Valpo Voyager

Student Stories from Around the World

Month: October 2013 (page 1 of 2)

Tests and Distractions

October 30, 2013 / / 1 Comment

First off, I need to apologize for taking so long on this blog. My excuse is that for the past two weeks, we’ve been slammed with papers and mid-terms galore. Normally, that probably wouldn’t be a problem, but I think we’ve all been spoiled here with the relatively light courseload and experience-centered classes. Real-life ‘studying’ isn’t something we’ve had to do a lot of in the past two months, so it was a pretty big slap in the face when we actually needed to get our butts in gear. We did, of course, and now that all that craziness is over, I find myself wanting to mostly laze about instead of accomplishing the things I let fall by the wayside during our frantic two weeks. But there are at least two things I need to tell you all about.

The first is that we had a visit from a rather interesting guy-from the second group of Valpo students to come to Cambridge back in 1968. He stopped by for our weekly common meal and we had a wonderful time discussing his career in law and all the experiences he had when he had been here in ’68. We loved asking him all sorts of questions. He told us the story of his favorite trip on the Continent, which involved a road trip through East Germany and Turkey, with all of the difficulties moving across the Iron Curtain with an American passport entailed at the time. He also told us about how interesting it was here in Cambridge. There was this one pub that

Our second dinner with Larry

was a hotspot for foreign students, some of whom apparently grew up to be incredibly influential anarchists or revolutionaries in their home countries. He told us about the styles of the time, about how you couldn’t go anywhere in Britain without hearing ‘Hey, Jude,’ and about how the people he was here with have become extraordinary individuals in their own right. We almost felt like we had a lot to live up to, after that–we’ve all got to make something of ourselves, after hearing about what an illustrious history this program has had. Larry came back the next day, planning to go get a pint at the pub down the street with Grant, but we forced him to stay for dinner again and tell us more about his current life. It turns out he works with law and human rights, which was really cool not only because of the subject matter but also because quite a few of us here are looking to pursue careers in a similar field. This discovery led to quite a few in-depth discussions on morality, ethics, and our plans for the future. All in all, it was a really interesting and valuable experience, meeting this man who was here, in our position, forty-odd years ago. I think it also pushed us to go out and experience as much as possible, so that we can someday tell stories about our trips and adventures with the same fondness as he did.

 

The other cool thing that we did to relieve our mid-term stress was our minor Halloween celebration. Because so many of us left for our second fall break this week, we decided to celebrate Halloween a week early with a Murder Mystery Dinner Party. It involved all of us dressing up as various fairy tale characters and sitting down to common meal with various individual goals in mind. About halfway through the night, after dinner, one of the characters was murdered, and we spent the rest of the evening trying to figure out who had the most motive for killing her. It really was a lot of fun, with each character having an intricate personality and distinctive goals that went beyond the commonly-known fairy tales. The characters involved were Prince Charming, Belle and the Beast, Snow White and a few dwarves, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella’s stepsister, Little Red Riding Hood (that was me!), Rapunzel, and one of the Three Little Pigs. It was really entertaining, but I was weirdly exhausted after we discovered the culprit, and I went to bed shortly thereafter. Perhaps it was a combination of the incredibly fun night and the stress of all the tests that made me so tired. I’m really thankful we have this break, not for travelling purposes but for recovery purposes. And the weather here in Cambridge has been so fantastic, it really feels like a vacation.

With gratefulness, spooky Halloween spirit, and love,

Bryn

The Reutlingen group and Dr. Stroebele

A great opportunity

October 24, 2013 / / 0 Comments

 

The Reutlingen group and Dr. Stroebele

A short, but very interesting update! Last week the Reutlingen cohort was invited to meet with the Cultural Minister of Reutlingen, Dr Ströebele. Dr Ströebele warmly welcomed the Crusaders at City Hall. The night went smoothly and everyone had a great time- the event allowed the students to interact with the cultural minister, asking him questions and listening to what he had to say.

The students greatly enjoyed the opportunity of meeting an important figure in the city of Reutlingen. The event was even covered on the official website for Reutlingen! The article also gives in-depth information about the Valpo Reutlingen program. Check it out: (though you might not understand it)

http://www.reutlingen.de/de/Aktuelles+Info/Nachrichten/Nachricht?view=publish&item=article&id=5109

 

Morocco Video

October 22, 2013 / / 0 Comments

In order to give you guys a better look into my trip to Morocco, I put together a video of my host mom, the camel rides, and a ton of other fun stuff. Click the link below, check it out, and make sure to read my full blog post about my Moroccan expirience!

Morocco Video

Morocco and Other Musings

October 22, 2013 / / 0 Comments

 

       About a month after my return, I think that it’s finally about time to tell you all about my trip into the heart of Africa. Ok, maybe “the heart of Africa” isn’t exactly the appropriate term for Morocco (both geographically and culturally speaking). Actually, it was more like being thrown into the streets of Aladdin’s Agrabba minus the Arabian Nights theme playing in the background. I kid you not, I saw at least 5 people sporting Aladdin theme notebooks/shirts while we were there. In all seriousness though, the trip was very impactful and one that I will not soon forget.

I had never anticipated visiting Morocco in my lifetime. Nor had I particularly wanted to. That is, until I read more about the Granada program and realized that a trip there was included in the cost. Suddenly, a trip to a country I had never desired to go to became one of the main reasons for choosing where I spent a year of my life. Crazy how that works. Fortunately, the trip lived up to the hype I had created for it. Though (almost) everyone else was just as pumped as I was about this journey, I think that in a lot of ways I had a very different trip than them simply because of some of the knowledge I had going into the 4 days I spent there.

Previous to going, I had a class on Modern Middle East history with the delightful Professor Schaefer. Though not always on topic, he shared so many stories of actually living and traveling within the Middle East and Africa, and as a consequence, broke a lot of previous misconceptions that I didn’t even know I had about the culture and people there. (Side note, if you haven’t read the book Ramza, do it. Now. Go spend the $5 and order it off of Amazon. It’s a fast read and I promise you won’t regret it.) I think that having that base of knowledge really allowed me to come into this trip with fresh eyes and an open heart. (See guys, education really does make a huge difference! I’ll get back to that thought when I post on Teach for America eventually….)

               The tour group we went with was actually much less a tour group and much more an educational experience. Most of our guides had spent a lot of time in Morocco, could speak the language, and were personally connected and invested as a whole. As a result, we got to interact with the local culture on a level much deeper than your average sight-seeing trip. Yes we saw the Roman gardens, and rode camels, but we also got to stay with host families and actually sit down and talk with real Moroccans about pretty much anything. For example, from almost the moment that we docked in the port city of Tangier, we were off to a women’s shelter to hold discussions with local women about their rights as citizens and the changes within Moroccan society as a whole. Overwhelming at times? Most definitely. Possibly one of the most valuable learning experiences I’ve ever had? You betcha.

       Though we had many interesting conversations throughout the 4 days we were there, my favorite by far was meeting Kawtar.

Photo: Isabelle Hicks

Dressed more fashionably than any Spaniard I’ve met yet and completely fluent in English, immediately upon first impression, Kawtar does not appear to be what one would expect a normal 20-something woman raised in a Muslim society to be like. Yet she is. Within the 3 hours she spent showing Gigi, Isabelle, and I her favorite spots in Rabat, we quickly learned that partying, dating, and college, is all so much the same as what we’re used to- even in the “exotic” place of Morocco. We talked about everything from faith to boys and while sipping Moroccan tea, we even had a heart to heart about working up the confidence to tell a guy you like him.

        What stuck out most to me however, was our discussion about opportunity. One of Kawtar’s biggest dreams is to study abroad in America. While that dream might seem totally accessible to some, for her, even though she’s already fluent in English, it’s almost impossible. 

          You see, while for us the process of getting a Visa to travel abroad might seem like a tedious annoying process, for many Moroccans, it’s not simply annoying, it’s nearly impossible. The Moroccan government requires one to have a certain amount money in a bank account before being allowed to travel outside the country. For many Moroccans, that amount of money is more than they will ever see in a lifetime. So, while it is possible for some people to leave the country,  those people are among the vast minority. Most Moroccans will in fact never be able to leave their own country and cross the border to the little section of Spanish land that borders theirs in Africa simply because they will never have the right to a visa. Though they will meet people from all over and see pictures of hundreds of places, many of them will never get to see those things with their own eyes and experience things in their own ways,

        So as Kawtar told us her dreams of studying in the US and my Moroccan host mom showed us a million pictures of all of her past host students from every part of the globe, my heart broke. Not just broke, shattered into a million pieces. Here was I, a white American woman spending a whole year in Spain, who only the night before complained about not knowing what country I should book a flight too next after Morocco; complaining because I didn’t think I had enough money to last the year and complaining because my Fulbright and Teach for America advisors are back in Valpo and I had applications to complete; complaining because after the group talk the previous night, I didn’t know how I was going to choose between applying for a Fulbright, or to Peace Corps, Americorps, or Teach for America.

In other words, complaining because I had too many options. 

      Here I was in a beautiful, yet economically destitute country meeting wonderful, intelligent people and creating tons of connections. The only difference between myself and them was that, at the end of 4 days, I would be able to leave and continue exploring the world. Most of their worlds, however, unfortunately begin and end with Morocco. There are no programs such as Peace Corps and Fulbright. No study abroad and certainly no elaborate eurotrips. For Moroccans, those are things to merely dream about. To strive to achieve, but at the end of the day accept that they are not reality.


If there was a way, I would give my abroad experience to Kawtar in a heartbeat. With all that she has already accomplished in life, she more than deserves it… I wish that there was a way that I could somehow give every Moroccan that chance to travel. Not just to travel, but to have the freedom to travel. Never before have I felt more blessed to come from the country that I have. In these last few weeks amidst the shut-down, I must admit, I may have not shown the most national pride. However, despite the many faults of our (and every) government, most of us, are blessed to come from a country where getting a visa is not impossible. A country where study abroad is so common that now almost half of all students spend at least one semester away from home. Travel here is not a dream, it is a reality. Next time you find yourself complaining about the security line in the airport or the endless paperwork of a visa, remember that not only are you blessed to have the opportunity to do so, you are also blessed with the freedom to do so.

              So go out, explore the world! Even if that ‘world’ is only the pizza place down the street that you’ve always meant to try, but never end up actually eating it. You may find that the place you end up and the people you meet are totally different than yourself, or maybe, just maybe, you will find what I came to know in Morocco. Maybe, we are all much more similar than we give ourselves credit for. Different people born into different economic and cultural situations, yes, but in all actuality, the world you thought was so big and different, might not be so big after all.

 

Honestly, I Want to See You Be Brave

October 21, 2013 / / 0 Comments
“Say what you want to say, and let the words fall out.  Honestly, I want to see you be brave.” -Sara Bareilles

Hey Leute!  It’s Monday and, as promised, I’m blogging again!  I’ve had a great “last week of no classes” hanging out with friends, touring the Ritter Sport chocolate museum (an unbelievable experience for a chocolate freak like me), getting lots of sleep and preparing for the upcoming week (scheduling, e-mailing and meeting with professors, etc.).

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A new semester always presents new challenges and lessons, especially in a new country.  It’s mid-October, and classes are just starting here in Germany, which for me is both exciting and intimidating.  For the most part, I’m excited.  I’ve put together a schedule that, for me,  sounds really intriguing.   I am taking Baden-Württemberg Church History, Art History, 20th Century Argentinian Literature (in Spanish!), and another class to be determined in the next week.  I am taking the approach to scheduling courses that most German students use.  German students schedule more courses within the first week of classes than they plan on taking in the semester.  After visiting various lectures, they decide which courses to keep.

Despite how much I am looking forward to my new courses, I am still intimidated by the challenges they will present.  The start of classes means more for international students than just the beginning of an abundance of studying and reading.   Exchange students will have a lot more interaction with “real” Germans in classes and student groups.  The professors will speak German quickly, without accounting for the fact that some students may not understand.  Exchange students learning German will be graded beside native speakers and expected to perform.  I know that a “normal” amount of reading for a German student will take longer for me, since I will have to spend time looking up words and patching together grammar concepts.

The transition from a language course designed for exchange students into regular university classes will also be a challenge.  Until now, I’ve been in an “international bubble” of the students from my German intensive course.  This course has been a wonderful experience to improve my German and make amazing friends for a lifetime, but spending time with only international students has allowed me to build myself a new “comfort zone”.  I am not afraid  to speak German with my Deutsch-Kompakt friends since they speak at or below my level.  We take all of our mistakes in speaking and living in Germany, learn from them, and help each other.  Having such a supportive group of people around who pardon my Sprachfehler (speaking errors) makes it easy to avoid speaking with people who may be less patient and understanding.   I’ve been getting around just fine spending a half hour hunting for the printer in the library instead of asking someone where it is, double-checking every German word I need to type in an e-mail, and strictly sticking to “the script” of words I definitely know.

As the start of classes draws nearer, I am realizing that I need to change my cautious ways in order to really become fluent in German.  Earlier today I decided to re-read the blog that I kept while living in Chile two summers ago.  I remembered that I had similar problems learning Spanish to my experience here in Germany.  I had figured out that I could “just get by” with speaking as little as possible to avoid embarrassment.  I became frustrated with my slow learning pace until I realized that my unwillingness to practice speaking was my biggest problem.  I read further through my blog and realized that I had given myself (and hopefully other readers traveling abroad)  some good advice that I had practically forgotten.  “The only way to get better at a language is to go out on a limb and say something, anything,” I wrote.  “If you don’t understand something, ask for clarification.  If you want to use a word you don’t know, explain what you’re trying to say in other terms.  You might learn something useful.”  I learned so much after committing myself to not be afraid to speak Spanish in Chile, and I hope to do the same here in Germany.  Although I know that my new classes here at UniTübingen will be difficult, I won’t let intimidation get in the way of my goals.  At the end of this academic year, I will be able to speak German fluently because I made the effort to speak up.   Alles kann ich durch Christus, der mir Kraft und Stärke gibt (Philliper 4:13).

P.S. Listening to music helps with the language too!  Here’s some fun songs trending in Germany 🙂  Enjoy, und bis nächste Woche!

 

Let’s Call It Crazy

October 16, 2013 / / 3 Comments

I’ve been giving out a few tantalizing ideas about how crazy my weekend was, but now that I’m finally sitting down to write about it, I’m not quite sure where to begin. For starters, the original plan was to go to Edinburgh for the weekend, but that feel through last minute. Half of the group decided to go to Paris instead, but Ryan and I thought going to Cardiff sounded like fun. We’re both Doctor Who fans, and we thought it’d be cool to see the places where it was filmed and do the ‘Doctor Who Experience’ tour, things like that. And because everything in England is routed through London, we had to go there first. We decided to get to London early in the afternoon and see a show before catching the train to Cardiff. So on Thursday, we headed off to the train station after class. Getting to London was the easy bit-we’ve done that before. We then took the subway over to Hyde’s Park Corner and explored Hyde Park for a bit. We even climbed a tree! That bit was probably a little risky, but it was a seriously cool tree and really easy to climb. There were also a ton of birds in Hyde Park, from pigeons and seagulls to geese and swans. After circling most of the park, we headed over to Westminster Abbey to listen to Evensong. It was absolutely gorgeous, and free to boot! It took me a little bit to remember that the entire choir was made up of boys, and that the wonderful soprano sounds I was hearing weren’t girls. And the way the sound moved through the Abbey itself–it was an amazing experience.

After the Abbey we headed toward The Victoria Apollo Theatre to see Wicked. I’d seen the show maybe six years ago, but Ryan had never seen it before and I was up for a refresher when we got cheap seats. For one, the Elphaba we saw was absolutely phenomenal. My family can tell you, I’m not one to cry at pretty much anything, but I had tears in my eyes and goosebumps everywhere by the end of The Wizard and I. And of course, the set is incredible and the story takes so many turns that you can barely remember what happens next, even if you’ve never seen it. It was even cooler to see it with someone who didn’t know the story, because Ryan’s face at the end of Act One and during the major plot twists in Act Two was priceless.

After the show, we made our way to the London Paddington train station to catch a train to Cardiff. The train took about two hours, and we were both so exhausted that we slept most of the way. As we pulled into Cardiff itself at 1am, the very first thing I heard were police sirens and I thought to myself, “Oh, well that’s certainly promising.” It was freezing outside the train station, because Cardiff is located on a bay, and it was incredibly windy. We couldn’t find the hostel right away, we kept walking right past it without realizing it was there. When we finally located it, the front door was locked so we had to knock on the window to get the desk attendant to let us in. Originally, the attendant wasn’t sure he could check us in, because it was after midnight, but it all worked out and we basically passed out once we got into our beds.

Waking up the next morning was easier than I expected it to be. I was tired, sure, but I was equally as excited to see Cardiff. First thing to see after checking out of the hostel (which was really cool looking in the daylight, actually) was the castle. Yep, real life castle just a few blocks up the street from the hostel. We didn’t go inside because it cost 11GBP and I’m not about to spend that money randomly, but it was really cool to peek in through the gates and to walk along the outside walls. We also traipsed around the grounds of the castle, which are now a park open to the public. We found some cool stone circles there and of course took pictures. It was really cool to walk around not only for the nature, but because the atmosphere was very different from any place I’ve been up until this point. It was relaxed, and friendly, and there were dogs running around everywhere and people out for walks just because. It felt a lot like Up North, actually, and not only because it’s been getting colder here lately. It felt homey and comfortable in a way that London, for all its wonders, does not.

 

After the park, we made our way toward the bay. It was breathtaking. I mean seriously gorgeous, in ways that you think are only possible in movies and pictures until you see it for yourself and it smacks you in the face. The sun was shining and the clouds were that bright fluffy white that only happens occasionally, no matter what you drew in the sky in kindergarten, and the sky itself was this intense blue that reflected brilliantly off of the water in the bay. I probably would have been content just sitting there and relaxing in the atmosphere for a while, but it was actually quite chilly and we were planning on going to the Doctor Who Experience tour. After geeking out over the place where Torchwood is on the BBC show, we walked along the bay toward the huge Doctor Who Building. We were actually very lucky because we got into the tour with a bunch of older people, instead of the screaming elementary school kids in the tour before us and the moody teenagers in the tour behind us (I say teenager like I’m not one… oops). But the tour was really cool for a Doctor Who nerd like me. We got to go inside the TARDIS. INSIDE. IT. It was so cool. And after the interactive part of the tour was over (I’m skipping over that part because the Daleks and the Angels scared me a bit) we were let out into this huge warehouse that houses all sorts of artifacts from the show, including original TARDIS consoles, costumes, sonic screwdrivers, and villains. I mean, I saw the Face of Boe! And the Wooden King and Queen! And 10’s sonic screwdriver and TARDIS console! It was pretty much incredible.

 

We hung around the bay for a while before catching a train back to London. We had some time to kill before heading to the club that night, so we went on an adventure to find 221B (Sherlock Holmes’ apartment). We were sad to discover that the apartment doesn’t actually exist, although there’s supposedly a Sherlock museum near where it should be. It was too late for us to find it, though, so we decided to head to Pizza Express for dinner before going to The Ministry of Sound, London’s biggest club. We went there for two reasons; one, because there was a really good DJ playing the main show in the Box who Ryan wanted to see, and two, so that we didn’t have to pay for a hostel that night. The DJ was really fabulous, and I had a ton of fun at the club. We were just there until 5am, at which point I was almost too exhausted to get to the train station. We did catch the 5:45am train back to Cambridge though, and were back in the house, sleeping, by 7am.

Needless to say, it was probably one of the more insane weekends I’ve had, but everything seemed to work out for us. Things fell right into place, and it reminded me yet again that England is an amazing place, one I’m extremely blessed to experience. I don’t need to go jetting off to some other country every weekend, although that can be fun too. There’s amazing things right here, I just have to go looking for them. With that in mind, I’m going to stick around England for a bit and explore the places here before my BritRail pass expires. I can run off to Europe then, but for now I want to appreciate the place I came here to live in.

With amazement, incredulity, and love,

Bryn

Home sweet Hangzhou!

October 15, 2013 / / 0 Comments

“October 15, 2013

Our week coming back from vacation did have an interesting start, with a typhoon. Luckily our group was safe, but other places in town had some serious flooding and many people were without power.

Professor Lin took our group out to Wai Po Jia (Grandma’s Place), which is a popular restaurant in Hangzhou. The food was delicious and we got to hear about everyone’s trips everywhere from Kashgar to Hong Kong to almost Nanjing. Everyone was very excited from their trips and really seemed to have a good time.

The week went by normally, we had to get back into our daily class routine many of us had tests or quizzes this week. And then this Friday we got to get together with the students we will be working with for our recycling program at Jianxing Honor College of Zhejiang University of Technology. These students are in the Honors College at their school and had to be interviewed in order to take part in this project. They had put up a huge banner for the starting of the project. They had put out fruit and coffee for us. They had even put up balloons! Professor Lin spoke in Chinese and English to the group about how excited we are to work together. We were supposed to come up with ideas of how to implement a survey of Chinese students. From there we are supposed to compare the recycling processes on Chinese and American campuses and finally come up with recommendations for future action on recycling. ” -Margaret

Monks outside of a pagoda in Xi'an (photo credit to Mickey Suber of H-23)

Another view of Xi’an and the Muslim Quarter

October 15, 2013 / / 0 Comments

“你好 from Hangzhou!

(Sorry for the lateness of this update – I took off for a flight to Hong Kong the day after we returned from the Xi’an trip, and have been recovering during these past few days from the excitement. :))

Much too early on the 27th of September, Professor Lin (and his wife, who arrived in Hangzhou a few days prior) ushered fifteen sleepy Valparaiso, Luther, and Roanoke students into a bus to the airport as we began our journey to former Chinese dynastic capital Xi’an. (Xi’an or 西安 translates to “Western Peace,” which if I remember correctly had something to do the hope that a peaceful name would lead to fewer wars.)

After a one hour bus ride, two hour plane ride, lunch at our hotel, and some sorely-needed naptime, we spent the afternoon at the Xi’an History Museum and the surrounding area of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. I’ll be the first to admit that history is not my favorite subject. Being quite tired and going to a city with a history of 3,000+ years (*and* having to retell the adventure) was a little bit frightening. But, you really do have to be impressed when you consider the intrinsic willpower of a city (and culture) that could persist for so long.

Monks outside of a pagoda in Xi'an (photo credit to Mickey Suber of H-23)

The museum was divided up by the different dynasties that ruled the ancient Chinese capital. There were some really impressive exhibits there, such as a reproduction of the 500,000+ year old skull fossil of ‘the Lantian man.’ Other exhibits, including statues of Buddha, models of homes, and ancient writing, gave insight to life in those eras.

Afterwards, we headed towards the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, aptly named after a goose whose spontaneous death at the site of the pagoda inspired an ancient branch of Buddhism to stop eating meat, or so the legend says.

It is one of the oldest pagodas still in existence, as it was built during the Tang dynasty soon after they started experimenting with materials besides wood (which was prone to rotting) with which to build pagodas. Built and rebuilt several times, and surviving an enormous earthquake that took off its top three stories, it currently stands at seven stories, or 210 feet. Like most other pagodas, it was used to house ancient Buddhist artifacts, and specifically held sutras brought back by famous monk Xuanzang who traveled the Silk Road to learn more about Buddhism from India. (As you may be able to tell, this was my presentation topic during the trip.)

We spent the evening around the significantly more modernized area near the pagoda. Many were gathered around an enormous fountain in front of the pagoda, while others milled around looking at the various statues of
important figures in the history of Xi’an. Several street artists were entertaining passerby. Further away was the mall-like complex where we got dinner with a ceiling that projected random nature imagery, among other things. Needless to say, the general atmosphere was much livelier than I expected in this area.

The next day was probably the highlight of the trip for me, as we got to see the famous Terracotta Warriors – one of a select few history tales that has interested me for quite some time. Long story short, these warriors were commissioned by Emperor Qin in the 200s B.C. to protect him in the afterlife. However, as I understand it, their creation and the location of his tomb was a huge secret – basically a legend before it was actually discovered in the 1970s.

There are three chambers of thousands of soldiers and horses, with the biggest having 6000+ soldiers. They are just as incredible as you can imagine. Still, there is much left to uncover – including the Emperor’s burial chamber. Even though they know where it is, there are concerns about opening it because of its age and even the possibility that it’s booby-trapped. (Yes — Indiana Jones style.)

After lunch, we saw the Muslim Quarter and the Great Mosque. Interestingly, though unsurprisingly, the mosque area is distinctly Chinese in architectural style, rather than Middle Eastern. As it is still a place of worship for the Hui Chinese Muslims, there were parts of the mosque that could not be entered.

Outside the tranquility of the mosque, however, was the bustling Muslim quarter full of cheap clothes, cheap souvenirs, cheap food and some of the most aggressive shopkeepers that you will ever meet. Those who dare look at anything for more than a few seconds will be bombarded with greetings, asking “what do you like?!” Occasionally, they may make it difficult for you to leave. Though it was not terribly different from other bargaining markets in China, it was still a lot of fun. (It’s the area that many of us ended up visiting during our free time the next day before the flight home.)

So, these are the highlights of our Xi’an trip! Our next big trip is Beijing, but I’m sure someone will
write soon about our in-between adventures. 再见！

Best, Michele” -Michele

Terracotta Soldiers in Xi'An (credit to Ryan Hough)

A trip to the historical city, Xi’an

October 15, 2013 / / 0 Comments

” Our trip to Xi’an was the third class trip out of Hangzhou, second mandatory class trip, and is probably the most distant class trip outside of Hangzhou with a 2.5 hour flight. Xi’an was a strange and remarkable city, needless to say, vastly different from Hangzhou. Knowing that many foundations of thousands of years of political, and cultural history were born, here, in this very region seemed to make things all the more unusual and enigmatic besides the more practical differences. Certainly, much of the class already seemed to comprehend the sheer enormity of the impact of Qin and Tang dynasties on future generations of Emperors, bureaucrats, artisans, and so forth.

The first day fell like an anvil. It hit us hard. Most of us (including the narrator) were relatively unprepared until the morning of, thus we spent much of the late night packing. And of course, even after packing, there was always a certain specter of excitement, knowing just under 4.5 hours, we would board a plane to visit the very roots of bureaucracy. By about 4:30 am most of class was already awake and by 4:55pm most people were ready to board the bus—however the bus did not depart for some 10 minutes after 5am. Needless to say, the bus and plane ride over was deathly silent. Upon our arrival, the climate difference was most evident. Xi’an was dusty and rather dry and greatly contrasted Hangzhou’s humidity and vegetation. Perhaps party because of a relative absence of vegetation, the air seemed somewhat more polluted. The smoggy air nuanced many, including my roommate, and especially those whom were already suffering from illness, which has been felt across the international dormitories.

We finally checked into our hotel rooms around 11, 11:30am and ate lunch shortly afterward. By some by some miracle or hand of God, Professor Lin allotted us an unscheduled, but much needed nap between 1-2pm. After which, we visited the exterior of the Early Chinese dynasties history museum and the exterior of the White Goose Pagoda.     The Chinese dynasties museum was surprisingly good. I thought it was interesting that by having the artifacts sorted by each dynasty, one could roughly compare and contrast what each dynasty emphasis. The early Zhou period had many ritual vessels and various bronze artifacts indicating that the Zhou government found at least some if not most of it’s legitimacy through religion and religious ceremonies.

We went and ate at a large mall like food court near the White Goose Pagoda. It was a peculiar mall/food court because of it’s notable ceiling featuring an enormous moving electronic image. It was like the ceiling had one screen saver of epic proportions that changed themes every 10 minutes. I apologize for not adequately describing this phenomenon. Needless to say, this rather gaudy technological demonstration dazzled everyone. By 8:15pm, everyone was ready to return to their appropriate hotel rooms.

Terracotta Soldiers in Xi'An (photo credit to Ryan Hough from H-23)

The next day, we visited the most famous terracotta soldiers dating back to the end of the Qin Dynasty. Paxton, Nelson, and I wandered around the three different chambers. While the well-known, well documented chamber 1 was very impressive, it was very surprising to us how little they have managed to uncover, especially in the other chambers. We can only imagine the thousands more buried underground. We decided that it would be very interesting to return to Xi’an in three or four decades to see how much progress they have accomplished. Hopefully, with future technologies that will enable to preserve the soldiers better, the Chinese archeologists may have the ability to uncover the rest. I cannot help myself but laugh at the fact that Qin Shihuang’s terracotta army is, by far, the most disciplined army the world has ever seen—considering that they have had sentry duty in perfect formation for over two millennia.

After the terracotta army, we moved on to the local Hui mosque. It was a very small mosque—of course, hardly anything similar to the ones found in Jerusalem, Spain, North Africa or the Middle East. It was very natural looking with scattered pools of lily pads and fish and sporadic trees. It was a nice break to simply sit down and enjoy the nice weather. I felt a separation between inside the Mosque and the outside (which was an enormous market). Of course, after visiting the mosque we visited the Hui market, which was filled with various trinkets, food, make name-brand clothing items, and communist memorabilia. Everything was to be bartered for. Some were better than others at this, but I soon discovered that I was not one of them. We departed for dinner by 5pm. The next day was fairly uneventful. We had free time between 11am and 6:30pm. The vast majority of our group returned to the Hui market to get massages and to continue the exploring that was cut short from the day before. By 6:30pm, everyone was ready to return to Hangzhou, and thus we did promptly. Our three days covered only a small increment of the city. There was much that we neglected to spare time for. My speaking professor stated that, “you could easily spend an entire month trying to explore Xi’an. Three days is not enough.”

Nonetheless, it was a good trip and I hope that any future class trips are just as fruitful and educational as Xi’an.” -Matt

So viele Erlebnisse, one Post

October 15, 2013 / / 0 Comments
Klosterkirche Birnau on the Bodensee! SO gorgeous!

Wow.  I haven’t posted anything for so long that I honestly don’t even know where to begin.  These past few weeks have been a whirlwind of Oktoberfests (yes, more than one), last shenanigans with the full Deutsch-Kompakt group, some travel and finally registering and preparing for normal university classes, which start next week.  I am definitely looking forward to a more consistent schedule.  This will allow me to make a budget for food and other necessities based on guaranteed time slots where I can be home to cook, do laundry, etc.  A concrete schedule will also allow me to spend more time keeping all of you updated with more stories from Deutschland!  Jetzt verspreche ich euch, dass es ein neues Blog jede Montag geben wird!  Translation?  I promise to post a new blog every Monday (unless I let you know otherwise), so be sure to keep checking back each week to see what new adventures I’m up to.  Now a re-cap of the past few weeks and some reflections after over a month of living here in Tübingen.

Bodensee Excursion!   The week before the end of Deutsch-Kompakt, our class had a day-long excursion to the Bodensee, a lake near the Swiss border, and some cities around it.  First we visited a beautiful Rokoko church, the Klosterkirche Birnau, on the lake, then took a short hike and made our way to Meersberg, where we toured a castle and strolled around town.  From Meersberg we took a ferry to Konstanz, a city that is actually partly inSwitzerland.  We had two hours of free time before eating dinner together, so a group of us decided to rent a paddle boat and boat on the Bodensee.  The weather was perfect and we had so much fun!  Another group of Deutsch-Kompakt people had gone swimming in the lake, and we stopped by and picked them up in our boats.  We ended the day with a dinner at a Turkish

Museam on the Bodensee!
Museum on the Bodensee!

restaurant.  Turkish food, especially Döner, a type of meat, is so popular in Germany and I’m definitely a fan (In Tübingen I have a punch card at the Döner restaurant near my house, and I’m almost at my tenth kebab on the house!)  Our time at the Bodensee was great, and I wished Deutsch-Kompakt could last for the whole year!

paddle boat
Paddle boat ride in Konstanz!

Oktoberfest München!   After taking German classes since eighth grade, Oktoberfest was definitely something that I couldn’t miss being in Germany this season.  A lot of people from Deutsch-Kompakt wanted to go, so we all

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Unfortunately my phone died at Oktoberfest and I didn’t get a lot of pictures 🙁

booked bus tickets together for the last weekend of September.  Arriving in Munich early Saturday morning was surreal for me.  I visited Munich with my high school German class about three years ago, and our trip was  unforgettable.  This trip was great for remembering great memories from my first visit to Munich as well as making new ones.  We arrived at the Theresienwiese (festival grounds) at around 10:30am and the park was already PACKED.  We spent the day in the tents as well as riding rides and exploring the city.  We decided that one day wasn’t enough for Munich or Oktoberfest, so we decided to leave on Sunday afternoon instead of Saturday night.  The problem with that?  We hadn’t booked a hostel or any place to sleep.  Although after a long day, night, and short “power nap” in the Munich train station, we didn’t regret our decision to stay the extra day.  A few people in our group stumbled upon a church with service times posted on the door on a late-night walk around the Munich old town and decided to go the next day.  The service had a choir and orchestra and was one of the most gorgeous experiences I’ve had in Germany.  I play cello and sing, and I’ve missed hearing and participating in choir and orchestra.

 
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Cenerentola stage at the Opernhaus!

Stuttgart!  On the last day of Deutsch-Kompakt our class took an excursion to Stuttgart to visit the city and see Rossini’s Cenerentola (Cinderella in English/Aschenputtel auf Deutsch).  Walking around town with everyone was fun.  We shopped around and went to a market place.  After a quick Chinese buffet dinner, we headed to the opera and found our seats.  The Stuttgart Opernhaus is one of the most famous opera houses in the world, and I was really surprised to hear that their interpretation of Cenerentola would be modern (the cast wore modern clothes, etc.).  I really liked the idea, but I wondered if I would have liked the opera better with the original costumes.  I enjoyed the opera overall and had a successful day in Stuttgart!

Cannstadter Wasen/Goodbyes: On the Friday after the last day of Deutsch Kompakt (our Wednesday trip to Stuttgart) a group of us visited the Stuttgart version of Oktoberfest- the Cannstadter Volksfest.  I actually liked Stuttgart Volksfest 014the festival better than the Theresienwiese because there were a lot less tourists.  The tents were a lot less crowded and we were able to sit at a table and eat lunch without worrying about being kicked out to make room for another group.  After leaving the Wasen we all went back to Tübingen for a goodbye party for our friends from Sweden.   Their program in Tübingen was just Deutsch-Kompakt, so they are back home already.  They are some of the funnest people ever and we miss them here so much, but we are visiting them in Uppsala this December!  SO excited!

Stuttgart Volksfest 092

Oberstdorf/Spielmannsau travels!  In between Deutsch-Kompakt and our University classes we have a little bit of a break.  Some of us used this break as an opportunity to travel around Germany/Europe.  A group went to Berlin and a couple people went to Italy and Spain.  A group of friends and I decided

Realization that it’s not going to stop snowing this weekend.

that a hiking adventure and some fresh air before classes would do us some good, so we set out to Oberstdorf and Spielmannsau, two small mountain towns in Bavaria for a weekend.  We thought we would be able to hike a lot more because “the snow line was going to be pretty far up the mountain” but we were so wrong.  The “snow line” pretty much began at our hostel and continued all the way up the mountains surrounding it.  Although almost nobody brought good snow shoes, we made the best of the weather and had an awesome time playing in the snow, had one day of good winter hiking despite some fog, and relaxed in our hostel and cooked our own meals.  It was a great and well-budgeted trip, and now I feel even more ready for classes this semester as well as the coming cold weather (in Tübingen and Sweden!)

Spielmannsau hiking 103Spielmannsau hiking 036Spielmannsau hiking 077

I still can’t believe that I’ve been in Germany for over a month.  I spent two months in Chile two summers ago, and at the time those two months felt like a long time to spend in another country (although they felt way too short when they were over).  In the past month I’ve learned so much about German grammar, re-learned how to live in another country while learning the language, and developed more confidence with the German language and in approaching new people (while speaking German).  In an international group like Deutsch-Kompakt, most people speak English.  It is so easy to slip from German into English mode, since that’s usually the most effective way to communicate with everybody.  Since we all have the same goal of learning German, we have to motivate each other to practice, and that is everyone’s job, including mine.  I do feel that my German has improved very much, despite sometimes speaking ein bisschen Englisch (y también un poco español).

One of my favorite photos with some great people.

Also, bis Montag alle!  Expect another blog from me next week about the crazy process of class registration in Germany!  If you want to read about the last few weeks in more detail, check out my friend Sarah’s blog.  She’s been so great (a lot better than I have been) about writing a lot and keeping up to date with blogging about the Deutsch-Kompakt group happenings.

Check back here on Monday, und auf Wiedersehen!

Peace.

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