After posting all of my photos on Facebook, to share with family and friends, the number one question I received was “Joanna, are you actually in school or was this a hoax for a long vacation?” For everyone that is very much worried about this, yes, I do actually study here!
So let me explain how classes work here. We have to be enrolled in 12-18 credit hours to be a full time student through USAC, the program here in Costa Rica. Classes run everyday aside from the weekend. We have class on Fridays, but only in the mornings. Every class runs for 3 hours! You read that correctly, 3 hours! Because of the long hours, each class usually meets only once a week. The Spanish track classes, however, meet more than once. The track classes are the average Spanish class you would take at Loyola.
On top of my track 4 classes (6 credits) I have also elected Latin American short story and essay, Latin American cultures and Latin American literature (each 3 credits). With most of my classes meeting only once a week, I had every Thursdays completely free, but decided I would like to do something instead. A lot of the professors from these classes find fun ways to teach us about the language and culture. We have had field trips, went to coffee shops for class, and even incorporated soccer into our lesson plans!
A great experience that USAC offers, that I have decided to take part in, is volunteering at local schools to help teach English. I have been helping a teacher in a nearby school with 1st and 3rd graders. These kids are amazing and it is very rewarding nonetheless. I am learning from them as much as they learn from me, not only Spanish but also the culture! One of the little girls in 3rd grade wrote me the cutest letter after just 3 Thursdays of volunteering. I recommend taking part in things like this no matter where you study abroad!
When it comes to my classwork and homework, I would definitely say it is all challenging, but not impossible! My professors are all very supportive and willing to help. The literature professor encourages us to call her at home if we need any help with homework or have any questions about our reading for class. The track 4 Spanish class professor gives us exams in partners, where we have to reason with each other (in Spanish of course!) to find the correct answer and explain it.
A lot of the homework involves reading, and a lot of it! A lot of the classes are based on participation, which needs to be in Spanish. The professors here want you to make mistakes so that they can help you correct them. As a piece of advice, prepare yourself for a lot of this and don’t take it personally. The professors are all there to help, not to criticize because they all know how hard it is to learn another language. All of my professors speak at least one other language and can easily relate to us as students.
And of course, if anything ever causes us problems in our studies, we have a great team of USAC people to help us resolve them.
Like mentioned before though, when studying abroad, you need to be open to learning from more than just the regular classroom. I can honestly say that I learn more outside of the regular sit at your desk, look at the board and listen to the professor, setting. I learn at home, from the host family, from ordering at a restaurant, from taking a cab, a bus, listening to music, and even from just reading every sign I encounter. Keep your eyes and ears open! That’s the full experience of study abroad, your learn from EVERYTHING.
Until next time,
Pura Vida!
The note I received from a 3rd grader 🙂An average day in class. Notes and coffee!Encouraging self SnapChats for those 4 page essays!
Pope Francis converses with another Church leader right before the Audience begins.
So this past Wednesday I had the wonderful privilege and pleasure to attend my first Papal Audience in the Vatican; in fact, the professors at JFRC (the Rome Center) cancelled classes all day so that every single student would have the opportunity to go to this impressive event.
I began the day by waking up before 6am so that I could get into the event. Although the projected start time was not until 10:30am, we were told to be there at around 7am so that we could guarantee ourselves the best seats. As for myself, I completely lucked out, as I was able to get a seat just a few rows from where the Pope was speaking.
Taken a few hours before the start of the Papal Audience.The Vatican right before the Audience begins.
During the audience, it was an amazing experience for me. Although I do not consider myself religious, there was a spiritual aura with just being able to sit back, listen to what the Pope had to say, and to literally feel the history of the Vatican all at once. During this time, I really gained a sense of my purpose, not only with what my mission on this earth is, but also who I am and what I have to offer. Because the Pope offered his blessing and reaffirmed a sense of faith, I was able to reaffirm a sense of my mission here.
Pope Francis delivers his address to everyone watching in the Vatican.
Anyway, I felt that it was very important to give this unique experience its own entry. If anyone reading this has the chance to go to Rome and experience a Papal Audience, do it! You will not be disappointed, as it is an event of growth and self-discovery.
I will be posting again soon on my trip last weekend to Bari, a small coastal city on the Eastern shores of Italy.
Well, I have just started blogging for the Office of International Programs at Loyola! So I apologize, but I will try to catch you all up on almost a month of activities in Rome!
I really can’t believe that it has been almost a month since I got to Rome! It really seems like I have not been here for that long. Rome is absolutely beautiful, and so is Loyola’s campus! We are situated on top of Monte Mario, the highest hill in Rome, in the Balduina neighborhood, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Rome. At first I thought I would never be able to navigate the streets or bus stops of Rome, but after getting lost almost a million times I am starting to learn my way around.There are many differences between here and the U.S., but I haven’t had too hard of a time getting used to them. The climate change may be the hardest adjustment. I was told to expect only about two weeks of summer weather, that is SOOO wrong! It is really really hot here! Also, everything is done so much later here. Just walking in the center of Rome you will see people with children sitting down to dinner at 10p.m. It’s not hard to adjust though when your earliest class starts at 11:30 am!
I am really enjoying my time here and the time I have spent away from Rome. For our orientation trip we went to the Umbria region of Italy. It was an amazing time! We visited four different cities, learned how coins, paper, silk, and candles were made in the medieval times, went to a wine tasting, and ate some amazing food! I am looking forward to exploring more of Rome and the other regions of Italy, as well as the other countries I will be traveling to. This Thursday I head to Munich, Germany for Oktoberfest! So excited! That concludes my first blog post! I will try to update it when I can!
Finally in Paris! After 3 flights, 3 different countries and one train ride, I finally arrived to the most beautiful city in the world: Paris, France. It seemed like I was never going to make it but now Iv’e been here for 2 weeks and I am loving every second of it. I’ll start off by telling you that I lucked out. I live in the 1st arrondissement and I’m doing a homestay with a French family who feed me amazing meals and they also have a monkey named Lola. If this doesn’t already seem amazing, wait until you see the view from my window!
(Something I didn’t know: The Eiffel Tower twinkles 5 minutes every hour from 9-12!)
Anyway, I feel like I’m living the dream. I also eat baguette three times a day and basically stuff my face with all the french patisseries that I can find. I feel like it’s my duty to eat at every single boulangerie that exists in Paris.
When I arrived I had to take one week of intensive French classes and now my regular actual academic classes have started. I’m taking business courses like International and Intercultural Management and Global Marketing which are really shaping the view I have on globalization. I am also taking 19th century art: Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. I will brag a bit more about this class since we don’t use power point presentations in class to view the content. My class is in the museum. How fantastic is that?! We meet every week at a different museum and learn about the history behind each painting. Last week we met at the Louvre (Yes, The Louvre!!!) and we basically had Louis XIII’s private collection all to ourselves. No big deal.
So I will keep you posted on all the adventures I’m having and I’ll try and keep up with all the food I’m eating and let you guys know how everything is going! Until next time!
Bon journée!
Seeing the Hilights of London While Being Extremely Jet-Lagged (8/31/14)
CHEERS! It has been a bloody whirlwind of a few days, so here’s a recap of my first few crazy days in London!!!
So DAY 1:
Day 1 was full of not fun orientation events BUT we took a splendid stroll through the Kensington Gardens. I am staying in Olympia which is right next to the posh royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea. My campus is in Kensington Square, one of the oldest and most affluent areas of London. Kensington is home to Kensington Gardens and Kensington Palace where Queen Victoria grew up. It’s so cool to be living in an area so rich with history.
Here’s what I learned/observed right away:
Everyone is speaking English, but I am still having a hard time picking up the slang/understanding people.
Americans are loud. British people seem very reserved. We drew a lot of attention while walking through Kensington Gardens in the afternoon because theatre people are louder than your group of average Americans.
Walking. There is a lot of that. My feet hurt.
PUBS DONT HAVE HOSTESS STATIONS! A group of 4 people from my program went to a pub to grab some dinner, and we walked in the door and literally stood there for 20 minutes like what???? THEN we figured out that you just sit down and go up to the bar and order your food. I was so confused. But we had some great burgers and chips.
And DAY 2:
So we got an e-mail saying that we are doing an orientation event that is full of sight-seeing in London. I was expecting to just do a lot of casual walking through London and seeing the fun sights while being jet lagged still. I WAS VERY WRONG. The “orientation event” was a scavenger hunt to visit London’s most famous pubs! It was incredibly fun, but I wish I had been more prepared for this, as I was not ready to be downing pints at 1 pm in the afternoon while my body was still thinking it was 7 am. But it was an absolute blast, and helped me to get a little more comfortable with my surroundings. Today David and I are going to do some more walking around Kensington and we’re going to have dinner at the legendary Harrods department store food court. Anywho enjoy these pictures from the first few days, and look for more updates soon! Over and out, y’all.
Part of Will and Kate’s home, just a quick jog away from my flat
“Vorrei un caffe per favore” (meaning I’d like one coffee please) has become a cherished phrase in the land of cappuccinos and afternoon macchiatos. Milk is considered taboo to drink after noon, so ordering a cappuccino at 3pm not only designates your nationality but your inability to adjust to the Italian mindset, which also has its own set of quirks. One of these being reliability. I often question how Italians get anywhere on time but then I realized they don’t! Blessed be the days of using the CTA because ATAC (Rome’s public transportation service) has many things to be desired. Sometimes the bus arrives every 30 minutes. Sometimes the bus simply does not come and when it does your bus driver might have an agenda of his own that does not involve stopping anywhere near where you wanted.
Becoming familiar with Rome makes you feel like a freshman again. Most students tend to roam in packs in an effort to explore, because being alone in a foreign city is something the consulate strongly frowns upon. Nobody wants to be the lead actress in a Taken remake set in Italy. Another added layer of anxiety is the ever present state of being lost. Every time I’ve been lost, however, I’ve come across something I was destined to find. Rome has a way of producing breathtaking architecture and monuments out of thin air. One moment you’re searching a map to find the nearest 990 bust stop and the next you’re bumping into the Pantheon on accident. Another short stroll and you’re reliving the Lizzie Maguire movie at the Trevi Fountain. Not having GPS or Google maps on my phone is definitely a double edged sword I’ve become a professional at wielding.
I think most people, like myself, find comfort in routine. In an effort to retain some normalcy I’ve been frequenting the same places throughout Rome. Once a week I try to go to my favorite neighborhood bar, Il Siciliano, for a much needed caffeine boost and a cornetto of course. I’ve also become a regular at Frigidarium, the best gelato place I’ve had thus far. How many times I go there any given weekend is something I will take to the grave.
Although cutting down on how many vats of coffee I drink each day and coming to terms with being perpetually late has been rough, the past three weeks have opened my eyes to all that studying abroad has to offer. Everyone has a different strategy for independent travel while abroad. It honestly comes down to a quantity versus quality approach. I’ve heard of people traveling almost every free weekend they have to get “the most” out of their time abroad. I plan on staying in Rome for most of my weekends this semester to get to know Rome well opposed to just seeing as many countries as I can. If I can leave Rome three months from now with enough knowledge to show family and friends around the city I have accomplished my goal.
Recently, I broke up with the United States. After a 20 (almost 21!) year long, committed relationship with only one brief break (to test my feelings for China) it was time to move on. Comfortable relationships are fun, don’t get me wrong. The United States understands me on a level that I’m not sure my new love, Italy, will ever be able to. The U.S. knows that I want a big cup of coffee in the morning, the bus to come on time, and for stores to be open at the reasonable hour of 1 p.m.
Nevertheless, I have to hand it to Italy for catching onto my love for cute side streets, spiraling ivy on brick buildings, intense shots of caffeine, and carbs, lots and lots of carbs.
Any change in life, especially with relationships (particularly those with one’s home country) brings a necessary adjustment of the body and mind, and traveling abroad for the next 3 months has been no exception to this rule. Upon my arrival in the country of wine and pasta, I noticed that a little thing that we in the Unites States like to call “punctuality” is simply optional and frequently opted out of.
As a person who is consistently 30 minutes early to class, gets anxiety when leaving for a destination a little later than planned, and thinks being on time is being late, this aspect of Italian culture has been quite a challenge for me.
On one particular day, as I set out for my first on-site class, Art in Rome, the bus simply did not come for 45 minutes. I had initially left campus before 8 o’clock for the 9:30 class with the intentions of being early enough to grab a cappuccino before the lesson began. However, standing there at the stop with about 20 other Rome Center students, I started to realize that this simply was not going to be possible. 10 minutes passed and I was still optimistic, but once we hit the 20 minute mark I became frantic to get on a bus. One after another the wrong bus passed, and I contemplated jumping on one, despite not knowing where it was headed, in an effort to simply go somewhere, anywhere.
Eventually, after almost an hour, the correct bus (the 990) turned the corner to the stop and the crowd of us began cheering at the sight of our salvation. We were all about ten minutes late to our class at the Roman Forum and Colosseum, but our teacher was very understanding, as the bus situation in Rome is a bit spotty. I realize now how thankful I am for the CTA in Chicago and will likely never complain about waiting 10 minutes for the Red Line to come ever again.
So yes, this break up has been very hard to do. I miss the familiarity and reliability of the United State’s public transportation system, and I certainly miss Chicago, the city that probably will always have my heart. Yet, Rome, thus far, has been an exhilarating adventure I would not give up for anything. What this new love may bring, we have yet to really know. Time however, time will tell of all the excitement to come.
Hola! My name is April Skillings, and I am a sophomore at Loyola. I am a finance major and Spanish language and literature minor, and a month ago as of yesterday I left O’hare Airport for Costa Rica, This is my first time out of the country for more than a week, and the first time I have been away from my family for more than a month. I was understandably a little nervous, and yet unbelievably excited. I opted to take a group flight with other USAC (University Studies Abroad Consortium) students to Costa Rica, this meant that I had the opportunity to meet future classmates and friends prior to orientation. Upon my arrival, I was met at the airport by my host family, who I have since discovered are some of the nicest people you could hope to live with. They have helped make my transition to a new country and culture as smooth as possible.
I originally chose to study abroad, because I am a Spanish Language and Literature Minor and there is a limit to classroom learning in regards to languages. I wanted to study Spanish in a sink or swim environment. So, I requested a host family that does not speak English. Being able to talk to them everyday is a struggle and a blessing. Practicing Spanish at all hours of the day has expanded my vocabulary greatly, “Como se dice… everything”. I chose to study through USAC specifically, because they teach languages in a high intensity track system. What this means is that I will be able take 3 levels of Spanish in just over 3 months, and I have my final for my first level on Monday. Lastly, I chose Costa Rica, because it’s beautiful here.
In the month that has past I have learned so much. I have seen how proud they are of their cultural through the two parades I have attended in the past month. Costa Rica has a rich and beautiful culture, but the most amazing part of the country is the land itself. Costa Rica cares a great deal about the environment and the state of their wildlife preserves, since about six percent of their GDP comes from tourism. As a result of this, when I visited Manuel Antonio National Park three weeks ago it was stunning. I saw a few monkeys, several sloths, and dozens of iguanas, I only wish I had some binoculars on hand. The beach I swam in had unbelievably warm water, and after floating out a bit we discovered a sunken ship near the coast. Some locals let us borrow their goggles so we could see fish swimming in and out of the metal skeleton of the boat.
Last weekend, I visited Jacu Beach to try surfing for the first time. The waves were much larger than those at Manuel Antonio, which is perfect for surfing but dangerous for swimming. I was so proud that I managed to stand up during my first day of surfing, but I was using a ten foot board. For those unfamiliar with surfing, a ten foot board is the equivalent of a small pier. It’s perfect for standing, but impossible to move where you want to go. Later in the day, we hiked up a mountain, one side of which touched the ocean. On our hike we saw at least five monkeys, none of whom looked very happy to see us. When we reached the top, we could look down on the whole beach; it’s a sight I hope I’ll never forget.
That was the first month of my travels. I’m sure I will have some more fun stories soon. If you have any questions for me, or want to learn more about studying abroad through Loyola or USAC, please let me know. I would be happy to help.
Rural Umbrian village at high noon.Captured beauty of the Colosseum.Pantheon before dusk.Clouds move in to cover Mt. Vesuvius and the ancient city of Pompeii.View from the highest point of the island of Capri.The largest valley in the province of Umbria.Waves crash onto the island of Capri during a cloudy morning.Positano, a town on the Amalfi Coast, gets covered by shade on a sunny day.
Hey guys-
So I have finally gotten my access to my blog site, which means that now I will begin posting! Again, I will be posting every two weeks (perhaps once every week), so keep up with everything as I take you along for my incredible journey through Italy, Europe, and beyond! Anyway, I thought for this first post that I would reflect on my initial impressions of Rome, as well as how they compare to the rest of Italy that I have seen thus far.
When I first arrived to Rome back in late August, I was filled with a number of emotions: fear of the unknown, excitement for my new endeavours, and the realization that yes, I actually left home behind to live 4000 miles away in a new country. Upon my arrival, there were several differences between American culture and Italian culture that were very prominent to me. For one, it amazed me just how the architecture of Ancient Rome, Medieval Europe, Renaissance Italy, and Modern Italy all are in complete harmony and co-existence. When I visited the Roman Forum, I was in awe that there were monuments and structures from thousands of years ago that one could still go up to and admire. As for me, this experience was incredibly personal; since I have been to Rome twice before studying abroad, it was not only a journey where I was stepping back into Ancient Rome for an afternoon, but it was also an afternoon of personal reflection, as well as an afternoon where I could retrace my steps and say “oh yeah, I’ve been there before” or “oh, that palace looked a lot different since I was here in the fall and not the summer.” Contrast this to the United States, you are not able to see structures from thousands of years ago; in fact, I believe there are only a handful of buildings in the United States that one could see on a daily basis that are more than 400 years old. So unlike the United States, you not only read about history, but you can actually go to Ancient Roman sites and feel the historical significance.
Something else that I noticed about Rome was the fact that unlike any city that I have been to in the United States, there is a huge presence of graffiti, even on buildings in the more affluent neighborhoods. In fact, the second I step out of JFRC onto Via Massimi, the first thing I will see is a trashcan and a wall with graffiti written all over them. Even in neighborhoods that some might consider unsafe in Chicago, I have yet to see anything like this. When I asked my professors about the presence of graffiti in Rome, many of their responses echoed the following idea: in many cases, graffiti use is a response to the presence and history surrounding (1) Facism in Italy and (2) the divide between several key regions in Italy in regards to culture, development, and other differences. So in Italy, graffiti is more political, while in the United States, the use of graffiti symbolizes vandalism, disrespect of property, and the claim over territory in the case of gang-related activity.
In addition to differences between the United States and Italy, I’ve also noticed differences between the regions of Italy of Umbria, Rome, and Amalfi that I have visited thus far. Because one of my minors is Italian, and because I am looking for a more authentic Italian experience, I am trying to practice my Italian as much as possible. I found that particularly in the tourist traps of Rome and the region of Amalfi, it was very difficult for me to do so; when I practiced my Italian, locals would speak to me in English, and if I continued to speak in Italian, they would become visibly frustrated. Contrast this to the region of Umbria, however, as in this region, not only was my knowledge of Italian welcome, but it was also encouraged, as the locals here had little to no experience with speaking English. In addition, I found my experiences in Amalfi and Umbria to be much more laid back; in Rome, however, there is a bit more pressure to always be on the move, to always be doing something, to always have some sort of destination to get to. In Umbria and Amalfi, one does not have to be at a set place at a set time, since the people there enjoy their time and really take the time to enjoy the people they are with. While this is true throughout Italy, it is especially true in more remote regions.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to read my first post! I know it does not describe every single fact and experience of Italian life, but I hope that it at least gives a brief snapshot, if anything. I’ll try to post more often now that I have my site up and running, so stay tuned! Also comment below if you enjoyed reading this, would like to hear more about a certain aspect, etc. I am open to suggestions and am looking to constantly improve my commentary!
