Everyone, please take a moment to agree or disagree, but weren’t field trip days the best days of school?  Field trips are meant to supplement a learned topic for a class, like visiting a museum or attending a performance etc., but really they are an excuse to get out of class and have some fun, while praying that there is no assignment or notes to take.

I still remember my favorite field trip.  I was in 3^rd grade and I visited Moon Marble Company in Kansas City.  Reflecting on this, I have no inkling as to how this was educational AT ALL.  I went in with all of my classmates and we all came out with tubes of marbles we picked ourselves.  I am pretty sure each of us lost about half of them by the end of the day.

I do not tell you this only to fill space on the page.  I tell you this because today I went on a fieldtrip with my Vietnam Environment class and it was one unlike any other.  Fieldtrips I have taken, especially in my primary years, were very disconnected to my life as it was in that moment.  Museums revealed pictures of the past and plays or concerts told stories that at times, seemed sensationalized for a desired emotional response.  Today I visted the Nhieu Loc Thi Nghe Canal Upgrading Project and two industrial “parks” in Ho Chi Minh.  This trip placed me in direct view of environmental problems and concerns for the Vietnamese people, particularly water and air quality.

In Vietnam, the subject of the environment is broad, with essentially more problems than successful solutions.  For example, the Nhieu Loc Thi Nghe Canal Upgrading Project began in 1998 and is still in progress 14 years later.  The purpose of the project is to improve the landscape surrounding the canal, improve the social condition of canal inhabitants, provide sewage treatment systems, and prevent flooding in the area. What was seen today is one appreciated achievement, and that is the increase of green space along the canal.  The water in the canal is still drastically polluted, smells, and many slum migrants need to be relocated to a cleaner area with a sewage system.  But, there is even an issue with this.  Despite 5 story apartment building projects, many of the slum families choose to sell their new apartments and move back into slums along the canal.  By doing this they are able to run small and consistent businesses on their shack front, instead of no business on the 5^th floor of an apartment complex.

Another environmental problem I observed was at the Tan Binh Industrial Park, an area of the city with the worst concentration of air pollution.  Beyond the pollution was the intermix of industrial buildings with domestic community homes and businesses.  The households themselves were only separated by a line of trees which in no way could prevent the air pollution from reaching the lungs of the inhabitants.  A possible solution?  Relocate industries to the Hiep Phuoc Industrial Area on the south side of Ho Chi Minh, away from residences.  But even this is a problem because that land had been developed over a natural wet land.  I guess that was a give and take situation.

Today I was given the opportunity to be in a moment of history, rather than observe it through pictures or performance.  It was hard for me to view the environmental conditions here because I am so used to what I can now call the luxury of proper waste water treatment in Chicago.  Today I felt small, unable to “fix” anything.  I want others to hold the same common “luxuries” I have.  It was an exceptional field trip and I think it was an important one to share.

More environmental field trips and stories to come.

Chao,

Stephanie

This weekend was our last free weekend in Vietnam for awhile so we decided to take a trip up to the beach town of Nha Trang for the weekend. Traveling in Vietnam has been relatively easy (aside from the language barrier). It was not difficult to purchase train tickets, we booked the hotel online and with the help of our program director, found several interesting things to do while we were there.

We left on the afternoon train and were treated to the most beautiful ride through the Vietnam countryside. After living in the heart of the city for three weeks, the view was a welcome sight. It was also so interesting to ride through areas that were so different from the limited view of Vietnam that we had experienced so far.

The three days we spent in Nha Trang were amazing and also eye-opening. The scenery is what I imagine when I think of the perfect beach town; crystal blue water with islands in the background and long stretches of beach. Some of the classes that are offered through the Vietnam center focus on the human impact on the environment in Vietnam as well as the problems that come with fast-paced development. Nha Trang is a prime example of both these things. Although the oceans that we went snorkeling in were beautiful, it was hard to ignore the fact that the once vibrant coral is now in fact dead. The bay has been completely over-fished and the beaches are dotted with litter. I was torn between marveling at how beautiful it was and a deep sadness at the fact that the marine life is most likely never going to recover.

I think this is the most amazing aspect about the Loyola Vietnam Center and I guess studying abroad in general. We are learning things in class on a Wednesday and experiencing them first hand on a Thursday. This is the sort of learning environment I dreamed of. Although it is more difficult, and I can no longer pretend the world’s problems don’t affect me, I am so glad I am here.

Nha Trang city is the coastal capital of the Khanh Hoa province.  It is located on the coast of South Central Vietnam.  At first I was skeptical to take the trip to Nha Trang with five of my fellow classmates.  Nha Trang, although very beautiful, is a hot tourist destination and even the former host town for the Miss Universe and Miss World Pageants.  The last thing I wanted to do was head to another busy city on my first weekend away from the bustling Ho Chi Minh City.  Gladly, my skepticism disappeared after we boarded the afternoon train to Nha Trang.  I soon remembered that I had only seen the urban landscape of Ho Chi Minh and no glimpes of the mountain and coastal scenes that I had watched on Top Gear.  When the train passed the first volcanic mountain all I could do was stare out of the window.  I had seen nothing like it before and my desire to go hiking kicked in.  Unfortunately it was getting dark and well, we were on a train.

We arrived in Nha Trang at midnight and made our way to the Mai Huy hotel in an overpriced cab. (it is important to remember fare prices, many drivers are looking to hustle young tourists)  I woke up the next morning and could notice the quiet compared to Ho Chi Minh and the lack of petrol odor.  It was instantly calming.

We hit the beach for the majority of the trip.  For all of us, it was our first time seeing the South China Sea, and for some their first glimpse of the ocean at all.  On day two we had the opportunity to snorkel with the Happy Diving Company on Mun Island, one of the four first marine protected areas in the world. It was difficult to leave the island after such a fun day.  It was my first adventure snorkeling and I even jumped off the second floor of the boat a few times.  The only thing that made leaving worth while was the view of the sky as we returned to the harbor.  The mountains and coastline unfolded as we traveled on the slow rocking waves.  The clouds sculpted the sky in a way I had never seen.  They sat atop the mountains like bourgeois hats at a cocktail party.

The final beautiful portrait of Nha Trang was the morning sunrise.  Instead of a quiet walk on the beach, Will, Pedro, and I joined the party of locals exercising at 5 am.  From what I could deduce, families go the beach early, before work, and to prevent tanning in the afternoon, a very western practice.

The trip to Nha Trang brought forward many emotions:  fear for the unknown in a new city, especially when I did little of the planning (Thanks Ashley!), gratitude to my supportive family, and disbelief that I could afford to come to Vietnam (mentally and monetarily).

In the coming weeks I look forward to starting service learning with a seminary and Smile organization as well as our first Loyola excursion to the Mekong Delta.  It is a goal of my life to serve others.  We will not only be leading English Learning activities, but we will be forming relationships to those unlike ourselves, that is middle class college students of Chicago, Illinois.

I am off to read The Tale of Kieu, written by Nguyen Du, a tale of “lust, loyalty, sacrifice, corruption, faith, and justice.”  This will be the first Vietnamese literary work I read!

Chao,

Stephanie

In short, I have solved my photo uploading and technology problems!  To make up for the absence of photos in my previous posts I would like to include them now.

Day 1 of Orientation Weekend: Cortona & Arezzo, Toscana

This weekend, myself and my peers (all 180+ of us) hopped on four busses headed to Tuscany. Never in my entire life did I expect so much beauty condensed into three days of absolute perfection. We started off the weekend in Cortona a small village located on a Tuscan hilltop. As I walked through the village of amber colored plaster houses built along winding cobblestone roads, I couldn’t help but take in the warmth I was surrounded by. The soft amber color of the houses mixed with the sun’s golden reflection created a mood that rivaled even the most beautiful American sunset. Did I mention the view was amazing? Cortona was on the top of a huge hill, allowing us to see a magnificent view of rural Italy, one I will never forget.

After touring Cortona, we hopped on our bus and headed to Villa Petrischio for wine tasting and lunch, possibly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited. Our Associate Dean of Students, Cynthia Bomben, really hooked us up with the location. As I ran around the villa with a group of friends, glasses of delicious red wine in tow, I couldn’t help but experience one of those “I can’t believe this is actually happening” moments.

Villa Petrischio

After an enormous lunch on the terrace of villa, we headed for Arezzo. For those of you who don’t know me, La Vita E Bella, directed by Roberto Benigni, is one of my favorite movies. When I learned that the movie was filmed in the town of Arezzo, I couldn’t help but feel like I accomplished something extraordinary. The town was beautiful, no doubt about it, but knowing that I was in the place where a movie that defined a generation was filmed really struck me. After another delicious dinner (did I mention that meals here consist of 5+ courses?) a few friends and I headed into the town’s center to check out some nightlife. One would think that a small town like Arezzo was fairly quiet, however, as I quickly learned after stumbling across the towns TWO piazzas, it was not. Believe it or not, Arezzo’s youth population is huge! The moment we entered the square, we were not tourists, but rather a part of Arezzo.

END OF DAY 1

Day 2: Anghiari & Sansepolcro, Toscana

We got to sleep in on this day, and by sleeping in I mean we woke up at 9AM. We headed for Anghiari, another hilltop village in Tuscany. Here we had the opportunity to explore on our own. Anghiari was everything I thought a Tuscan village would be. While famous films and other forms of media create idealizations of these Tuscan cities, one never gets the full effect of these cities until actually there. This town was definitely chill; we only had 2 hours to explore, so we took it easy, starting off with some cappuccinos and zeppoles (Italian donuts) and then meandering through the city, entranced in its simplistic beauty.

The town of Sansepolcro, however, was my favorite of all the cities we visited. As a Peruvian citizen, I am used to culture of all forms getting thrown at me in all forms without my looking for it. Every time I go visit, I’m constantly surrounded by physical manifestations of Peru, whether it be the food, dance, music, etc. Coming to Rome I didn’t experience too much of that, surprisingly, but Sansepolocro was everything I wanted out of an Italian city. We went on a good day, because it was the start of the cross-bow competition, a local tradition dating back to the sixteenth century.

Fun story: I wandered through the city with Fathers Al & Ted, and we stopped at a small cafe for a coke when I was jolted by the sounds of trumpets and drums. When I turned around, one of the families competing in the crossbow competition was parading down one of the cobblestone laden streets, dressed in traditional Spanish medieval costumes. Breathtaking.

Back to the hotel, and another great night’s sleep.

END OF DAY 2

Day 3: Lago Trasimeno

This day was the shortest of all three, but the most relaxing. After piling into our buses, we headed to Il Lago Trasimeno located in Umbria for a boat tour of the town of Tuoro. I’ll be honest, I didn’t really listen to the tour guide because the lake and the surrounding scenery was unlike any I’d ever seen. There was a good number of small islands with castles surrounded by thick woods. There really aren’t many words to describe how beautiful this was, so I’ll define the beauty in one picture:

Il Lago Trasimeno, in all its glory. Possibly my favorite picture that I’ve ever taken.

After the boat cruise, we headed to a local restaurant overlooking the lake. After some delicious Pro Secco, we gorged ourselves with an endless variety of Italian foods: pastas, vegetables, meats, and of course, wine. One of our teachers, Sanders Evers, gave an awesome toast celebrating everyone that had brought us here (it took almost 9 minutes). It was honestly the happiest I had been in a very long time.

The bus ride back was hysterical to say the least. Shout out to the Yellow Russ Bus & the beautiful Susanna Cavallo for never ending entertainment in the form of La Onda Latina and some serious salsa dancing. Cheers friends.

PS: Tomorrow I have my first on-site class. When I skyped my friends and told them I was having class at the Vatican tomorrow, I couldn’t help but smile a little.

Wow! My apologies for not posting recently, we haven’t taken a break since we arrived! From classes to the Orientation Trip it’s been a crazy week and a half! I’ll post more this week to get you caught up on all the happenings of Rome!

Let’s rewind a little first. The first week/weekend we were here all the JForcers were excited to get out and explore the city and get to know our home for the next 4 months.

The day after we arrived the SLAs set up a picture scavenger hunt for us with instructions such as “Take a Picture Praying in Front of St. Peter’s” or “Take a Picture with the Carabineri (the police).”  It forced us to learn how to navigate the city (with a LOT of help from some extremely nice Italians) and do some quick sightseeing. What a blast! We didn’t win (we ended up with 25 points and the winners had 53!) but it was absolutely a blast. That night and Friday night we then went down by the Tiber River where tents were sent up with shopping and food and drink. The city becomes even more alive at night (if that’s possible) and it was so much fun to be out with tourists and locals, while checking out all the Italian street fashion.

Pretty much every time I’ve Skyped my dad within the past week, he’s commented on how good I look, and I must admit, I FEEL good.  Maybe it’s the Mediterranean sun, or maybe it’s the strength of the caffeine I’ve inhaled most mornings, or maybe it’s something even unknown to me, but Rome has worked wonders so far, and we’ve only been here about two weeks!  I can’t wait to see what other spectacles this visit has in store for me.

Concerning Classes: Can I just take a moment to comment on the curriculum?  [Pssh, it’s my blog, of course I can!]  Now that syllabus week has passed, students will officially begin to crack open their books and pop out their pens this week.  While classes like Italian Renaissance Philosophy, Roman Aesthetics, and the European Novel may sound intimidating, the professors here at the Rome Center encourage students to engage in their coursework through an active approach to learning.  For instance, two of my classes this semester, the Writing of Fiction and Art in Rome, are on-site classes that take my peers and me to different locations throughout the city each week, instead of keeping us locked inside a hot classroom.  Does the amount of work involved seem extreme?  Yes, admittedly, but the professors are all so approachable and the assignments appear interesting enough that I’m actually excited to work.

Concerning Tuscany: This past weekend, as part of our orientation into the John Felice Rome Center, the faculty took us on a three-day trip to Tuscany and Umbria.  After three long days of guided tours, sloping roads, and hours upon hours of eating what may be the greatest food I have ever tasted, I finally have time to talk about my experience.  The more I saw of the three medieval villages we visited, the more I wanted to live in them.  Cortona, protected by Saint Margaret, is rich in history and culture.  Some of the most breathtaking shots of the Italian countryside were captured next to it’s beautiful chapel, and I was thrilled to learn that I walked along the same paths as Roberto Benigni in “La Vita E Bella” – “Life Is Beautiful.”  Arezzo looked like something out of fairytale.  Probably because not much has changed since the Middle Ages, at least the buildings haven’t.  Neither have the festivals; the townsfolk celebrated their annual jousting competition in the town square just a week ago, where the crowd roared with excitement at the world-renowned flag bearers, who are pretty much the Cirque-di-Solei performers of medieval reenactments.  My personal favorite place was Anghiari.    I felt like I was walking through an ancient labyrinth of ornate lamps, winding stairs, and doors.  Many, many, outrageously awesome doors (most of which have found a new home on my camera).  In Sansepolcro, we were lucky enough to actually witness some of the town’s annual festival, where crossbowmen take to the town square to compete against each other with medieval arms, and parades are led by men in tights sounding trumpets and drums to signal the beginning of the games.

Oh, and one more thing: No matter how full you think you are, no matter how long you’ve been sitting at a table under the Tuscan sun (even if it’s been going on three hours), no matter how foreign the edibles look, when a servor puts food in front of you, you eat it and you like it.

After a whirlwind 5-day Paris Tour I finally arrived in Pau a few days ago. The Paris trip was exhausting, but it ended up being one of the best experiences of my life. In a matter of less than a week, we saw some of the most famous tourist sites (Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe) and some hidden gems. Though I went to Paris when I was 12, I did not remember actually seeing all of these places. It was nice to re-visit since I will remember more this time around. The USAC students are fantastic and everyone on the tour had some time to bond before arriving in Pau.

Once arriving in Pau, we finally realized that, “Oh, we ARE actually going to be living here for the next 4 months and this wasn’t only a vacation.” Hopefully day by day it’ll start to feel more like home.

Finally, we have unpacked and have stopped living out of our suitcases. We all attended orientation (which made me feel like a freshman again) where we were taught some basic Pau 101 tips, as well as introduced to the structure of our classes. We also went to explore Pau in a large group as well as smaller groups. Each time we walk through campus more things seem familiar, bus routes become easier to remember, and things seem less strange. It’s nice to see how things continue to evolve.

One of the best things I like about Pau so far is that not many people know English. In Paris whenever we were in a situation where French was needed, most Parisians would fill in the blanks with English since they know the language. However in Pau, we have to look for ways to communicate clearly in French. It helps because you get to know useful phrases and you get more comfortable with the way you speak French.

Since it’s morning here, we’re headed to do some shopping downtown.

À bientôt!

Ciao Regazzi!

Imagine being thrown into a world where pasta is more important than people, where your conviction, rather than obeying a light signal determines whether or not you will cross a street safely, and fifty feet below where you step, there lie ruins ten times older than the United States themselves.

That is Rome, and that is where I’ll be living for just about 3 months.

A little background on my life:
I was born in Lima, Peru, to two loving (sometimes hilariously protective) parents who vowed to give their child nothing less than a happy life. Fast forward 20 years, and I find myself sitting in Rinaldo’s bar at the John Felice Rome center, after receiving 18+ years of private education, and loving every second of it. To say the least, I am a lucky person. Most people of my cultural background have not received the opportunities that I have, and I have my parents to thank for that. This blog will not just be an account of daily life here in Rome, but rather a compilation of the ecstatic moments, moments in which I realize how lucky I am to be here.

Today marks the very first day of my Roman adventure. The overwhelming beauty of the place I will spend the next four months has been something that I have only been able to imagine, have been imagining for what seems like an eternity. To be able to see, smell, and taste the original artifact is, quite literally, many dreams come true. I have been hesitant to really bask in the excitement of studying abroad because the preparation to get here was brutal at times. During the preceding months, I was working through a much different experience. I wasn’t focused on what would be, I was focused on what wouldn’t be. I watched as my friends made plans I would love to be a part of, and knew that I wouldn’t be there. I knew I’d be missing a semester of a team that has taken so much of my time and energy, willingly given because Mock Trial was something I loved to do. They prepared for half a season, of which I was incapable of participating. The month long series of goodbyes was easily the worst part of preparing, though trying to get one checked bag under 50 pounds was a challenge in itself and comes in a close second.

But now I am smack in the middle of the “Would Be” (and obviously over the angsty part of studying abroad.) I almost almost succumbed to the temptation of a night in filled with The Princess Bride and sleep after endless hours of travel. At the last minute, the recruiter for the Rome campus (she’s lovely and her name is Jess) came and ate dinner with my table. She was extraordinarily excited about being back in one of her favorite cities and coaxed me out into downtown Rome with the promise of gelato and great views. I assure you, the gelato is as delightful as they say. We saw the Pantheon, Bernini’s Fountain of Four Rivers, and bought the promised gelato before my need to be back in my new bed decided it could no longer be ignored. A small group of us went to take the bus back to the John Felice Rome Center, and immediately got lost. One wrong bus, two patient Romans who generously gave the lost American students directions, and quite some time later, I finally made it back to campus.

8/30/12

Today, a couple of friends and I went back downtown. Pizza, wine and gelato were all involved, then, consulting one of two of our handy-dandy maps, we made it to Fontana de Trevi (Trevi Fountain). It was stunning, especially at night. We took pictures, sat down and marveled at it, and promised to come back during the day. Fontana de Trevi is the highlight of my trip so far. It was such a special moment for me, because it finally hit me in full force that I am actually in Rome. The weight of leaving home, the weight of how influential this place and experience will be for me, everything came crashing down and it made me positively giddy. I already love it here.

What I don’t love? Getting lost for a second night, despite three maps (we were given another), and another several less enthusiastic Italians showing us the way. We did, however, make it home that night, which is all that really counts.
Attached are some of my favorite pictures from our trip so far. We have, for your viewing pleasure, me at Trevi Fountain, and the view of the Vatican from a bridge crossing the Tiber River at Piazza Cavour, which is how we eventually find our way back to school because it has our most used buses. (A little fun fact for future Romans.)