Valpo Voyager

Student Stories from Around the World

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Osaka Castle

December 13, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Olivia Dausch

Location: Osaka, Japan

Pronouns: They/them

My most recent experience in Osaka was one of the most memorable. A nice lunch in Osaka Castle Park followed by a trip up to the castle surrounded by the city is something that simply can’t be experienced anywhere else.

I signed up for this event as part of Kansai Gaidai’s Experience Japan program, where local students host various events throughout the year to showcase some of Japan’s unique culture. There were events showing foreign students how to make takoyaki and okonomiyaki, taking a bike tour around Osaka, and much more.

I signed up for this event because I thought it would be a good opportunity to see other parts of Japan I may not have been interested in seeing in my short time here. Most of my plans revolved around going to primarily urban places, like Dotonbori, a famous street in Osaka lined with different food stalls. I knew the castles in Japan are interesting, but only hearing about them made them feel very remote or out of the way. When I went to Osaka Castle, I realized that the area around the castle is almost untouched by the city surrounding it.


My group ate our lunch outside the castle, near the outer moat. It was extremely beautiful and lively. There were people walking their dogs, children playing, and people just enjoying the weekend. We ended up playing badminton for a little bit, then headed up to the castle


The walk up to the castle was long and winding, as expected from a castle from the Warring States Era. There were countless trees lining the path, as well as stones with engravings. Eventually, we made it up to the castle, which was much more grand up close.



The castle itself was impressive. The entire inside was converted into a museum. We were not allowed to take pictures on some of the floors but having access to the top floor was more than worth it. The view was fantastic.


We stayed until the sun started setting, casting a nice glow on the moat. The lights within the castle gave it a nice glow before the spotlights were able to turn on.


Weekend Trip to Norway, Oslo

December 12, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Ulises E. Hernandez

Location: Oslo, Norway

Pronouns: He/Him/His

On December 8th , as my last trip in Europe, my best friend and I went to Oslo, Norway for the weekend. From Stansted International Airport in London, we flew to Oslo early in the morning in hopes to catch just a few hours of sunlight. During the winter months, Oslo only has six hours of daylight and what to me seemed like extremely cold winters. The first thing we did as soon we arrived was to find our Air B&B which was conveniently located in the heart of the city. After checking with our very lovely host, we explored the magnificent city that was full of lights, Christmas decorations, carnival rides, and other tourists who were looking to experience a unique Christmas season.

As we wandered through the cold streets of London, we came across what looked like an Ice bar. As we got closer to the establishment, we paid a small admission fee and we entered what looked like a giant commercial freezer. Inside, we saw many ice sculptures that were cut from huge pieces of actual glacier ice that was brought from the northern parts of Norway. Once we walked around for a few hours, we decided to go and explore a Christmas market that was located a few blocks from the Ice bar. Once we got there, we had the opportunity to try many local delicacies like reindeer, elk, whale, and a variety of different cheeses.

On our second day, we visited two different museums. We first visited the Oslo Historic Museum which focused a lot about the nomad history of the Norway and how ancestors of that land survived through the use of many unique skills that have now been lost due to the development of technology. After we finished walking through Historic museum, we took a bus to the Viking museum located 20 minutes away. The Oslo Viking Museum is home to about 5 different actual Viking ships that were found in the burial grounds of important Viking figures. Some of the ships had been restored, but others remained intact for historical preservation purposes.

After spending our day visiting museums, Ben and I decided to spend our last few hours near the pier in order to admire the beautiful winter scenery and the well-preserved sail ships. Before taking the train back to the airport, we eat dinner a Mexican restaurant, which are very popular in Norway. After spending many hours in the airport and having to wait for our delayed flight, we made it back to London Stansted. Unfortunately, we missed the last train to Cambridge and we were forced to take the bus back home. After a very long day of traveling, we made it back to Cambridge very early Monday morning just in time for our last week of classes. Overall, we had a very good experience and it was an absolute pleasure to be able to meet the Norwegian people.

Stockholm, Sweden; Reutlingen, Germany; Paris, France

December 12, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Shannon Ilg

Location: Stockholm, Sweden; Reutlingen, Germany; Paris, France

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

October 20, 2018

Stockholm, Sweden. A beautiful city! Although, it was rather chilly to walk around all day (40,000+ steps, if anyone is counting…) so I ended up purchasing a coat from a second hand shop and a touristy winter hat. Both of them have since then been wonderful additions to my travel wardrobe. Side note… my silly self decided that I wouldn’t need a winter coat so I had originally just brought a jean jacket and a slightly insulated raincoat. I think I would have been okay just in Reutlingen, but with all of the traveling I am certainly glad to have bought the coat and the hat.

October 21, 2018

To save time on traveling by train I secured a cheap flight back from Sweden. It was certainly a great choice, as I got to see the beautiful sunrise over the wing of the airplane (and also saved myself from a 24 hour journey…). Upon flying back into Hamburg, we significantly lowered travel time, and also were able to stop briefly in Berlin again, where we attempted to buy currywurst where we had previously (a delicious sausage street food). Unfortunately, the vendor was not open yet as it was 9 am, so we settled for a chain restaurant.

October 22, 2018

The next morning, Reutlingen greeted us with the first frost. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?

October 23, 2018

Another day, spent completely in the walls of the study room, working endlessly on homework. I mean, this is *study* abroad… we can’t just travel all the time! (Although I have done a fair job of traveling every spare moment)

October 24, 2018

I just have to say kudos to the chef of this wonderfully magical mac and cheese that breathed the life back into me at 2 am. It was delicious. Thank you, Lauren.

October 25, 2018


Here you see the contents of approximately 73% of the meals I eat when I’m traveling. A) it’s cheap. B) it’s quite delicious. C) it’s easy to pack upwards of 5 meals for two people at the same time. D) It’s relatively light and packable. E) You can easily carry peanut butter and jam, Nutella and honey, or a number of other combinations so it doesn’t get boring. F) I mean, I could go on, but I think you get the gist…

Oh, by the way, this is the start of Fall Break for classes in Reutlingen (although I still had to keep up with my 3 classes from Valpo), and this countertop is in Paris.

October 26, 2018

Oh, look at that! The Eiffel tower! In all honesty, I was not expecting a whole lot from it at all. My thoughts were approximately ‘it is an overrated hunk of metal that everyone likes taking pictures of’. But it was actually really cool to see in person! It was a lot taller than I was expecting, and you could see it from very far away. Although I don’t think I need to go back any time soon, it was certainly worth the time to go see.

October 27, 2018

So as you can see, I had a pigeon on my arm. This was in front of Notre Dame, and there were a bajillion of these birds out there. There were some men selling bird food that you could attract them with, some people having ten or twenty birds on them at the same time. I happened to have a bunch of stale granola with me, so we used that and had the time of our lives waiting for our tour to begin.

Miscellaneous Travels

December 12, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Liam Bodlak

Location: Amsterdam, Zurich, Prague

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Over the course of this semester I’ve taken a few short weekend trips to various places in Europe. Here are stories about some of them.

Amsterdam: In October, a stranger I talked to in Munich told me that Amsterdam was a “theme park for American tourists.” Having been there, I can confirm that it pretty much is. It’s a beautiful city, filled with canals, art, and amazing views nearly every block. It’s very obvious that the city makes a substantial amount of money off of tourism. Walking past coffee shops and bars, I could hear very clear American accents, and the people we had short conversations with all seemed to be from somewhere other than the Netherlands. It was an interesting multicultural experience, and I appreciated the opportunity to interact with fellow travelers.

Zurich: Zurich was…nice. Not sure how much was legitimately unique about the city, but it was a really nice place to spend a Saturday. The waterfront was amazing and the people in Zurich were extremely friendly (save for one angry bouncer who yelled at me in German until I gave up trying to understand him and left. Language barriers are hard). Switzerland in general is sort of culturally split between German, French, and Italian, and we saw signs in every language while walking through the city.

Prague: Prague has interested me for a long time. My parents talked about traveling there all the time, how beautiful it was, and how much fun they had there. They strongly encouraged me to see Prague, and said that out of all the cities in Europe, that was the one I need to see. It was with that in mind that I set out to see the city I’d heard to much about. I can honestly say Prague lived up to the hype. It’s a beautiful city, filled with landmarks, nightlife, great food, and great people. We saw the John Lennon Wall, the Infant of Prague, St. Vitus Cathedral, and Wenceslas Square. Prague might be the nicest city I’ve visited in Europe, and I will absolutely be back one day. My parents were excited about it for a reason. Prague was everything I’ve heard about it and more.

 

People, Places, and Food – Paris, Lugano, Luzern, Milan, Rome, Venice, Amsterdam, Guggenhausen

December 11, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Mark Young

Location: Reutlingen, Germany

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Midway through October, I went to Paris for the weekend. I saw all the major sights and had a good time. This was a street performer who was singing and dancing on a slackline.

Of course, I saw the Eiffel Tower. I took the tram to the to the top and had a really good time. It was very hazy when I went up but still had a good view. I wasn’t too excited about the Eiffel Tower going to Paris. I thought it was going to be uninteresting; however, as soon as I saw it, and walked under it, I knew exactly what the appeal is about. It’s one of those things that, when it’s in your view, you almost can’t stop looking at it.

The Louvre was very pretty. However, I’m not much for looking at copious amounts of art so I got tired of it rather quickly. The main attraction at the Louvre, is, of course, the Mona Lisa. I took Word and Image with Professor Chelsea Wagenaar last semester, which is all about replications and images(take it if you can, it’s a great class!) and thought I’d try to capture the scene in a slightly more inspired way than just taking a snapshot of the painting. I also wanted to rebel against the hundreds of people shooting tons of photos of it…so instead I did a short photo series of all the people taking photos of the Mona Lisa. It was rather fun to shoot and makes me think about why people take photos of what they do. Here are a couple more from the series…



For Fall Break I went to a few different places. My first stop was Lugano with my roommate. It was a gorgeous city, even though the weather was slightly less than gorgeous…

But with beautiful pathways along the lake, and being able to see across said lake into Italy…who can complain about some rain?

We ended up backtracking a few hours by train because we found a free place to stay in Luzern. I’ve been using Couchsurfing (a free app where strangers let other strangers sleep on their couch) for years now and this was the first time I actually got someone to accept a request to stay at their home. So we got to Luzern and met a very nice guy named Sergio. He was fantastically nice and helped us with planning on next exploring the city. He even was okay with us staying with him a second night. I’d highly recommend trying Couchsurfing! This is the view from the 16th-century wall that guarded the city. If it wasn’t overcast, you’d see beautiful snowcapped mountains surrounding the city.

From Luzern, we headed down to Milan for one purpose: to see Damien Jurado, a favorite singer of mine perform. It was a fantastic performance and he played one of my favorite songs, ‘Working Titles’. Travelers tip: If you’re ever in Italy and want to see a concert or performance or whatnot you may see the price and think “what a steal” and you’ll get there and they’ll say “you have to buy a 15-30 euro membership to get in”. In Italy, they have these “clubs” where you have to be a member and it gets you into a lot of different stuff for relatively cheap…so if you’re planning to see a concert in Italy, expect to drop some more money for the membership fee even if you’re only seeing the one concert.

Italy was being barraged by vicious storms during our break, so we had to quickly change plans. We were intending to go to Cinque Terre, a beautiful town on the western coast of Italy. However, it was completely flooded and most of the town was shut down, so I texted another group that I knew was headed to Rome and we were headed to Rome two hours later. I hurt my ankle rather badly on the first night there and ended up having to use a cane the entire trip. So, as I hobbled around Vatican City, I saw the Pope.

The Colosseum was pretty neat. Like 60,000 birds flew out of it as the sun set.

We had planned on going to Venice for two nights and then directly to Amsterdam; however, every news source ever said Venice was two feet deep in water. So naturally, we wanted to check it out. So we get to Venice and turns out it was all fake news. There were maybe 2 days with flooding and then it all cleared up. Unfortunately, we had already canceled our AirBnB and booked reservations on a night train back to Reutlingen. So we hung around Reutlingen for a couple nights and then ventured up to Amsterdam, pictured above. Amsterdam was a very interesting city with nearly every single building looking like it was going to fall over into the nearest canal. Also, the Dutch language sounds and looks hilarious to Americans and Germans. It’s like if you took German and added a whole bunch of double vowels in random places.
Ants. This was taken at a museum called Micropia, in Amsterdam, that was all about microbes. Micropia was one of the coolest museums I’ve ever been to and my going to it was due to a set of crazy coincidences. I worked at Shedd Aquarium this summer, I made friends with one of the head doctors and a few days before the end of my internship, he gave me a book called “I Contain Multitudes,” which is all about microbes. I had a few other books on my to-read list so I finally got to reading it on the train ride to Rome. And in the first few chapters, the author writes about a Dutchman, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, the father of microbiology and then how because of his discoveries, how a museum, Micropia, was opened in Amsterdam(where I’d be in 6 days) to celebrate and allow people to discover and explore microbes! It sounds super nerdy but it turned out to be a super interactive and extremely fun and interesting museum. These ants were open air, no glass or covering at all, and we watched as they harvested the leaves from a plant.

If you study abroad, make sure you make new friends! I purposefully try to sit by someone new every class period and sat by Julius, pictured, my second week of classes. We became good friends almost instantly, bonding over photography and a love of traveling. So, he invited me to his house near Lake Konstanz and I got to experience small village Germany. It was about as authentic as it gets. His grandmother, who only spoke German, made wonderful kaese spaetzle, potato salad, and apple cake. It was amazing. I like to do astrophotography so that night we shot some astro-portraits.

His brother, Janis, was very proud of his Simpson motorcycle — which he was too young to legally drive…so the next day I took some photos of him with his prized possession as well.

The night sky was beautiful in their village, Guggenhausen. You can’t see him, but their cat Charlie is in this tree.

Time in Windhoek

December 10, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Maddie Morehead

Location: Windhoek, Namibia

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

It has now been a little over a month since setting foot into our home here in Windhoek, Namibia, and two months since our journey in Southern Africa began back in August. As I reflect on everything I have experienced already, I am amazed at all the ways I have been challenged and changed; from meeting so many amazing people, to learning new ideas and unlearning programmed ideologies, to settling into the lifestyle of the people of Windhoek. I think the moment I realized that I had become settled into the community is when I was able to give directions to someone looking for the Roman Catholic Hospital, or maybe when I was able to tell the taxi driver where my destination was when he had no idea where to go, or maybe when local Namibians joined me and my friend on stage while we belted “Crazy in Love” by Beyonce at karaoke night. However it may look, over the past month, Windhoek has become home.

With each passing week new people, new opportunities and new experiences are presented to us, and I have learned throughout my time here to keep an open mind, say yes more times than no, and to be ever present with every experience. This past week, these experiences included attending Mr. Gay Namibia, a prestigious pageant show held for Windhoek’s gay community; live music at an ice cream shop downtown; and a tour of my friend’s township just outside Windhoek.

On Tuesday, my history class headed to Out-Right Namibia, a human rights based organization that works towards equality for the LGBTIQ community in Namibia. Namibia has a history of discrimination towards the LGBTIQ communiy. The first president of Namibia, Sam Nujoma who was president from 1990 to 2005, often gave hate speeches about this community, stating that lesbians and gays have no place in his country. There is also a current law in Namibia that prohibits men from having sex with other men and therefore denoting that gay activity is not welcome in Namibia. At Out-Right, we talked to the most gentle and kind-spirited human who is an advocate for the LGBTIQ community in Namibia and spends his time providing a welcoming environment and spreading awareness of sexual health for the community’s members. It was here that we heard about the annual pageant show that was happening later that week, Mr. Gay Namibia. After our trip to Out-Right, we were able to speak to the first ever Mr. Gay Namibia of 2012 who shared his experience of coming out to his family and continuing to represent the LGBTIQ community in Namibia. It was incredible to see such a welcoming and supportive environment on Friday night for the men in Namibia who were brave enough to fully express themselves through fashion and their own sexual identity. It was also an amazing experience to be able to support this community at a local level.

I was able to make many comparisons with the U.S. when talking to others about attending Mr. Gay Namibia. Some were supportive, but said that they themselves would not attend while others thought the idea of the pageant show to be funny. Although I was somewhat surprised, when thinking about it, these reactions do not seem too far off from some reactions I would receive back home. As an ally for this community I was able to support and have conversations with others that really opened my mind to the importance of supporting and defending a community that I, myself may not identify with and confront any misinformed ideologies that I myself may hold about that community.

At Mr. Gay Namibia, my friend talked to one of the performers who invited us to one of her shows later that weekend at Cramer’s, a local ice cream shop in downtown Windhoek. The arts have been such a huge part of our experience since arriving in Windhoek. Almost everyone that we have met participates in some form of expression through art, whether it be through instruments, painting, sculpture, or song. As a musician myself I am able to really connect with people through their artistic expression. Music thrives in the young city of Windhoek, Namibia and it truly brings people together.

On Saturday, one of the friends I have made since coming to Windhoek invited me to his home in Katutura where he showed me his everyday life. Katutura is a large township of Windhoek with an interesting history behind it that might not be talked about in daily life. Katutura itself literally means ‘the place where people do not want to live’ in Herero, one of the native languages. In class we learned that many black people were forced out of their homes during the colonization period and placed in an underdeveloped, inaccessible part of Windhoek, further away from the center of the city. My classmates and I have heard many things about this specific township from the local people. People in Windhoek repeat a stereotype that Katutura is dangerous and that we should not go there. I have even heard people derogatorily refer to it as the ‘ghetto’, but as I spent time there with my friend I felt very safe and met many friendly people as he showed me around the town. We even stopped to buy hotdogs at a local hotdog place and I later got to meet the owner. Through my experiences, I have been able to establish my own perspective by spending time with local people and seeing how they live, and to me that is much more important than listening to another person’s interpretation of a place. If I had listened to others’ interpretations of specific places, such as many peoples’ interpretation of Africa from the United States perspective, I may not have decided to study abroad in Namibia and I would have missed out on an amazing opportunity. I have loved every second of my time here.

I believe that one of the most important things to do when studying abroad is establishing a home by building a community in the place where you will be staying for the next four months, and that is exactly what I have attempted to do during my time in Windhoek. Making friends with local people, spending time with them, and attending events held in town has really helped me to feel at home and gain a better understanding of what life in Windhoek, Namibia is like. It has also allowed me to expand my learning of what we have been discussing in the classroom and gain a ground view of Windhoek, and how the history of colonization and political progress from independence are still evident and having effect today. With a little over a month left of my study abroad experience, I am excited to continue to build relationships with people and experience new opportunities that will broaden my horizons even more and expand my interpretation of life as a part of the Windhoek community.

A Typical Tuesday in Cambridge

December 10, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Ulises E. Hernandez

Location: Cambridge, England

Pronouns: He/Him/His

As we approach the end of our study abroad program, I feel that it’s time to reflect on what goes on in my life on a typical Tuesday in Cambridge. You might wonder, why Tuesday? Well, the Valparaiso University is partnered with the Westfield house which is part of the Theological Federation of Cambridge University. Every Tuesday, it is customary for all Valparaiso and Concordia students to meet for a social tea gathering that ends with an evening prayer service. That event takes place in the evening, so first, let’s backtrack and cover my entire day from the moment I wake up.

After my alarm goes off, I get up without hitting the snooze button at exactly 7 am. I get dressed and I make my way down to the bathroom to shave and brush my teeth. After that, I go to the kitchen and prepare myself three eggs, a cup of Greek yogurt and ½ of a cup of oatmeal. After I have prepared and eaten my first meal, I go back to my room to grab my backpack and clothes in order to later take a shower at the gym. By 8 am, I grab my backpack and bicycle keys and ride to a fitness center called Kelsey Kerridge, which is located about 15-20 minutes away from the Valparaiso study center. On Tuesday’s, I focus on deadlifting and the upper back muscle groups which take me about 2-3 hours depending on the day and my level of energy. After my workout, I cool down for 15-20 minutes by eating my second meal of the day which consists of a protein shake, rice, vegetables, and a piece of chicken breast. After my meal, I take either an ice bath, I get on the hot tub or I sit in the sauna for 12-20 minutes. My decision will be based upon the day and the intensity level of my workout, once I finish on those things I take a regular shower and I get dressed.

Tuesdays are usually my easiest day of the week because I only have a Marketing class that starts at 1 pm. This class is two-hours longs and the class is set up to be a more project-based learning instead of a conventional lecture. We will do some type of activity for the first hour which is usually market research based. For the second portion of the class, we usually tend to discuss our findings followed by a small lecture presentation done by the professor. After class, I will go back to Kelsey Kerridge to pick up my gym bag and I ride my bicycle back to the study center.

Once I get to the study center, I will prepare my third meal of the day which consists of the exact same thing as my second meal. After I eat my meal, I usually take about an hour to read for my next day classes. At 4:30 pm, we all meet at the Chapel for tea and that takes about an hour. We usually talk about events during the week that are usually planned by Cambridge University or about upcoming trips we plan on our own. After tea, we all go to the evening prayer that is most of the time organized by students. Last week I had the chance to play tuba for the first time since High School during service and it was a great experience! After Evening prayer, we all usually go back to the study center and some of us work on homework for a few hours in the living room. Usually, I’ll have my fourth meal at 7 pm which consists of the exact same thing as my second and third meal! After eating my dinner, I’ll go to my room and I usually do about 2-3 hours of reading for my next day classes. After the reading, I usually work on my final papers until 1 in the morning. This paper is typically very long and the entire course grade depends on them. After working on my papers and reading, I usually go downstairs to the kitchen to drink a protein shake and to brush my teeth in the bathroom. After that, I change and I get ready for bed. That’s my typical Tuesdays and I have two more Tuesdays remaining!

City Analysis- Osaka

December 7, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Olivia Dausch

Location: Osaka, Japan

Pronouns: They/them

Osaka is definitely the city I’ve visited the most since I’ve been here. I haven’t necessarily done all of the tourist things I’ve wanted to yet, but I’ve been around the Osaka Loop a few times.

Osaka is known as “Japan’s Kitchen”, as it’s home to several famous restaurants and birthplace of popular foods. You would be hard-pressed to find somewhere in Osaka that doesn’t sell okonomiyaki or takoyaki.

Osaka-style okonomiyaki

Takoyaki topped with bonito flakes

One of the places in Osaka my friends and I go to a lot is Tsuruhashi, Korea Town. There are a lot of K-pop stores selling both official and fan merchandise.  We’ve gone a few times and we’ve never come out empty handed.

Picture showing the web of stores outside Tsuruhashi Station

All the albums and loose photo cards I received over my time in Japan

Another place we like to go is Tower Records. Japan has a booming music industry, mostly due to the fact that most music is sold as physical CDs. There are two Tower Records around Osaka Station, one in front, and on behind. Both are equally impressive and have a wide variety of local and foreign music.

The one place I regrettably haven’t been to is Dotonbori, the food street. I heard it has a wide variety of food choices and delicacies that I would love to try while I’m here.

Dotonbori Canal

Going around Osaka immediately reminded me of Chicago. There are small suburban areas like Tsuruhashi much like Chicago’s Andersonville and Boy’s Town. There are small restaurants and stores lining the street leading to the station, as well as restaurants within the station.

View of Osaka from Osaka Castle

Osaka is definitely within the realm of what would be comfortable to American tourists, especially if you’re only staying for a few days. It has a lot of great food to offer if you’re willing to try it.

 

Fall Break

December 6, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Liam Bodlak

Location: Paris, London, Dublin, Rome

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Fall Break at Valpo is usually pretty short. It’s a time to go home for a bit, recharge, see people, and come back to school to finish out the time until Thanksgiving break. Thanksgiving isn’t as widely celebrated in Europe, so Reutlingen University doesn’t give us a break for it. That makes our weeklong fall break the longest one of the year, and my friends and I took advantage of it. Over the course of the break I traveled to Paris, London, Dublin, and then Rome.

First off was Paris. We left Thursday afternoon, and arrived that night. Paris was slightly different than I’d expected. I’d heard about Paris syndrome, which is an extreme reaction from tourists when Paris doesn’t live up to their expectations, and so my expectations wavered between excited and nervous. Paris was not what I expected, but I liked it. It was somewhat crowded and dirty, but in an endearing way. I appreciated the grittiness of the downtown area. It just felt so alive and exciting. Granted, it was a little annoying to be crammed in with everyone on the metro, but I really appreciated the vibe of the city. The nightlife was great, the tourist attractions (we saw the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and Notre Dame Cathedral) were everything they’re cracked up to be, and we somehow found a Steak and Shake in the middle of the city. No complaints about Paris.

Next up was London. It was really nice to have a city without any language barriers, and be able to communicate without difficulty with everyone I met in the city. The weather was nice, and we got to explore a lot. It was interesting to see the different immigrant cultures that are bigger in the UK than other places. There was a Jamaican restaurant next to our hostel, and being able to have authentic Jamaican food and drink was a cultural experience I don’t often get to experience. It didn’t hurt that it was open 24 hours (speaking from experience, jerk chicken is better at 4 AM). London was similar to Paris in the sense of all the tourist attractions, but the people were a lot more interesting than any sort of tourist landmark. The energy of the city makes it what it is, and it’s something that wasn’t lost on me.

We stopped in Dublin for two days after that, and even though we weren’t there for long it was probably my favorite place we went on Fall Break. It was a beautiful city, the people were conversational and friendly, and the Guinness Factory lived up to the hype (the highlight was the sky bar on the top floor, which overlooked the whole city of Dublin). We went out on Halloween night, and the atmosphere was incredible. The people we met were excited to talk about all sorts of things with us, and we met a variety of interesting people as we made our way through the nightlife of College Green. Dublin was an incredible city, and I hope to be back someday.

Our final destination on break was Rome. As with the other cities, it was everything it’s hyped up to be. The food was amazing, the Roman ruins were fascinating, and I got to meet up with a friend from home who showed us around the city our second night there. The highlight was probably the Vatican. I’d seen so many pictures of it before, and it more than lived up to my expectations. It was an incredible, deeply moving experience.

All in all, Fall Break was a great time spent with great people. I got to see some of the most important cities in all of Western Civilization and some of the most beautiful sights in all of Europe, all within the span of a week. I could not be happier with how my Fall Break went.

City Analysis- Nara

December 5, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Olivia Dausch

Location: Nara, Japan

Pronouns: They/them

Nara is one of the cities I’ve had the least experience with. I went with a group of international students and high school students. We went to a couple different places and got to experience the Heian era first hand.

Nara was also a capital of Japan, long before Kyoto. Now, it’s well known for its deer park in front of Toudaiji, which houses one of Japan’s largest Buddha statues. The deer are in integral part of Nara’s culture and history, and now they boost tourism as well. The deer are famous enough to become Nara’s mascot.

A keychain of Nara’s mascot

Deer eating the deer crackers

During my trip, my group went to a historical museum dedicated to the Heian era. We got to dress in traditional robes and explore the grounds freely. There was also a museum on the grounds that we were able to explore. We saw the grounds as it was during the Heian period, foods and music, and even how buildings were structured at the time. It was all very impressive.

A picture of me in Heian era clothes

The Toori gate on the grounds

A model of the grounds

Statues of two nobles eating

After that, we went to Toudaiji, one of Japan’s most famous Buddhist temples. In front of the temple gates was the deer park. The deer are fairly docile, until they see you have shika senbei, the deer crackers. They are relentless, even after you give them all of the senbei. They calm down after a little bit to find the next person with food.

The temple itself is very impressive. The sheer size of the temple is awe-inspiring. Once inside, you’re greeted by one of the largest Buddha statues in Japan. The crowd pushes you clockwise around the statues, showing off other statues and relics, and miniature models of the temple through the years. At the very end, near the exit, there is a line of gift shops, selling fortunes, deer statues, and keychains.

Todaiji

An octagonal lantern outside the main temple

The Daibutsu

Statue of Tamonten

A model of the Great Buddha Hall

The view from the exit of the Great Buddha Hall

Again, I don’t think Nara has an equivalent in America either. There really isn’t a place where wild animals freely interact with humans like in the deer park. It’s a city with a rich history based on the deer surrounding the temple. I would love to see other parts of the city as well.

 

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