Author: Zoe Henkes

Location: San Jose, Costa Rica

You’ll probably hear this from anyone who has spent a semester abroad, but it’s so true—the time goes by so quickly.  One day you’re arriving, overwhelmed by so many new people and customs, and the next, you’re leaving the new family and friends that you’ve grown to know and love.  However, that is one of the beautiful things about study abroad as well.  You get to share the culture of your host country with that of your native country.

One of the first things you should know about Costa Rican culture is what is known as “tico time.”  This phrase refers to Costa Ricans’ (ticos) tendency to lose track of time.  A few phrases you might hear include “tranquilo” and “suave,” which are synonyms meaning something along the lines of “chill” and “easy.” In the same sense, Costa Ricans spend a lot of time on greetings and goodbyes.  For example, if you are having coffee with a friend, even if you are getting up to say goodbye, you could be there for another 30 minutes chatting.  Since being back in the United States, I feel that I am more calm and relaxed about my schedule.  This could be just the fact that it’s winter break and I don’t have schoolwork to worry about anymore, but I also definitely cannot discount the tico lifestyle that I lived for the past few months.

Next, one of my favorite customs from Costa Rica was afternoon coffee time.  Around 3 or 4 o’clock on most afternoons, Costa Ricans gather in the kitchen for afternoon coffee.  The coffee was always excellent—it was made with a traditional Costa Rican coffee maker known as a Chorreador.  The coffee was always so smooth, and my host mom always added the perfect amount of cream and sugar.  In addition, there were always rich breads, pastries, or cakes to go along with the coffee.  Then, we’d all enjoy our coffee together with family and friends alike.  Overall, it was such an amazing time of fellowship and tradition which I’d like to incorporate more in my time with my family in the United States.  

Lastly, I can’t tell you enough how much I enjoyed the food in Costa Rica.  A few new vegetables that I tried were “chayote,” which can be described as a cross between a celery and a potato, and “yuca,” which is like a very dense, starchy potato.  An interesting fruit that I tried is called “granadilla,” which is sort of like a pomegranate, as the seeds are coated with a jelly-like sac, but it has a tarter taste.  Furthermore, there were plenty of meals containing beans and rice, but there were also different varieties of soups, pastas, fried chicken, and more.  However, one of my favorite meals is called “gallo pinto,” translated to spotted rooster.  This is a very simple, yet traditional dish eaten in both Costa Rica and Nicaragua that is made of beans and rice.  In Costa Rica, it is usually eaten for breakfast, alongside with a scrambled or fried egg.  Another dish I really enjoyed was a dessert called “arroz con leche,” the same thing as rice pudding, and is best-served warm.  My host mom graciously shared with me the recipes of both gallo pinto and arroz con leche, so I will attempt to make them both for my U.S. family over the break!

In the end, while it is so great to finally be home in the U.S., I realize more and more the things that I miss from my time abroad.  My host family was so kind and welcoming to me and really did an amazing job of engaging me in Costa Rican culture.  Now, I have the privilege of sharing that culture with my family and friends at home.  

Author: Rachel Silcox

Location: Utrecht, Netherlands

Hello again and welcome back to University College Utrecht! Today I’ll be introducing you to one of the people I live with, Juana! Juana is the most generous person I have met in all of my time abroad! She is hilarious, kind and always accommodating. When my phone was stolen on one of my trips, Juana was the first person to help me out. She lent me her phone charger and her old phone and helped me out tremendously! I am so thankful to have met Juana and I want you to be able to meet her too, so today I am going to introduce her to you! Juana is from Madrid, Spain. Her favorite color is green and her favorite food is tortilla. Her major is something in the social sciences, perhaps anthropology, politics or psychology, but now I will let her tell you about herself!

Me: So why did you decide to come to UCU and study the liberal arts and sciences?

Juana: The first time I heard about the program I thought it was very cool! I don’t know what to do, because I am genuinely interested in a lot! I wanted freedom to try many different subjects, because I’m really interested in it all!

Me: What are you really excited to learn about?

Juana: I am super excited for Comparative Politics. I used to not think that was what I was into, but now I am really excited for it. I used to think it didn’t affect my life, but now I want to study it and combine it with anthropology, so I can go between people and their politicians.

Me: What changed that now you are excited to learn about politics?

Juana: As I grow up, I want to know more, like what is going on. This past year has been crazy in Spain and I want to know all that is going on and have an opinion. The events in Spain (Catalonian Referendum) have affected me a lot more than I expected. The situation was handled wrong in so many ways. The government sucks; they didn’t have any dialogue; they just did what they wanted. It would have been easy if they had talked and got on the same page. I want to be a person that can contribute to dialogue and work with people across differences.

Me: Have any experiences in your personal life contributed to this too?

Juana: Yes, people can be so closed minded sometimes. I’ve struggled all my life with that in Spain. I’m from Argentina originally. I say I’m Spanish, because that’s where I’ve lived almost all of my life, but in Spain, I don’t feel Spanish. When I have conversations with people, sometimes they will insult me just because I am an immigrant. There is a problem with that. Some Spanish people just repeat what they hear that immigrants take jobs from the real Spanish and stuff. The Spanish criticize South Americans, especially if their skin is dark. I try to discuss with these people, but sometimes I just don’t know what to say. I want to learn about politics and anthropology, so I can understand all perspectives to help open people’s minds to view each other and their viewpoints fairly. I want to work with people and engage with them through discussion, so maybe more people can learn to be open-minded!

Me: With that goal in mind, is there a certain type of job you would like?

Juana: I have no idea yet! I want to do something that can make a little bit of an impact in someone’s life. I want to work with people and enjoy what I do!

Me: Is there anything you would like to say to people in the U.S. or Valpo?

Juana: I want to tell people to try to have an open mind. It can be hard, but an easy way to do that is to travel and see different things! Then, you might be able to open yourself up to all possibilities!

Author: Rachel Silcox

Location: Utrecht, Netherlands

As this exchange opportunity is through Christ College, in the Netherlands I have been taking humanities courses. Now that I am only about a month away from the end of my semester, I thought it would be a good time to describe the impact these courses have had on my time here at UCU. My three humanities courses are Origins and Crises in the Global Economy (economic history), Introduction to Law, and World Philosophies. All of these courses have underlined why I came to UCU in the first place. Reflecting back to my first blog, I wanted to come to University College Utrecht because of the community. It is not like any other study abroad experience where you just immersed in a culture, but instead UCU is a true international community. In my classes, this international setting is only stressed more.

In my economic history class, we do not focus simply on the effects of globalization for the USA or for Europe, but for the globe. We have talked about places from Zambia to Thailand. I consider myself well versed at least in US History, but learning about the economic situations of so many countries was eye opening. Not because I didn’t know such complex things happened abroad, or that I was ignorant to the rest of the world before, but now through this class I have started to see how everything that happens in a certain country or economy has repercussions all around the world. Though we may not realize it, every dollar we spend affects people around the world. Just like UCU, this class has shown me how the economy is an international community too. Even though when we buy one gallon of milk at the local grocery store we may not feel connected to the world, the mechanisms it took to get you that gallon of milk are in fact global, involving everyone from to China to New Zealand.

Learning about the judicial process in other countries in my Intro to Law class has also been a great experience. Whether in the US, UK, the Netherlands, or another country, it is cool to see that even though a system may be different, it can still work very well. Different types of law have developed in history, but that doesn’t mean one is necessarily better than another.

However, my favorite class to demonstrate this international atmosphere is my World Philosophies class. On the first day of class, my professor pointed out the title. She said, “this class is called World Philosophies, not World Philosophy for a very good reason. I will not present you with the truth about a topic called World Philosophy, but instead a worldwide array of different philosophies.” Her point was that there is not some overarching structure of World Philosophy that already has been established. But instead, each person we study and each viewpoint we read about, just contributes a piece to a global compilation of thought. All the philosophies we look at are just different ways of thinking that have been published about. They are not all encompassing, but instead represent a variety of different mindsets about how to exist in the world.

This was powerful to me. This class is not absolutely authoritative, but instead inquisitive. It is where questioning minds meet to discuss their own ideas. For example, as part of this class, we held a dialogue between a Zen Buddhist, Dogen, and Plato discussing what we thought was the ultimate goal in life (See link below). It is wonderful to adapt and take on someone’s ideas as your own. I had to argue as Plato in this role. Instead of seeing his concepts as external to myself, I was forced to internalize them and ultimately I understood them better. Through internalizing others’ arguments, we grow ourselves and when we are faced which such different opinions like those in an international setting, we grow all the more. Through being at UCU and in my international classes, I have grown in my understanding towards others. I hope by reading my blog, you too can develop a broader understanding for others, that only an international environment can grow. Understanding others is so important in the world, especially now, and UCU’s classes have helped my understanding flourish.

 Author: Jessica Hanson

Howdy friends!

I can’t believe I am already saying this, but that time of year has come: classes are over, all my assignments are finished, and I am in extreme study-mode to prepare for my finals over the next couple weeks. In 14 days, my responsibilities here at the University of Newcastle will officially be completed….and about a week later I will be home!

As the end of the semester draws near, I have started reflecting on all the things I have accomplished so far, as well as the things I didn’t. Every once in a while I get a bit disappointed thinking about the things I wish I had gotten to do (Thailand, New Zealand, Uluru, Frasier Island, Daintree Rainforest, the list goes on)…. But then I realize that four months in general is nowhere near enough time to see all the amazing things Australia has to offer without also having to balance being a responsible student. That being said, I have to remember all of the amazing things I HAVE done- between starting my trip with scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef, seeing Tasmania and Melbourne over spring break, and getting involved with various activities around Newcastle, I would definitely say it has been a successful semester. I wish I could do it all, but I have to accept that I have made the best out of the time I’ve had- and will definitely have to make the most out of the time I have left!

What an absolutely beautiful day we had!

Before I go hide in a hole and study for finals, I wanted to give everyone a small update on what I’ve been doing since I last checked in. Due to my dwindling financial situation (proven by the fact that I have officially reached the poor-college-student status of living off of ramen…), I decided that in lieu of buying more plane tickets to other places, I would treat myself to local adventures instead. The first of these was going whale-watching up in Port Stephens (student tickets are only about $40 USD so it was an opportunity I definitely couldn’t miss!) Living in Wisconsin, I obviously am nowhere near the ocean, and thus have no opportunity whatsoever to see whales and dolphins (at least not in the wild– sorry Shedd, you don’t really count!)

My excitement for this trip was definitely proven by my excited squeal and mashing my face up against the window like a 5-year-old when I saw my first dolphin next to the boat (if only I had that moment on video so you guys could all get a good laugh at me). October is the end of whale-watching season, so we were nervous we weren’t going to see any- thankfully, that wasn’t the case! It was such a magnificent experience to see whales and dolphins just hanging out and having a good time in the water 😀 Unfortunately, I did not get any good pictures, but here’s at least a little proof that I’m not lying!

There she is, right in the middle!

Notice the dolphin up-close in the bottom right corner 🙂

Perhaps a little better view? (not sharks I promise!)

After the cruise, we also took a detour to hike up the beautiful Mt. Tomaree and get gorgeous views above the water (by “hike” I mean a 15 minute walk up man-made stairs.) We ended up seeing another momma whale and her calf hanging out in the water just below us, so we actually got pretty cool views from above! Whales or not though, this was such a perfect and lovely day taking a break from classes and just enjoying the beautiful land that is Australia! This one is an experience I will remember forever 🙂

The next treat to myself turned out to be an incredibly inspiring opportunity: attending the Beyond Plastic Pollution Conference in Sydney this past Monday and Tuesday. I’ve wanted to attend an environmental conference forever, so when I saw it posted on Facebook, I knew I had to go. Attending this conference was an investment I decided to make as an educational opportunity beyond the normal scope of what I learn in the classroom. I listened to speakers for two days talking about not just the depressing havoc that plastic pollution is wreaking on the environment, but more importantly how people and organizations are investigating real solutions to tackle this issue. It was a bit unfortunate that all these programs are based in Australia so I can’t join the movement, but maybe I’ll even start one like these when I get home! ;D

Cocklebay Wharf Conference Venue Day 1

Australian National Maritime Museum Conference Venue Day 2

For a laugh, here’s my Snapchat from the train station before the conference…. (don’t worry, I recycled it!)

Over the course of the semester, I occasionally found myself worrying that I was missing out on opportunities or not making the most of my experience. But in the end, I realized that my study abroad experience doesn’t have to fulfill anyone’s expectations other than my own- it should only be exactly what I wanted to get out of it. For me, the best way that I have taken advantage of studying abroad has been taking the time to invest in my life and myself. Yeah, school and exploring is pretty cool, but I came into study abroad knowing there were a lot of things in life I wanted to figure out. I’ve grown more confident, I have a better understanding of my values, my priorities and my goals, and I have a different perspective on my place in the world. Most importantly, Australia has ignited my passion for environmentalism and inspired me to come back to America ready to change the world. I know I’m not quite done with the semester yet, but I know I’ll leave proud of what Australia has given me for the rest of my life.

Cheers friends, I’ll see you in a few weeks!

Jessica <3

Category: Valpo Near and Far

1st Place:

Name: The Penguin Peninsula
Photographer: Katherine, Carlson
Location: Otago Peninsula, New Zealand
Program: Summer in New Zealand
Description: Ocean lookout at the end of the Otago Peninsula with penguins

2nd Place:

Name: Guinness Lake
Photographer: Michelle Ford
Location: Wicklow Mountains, Ireland
Program: Christ College Spring Break in Ireland
Description: We’re always proud to rep Valpo!

3rd Place:

Name: Reppin’ Valpo in the Prague Schools
Photographer: Hannah Purkey
Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Program: Summer in Prague
Description: My Valpo flag and I got lost and ended up at a Prague college!