. Everyone was required to research a topic about Yunnan, and I chose architecture. After lunch, we drove to our final destination for our excursion: Dali.

Day 11- Feb 11- Dali

I started off the day with taking a nice bike ride with friends to the lake… which turned into an all-day bike ride. Saeger, Alexander, Kasey, Andrew, and I all loaned out mountain bikes and rode around Dali. Probably wasn’t the best idea to ride our bikes on country highways with no helmets (they weren’t given), but it was so much fun! Towards the late afternoon, Saeger and I biked to the closest pagoda, which was an uphill adventure. 

Day 12- Feb 12- Dali/ Kunming

For our second and final day in Dali, we had to check out at 11 am, then we had the rest of the day to ourselves. We decided to walk around and buy souvenirs and explore Dali more. Some students biked like I did the previous day. We walked around for hours eating street food, snacks, and soaking up the sun.

At the end of the day, we made the 20-minute walk from our hotel to the bus, then departed to the train station for our 8-hour overnight train. We departed at 9:00 PM. Sadly, one of my friends was really sick, so I stayed up to help her through the night. We had quite an odd experience with the doctor who came with us for the trip. I would not recommend him for anything.

Day 13- Feb 13- Kunming/Beijing

The overnight train was rough getting up every hour or so to help my friend, but I was glad I could help. We arrived at the airport at 5 AM and waited for our 7:30 AM flight. I fell asleep in line waiting to get our tickets, and again on the plane.

When we arrived in Beijing we tried to get food, but the only places open were 7-11, a 24-hour noddle place, and a few convenience stores. It was still the Lunar New Year break, so everything was still closed, and remained closed for the rest of the week. We got noodles to go, and hung out at the dorm for the rest of the night.

Recap:

Overall the Yunnan trip was amazing! Truly a once in a lifetime experience. Being able to do homestays and immerse myself in the Chinese culture is indescribable. I had so much fun and was able to reflect on myself during the trip. Through the trip I realized that it’s not hard to go outside of your comfort zone. My mindset for this trip studying abroad has been to do and try everything I can. I thought it would be harder to push myself to put myself out there and do things I would never have done, like learn and preform dances on the spot, trying new foods, and volunteering for anything. That’s something I am grateful to learn about myself. It’s not hard to do something new, even if it’s uncomfortable. I have found myself longing for more adventure and to try new things throughout my time in China and in Yunnan, and I’m glad I have that longing. When my semester is over, I’m going to keep that longing for adventure and trying new things because I realize there is so much in the world, and even in Chicago, that I haven’t experienced or have tried.

The TBC program did an outstanding job in planning this amazing excursion.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the Spring Break of champions. Over the past week, my roommate and I spent our Spring Break traveling through 4 countries and 6 cities, give or take a few extra pit stops along with way. Many told us it would be impossible and few imagined how we could possibly manage to do it all in one trip, but we persevered and managed to learn something about ourselves, and our study abroad experience, along the way.

We began in the Czech Republic, taking a morning flight into Prague and public transport toward a hillside park next to the city. We enjoyed a walk down the sloping pathways, taking in the gorgeous view of Prague below us before making our way to St. Charles Bridge. We picked up some mulled wine before crossing (think the hot, pumpkin spice-esque cousin to the red wine your parents let you try that one time at dinner) and stopped several times along the way to just take in the view of the river and the city. We tried those now-infamous (thanks to Buzzfeed) donut ice cream cones and spent the afternoon exploring the city before hitting up a local restaurant for some traditional Czech food. Overall, our visit to the beautiful city was a nice post-midterms repose, as well as a peaceful preparation for our next city.

We came to Krakow for the same reasons as many others: to see a charming small Polish city and to make a pilgrimage to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Our tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau left our hotel early in the morning, and we were driven to the site of Auschwitz I first, spending about an hour and a half there, before we spent another hour at the death camp, Auschwitz II-Birkenau.

I won’t get to into the details in a blog post concerning Spring Break and Study Abroad, as the camp not only deserves to be treated separately from such frivolities but needs its own post and then some, but I will say that visiting Auschwitz is an experience everyone should participate in. It is not so much about trying to mourn for the people lost there, though that is definitely a factor, but about witnessing the place where so many horrors happened so that we accept our faults as a human race and take responsibility for them in the form of proactive movements for a peaceful future. Reading and learning about the atrocities that happened there is one thing, but being in the presence and seeing with your own eyes the hair and belongings of those murdered, the ovens their bodies were burned in, and the places where they were hoarded together like animals, is an unforgettable and awful experience that reminds one of the importance of respect for all people, lest we let ourselves fall into the trap of persecution again.

As we expected, it seemed out of place for us to do anything truly enjoyable after spending the majority of the day in Auschwitz, but we did our best to still go out and be present in Krakow while we could. We were glad we did so, because the area really is quite endearing. The little town square as a market that runs through the center of it, and there we found all manner of trinkets and goods. We ate some pirogies and a classic polish stew for dinner, followed by chocolates from a local chocolatier. All were delicious and enjoyable, but we still ended our evening a bit early so that we could reflect on the days events and process everything that we saw.

From Krakow we went on to Warsaw, the “Phoenix City” that rebuilt itself from the ashes. This could be seen plainly, as the typical European old-towns and quaint squares were in a rather confined area, with more modern and new buildings taking up a lot of space. This was both a little off-putting and refreshing, as we had yet to encounter anything like it in Europe. The highlight of Warsaw was the Chopin museum. Neither I nor my traveling companion particularly favor classical music or any specific composers, nor do we consider ourselves frequent museum visitors, but the Chopin museum was truly the best. It was high tech, interactive, and very informative! We ended up spending a good few hours wandering around and listening to Chopin’s famous works, and that experience made our time in his home country much better!

We traveled next to Berlin, Germany. We arrived late, following a mishap with our bus (we didn’t miss it, it never showed up), and were starting to get a little tired from our travels. We therefore sucked up our “travelers, not tourists” pride and succumbed to the 24 hour hop on/hop off double-decker bus tour. The guided tour was pretty cheesy, but it ended up being a great time! We got to relax and see everything we wanted to see while getting around the city fairly easily, which ended up leaving us with more time to explore on our own and get the feel of the city itself. Sometimes doing the tourist thing isn’t so bad.

We were back on our own when we went to Hamburg. This visit was an odd one. I had been pretty set on getting a hamburger in Hamburg, much to the chagrin of my roommate, and so that was one of my main goals for the trip, besides wandering around the city. Though our day did culminate in my long-awaited burger, which was honestly one of the best I’ve had in my life, we were surprised to find a random hidden gem near the river. Miniatur Wunderland, a huge indoor train and diorama, was one of the strangest and coolest things I’ve ever gone to see. An entire floor of a building was set aside for the expansive dioramas, which included Las Vegas, Hamburg, a fully functioning mini-airport, and much more! We felt like little kids running around and seeing all the little details put into the large models, which made for a pretty awesome afternoon.

Following Hamburg, we made our final stop of our epic Spring Break in Geneva, Switzerland. I’m not going to lie, we came to Switzerland for the chocolate and Switzerland was happy to deliver. We walked around to several different shops and tried at least one piece of chocolate at each. Along the way, we stopped to see the Jet D’eau (a giant stream of water that seems like a dumb attraction until it goes off and you realize how large it actually is and it suddenly becomes really cool), the Opera House, and the United Nations Office. We also took a spur of the moment train to Montreux, about an hour away and on the other side of Lake Geneva. Montreux was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen, and that’s really all I can say about it. It was simply stunning.

Though it was a bit sad to leave the fun and the incredible sights along our trip, we were happy to make it back to Rome. Nine days of travel is tiring. I love my roommate and she is one of my closest friends, but being away from the JFRC and only having her to talk to could be a little frustrating – not because we ever had difficulty continuing conversation, but because she was literally the only person I had to talk to for 9 days who shared my nationality and mother tongue. This doesn’t sound like much of an issue, but even in a short time it can be a very strange situation.

We also managed to pull through some tough situations. I spent a night and a nap at a corner table in a McDonald’s of the Warsaw train station (remember that bus that didn’t show up?) and slept on the floor of the Geneva airport along with other travelers who had early flights. We dealt with barriers with four different languages. We had to figure out public transport in three foreign countries for four different cities. We used four separate currencies, and had to adapt quickly as we moved rather frequently from place to place. All of this in just nine days was a lot to handle, but even while away from Rome it highlighted something important about our abroad experience: it is not all fun and games.

Studying abroad is an incredibly enjoyable and rewarding experience, but it’s also extremely challenging. Picking yourself out of one culture/city/country/continent and putting yourself into another for an extended period is hard. Language barriers, cultural differences, and homesickness are all roadblocks to be encountered. Interacting with new people, places, and circumstances is, more often than not, awkward and frustrating. However, the feeling of tackling these obstacles and learning to find yourself and your place in a new environment is unlike anything else. The happiness we felt upon successfully making our return to Rome, having completed an intense nine days of travel and enjoyed every second of it regardless of any minor mishap or confusion or awkward situation, was unparalleled. The bumps in the road have made me a stronger, more prepared person, and ultimately, I think that’s the entire reason why one should study abroad in the first place: to get lost amidst new places and find yourself along the way.

If you want to watch a video of our travels, click here.

“So, today is my new favorite day!”-Winnie the Pooh

 

HEY PEOPLE OF THE INTERNET!! Remember me? Yeah, I know. I’ve been slackin’. It’s been crazy these past few weeks, but I’ll catch up. I’m about to wow you with my MID-SEMESTER BREAK ADVENTURES.

Okay, so first of all, I was blessed with the arrival of three of the most wonderful women on the planet- My BEAUTIFUL mother and her two FAB friends Ann and Carole. (I liked to refer to them all as my MOMS) I had been counting down the days until they finally arrived. When the day finally arrived, I bolted from class, hopped on the 28 bus, and scurried into their Holiday Inn as quickly as I could! Seeing them here, seeing my MOM in LONDON, was just so surreal! This place, which had been so disconnected from home, was being combined and finally everything seemed perfect! I knew what I’d been missing this whole time, why London was amazing, but not perfect: I needed my family and friends here! So, if you haven’t picked up on what I’m suggesting it’s this: GET YO BUTTS OVER HERE PEOPLE, I MISS YOU ALL AND I NEED TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU. xoxo, Gossip Taylor.

I felt so proud of this temporary home as I led the ladies throughout London. We took a bus tour (VERY COLD), but it was amazing to see the city all at once-how all these historical and iconic landmarks are blocks from one another! We went through Kensington Gardens, Kensington Palace, the Borough Market, the Tower Bridge (and London Bridge), the Tower of London, Trafalgar Square, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Harrod’s, we saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace…GOSH. We knocked it all out in three days! We were EXHAUSTED. The legendary free breakfast at the Holiday Inn was a godsend, though. (THOSE CHEESE PACKS, AMIRIGHTLADIES?!) And sneaking around the hotel was fun since we would have to pay extra for me to stay. Gosh, I wish I could go into more detail of what we did….let’s add a few bits:

We slummed it “off the beaten path” (ANN) and ate with the locals at pubs all over London! We became a part of the secret of the London whodunnit “The Mousetrap.” We stopped at almost every Starbucks in London(Free wifi!). We went to Hillsong’s London church which was BEAUTIFUL. We walked like 8 miles each day. We saw Billy Elliot! We got killer souvenirs for the fam back home. We got nasty paella from the market…We took FUN pictures with silly poses and gestures! We only got lost a few times…GOSH it was amazing. I hope you ladies had as beautiful a time as I did.

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL. We went to PARIS for half of the week, too! Let me detail our arrival for comic relief. We took the high speed train to Paris. We bought a Paris Pass on the train to get us into museums and on the bus tour. We got off the train. We had to walk with our luggage to pick up our Paris Pass at the check-in point. The check-in point was like 10 blocks away. We DRAGGED our luggage to the check-in point. We got our Paris Pass. We dragged our luggage 5 more blocks to the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus tour. We took the tour around with our luggage. Once we saw everything-PARIS IS BEAUTIFUL- it started to drizzle, so we decided to get a cab to our hotel. We hopped off the bus in front of Notre Dame. It started to POUR SLEET AND RAIN AND SNOW. This was a STORM. We had our luggage. And, thank goodness, some rain ponchos. We ran in the billowing sleet across the steps of Notre Dame dragging our luggage through the cobblestone and puddles toward the nearest cluster of cabs. I remember squinting up through the rain at the breathtaking facade of the Cathedral thinking-“I am NEVER going to forget this moment.” That madness is the kind of madness that only happens this this crazy bunch of ladies! It was hilarious! And when we finally got a cab and got into the hotel, the rain and snow had stopped!

Anyway, Paris was so elegant. We popped into the nearest restaurant that evening and had a great time chatting with the manager, Mina. He was very proud of his English translation of the menu that he had recently completed! The dinner was like nothing I’d ever eaten. Like Lumiere says in Beauty and the Beast, “After all, miss, this is France and a dinner here is never second best!” We got churros (of all things) from a market down the street for dessert and then prepared ourselves for the next day, which was MY favorite day of the whole break!!

DISNEYLAND PARIS.

I’m not gonna go into it because I’ll discuss it for years, so if you want to know about it specifically, call me. Let’s just say: it was MAGICAL. My heart is pounding just thinking about it, I have to wrap this up!

The last day was spent in Versailles, France! The Palace of Versailles was built on the outskirts of Paris by King Louis XIV as a way to keep his visitors in a sort of ‘guilded cage’ while discussing affairs of state or even just while popping in for leisure. The whole palace is built in a sort of radiating design from the center room-the King’s chambers. See, Louis was pretty full of himself and called himself the Sun King. He basically believed that Apollo was the most powerful and important Greek god because he controlled the sun and everything relies on the sun and rotates around the sun and needs the sun to exist. Yeah. He thought he was that important. So, the whole palace and the gardens around it are representative of that idea-SUNS EVERYWHERE. The place was UNREAL. It was so ornate and guilded and decorated to the very last detail, I couldn’t believe someone lived there! I took a class that focused a lot on the details of Versailles at Loyola (HONR102 heeyyy), so it was crazy to see all the information I’d studied at school IN PERSON.

I was so heartbroken to see my ladies go on Saturday morning, but it was the very best week of my life! I regret not a minute of it! (except maybe the part where I was travel guide…XD) My Mom, Ann, Carole, you were all the perfect adventure companions. I don’t know how I could ever thank you all enough for such a fantastic experience!! Like Carole said on our last night- “Same time, same place, ten years?” I don’t know how I got so lucky to have such a wonderful Mom that she’d let me do all this, but I’ll spend the rest of forever trying to deserve her! I love you three! I miss you like crazy, but I’ll be home soon!

 

(CHEMIN VERT)

 

xoxo

Taylor

I never would have thought that holding a plane ticket to Rome would feel like holding a place ticket home. Every weekend I get the amazing opportunity to explore a new city and every Sunday morning I can’t wait to be back home. Which is Rome. How crazy is that!?

I say Ciao, Si and Grazie in every country I go to instead of Hi, Yes and Thank You. I could walk the 913 bus route with my eyes closed. I am now the one that forgets about giving others personal space instead of just being the one not receiving it.

There is such a routine here now. But not an every day, hourly routine. Every day is still incredibly different. But now, that’s what is routine. Every day I wake up having no idea what the day’s challenges will be. Every night I reflect on the crazy experience I had trying to speak Italian or the cool new piazza I found. Every day I am put out of my comfort zone. Every day I try something new. That is the kind of normalcy I hope to hold on to for a very long time.

I never thought it would feel normal to travel to a new country every weekend. But, every Thursday  night I pack my small NorthFace backpack with similar items that I packed last weekend. I print out my boarding pass and feel normal every Friday morning waking up early, battling the inefficient public transportation and flying to a new country.

Every weekend it is normal to feel completely lost in a new country on a Friday afternoon and then be able to give directions to others by Sunday morning. How has this become normal in just 9 weeks? I have no explanation, but I know I’m going to be sad when it’s gone.

It feels normal to only have wifi twice a day, or even go all day without checking my phone. It’s been so refreshing and is something I want to carry back with me to America.

Everything that was so hard just a few weeks ago is now so normal. I can’t even imagine how this normalcy will change again in the next six weeks. But, I also can’t wait to find out.

 

At the tender age of 3, I was an avid reader. Before I was able to comprehend the magic of words myself, my parents would spend hours reading to me. I read Anne of Green Gables when I was six years old, after previously finishing all the Junie B. Jones and Magic Tree House books. When I misbehaved, my parents would hide my books, rather than limiting time in front of the TV or on the computer.  In fact, I attribute much of my growth – intellectually and spiritually – to the beautiful gift of literature.

That being said, visiting bookshops in foreign countries has recently become one of my favorite activities while studying abroad, whether I am able to understand the language or not. So far, I have had the privilege of visiting a bookstore in Brussels, Belgium, where French is widely spoken, London, England, where I was luckily able to purchase a few books thanks to the fact that I actually speak English, and Amsterdam, Netherlands, where most books are in Dutch, with a limited selection of English books.

Perusing bookshelves full of beautiful masterpieces by renowned authors is nothing short of euphoric. I am absolutely weak for the beauty of words and their ability to tell a beautiful story when strung together in a unique and heartfelt way. This is my nirvana. For an instant, I experience true artistic beauty and I am devoid of any further wanting or desire. I find myself happily wandering from book to book, always searching for translations of my favorite books or anthologies by authors including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, T.S. Eliot, Kate Chopin, and more.

Literature has and forever will be one of my greatest passions, my dearest love, and the comfort I long for when I am a wanderer in an unfamiliar city. Miles from home, and often in places where I do not understand the language, I have found a light that warms my soul and feeds my heart’s desires.

When I first arrived to Sevilla, I knew right away I wanted to buy a bike. One of my favorite hobbies is riding my bicycle and exploring new parts of the city, so after two weeks of longing for one I finally bought one from Decathlon (a Europe-wide sports store). The least expensive bike the store had was the one I chose. A simple, single-gear, foldable bike was what I was looking for and that’s what I got. I spent 160 euros for it and another 15 for a chain lock.

Finally, I was mobile on two wheels. The speed of travel that bikes provide especially in cities like Sevilla where there is only one metro line going east-west and a slow bus system that stop at every stop. Biking is the way to go as long as you know what your doing (and those around you). Another plus, is that the city of Sevilla has over 75 miles of designated bike paths all around the city center and outskirts as well which you would hope would make the city a great destination for bikers. But that is not all the truth, although the bike paths on city streets exist, locals and tourists alike do not respect the paths. People here are oblivious to their even existence which is extremely frustrating when trying to get Uni on time. I frequently find myself use my bell to inform people that they are about to get run over. But the truth is that I cannot complain I am glad that Sevilla is trying to become more like other Nordic countries and establish bike paths that serve the whole community but certainly more signs must be placed around the city informing pedestrians they are walking on a bike only path. Also, keep an eye out for cars. I have recently almost gotten hit by inattentive drivers who think they always have the right of way. Usually they turn and seeing there are not pedestrians they are good to go but bikers exist as well.

Although, these bike paths are extremely expansive and you’ll find them on a continuous network all throughout the city, the planners had to compromise with nature. Some paths are narrow slivers of green path and others in which you must avoid trees. Even sometimes they merge with the road but the green path will continue to guide you with convinient barriers to protect you from malicious cars. One other thing to note is that although there are many miles of bike paths in Sevilla, the city center is where it really lacks. The narrow, cobblestone streets do not make an ideal path for bikes and are extremely painful to bike on given their uneven nature but I suppose there is always a plus to things and consider it as an excuse to ride slower and enjoy the gorgeous sites.

After about three weeks of travel, I’m back in Santiago and have my first class tomorrow. But, obviously I do not want to think about that! So, I’ll share a bit about the month of February, which in this program is a month open for traveling! It took tons of planning and stress beforehand, but my trip included five main stops, Torres del Paine, Chiloé, Pucón, San Pedro de Atacama and Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia.

From this trip, we have our crazy stories of course, met interesting travelers, ran into the same travelers multiple time because South America is actually so small, ran into a few hostel problems and nearly missed a bus, but it was all so amazing!

Torres del Paine is a Chilean national park known for glaciers, mountains, rivers and lakes. It is known all over the world for the W trek and Circuit trek. These respectively are five or ten days each, and it is one of the most popular destinations for backpackers. We decided to take a tour – don’t judge – not everyone enjoys hiking. This allowed us to see the highlights of the park in one day and continue to travel to diverse areas of Chile during our vacation.

For lunch this day, we were supposed to make reservations to eat at the one restaurant that is in the National park. It turns out we did not make this reservation or bring a picnic for lunch, so we went to a small supplies store which is there for the hikers. Not having the reservation ended up being a blessing in disguise. We enjoyed the only food available in the supplies store for lunch which was chocolate and Pringles. But even more special was spending the time right on the water, of a Patagonian lake being so much closer to the nature than we would have ever been in a restaurant.

Our next stop was Chiloé, where upon arriving at our hostel we were told that they did not have enough beds for all of us, despite our reservation! It all worked out, but there is nothing like arriving at a hostel expecting a bed for the night and being told “surprise”. Chiloé was the most laid back destination over the month. We enjoyed a penguin tour, exploring the neighborhoods and waiting for sunsets which unfortunately never happened because of the cloudy weather.

The last stop on our “South” trip was Pucón, the adventure capital of Chile. We were able to white water raft at sunset, zip line across rivers and finally “canyon”. I did really want to either paraglide or skydive while I was there, but for the time we were there it was too windy and the conditions were not safe enough. Out of our three activities, “canyoning” was the favorite. It was an unexpected adventure, as none of us had heard of it before doing it. Essentially, early one morning we went to the office and changed into wet suits, booties, helmets and harnesses. After a short ride, we arrived at the start of our trek with the group. We walked along with the river, sometimes crossing it, other times using it as a natural water slide. And then at three points of our exploration we hit water falls. There we were able to repel down next to and within the water falls into caves. Pucón was absolutely amazing!

After this fourteen day trip all of us were quite tired, but we still had a week until school started. So I met with a friend and within two hours we had booked a four day tour in Bolivia to see the Salar de Uyuni! Ironically, near her host family’s house the only place that was open for us to meet up and plan the trip was Fuddruckers! I don’t think I have ever gone to a Fuddruckers in the States, but I will say their milkshakes are not bad! So for this trip we took a 24 hour long bus ride from Santiago to San Pedro de Atacama. Now, flights are available but obviously were very expensive when we booked two days before leaving. I liked to believe we are young and can rough it sometimes! Overall, the bus ride was not terrible, except for the fact that the AC broke three hours into the trip.

The Bolivia tour was absolutely amazing. We saw white lagoons, green lagoons, rock valleys, a train cemetery and the Salar de Uyuni. No words can describe it.

So, I’m back to reality pretty soon, after two trips of a lifetime. Classes start tomorrow and the goal is to get a schedule with class times and room numbers before they start in the morning (this is my reality in Chilean time).

~Ciao

We were warned that Mui Ne would be a beach town for foreigners by our friends, teachers, and every review we read online. Still, when we alighted from the bus and looked around, we were still managed to be a little bewildered by the number of blonde-and-fair-skinned visitors we saw walking around. However, like almost everyone else who stopped in Mui Ne, we were there for the pristine beaches.

And pristine they were. Unlike the beaches in Vung Tao, these beaches were uncluttered, unlittered, and utterly clean of garbage. Sure, the walk along the back road had its fair share of trash but as soon as we stepped onto the soft sand, we were in a different world.

While the beaches were postcard-worthy, the wind discouraged us from staying too long. The coast of Mui Ne is a popular spot for wind sports; kitesurfers dominated water while the other beachgoers suffered from sand daggers. We were among those who felt the pricks of miniscule grains of sand piercing our skin, and left to head back to the hotel before the sun had set.

Mui Ne offered a number of attractions in addition to its beautiful beaches. We visited both the white and red sand dunes as well as a small fishing village and Fairy Stream in one organized morning. We opted to go for a sunrise tour that began at the white sand dunes. Mui Ne is the easternmost point in Vietnam, and therefore is the first part of the country to see the sunrise. Not quite the same as being the first part of the world to experience the new day, but isn’t that pretty amazing?

Although our stay was short, it offered just the right amount of relaxation and calm for us all to recharge our batteries. These next two weeks will prove to be an interesting struggle – we will attempt to complete midterms while in vacation land – and the brief respite in Mui Ne before the storm was just what we needed.  

Kia ora, Namaste, Aloha, Hola, Hello!

This post is more informative and will cover the dynamics you may possibly experience within your study abroad community if you choose to live in a home-stay. I was pretty real in this post, and I did so in order to be candid and not sugar coat anything for the reader seeking information. I didn’t really look at any blogs before coming here (I probably should have), but I’m sure my situation is not unique to me. I’m sorry for the length (again). A “Too Long; Didn’t Read” (TL;DR) sentence-long summary of this post is at the bottom, and I think I’ll keep that a habit with my entries as I just like to type. 

Now, I’m no weirder than the next person, and my host-mom has confirmed this happening to her other “homestayers” in the past, so I know it’s not just me.

Homestayers, don’t expect to be BFFs with your study abroad crew staying in the university apartments. In a worst case scenario, expect to be ostracized by at least half of your group. You have chosen to be completely submersed in the country of your choice. It can be terrifying and invigorating at the same time. You’re not in a little village of apartments with around half of your direct study abroad crew and other international students feeling the same things as you. You’re a part of an actual real-life family, and if yours is/will be anything like mine, you will feel loved and accepted by these absolutely wonderful people. Very in-depth research is done by these study abroad professionals to ensure that you truly are paired with the best family possible. IES does a really fantastic job of this. Thus, you may not be informed of your homestay assignment until about 5 days before you’re set to leave (instead of the 2-3 weeks that the IES website says).

At least with the IES Auckland program, the first weekend you’re here, you go to a Marae, which is a sacred Maori (native peoples) meeting house. You participate in different outdoor activities, and get a basic understanding of Maori cultural practices and values. Plus, it’s a bonding experience for you and the other students in your direct IES program. They do a great job, you learn and bond together, create a Facebook page, and friend all of the people in your program because you genuinely think that you’re all friends, now. 

Along with that Facebook page, your peers will probably create a group text (via text message, GroupMe, etc.) within their own little separate apartment communities to plan outings and whatnot. But remember in elementary school when you were planning or invited to a birthday party, and your parents taught you not to talk to everyone about it because maybe not everyone was invited? Well, it’s good advice, and these apartment folks may not follow it.

Outings will still be planned on the Facebook group, and, hey, take advantage of it! I just went to the Waitomo Black Water Rafting Cave tour (Program I did: http://www.intercity.co.nz/tours/waitomo-black-water-rafting-labyrinth/?gclid=CLHHmbTVjcsCFdgsvQodRtUOcA) to see the cave’s glow worms with some of my direct IES group memebers, and it was awesome! However, the dynamic of the group had changed. Before, when we were all out at the Marae, anyone could strike up a really nice conversation with anyone.

Now, not so much. If you try to strike up a conversation, maybe the other person will only give very short answers, or perhaps they try their best to have the shortest conversation with you and walk away. Confusing and disheartening, to say the least. Do they not like you because you’re not in the apartments? Do they just feel awkward around you, now? It’s only been about 2 weeks since our bonding experience. However, there are still some very lovely people in the group who will talk to you first, and you’ll still have good conversations with them.

Well, this is an opportunity to step even further outside your comfort zone, my friend. Join some clubs to meet more Kiwis. I’m going to the next Tramping (Hiking) Club and Canoe Club meetings to mingle with other university students. Also, there are socializing apps (Tinder, Primate [an exclusively NZ, platonic friends app], etc.) that allow you to meet people in your area. Just be smart about it. I’ve already met a pretty incredible Kiwi off one of those apps, and it’s only Tuesday of my third week here. Meeting locals can seem intimidating because, if you’re anything like me, you don’t want to seem like the out-of-place dumb American. Well, fun fact, you’re not. And there’s no reason to lose hope. 

If I had an appropriate opportunity to ask some of these folks what’s up, I would because that’s just who I am. Though, it is a matter of picking your battles and using my social energy wisely. Shit happens, and you can’t let anyone get you down. You are a damn lovely person with that amazing thing that makes you YOU! Plus, you’re in an amazing country with so many opportunities at your feet.  This is your experience, and you get out of it what you put into it. 

With Love and A Bit Less Sweat,
Hannah

TL;DR: Staying in a homestay may make your other study abroad peers not talk to you anymore, but who gives a damn because you’re here to be submersed in the local cultural goings-on, anyway. (Word count: 960. I’m so sorry.)

 <–Some Waitomo Cave pics

 

 

 

Surprise, surprise, being in Rome is fabulous and I’ve explored and had loads of fun and loved every second of it. I’ve seen Papa Francesco, been to an AS Roma game (vs. Real Madrid aka Cristiano Ronaldo & crew), and eaten enough gelato for a lifetime. However, I still am studying abroad. Contrary to popular belief, or at least what my friends and family’s think I do with my time, studying abroad in Rome does actually involve studying. Between the bowls of pasta and glasses of wine (with dinner, of course), school is the reason why I am here. I still take a full-time course load, my classes are still challenging, and I continue to work hard for my grades. Being in Rome doesn’t automatically make my academic life easier. However, as with most other things, classes in Rome are still a quite a bit better, and that is for one reason: on-sites.

 

 

“On-sites” are classes that will meet on-site at a location somehow related to the material the class covers. I’m currently enrolled in Roman Catholicism, Writing Rome, and Honors: Encountering Europe, all of which are at least partially on-site. I cannot stress enough how amazing these classes are. Though it may be a little frustrating to make time during the day to get up early and take the hour-or-so public transport ride to the site of the day, on-site classes are the perfect opportunity to get out of the classroom and experience Rome while learning a bit more about it.

 

 

Through my on-site classes, I’ve been lucky enough to visit several churches and basilicas (including the biggest one of them all, St. Peter’s), places where famous writers lived and worked, and sites with incredible histories. I’ve explored the trendy Trastevere, tasted new foods, soaked my senses at markets full of fresh foods, and had a blast learning at the same time. I’m also able to move away from campus regularly, which can be hard when you’re wrapped up in assignments and trip-planning, and get to know the city I came to enjoy. For any of my readers who are interested in studying abroad at the JFRC, or even another center with on-site courses, I highly recommend them. The ability to return to campus every other day with more stories to tell of the new things seen while just being in class is a blessing that should be taken advantage of.

 

 

Still, beyond my beloved on-site classes, there are other opportunities to get out and experience Rome, its surrounding areas, and even other countries while getting a good education at the same time! Study trips, aka school sponsored and organized educational trips, are available to all JFRC students. I myself took a day trip to Ostia & Antica to visit coastal ruins and some of Rome’s most impressive catacombs. The chance to explore both and pretend to be Indiana Jones for an afternoon is one I’m happy I didn’t pass up. At the same time, I also got to learn about the lives of the everyday Italians of centuries ago and their burial practices, broadening my knowledge and understanding of my place in the world. If this doesn’t sound appealing to anyone going to the JFRC, don’t fret – there are plenty of other study trips offered that would offer a day or several days of enjoyment for someone with any set of interests.

 

All in all, the studying part of studying abroad may continue to be as rigorous as back on my home campus, but there’s nothing like being able to learn and explore new surroundings all the time. Check it out for yourself in this video. Ciao for now!

P.S. to those going to/interested in going to the JFRC: Seriously, on-site classes are amazing. Take them.