Valpo Voyager

Page 113 of 124

General James

My good friend James came to visit for the last 5 days. We had a blast exploring Granada. We went to several areas in the northern part of the city, the Albaicin (Muslim quarter), and the Realejo (Jewish quarter) that I hadn’t seen yet. After seeing the Alhambra on our first day we went up into Sacromonte to see a cave museum. While we took some time for lunch we began a goofy video series that I have edited into the fine document you have below. I hope you enjoy it. (enjoy my blatant typo at the beginning too)

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYLqjVnRT-M]

On Sunday we headed up into the Alpujarras. My third trip there was still more distinct than the last. We started in Bubión and took a local trail all the way up to the beginning of the Sierra Nevadas. It only took us one hour to finish the trail so we kept going. Within another hour we were convinced that we were very close to a peak, clearly not a high one, but we just wanted to be able to see into the valley on the other side of what we were climbing. Of course, an hour later we were proved wrong about five times and had climbed so far we were up to our ankles in snow!

When the digital clock beeped 3:30 it was time to turn around and “respect the mountain” as James reluctantly said. We had just reached a lookout point with explanatory signs and such things. It was our last hope of a summit and it wasn’t one. We followed another trail around the next point of rocks only to find again that the mountain continued further. We took photos with freezing hands and headed down while enjoying a view of the higher parts of the Sierras, the valley, a lake, and the Mediterranean Sea.

Thanksgiving….in Mexico?

December 8, 2010 / Lydia Mertz / 0 Comments

Thanksgiving in Mexico-I was dreading this day. I consider myself a positive person and in general refuse to allow the hardships in this rather unpredictable life affect my spirit. However, on the big day of turkey, giving thanks and some good ol’ football, I would be taking an exam for my Spanish exam. It’s sad and somewhat depressing when you’re in a country that doesn’t celebrate a holiday from your culture. Yes, very depressing indeed especially when you’ve been celebrating this holiday every year since you were born. I mean, it’s Thanksgiving, I wanted to be helping mom in the kitchen and witness the vivid display of emotions and language of my father as he watched the football game. However, this Thanksgiving was a desperate time and called for…well, unique measures.

The day before Thanksgiving, a group of children came to visit our dorms and played soccer with some of the students. These children were from a local home to help children from families that were not able to take care of them financially. Their energy was addicting as they ran up and down the soccer field yelling and laughing attempting to make goals for their team. It’s a tough life for these kids, it’s a rare moment that they have the chance to feel this kind of freedom and these kids were soaking it up here in this little soccer game.

My lovely friends from the US….we were so thankful for our turkey!

Thanksgiving Day consisted of an exam for a class, not the pleasant way to start off this holiday, but hey, you got to live with what life gives you. However, my friend Erin and I went to Casa Verde later in the day for a (free) Thanksgiving dinner. Casa Verde is a Christian ministry and home located close to the UDLA for students to enjoy, relax and learn more about God with leaders from Mexico and the USA. Every Thursday, they offer a free meal to students and this particular day featured the classic Thanksgiving food. With a plate full of food that seemed to weigh close to four pounds, I was quite thankful to have my share of carbs and other delights. However, what made it very special was that we shared the meal with a local orphanage that came to visit Casa Verde. We ate our food, listened to music, made crafts and the American students laughed how for the first time in our lives, we were celebrating Thanksgiving in warm weather.

So, how was my Thanksgiving? Well, it was somewhat bittersweet because I missed my family terribly but special because I realized my blessings in life and especially this experience in Mexico. Similar to the soccer game, I realized that my experience in Mexico has made me more aware of my freedoms in this life. It is very easy to let others influence us or if you’re a complex perfectionist like myself, just making yourself aware that you’re always safe and can always hold your head high in any situation. Learning Spanish and the Mexican culture has been a humbling, hilarious and heart-inspiring experience. With the frustrations of the language, it’s been my ticket to discovering a culture and meeting wonderful people.

Somehow being immersed with these experiences on a daily basis in a culture that is filled with color and passion awakens my desire to paint color and live with passion in my life. Realizing that your are free and do not need to live your life with dull gray and khaki like so many people in this world-you become more thankful for life when abroad.

A Cambridge Mix

December 7, 2010 / derekschnake / 0 Comments

Here’s a playlist of songs I’ve come associate with Cambridge.

Sigh No More – Mumford and Sons

To the Beggin’ I will go – Old Blind Dogs

Little Lion Man – Mumford and Sons

God Save the Queen – Sex Pistols

Scotland Yet – Old Blind Dogs

We No Speak Americano – Yolanda Be Cool & Dcup

Dominos – The Big Pink

Fight – DJ Fresh

I’m a Lady (feat. Trouble Andrew) – Santigold

Click here to listen to them. Cheers!

To the End of One Chapter, and the Beginning of Another

December 7, 2010 / Julie Johnson / 2 Comments

In exactly one week from today, I will be on a plane bound for Chicago. As I type this, I’m really not sure how I’m supposed to feel at this moment. I guess you could classify the feeling as bittersweet. I am so excited and happy to see the family and friends that I have been missing over these past few months, but at the same time, am sad to leave this wonderful country and to no longer be living with the amazing people I’ve had the pleasure of sharing this experience.

C-86 at our first common meal!

Although it is hard for me to admit, I was absolutely terrified to leave the U.S.A and come to England. As I visited my friends back at Valpo during my last few days in the states, I was having more doubts than ever. Everyone was starting to enjoy their life on campus and get back into the swing of things, while I was about to have to start over in a new country. Could I really do this? Was it the right decision?

Mid-Semester, Before One of Our Nights Out.. What a Fun Group 🙂

The answer to this is yes, absolutely. I had heard it time and time again from everyone else that I knew that had studied abroad: “This will be the time of your life”, “Make the most of it”, and “Do everything you can in the time that you’re given.” I can’t even begin to explain how right they all were. It’s nice to know that I now will be one of those students telling other students to have the same experience, which is what I hope I have done throughout this blog.

Paris.. Definitely my favorite weekend of the trip!

Through this experience I have learned to take advantage of every opportunity life throws at you, no matter how challenging or different it may seem. I have learned to appreciate everything that I have at home in a way that I never knew before. I have learned that no matter where I go or what I do, I can get anything done, as long as I set my mind to it. Everything I have learned while I’ve been here has been completely invaluable, and I could really go on for forever about what this experience has taught me.

The next time I will be writing to you will be from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, in Valparaiso, Indiana. Just as in the first blog I wrote to you, my life will be completely different, but just as this experience has taught me, I will be able to graciously accept that change and readjust to my life at home.

From Strangers, to Friends, to Family.. I Love C-86!

Thank you to all of my readers this semester, it has been a pleasure sharing this wonderful experience with you!

Signing off from England,

Julie

Plans Have Changed…..

December 4, 2010 / Lydia Mertz / 3 Comments

So, my plans have changed…a lot.

I’m now staying in Mexico for a year. Yes, this means more blogs for your reading pleasure (or at least this is the reaction I hope to receive from you, dear reader).

Due to circumstances, I’m not able to fly home for Christmas and be with my family. It’s a mixture of feelings. Chrismas in Mexico will be such a beautiful cultural experience and I have friends and “family” here to stay with. However, it’s Christmas-you know, the time to be with your family, watch Christmas movies, make cookies together. Christmas away from family? Am I crazy to be staying for a year? I miss my family, friends and Valpo so much!

Next semester, instead of living in the dorms, I’m getting an apartament with my friend Martina from Austria. It has everything I want but I’ve never lived in an apartament before and have been used to dorm life for the past two and a half years.

Living with more color and passion….and less fear

Yes, I’ve becoming independent and stronger. It’s so scary though. At times, I want to be five years old again with my mother holding my hand instead of being twenty-two years old in a foreign country. At times, I think I’m crazy to be living my life like this with so many new experiences but then again, what is the point of life if we don’t take chances? Becoming independent is so tiring and makes me question my sanity at times but I can’t go back to the old way of living in fear and making mistakes. The best I can do is try and just stay calm. When I look at the uncomfortable and difficult times, it’s nothing compared to the positive and beautiful experiences I have had here.

Doing these kind of things while remaining true to myself and connected to the people in my life is a glorious challenge. It’s painful at times but why live in worry and fear? I’m learning to celebrate and live with color and passion….life has never tasted sweeter.

Peace in Silence

December 4, 2010 / Allie Sauber / 0 Comments

“Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.”

Last week A.J. and I traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland to spend Thanksgiving with his dad and sister. It was a lovely few days with them, sharing hugs, smiles, laughter, wine, and, of course, Whisky. Not only were he and I blessed to be with family on Thanksgiving, but the four of us shared in the first snowfall of the season. I always seem to forget how magical that first snowfall really is, marking the beginning of a joyful Christmas season.

Our winter white invite to Edinburgh

Throughout the duration of our trip, I couldn’t quite place my finger on why it is I loved that first snowfall so much. In any given year, I’m ready to say goodbye to winter the first time the temperature drops below forty degrees. But, this year, it is different. Pleasantly different.

After some stressful and seemingly treacherous driving conditions due to the snow while in Scotland, I expected myself to resent the snow that greeted me upon my return to Reutlingen. Yet, as I write this blog, I am staring out at the snowy mountains and find it more beautiful than ever before. It’s been an unusually quiet weekend here in Reutlingen, so quiet, in fact, that as I look out my window it’s as if I can actually see the silence. The silence of Winter that usually causes me such restlessness has now transformed into peacefulness.

While it is probable that I am welcoming winter with such warmth because that means home is now near, I’d like to think that it’s a result of this semester’s learned lessons. The past four months have led me to find the beauty in almost anything. In silence, peace. In longing, hope. And in affliction, faith. And so I’m left where I started:

“Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.” (The Desiderata Poem)

Here’s to new things.

December 2, 2010 / derekschnake / 0 Comments

Snails. I ate them.

The idea to some seems rather repulsive, mostly because of the mental prejudice we have for gooey, slimy things. Escargot, as it turns out, tastes fantastic but has the texture and composition similar to calamari. Also on my list of new things I tried in Paris was bone marrow of lamb. It was salty and delicious.

As my semester wanes, the advice I have for new study abroad students is simple: Leave your presumptions at home. I urge you to throw yourself headfirst at things you’ve never tried. Skip the McDonalds and instead go to the local pub on the corner and get fish and chips. Ignore the Starbucks and instead opt for Auntie’s Tea Shop, a family owned cafe. Put back the bottle of Budweiser, and instead pour something from Samuel Smith’s Brewery, or Theakston’s Old Peculier Ale.

You may not like everything you try, but you’ll never know until you do.

Final program sponsored trip: Toledo and Madrid

December 1, 2010 / John Webster / 0 Comments

Big praise to our cooperative school, Central College and the excellent program they have established here. I had no idea how many different trips and opportunities they would have prepared for us here.

We went to Morocco for five days, to Jaen to see a bullfight and some caves, to Toledo and Madrid for a weekend, to a local concert in Granada, and to an olive oil factory in the mountains. We also had a Thanksgiving banquet last week and we will have a farewell banquet next week as well, all on the program! Of course I did pay for the program (let’s not forget to give thanks for scholarships), but I really didn’t expect to have so many provided experiences, especially considering that I paid a little less for this semester than I did for one in Valpo. How about that?!

Toledo and Madrid were superb, I’ll let the photos do the majority of the talking. View the complete album here on Picasa.

So you know the expression "Holy Toledo"? Well, turns out Toledo has an unreal number of churches, something like 81, hence the term.

Suzanne, Tom, me, Amy and Kelsey, who decided that since doesn't go to Valpo she couldn't face forward, come on Kelsey!!

View of the Puerta del Sol from our hotel. We we're right in the heart of Madrid.

Palacio Real, riveting to look around inside. Just imagining that the royal family lived there and that the building is also used today is incredible.

Well, here I am in December! A good friend of mine is coming to visit tomorrow during my pre-exam break. I´m really looking forward to exploring the city more and making the most of my last few weeks to indulge in Granada´s tapas.

End of the semester emotions

November 29, 2010 / Amber Will / 0 Comments

As the semester is ending and the seasons are changing, I constantly feel like my emotions are changing as drastically as the weather. In one sense, I am in the most historically and culturally rich center of the world, and on the other, I am as far from my family and everything I love most. I know that I am not the only one that has been feeling this way within my group, so either the snow brings about a blanket of homesicknessness or it is just that final stretch to push through.

Finding enjoyment in the small things

Probably the most difficult part about this last 11 day break we just had was that it was over Thanksgiving. My family isn’t even a big celebrant of this national holiday, but I found myself missing turkey (which I don’t even like), stuffing, and my grandma’s pumpkin pie. I kept trying to shake off this whole idea of homesickness being the world traveler that I know am – I need to learn to control these emotions. However, there is no easy button on this one. So rather than dwell on about all of the delicious delicacies (repetition purposeful) and wish for home, I have to just accept the fact that home will be waiting for me after my European adventures. After all, I have some time to go.

If I was starting a countdown, I would have three weeks and one day left on this continent. I cannot imagine missing out on any upcoming opportunity because of a sour attitude, so this was the last of it. The last surge of homesickness is leaving with this blog post. Instead I will plan for three more countries: Austria, Portugal, and Spain. While everyone else in my group leaves for the good old USA on December 14^th, I will be staying a week longer with my boyfriend to go gallivanting across the west coast, and I couldn’t be more excited.

In that one extra week, we are traveling to Faro, Lisbon, Seville, Madrid, Segovia, and Barcelona… so there is a lot of planning to be done! Energy devoted to homesickness before is now being transformed to energy of enjoyment. There would have been too many experiences I would have missed out on if I did this before, and it makes no sense to start now. So Vive l’Europe! I took French in high school, so it will have to do.

Street Performance

November 28, 2010 / derekschnake / 0 Comments

I think I can say unequivocally that street performers in Europe are some of the best I’ve ever seen. Talented and dignified, they park themselves in a crowded spot and perform – not just for money, but genuinely for the thrill of an entertained audience.

Take, for example, a magician I came across in Edinburgh, Scotland. After disappearing acts, conjurations, and wise-crack jokes, he built the suspense for his finale. He had two members from the audience assemble him in a straightjacket, wrap him in chains, lock him tightly in four places. Once bound, he sprang up on a bench and made an eloquent plea, not for money, but for dignity.

He said, “If you are not satisfied with my performance, then the show is free.” Meanwhile, audience members looked puzzle, asking themselves by what authority were they being charged. He continued, “When I finish my finale, I will put my hat out.”

His voice sharply grew louder. “Do not,” He exclaimed, “give me your spare change. I am not a beggar and I need not your pity or charity. I left a lucrative profession to become an entertainer. So please, if anything, leave my with my dignity.”

I gave him a five-pound note.

Other performers I’ve come across have been dance troupes and chalk artists. Some were jazz musician like the following trio from Amsterdam:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVyCgfLg9EA

… or clarinet-led Venetian group:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM7pQlyjZco

… or the string group in Madrid playing “Por una Cabeza”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VPiyhPLz6Y

… this violinist on the Paris subway

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTXvGrd6sTU

In all cases, these performances were spectacular.

Student Stories from Around the World