Mid October 2015

Students at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa received news that tuition prices for 2016 would be raised 20% for the incoming school year. A few days later, on October 14th students assembled to protest against the outrageousness of the increase. This started the campaign for Fees Must Fall. The rest of the month saw other universities joining the cause, more support, more protests, and the rise of a new movement.
The 2015 Fees Must Fall campaign ended when President Jacob Zuma announced that there would be no increase in tuition for universities across the nation. Protests stopped but the damage was done and the tension was still in the air. The University of Cape Town was home to violent protests, the burning of school shuttles, burning of paintings and property, and the fire-bombing of the Vice Chancellor’s office. The student’s involved were arrested, suspended, or expelled, while a few are still waiting for their hearing and have been barred from campus. Campus activities were suspended and finals were postponed. International students abroad had to complete their tests back in their home countries while full-time students had to take them weeks or months later. But, the protests were successful. The fees did not increase and students were able to return to normal class the next semester.

       

Present Day 2016
As Spring Break ended and the 4th term of the year began the tension in the air thickened. It was less than a year ago when protests broke out and people were waiting to see what was going to happen. Soon, we found out.
As the anticipation for the new tuition price announcement, the University of Cape Town suspended academic activities on Friday September 23 and Monday September 19. Small protests had already started the day before and more were expected due to the coming announcement. Sure enough, on Monday students received the email informing them of the expected 8% fee increase for the 2017 school year. Immediately, students mobilized and protested this increase. However, this time the fees were not alone. Tribunals for the students suspended have started again and there is outcry from students for their release and ability to return to school.
Tuesday morning arrived and the protests only grew. Students blocked entrances to the school with boats, benches, branches, cars, and themselves. Other protesters marched on residence buildings calling for all students to join in the march. The Medical School was taken over with classes being disrupted and exits and entrances being blocked. They took to the highway and blocked cars on their way towards Upper Campus (the main campus of UCT). The sang, chanted, clapped, and danced as the went along. All this occurred before 10AM. Around 10:30 UCT officially announced that it was shutting down yesterday and today, Wednesday September 21. And tonight they announce that campus will be closed until Sunday with the hope that some kind of solution can happen so that school may start up again soon.

Reflection
Not many study abroad experiences have massive on-campus protests occurring during that time. This experience gives a unique insight into the dynamics of South African turmoil. With the elections occurring in August South Africa has seen a great shift in its domestic power and many people calling for better services. The fight for cheaper, and even free, education is just one of the many social issues that South Africa faces. As an outsider looking in, the current situation with Fees Must Fall and the UCT Shutdown is rather intriguing.
I am the sort of person who has the ability to understand arguments from many different points of view. The protesters are demanding for greater and cheaper education; their ultimate goal is for all education to be free. I understand the fight for lower tuition costs however there are many aspects that need to be taken into account. Last year, after the success of Fees Must Fall the university had to fire a large number of staff members in order to stay operational. In addition, the government has lowered the amount of funding that universities have access to. This, in turn, has caused the need for higher tuition fees in order for universities to stay open and accessible. The university can only do so much with what it has. I am pleased that there is a plan to protest outside the parliament building in order to get the government to get involved. Hopefully this will open their eyes to the education problems and try to find a solution.
The protesters presented the university with a list of demands (I have attached them at the bottom of this post for those of you who are interested). Though many of these demands are fine some stretch things a little too far. The main demand I disagree with is the call for the release of students who were expelled or have hearings coming up in the future. As much as one may want them to be freed and pardoned their actions were illegal. Burning shuttles costs the university money, money which could have gone towards the cause, and puts people’s lives in danger. Furthermore, the fire-bombing of an office could have had devastating results if someone had been inside when it occurred. It is hard to argue that no consequences should come to the people who participated in these events.
I hope that an agreement can be reached in the very near future as, though I can’t believe I am saying this, I want to go back to class. All in all, I am happy that I get to experience this while I am here and express my support for their cause. I am not going to be personally participating in the protests but I stand behind the fight for cheaper education for all. For anyone with concerns, I am well and safe and there is no need to worry.

 

List of Demands:
http://www.uct.ac.za/usr/news/downloads/2016/2016-09-19_Demands.pdf

There are a lot of hills here in Italy.

Literally. I’m pretty convinced this entire country is just one big hill.

I learned this pretty quickly. Our campus is located on Monte Mario, the highest hill in Rome. (I had to double check this fact, so obviously I searched Wikipedia. JFRC even gets a shoutout, so that’s cool.) But I digress.

The reason I’m rambling on about this hill stuff is because it’s a pretty spot on description of my first 21 days in Rome.

So hills. It constantly feels like your walking up one here. The walk back to campus, whether it be from the bus stop, the supermarket, or gelato, is uphill. Every street seems to be at an incline. I also can’t remember the last time I walked up so many stairs. With sore legs and shortness of breath, sometimes you wonder if you will ever reach the top.

And I love it.

The thing about climbing a hill, physically or figuratively, is that it’s a lot more fun than staying on a flat surface. It’s challenging, but each step pushes you to your limit. It gives you new perspectives with every rise in altitude. The thought of climbing each hill freaks you out, yet there is no way to avoid it. You just start walking. And once you get to the top, the exhaustion, frustration, and struggle to get there don’t matter anymore.

Here are some of my favorite hills I’ve climbed so far:

Monte Uh, Scusi?

Trying to speak Italian is scary, but trying to understand Italian is scarier. A semester of Italian 101 plus my Google Translate app are enough to help me order food at a restaurant or ask where the bus stop is. But listening to someone speak Italian is like pausing mid-step and wondering if you’ll be ableto regain your balance or just fall flat on your face. Thankfully, I haven’t fallen too hard yet. I love picking up new vocabulary and feel super accomplished when I exchange words correctly. This hill, although challenging, has been one of my favorites to climb.

Monte Figuring It Out

When you stand at the base of a hill, you look up and try to prepare yourself for the journey ahead. But as you climb, roadblocks force you off the path you intended to take. I had some expectations coming to Rome. I thought I had a plan for, or at least an idea of, how the semester would play out. The reality is I don’t know the path I’m climbing or where it’s going. It’s difficult, and sometimes the only solution is to just sit down. Which is hard, because I don’t want to do that.

This hill has been the most frustrating, but it’s one of my favorites because I know the reward will be great. For now, I’ll just be taking one step at a time.

Monte Keep Climbing

When we climb, it’s easy to forget to appreciate the beauty of it. In Positano, Italy (pictured above), I learned that it’s not always about getting to the top. At the base of a small shopping square, there was a set of stairs rising along the edge of the buildings. So I went up, and up, and up. It became evident that the top was no where near, but I didn’t care. I just kept going. And it felt great. So great, I even took a selfie (pictured below). Man, I love climbing.

So these are my hills. They have been challenging, frustrating, tiring, exciting, rejuvenating, and fun. I know I have quite the journey ahead of me, but when I reach the peak in three months, I know it will all be worth it.

See you at the top. But I’ll probably just keep climbing.

Living in Saigon is existing within a context of complete sensory overload every day, all day. Although many sensations tend to not be so pleasant, there are also those that make sensory overload one of the most invigorating parts about living in Vietnam. Below, for your viewing pleasure, you will find a short list of my top ten sensations and feelings:

1. Peeling all of your clothes off your body at the end of a very long, sweaty day in the comfort of your cool air-conditioned BK dorm room.

2. Sensing the release of anticipation and the subsequent rumble of traffic when the stoplight’s countdown reaches 1 and turns green.

3. Biting into a fresh Banh Mi and watching the bread crumble all down the front of your shirt.

4. Finally itching that bug bite after quietly debating with yourself over whether you should or shouldn’t. For your information, you probably shouldn’t but it just feels so good.

5. Walking into a bathroom, remembering you’ve forgotten to bring toilet paper and then seeing toilet paper sitting there in all its papery goodness (it might be wet because of the spray hose but at least it is there).

6. Recognizing where you are in the city on the back of a GrabBike.

7. Jumping onto (or off of) a still-moving bus and completely sticking the landing.

8. Stepping out into a stream of traffic after deciding that you’ve waited long enough to cross the road.

9. Feeling the cool breeze that sweeps through Saigon just before a monsoon downpour.

10. Taking that first cool sip of iced jasmine tea at basically any street food stall across the city.

 

Last night, I played my first calcio game with my team giallo! As soon as I knew that the teams would be randomly picked, I was pumped. My team has a lot of people that I would not have talked to had it not been for calcio. This was great and really exciting because it’s easy to fall into cliques and not step out of your bubble and meet new people.
So back to calcio: we versed celeste and they were killing it. They had good communication, tried their best, and supported each other the entire game. I think they also were very happy with their random team. The game lasted for 45 minutes with a 25 minute first half, 5 minute halftime, and 20 minute second half. Even though the game lasted this long, the intensity never dropped, but it was a friendly kind of intense.
The game ended with 5-3 and giallo won! I have to say though: it was a very close call and most of the time we were tied with celeste. Afterwards, we did a high five line and marveled at how sweaty we all were. It was such a good game and I hope we get to play against them again. But if we don’t then giallo is ready for the next opponent!Last night, I played my first calcio game with my team giallo! As soon as I knew that the teams would be randomly picked, I was pumped. My team has a lot of people that I would not have talked to had it not been for calcio. This was great and really exciting because it’s easy to fall into cliques and not step out of your bubble and meet new people.
So back to calcio: we versed celeste and they were killing it. They had good communication, tried their best, and supported each other the entire game. I think they also were very happy with their random team. The game lasted for 45 minutes with a 25 minute first half, 5 minute halftime, and 20 minute second half. Even though the game lasted this long, the intensity never dropped, but it was a friendly kind of intense.
The game ended with 5-3 and giallo won! I have to say though: it was a very close call and most of the time we were tied with celeste. Afterwards, we did a high five line and marveled at how sweaty we all were. It was such a good game and I hope we get to play against them again. But if we don’t then giallo is ready for the next opponent!

It is week three in Rome and completing this blog entry has just been one of an ever-increasing collection of things I have to do.
September 12 was the biggest holiday in the Islamic calendar: Eid al-Adha. It’s the holiday in which Muslims perform the the pilgrimage to Mecca: Hajj. Unfortunately, I have a Roman Catholicism class right in the morning and felt it to be a poor choice to try and skip it to go to the mosque. So I arrived in Piazza Cavour at 8:45 that morning with a new friend, Sara, and meandered about until the rest of the class showed up with the teacher, who is a priest. He’s a lovely fellow, incredibly friendly. He reminded us several times that what we were doing was a “mini pilgrimage.” From Piazza Cavour, across the river (twice), and to the Vatican, a student eventually nudged me to inform the teacher, Father Bohr, that that morning had in fact been the day for Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. As a priest though, I didn’t expect him to take too much interest in the matter, but he did listen and eventually said he may ask for my help in planning for a lesson he does on Islam in the spring.
In some attempt at being festive, I did dress up and text some people back home. The highlight of my day came when, upon leaving the Vatican and attempting to navigate back to the bus stop solo, a man who was advertising for a tourist service called after me: Assalamu alaykum! Eid Mubarak!
There certainly aren’t many Muslims in Rome, but of the few they are, I greatly appreciate their presence.

As a Ricci Scholar with a project focused on Muslims, I do have the privilege of seeing them more than one might usually see them in Rome. The research mentor assigned to me here in Rome, Sabrina Lei, is a brilliant Italian Muslim convert. She’s been Muslim for ten years whereas I’ve been Muslim for almost two. Today, September 23, was my second meeting with my mentor. We met at a cafe near the Cipro metro stop, a bit of a walk west of the Vatican. I greatly enjoy her influence in that she’s against the victimization of the self; meaning, though she’s Muslim and a Muslim-minority country, she refuses to herself as a victim. It’s a stance I quite enjoy for she seems rather at peace with herself and her environment. Even despite the occasional roadblock she encounters as a Muslim, she acknowledges herself as being in a place of incredible privilege and instead focuses her energy on being thankful for that privilege while navigating that privilege to see how it can be used for the benefit of others. This last point manifests in her and her husband, who is Indian and also Muslim, consistently publishing books — often Italian translations of popular Islamic philosophy books otherwise available in English and Arabic.

Somewhat ironically, in taking the 990 bus back north towards the school after our meeting, I encountered a bit of a roadblock. The bus was utterly packed, yet a few bodies in front of me I spot an old man staring me directly in the eye. I hold his gaze. This little episode admittedly isn’t too strange: staring is a normal Italian cultural practice. However, he begins shaking his head several times over as I maintain eye contact and smile. By this gesture I assume he doesn’t like my hijab and think, so what? He certainly wouldn’t be the first one.

As stop by stop goes by and bodies filter out, I look around and spot a familiar face: a woman sitting in the back who I know works at the dining hall here at the Rome Center. She smiles and calls me over to sit by her. It’s soon established that she doesn’t know English, but we’re able to maintain some form of small talk in Italian. She’s in her fifties. She has a few kids. She’s worked for Loyola for over five years.

As we chat, the man who’d been staring at me suddenly steps in front of me and asks, in Italian, where I’m from. My companion tells him I don’t know Italian, but he asks again, so I tell him I’m American. He asks if I’m Muslim. Si. Always? No. I’ve been Muslim two years, I say, to which he asks why? I shrug seeing as that’s not something I can convey over the course of a brief bus ride, let alone in Italian. And with that, his demeanor very evidently sours. He begins preaching, telling me I need to be Christian, telling me he used to be Muslim and became Christian (which was very obviously a lie). He says my hijab is ugly, he pulls at an end of it saying I need to take it off. This little confrontation barely progresses five seconds before my companion yells at him, shooing him away, and announcing that I’m perfect before grabbing my face and twice kissing my cheek. He gets off at the next stop as she converses with surrounding patrons about how he’s crazy. Soon, we get off to walk to the school together. She made a point of sticking by my side, and I must say I’m quite thrilled to have found a friend out of her seemingly maternal desire to protect. That man may have stirred tension in confronting me, yet his confrontation created a closer friendship between me and my companion. I’m quite thankful for it, actually.

On the very first day that I started this journey I met two very special people in my life. I did not know it at the time, but these two would soon become my very close friends here at TBC. They get special recognition as my very first (very late) blog post! I want to introduce to you Sebastian Tobar Arce and Monica Contreras. I met these two during our first few “ice breaker” days during orientation. We all shared the same love for reggeaton music and instantly connected. They found it so amusing that I listened to Latin music, but did not speak a word of Spanish except for “Hola”. I continue to joke to my family that I came to China only to learn Spanish due to the amount of Spanish speaking students in our program. Any who… these two amigos have placed themselves in a very special place in my heart. They both are a part of my support group as we all take on the daring adventure of “CHINA”.

Let me introduce you to my Pequena bonita bebe, Moni. She is this little sassy chicka from El Salvador and I adore her so much. As of now she is a double exchange student {El Salvador –> Chicago –> China}. When I am around Moni I am always outrageously laughing, we cannot help but just laugh at all of the silly things we do together. A funny story actually: While we were on our Silk Road excursion, Monica and I accidentally stumbled upon a restaurant that catered to homosexuals while trying to grab a bite to eat! From outside of the venue all we could see was pretty lights, live entertainment, and people looking like they really were enjoying themselves there! We walked in and were ushered to a table right away by very friendly waitresses. As we sat down and ordered we noticed that every couple around us was of the same sex and were all having such a romantic meal! We sat through our meal laughing hysterically at our innocent mistake of finding that little gem in Xi An. My favorite person to talk to because she always knows exactly what I need to hear and she does not play around with sugar coating things- honesty is all she is about. I learn new things from her everyday and cannot wait until we can have adventures when we get back to Chicago!

Sebastian Tobar Arce, or as everyone else calls him- TOBAR, is a senior from Pontifical Xavierian University. Coming here to China was his FIRST TIME LEAVING Colombia! He encountered many “firsts” while coming here and continues to experience so many new things as well. We were bunkmates while on the overnight train so I had the opportunity to
learn so much about him! Tabor loves to have a good time with anyone and will never turn down an invitation. He also is such an old souled nerd and I love that about him…I’m talking so nerdy he can recite every line from movies and shows in both English and Spanish! My favorite thing about Tobar is that he is the sweetest and kindest soul you could come across on this Earth. I think he has a sixth sense where he can detect when someone is anything but happy because he is always there when you need him.

If you are looking for a good time…look no further than these two amigos. BESOS Y ABRAZOS

Lately, I have been on the ride of my life. So much going on! Isn’t a semester abroad supposed to be the “easiest” of all your semesters while in college?! I thought I was busy back in Chicago, but that does not compare to here at all!I recently started my internship at the American Chamber of Commerce, located in Beijing! AmCham is basically a resource for companies from the United States (and beyond) to gain access to Chinese markets and business. They assist in all aspects crossing borders internationally. I work specifically under our Senior Director- John Zane. He is actually also on the board of directors at The Beijing Center as well…essentially he is my boss in every aspect of my life at TBC. He is the best! He challenges me at work and tells everything to me straight. My first day he gave me a stack of papers to examine and then told me that I would be writing a policy paper for him! That report would be sent to the American Embassy to be reviewed! That was nerve wracking because I was only used to writing papers andreports for class!
My latest work related event was a program that Amcham, the first in the series. It was called: Inter-Chamber Series- Career Women Forward. It was a joint task that consisted of the American Chamber, Australian Chamber, European Chamber, and many more. It is an initiative of dialogues from successful women from all around the world to share their story. Along with their awesome insight, they also spoke to the public about policies that they believe will promote gender diversity in the workplace. I got to visit the American Embassy here in Beijing and network with many people from all different industries. Although it is stressful, this internship has been the greatest opportunity I have had yet. It has taught me so much in so little time and I can finally say I have internationalized myself for my future career.

 

Buongiorno a tutti!

This past weekend marked our first weekend of solo travel, and to put it simply, it was an indescribable experience. Every single part of it felt like a dream, and I still can’t believe this is my life currently. I have to keep pinching myself and reminding myself that I’m here in Europe for the next 3 months. I’m not going to wake up one morning and find myself back in Chicago. Sometimes that’s been hard to comprehend because I really do miss my family and my friends back home. However, I’m lucky because I’m here in Rome with three of my best friends, one being my roommate and the other two studying at John Cabot whom I’ve known since high school. So far, everything has been incredible and I wouldn’t change a single thing.

Enough with the sappy talk. Let’s talk about my weekend in the Amalfi Coast. Allow me this moment to act like a total girl… OMG IT WAS LITERALLY BEAUTIFUL. I don’t want this post to be a boring spiel about what I did while there because I know that can get boring and very impersonal. And honestly, I already wrote all about that in my journal, so if you want to know more about that, feel free to ask me (-:

My Hints:

Sorrento

1. Go to Downtown Sorrento: We stayed at a hostel called Seven Hostel, which is about a 15 minute drive outside of the city center. Make the trek downtown because although you might like the idea of exploring the smaller neighborhoods for perhaps a more authentic experience, you won’t find much. We went to a restaurant by our hostel and they didn’t like us too much because we we couldn’t speak Italian. So, I recommend heading downtown because although things are a bit more touristy there, we just had a better overall time there. We went to dinner at a restaurant called Tasso, which includes some interesting decor of naked ladies and donkeys in compromising positions. It makes for a unique experience, and to top it all off, the food is actually delicious! I got this calzone (not very Italian, I know), but it was stuffed with ricotta cheese and ham. YUM. And it only cost 9 Euro. Also, the House white wine was one of the best I’ve had so far while in Italy. Another recommendation would be a restaurant called Il Leone Rosso “The Red Lion.” We didn’t go there, but multiple said if you’re looking for a real Italian meal, then this is your place. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to enjoy the nightlife of Sorrento due to the torrential rain we received each night during our stay.

2. Watch Out for Scamming Cab Drivers: You’ll hear this really anywhere you go in Italy, that you should be aware of how much your cab drive should cost before getting in one because they can really rip you off. But going into Sorrento, I had no idea how much things should cost. So, our tour guides told us right when you get in the car, tell the cab driver that you agree on 5 euro per person. That way they don’t even turn on the meter and don’t even have the chance to con you. We told this to our cab driver, and he knew exactly what we wanted, so it must happen a lot.

Capri

1. Eat Caprese: Whether it be on a panino (I recommend this!), in a salad, or just by itself. It is so fresh no matter what restaurant or bar you get it from. Caprese originated from Capri, so it only makes sense to eat it while you’re here!

2. Buy a Pair of Carlos’ Sandals: While roaming the shops, you will run across homemade sandals made by a man named Carlos. And I’m really not kidding when I say these are the cutest sandals I have ever seen in my life. They are a little pricier (ranging from 50 euro to 70 euro), but that’s because he makes each of them by himself in his store. He will even make customized sandals for you. You pick the design, color, everything. I really regret not buying a pair.

3. Don’t Order a Cappuccino from the Bars by the Marina: Just don’t. We decided to be cute and sit at a table by the water, order ourselves cappuccinos, and do as the Italians do aka people watch. It was all fun, until we got that check. A cappuccino, the smallest cappuccino I have ever received, almost the size of an espresso shot, was FOUR EURO. My friend’s glass of white wine only cost two euro more at six euros. We should have known since we were sitting in a very touristy area, but if you value your money like I do, don’t do it. Just sit on the ledge by the water for free.

4. Get a Granita (with Vodka): A granita is basically an orange slushy, and you have the option of having vodka in it. I chose not to get any because it was only 10 in the morning, but it costs 5 euro with or without it. And they put in the smallest shot, so it doesn’t take like alcohol at all. Anyways, I drank this in like two seconds because it was so yummy.

5. Take the Chairlift up the Mountain: For 11 euro, a 12 minute chairlift ride will take you up Monte Solaro and drop you off in Anacapri. I didn’t do this because I am terrified of heights, but my friends did, and they said it offered the most beautiful views of the whole island. If you are feeling adventurous and looking for awesome photo taking opportunities, all my friends say this is a MUST.

6. Beware the Blue Grotto: The Blue Grotto, a cave in Capri, was the one thing I was the most excited for. I’ve seen pictures of the radiant blue water that exists inside this dark cave, and I was instantly intrigued by its beauty. We pull up in our boat, and I jokingly point at this little cavity in the side of the island and say “Hey guys, we’re here.” Little did I know that we actually were there! I’ll attach a picture to give you guys more of a visual, but it was genuinely a funny situation. You go into a row boat and literally have to lay down, while the guy rowing pushes you inside. I was absolutely terrified. I was going to do it anyways despite my fear, but I really was nervous. Suddenly, by the grace of God, the waves picked up and it got really choppy, so they told us we couldn’t go in. I’m not trying to scare anyone into not doing it because you so should. The few people that were able to go in showed us pictures, and it was insanely beautiful. Just expect the unexpected when you finally see the entrance.

Positano

1. Prepare Yourself for the Beauty: The entire time I kept thinking that this place cannot be real. I must be dreaming because nothing I have ever seen in life has been this beautiful. For one, the drive over is considered one of the most scenic routes in the world, which I completely 100% agree with. You can see all the colorful houses stacked on top of one another, you can see the bright blue water. The entire time my mouth was agape from awe. Then, you finally get to Positano, and I really wish I had the words to describe what I was looking at. Thankfully, pictures are worth a thousand words, am I right? Get ready to be Instagram famous because every picture you are going to take is easily worth 100 likes.

2. Rent a Boat: So casual, I know. It sounds weird saying it, but do it. There were 12 of us, so we were able to rent this speed boat for 2 hours for 20 euro. I think the regular price is 20 euro for an hour, so the bigger the group, the better. What made matters even better, our driver, Raphael, was quite possibly the most beautiful man I have ever seen in my life. I’ll add a picture at the end (-:

3. Rent a Beach Chair: For those of you who may get sea sick or don’t like the idea of being on a boat, for just 13 euro you can rent a beach chair, which might be preferable because the actual sandy beach part is very small. The beach is mostly rocks, and trust me, just stepping on them hurt enough.

4. Dine at Vini e Panini: A little store close to the beach, it sells, you guessed it, vini (wine) and panini. It’s not a sit down restaurant or anything, but you are able to take your small bottle of wine (seen in the pic below) and your panini back to the beach so you can enjoy the beautiful weather and the beautiful people. The guy who works there is so nice, we even started singing “Volare” together because who knows why. It’s authentic enough because the sandwiches are handmade in front of you, and you can choose what you put on them. Definitely worth the trip!

Pompei

1. Pay for a Tour Guide: I believe the price was 20 euro, which is not bad, considering this place is huge! Also, there are no signs indicating what anything is, so you’ll basically be staring at rubble trying to decipher whether it’s an artifact or maybe just a random pile of stone. Our tour guide told us soooo much about the history of Pompei and how life was before the devastation, which really put things into perspective. I’ll be the first to say that I HATE guided tours, but I truly truly believe having a guide for this was beneficial.

2. Prepare to See ALOT of the Human Anatomy: I’m not sure how to phrase this in a way that isn’t crude, but I’ll try my best. We get to Pompei, we are walking amongst the gift shops, and there was one common theme that was consistently occurring throughout our roaming. There were a lot of postcards, keychains, figurines, you name it, that highlighted the male anatomy. It was a tad disturbing, and I’m still trying to understand why there was such an emphasis on it. I’m thinking because in the actual Pompei exhibit, there is a brothel that remained very much intact that included paintings on the wall of very detailed images. Google it if you’re interested, but it’s hilarious because out of everything that survived Mount Vesuvius’ wrath, the brothel was probably the one place that remained the most unharmed. Anyways, prepare yourself for it. Shield your children’s eyes, but you really won’t be able to escape it. Just embrace it, and buy yourself or a friend a keychain. They’re hilarious.

3. The Big Statues in the Courtyard are NOT Important: When we went to Pompei, there was basically an exhibit in the exhibit happening. There were these big statues of heads and bodies laying out around the yard, and they were created by an Polish/Italian artist named Igor Mitoraj. Basically, they have nothing to do with the actual Pompei exhibit, and it made me kind of sad that people directed so much attention to these things and hardly any attention to the actual buildings in front of them. They were cool, yes. I did take a picture next to them, yes. But, don’t waste your time when there is so much other cool things to see.

I recommend going to the Amalfi Coast during warmer months. If you are studying abroad in the fall like I am, do it in September because the weather was so beautiful, despite a few rain showers at night or early morning. It was probably one of the best things I have ever done in my life. If you wish to hear more tips or recommendations, feel free to contact me: cmajewski@luc.edu.

Arrivederci i miei amici! <3

If you can remember all the way back to my first blog post from almost a month ago, pre-Rome departure, I had quite an extensive list of things I wanted to accomplish while in Europe. A big one – possibly one of the most important – was checked off during this past week.

So here it is, 3. Have a crazy 21st birthday

My actual birthday on Wednesday, the 21^st, was filled with many messages and people that made me realize how truly lucky I am to be here. It began for me at 3:30am, witnessing a papal audience at the Vatican. I had lunch in the Balduina neighborhood with a group of friends, and then of course afterwards there was gelato. Later in the night was the first intramural soccer game of the semester (GO LALAVANDA! We won, by the way). Afterwards everyone came out to celebrate my birthday; it put into perspective just how many amazing people I’ve met already during my time here. It would’ve been my favorite birthday just after all of that, but the celebration only escalated from there.

Switzerland is probably the most beautiful, scenic place I’ve ever been (so, so sorry for the amount of times I use the words “beautiful” and “amazing” in this post). I dragged three friends with me to Zurich for the weekend, where we stayed in an airbnb in the Oerlikon area. We arrived, totally exhausted, at around 12:00am on Friday night/Saturday morning. About four hours later, we were up and going, trying to catch the train to Interlaken at 5:00am. All four of us were extremely tired, but kept reminding each other that what we were about to do would be worth the journey. We got on our train at 5:30, only to come to the harsh realization that we had three different connections via train we had to catch, and hardly any time to catch them. There were a few different moments during this trip when we looked at each other, panicked, thinking we wouldn’t make it on time. We barely, I mean BARELY made it to the Reichenbach im Kandertal train stop in Interlaken. Relieved and thinking we were in the clear, we went to a little grocery shop to get breakfast before heading to our destination. There, the grocery clerk informed us that the Kandertal airport we were looking for was actually a 20-minute walk away. Once again, we were on a time crunch to get to our destination. At that point it was just funny to us that we had made it that far. For 30 minutes, we walked through the countryside of Switzerland, through random farms and people’s backyards, searching for something that looked anything like an airport. If it weren’t for the few locals we spoke to in broken English, we probably wouldn’t have ever found it. We reached the airport at 8:29am, with one minute to spare. We had a pretty good laugh at the fact that we actually made it there, since our entire weekend lacked any sort of plan or schedule whatsoever. What’s that saying about taking the road less traveled? Well, we took the road literally NEVER traveled…

Skydive Switzerland is a tiny, box of an airport. It was just big enough to fit a small plane inside, which we saw roll out as soon as we walked up. “THAT IS SO SMALL. How will we all fit?” Even still, none of us had really grasped the fact that we were about to jump out of a plane. Our names were called by skydive instructors who suited us up and strapped us into our harnesses. We filled out paperwork that basically said if we died, they weren’t responsible. Still, it hadn’t hit me at all. It wasn’t long until they were guiding us toward the plane. There were about 6 of us diving at that time, all with individual tandem instructors. Fun fact: on average, each instructor does about 8 skydives a day. We got in the plane and we were off. The houses and people of Switzerland got smaller and smaller as we went up and up. We floated around the mountain peaks of the Alps; it was stunning. That’s when I fully started to comprehend it all. We were about to free-fall out of a plane at 14,000 feet in the air, the Swiss Alps surrounding us. I literally couldn’t stop smiling. I don’t think any of us stopped smiling. We kept looking at each other in disbelief. “Wow, we are actually doing this.” It’s something I had been talking about for almost a year, and I was minutes away. Our instructors attached us to them a little tighter. “Now wherever you go, I go,” my instructor said. At one point, the skydive instructors laughed because they realized none of us were briefed before diving. They actually laughed!!! Then they said, “Here’s how it’s gonna go. Head back, feet tucked under, hands holding onto the harness. Good?” And that is literally the only instruction we were given before falling 14,000 feet. I watched, one by one, as my friends dove out before me. The instructors didn’t even give us any chance any chance at all to back out. Soon enough, to my horror, it was my turn. Still, I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face. I scooted all the way to the edge and dangled over, forced to gawk at the beautiful Alps in the widest view I’ve ever seen. Rocked back and forth, 1,2,3… We were out.

I wish I could explain this moment. There is a split second in the air where everything is quiet, and you haven’t started falling at yet. It is a moment of hanging in suspense over the earth. A tiny moment of silence. Everything is calm. You can’t make a noise or breathe or do anything. You just hang there in the air… It is peaceful. And then, all at once, the wind is on your face and you are free falling, arms stretched out. Soaring at 120 mph, it is one of the most exhilarating feelings in the world. It is one of the best things that a person can feel.

For 45 seconds of free fall, I had that indescribable feeling of happiness, probably from adrenaline. Physically, I couldn’t stop screaming or smiling. Not once did I think to myself, I could probably die. Or, hopefully the parachute works and everything is fine! I was too busy being blissfully, stupidly happy. The parachute deployed, thank god. I’m alive mom and dad!!!! We floated around for a few minutes with the parachute above us, beholding all of the wonderful views of the Alps and of the bright-blue lakes of Interlaken. After landing, there were only hugs, high-fives, and laughs between my friends and I and the other divers. We spent the rest of the day wandering around Interlaken, still high off our adrenaline rush from earlier that day. It was easily the best birthday I’ve had. I genuinely can’t think of a better way to spend a 21^st golden birthday. For everything, thank you Switzerland.

I want thank both everyone at the JFRC and back home who sent me nice messages and made my day great. This past week has really put into perspective how lucky I am. Also special thanks to my parents, who probably had heart attacks watching the video of me jumping out of a plane. Love you!

You can watch the video of my skydive on my Facebook!

So, who’s going to jump with me next time?