Valpo Voyager

Student Stories from Around the World

Category: Photography Blog (page 1 of 6)

This semester, we are introducing our Photography Scholarship! Here you will be able to see what our student photographers are getting up to while abroad!

Florence – History in Architecture

Author: Marianna Guerrieri

Program: Summer in Florence

Italy is know for its historic buildings that are admired all over the world.  These buildings have been modified to fit the needs of the current population and residents, but the look and history is still the same. I captured a few ways that the architecture has changed a little for the new residents, such as flowers, but also the street art that has been added. Some is harmless while most of it destroys the historical look of the building. While I admire some of these artistic releases, it is very sad that it had to be on these beautiful buildings, but just as well interesting how the buildings can remain intact and still function well for the residents.

 

Marianna - artist Marianna - buildings Marianna - clothesline Marianna - grafitti Marianna - hanging plants Marianna - window plants

Chocolate, Chocolate, and More Chocolate

This past week was relatively low-key, as the semester is starting to come to an end. Friday afternoon Reid, Ryan, Kelsey, and I all went to the Ritter Sport chocolate factory that’s about 45 minutes away from campus. Kelsey and I probably bought the most, I personally got 11 chocolate bars to use as souvenirs for people back home! There was also a chocolate fest going on in Tübingen this past week that several of us visited. Sunday I visited some Christmas markets in Cologne while seeing a friend who lives there for a last time this semester, which was a great time! It’s hard to believe we’re down to almost just a week left here!

Reid and Ryan being excited about the cacao exhibit.

Reid and Ryan being excited about the cacao exhibit.

Ryan reading about Ritter Sport chocolate.

Ryan reading about Ritter Sport chocolate.

Ryan getting his free piece of chocolate!

Ryan getting his free piece of chocolate!

Giving Thanks

Earlier this week we went took a “field trip” on a hike and then to our German teacher’s house to make Gluhwein and eat cookies. It was a chilly morning but we all warmed up quickly once we started hiking! Then, on Thursday night we got to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner provided by the Reutlingen International Office for Americans and some German students interested in studying in the U.S. We ate turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, and apple strudel and chocolate mousse for dessert, it was delicious!

Reid trying out the swing.

Reid trying out the swing.

We managed to fit all 16 of us on the seesaw!

We managed to fit all 16 of us on the seesaw!

Adam preparing the Gluhwein (spiced and flavored hot wine)

Adam preparing the Gluhwein (spiced and flavored hot wine)

Thanksgiving Dinner!

Thanksgiving Dinner!

Casual Weekend Trip to Ireland

This past week was a busy one, with Monday starting out with making Spätzle at Professor Springer’s house. He lives a short train ride and then walk from Reutlingen, so he invited us over for lunch and then to go up in the tower of the cathedral in Tübingen. Wednesday night Professor Hanson organized the group to go bowling in Reutlingen and then to the pancake house. I personally had a delicious tiramisu pancake but some of the other flavors included tomato and mozzarella and tuna.

Then on the weekend I went with Jon Cisneros to Galway, Ireland to stay with one of my friends from high school who is studying abroad there this semester. The best thing there by far was going to see the Cliffs of Moher, they were breathtaking because of more than just being cold and windy!

 

Reid helping Professor Springer make Spätzle at his house.

Reid helping Professor Springer make Spätzle at his house.

Eating Spätzle at Professor Springer's house this past week, it was very good!

Eating Spätzle at Professor Springer’s house this past week, it was very good!

Looking at a statue in Tübingen.

Looking at a statue in Tübingen.

Group bowling in Reutlingen.

Group bowling in Reutlingen.

The Valpo Pin at the Cliffs of Moher.

The Valpo Pin at the Cliffs of Moher.

Jon peeking over the edge at the Cliffs of Moher.

Jon peeking over the edge at the Cliffs of Moher.

Great picture (that my mom may also be using for our family Christmas card)

Great picture (that my mom may also be using for our family Christmas card)

Taking a Break After a Busy Break

This week started out as pretty low-key compared to the two when I was on vacation. On Tuesday we went on a class trip to the Mercedes Benz factory in Sindelfingen. I like cars quite a bit so enjoyed it a lot! They have 35,000 employees at the complex that has its own fire department, five restaurants, and a daycare. They assemble the S-Class, E-Class, Maybach, and GT sports coupe, as well as some bullet-proof cars. On Friday Reid and I went to Strasbourg, France for the day. Luckily we got back to Reutlingen before the attacks in Paris, and it was also lucky that other Valpo students who were in Paris were safe during that time. Yesterday a few of us went to the Hohenzollern Castle for a few hours. It’s only a half hour train ride away from Reutlingen!

A racing game they had setup at the Mercedes tour.

A racing game they had setup at the Mercedes tour.

Talking about cars with Professor Veit and a few others. (Notice Professor Hanson getting fingerprints all over the car!)

Talking about cars with Professor Veit and a few others. (Notice Professor Hanson getting fingerprints all over the car!)

Reid and I stopped for a few minutes to hear this band in Strasbourg.

Reid and I stopped for a few minutes to hear this band in Strasbourg.

Hiking on the trails around the Hohenzollern Castle.

Hiking on the trails around the Hohenzollern Castle.

The Reutlingen Opera House was lit up like this Saturday night after the Paris Attacks.

The Reutlingen Opera House was lit up like this Saturday night after the Paris Attacks.

Reid, Ryan, and I attended a small student-led vigil for the Paris attacks on Saturday night.

Reid, Ryan, and I attended a small student-led vigil for the Paris attacks on Saturday night.

The Two-Week Trip of a Lifetime

I was with Jordan and Mackenzie for most of my two-week break. We started out in Barcelona, where we rented bikes for a day, saw the Magic Fountain (a fountain that “dances” and changes lights to music), went to the beach, to Park Güell, and even to a Barcelona Football/Soccer game!

 

The bike lanes in Barcelona are the best I've ever seen in a city!

The bike lanes in Barcelona are the best I’ve ever seen in a city!

The Valpo Pin on the bike lane. I can't say I didn't get some funny looks from people in cars when I was on the ground taking this!

The Valpo Pin on the bike lane. I can’t say I didn’t get some funny looks from people in cars when I was on the ground taking this!

Skipping rocks in Barcelona (Valpo Pin in foreground)

Skipping rocks in Barcelona (Valpo Pin in foreground)

After Barcelona we flew to London where we saw all the classic sites like Big Ben (actually the bell inside of the tower), the red payphone booths, double-decker buses, taxis, the London Eye, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Abbey Road (where The Beatles famously crossed), Platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross Station,  went up the Tower Bridge, and rode on the Tube. We also got to meet up with a friend from our freshman year at Valpo, Jen Ehr! It was great to see her again and to have her show us around Oxford University where we also got to see the dining hall they modeled the one in the Harry Potter movies after.

One of the many stereotypical London things we saw while there.

One of the many stereotypical London things we saw while there.

It was nice to meet up with a friend from Valpo, who now goes to Oxford. Jen gave us a great tour!

It was nice to meet up with a friend from Valpo, who now goes to Oxford. Jen gave us a great tour!

Crossing Abbey Road, complete with a London taxi waiting for us!

Crossing Abbey Road, complete with a London taxi waiting for us!

Rome was our next stop, where we went to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill, the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps (both under construction unfortunately), and also got to see Pope Francis give a blessing on Sunday at noon! It was really cool seeing what humans were possible of doing 2,000 years ago. I could have personally spent a whole day at just the Colosseum and Palatine Hill.

One of the many times we got gelato over the two-week break.

One of the many times we got gelato over the two-week break.

The Roman Colosseum as well as the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill were absolutely amazing! Crazy what people could do 2,000 years ago.

The Roman Colosseum as well as the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill were absolutely amazing! Crazy what people could do 2,000 years ago.

The Valpo Pin overlooking the Colosseum.

The Valpo Pin overlooking the Colosseum.

On our way to Venice we stopped in Florence for the day where we found this awesome market area! I picked up some dried fruit and Mackenzie and Jordan got some uniquely shaped pasta and a couple random things for Christmas gifts. Upstairs they had a large piece of truffle that was listed at 330,000 euro!

A friendly old Italian man started talking to us (in Italian) while in Florence. It was hard to understand but cool nonetheless!

A friendly old Italian man started talking to us (in Italian) while in Florence. It was hard to understand but cool nonetheless!

Next stop, Venice! We did a lot of just walking around there, going over bridges and getting lost on the side streets. What would normally be a questionable alleyway in the U.S. was a perfectly normal place to walk there, just had to be careful for the random dead-ends that only led to water!

Venice was a beautiful city. We spent hours just walking around getting lost in the maze of roads and canals; there's nothing quite like it in the world!

Venice was a beautiful city. We spent hours just walking around getting lost in the maze of roads and canals; there’s nothing quite like it in the world!

Mackenzie scaring Jordan next to the water!

Mackenzie scaring Jordan next to the water!

 

The end of my trip was spent with Nick in a small town called Wengen in the Swiss Alps. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to end the two weeks! We went on a 2-hour hike when we first got there and that night our Airbnb host made cheese fondue and had wine for us. Although Switzerland is very expensive, it was well worth it!

The Swiss Alps in Wengen, Switzerland were breathtaking!

The Swiss Alps in Wengen, Switzerland were breathtaking!

Nick trying his hand at chopping some wood at a little campsite area on top of a mountain.

Nick trying his hand at chopping some wood at a little campsite area on top of a mountain.

We found snow!

We found snow!

Traveling to Nicaragua: Managua and Granada

After spending a few days on the Island of Ometepe, we took a taxi to Managua, the capital of Nicaragua.

P1020927

While we were there, we visited the National Museum to learn more about the history and culture of Nicaragua.  Like we learned in Ometepe, the gueguense dance is an important part of their culture.  Above, one of the Valpo students makes some new friends with traditional dancers.

P1020931

Nicaragua’s history is very different from that of Costa Rica, so it was interesting to see the differences between the two countries.  The cathedral above is no longer in use because of an earthquake that occurred in 1972.

P1020950

Even though Nicaragua has faced some challenges in recent decades, the people there are every bit as friendly as Costa Ricans.  Above, one of our professors (on the left) smiles with his host family in Managua.

P1020967

The final stop on our Nicaraguan adventure was Granada, a popular tourist sight well-known for its colonial Spanish architecture.

IMG_4894

Nicaragua is a unique country, and it would take much longer than the ten days we were there to experience everything it has to offer.  We certainly learned a lot while we were there, but it is nice to be back with our host families.  Now that we have hit the half-way point in the semester, Costa Rica feels like home.

Traveling to Nicaragua: Ometepe

To mark the halfway point of the semester, our cohort took a ten day trip to Nicaragua.  The first place we visited was an island called Ometepe, where we learned new ways to reuse bottles.

P1020833

First, we worked on a bench made from bottles, trash, rocks, and cement.  The plastic bottles were filled with trash to make them sturdier and to keep the waste material from going into a landfill.


P1020874

I know it seems like a strange idea, but it worked very well and the final product turned out great! From the outside, the bottoms of the bottles look like colorful flowers.

P1020900

We also learned how to make these containers out of all sorts of plastic bottles.  They can be used as garbage cans, recycling bins, laundry baskets, or anything else you can think of.

P1020880

It was a long day, but it was nice to be doing something with our hands after spending so much time studying and writing papers the week before.


P1020908

The island was a beautiful place, so while we were there we took the time to explore.  Our guide showed us some spectacular petroglyphs made by indigenous people before the arrival of the Spaniards.

P1020894

The youth of the island performed a traditional dance for us.  Known as the gueguense, it portrays the trickery that the indigenous people used to avoid Spanish exploitation.

P1020886

Even today, this beautiful place is threatened by foreigners.  If the Chinese plan to build a canal through this lake becomes a reality, the natural land could be turned into resorts.  Everyone we met there has mixed feelings about it, but I really hope that views like the one above will be around for generations to come.

Hiking in Longo Mai

Sorry for the delay in posts!  We have been super busy during the last couple of weeks since we finished up classes at the Universidad Nacional.  To finish up our class on the history and ethnography of Costa Rica, we took a trip to Longo Mai, an immigrant community in the southern part of the country.

P1020750

While we were there, we took a hike around the community to learn about how they live.  The individual families don’t own the land, but they have the rights to cultivate different types of agricultural goods like sugar cane, coffee, and cacao.  The photo below shows cacao, the fruit used to make chocolate.  The white part is covering the seeds that are later roasted and mixed with milk and sugar because by themselves, the seeds are quite bitter.  We even got to make some of own chocolate, and the process will be outlined in a guest post later this semester.

P1020798_2

We tried some other interesting foods while we were there as well, like fresh sugar cane and termites!

P1020780

Some of us were brave enough to eat them, and they don’t taste that bad if you can get over the fact that you’re eating a bug.  They taste sort of like wood.


P1020779

Besides being an agricultural community, the people of Longo Mai work to preserve indigenous cultures and the natural beauty of the area.  It is said that if you hug one of these giant trees, as seen below, they will take away your negative energy.   We didn’t hug them for long enough to see if it worked, but we did enjoy the time we spent there!


P1020792

Pre-Break Week Festivities

Although it’s only Thursday (and my last post was Sunday), I will be leaving for our two-week break with Jordan and Mackenzie tomorrow morning and won’t be able to post while on that break, so I’m squeezing one post more in! This past week was nice because the German 101 class met in the evening versus at 8am, so was a nice week to sleep in!

Tuesday afternoon I rode up to the top of the hill visible from my dorm room. We went up there as a group in the first week we were here, but the colors have changed quite a bit!

Tuesday afternoon I rode up to the top of the hill visible from my dorm room. We went up there as a group in the first week we were here, but the colors have changed quite a bit!

Wednesday morning the group was invited to a reception with the city of Reutlingen at an art museum downtown. We went on a short tour before the reception that has occurred for every group of Valpo students who have come here. The 50th anniversary of the partnership between Valpo and Reutlingen University will be during the 2016-2017 academic year. It is potentially the second longest U.S.-Germany university partnership.

Wednesday morning the group was invited to a reception with the city of Reutlingen at an art museum downtown. We went on a short tour before the reception that has occurred for every group of Valpo students who have come here. The 50th anniversary of the partnership between Valpo and Reutlingen University will be during the 2016-2017 academic year. It is potentially the second longest U.S.-Germany university partnership.

Our study abroad group (plus Jon Cisneros, the intern from Valpo, our Economics professor, and two city employees) after the reception.

Our study abroad group (plus Jon Cisneros, the intern from Valpo, our Economics professor, and two city employees) after the reception.

The group went ice skating with our German teacher Wednesday night before going to a Mexican restaurant later that night.

The group went ice skating with our German teacher Wednesday night before going to a Mexican restaurant later that night!

Older posts

© 2024 Valpo Voyager

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑