Valpo Voyager

Student Stories from Around the World

Author: studyabroad (page 43 of 44)

China has many picturesque water-feature locations, such as the Thousand Island Lake and the Grand Canal (pictured here)

How Crusaders assimilate into China!

September 26, 2013 / / 0 Comments

H-24 about to enjoy some white water rafting!

“On Monday the 9th, we started our first full week of classes here in Hangzhou, China. In one week, we collectively spoke more Chinese than we ever have in our lives (which, quite frankly, is not hard to do living in the States). Other than the joys of class and homework, the week was rather uneventful. Many of us were too busy and or tired to carry out any major tomfoolery. On Friday, however, we had a massive thunderstorm go through Hangzhou. The storm raged for hours, going from roughly 6 to 9 pm. The water easily reached the high sidewalk, turning the road into what looked like a giant four-lane swimming pool. Traffic was backed up for miles, buses were unable to run their routes, and many had abandoned their cars, pulling them over to the side of the road. The stranded people tried to call for taxis, but they had absolutely no luck, as even the taxi drivers were trying to get home. So, many of them just waited out the storm in local shops and restaurants. Many of our group just stayed indoors, however, there were three (Paxton, Marquisha, and myself) who were at our new internship. Due to the storm, we did not get back to campus until almost midnight, and were sufficiently soaked from the journey.

The week of Monday the 16th brought our group to the first major holiday celebrated in China, the Mid-Autumn festival. The festival was on Thursday, which meant that we did not have any classes Thursday or Friday. It is celebrated with fireworks, eating many moon cakes, and many marveling at the bright and full China moon. Most of our group went to Qiandao Lake (Thousand Island Lake); a picturesque body of water with countless small island outcroppings interspersed throughout.  It was a really gorgeous lake.  Upon arrival on Thursday, we were given a choice of itineraries. We could either go and do a five hour tour group of the Lake, or we could go white water rafting. We chose the latter. Professor Lin also mentioned that we could hit up an oxygen bar, before the rafting, and we all were interested in going. However, when we reached the oxygen bar, our group was shocked to find that an oxygen bar was a little different here in China than it was in the US. In the US, an oxygen bar is like a normal bar, but instead of alcohol, you hook up an oxygen mask of sorts, and breathe high concentration oxygen, usually with aromatherapy scents added in. In China, we found ourselves in a forest-oxygen bar, which I guess is Chinese for a hiking trail. Outside of the initial confusion, we ended up really enjoying the great views offered.

China has many picturesque water-feature locations, such as the Thousand Island Lake and the Grand Canal (pictured here)

Then, we went white water rafting, which was an absolute blast. As we waited to get onto the river, we were mixed in to a group of ten or twelve Chinese people around our age. As we got into the rafts, we were given life vests, oars, and a plastic hardhat helmet. After getting into the raft and being pushed off, we reached a wider, slower area of the river. There, some of the aforementioned Chinese kids had taken to filling their hardhats with stream water, and pelting friends in other boats with the water. So, naturally (in our attempt to assimilate into Chinese society), we jumped into the firefight, pelting the nearest boat with water. They then threw water at us, and something akin to World War III started. As we reached the tunnel that ran through the majority of the course, we found ourselves in a closed in water fight. The battle ebbed and flowed through countless ceasefires, mutinies, and the like, until we reached the rapids. After getting off the lake, we all laughed at ourselves, high-fives each other and enjoying our childishness. If only all international conflicts were fought in this manner.  None of us were anywhere near dry until we got back to campus.

Coming up, we soon have a trip to Xi’an, but I’m sure that will be discussed in great detail in the next update.

-Ethan”

Celebrating birthdays abroad!

Settling in at Hangzhou

September 26, 2013 / / 0 Comments

“This past week a group of us traveled to Lake Xihu (West Lake) in Hangzhou. Although it was raining on and off during the day, the lake was pleasant and we found ourselves walking through some of the trails and walkways along it. In the middle of the lake is an island, on which we wandered about and watched the water show that plays on the lake. The water spouts are choreographed to music that plays about every 15 to 20 minutes. While in the Lake Xihu area, we wandered around one of the malls and ate at one of the many restaurants.

Celebrating birthdays abroad!

Aside from that, however, were our Chinese placement exams. Although the written exam did not last more than an hour, and conversational exams no longer than 15 minutes, they were still nerve wracking. Despite our nerves, though, we all did very well. Many of us were placed into our desired class bracket or higher. Class orientation was Monday and our first real classes began today.

Finally, this last weekend was my birthday! So, Professor Lin organized a group dinner at the hotel next to the city’s international book store. We were all treated to more food than we could eat, including a cake that Cherry brought for us. A handful of us got lost trying to get to the hotel, but our knowledge of Chinese allowed for us to communicate effectively with one of the locals who led us straight there.

All in all, I’d say this week was just as busy as the one prior!” -Loren

你好，杭州!

September 26, 2013 / / 0 Comments

“I was asked to put together a little report on what we’ve done so far our first week in China. Sorry if this goes on long or is a little scattered-about. That being said, here’s the first week in review:

When you last saw us, we departed for security. The checkpoint was rather uneventful, and we made it to the gate with little consequence. We had some polite conversation and tried to get to know each other a bit. Before we knew it, it was time to board the plane. We were mostly in the same area. Everyone was within a couple seats to a couple people.

The group's first official meeting at O'hare.

The flight went much like you would imagine a 14 hour flight to go. There was plenty of entertainment available through the television monitors found conveniently on the back of every seat, but it still wasn’t exactly what any of us would describe as a pleasant experience. Especially those of us who had to fly with a drink in our laps, due to a certain student’s clumsy exit from the row. Once we landed, everything went according to plan. Professor Lin was waiting for us when we got our bags, we took a nice ~3 hour bus ride to Hangzhou and enjoyed a lovely meal before heading off to bed.

The first thing that really hit me, before any kind of culture shock was just the jet lag. I’ve never taken such a long trip before and wanting to go to bed at 7:00 was certainly not something I am used to (Though I’m sure some parents will understand. ;)) The waking up at 5:30 part was pretty nice. It felt like there was so much time for things in the morning! The first couple days all went the same way. We’d get up, get ready, go do stuff with Lin (usually including some free meals) and then have time to ourselves. Many of our number chose to go out and explore the city, while the more timid of us were content to practice our language skills and get to know the university campus.

For a little less than a week, we’ve been working with some language tutors to improve (or for three of us, start) our Chinese. These tutors are students studying teaching Chinese as a second language, so it works out well for both parties. I have limited experience with the other tutors, but ours is named Xiaoping or Nancy. She is very nice, and has been incredibly helpful for my studies. We are taking the placement test tomorrow, so more information on how people do will be revealed in the next mailing.

Stepping away from Academics for a bit, last weekend we went on a couple of fun trips. First, we visited the waterfront of Hangzhou and saw the Canal Museum and the Museum of Swords, Knives, and Scissors. I thought both were very interesting, but I also love museums in general. Everyone seemed to be having fun though. At the end of the day, many of our number rode around in inflatable go-karts baring the likeness of various cartoon characters. They’re designed for children, but college students are certainly a strange breed. Several of the business majors want to bring them to America.

Visiting the busy city of Shanghai!

Then on Sunday we traveled to Shanghai via high speed train. It’s quite an experience. It was my first time on a train and the experience was great. In Shanghai, we visited the birthplace of the Communist Party. It was really a unique experience. In China, this is akin to seeing Independence Hall, except no one knew the story. There’s so much history we’ve never heard about… After that we broke up for shopping and exploration.

I was told that this doesn’t have to be a novel, so I’m cutting it off now. Everyone is fine and having a great time!” -Mac

Packing!

And the Countdown Begins!

December 13, 2012 / / 1 Comment

Ever since coming back from Fall Break, the countdown to Cambridge has really begun.  From the two hour weekly meetings with Julie Maddox to meetings with my Cambridge group, I’ve definitely been kept busy and am more excited than ever about my adventures in less than two months.  All of the group meetings have been very helpful, informing us about health, safety, packing and expectations while abroad.

 My Cambridge group also has been a great learning experience that I am happy that we are able to have.  Not only do we get to talk to our peer advisor-someone who studied abroad in Cambridge last year-but also friends that she had gone with.  They share their insight with us and we are able to ask any pressing questions we may have.  Something that was important that I asked right away was about the EuroRail and BritRail passes and which to purchase.   Both our advisor and her friend gave us their personal opinions about which they bought, ten day flex pass for the EuroRail and two any four days in two months for the BritRail.  This time also allowed our group to talk and get to know each other, which has been really nice.  We were able to open up and find that we are all interested in traveling around Europe together, which is very exciting.

Packing!

Thanksgiving break-and all the sales that go with it-was a great time to figure out what I needed for England.  A huge internal debate I had with myself was what kind of suitcase I was going to bring abroad.  We are only allowed to bring one suitcase, a carryon and a personal item on the plane.  After looking up the dimensions on United’s website, my mother and I went to five different stores looking for a suitcase that would be as big as the airline would allow.  We ended up buying one that I had never even thought of getting, a duffle bag on wheels.  This will allow me to pack items and squish them in without be bounded by the strict shape of a regular suitcase.  It is also only 8.6lbs allowing for more of my own items to be packed, such as clothes, boots, and hopefully some peanut butter (they don’t sell peanut butter in Europe) while still under the 50lbs limit United has.

Being home also allowed me to buy a few items I knew I would need and have my sisters and grandparents give me for Christmas, such as a money pouch to go around my neck for my passport and other important documents, as well as a quick dry towel for when I’m traveling around and staying in hostels (you don’t want to have to try to carry a huge towel in your carryon).  Then, of course, there were some impulse buys such as boots and scarves during Black Friday sales that may not have been a necessity, but will definitely come in handy during those chilly, rainy England months.

Overall, the pre-departure experience has been exciting! A little nerve racking, sure, but I feel like I know what I need to know and am ready to start this amazing journey.  I already love the group I’m going with and know that they will be there to support me while I try to figure out what to bring, what to leave at home and will help remind me what not to forget while I’m packing.

By Lauren Zomparelli, Advertising and Creative Writing Majors, Business Minor, from Elmhurst, Illinois.  More posts to come!!

 

I’ll be boarding a plane headed for Zaragoza, Spain

December 13, 2012 / / 1 Comment

45 days from now, I’ll be boarding a plane headed for Zaragoza, Spain and embarking on a journey that, 45 days ago, I wasn’t sure I would be taking.

… What?

As an education major, I was told that studying abroad wouldn’t be a realistic option to pursue if I wanted to graduate in four years. I remember being a starry-eyed freshman sitting in my first advising session, and feeling the sinking disappointment that came from my adviser’s warning to me about studying abroad…

“I really appreciate your ambition, Emily. It comes in handy in the education field. But you have to take into account that you will already only have seven semesters to do what most students do in eight. You student teach during the spring of your senior year.”

“So… I shouldn’t get my hopes up about going abroad?”

“Probably not.”

… and that was that. To make a long story short, freshman and sophomore years went by with few bumps in the road and without much more discussion about leaving the country. This past summer, though, the winds of change rolled in and rocked my world in ways that I couldn’t have predicted, leaving me in one of the lowest emotional places I’ve ever found myself in. I was told by a number of people that it was time for me to do some soul searching, to re-discover my identity, and to fully pursue the things that I was most passionate about. The deeply-rooted yet inconvenient desire to study abroad resurfaced, and even though I promised my parents that I wouldn’t do anything stupid to get my hopes up, I went and had another discussion with my academic adviser.

By some miraculous twist of fate, I found myself both academically and financially able to afford a semester abroad. So here I am now – standing on the brink of what’s sure to be the biggest adventure of my 20 years of life.

I’m a different person than I was three months ago, when I started to reconsider studying abroad. At first, it occurred to me that running off to a place where nobody knows my name would be an excellent way to step away from the problems that have caused me so much hurt. As time has passed and my heart has healed, I’ve realized that my motives for going to Spain have changed drastically. I’m not running away from something, but rather I’m running towards something much greater. I’ve grown and changed as a person during these past few months in ways that have amazed me, and I know that going to Zaragoza is only going to help me grow even more into the person I’m supposed to become. Change begins when we leave our comfort zones, and leaving my home and loved ones behind for five months will definitely be out of my comfort zone. I’m terribly nervous, but the excitement I have for what’s to come is beyond what words can say.

45 days and counting…

 

[as of posting, it’s 25 days, 0 hours, and 42 minutes!!]

By Emily DeVries, Elementary Education Major, Spanish minor, from St. Charles, Illinois.  More posts to come!!

Paris

Why Let me ask you this: Why not Paris?

December 13, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Bonjour! Je m’appelle Emily Hardesty et j’étudierai en Paris le semestre prochain. And for those of you who don’t speak French: Hello! My name is Emily Hardesty and I will be studying in Paris next semester. Oh, Paris. The city of love. Who wouldn’t want to spend four months of their life in one of the greatest cities in the world? Not this girl. I am an old fashioned romantic, and I constantly dream about sitting in a quaint little café by the Eiffel Tower sipping a café au lait.

Paris

But let me start from the beginning. How did I decide to study abroad in the first place? I grew up in a small, not-so-quaint village called Beecher, Illinois. Yes, you read that correctly. Village. It’s not even big enough to be considered a town. Because I spent twenty years surrounded by cornfields and stranded thirty minutes away from the nearest shopping center, I dream of the day when I can live in a big city filled with excitement, strangers, and opportunities. I am tired of living in a town where I know everyone by name. To put it simply, I want to see the world and understand how the rest of the world lives.

France

So why Paris? Let me ask you this: Why not Paris? I started studying French my freshman year at VU, and I fell in love with the language. After declaring a French major (and an English major), I knew that I had to visit Paris someday, and what better time than when I am learning French? I will be completely immersed in the language while I am living there. My speaking skills are not quite up to par just yet, and although I am a little anxious about communicating with native French speakers, I am ready for the challenge. It’s going to be tough at first, but who said life wasn’t going to be tough? After I knew I was going to be studying in Paris, I immediately chose the Central College Abroad program for one main reason: it’s in Paris. Since I’m going to be studying in France, I’m going to make sure that I’m living in the city where all of the action happens. It may be the number one tourist destination in the world and full of lost tourists who can’t speak French (hopefully not what I’m going to be!), I think that’s sweet. The whole world wants to visit the most romantic city in the world. If that doesn’t tug at your heart strings a little, you need to go watch The Notebook one more time.

Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy

If you haven’t realized it yet, I am so excited for my trip to Paris. I want to see and experience everything I possibly can while I am in Europe. The Nôtre Dame Cathedral, the Musée d’Orsday, the Louvre, and obviously the Eiffel Tower are a few places on my I-have-to-see-this-before-I-die list. Outside of the city, I plan to see the D-Day beaches and the Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, the palace of Versailles, and the Alps in the East. I also plan on traveling outside of the country as much as my budget allows. While I would like to travel to every major city in Europe next semester, I am sadly living on the budget of a college student. (Easy Mac is my best friend.) So, I narrowed my must-see cities in Europe to London, Rome, Edinburgh, Dublin, and Madrid. I’m pretty optimistic that I’ll get to go to all of these cities, but I know they will all be waiting for me in the future after I return home in May.

French Café

Sometimes I can’t believe that in less than two months I will be living in Paris. How does a girl from the middle of nowhere get the chance to fulfill her dream of traveling the world? The answer is through extensive planning; a great support system at VU, Central College, and at home; and a student loan. (I’d have to say that last one may have been the key factor!) While I may be apprehensive about living in a huge city where I may not be able to communicate perfectly or I may get lost sometimes, I know that my time abroad will be well spent and will be one of the greatest experiences of my life. I hope that students reading this blog will understand the value of traveling abroad and will do whatever it takes to make their dreams of traveling the world come true like I did.

 

By Emily Hardesty, English and French majors, from Beecher, Illinois.  More posts to come!!

Germany, here I come!!!!

December 13, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Hi, my name is Mary-Ann and I'm one of the Reutlingen bloggers!

When I prepare for the grocery store, I make a list of everything I need. I mean usually I end up leaving with more than on my list, but hey, who doesn’t?? During finals (and I’m sure you can relate to this!) I make lists of everything that needs to get done. Sometimes I’m so swamped that I even need to write down time to relax and to stop stressing. Story of my LIFE!!!! Finding out I was accepted into the study abroad program and that I was going to be studying abroad in Reutlingen the spring of 2013, what did I do? That’s right. Made like 80 lists of everything that I was planning on taking with, what I wanted to see, things I wanted to do….writing lists was probably the stupidest thing I could have done at the time. Why? The whole point of writing lists, for me at least, was to reassure myself that I don’t need to stress about everything. Boy was I stupid. With each list I got more and more nervous. Try so nervous that I had almost-couldn’t-hold-the-pen-cause-my-palms-were-so-sweaty kind of nervous (which for a girl is pretty disgusting to admit – so I apologize in advance). Nervous couldn’t even begin to describe what I was feeling. I started to think about all the things that could go wrong. Not to freak you guys out, but it was stuff like forgetting my passport (not even possible, though who thinks rationally when they’re freaking out?!?!), not having enough money, buying the right passes, not packing too much or (oh my gosh!) not packing enough……you get the idea. But then a thought occurred to me. (And I hope with all this worrying, that I didn’t freak you out about studying abroad. Trust me; I can worry enough for the both of us.) And let me impart this wisdom upon you: anything this nerve racking (and stressful!!!) must be exciting and worth all of the mixed emotions. Mixed emotions usually indicate something that is going to be so worthwhile that we often times look back and wonder just why we were so nervous and hesitant to begin with. Life is more unpredictable this way (and even a little fun!). And let me tell you, I am not comfortable with the unknown, but there’s just something about finally going to a place where I might not know what’s going to happen that gets me a little excited and that whatever will happen, I know that it’ll be worth it. Don’t get me wrong, family and friends will be sorely missed, but I also know that if I don’t take the chance to go now, when will the next chance for me to travel come? Never let an opportunity as priceless as this one be passed up. With the end of the semester coming, I might be stressing out about finals (let’s be real, I AM stressing out about finals), but the thought that I would be going on my own little adventure next semester keeps me going and makes it all worthwhile. Germany, here I come!!!!

By Mary-Ann Craft, German and Biology Majors from Kendallville, Indiana.  More posts to come soon!!

Why Reutlingen?

December 13, 2012 / / 0 Comments

                I chose to go to Reutlingen because I have always wanted to go to Germany. I am a German Major and have been studying the language for almost 6 years now. However, despite all this time, I have never actually been to Germany. As a German major, this can be really tough because the majority of my peers have already visited Germany. I look forward to going to Germany and see exactly what my peers have been telling me and what I have learned in class. I choose Reutlingen for these exact reasons and I hope to show everyone what my learning experience.

            Despite all these years of learning German, I still do not know a lot about daily life and popular culture in Germany. I am excited to not only learn more about the daily culture, but to experience it myself! I hope to make a lot of friends while I am there too, to help me with the culture shock. Also I

To prepare for Germany, I lived at the German House! Here's our fancy Easter Dinner.

wish to perfect my speaking proficiency while in Reutlingen, bringing me to the same level as my peers. This way I hope to become someone that my peers can also look up to, such as I have looked up to them.

Another reason why I choose Reutlingen is to visit the many places I learn about in my German classes. Our professors have set up a list of places to visit while we are in Germany, many of them relating to what we have learned. I hope to visit all of them and visit many other parts of Germany as well. I also choose going to Reutlingen because it is near the border of other countries. Because of that, I hope to visit as many new places as I can while I am there, in Germany and other countries as well. Having never been outside of the United States before, I am super excited to experience all these new places and cultures!

My friends and I getting ready for Homecoming!

I really am going to miss home and all my friends back at Valpo, but this is a trip that I have been looking forward to for a long time. I only wish that all my friends could have come with me to experience Germany with me as well! Realistically though, I hope that they will keep in contact with me and support me as I learn and grow. I hope that they and other Valpo students can learn from my experiences. With the prospects of visiting so many new places and increasing my language skills, there is no reason why I would not go to Reutlingen!

 

 

By Emily Wambach, German Major, Japanese & Communication Minors, from Knoxville, Tennessee. More posts to come!!

Why I Chose Cambridge

December 13, 2012 / / 0 Comments

There are so many things I could say about this topic. Why I chose Cambridge? The reasons are too many to count! The main reason I chose to study abroad in England, is that it has always fascinated me. Starting when I was around 10 years old, Great Britain has been an obsession of mine. I love everything about it. Their history is so amazing and so vast. It spans back centuries and it is so full of mystery and opportunity. I love reading about the history of England. Just to think, the city of Cambridge first came into being around the time that Christ was alive. So many thousands of years of history! I cannot wait to explore that history. So then, when an opportunity to travel 2 weeks in Europe was presented to me my sophomore year of high school, I jumped at the chance to experience all that I was so enamored with. I told my parents about it, and my Dad told me that I could travel for two weeks in high school, or I could take a semester in college and study abroad for a full 5 months. I was ecstatic! I couldn’t believe my luck that my parents would let me do something like that. Looking back now, I kind of think that it was my parent’s way of getting me off my travel kick for the moment and keep me safely in the U.S. I don’t think they ever dreamed that I would grasp onto that promise- that I would be able to travel in college- and I would never let it go. When I was searching and applying for colleges one of my stipulations for attending any college was that it had to have a superb study abroad program so that I knew I would have the best experience possible. So when I found out that Valparaiso had such a good Nursing school, I immediately set to searching about its study abroad programs and what I found thrilled me. Not only did they have a fabulous study abroad program, they had a study site in Cambridge, England! I was beyond thrilled! My wildest dreams were going to come true. I knew for sure I was going to Cambridge.

I am looking forward to so many things while I am living in another country. I am looking forward to a new culture, a new way of doing things, and a new way of viewing the world. I am looking forward to learning more of their history, and meeting new people. And most of all, I am looking forward to traveling. All over the world! From London, to Paris. From Berlin, to Venice and Rome. I cannot wait to go on a gondola ride in Venice, or climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I can’t wait to touch the Berlin wall and walk through the castle that inspired the one and only Cinderella’s Castle. I can’t wait to see the Stonehenge and wander through the Colosseum in Rome. So many things I have on my bucket list that I hope to do while I am over there. I am so excited writing this that I can’t even contain myself! There are so many other things that I wish to do, but I don’t want to write too much!

Although a lot of people probably don’t add this, I am looking forward to the classes I will take while I am abroad. They can teach me more about the country I will be living in for my semester abroad. I can’t wait to write blogs and journals. I love writing, and to be able to write about my experiences in the most exciting 6 months of my life will be a blast!

By Abby Lorenzo, Nursing major from Seymour, Indiana.  More posts to come soon!

 

North and Etosha

September 25, 2012 / / 0 Comments

I just got back from “the north” and I’ve posted some pictures from our time in Etosha so I won’t say a lot, but want to tell you guys about some of the cool things we got to see.

One of the CGE professor’s got married this past weekend, which was our main purpose for traveling to the city of Ongwediva.  It’s about 10 hours north of Windhoek and we stayed at the Rural Development Centre where we got to see some of the new technologies they’re working on to help farmers and improve sanitation.  The ceremony and wedding receptions were in Okatana and Onampira the home towns of the bride and groom.  And yes, wedding receptions, there are two!  It was a traditional catholic service with hints of tribal rituals.  The bride wore the big white dress and veil, there were bridesmaids and groomsmen, and they went through a typical Christian ceremony with church service following.  The exciting part was that you got to relive the reception the very next night, which is always the most fun part of the wedding.  We had lots of food, even cow intestine, and on the second night had a blast dancing with a group of kids.  (It was strange to us that not many people danced at these receptions and the DJ ended soon after dinner).

We spent time at the local trade fair, which was a lot like many of the local fairs we students are used to.  There were vendors from all over Namibia selling tractors, handmade goods, and other accessories, lots of food, booths for government departments and also university advertisers.  So we bought a few of our favorite pieces and had lunch.  “Black and Yellow” came on while we were eating and this had me pretty excited.

I noticed here and in many parts of the north that people are curious about our being here and often stare.  For the most part if you smile and wave it’s received fairly well, but a few times people just continued to stare and I had to brush it off.  I also had to realize that white people were really uncommon in this area and I can imagine that people who are “different” in the United States are also stared at—it’s humbling to be on the other side some times and I think throughout this trip I am going to need to get used to it.

Finally, we headed to Etosha National Park!  It’s a fenced in park where animals roam and within it there are places where people can camp.  The park is almost 9,000 square miles and includes elephants, rhinos, giraffes, zebras, lions, springbok, kudus, so many types of birds, and many other animals.  The first evening we arrived in a camping ground called Halali and had a braai (barbecue).  There was something really homey about a being with the group, taking the time to prepare the food and then roasting marshmallows for smores (using the can opener as your stick).  Overall being at the park was comforting.

We slept at another park called Okaukeujo the second night.  A few of us went swimming and in the evening relaxed by a waterhole where you could watch the animals.  This was definitely my favorite part and I think the pictures will do a much better job of describing how amazing this place is.  This park had a nice restaurant where we tried some Kudu and lamb, which some of us were a little turned off by after having watched Kudu a few hours before.

After one last game drive and some final views of the animals, we headed back to Windhoek to start our classes for the semester.

 

By Samantha Frisk, more blogs to come soon!

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