Friday was one of the best days ever. My friends and I went on a (free!) tour of the Freia chocolate factory with the International Student Union from Uni. On the train ride there, we were all joking about how we hoped it would be like WIlly Wonka and have a river of chocolate and edible walls etc. Obviously, we were joking around, but seriously this place was magical. As we approached the building, the smell of chocolate was impossible to miss and it put a smile on all of our faces. First stop inside the factory? The super awesome candy store, where everything was at least 50% less than in stores. We all came out with bags full to the brim. One girl bought an entire display of Oreos!

Next stop was the chocolate making room. By far, the coolest thing. We sat around picnic benches as our tour guide, Inge-Johanne, placed bowls full of different Freia chocolates in front of us. There were at least 6 different candy bowls on each table. Then came the fun part: we each got to make our own Freia chocolate bar! after spreading the melted milk chocolate into our mold, we used the different candies to “decorate” our precious creations. It was so neat to make chocolate!

After this, we headed to Freia Land, Norway’s take on the concept of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. Seriously, coolest thing ever. We gathered into the room that looked like a giant Kvik Lunsj (Norway’s favorite candy car; basically a KitKat) and Inge pulled out a silver platter stacked with mini Kvik Lunsj bars. Then, a secret door opened up and we were in the middle of the rainforest, on the hunt for cocoa pods. We walked into a cave and found ourselves in an ancient meso-American temple, complete with wall paintings and a giant stone alter in the middle. We learned the story of how chocolate was discovered and revered and eventually used as a form of currency. A second secret door opened, and we stepped into a time machine! Inge asked for a volunteer to crank back the clock, so I (of course) quickly volunteered and took us to 1527. From there, we visited a 16th century ship bound for the Americas, a dutch windmill that created hot chocolate powder, Norway’s first chocolate shop/parlor, and finally crossed giant glaciers and traversed the Norwegian mountainside to get back to the factory, receiving a different Freia chocolate at each stop.

When we came out of Freia Land, our chocolate bars were lined up and waiting for us in the little boxes we had decorated previously. When we moved to take them, Inge told us to wait and proceeded to add a bag of Non-Stop candies and three rolls of chocolate to each of our bars! Best. Tour. Ever. The only downside to this day was the fact that I have given up sugar for Lent, so I couldn’t actually eat any of the delicious chocolates that surrounded me all day. But, it’s worth the wait, and I’m happy to have shared this fantastic experience with my friends :]

can you tell I like candy? :p

Life here has picked up quite a bit here these last two weeks. I have been interning at the M.A.R.Q. museum two days a week, doing various tasks. I put ancient pottery back together, properly document and store artifacts, assist in constructing the exhibit decorations, and overall understanding the ins-and-outs of the museum. It’s been a lot of fun and easy work, something I can definitely see myself doing in the future!

School has also quickened its pace- more homework every day and more advanced Spanish grammar and vocabulary. My Spanish has definitely improved since when I first arrived, and is constantly getting better. I talk to my host family a lot, during meals or when watching movies together, and go out with them a lot as well.  I love going to the gym with my host sister Olga. She is so sweet and funny, and tries practicing her English with me. Last weekend, we went shopping together and designed our outfits for Carnival, which is one of Spain’s biggest festivals. It’s a weeklong celebration, filled with beautiful and fun costumes, lights and decorations, and fun activities and concerts. People prepare for this celebration weeks in advanced. My host sisters already had their outfits planned out back in January. Olga and her friends were to be butterflies, and Idoia and her friends were all going to be Pippy Longstocking. Basically, it was Spain’s massive Halloween celebration, and the buildup to the weekend got me pumped. I decided to go as a Can-Can girl since my host family already had the costume. The big Carnival celebration took place on that Saturday, and it was the biggest group of people I had ever seen outside in which everyone, and I mean EVERYONE was dressed up. Every costume you could imagine was there, from giant Leggo Men, to Smurfs, pirates, movie stars, animals, and more… you name it, and it was there. Most of the people in the streets were young adults, and there were thousands of them, all drinking, listening to music, and enjoying each other’s company and costumes. I went with my host sisters first, to see how the Spaniards celebrated, and eventually met up with my American friends later. We went to the concerts, which mainly played American oldies from the 80s, and of course, to the food stands. It was an absolute blast, and I stayed out until 8 am the next morning! I couldn’t believe I didn’t collapse from exhaustion, but there were so many people and excitement that I couldn’t leave until the city decided to sleep. On Sunday, I slept well into the day, and spent the end of it relaxing on the beach with friends, reminiscing about how crazy the night before was.

I got to work with ancient bones in the museum this week, which was incredibly cool. I also met some South Saharan immigrants living in Alicante, who live here to avoid the political turmoil in Africa, as well as learn Spanish and English. It was really interesting hearing their stories, and having them feed me and some other students their typical food from their country.

This weekend was a little more relaxed, as compared to Carnival. My friends and I spent a lot of time at the beach, playing volleyball and socializing. On Saturday, we went to a small city near Alicante, called Murcia. When I originally told my host family I was going there for a day trip, they cringed at first and asked why. I told them because I wanted to see it and it was close enough for a day trip. Ten of my friends and I went that Saturday morning around 11 am, arrived at noon, and started exploring right away. I realized right away why my family all cringed- there wasn’t much in Murcia. There was a cool Cathedral and old Moroccan themed casino, but not much else than that hahaha. We all had lunch near the river that runs through Murcia, and later we all got ice cream and hung out around the city. We stayed until about 6 pm, walking around and exploring, and returned around 8 pm. Surprisingly, for not having done too much, we were all tired and spent the rest of that night at home with our families.The next day I watched Avatar with my host sister and her boyfriend, Tony, all in Spanish. It was easy enough to understand everything, and I learned a few new words as well.

On Monday, after school and my internship, I met my intercambio Alberto. He is a Spaniard I am assigned with to converse in English and Spanish, allowing us both to improve in our speaking abilities. He is 24 years old, and is studying law and finances at the university in Elche. We went to a little coffee shop with cupcakes, and talked for about two hours. He is a very sweet guy, and interesting too. He loves surfing and playing water sports, and wants to learn English so he can eventually move to the states. It was fun talking with him, and I plan to meet with him next week to talk more.

I am really excited for this weekend- the USAC program put together a trip to Granada for all the students. My host family says it’s one of their favorite cities, and one of my good friends is studying abroad there, so I am excited to see what it has to offer! Updates to come!

Hasta luego amigos!

Ryann

A few days ago, my friends and I decided to have an “international dinner party” to try foods from all of our home countries. It was such a great night! There was an absolute smorgasbord of food and many dishes I had never had the opportunity to try before:]

From Japan, we had a thin bread stuffed with different vegetables and meat with a spicy sauce on top. So good

A friend from CHina made spicy tofu soup, which I didn’t try because I don’t eat tofu, but it looked delicious!

From Germany one girl made sauerkraut and another made mashed potatoes :]

Two friends from Italy made homemade vegan tiramisu and salami cioccolato, both of which looked fantastic but I couldn’t eat because of Lent!

A boy from Poland made a mixed berry compote and two Polish girls made a traditional Polish soup. I really liked the soup:]

From the Czech Republic, there were potato pancakes with vegetables inside which were delicious

A boy from Norway made mini chocolate cakes that literally made the entire room smell like delicious chocolate as soon as they came out of the oven

A friend from Mexico made potato and cheese quesadillas

My absolute favorite food of the night? Two friends from South Korea made AMAZING barbecue chicken. Seriously, one of the best things I have ever eaten! Bonus: they’re going to teach me how to make it! Yessss

America was well-represented with one friend who made a ton of bacon, a girl made hotdogs stuffed with cheese and potatoes; I helped my friend make an apple crisp and I made buckeyes!

Altogether, it was a great night filled with friends food and awesome conversation. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of friends than these :]

 

The longer I live in Vietnam, the more I realize just how wonderful (in a good/bad sort of way) it is to be in a developing country. For our Environmental Science class, we toured the different canals around HCMC and were able to engage in a first hand learning experience how the garbage system works. At garbage stations around the city (there are around 17 but they need about 6 more to really be efficient) people pick through garbage by hand. Literally, outside of these smelly, unsafe, unsanitary areas. .. people do this to earn a little extra income. Most of them do this with their bare hands and have no masks/sanitary equipment. It’s the norm for HCMC but if that were the case in the states, well, it wouldn’t be. There is a much different sense of necessity here as well as means of what to do in order to merely survive. Seeing people do this is a very grounding experience. I wish everyone had the opportunity to see the lives of these people, maybe it would encourage them to be less wasteful and realize how they should take full advantage of the wonderful system America implements. America has its problems, sure. However, at least we have recycling and garbage treatment plants. We also found   out that certain countries, such as the Netherlands and even the U.S., have paid for construction of more garbage stations around HCMC.

One of the most interesting things about these donations are that many people refuse the help. The treatment plants are built, of course, but the Netherlands have offered to do more than that. They have offered toilets to those without them. We might think it’s insane to not have a toilet but for those in more slum-like areas, they just dump everything in the water. It’s easier, more convenient. Trash/etc. is thrown out the window. Pretty much every kind of waste goes in the canals. WHY do people not realize how bad this is for their health and the health of the environment? For me, these were the most pressing questions that arose as we drove around the city. Why?

Slums in HCMC

First of all, it’s a matter of cost. Vietnam is a developing country and has little money to invest in advanced technology for waste management, recycling programs, etc. Also, in a city of 10 million people, everything is squished together. Therefore, the streets are very thin, more like alley ways. It’s impossible to get any sort of large garbage truck down such small streets. Instead, the alleys are cleaned by manual workers who have small carts and a broom. They go street by street and sweep up garbage.

Trash bins used to collect trash in narrow alleys

The largest problem, however, is awareness. Many Vietnamese have no idea how their actions affect their health and the environment. When they throw waste into the canals and on the banks, mosquitos and rats flourish. This leads to disease. Living in such unsanitary conditions is, in general, very harmful to their health. My environmental professor even told me people catch and eat fish out of the canals — as they don’t understand how eating the fish from such dirty conditions could be harmful.

In this way I have been intrigued by the waste management system of HCMC. It’s something I had never really considered before and without doubt, have taken advantage of. Development is such an important part of HCMC and becomes evident when you see slums and the conditions of living. It’s even stranger to see modern apartment buildings behind the slums.

Every day, I become more and more appreciative of this experience — it has been a month now and I think I’m finally starting to really settle in.

Last weekend, the entire USAC group went to Granada for an excursion. We left 10 am Friday and arrived in Granada at 3 pm. We had barely enough to relax and check into our hotel rooms before we were herded out the door to do a tour around the old neighborhood of Granada. We walked along the center of the city, checking out the old buildings, streets, and shops. Granada reminded me a lot of Madrid, with its ld architecture, cool weather, and city feel.  The group wandered through the historic center of Granada, called el Albaicin, checking out El Mirador de San Nicolas, which was a breathtaking view over all of Granada, and then the Calles de las Teterias, which were the sides streets filled with Moroccan tea and gift shops. Granada has a lot of Arabic influence, especially in its food, art, and architecture. After some friends and I drank Moroccan tea, which was DELICIOUS, we decided to go back to the hotel to freshen up before we checked out the night life. We went out for dinner, which were mainly drinks and tapas, and enjoyed hours of good conversation and company. It was raining quite a bit during that evening, which cut our night life short, but with an 8 am tour of the Alhambra, it was probably for the best.

After a decent hotel breakfast, we left for the Alhambra at 8 am The Alhambra  is an incredible Muslim palace and fortress complex built in 889 A.D. by the Muslims that ruled Granada. It is one of the oldest and most incredible buildings I have ever encountered. I studied the el Alhmabra in several of my art history classes, and so to actually have been able to see it, touch it, and explore it was amazing. Our tour guide went into detail about the history of its construction, its significance, and the changes that have taken place over the past thousand years, and even showed us the exact spot where Christopher Columbus asked for permission and financial aid from Queen Isabel to sail to the New World in 1492. I couldn’t help but get chills when she showed us the room. We also checked out the Nasrid Palaces, Hall of Ambassadors, Palace of the Lions, Court of the Myrtles, Hall of the Mocarabes, and the Watch Tower, which overlooked all of Granada and the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The view was absolutely breath taking, even if it was still raining. Our tour of the Alhambra ended around noon, and we had the rest of the day to wander around the city. One of my friends from Loyola, Suzanna Hart (another blogger, check her out!) is studying abroad in Granada, and so we met up and she showed me her school and favorite cafes and hang out places in Granada. It was nice seeing her, and we planned to go out together that night.

After more tapas and drinks for dinner, my friends and I decided to see a Flamenco dancing show, which is extremely popular in Granada. We went to an underground bar called Liberia and saw an hour long show of flamenco dancing. It was such a fierce and beautiful dance, and the singer was mesmerizing. Totally different from anything I had ever experienced before. Later, we met up with my friend Suzanne and went to a club on the mountain side, facing the Alhambra. It was a blast to dance and experience the Granada night life. We returned home around 4 am, went to sleep, and set back off again for Alicante at 9 am the next day. It was definitely a great weekend in Granada, and I plan to return there one day!

This weekend definitely made me realize again how incredible and rewarding studying abroad is, especially for another semester. It truly is the most rewarding experience to travel the world and immerse yourself in different cultures. Some friends and I were talking about how happy we were to be doing this and having this adventure. We talked about trips and future plans, and we got onto the subject of money. I told them that I was able to do two semesters abroad because I worked my butt off the last three years to save up money, and also because I applied to every single scholarship I could find. To my surprise, I learned that a lot of the kids in my program did the same thing. They worked during college and won scholarships through their school and outside their universities as well. Everyone had their own story to tell about how they were able to afford this trip- Anna worked at Fannie May for two years saving money, and won a scholarship from her school. Spencer worked at his school library for a year, and Paula was a hostess at a restaurant, and they both also received financial help for the trip. I honestly thought a lot of kids were using their parents money to fund their trip, but instead came to find that they too had to find different means to study abroad, and they were successful at doing so.  I hope people learn, whether it’s through reading my blog, talking to me, or doing their own research, that studying abroad, even for just one semester, is possible. You don’t have to come from an affluent family or work as many years as I did to be able to afford going abroad. There is an abundance of scholarship programs and school funded financial aid awards to encourage people to study abroad. The Gilman scholarship program, for students with Pell grants, made it possible for me to study in Spain, as well as the USAC scholarship for Alicante. I really hope people don’t give up on going abroad because of the financial shadow that seems to be lurking above. With some proper research, applying, and strong desire, anyone can study abroad. There are endless opportunities available for students to encourage them to experience this amazing adventure.

Until next time, adios amigos!

Ryann

Hola Todos!!

I can not believe we are halfway through the semester!!! I have had a wonderful couple of weeks since my last blog.  Last week was Spring Break #1 of the 2 Spring Breaks we get and USAC took us to Cordoba, Granada, and Seville!  We saw the Mezquita in Cordoba, it was unbelievable, definitely one of my favorite buildings in the world!  The Mezquita is a mosque that was turned into a Catholic Christian Cathedral.  The architecture is out of this world.  I have a picture of it below.  In Granada we went to the Alhambra, it is a beautiful palace that has Jewish, Muslim and Christian architectural influences.  We got to spend 2 whole days in Seville.  The city is beyond beautiful, I would love to retire there.  All in all the trip was a success!  I bought souvenirs for my family and friends back home, and I was able to visit some beautiful buildings.

After the trip my friends and I decided to do some touristy things around Madrid.  Last Friday, we went to the Prado Museum, it is the big museum here in Madrid.  The museum is free to students all the time!  We took our time looking at the art because we won’t have to pay to go back!

This past week has been very hectic, the work load for my Spanish class is starting to pile up and we had a very difficult test yesterday.  Some of the people in the program do not get credit for the classes, others just get a pass/fail grade, and for Loyola students the class not only counts, but the score effects our GPA.  Motivation is key and the class just moves so fast sometimes, it is hard to focus, but I have been doing well so far!  Volunteering is going really really well, I look forward to spending time with the kids every Thursday.  The karate class has a tournament today, I was not able to ask where the competition is taking place but I hope to go to a competition in the future.

Last night, my intercambio Laura, she is an adult, invited me and my friend Bianca to dinner with her and her friends.  We got to practice our spanish!  We went to a  Peruvian restaurant and after we went out for drinks at a Cuban bar.  I am really glad that I have met some natives and have started hanging out with them, they really know how to have a good time.  Laura told Bianca and I where some good Latin clubs are, we are getting tired of Electric Music.  She told us about a club that gives salsa lessons before the club opens!  We are thinking about going next week!

Side Note:  I am going to ITALY in 2 weeks!!!!!!!

 

Alright for somethings that I have noticed:

Working is not a big deal.  In America it seems like our whole lives are centered around working, but here it is not the center of their lives.  I am not sure what their lives are centered around, maybe rest or relaxation.  I will ask around!

I have seen a TON of old women with bright red, pink, blue, or purple hair.  Some ladies dye their whole head and other ladies just have highlights.

We can not find some good ol’ Mexican food ANYWHERE!  They do not eat Refried beans, or yellow rice, or burritos.  They eat SO healthily.  Bianca and I went on a wild goose chase today looking for a Mexican store, but we never found one 🙁

Groceries are relatively cheap!  Bread is sold in loaves everywhere and you can find it for 39 cents, milk is 70 cents, for a 36 pack of eggs it is almost 2 euro, if that.  If only we did not have to exchange our dollars into euros…

***The Dollar is getting better! It is now $1.30 for 1 Euro and when we got here it was almost $1.40***

Alright that is all I have for now! Stay Tuned! 🙂

Hasta Luego!

Tyler Monroe

 

It’s strange how you can drive for five hours and be in a completely different place. A little under a week ago, we trekked through Vietnam and into Cambodia on a chartered bus. Luckily, the program reserved two seats for each of us since we are generally larger than the Vietnamese. I found the bus to be comfortable, although sleeping was not an option (and really isn’t an option on any road trips in East Asia) because the roads are incredibly bumpy. Yahoo for developing country roads! When we got to Cambodia, we checked into the hotel and almost immediately went to our first historical site, a school-turned into a prison during the Khmer rouge rule. Cambodian people were tortured in order to get information of the whereabouts of their friends/relatives (simply for the sake of killing them, too). The Khmer rouge completely ruined the country, killing millions of people in order to create a ‘perfect race.’ They also destroyed a lot of the infrastructure of the country. Anyone with education was killed, maybe they would kill you if they didn’t like how you looked that day. Education was a threat to the rouge, as you were thought to be more likely to attempt to try and stop the revolution. To say the least, it was terrible. There I was, in the midst of a country destroyed by genocide. In the 70′s … not that long ago ..  innocent cambodians were slaughtered in the room where I stood; you could still see the blood stains on the tile floors. Yet, no matter how long I looked at a picture of a now dead victim or the clothes they once wore, I could not comprehend the horror.  I couldn’t imagine the situation or hardly believe something like that had ever happened. … and is still happening now somewhere in the world. The most haunting part were all the pictures of the victims tortured in the prison. We didn’t know when these pictures were taken,  most likely as they entered the prison for the first time, or in the moments right before they were killed. Their eyes stared right into yours as you looked into their almost expressionless faces. Did they know they were about to die? Some of the faces were smiling .. some in a suppressed state of confusion or horror. Each was different.

Although a somber afternoon, it was thought provoking. The realization of what our role as a generation became incredibly obvious; that everything should be done in order to stop acts of genocide. I was so frustrated, wondering how we let this happen, how the U.S. was ignorant enough to not understand the situation and instead fund the Khmer rouge with weapons and money, too afraid of supporting the Communist government that was being overthrown by the rouge. America’s No1 enemy were the communists; it was all about image. The U.S. also had just lost the Vietnam/American war and, since the anti-war sentiment was so strong in the states, the U.S. government didn’t want to get involved in another conflict, let alone the neighbors of Vietnam.

In the morning, we traveled to ‘The Killing Fields’ — which is exactly what it sounds like. The area that was once an execution site for the Khmer rouge was turned into a memorial, luckily we had audio guides so were able to go through at our own pace. It was the most well done audio guide I’d ever listened to, so I think we all learned a lot. Of course it was upsetting, but compared to the day before, it seemed more like a time to be reverent and reflect on all we had seen and learned. Afterwards, we went to a delicious restaurant called “Friends.” It’s an organization that helps poor, disadvantaged youth learn how to run a business, starting them at the restaurant. After seeing all the horror that had been inflicted on the Cambodian people, I was thrilled to see an organization that worked to better the future. My favorite part of the first two days was visiting ‘The Center of the Dove.’ It was about a 45 minute ride outside of Phnom Penh — again over the bumpy roads — as we traveled to the center. I honestly had no idea what to expect on arrival, I only knew the center was a sort of special skills school for the physically disabled with a concentration on victims of land mines that are still being discovered all around Cambodia (due to the Khmer rouge). There is an absolutely awful sentiment placed on those with disabilities, as some religions believe the loss of a limb/having a physical disability means you were an awful person in a past life, thus life is very difficult for the disabled in both Vietnam and Cambodia. The Center of the Dove goes around the villages, encouraging those with disabilities to attend their program in order to learn a skill (carpentry, machinery, sewing, etc.) they can use in the real world; they don’t have to pay a thing! It was genuinely one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen, and after the emotion of the two Khmer rouge sites, I was completely overcome by emotion while watching the students carve beautiful statues out of wood, designing and building their own specially designed (and cheap!) wheelchairs. Although we couldn’t speak to each other, we smiled at each other as a way to show a sort of mutual respect and understanding. After that experience, I realized how much I take advantage of things like my ability to walk onto a bus, take a walk, ride a bike …

 

The next day we headed for Siam Riep, the part of the trip I was most anxious for. After a short evening of exploration and a quick swim in the pool (I will not divulge certain information concerning things purchased at the amazing night market …), I was out. We didn’t do much that night because we planned to get up at 4AM to go watch the sunrise on Ankor Wat. Waking up was difficult but it was stunning (although we kinda got jipped on the quality of the sunrise). We were out all day seeing the different temples around Ankor and I don’t say this often, but I felt like I was in a movie. All the ruins seemed to be unnaturally beautiful… it was hard to believe I was even there.  Until I started throwing up from dehydration, it was a wonderful day. I especially enjoyed seeing monkeys running around a small temple we saw .. Jungle book anyone?

 

Cambodians are incredibly nice people. They don’t try to rip you off like the Vietnamese do, they give you a good price and are willing to bargain. They, for the most part, don’t shove things in your face, although we had a bad experience at a road-side bathroom break (Note: people in the states, I hope you all appreciate toilet paper and hand soap) when we were haggled by a large mass of children trying to sell us fruit. I wish we were able to spend more time in Siam Riep, the trip was short and I could have stayed for another week. I definitely wanted to see more temples around Ankor park!
Cambodia has such a heartbreaking, beautiful story. A country ruined by genocide, it’s amazing how much those people smile. Our guide told us that people smile/generally seem happy because their lives are exponentially better than when they were under the Khmer rouge. They smile because they are literally are happy that they don’t have to fight for their life; they are thrilled to be alive every day. It’s such a neat experience to be around people who treat each day with reverence and happiness.