Valpo Voyager

Student Stories from Around the World

Page 16 of 124

The Road to a Decolonized Mind: A Deeper Reflection

December 3, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Rae Erickson

Location: Wolwedans

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

This is an excerpt form Rae’s last blog post that we felt could be addressed on its own.  

Before embarking on this journey, I felt passionate about creating equality for every person, but I was somewhat ill equipped with the tools that are necessary in order to truly advocate or stand up for marginalized populations. Although I understood that there is still a significant presence of racism that is prevalent today, I often struggled with how to identify it, or even successfully initiate a conversation around the unfair things that are happening around the world, especially to people of color. While I cannot pretend like I know all of the answers and solutions to this problem now, I feel infinitely better about how to critically analyze what happens around me. About four days ago, we traveled to NaDEET, a center that has the mission of educating youth and adults about how to live sustainably. During our time there, we also took an excursion to Wolwedans, another desert resort just a 45 minute drive away. What we saw there, however, left us with heavy hearts. One of the managers directed the tour, and left us all unsettled.

Unfortunately, Wolwedans exemplified many of the weaknesses that can occur in companies that are not regulated by the government. Even though nature conservation is a popular topic for many diverse groups of people, it is easy to forget that human rights violations can happen even amidst sustainable efforts. There was a significantly unequal distribution of money between the manager of the reserve and his workers, and there seemed also to be a lack of any kind of positive relationship between his employees and him as well. His attitude towards the people working there was poor at best, and his language often became extremely sexist and condescending. While this experience was upsetting and disturbing to many of the students, myself included, it was also somewhat rewarding and surprising to hear ourselves critically analyze the situation in the way we did, as our perceptions of the tour definitely would have been different had we never had this journey of going through the program and trying to decolonize our minds.

City Analysis- Kyoto

December 3, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Olivia Dausch

Location: Kyoto, Japan

Pronouns: They/Them

It took me a while to decide what I wanted to write about for these blog posts. I’ve decided to start simply by describing the cities I have easy access to. The first, and one of the most well-known, is Kyoto.

Kyoto was Japan’s capital city before Tokyo. It is a city steeped in history, and it’s easy to see in everyday life. It’s not uncommon to see people walking around in yukata even in the most modern parts of the city.

I’ve been to Kyoto twice, both as school trips. The first time was during orientation week. It was used as a chance to show us Hirakatashi Station and how trains worked. My group went to a mall for lunch first. After that, we went to a large temple not too far from the mall. We spent a lot of time wandering around the city and finding different shops, including a dessert shop that only sold matcha flavored treats and a little souvenir shop with handcrafted figures and coin purses.

A coin purse modeled after a boar

The urban side of Kyoto

Kamo River running through Gion

Yasaka Shrine entrance

Hokanji Temple Pagoda

The second time was for my Zen Buddhism class. We went to meditate at Tenryuuji. It was an interesting trip there, as we had to get on a small two way train from beginning to end. The last stop was Arashiyama, where the temple sat at the base of the mountain. We meditated there for about an hour, and then we were able to roam around the garden and the area around the station as we pleased. There was another handcraft store there, as well as several food stands in front of the trains.

Lego model of Arashiyama Station and the shops outside

View leading up to Arashiyama

Lake in Tenryuji Garden

View from the path above the temple

Bamboo forest behind temple

Statue of Bodhi Sattva Kannon

    Kyoto doesn’t really have an American parallel, in my opinion. It’s easy to compare Tokyo to New York, or Osaka to Chicago, but Kyoto doesn’t have that kind of parallel. It is a place that perfectly combines past and present, creating a feeling that can’t be experienced anywhere else. I would like to go again, especially with the leaves changing soon.

The Road to a Decolonized Mind

November 30, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Rae Erickson

Location: Namibia

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

When I decided to go to Namibia for my study abroad experience, I really did not have a full understanding of what “Globalization, Nation Building, and Decolonizing the Mind” actually meant. All I can say after going through this program is that I have been changed forever, and I could not be more grateful that I was lead to the Center for Global Education and Experience,  and to the unbelievable people that I have been able to meet here. From going to buy a suitcase under a rainbow, to preparing for my flight home under another, I have transformed in ways I couldn’t have imagined I would.

My cohort traveled to the Namib desert this past weekend, which is the oldest desert on Earth and was the place we stayed at the longest. Driving through the dry terrain with mountains on the horizon and oryx roaming the land beside the truck made me feel like I was inside National Geographic, or a virtual reality. The beauty of the land took my breath away, and brought me back to God in a way I had forgotten about amidst all of the stress and chaos of the end of a semester.

I would be lying if I said that being in another country has not been very, very difficult at times. I am so excited to go back home, experience the cold weather again, and see my family, but I know I am not the same person that left to go to Southern Africa in August. The four months have flown by, but they have taught me more about myself and standing up for what is right than I have learned possibly in my entire life. Along with all of the lessons I received, I also was able to go white water rafting on the Zambezi river, visit Swakopmund, Lüderitz, Cape Town, and many other places, and make some lifelong friends.

If you can choose to go anywhere to study abroad, I recommend you come to Namibia, because it has helped me solidify my values just as much as it enhanced my education!

Experience in Japan

November 29, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Olivia Dausch

Location: Japan

Pronouns: They/Them

I’ve lived in Japan for about a month now. I’ve had a blast every second, but I’ve also noticed some glaring differences compared to America. One of the most important cultural identities of Japan comes from the seasons. Japan is beautiful during every season, and they know it. There are seasonal
foods, snacks, and drinks, more than in America.

Since the seasons are changing now, there are many new seasonal drinks and snacks releasing in convenience stores across the nation. In America, there are themed packaging, but the product mostly remains the same. The only seasonal food I can think of is the spooky cereal brands that show up every year. However, in Japan, there are new flavors released all season long for every season. In my local drug store, I saw Halloween candies and snacks on the shelves half-way through September. In 7-Eleven, there was a new flavor of Fanta available (Blood Orange flavor), as well as a new flavor of water (Japanese Pear flavor). Since the season officially changed today, I can’t wait to see what else becomes available.

Another important part of Japanese culture is festivals. A few days after I arrived, there was a small, local festival held near city hall. There were children’s games, food stalls, and a concert. One of the first things I bought there was a staple of Japanese summer: Kakigori (shaved ice with sweetened condensed milk). It is sold everywhere during summer and is usually made apparent by the blue flag with the red kanji for ice. Another popular street food is kushi (skewers). They either have cooked meat or deep-fried meat and vegetables, depending on where you go. At the festival, I bought a grilled beef skewer (gyu-kushi), which was amazingly tender and flavorful, even though they only put salt and pepper on it. I saw both again when I went to a temple in Kyoto.

Since Kansai Gaidai University is next to a station, students have access to three major cities, all about an hour away: Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara. There are several festivals hosted in these cities throughout the year, especially in Kyoto and Nara. Since both were Japan’s capitals before, there are a
lot of cultural and historical events available.

Among these events includes both flower and leaf viewing festivals in April and October, respectively. One of the events the local students planned this semester includes going to Kyoto to see the red leaves. Another event local students plan is the University Festival, held in late October or early November. It kicks of fall break, one of the only breaks we have this semester. Since the schedule for exchange students is intentionally easy, with a minimum of 4 classes being highly recommended by staff, this break fits in as a well-needed break.

Speaking of classes, since I couldn’t find anything about it before I came here, I’d like to mention how classes are structured here. Classes are divided into five blocks. Each class is an hour and a half long, fitting into these blocks. The first two blocks start at 9 am and 10:45 am, respectively, on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday are set aside for Japanese classes since there are four sections per level. After block two, there is an hour for lunch that is very reminiscent of Valpo’s chapel break. The next block starts at 1:15 pm, and then there are two more blocks after that, ending at 6:10 pm. Since Japanese has to be before lunch, and there are probably no more than four other classes to fill the other spots, it is fairly easy to find free time.

That free time can be used to go around the city. Hirakata is a unique city since it is the meeting point among three major cities. Even on the walk to Nakamiya campus, there are a lot of interesting shops. There is a traditional Japanese sweets shop, a grocery store, several hair salons, and even more doctors offices. Closer to the station, there is an entire mall. I have only been there once, but I plan to go again soon. It has books, CDs, movies, and clothes, all things great for gifts. There are a lot of places nearby that I haven’t been to yet. Once I get settled into my schedule here, I’ll definitely become more adventurous.

Twenty-Four Hours in Edinburgh

November 28, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Emma Hecht

Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

I don’t have class after noon on Tuesday or at all on Wednesday. So, for fun, I got on Kayak a couple weeks ago and just looked at flights that would get me somewhere and back in about 24-36 hours (Kayak’s explore tab is my best friend). What I found was a round trip flight to Edinburgh, Scotland for 19 pounds… that’s less than 25 dollars.

I got into Scotland around 7 pm on Tuesday evening, went to a pub for an amazing dinner of steak & ale pie and chocolate cake, and then headed to my hostel. I went to bed relatively early so that I could get up at 5:45 am in the morning and climb a hill/mountain/cliff, “Arthur’s Seat” and be at the top for the sunrise. I tumbled out of bed around 5:52 and began the forty minute walk to Arthur’s Seat. It was raining very slightly. It was also pitch black. Five minutes away from my destination, I reached a forest. Apple Maps thought it was a good idea for me to go through it, but I wasn’t convinced. So I stood and looked at it for a good two minutes, deciding if climbing a mountain was worth risking getting kidnapped. Then I saw cars passing on the other side of the forest and their headlights shed enough light for me to see that the forest was about ten trees on either side of a paved sidewalk. I crossed through without any threats to my safety and worked on figuring out where the paths were to climb up, using three feet of light from my iPhone’s flashlight to guide me. At one point I saw a distant light through the dark and I thought, “Oh wow they marked the path with lights, this is great!” But then the light started moving and I realized it was a person. (I concluded it wasn’t a murderer because murderers wouldn’t wear a light that drew attention to them.)

I remembered that I had a map on my phone of the different paths that there are to Arthur’s Seat, so I whipped that out and saw I was closest to the red path, which was described as a “very steep climb” and I thought, “a) it’s extremely dark out, b) it’s been raining, so there will be a good amount of mud, c) I’m wearing boots with very little traction, and d) I have very little experience climbing.” So, I’m on what I can only hope is the red path and I’m making all sorts of wrong turns on paths that aren’t really paths, until it starts to get light and I make a beeline through some grass that leads up to some peaks. I’m not actually convinced that I made it to Arthur’s Seat, but I made it to somewhere tall and it was beautiful.

After the climb, I went to The Elephant House, the café where JK Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series, or at least The Sorcerer’s Stone. I’ve loved Harry Potter since middle school (who hasn’t?) so that was pretty amazing. I had a cup of tea (as you do in the UK) and a piece of carrot cake.

I went to a few other museums throughout the day, including the National Museum of Scotland, where I saw Dolly, the genetically engineered sheep! My high school biology teacher would be so proud that I remember things from her class.

I was sitting in the Edinburgh airport, waiting for the screen to announce my gate and I got on Kayak and asked where they could take me for December 4th and 5th. So now I’m going to Oslo for 14 pounds. The train ride from Cambridge to the airport and back is going to cost me more than that.

Turning a dream into reality!

November 27, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Ulises E. Hernandez

Location: Italy

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Italy, the land of wine, cheese, pasta, pizza, gelato, seafood, and most important, the birthplace of the supercar. For those that know me, I considered myself a car enthusiast that is always looking for cars everywhere I ago. During my study abroad experience, I have visited Ireland, Germany, France and many places in England that have allowed me to see many of my favorite European cars, but as my study abroad programs come to an end, there was one place that I absolutely needed to visit, and this place was Italy.

On November 8th, my best friend Ben and I departed from Stansted Airport in London and flew to Milan, Italy. From there, we took a bus to Venice where we spent most of our afternoon exploring the peninsula and witnessing the beautiful scenery. Ben and I had an amazing dinner right at the edge of a pier, and as we walked through the peninsula, we also had the opportunity to try the very famous Italian Gelato which is a very creamy and rich flavored type of ice cream.

After spending the night in Venice, we woke up early the next day and we headed to the city of Bologna. From Bologna, we took a train to the city of Modena in order to fulfill one of my all time lifetime dreams to visit the Ferrari Museum and factory located in Maranello, Italy. Once arriving in Modena, we took an official Ferrari bus shuttle from the train station that took us to the birthplace of Ferrari that was about 40 minutes away. Once arriving in the Maranello, we had the opportunity to visit the museum, walk around the factory grounds, and eat lunch at same café that many of the assembly employees of Ferrari eat lunch every day. Even though I had an amazing time at the museum and the factory, I couldn’t leave Maranello fully satisfied within getting my hands behind the wheel of a Ferrari. After signing my life away in a liability contract, I was handed the keys to a Ferrari F430 Speciale Edition. Right away, I open the car door and turned on the ignition to one of the most powerful cars I had ever driven. With overwhelming joy due to the sound and vibration of the engine, I put the car into first gear and started one of the most amazing driving experiences I have ever had. After cruising on the Italian roads and Hwy’s, we returned to the rental company and Ben and I took the Ferrari bus shuttle back to Modena. In Modena, we walked through the life and history museum of the founder and creator Enzo Ferrari. From Modena, we took a train to Pisa where we ate dinner and spent the night.

Early in the Morning, we walked to the leaning tower of Pisa located about a mile away from our Airbnb. For a few hours, we got the chance to take pictures and spend some time walking around the beautiful city before heading back to the Pisa central train station. From the train station, we took a train to Rome, Italy where we visited the Vatican City and the Colossal. We spent all of our afternoon sight-seeing and the experiencing the city of Rome before heading back to the airport early the next morning.

Around England

November 19, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Emma Hecht

Location: Cambridge, England

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

I don’t know anything about sports. So, when my friend and her family took me to the Chelsea vs. Crystal Palace soccer (“football”) game two Sundays ago at Stamford Bridge, I learned a lot: 1. They water the field right before the game. To someone mildly accident-prone, this seemed particularly hazardous. But, I guess it’s just to get the field to the right texture… I don’t know, it still seems dangerous to me.
2. Sometimes you just need a five minute nap to get through the first quarter.
3. British/European fans are very reserved. They sit quietly in their seats observing the game, occasionally chanting uniformly. They only stand and cheer when their team makes a goal. (Which is what? Like, max four times a game?) I don’t know any American who has sat through even a little league game that mildly.
4. The players use their heads and chests almost as much as their feet to get the ball around. I’m
not sure how that doesn’t hurt.

Stamford Bridge Stadium

Another big thing here in England  is the holiday Bonfire Night (also called Guy Fawkes Night) on November 5th . It started years after Guy Fawkes, a Catholic activist, and a dozen other men planted gunpowder under the House of Parliament to blow it up. This would have killed the political members inside that were religiously persecuting the Catholics, if Guy Fawkes hadn’t gotten caught just hours before he was going to light the match and complete the plot. Great Britain began to remember this day to celebrate that their King and Parliament members weren’t killed, which was definitely very anti-Catholic. However, today that anti-Catholic message is gone and it’s simply an act of community where people get together and set off fireworks and light a huge bonfire. The event I attended was organized by the city of Cambridge. There were twenty minutes of fireworks, which might’ve been the best fireworks I’ve ever seen, and, of course, an enormous bonfire. The fact that the Brits will light this bonfire astounds me. They are crazy about their fire safety. Pretty much all of the doors in the house I live in are “fire doors” and they have to be closed at all times. Any building you go into has marked fire exits (not emergency exits—fire exits). In one church service, I was in, there was even a designated seat for a fire marshal.

The fireworks, which lasted twenty minutes

A terrible picture of the bonfire, but the best one my iPhone 6 camera could take—I could feel
the heat from where I was standing

Three other Valpo girls and I took a little field trip with our director, Dr. Brugh, and her husband this past weekend to Anglesey Abbey. We walked around the grounds, which were kept up beautifully, and contained all kinds of trees and plants. Right near the main house, there is also a working flour mill, one of the last of its kind in England, where the flour is hand-ground. The house itself is built on the foundation of an old abbey where monks used to live and work. However, it was rebuilt around the 17 th century. Now, however, all of its decorations come from the 1920’s, since its buyer in that era wanted to modernize it.

River through the grounds of Anglesey Abbey, leading to the flour mill (the white building)

The back of the house

Paris Weekend Adventure

November 16, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Ulises E. Hernandez

Location: Paris, France

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Europe is famous for its food, culture, parks, monuments, and buildings. Located in Paris, France, The Eiffel Tower is one of the most iconic monuments in Europe. With less than two months remaining in our study abroad program, my best friend and I decided to designate a weekend to visit the wonderful city of Paris. From the Cambridge study center, we took the train to London where we took a bus to France. You might be thinking, England is part of the United Kingdom island?!? Yes, that is correct, England is part of an Island, but thanks to the outstanding European engineers, a tunnel was constructed that allowed the connection between the British island and the European mainland. The bus ride was 7 hours long and it dropped us off outside of Paris.

The very first major building that we visited within about an hour from arrival to Paris was the Cathedral of Notre Dame. We had the opportunity to go inside to look at the most amazing artwork and religious artifacts. Hundreds of tourists from all over the world visit the Cathedral and many of them go up the towers to get a better view of the city and also to look at its amazing bells. Due to our narrow time frame and tight schedule, we were unable to go up the tower, but we did take time to take a few pictures outside the cathedral.

During our visit, the weather in Paris was very cold and windy, but that didn’t stop us from visiting the Eiffel Tower. After taking the metro located about a mile away from Notre Dame Cathedral, we ate dinner at a French restaurant a few blocks from the tower. After eating an amazing lunch and having experienced very strange service, we walked to the tower and we got in line to enter the enclosed area around the tower. From the ground level and to the first and second floor, Ben and I took the stairs. The view from the top of the tower was amazing and we had the opportunity to see the entire city. By the time we made our way down the tower, it was already dark so the lights came on while still inside the tower which to me was a very unique experience.

On our second day in Paris, we visited the Louvre Museum. This museum has a lot of artwork and also has very historically important artifacts from all around the world. One of the most famous artworks in the museum is the Mona Lisa, which attracts a lot of tourists. After walking through the museum for a few hours, we took the metro to visit the very famous Arc de Triomphe. The Arc is actually much bigger than what it seems in the pictures. Ben and I took a few pictures from across the street of the Arc and we walked around the city. Before we left Paris, we took a cruise that takes you to see the major tourist destinations since most of them are located near the river. Overall, we had a very interesting and amazing experience in Paris, France.

Financial Blog Part Two

November 15, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Michael Boyajian

Location: Reutlingen, Germany 

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Greetings again, readers! The picture that I have attached is a recording of my expenses for the month of October. I started the month with $2,458.08 left in my budget. What you’ll see is that this month, not only did I have more expenses, but I also had some income. You’ll notice that I spent the bulk of my expenses in the “Austria Trip” section. Over fall break, my mother came out to visit with me and our extended family, who happen to live in Graz, Austria. During our trip, my mother discovered that her Discover Card did not work in most places, so I ended up paying for both of us when we stayed in hotels and had meals. Luckily, we were able to stay with our family, which saved us plenty of money on living/meal expenses. At the end of our visit, my mother’s cousin gave me an unexpected gift of 300 euros “for travelling”, which converts to roughly $350. Because many of my purchases this month were
made with a card, I have a good amount of cash going into the month of November, and I expect to not have to withdraw much money from my account.

Although my expenses were higher this month, I did receive a larger amount of income, leaving me with $2,346.02 left in my budget at the beginning of November. Going forward, I expect to go on one or two more weekend trips and I don’t expect to see any more income for the rest of my time in Germany. I will keep recording my expenses, and I’ll post again at the beginning of December before I post my total expenses for the semester. Hope this helps! Bis spater, und Ciao!

Oktoberfest!

November 14, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Author: Liam Bodlak

Location: Munich/Stuttgart, Germany

Pronouns: He/Him/His

“What’s the history of Oktoberfest? Like, what’s the significance?”

A friend asked me this question, and I honestly didn’t know how to respond. I’d been to the festival three separate times-twice in Stuttgart, once in Munich-and I was unaware of any sort of major historical significance of it. So I did my research, thought about it, and finally figured out what Oktoberfest was all about. The answer is that, in 1810, King Ludwig I put on a festival to celebrate his marriage to Princess Therese, and the event sort of caught on and was celebrated every year.

My first Oktoberfest experience was in Munich. Me and three friends took a late train from Leipzig to Munich, and after arriving, met up with our Airbnb hosts. After a survey of our Airbnb (complete with a box shower that kept the water warm for about thirty seconds), we were all ready to start our day at Oktoberfest. And what a day it was. We found ourselves in the Hofbrau House, where we found ourselves seated next to two Scotsmen, who we spent most of the day with. We talked about various topics, including the Midwest (“Indiana’s the one with a lot of NASCAR, right?”) and Unicorns (the national animal of Scotland, because Scotland is amazing). I also received travel advice from a very friendly Dutchman, who talked my ear off about how Rotterdam was better than Amsterdam. A few hours later, I was feeling pretty hungry. I went to a McDonalds right outside the venue, and was reminded again that Europeans don’t have sweet tea. (I tried explaining it for a solid 10 minutes to someone in Copenhagen and he couldn’t wrap his head around the concept. If nothing else, Americans are outdoing the rest of the world in the field of sugary drinks). We eventually got back to the Airbnb, and we left the next morning. Munich Oktoberfest was a success.

Two weeks later, I spent two nights attending Wasen (Stuttgart’s version of Oktoberfest). Stuttgart was slightly smaller than Munich (Munich is around the size of San Diego, and Stuttgart is closer to Louisville), but it was still a great time. Highlights included multiple singalongs of Country Roads (John Denver is evidently huge in Germany) and having one of the people at my table scream, unprompted “I AM THE POLISH ANGUS YOUNG!”, a quote made exponentially better by the fact that there wasn’t even an AC/DC song playing at the time.

Everything was so overwhelmingly beautiful. From the rides, to the food, to the way the whole festival lights up at night. I was awestruck the entire time I was there. I felt a sort of togetherness with the people there. All of us were strangers that became friends for a few hours. We had fun together, but in a few months we’ll all be back in Scotland, or Ireland, or Poland, or wherever we’re from, and we’re all going to be a distant memory and a funny story to someone else. But that word-togetherness-is something I definitely felt at Oktoberfest. Just from little interactions, I felt a closeness with the world that I don’t normally experience. We’re all very different-culturally, spiritually, economically-but for a few hours, we were all together.

 

 

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024 Valpo Voyager

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑