Well, it’s been about three weeks since my last blog, a good indicator that I am pretty busy traveling and enjoying my time here in Spain! After the Granada trip at the end of February, I have spent the last two weeks doing a lot of homework and studying (we just had our midterms) and planning for my Spring Break. I will be traveling for 18 solid days in April, hitting up four different countries- SO EXCITED!!! Flights and hostels were all pretty cheap, and I am excited to be crashing on some couches at the apartments of other friends who are studying abroad hahaha. I sense a long blog post after that chunk of traveling!

But any who, I have also been continuing my internship at the M.A.R.Q. museum, which has been really fun and interesting. I’m still learning a lot about the museum and possible career choices for someone like me with my majors and ambitions. I also picked up a second internship, where I am an English teacher’s assistant at a small school in Alicante. Every Friday, Luis (the director of the USAC Program) drives me to Aire Libre, the school I teach at, and I spend about 6 hours there assisting Maria, the English teacher, with teaching 3 classes of twenty kids English. It’s actually a lot of fun, and pretty hysterical too. I’m impressed at how good their English is for being only 10-13 years old. A lot of the boys ask me if I have a boyfriend and flirt with me (they are romantics even from a young age), and the girls are interested in knowing if I have horses and what America is like. They are all very smart and goofy, and I have never had more fun playing Simon Says with English commands than I have with them. I am usually not a big kid fan, but I really enjoy going to the school and working with them. It’s even starting to make me think if teaching Spanish in the states could be a possible career choice for me in the future….

Now as for my title, last weekend I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go to… AFRICA. A bunch of USAC students and I got together at the beginning of the semester and we planned a trip to Morocco, Africa, through this travel agency that provides safe tours to students in Africa. We planned it all a while ago, and now finally it was here! I had always wanted to go to Africa, and now that dreams was actually going to be realized. We left at 3 am on Friday morning (pretty miserable, but it was the only time that there would be a bus going from Alicante to Malaga, the port city). We arrived around noon that day, met with our group organizer, and headed for the port. We had to take a ferry to Africa, which surprisingly only took about an hour. There were 16 of us USAC students total going to Africa, and we were all ecstatic. We arrived around 7 pm in Ceuta, a small Spanish city in Africa, and then took a bus to our hotel in a small city near Tangier, starting our African adventure.

Morocco was beautiful, but it was not at all what I thought it would be honestly. I admit, I thought it would look like the Saharan desert, or the plains of Africa with a lot of animals and small towns- I blame Hollywood for those ideas. Instead, northern Morocco was incredibly green and mountainous, humid and wet, and appeared more like Ireland than the Africa I had envisioned.  The cities were small, and all the buildings were white or blue (blue paint keeps mosquitoes away- check the pictures!). The people spoke Arabic, obviously, but also French and a little Spanish, and they were extremely modest in the appearances, with the women wearing the head scarves and men wearing full body robes. Us Americans really stuck out, and I had never felt more out of place and different in my whole life. Now this isn’t a bad thing- I liked feeling that intense culture shock. It was the first time I had ever been somewhere that was completely different in every aspect- how the people looked, their language, their mannerisms, their food, buildings, interactions, homes, etc. It was a completely different world, and it was exhilarating to see something so different from America and even Europe. I am not going to lie, there were some challenges to this though. My snow white complexion and red/light brown hair brought a lot of attention to me, since all the Moroccans have very dark hair and complexions. The locals stared at my friends and I, especially the blonde haired, blue-eyed girls. It was definitely uncomfortable sometimes, knowing that everyone knew I was not from Morocco, and having them treat me different, but I didn’t let it bother me.

During our trip, we visited three Moroccan cities; Chefchaueoun, Tetuan, and Tangier. They were all different and unique in their own way, but all equally interesting. We did a walking tour in each city, learning a little bit more about it’s history and culture. We learned quite a bit about Morocco’s history as a country as well, but I won’t go into detail here about all that information 🙂 My friends and I did a lot of walking, shopping, eating, exploring, and learning everywhere we went. We learned that they paint the walls of the city blue to keep the bugs away, and that tapestries, rugs, Argon oil, and leather are very popular merchandise there. We learned about their religion, like how often they pray, where they do it, and their religious rituals. My friends and I learned how to bargain at the little shops and market places around the city, some of us scoring great deals on objects. I bought a beautiful blanket and some postcards, as well as a tea cup set and fridge magnet for my host family (my host mom loves collecting magnets from everywhere she goes, so I thought it was perfect…. she loved it a lot!) I took a ton of pictures, everything that was interesting and beautiful, and even learned some Arabic words and phrases along the way. I only really learned the basics, like Hello, how are you? in Arabic, but I made sure to say them as often as possible, trying to communicate with the locals.

We visited a couple cool spots during our transition from one city to the next, checking out the beach point where the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet, as well as the famous cave of Africa. I think my favorite part though, however, was our camel ride. It was probably one of the funniest things I have ever done, and I loved it. The camel ride was included in our tour, and was one of the last things we did. We stopped at this one beach on our way to Tangier, and saw a bunch of camels and people riding them. Everyone was super giddy about it, and we were pushing each other around trying to get to the camels first. The ride itself was not long, maybe only ten minutes, but it was awesome. At first it was terrifying getting on the camel and having it stand up, and boy those things are a lot taller when standing, but it was really scary when we started to move and the camel trainers made the camels run. My friends and I were laughing our butts off because it was just so fun and we were all freaking out. We took tons of pictures and just had a blast. I love saying that I rode camels in Africa now- still feels unbelievable to me that we were able to do that. We left Africa Sunday night, after our visit to Tangier, exploring the city and watching a belly dance show at an incredible restaurant. It was sad leaving Africa, but I was ready to go back home to Spain.

We spent one day in Sevilla during our transition back to Alicante, and it was incredible! Sevilla is honestly what I pictured all of Spain to be like- old and majestic buildings, lots of bull fighters and flamenco dancers, and a rich historical setting. I learned a lot about Sevilla during our walking tour, such as the fact that Sevilla had the oldest tobacco factory, and that a couple of the beautiful buildings and plazas that were built for the World Fair during the 1900s were settings for certain movies, like Star Wars. It was a great time spending the day walking around and hanging out, and it was a nice close to a rather adventurous weekend. When I got back to Alicante, I spent the next couple of days resting and recuperating from that weekend, and getting all the rest of my stuff ready for Spring Break. I have also been spending a lot of time with my host family, because I missed them a lot over the weekend and I know I will miss them a ton over Spring Break. They told me how much they missed me as well, and even said they wouldn’t let me return to the states after the program because they love me too much. It was a joke of course, but it was so sweet knowing how much they like me.

Alright, I got to study for a big test tomorrow, because unfortunately school work does not stop while you’re abroad. Probably won’t be posting for a couple weeks until I am back from Spring Break, but I promise to come back with great stories and adventures!

Hasta luego,

Ryann

Time is flying by here in Chile! I realized I forgot to post to this blog earlier, so here is something I wrote on the 25th of February to my personal blog.

I apologize for not updating this blog in a while — it’s summer here in Santiago so everyone is on vacation, myself included. As my friends in the United States are currently facing their midterms, I confess that I haven’t even started the actual semester yet. With all of this extra time before classes start, I had the opportunity to do some traveling in the south of Chile.

I’ve always dreamed of traveling as a backpacker and I finally got to do so! I took a backpacker bus tour called Pachamama (which means Mother Earth in Spanish) through the Lake District with some of my gringa friends. We left from Santiago and traveled to our first stop, an indigenous town called Pomaire, famous for their empanadas that weigh half a kilo (over one pound)! We also made stops at the Rapel Dam and Punta Lobos. We ended up staying in Pichilemu that night, a town known as the capital del surf. That being said, when staying in the capital del surf, one obviously must surf. So that’s exactly what I did — or at least attempted to do. I took surfing lessons and by the end of the session I had actually caught a couple of waves!

The next day we left Pichilemu.  Our first stop was Santa Cruz, where we visited Chile’s most famous museo.  After that, we saw Villarrica Lake and then headed towards our final stop for the day, a town called Pucón.  In this town, we got to go white water rafting.  It gave me such an adrenaline rush!  The rapids were crazy and at one point we even had the opportunity to cliff jump!

We also got to see Ojos del Caburgua Waterfalls and Lake and then  the Pozones Hot Springs while in Pucón.

We then left Valdivia and stopped in Puerto Montt, where we jumped off the bus because we wanted to visit Patagonia and Torres del Paine.  Patagonia is the Antarctic of Chile and Torres del Paine is a national park within Patagonia famous for hiking and trekking.  They are both so far south that we had to take a plane to get there.  It was cold but so worth it!  I got to see penguins, snow capped mountains, glaciers and a magnitude of other gorgeous sights!

After our adventure in the far south, we headed back to the Lake District to hop back on the Pachamama bus, where we continued the rest of the tour.  On the rest of the journey we ventured to places like Puerto Varas, Llanquihue Lake, Frutillar, and Salto el Laja Waterfall.

Other things we saw include San Javier, where we got to see a volcano, and Balduzzi Winery, where we got a tour of the winery and tasted many varieties of wine!  Then it was back to home sweet Santiago.

I wish I had more time to describe what a unique experience this was.  I believe backpacking and staying in hostels is one of the best ways to encounter a culture and meet new people, both locals and foreigners alike.

There was one instance in which it was raining cats and dogs and we were drenched to the bone.  We were desperate to get out of the rain and reach our destination.  A truck was driving past us so we decided to take a chance and see if we could catch a ride.  Sure enough, after we put our thumbs up the truck pulled over for us.  Inside was a nice Chilean man on his way to work.  He reminded me of my friend Ernesto back in the United States.  We had a wonderful conversation — it was nice to chat with a local.  When he dropped us off, he gave us apples.  It was such a kind gesture and it definitely put a smile on my face.

I met people from so many different countries during my trip that I’ve lost track of where they all came from.  Many people I encountered were not only traveling through Chile but were also traveling the world!  Some of the most memorable people that I met was a couple from England.  They have been traveling the world for a year.  They even sold their house in order to do so!  They have inspired me to take risks and the road less traveled.

Now I have a week or so to explore Santiago until the semester starts. I am excited to have even more stories to share about my explorations in the city.  (Be on the lookout for a new blog post dedicated to Santiago!)

“Confieso que he vivido” is a quote from Pablo Neruda (he is a famous literary icon from Chile, as mentioned in a previous blog post).  Translated into English, his quote means “I confess that I have lived.”  I hope over time this becomes more relevant to my life.

Besitos.

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.

 

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

 

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