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Student Stories from Around the World

Month: February 2014

Six Cities in Nine Days

February 24, 2014 / / 0 Comments
n the Reutlingen study abroad program, one of the courses is all about Martin Luther and Johann Sebastian Bach. It’s an interesting mix of history and theology, and as part of it, we all take a five day tour of Luther and Bach Land. That’s Leipzig, Wittenberg, Eisenach, and Erfurt. Following that, we have five days for free travel, just like after the Berlin trip. This time around, we chose to go to Munich and Salzburg. So many cities, so little time! We did so much this week, it’s impossible to talk about it all, so I’ll pick one or two highlights per day.

Saturday:
We actually arrived in Leipzig late on Friday, but Saturday was our first real opportunity to explore the city. While both Luther and Bach spent significant time in Leipzig, the guided portion of our day was more about Bach, who’s still clearly a local celebrity:

For a different kind of musical experience, that night, I found myself somewhere I never thought I would be: An opera house. By some miracle, we were able to buy very cheap, good seats for that night’s performance of Der Rosenkavalier. I wish I could be one of those truly sophisticated people who knows how to appreciate opera, but I’m still working on it. However, even though I didn’t know what was going on most of the time, the music was really beautiful, and I do recommend that everyone go to the opera at least once, at least just to say you did it.

Sunday:
     On Sunday, we took a day trip to Wittenberg. Here, Martin Luther nailed the 95 thesis on the door of the Castle Church almost 500 years ago. Unfortunately, the church is currently undergoing a major renovation in preparation for the anniversary. I do think that the Lutherans in our group got more out of the day, but it was still very interesting to see where such pivotal events took place.

Monday:
    On Monday, we moved on to Eisenach, the birthplace of Bach and the location of the Wartburg castle, where Luther translated the Bible into German. For the history, as well as the wonderful views, the castle was my highlight.

That evening, we continued to Erfurt. Okay, my other, smaller highlights of the day were the charmingly eccentric Opera Hostel we stayed in in Erfurt and the surprisingly good steakhouse named “Texas” next door. I didn’t realize how much I missed American food.

Tuesday:
After a tour of Luther’s cloister, we had the rest of the day free to explore this city that pleasantly surprised me. At the beginning of the week, I really didn’t know what to expect of the former East Germany, but I was pleasantly surprised by all four cities, especially Erfurt. Because it’s a well-preserved, medieval town, it reminded me of why I fell in love with Germany. After exploring and enjoying the views from the Petersburg Citadel for a few hours, I spent the next two just sitting in an Eiscafé talking to a friend. It was the first real break I had all week, and while it may sound less than thrilling, it was probably my favorite day of the trip.

Wednesday:
To my surprise, I found out that the 10-day rail pass provided by the program is also valid on trains to Salzburg, Austria. Even though I’ve already been to Austria, I had to jump at the first chance I had to go to another country. Most of the day was spent on the train, but once we got to our hostel in Salzburg, one of our roommates invited us out with some of the other people staying there. Now, I’m not sure yet, what I think of the hostel experience. One the one hand, I had a fabulous, authentic Austrian meal at a table of people from 8 different countries, and that’s an amazing experience. On the other hand, I don’t know how comfortable I am wandering around at night in a foreign county with a bunch of strangers. Plus, it’s really hard to sleep in a room of 8 people snoring, coughing, and sniffling. So the jury’s still out on that one…

Thursday:
On Thursday, we saw the whole city, but the clear highlight was taking a cable car up to the top of the world. Yes, little old me, who’s afraid of heights , stood on top of a mountain. Like a real one… with snow and everything!

Friday:
     I’ve been to Munich before, but I really did enjoy going again. We started the day with a free walking tour, which I highly recommend. It’s a great way to see the highlights if you don’t have a ton of time or money, and I know that many cities offer them. That night, I did the one thing I regretted not doing the last time I was in town. I went to the famous/infamous Hofbräuhaus. Honestly, I didn’t have terribly high expectations of the place because it is a known tourist trap, but still, it’s one of those things you just have to do at least once…like the opera. Anyway, the food was just okay, the beer was beer, and the Apfelstrudel was incredible. (Of course the dessert would be the highlight for me.) But the real reason why you go to the Hofbräuhaus is for the atmosphere. Surprisingly, there were actual Germans there, and we did share a table with them, and we did sing silly German songs. It was delightfully stereotypical!
It was a long week, and I’m glad to be home, but so grateful to have had all of there experiences. Sure, it’s hard sometimes, but this whole study abroad thing, this is the life!

5 Reasons to Stay in Cambridge on the Weekend

February 21, 2014 / / 3 Comments

Since we’re only here for a semester, a lot of us feel the need to take every opportunity to travel. Because none of us have classes on Friday, every weekend is a three-day one, so many people in the house go away every weekend. This could mean a series of day trips around the UK—Laura and Madalyn stumbled across a carnival last weekend on their spontaneous adventure!—or a trip to continental Europe that lasts from Friday to Sunday—a group went to Berlin a couple weekends ago and Edinburgh before that. Julia and I, on the other hand, have been staying home so far on the weekends. This is partly because we’re on a budget and partly because we didn’t want to activate our Britrail yet (Britrails allow you to travel via train anywhere in the UK for free for a period of two months). Although traveling every weekend obviously has its benefits, I have really enjoyed staying in Cambridge these past few weekends. And because I’m a mediocre writer and don’t like coming up with interesting transitions, I have just compiled into a list my top reasons why it can be great to spend a few weekends in the city where you’re studying abroad.

5. It doesn’t drain your money.I understand that everyone has different budgets and that some people can afford to go away every

Downtown Cambridge

weekend without batting an eye. Others, however, need to watch their money a bit more closely, and as glamorous as it sounds to pop into Belgium for the weekend, the cost can pile up, especially because the US dollar here isn’t very strong here. I am definitely not saying that you should never travel on the weekends. Because that’s one of the best reasons to study abroad in Europe: you’re just a 2 hour flight away from dozens of other countries, a luxury we don’t have in the States (that’s something you pick up here, constantly referring to the US as the States. England is so posh). But going away every weekend, especially toward the beginning of your stay, can be tricky. It’s easy to overestimate the amount of money you have, so accidentally overspending during your first month could mean a very tight budget in your last month.

4. You can actually relax. Although we only have classes until 11:45 every day, the afternoon can easily fill up with naps (because you stayed up too late the night before jamming to The Proclaimers with your roommate), grocery shopping, weekly papers due Monday (which no one does until Sunday, or Monday morning if you’re traveling), cleaning, planning your itinerary and booking hostels and activities for your next trip, and other random errands. And as fun and thrilling as traveling is, it is also stressful and exhausting. Sometimes using a Friday to recharge can be very healthy for your mental state. And by recharge, I mean sleep in, watch a movie while eating chocolate and pizza, and taking a walk, during which you may or may not buy more chocolate. Once again, this does not have to be every weekend or even every day of your weekend. But we all know that having a whole day to yourself is usually needed and welcomed with open, chocolate-bearing arms.

One of the many colleges in Cambridge

3. You can get to see your city. By staying home on some weekends, you can really get to know your temporary hometown. Getting to know the general layout of the city you live in sounds like knowledge you will naturally acquire just by living here. But if you don’t take classes at the local British university, all of the classes you take will be inside the house. I know there have been a few times here when I didn’t leave the house all day. If you don’t make an effort to explore your city, it will never become your city, but merely a city you eat and sleep in, and you will only know how to get to Aldi, Domino’s, and maybe a close-by pub. If family or friends visit you for a week, you will want to be able to show them the best parts of where you live. You will want to know where the crepe cart is or what the names of the colleges are or which shows are playing at the local theatre. Spend time in Cambridge or wherever you study abroad. Because don’t you want to be able to talk about it with some authority when you get back home?

2. You can experience your city. Now, this ties in closely with the last one. As the previous reason

Janet Devlin concert in Cambridge

explains, it is crucial to know your way around the city you live in. You want to be able to actually help a tourist when they ask you for directions (we all know that superior feeling we get when we can give directions with confidence). But there’s more to your city than simply knowing where everything is. There is plenty to do in Cambridge, and I’m sure there is just as much to do and see in the other study abroad destinations. Instead of knowing where the pubs are, discover which have the best atmosphere or the most reasonable prices. Figure out which clubs play the best music on which nights. Go to a museum or two and find your favorite exhibits and artists (and all British museums don’t cost a thing, so enjoy your learning free of charge). In Cambridge, there are the Botanical Gardens, which is a beautiful place to take a walk, write, or listen to music. Additionally, go to more than just places all tourists visit in your city. I’ve been to a pool and snooker bar, a Janet Devlin concert, a bowling alley, and to a protest (the last one was the result of a detour we took on the way to the bowling alley, but still). Experience your city. Fall in love with it so you can miss and remember it when you’re back home with your Netflix and peanut butter.

Playing pool

1. You can make friends. This one is the most important, in my opinion. Since most of us only have classes with each other (I’m the only person who takes a class at a British university), it can be challenging to meet people in Cambridge unless you stay home on some weekends. The group of people that I talked about in my last blog post are hilarious, interesting, and sweet, even when I ask strange questions and can’t properly navigate them through the city and back to the house (I didn’t realize there were so many streets cars aren’t allowed to drive on). They helped me understand what it’s truly like to live here as well as offered advice about true English norms and popular British recreational activities. We are so incredibly lucky to have met them. Like I wrote last time, we met them on a Friday night in a club, an experience we never would have had if we were traveling every weekend. Becoming friends with these guys has made me miss home a little less and has allowed me to truly take advantage of my time here at Cambridge.

 

I hope these reasons not only give comfort to those who know they can’t travel all the time as well as persuade those who can to stay home every now and then. That being said, I am currently writing this about 20 minutes before I have to leave for the airport. This next week is our one week break and we are flying to Barcelona! Julia and I are then going to Paris while others are headed to Madrid. Hopefully I will have some good stories to share when I get back!

 

Danielle

1 Month Down, 3 More to Love

February 20, 2014 / / 1 Comment

To live alone with a family for a week that you know very little about is something not many would describe as “comfortable”. At our first homestay in Soweto, each of us were placed with one other CGE student, but not this time. I was picked up by my host mother Johanna last Monday and the adventures began. To say I was nervous would be an understatement, but we were told this was all about stepping out of our comfort zone.. or as I’d describe it.. jumping. As a few hours went by, my nerves quickly subsided as I was welcomed by a lovely family who made me feel right at home. And hey, I can’t complain because I got to eat traditional Namibian food all week, which included eating my weight in pap .. and I’m totally okay with that. (Pap, pronounced pop, is a dish made from the grain mealy meal, which I like to describe as a hybrid between mashed potatoes and rice, totally delicious)

Chicken and some PAP!

Throughout the week my host mom took me back and forth between home and our Center for Global Education (CGE) house for classes or to be taken to my internship. Throughout the week I lived with my host mom, Johanna, host dad, Harris, host cousin, Martin, and host Aunt, Irene. They live in Khomasdal which is a small area in Windhoek. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I got to spend with them, getting to know more about Windhoek and Namibia in general. On Saturday, Johanna and I made a trip to her eldest daughters house who has a 2 year old son and a brand new 1 week old baby. Maybe or maybe not one of the cutest babies I’ve ever seen. Sadly enough, I didn’t bring my camera so I don’t have any photos to show you of the little one. On my last night, I was taught how to make pap which I will definitely be bringing back to the states with me. It was sad to say goodbye to my family, but I’m planning on meeting up with them again before I leave to Cape Town in May.

My Wonderful Host Family

Classes are in full swing here at CGE, and our group is finally realizing that “study abroad” actually entails reading, studying, reading, and some more reading. By far my favorite part of my trip so far is still my internship. Working with the little ones twice a week is great and I love seeing the progress they’re making. I zoned in on one little guy named Johnathan who stole my heart. Cute as a button and quiet as a mouse, I couldn’t stay away for long. While working with Johnathan on his numbers and letters, I began to notice that between each letter or number he wrote, he would look up at me to make sure he was getting it right. I would simply nod and he would smile and go on to the next digit. I quickly fell in love with the little guy, but just yesterday I received the oh so bittersweet news he wouldn’t be returning to FHS but instead would be starting at a new formal school. It’s awesome that he’s moving up in his education, but I’m sad that I won’t be there to see him progress.

Johnathan counting with crayons

Today in our history class, we had the incredible privilege to hear Professor Kerina speak. Mr.Kerina was the first Namibian to travel to the United States for education where he attended Lincoln University. While in college, he spoke with the UN about Namibia’s need for independence as well as obtained personal support from John F. Kennedy when some in Southern Africa were trying to have him deported out of the US. If these weren’t cool enough things Mr.Kerina had done in his life, he also was good friends with Malcolm X and Maya Angelou. He oh so casually talked about his Friday lunches with Malcolm X as everyone in the room looked around at each other dumbfounded. But wait.. he gets even more awesome. He went on to be apart of the creation of SWAPO as well as, wait for it.. wait for it… he named Namibia. Yeah.. you read that right.

Our Group with Mr.Kerina

Things are getting exciting here in Windhoek, and my peanut butter addiction is growing daily. Planning for spring break has begun which entails Victoria falls, white water rafting, elephant rides, walking with lions, bungee jumping, canoeing or a sunset cruise. You mean I have to choose just 2? Swakopmund, Etosha and rural homestays are in our near future, and my first month in Southern Africa is officially complete. So with that, I leave you with a little video I made.. Enjoy!

 

Thanks for reading and thank you to everyone for your constant support!

xoxo

Maddy

The first time we went out to Fez

Bit by the British Love Bug

February 14, 2014 / / 5 Comments

Just a quick clarification about the title of my last blog post. My mom, bless her aging heart, said the title “Tired of London, Tired of Life” sounded a touch depressing. It’s actually a paraphrase of a quote from Samuel Johnson: “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” It’s about the glamor of London, not my own personal exhaustion that I felt by the end of that weekend.

Moving on, Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody! I’m very sorry that I haven’t written anything for a little while (I know it’s been killing

Julia and I one night we went out to dinner, not really related to this post, but we're adorable.

you all inside). Honestly, it has just been a little quiet around here. But, in honor of it being, you know, the day of love and everything, I’m going to tell you a true story of budding love that has been going on here! And I’m going to do it without the explicit permission of the person who stars in it!

So, last Friday night, four of us went out to a club called Fez. In line for the club (or, as the British call it, “queuing up.” The Brits love queues.), we met some funny people, a couple of whom would probably fail the breathalyzer test, and we had some interesting/confusing/amusing conversation. But we separated from them when we got into the club (remember them, they’re important to the story). While waiting for our friend to get his drink from the bar, Angelina (name changed for obvious reasons) said to me, “Oh my gosh, Danielle, look at that guy over there, the tall, blonde one. I want to dance with him.” And because I was in a silly mood (translation: slightly tipsy), I pointed at him and went, “That guy?” He saw me, saw her, they locked eyes, bada bing, bada boom, ladies and gentlemen we have the first look.

The first time we went out to Fez

For awhile the four of us danced together, which was a ton of fun. We had gone to that club before, and the music had been really horrible. But Friday nights are Indie Rock nights, so we knew and could jam out to almost all of the songs. Then our guy friend left to go to the bathroom, leaving me, Angelina, and our awesome friend Hannah (name not changed because she’s awesome). All of a sudden, Angelina saw someone motioning her over and started dancing with Tall Blonde Guy (the dance). Hannah and I just kind of stared at her and then at each other. Then we saw Queue Guy (guy we met in line), who was with Tall Blonde Guy as well and some others, motioning us over, too. So we started dancing with them, which was pretty fun, especially Queue Guy because he kept booty bumping me into his friend who looked like the lead singer of Bastille (look them up and be prepared to fall in love).

For a variety of reasons, we ended up leaving relatively soon after. Angelina didn’t want to leave because she was having a very good time dancing with Tall Blonde Guy. But we dragged her away, not wanting to leave anyone behind, and she didn’t get the chance to get his number, this completing part three of any good love story: the abrupt departure. Angelina was pretty bummed about leaving, thinking she would probably never see this guy again, though she caught his name: Brad (name changed so that I could write Brangelina).

But Fate was not done with this story, no sirree. While Angelina was shopping in designer stores like Primark the next day, she ran into Queue Guy—aka Ash (I now realize that I am a horrible storyteller as now you will have to remember the actual names of these people halfway through the story). He gave Angelina Brad’s number, and she and Ash made plans to have his friends and her friends hang out a few days later. Angelina was so nervous that she could hardly eat anything for the three days between running into Ash and the night we all met up again. We even made Hannah reschedule her Skype date for this. Thankfully, she texted Brad, who was very sweet and said things like how could he forget her, and he was so glad she didn’t remain the mystery girl, and asked whether she would want to run off into the countryside to have little blonde babies (I may or may not have embellished/completely made up that last one).

On Tuesday night, Angelina, Hannah, me, and another friend went to this bar that had pool and snooker tables (snooker is a game I

Me playing pool very badly

don’t understand involving an over-sized pool table, lots of red balls, and humiliation). The four of us were hanging out when we saw Ash, Brad, and Simon (Bastille Guy) coming towards us. We all exchanged somewhat awkward greetings, since I don’t think there is any documented appropriate way to greet people who you’ve only danced with and never really talked to. This marked the fourth, perhaps lesser known, part of a typical love story: the anxiety-ridden and slightly uncomfortable reunion. We migrated from a machine that asked trivia questions to a snooker table to a pool table. Two more of Brad’s friends, both named Jason, arrived as well and we split into teams for pool. Brad was adorable, giving Angelina, his partner, a lot of help and advice when it was her turn. My partner also offered several gems of advice, such as “try and hit a stripe into the pocket.”

After a few embarrassingly bad games of pool, we finally left, still teasing each other for our weird pronunciations of words (It’s aluminum. You can’t just stick an extra syllable in there so it’s “aluminium”). Brangelina have been texting and flirting ever since. We all have plans to go out again; this time to go bowling. Another activity I am horrifyingly bad at. And they all lived happily ever after. Cue orchestral music, big fireworks that somehow spell out “The End” in cursive, aaaaaand end credits.

I’m incredibly happy that Angelina, who is notorious for losing interest very quickly, has found someone she likes. Admittedly, yes, there are a few snags in this little development, with the limited time we’re here and them living thousands of miles away and the fact I’m still not sure what his natural hair color is. But it’s Valentine’s Day, people. And today’s not a day to be cynical, but to cherish the people you love: family, old friends, crushes, boyfriends, sisters. Being an ocean away from most of my loved ones has truly made me realize their monumental importance in my life. So stick with love, because “life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead” (Oscar Wilde).

Danielle

Bonus Post: One Month of Yummy German Food

February 11, 2014 / / 0 Comments

As some of you may know, I first entered the world of blogging with a recipe site. Besides travel, cooking is one of my favorite hobbies, and often, I find that one of the best ways to experience a new place is through food. So since I won’t be able to do a normal post until after our next 10-day trip, I thought I’d give you all a taste of a little something different (no pun intended.) These are just a few of the best things I’ve eaten in Germany so far.

German cuisine isn’t exactly world-renowned, but I’ve always had a special place in my heart for it. After all, I named my blog after it. Besides the fact that it’s delicious, I love it because it’s associated with some of the best memories I have of travel, new friends, and a general adventurous spirit. It’s the discovery of all these yummy things that I never knew existed before, yet now can’t stand to live without. What was my life before I discovered German cheesecake and Milka chocolate and Käsespätzle? I don’t even know anymore. And that’s why I feel so compelled to share all my international favorites with you. Because you deserve to get to know and love these things too.

Let’s start with Maultaschen:
Maultaschen are a Swabian (regional) specialty. They’re like giant ravioli filled with all kings of goodness. I actually don’t know what all is in the filling, but I know part of it is meat because Maultaschen were originally invented as a way for Catholics to conceal the fact that they were eating meat during Lent. This was my first real meal in Reutlingen. Served with salad and potatoes, with a glass of Apfelschrole, it was a perfect, authentic welcome.

And now the Berlin mega-platter :
When we were in Berlin for a class trip, our professor took us all out to dinner at a restaurant known for Berlin specialties. There, you can order the same sampler platter for however many people in your party. We had 10 people, so we got 2 of these massive plates. Once again, I don’t even know what all of it was. I just know that it was terrific. The pièce de résistance was that beautiful pork shoulder in the middle. We ate probably six times the amount that we should have that night, but hey, no regrets. Man lebt nur einmal.

Now, the best Jägerschnitzel I’ve ever had in my life and probably ever will:
Jägerschnitzel, or Hunter’s Schnitzel in English is like Wiener Schnitzel, but with with a rich mushroom and wine sauce on top. The sauce really takes it to the next level, and I don’t just say that because of my unconditional love for wine sauces. There was just something about this particular one at this off-the-beaten-path restaurant in Cologne that set it apart from the rest.
And now for some sweet treats:
Milka is my favorite chocolate on the planet. Sure, Ritter Sport is more famous globally, and Swiss and Belgian chocolates are generally considered the top tier, but Milka is the chocolate of the people here. It’s cheap, unpretentious, and still a thousand times better than a Hershey bar. I haven’t eaten a Hershey bar in the three years since I converted to Milka and I never will again. Luckily for me, Milka is getting easier to find in the US. You can usually find it at Target if you look really hard. This butter cookie kind is my favorite so far:
And surprisingly, they have an oreo version even though oreos aren’t popular here. It’s almost as good as a Hershey’s cookies & creme. Okay I lied before, I do still love Hershey’s cookies & creme only.

And the best for last, my beloved German cheesecake:
One day in Stuttgart we had lunch at the greatest place on Earth, Vapiano, and I could barely contain my excitement when I saw this cheesecake in the dessert case. So there I was, eating my favorite food in the world in my favorite place in the world (all on my university’s dime, by the way) and thinking this is the life.

I was so excited, I couldn’t wait to take the picture before digging in. Later that week, I get inspired to make my version of this, and even with limited ingredients, iffy metric conversions, and only a pyrex casserole dish instead of a springform, the result tasted just how it should.

Those are my favorite meals and snacks so far. Maybe I’ll make tis a monthly series, because I’ll always be that tourist who inappropriately pulls out a camera in a restaurant. But I feel compelled to do it because there’s just so much left to discover and share.

Venturing Out: Berlin and Cologne

February 9, 2014 / / 0 Comments
After a long, exciting, challenging, wonderful week of travel around Germany, I’m finally back “home” in Reutlingen. It’s funny, being away this week made me actually start referring to Reutlingen as my home, and while I had a blast exploring other cities, it is good to be back. In total, we had 10 travel days for this trip. For the first five, the whole group got to see just about everything there is to see in Berlin with our professor as tour guide. After that, we got to split up into smaller groups to travel wherever we wanted, which for me, meant Cologne. I’m pretty sure it would be impossible to include everything we did into one post, but I’ll try my best to summarize the highlights.
Since we arrived in Berlin relatively late on Friday night, I think of Saturday as our first official day there. That day, we started off on a rather somber note with a tour of Sachsenhausen, a concentration camp. I had never been to a concentration camp before, but I had heard that it was an intense experience. It was actually very different from what I was expecting. I had thought that most of the camp would be left in its original state, but to my surprise, much of it had been renovated to make it feel more like a museum. Still, I found that the as-is parts of it had the greatest emotional impact on me. It’s hard to describe the feeling you get when you’re standing on the same ground where thousands of people suffered so greatly, not all that long ago.

     Sunday was our first real chance to explore the city. Since I’ve been to Berlin once before, our city tour was an opportunity for me to get reacquainted with the place I had come to love. I tried to contain my excitement as we passed all my favorite landmarks, but throughout the week, I made it my mission to go to several places I visited on my first trip and take similar photos of them, sort of like a then-and-now comparison. Of course, the logical place to start was the Brandenburg Gate.
     Included in our trip, we each received a three-day museum pass that was valid at 50 museums throughout the city. After a few group tours of the big ones, we had 2 days to split pup and go to the ones of our choice. After we were all museumed out, there was one thing I had left to do. Last time I was in Berlin, I went to a specie section of the Berlin Wall that was still up and had murals painted on different sections, many of which are wildly colorful. I had no idea where this place was anymore or what it was called, but I had to find it again. After over an hour of leading 2 friends to the forgotten corners of East Berlin, I found it and once again, took a picture of my favorite mural.

After Berlin, we were on our own. It was a little intimidating to go traveling for the first time without the whole group, but as it turned out, our 2 free days in Berlin served as great practice in how to navigate a foreign city by ourselves. In fact, we never really got lost, and being smaller, Cologne is a little easier to handle than Berlin. We saw all the big attractions there, the cathedral, the Rhine, and a few museums. We found some good restaurants, lived the hostel life, which actually isn’t as terrifying as I expected, and made it back safe and sound.

Now we have one more week of classes, before we’re off to Lutherland and beyond on Friday. Because that’s a long way away, I’ll try to have a new post in the meantime, so be on the lookout for that soon!

Working and wading through water in Windhoek

February 9, 2014 / / 1 Comment

As the bus rumbled down the road, my eyes scanned each building intently for the words Family of Hope – the name of the organization I would be interning at for the next 3 months. To say I was nervous would be an understatement; but as I arrived, I was greeted with smiling faces, friendly hellos, and the nerves quickly subsided. Family of Hope Services is a nonprofit faith-based organization in Katatura, a former black township in Windhoek. In particular, FHS works with children and families who have been affected by HIV/AIDS through various programs which includes a remedial school program, before/after school program, feeding and nutrition program, parental support groups as well as a bicycle workshop which assists in raising money for the various projects because FHS receives no government funding.

A little one waiting for her lunch

In my 3 months with FHS, I will be mainly working in the feeding and nutrition program as well as doing what I can with the remedial school and after school programs. At first I was somewhat overwhelmed because I thought “I’m  supposed to teach these kids? I have absolutely no background in teaching, whatsoever!” But, after the first few days, I’ve learned a little from the women I’m working with and am having a ton of fun. Many of these boys and girls ages 6-12 have never been in school before so we are working to teach them the alphabet, counting, etc., so that they can eventually enter formal education systems and further their studies.

The classroom at FHS

Education is something we, in the U.S. take for granted without realizing how lucky we are to have the opportunities we do. Many of these kids have not been in school because they didn’t have their birth certificates  to enroll or were at home taking care of the cattle. With that being said, it is so much fun to work with these kids because they are so eager to learn. Along with my ‘accent’ being hard to understand, I’m also working with other ladies from Australia, New Zealand and Germany so that provides an additional challenge. I’m excited to work with these wonderful women over the next 3 months and cannot wait to see the kids grow in their knowledge, as they teach me so much simultaneously.

Weighing one of the FHS students before he's served lunch - as part of the feeding & nutrition program I'll be helping with

At the start of the week our group of 15, plus the CGE staff headed out to a little retreat for the day; time for team building and getting to know each other even further. With it being rainy season in Windhoek, of course a small rain storm was upon us. As we made our way back to leave at the end of the day, the small stream we crossed to enter the park was now.. a rushing river. A few brave souls started trekking first and we followed at about 3 at a time. Some phones went swimming, jeans were soaked, but hey, all in all it makes for a great story, and our “always say yes in Namibia” motto continues to hold true.

Fell in love at our team building retreat

River crossing

 

After about 2 weeks now, our classes have finally begun. I can’t complain though because studying consists of laying by the pool reading the required material. Classes are also held in our living room which gives us a well… comfortable feel. Again, I can’t complain. I’m currently taking Religion and Social Change, History of Southern Africa, Politics of Development in Southern Africa, my internship course, and yoga! For the first four weeks of the semester we are all also enrolled in a Language course. During our first class we learned the four clicks and basic elements like greetings, numbers, and family names. We couldn’t help but laugh when our mouths began to get sore after attempting to do the clicks properly. My first attempts were.. somewhat successful. It’s a lot harder than it seems, but it’s so exciting to be learning a new language that very few people in the world can speak.

Tomorrow marks the start of my urban home stay. I think the group has all around nervous energy going into this because it’s a week long and we’re all on our own this time, but I’m sure I will love my new family and all the things I’ll learn from them throughout the week. The bugs out here are eating me alive, although the hours and hours spent by the pool probably aren’t helping much. Oh well! It’s better than the Indiana winter I’m missing out on.

 

Thanks again for reading,

xoxo,

Maddy

 

 

 

Basilica

Eso moment cuando all of the palabras cambian entre two different lenguas…wait, what?

February 3, 2014 / / 0 Comments

“Spanglish. Spanglish is the word of the week. It’s tough spending all morning in an all Spanish class, spending the next 4 hours in an all English class, then going home to an only Spanish-speaking household. I’m finding myself struggling to express myself in both English and Spanish. Which I guess is a good problem to have…but these first couple weeks are rough. But, between classes and home time, I’m soaking in all the culture. Here’s a rundown of the last week.

Last Saturday we went to Guayabo National Park and saw the ruins of an indigenous tribe, as well as the aqueducts that they built…and they still work! Those circles in the back of the photo are the foundations of the dwellings. Because Costa Rica has a rainy season and this site is in a valley, they built their houses on a raised foundation, made of stone, to prevent flooding. Pretty smart, huh?

Guayabo National Park

It was pretty cool to take the tour in Spanish and understand most of what was said. Everyday is like one more baby step. After the tour, we had a picnic lunch. And when I say picnic, I mean full on meal…check it out.

A feast of a picnic!

Even so, we naturally had to stop at 3 for coffee. We took a rest stop at a little cafe with a fantastic view of the mountains. We had our coffee individually brewed and took in the scenery.

Gorgeous mountain viewGroup photo!

After our coffee break, we continued onward to Orosi where we saw the oldest church in Costa Rica that still has a congregation. Then we went into Cartago and saw the Basilica. Although we didn’t get to spend much time in the Basilica (because there was Mass), we did get to see the springs that some say have healing powers. There is a legend that says an indigenous girl, during the time of colonization, found a black figurine of the Virgin Mary near a spring. She took it home, but the next day found that it was gone. Returning to the spring, she again found the figurine. After consulting the Priest, the people decided to build a church in her honor…hence, the Basilica. The figurine is still in the church for most of the year, expect for when it tours other churches in the country.

 

The oldest "functioning" church in Costa Rica

Basilica

Later in the week, we got to go inside the Costa Rican Supreme Court Building as well as the equivalent to the Costa Rican FBI building. That was pretty cool. We listened to speakers who told us about the work their doing in Latin America to address human trafficking, drug trafficking, along with other international issues.

We got to sit in the magistrates' chamber at the Supreme Court.

And of course, we had class everyday. I have officially survived half of my time at the UCR. Two weeks down, two weeks to go. Even though I’m enjoying my class there, 4 hours a day is really tough…But, there are definitely some perks. For example…

This is where I go to school...

This is what we do in class..

Okay, that’s not all we do in class. I had my second exam and second presentation today. Exam went alright. Stinkin’ Spanish pronouns are confusing! Presentation went well. J.R.R. Tolkien…influential in any language. In my class, there are 2 other VU people, a girl from South Korea, a boy from Germany, and 3 girls from KU. They’re definitely not in Kansas anymore…

Sorry. Couldn’t resist.

It’s a nice small group, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know them. My professor is great. Even though she’s constantly laughing at her own jokes (most of which we don’t get…), she is very good about making our 4 hour class interesting. We do lots of small group work and interactive activities. She likes to play games and she’s very willing to answer questions. God is so good. 🙂

Last week I said I was anxious to settle into a routine. I’m glad to say that I have one now, more or less. I wake up every day at 6:30, eat at 7:00, out the door by 7:15, on the bus at 7:37. Then class, lunch, and most days class at the Valpo center. Although some days we have field trips, like our tour of the government buildings. And we always have at least one afternoon off. This is a much-needed break. Yesterday, for example, we all had a nice sit down lunch, ate some killer nachos, and just talked.

Life with the host family is also going well. Granted, it’s a pretty awkward just jumping into the lives of total strangers. But after a day or so I started feeling pretty comfortable in their home. The family I live with consist of a mom, dad, and college age daughter. My host mom is great; she makes me breakfast every morning, which always includes fruit and coffee, and usually some other food to go along with it.  My host dad is always very eager to ask how my day was, and he likes asking me questions to help me practice my Spanish.

After two weeks, I’m not only learning the routine of the house, like Friday is laundry day and we eat cereal for dinner on Sundays, but also about who they are. For example, I’m learning that I live in a house divided. If you’re a Cubs/Sox fan or a Bears/Packers fan, you’ll understand. My host dad loves Cartago soccer, but my host mom and sister love Alajuela. But everyone knows Saprissa is actually the best. Even thought sometimes I feel like I’ve stepped into a Spanish sitcom where I don’t know what’s going on, I know that I’m part of the family.

God has been so good in putting me here. He has answered the prayers of my heart in placing me in this home, and I am so thankful. He is my constant companion, since every day has its ups and downs. We’ve done lots of cool stuff like I wrote about…but there is a lot of struggle that goes on too. I ask for your prayers for me and my classmates as we continue in our journey.

For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways. -Psalm 91:11 “

–Megan Dean

This Is Home

February 2, 2014 / / 3 Comments

To finish up our final days in Johannesburg, we visited St.Martin’s high school in Soweto. This was by far one of my favorite parts of our time in Jo’burg because we got to casually interact with kids around our age, give or take a few years. They were all so eager to ask us questions about America or our views and opinions of South Africa. By far my favorite question was when I was asked if I personally knew Dr.Dre because I lived in California. One thing I admire most about these young kids is their knowledge and understanding of politics, not just in their country, but around the world as well. They were also so sweet and welcoming to us, it was sad to say goodbye.

Group photo atop the Voortrekker Monument

Some of us with the St.Martin’s High school tour guides

 

I arrived at my first home stay where I’d be staying for the weekend. It was nice to sit back and relax for a few days as I got to know my new family. My host mom Nthabiseng is the sweetest lady and was so welcoming! Subah (my roommate) and I were made delicious home cooked meals that we got to eat with our hands. I’ve come to love pap with just about everything! Visiting Credo Mutwa Village during our home stay was definitely one of my favorite parts. After climbing, well.. a few stairs to the top of a tower, we had a 360 degree view stretching all over Soweto.. definitely breathtaking. On our last night at our home stay, we were fortunate enough to go see Mandela’s Long Walk To Freedom in theaters at the local mall. It was such an honor to be able to watch this film in the country where Mandela changed so much. Our goodbyes were sad as we sent Sandile and Loyiso off to school the next morning, but we exchanged emails so I will definitely be keeping in touch with them!

View over Soweto

My wonderful host family

As we arrived later in Pretoria we settled down in a beautiful new guest house, that had a pool. WOOHOO! While in Pretoria we visited the U.S. Embassy , Freedom Park, the  Voortrekker monument, and the Capitol. Visiting these places, especially the U.S. Embassy made me really think about what my future holds. Surely not with the Embassy, but it solidified my thoughts on wanting to travel the world, hopefully working as a nurse. Windhoek, Namibia welcomed us with a downpour and a long line of customs. We were so excited to finally get here, that in fact it didn’t really matter. Seeing monkeys crossing the road and one sitting on top of a street sign filled our bus with shrieks and laughter; definitely something I won’t forget.

Our big, happy family

The highlight of being in Windhoek so far was visiting an orphanage in Katatura (a former black township).  Within a minute and a half of meeting the little ones, they grabbed our hands, asked to be held, and wouldn’t let go. Many of them are HIV positive but are healthy and getting treatment. Once they got a hold of my water bottle, there was no way I was getting it back, they were in heaven figuring out how it worked and taking swigs too big that poured out of their mouths. I couldn’t help but have joy in my heart knowing these little ones were being taken care of so well despite what may have happened in their past. There were 4 little houses with very clean living conditions and many of the older ones were off at school. It was incredible to see the differences these “moms” and “dads” were making in the lives of some who couldn’t help themselves. My heart broke when we left as some of the little ones began to cry. I wish I could go spend time with them every single day.

A little one with my water bottle at the Orange babies orphanage

Settled in Windhoek now for a few days, it’s beginning to feel like home. This city is absolutely beautiful, and our group of 15 students who hardly knew each other 2 weeks ago have become a little family. It’s crazy to think I’ve only been here for 2 weeks now. I begin my internship tomorrow, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous, but excited at the same time knowing the opportunities that await.

I had to

Thanks for reading,

xoxo

Maddy

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