Valpo Voyager

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The British Isles: 2 week post-finals / pre-internship solo trip

March 12, 2016 / kbouman / 0 Comments

Unless you know and can explain the difference between England, Great Britain, the UK, and the British Isles, you should probably check out this video by CGP Grey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNu8XDBSn10. Instead of being pedantic by clarifying all of these differences, I’m just going to go, and am going to expect you as the readers to understand these differences. The video makes things sufficiently clear, so this is on you.

For convenience, I do call this my “UK trip,” even though I was also in Ireland. However, Ireland was such a small part of the trip that I feel comfortable ignoring my own pedantry and saving a few syllables. “UK trip” is three, while “British Isles” is 4, and doesn’t tell you anything about what was done.

Anyway, let’s start with the itinerary.

2 nights London
1 night Coventry
2 nights Dublin
3 nights Edinburgh
1 night in Yorkshire
3 nights in Caernarfon (pronounced something like “ka-NAR-ven”)
1 night in Oxford
3 nights in Cambridge

And then back to Stuttgart.

Now some overall reactions to the trip as a whole.

[GRUB]

The food and drinks were exactly as good as I would have expected english food and drinks to be – not very. Certainly palatable for a short period of time, but not world-class cuisine. I came back to Germany and remembered that bread had flavor. Within a day, I went out for my first Hefeweizen in too long, and it was heavenly.

Fish and chips are okay, but definitely not the kind of thing you want to have too often. Haggis is far from yucky, but still probably not for everybody. There were some meat pies in Wales that weren’t terrible, but certainly not exceptional either. Guinness pretty smooth, and really easy to drink a lot of, but not really that great next to what I’m used to here. There are also some good English, Scottish, and Welsh ales, but they just weren’t the same.

The best food options I came across were pizza (not English), Chicken Tikka Masala (kind of English, but disguised as Indian), and Chipotle (American/Mexican-ish). The Chipotle was even bland compared to what I’m used to in the US, but I hadn’t had any since July, so I’m certainly not complaining. Plenty of places also had pretty good burgers.

Ritter Sport never costs 1.49, of anything (in Europe), never mind the exchange rates that would make it cost even more. This is a scandal! And I promise I’m not just being bitter for having forgotten to bring any of my own from Germany. Just kidding. I totally am.

[CURRENCY]

The coins were mostly completely stupid, but they did have some redeeming aspects. I might go into more detail later about why the Great British Pound coins suck, but to keep my blood pressure down, I’m going to try to focus on this single really really cool part: The Shield.

This single piece of great design almost completely makes up for the lazy design elsewhere in the same coins.

[ACCOMMODATIONS]

Two weeks was an awfully long time to be moving around and keeping busy. Maybe too long. It was REALLY nice to come back to the comfort and security of Germany. Hostels are far from luxurious accommodation, and the buses (“coaches” as they’re referred to – incorrectly in my opinion) and trains weren’t quite as convenient for outsiders as they are in Germany.I also spent the entire time washing my clothes in sinks with the same bar of soap I used to wash myself. Three shirts and a single pair of pants for the whole time was certainly pushing things, particularly in my desire to stand in front of a sink to do my laundry.

Some of the hostels were nice. The one in Caernarfon was within spitting distance of both the castle and the nearest body of water, and the owners had brought home a puppy two days before I arrived. Edinburgh reminded me of the Harry Potter dormitories, and was full of really cool people. Cambridge had a pretty nice hostel with some environmentally friendly something or other initiative thingy thing (I was excited to go back to Germany at that point, so didn’t particularly care).

There was a wide variety of hostel quality though, and I’ve already mentioned the good ones. London found me at the way-top of a triple-bunked bed, and the luggage lockers did not work at all – but the location was great. The Dublin hostel was full of all kinds of people who were there for the party scene – not my favorite kinds of travelers. The oxford hostel was sketchy and with sketchy clientele, and the staff wasn’t that great at pretending to be friendly or helpful or good at speaking English. And none of these places had consistent internet access that they claimed to have.

That’s probably enough. I’ll focus on specific highlights in a subsequent post. Ultimately, I had a sufficiently good time, though I am not eager to repeat this any time in the near future.

Let’s go to Barcelona!

February 21, 2016 / econtreras / 0 Comments

So this is long overdue. After my trip to Morocco, I had 5 days off in which I could travel anywhere before class started. I decided to go to Barcelona and let me tell you, I had a blast!

It was a bit of a struggle to plan this trip as a couple of girls and I, we were going on this trip together, didn’t finalize our plans until literally the day before we left for Morocco, so it was very last minute. Also, we had no idea what we were going to do in Barcelona, we just knew we were going. Good plan. We vacillated at first between a few different options like Portugal, Swiss Alps, and Scotland, but nobody could decide what we wanted. Word of advice?.. Though we had a fantastic and I don’t think it could have gone any better even if we had planned it all, don’t leave it all till the last minute. Talk about a panic attack.

So here we go, embarking on a trip to Barcelona where we have no idea what we’re doing. Oh, by the way, we knew for a fact that we had to watch the Cheetah Girls 2 as it takes place in Barcelona.

First day in Barcelona and we are totally disoriented. We had no idea how to get where we were going and even though a friend and I are fluent in Spanish, we still had trouble communicating because, you may not know, in Barcelona they speak Catalan. Catalan is a language that came from French and Spanish mixed together. It’s a little weird. So here we are, trying to speak English and Spanish to the bus driver and trying to find a common language. It was quite an experience for me. Besides my trip to Morocco I have never really had a difficult time being able to understand people. We somehow managed to find our way to the hostel after wandering around for a little bit. In comparison to Granada, Barcelona is bigger and set up a little differently.

So many things happened in Barcelona it’s too much to write about, so instead I’ll highlight some of my favorite.

These are a few pictures from the Basilica de Santa Maria. It is breathtakingly beautiful! It is around 600 years old and the only surviving cathedral in pure catalan gothic style.

On our first night as we were wandering around, we wound up by the shore and in good timing because there was a circus! Of course we HAD to go in. It was great because that night the tickets were half off, so we got front row seats! It lasted about two hours and it was full of acrobatics and little skits. The ringmaster spoke mainly in Catalan so again we didn’t really have any idea what he was saying. Imagine living in a country were there are 4 official languages and you just have to run through them all to find a way to communicate. You don’t really think about that in the USA because the official language is English and most everyone can speak it. Yea, there are other languages that are spoken but you are not hard-pressed to learn them. I just thought that was interesting and felt the need to share. It is an interesting thought.

Alright, up next is my favorite! La Sagrada Familia. It is one of the largest cathedral’s in the world and it is absolutely BREATHTAKING. I cannot even begin to describe to you how enormous and beautiful this building is. It was built by a Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudi, who died in 1926. At the time of his death, the cathedral was not even a fourth complete and believe it or not, it’s still in construction today! It is estimated to be finished by 2030 I think, so it still has a while to go. Can you even imagine that?!

There is so much detail you could spend forever and not see all of it.

I loved Barcelona so much that I am going back again for my Spring Break and I cannot wait! So hurray for Barcelona round 2 but until then, Lisbon, Portugal here I come! (Feb. 26-28)

Assumptions and Fears

February 19, 2016 / Lindsey Van Der Aa / 0 Comments

No one likes to feel different. Walking around a strange city where everyone knows I don’t belong just by looking at me has been a completely new experience. People stare at me all the time, and they try to use the little English they know with me, which is sometimes nice and sometimes just insulting, depending on the situation. As much as I hate being stared at and feeling helpless when I don’t understand what people are saying, being an outsider has been an incredibly eye-opening experience.

In general, people are afraid of the “other.” We tend to group up with people who are familiar because that’s when we feel safe. I know that I am guilty of this, both in the United States and Costa Rica. At Valpo, I never said a word to the international students I passed, and was even a little intimidated if they were all speaking a foreign language. Now, I am one of those people. I walk to class at the university speaking English with my friends, while passing by students giving us strange looks. Being here has definitely given me a new respect and empathy for the international students on Valpo’s campus. It’s hard to be in a place where people don’t speak your first language, and it’s terrifying to try to talk to someone because you don’t know how well you will be able to understand each other. Finding just one person who is patient, friendly, and willing to help is a huge blessing.

Our walk to class at the Universidad Nacional (National University)

Another thing that keeps us from branching out of our comfort zones is assumptions. We assume things about people all. the. time. Many Costa Ricans assume I am a tourist who doesn’t speak any Spanish. For example, on a field trip with my Spanish class I was walking a little bit outside of the group, and a street vendor caught my eye and said, “Hello lady, welcome to Costa Rica!” Two thoughts went through my head: First of all, saying “hello lady” sounds weird, so I could tell he didn’t know English that well. Secondly, I had been in Costa Rica for a few weeks! I could have had a small conversation with him in Spanish, so his trying to speak broken English to get me to buy something didn’t make me feel welcome but was instead just insulting.

The assumptions about people go both ways, though. One day I got off the bus in my neighborhood with two other students, and we heard a man behind us making the hissing noise that is equivalent to catcalling in the U.S. I was really annoyed and just kept trying to walk faster, but he wouldn’t stop. Then we suddenly heard a woman yell out, “Muchachas!” (“Girls!”), so we turned around. She was standing with the man, who had been trying to get my attention to let me know I had money sticking out of my back pocket. He could have easily taken it, but instead he chose to persistently try to get my attention so I could put it away. Someone was trying to do something nice for me, but I assumed he was being rude.

Even within Costa Rica, people make assumptions based on appearance. Last weekend we had the privilege of going to the Caribbean coast in the province of Limón, which is largely made up of Afro-Costa Ricans. It is a slightly poorer area than the part of Costa Rica where we live (near San José), and many people are afraid of going there. Costa Rica has never had explicit racism (such as Jim Crow laws in the U.S.), but they have more subtle racism which still exists today. Limón is beautiful and in reality is no more dangerous than other parts of Costa Rica. But for some reason, people perceive it to be different, and many assume that every person who appears to be of African descent is from Limón. We had a wonderful time there, met some really great people, and never felt unsafe.

The coast is beautiful!

The island in the distance is where Christopher Columbus landed, and he called the place Costa Rica (“rich coast”)

We went to an indigenous community and learned how to make chocolate!

To close, I’d like to share one more story: One Monday morning, as I was walking to the bus stop, I noticed a strange-looking man out of the corner of my eye. Wanting to avoid him, I stopped at my friends’ house to wait for them to come outside (as usual) and made sure I just knocked and looked straight ahead at their door. Suddenly I sensed someone right behind me, so I turned around. Standing about two feet away from me was your classic picture of a homeless person. He was hunched over, dressed in rags, had unkempt hair, and was missing an arm. He just stared at me and held out his hand, which contained a coin. In that moment, I was terrified. I just stared at him wide-eyed and then quickly walked away. I live in a gated community, so I walked toward the security guards standing nearby. They saw what had happened and could tell I was scared, but all I could make out from what they said to me was “Tranquila!” (Don’t worry about it). The man was gone, so I walked back toward the bus stop, still shaking. I’ve never seen him again.

Upon further reflection of the situation, I wondered: Why was I so scared? I had the upper hand in the situation. I was standing at my friends’ house (who would come outside any minute), within earshot of two security guards whom I know personally. I had a backpack full of books, two cell phones, four limbs, not to mention a blue passport to my name. What could he possibly have done? This man had nothing. Yet all I could do was look at him in sheer terror and walk away.

My challenge to myself is to stop being scared. To stop assuming and start listening. People are a lot more than we think they are, so let’s take the time to get to know them and hear their stories before making surface-level assumptions.

This is a powerful part of Freedom Park. People come here to meet their former oppressors and seek apologies and forgiveness.

Healing Scars

South Africa. It’s a country that has been constantly pushing forward trying to overcome its past. Its land is vibrant and beautiful and its people are the same. Our first weeks in this program were spent studying this country, its people, and its history that has changed its landscape forever. Coming into this experience, I didn’t know a whole lot about South Africa or its history. I knew about Nelson Mandela and had watched Invictus, a film about how Nelson Mandela used the South African National Rugby team to unite the country, and had heard a bit about the word apartheid, but I had barely scratched the surface of what this country had in store for me.

Me in front of Nelson Mandela’s home

In our first week, we traveled through the city of Johannesburg where we met with many different historians, economists, and people who had lived through Apartheid. What I quickly came to learn was that Apartheid was not some scarred event in South Africa’s past but it is very present in the everyday lives of South Africans even today. Apartheid had officially ended in 1994 when Nelson Mandela was elected president during the first open elections. This ushered in a new constitution that created political freedom for all people regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. The contradiction here, though, is that although everyone received political freedom, they did not gain economic freedom. South Africa is the most economically divided country in the world where the top percentage of the population owns most of the land and resources in the country. I noticed many similarities between the struggles of South Africa and that of the United States. With the US Presidential elections around the corner, the issues of divided wealth and political corruption have been at the forefront of the debates. Even though South Africa is on the other side of the world, they are dealing with the very same issues.

This is a powerful part of Freedom Park. People come here to meet their former oppressors and seek apologies and forgiveness.

These problems in South Africa arise from their difficult past. Many South Africans lost their farms, homes, and livelihoods to the Apartheid government and after 1994 they did not receive any of that land back from the billionaires who now own it. This creates a severe contrast in living conditions between most white South Africans and black South Africans. In Johannesburg, we spent some time near the malls and in the affluent areas downtown. We were also able to experience the other end of the spectrum in Soweto, which holds between 3 and 4 million people in 30 townships. This area was the land that black South Africans were banished to during the Apartheid government and many have been unable to leave due to widespread poverty. Others choose to stay because they have become established in Soweto and feel a close connection to the land and its people. I spent a weekend living with a host family in the Orlando area of Soweto, where I got to experience the extent of poverty in South Africa firsthand.

View of Soweto in Johannesburg

Our host family had a fairly modern home but you could still see the difference just by taking a look out the window. The house directly across the street was a small home with a tiny yard. In that tiny yard, the family had rented out the land for ten different families. Each family resurrected a small one room shack for their family to live in. So this tiny little yard was home to over 45 people that could coexist in such poor conditions. That was one thing I noticed immediately about South Africa, the community. People would look out for one another, and if a fight broke out in the street, everyone in the area would run to the rescue to break up the fight. It was interesting to compare these things to the United States, where our focus is very much so on individual prosperity rather than supporting the community. If a fight were to break out on the street in the United States, people would not intervene but instead watch in awe or even encourage it.

The front of my Host Family’s house

My host family took me to church which was held in a small one room schoolhouse with about 25 people sitting in school desks. South Africans tend to have a different sense of time as compared to many Americans. Many do not put the same value on the phrase “time is money” and they choose to not rush through their day to day activities. Because of this, church becomes an all day event. The first hour and a half of the service, the pastor didn’t say a word. Instead, members of the congregation got up and said a few words or, more often than not, someone would randomly start singing a song and then everyone else would join in. This happened consistently for almost two hours and continued periodically throughout the pastor’s sermon. What I gained from this experience was that these people had a close-knit community that did not worry about rushing off to the next event, knew all of the songs off the top of their head, and they loved to interact with one another. I felt extremely welcomed and was even told that my sense of rhythm was, “unlike that of any white man they had seen before”, which I found rather entertaining. This was interesting to compare to what I know of church from my home congregation where people go to church just to check it off the list. People sneak in late and sneak out early and try to interact with as few people as possible. I can’t help but wonder how people at home would react coming into this new and exciting environment, full of love, community, and the Holy Spirit. Hopefully, I can bring some of what I learned from my South African friends and spread it to my own church community.

My host family's church inside one of the classrooms in the schoolhouse

My host family’s church is inside one of the classrooms of the schoolhouse shown

All in all, South Africa is a place that has been scarred by its history and forced into a difficult position where there exists political freedom for all of its people, but many people cannot escape the insurmountable strains of poverty set down by the Apartheid state. Because of this, there are still very distinct boundaries separating whites from blacks and racism is still very prevalent in the everyday lives of South Africans. Even though it has been over 20 years since the fall of Apartheid, South Africa is still a time of healing and well-needed growth and restructuring.

On Hold

February 12, 2016 / njuliot / 1 Comment

No one said that traveling across the world could be easy, but there was no way I was expecting what it would take to make it to South Africa. It all started Wednesday night, three days before I was supposed to leave for Johannesburg, South Africa to begin my first study abroad experience. My brother Andrew asked us if there was something bad happening in Florida because he had heard about something online. My mother decided to check her phone to see what it was. What she found was something she was not expecting. The top story on CNN was a huge snow storm that was developing on the east coast. This storm was expected to hit Washington D.C. the whole weekend and it was going to hit hard. Predictions were suggesting that it could be the most snow ever recorded in D.C. Needless to say, we began to freak out. I was supposed to be flying out of Washington D.C. on Saturday afternoon.

Side note: The bad “thing” happening in Florida was that Donald Trump was visiting the state.

So this began the saga of the disappearing flight. Thursday morning we found out that our group was planning to reschedule our group flight to Monday. I called in to United Airlines to set up my connecting flight from Chicago and all seemed well.

The storm hit Washington D.C. hard and they got two feet of snow! All of D.C. was shut down Friday, Saturday and most of Sunday. During this time, I drove back to school to pick up Maddie and bring her home. I celebrated my travels with my family and had one of what would become the first of many “last suppers”. We played games together. Of course we had to play Ticket to Ride Africa.

Going out to eat with my family before I flew out

Sunday came and with it, I began to say my goodbyes. I went out to breakfast with Maddie and we said our goodbyes. Later that day, my family went out for another “last supper” and as we headed out for the meal I tried to check in for my flight on my phone to find that it had been canceled! I immediately started trying to call United Airlines and STA travel to figure out a solution. The problem was that everyone was trying to call in due to cancellations so I was put on hold for almost an hour! At one point I was asked to check my ticket from an automated service. It kept asking me for my last name and then it would pause and say… “Is your name… K…I…M?” No, I don’t think my name is Kim. “Oh lets try again”, it would say. “Is your name…W…A…L…A…B…A…L…O?” My name is als not Walabalo. Eventually it worked out so that I would fly out Tuesday morning instead and would now have to catch the Tuesday afternoon flight to South Africa instead.

But this was not the end of the story. Monday morning I once again tried to check in to my flight to find that it too was canceled! So I had to call United Airlines… Again. This time, I was stuck on hold for almost two hours and let me tell you… I now know why people can go crazy and it is because of hold music. Eventually I worked it out to fly another airline at the same time on Tuesday.

About to fly out

The first flight went smoothly out of Chicago to Detroit and I said my goodbyes with my family. I then landed in Detroit and met another student named Taylor who is going to be traveling with me to South Africa.

Flying out of Chicago

So you’d think this would be the end of the story… but it’s not. A few minutes after boarding our plane we were told we would have to deplane due to a major issue with the plane’s systems. We got off the plane and waited for information on the repairs. Eventually we were sent to a new gate and were met by a new plane. The problem, however, was that this plane was also broken! At this point it had already been a few hours past our original departure time. The clock continued to wind and the departure time slowly turned farther and farther back. At this point, the five-hour cushion had shrunk to less than two hours and we were beginning to get restless. Just when I was about to request a different flight, they finally allowed us to board and take off.

From that point on it was smooth sailing. Taylor and I arrived in D.C. and picked up our bags making sure to pet any dog we got the chance to along the way. We then checked our bags and trekked through security where we eventually were able to meet up with the four other members of our group flying out that day.

Finally meeting the group!

Our flight has been problem free so far and we’ve gotten the chance to get to know one another. All in all, I’m excited to finally get to Johannesburg and jump right into the adventure that is ahead of me. After all the speed bumps this trip has already taken, I’m ready for whatever can get thrown my way. I’m not going to wait on hold any longer! Let’s go!

Layover in Ghana

Weekend in the Mountains

February 9, 2016 / Lindsey Van Der Aa / 0 Comments

My third week in Costa Rica was quite busy, with the beginning of Spanish classes at the Universidad Nacional, or UNA. Since we’re packing six credits into five weeks, we have to go for four hours every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, as well as two hours on Wednesday. Our professor is wonderful and incredibly enthusiastic, so four hours often flies by with only five of us in a class with her. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays we also have a class with Heidi (our resident director), which often includes field trips, so this third week was very tiring! However, at the end we got to relax and have fun with a weekend trip to Savegre mountain reserve.

One of my favorite parts about going to the mountains is the ride there. Sitting on a bus for 2+ hours of less than smooth riding may be a struggle for some people, but with a window seat and my headphones in, I am a happy camper. The views are absolutely breathtaking.

Once we got to our cabin, one the first things we realized was that it was cold. Not nearly as cold as Valpo right now (so I guess we shouldn’t have been complaining), but when you sign up for a semester in Costa Rica, that’s not something you expect! We still had a fun night relaxing in the cabin and meeting some new people that came on the trip with us, many of whom only spoke Spanish.

Our lovely little home for the weekend!

The next morning started bright and early, with a bird watching hike at 5:30 am! After our long week of classes we were less than thrilled to be waking up at this hour, but we got to see an extremely rare bird, the quetzal. This bird can only be found in Central America, and our tour guide knew the exact spot to go so we would be able to see it. Maybe the early morning was worth it after all!

Taken through our tour guide’s binoculars. This bird is gorgeous!

After breakfast and a couple hours to relax and explore, our group went fishing for our lunch. Yes, you read that right—we fished for our lunch. I couldn’t believe it when I first heard, because I have never even held a fishing pole, much less eaten something I caught myself. It turned out to be a really fun time, and the trout tasted pretty good (to me at least)!

Eboni got one! Catching a fish for the first time is a little intimidating, so often getting it off the pole is a two person effort

“I’m really excited about this, but please hurry up and take the picture so I can get rid of it!”

After lunch, we decided to go hiking. We got some exercise in while coming across incredibly gorgeous views!

Betsy and I taking the “risk” of climbing slippery rocks

Samantha, Erica, and I felt pretty “on top of the world” after finishing our hike up the mountain!

The rest of the day was pretty free, but we had a lot of fun hanging out both with the other students and with new friends on the trip. We got to practice our Spanish with the Spanish speakers, but still had the comfort of our friends and fellow English speakers around. That night, I also went outside and saw more stars than I had ever seen in my life. Although it was cold out, the sight was incredible.

The next morning brought on our next and final adventure for the weekend: horseback riding! I have never ridden a horse before, so it was another completely new experience for me. It was a little scary but also a lot of fun, and we got to ride through the mountains and streams for about two hours. It was lovely until the horses got to the end and started running! We were all very sore from it the next day, but it was a great time. There was also a running joke about my horse being the “rude horse” because for some reason he kept snubbing the other ones and trying to push in front of them! Qué vacilón!*

My horse!

After a full weekend, we returned to our homes in Heredia. The third week was a bit overwhelming with the sudden course load, but the weekend was a wonderful reminder of the beauty of this country. Looking around at the mountains or down at the streams or up at the stars never fails to amaze me. Tranquila.**

*One of our professor’s favorite phrases, which means “how fun/funny!”

**My favorite colloquial phrase so far, used to mean a number of things such as, “Chill out/everything’s okay/no big deal/don’t worry about it/calm down.”

Assalamo Aleykom (Peace be with you)

February 1, 2016 / econtreras / 0 Comments

So this last week has been a week of firsts.

I went to continent of Africa for the first time as I visited Morocco for the first time. Morocco is definitely an experience I will never forget. I learned so much in my short four days there not only did I learn about the language and culture, but also more about myself and what I want to do. I know, starting to get a little deep there, but seriously, if I ever have the chance to go back I would.

First, let me start off by teaching you a few words that I learned whilst in Morocco.
Salam– Hello
B’Salama– Bye
Koolhay– eat
Sabah– 7
Shrukan– thank you
Layla Saida– Goodnight

Smiti– My name is…

Waha– Okay

I don’t think I have ever experienced a language barrier (I am a native Spanish speaker so being in Spain is no biggie), but while I was in Morocco I had absolutely no idea how to communicate. I have huge respect for my fellow classmates that have little to no Spanish in their vocabulary. Trying to talk to my host family while in Morocco was a great experience and I picked up on a few words and thoroughly enjoyed it. My host sister did speak some English so I was not totally lost.

https://youtu.be/Skwgk9duVaU

This link will show you exactly how I felt throughout my Moroccan travels.

I want to give an overall schedule of what happened during my stay in Morocco.

Day One: Tarifa – Algeciras- Rabat

Boat journey across the Mediterranean Sea from Algeciras, Spain to Tangier, Morocco
Visit the women’s center, DARNA, including informal conversation with Moroccan students
- This was one of my favorite activities. We talked a lot about cultural diversity, education, and women’s rights in Morocco. You would think that Morocco, being an Islamic country, women would have little to no freedom but that is not the case! Women are very educated and sometimes may even have more freedom/opportunities than men.
Lunch at DARNA
- Uh, extremely delicious!
Drive to Assila along the Atlantic coast
- WE RODE CAMELS!! And for the record, camels must really like me since they were trying to eat my hair and even chased me across the beach!
  Can you tell that I am very excited? (sorry it might be a little dark)
Walk through the Medina (old town) of Assila
Dinner with home stay families
- Also delicious. Also, our bedrooms were freaking awesome and so was my host family! Sending them lots of love!

Day Two: Rabat

Breakfast
- Did I happen to mention that Moroccan food is delicious??
Conversation with Moroccan students
- Again this was very educational. It was interesting learning their point of view on things. For example, Moroccans have free education yet even with a PhD, it is extremely difficult to obtain a job. Also despite the fact that their education is free, it is not A+ quality. It is amazing to think about all the opportunities we have and yet they go unnoticed. To be completely honest, I was a little jealous at first at hearing about their free education and how they are taught English and/or French at a young age, but even then they are hard-pressed for a job.

Some of the Moroccan students who spoke with us.

Visit the Roman ruins–Chellah and the Mausoleum of King Mohammed V
Lunch with host family
- Need I say it?
Exploring Rabat’s Kasbah (old fort), street life, and the Medina market with Moroccan students
- This was a memorable night. #IHAAAAAB (inside joke) *see video attachment*
- https://youtu.be/uaMXFmESIi4
- Again, spending time with these Moroccan students is very insightful. I cannot stress enough how important it is to learn about every culture you come across! Please take the time to learn something about the next country/city you visit. It will be worth your while, I promise!!

This is us yelling “IHAAAB” as we take the picture. (excuse the blurriness on my pictures, for some reason they upload that way)

Hammam
- I definitely got to know my classmates a whole lot better after this. I suggest you research this activity on your own. I highly recommend it, though maybe in a lesser public setting. =)
Dinner
- YUM!

Day Three: Rabat – Rif Mountains – Chefchaouen

Breakfast
Drive to Rif Mountains
Lunch with family in a mountain village
- This family was absolutely precious. They were so open to us and friendly. They were also very curious about our culture as Americans. This was also a very different experience from all of the other cities we visited. Mostly in the way that the family lived because they were in a more rural area. #SquatPots
Drive to Chefchaouen
Settle in hostel and explore the Medina
- Time for bargaining and henna!
Dinner
- Umm…DELICIOUS!!
Reflection time
- We all spoke about what we had learned and what had surprised us the most. It was an intimate moment for us as we sat around two melting candles wrapped in our blankets.

Day Four: Chefchaouen – Ceuta – Tarifa

Breakfast
- Unfortunately, I was becoming deathly ill at this point (must have been all the delicious food I had been eating…overdose?) and I did not have any breakfast that morning. I was having some gastrointestinal issues otherwise known as traveler’s diarrhea, a fantastic thing really….NOT!, and I was dehydrated and eventually received some medical care. PIECE OF ADVICE: PLEASE KEEP YOURSELF HYDRATED WITH BOTTLED WATER!!
Drive to Ceuta
Boat journey across the Strait of Gibraltar
Arrival in Tarifa, Spain

My trip to Morocco is something that I will never forget. I learned so much and from my time there I can tell you two things:

Muslims are NOT terrorists. They are some of the friendliest people I have ever met. It is not part of their culture to blow things up or terrorize people. In fact, they are afraid of what ISIS might do next. Please do not let the media dictate your thoughts towards places you have never visited.
Never be afraid to experience different things or go out of your comfort zone. Enjoy life and the opportunities while you have them. Privileges.

Morocco was fun and adventurous but I never thought that I would be so happy to be back home, because that is what Granada is to me now. Home. And I never want to leave.

Chicago-Los Angeles-Tahiti-New Zealand

January 31, 2016 / pbaggett / 0 Comments

20 hour layover in Tahiti

It’s time to say goodbye, but I think goodbyes are sad and I’d much rather say hello; hello to a new adventure. January 27th was the first day of our adventure. As we said our goodbyes, Alex and I looked at each other and smiled, knowing that this is going to be an unforgettable trip. Though we knew the trip there may be long, we were going to make the most out of the journey. Our first flight was to LAX, which was about 4 hours with a 3 hour layover. Our next flight, from LAX to Tahiti, was an 8 hour flight followed by a long 20 hour layover. We landed in Tahiti at about 6 am and had to fly out at 2 am the following day. We figured that if we just walked, we would find something to do; there was only one main road on the island that circled the perimeter and at the very least we could walk toward the water and snorkel.

One of Alex’s Pictures of the Tahiti sunset

After about 20 minutes of walking and no success, we started to doubt our decision … just before we were about to turn around, we saw what looked like a beautiful hotel and figured it would be worth checking out. Here we met Roland, the director of the marina there, who was one of few who actually spoke English. Roland was the most helpful person we met that day. He made a few phone calls to see what our best option was and he said since all the tours were booked due to a cruise that just docked, our best option was to rent a car and tour ourselves. He personally drove us to the rental location and set us all up. It was his selflessness that allowed us to experience the best of Tahiti. It is people like him that we are excited to meet during our journey. Throughout the day, we drove down the entire West coast of the island, went snorkeling and were able to relax at the Intercontinental Resort. Unfortunately the videos were cut short because of the GoPro dying; nevertheless, we had an amazing time..It was definitely the best layover we could have asked for.

The ideal packing list

January 26, 2016 / kbouman / 0 Comments

Bring underwear and socks, and clothes that match the climate and cultural attitudes of wherever you’re going. This should go without saying. But beyond that, packing can be a somewhat stressful part of traveling, both for the simple weekend trips as well as for the whole semester. Some unnecessary things may sound like they could be useful, while other useful items may not occupy the foremost position in your mind. In this post, I will seek to differentiate between the useful and useless, as well as to provide some reasoning behind my assessments.

WARNING: Having only participated in the Reutlingen program, this entry is decidedly catered to my experiences in Germany. The most important thing is to know both yourself and where you’re going, and to pack accordingly.

First, let’s start with the unnecessary items.

I think it’s a priority to point out that you don’t need to set up your US phone with international roaming. Furthermore, I’ll argue that you shouldn’t try to do this at all. Never mind that it can be expensive, but it also doesn’t help you contact anybody with a German phone number. If you have roaming, and you want to call one of your german friends, then your friend will also be charged extra to answer your call, and that’s no fun for anybody. Instead of using your same phone number, just get a phone when you get there. If you don’t mind secondhand phones, there should be plenty of options in the cage in the director’s basement. If you do mind, go to the store and get a €5 pay-as-you-go phone and a SIM card. I’ve been very satisfied with my service from Vodafone with the CallYa Talk&Text plan. It a per-use charge instead of monthly, and has very good rates for calling to and from [as far as I can tell] anywhere in the EU.

For the other things that one might use a smartphone, I’ll still argue that you don’t need to be able to access a cell network 100% of the time, if at all. Apple Maps can be accessed without wifi or a mobile signal, so navigation is no reason to pay the extra money. If you load the map ahead of time, then you’ll be able to see [approximately] where in the world you are without having to be connected. There are also offline map app options, such as Here, which could be worth investigating. Wifi (called WLAN in Germany) is also very prevalent, so you’re well connected when you need to be. If you find yourself on Facebook often, and think that you need to be able to access that whenever you want, roaming won’t help you, but rather enable you. You have a problem, so a bit of a Facebook break might actually be good for you.

You don’t need to bring blankets, pillows, or any other linens – these are provided by the program. Furthermore, you probably don’t need to bring your own toothpaste, deodorant, and toiletries. These can be purchased, or if you’re lucky, possibly even found for free in the director’s storage cage. Perhaps bring small quantities of these things to get you into the first few weeks, but beyond that, everything you would ever need can be bought at the store.

You don’t really need to bring your own paper, notebooks, or school supplies. All of these things are inexpensive, and can be bought in stores upon your arrival. If you’re not pressed for space or weight in your luggage, you may include these things, but they aren’t strictly necessary.

German paper is kind of funny – it looks like what we might call graph paper in the US. As an engineer, I use it’s green-tinted cousin regularly for everything, so I don’t mind it, but if you really want only horizontal lines on your paper, perhaps you should bring some of that.

Unless using a dictionary is absolutely necessary for your studies, you really don’t need to bring one. They’re heavy and take up an enormous amount of luggage space. Instead, consider a healthily cautious blend of dict.leo.org, wiktionary.org, and translate.google.com as a good source of translations and definitions. I urge caution here, because sometimes online translators can be faulty. However, if you approach them with a sense of skepticism, always looking out for errors, they can be useful. Plus, the internet doesn’t weigh anything or take up any space, leaving plenty of room in your luggage for all the other things you’d need.

An extreme example of why it pays to be careful with online translation software. For those who don’t speak German, Montag = Monday, Dienstag = Tuesday, Mittwoch = Mid week = Wednesday, Donnerstag = Thursday.

Now let’s talk about some absolutely useful things to have. Hopefully I shouldn’t need to mention passports, power adapters, and a camera. Rather, some of these things are less-than-obvious.

You absolutely must bring a carry on-sized backpack (or suitcase, but I prefer a backpack) that can hold a week’s worth of clothes and supplies in it. During the fall semester, people were scrambling to borrow such backpacks for our two-week break. This was astounding to me, since I figured that everybody would already have such a backpack. You may have good luck finding such luggage in a outdoor or sporting goods store. You might also consider asking your parents or looking around your basement or garage. Though my main bag was purchased new last summer, I also brought another smaller “basement backpack” that came to Reutlingen in 1985 with my mother. This was my bag for day trips, including to the classroom.

Have a train pass. I had one from October to January. Sure, they’re expensive (over $1000 for 3 months, less for 2 months), but so long as you make an effort to use it, it pays for itself relatively quickly. Plus the convenience of being able to get on (nearly) any train and go (nearly) anywhere in the continent is truly unparalleled. Now that mine has expired, I’m sorely missing it. I’m even debating purchasing another, but we’ll have to see. At any rate, you owe yourself the opportunity to travel like this, so buy one.

Also get the Naldo Semester Ticket. You’ll do this in the first week in Reutlingen, so don’t need to pack it before you leave, but it’s useful enough that it merits being mentioned. It’s good for busses in Reutlingen, as well as busses and trains in the immediate region. Check out this map to see where it can take you.

As an additional note on the Naldo, if you want to save on train tickets to Stuttgart, buy them from Metzingen as your starting location instead of Reutlingen. Your Naldo pass can get you to Metzingen for free, so when you select it as your starting location instead of Reutlingen, you save €2.10 each way. Paying €10.20 instead of €12.30 may not seem like much of a savings, but it adds up quickly.

If you’re looking for an even cheaper (though slower) way to get to Stuttgart take the X3 bus to the Stuttgart Airport, and then the S-Bahn the rest of the way into town. This should cost you less that €5 each way.

Bring something that reminds you of home. I have one half of a set of two stuffed elephant toys, the other of which is with my fiancée Rachel back in the US. This elephant goes everywhere with me – within reason, of course. I don’t take it to class, but it has accompanied me on all of my big adventures.

Though the socks and the phone aren’t particularly special to me, I use them almost as often as the elephant. Peanut, by the way, is it’s name. Of course it has a name. Because I’m grown up, I now get to decide what that means. If you’re reading this, that statement applies to you too.

If you have easily portable hobbies, bring a few of them. I regularly play with mechanical puzzles (think Rubik’s cube), but figured that I’d be able to manage without one. This was a mistake. By the time Winter Break came around, I had purchased one online, had another brought from home, and received a third for Christmas that had been purchased at a Christmas market. Now, I’m doing much better.

From left to right: Purchased online; brought from home (thanks, Rachel!); Christmas present (thanks again, Rachel) from the Ulmer Weihnachtsmarkt.

Bring recipes, or have them in your head, or be able to find them online. Macaroni and cheese is a popular one among non-USAmericans. Brownies are also a bit of an USA phenomenon. Be prepared to share these with your floor mates.

I figured I’d be fine without a sewing kit, which turned out to be a foolish thing to figure. Now, I have one, and can highly recommend that you have one as well.

A laundry bag, or a plastic garbage bag in which you can store and transport laundry. Thicker works better, obviously. It’s also fairly useful to have spare bags, e.g. for dirty shoes, wet towels, or smelly laundry. This can help to keep your luggage clean. I promise I’m not your mother.

Finally, it’s ABSOLUTELY BENEFICIAL to have a good system to organize small change. This is often referred to as a wallet. Make sure it has a little button or zipper pocket for coins. Also, make sure that you use these coins over the course of the semester. In the fall, a classmate had a drawer full of nearly €40 in small change, and needed to get rid of it at the end of the semester. Since I was staying (still am!), I bought it all off of him at the bargain price of €30. Though I’ve been using them as diligently as possible, I still have a long way to go. However, even if they are going slowly, the wallet is still far superior to the failed organization system that is the classmate’s drawer.

This is more than a month into the €40 in 0.20-, 0.10-, 0.05-, 0.02-, and 0.01-cent pieces given to me by my classmate. I’m doing pretty well on the small ones, but the big ones still have a long way to go. Don’t travel in such a way that your money becomes organized like this by the people whom you give it to as you leave.

This shows one of several "correct" ways to manage small change. You can also see what the aforementioned Naldo semester pass looks like.

This shows a wallet with a button pouch – one of several acceptable ways to manage your small change from day to day. You can also see the aforementioned Naldo semester pass.

This isn’t something that you can bring, but you’ll certainly be unprepared for a semester abroad if you come without the desire to have new experiences and go new places. No matter how welcomed you are, you will not feel like you’re at home. This is the way it’s supposed to be. It will be uncomfortable. There will be things that you won’t be able to understand or do, simply because you’re not at home. You may even experience debilitating homesickness. However, it will also be fulfilling, and eye-opening. You will not return as the same person you were when you left. And this is just the way it should be. Whatever you bring with you, come with the expectation that you will change, the knowledge that it will be uncomfortable, and the guarantee that it will be okay no matter what.

Culture Shock in Costa Rica

January 19, 2016 / Lindsey Van Der Aa / 0 Comments

“Culture shock” is one of those big, scary terms that people throw around whenever they talk about going to a foreign country. They make it sound like the second you get off the plane, you will get hit in the face with so many new things you won’t even know how to function. Before the study abroad students left for our various adventures, the Valpo study abroad staff prepped us extensively for dealing with this phenomenon, but no amount of advice could have really prepared me for one of the strangest and most disorienting weeks of my life.

Saying that culture shock includes not being able to function because of all the changes is a bit extreme, but when I arrived in Costa Rica with five other Valpo students, I definitely felt like I was instantly hit with a completely new way of life (not to mention a new language). Here are some things I’ve learned in my first week in Heredia, Costa Rica:

It’s HOT. This might go without saying, but when you go from a Midwest winter to a Central American summer, it’s a really big shock to your body. Staying hydrated is essential, and it often feels like you have to constantly drink water. After a couple days, though, we all have been enjoying the warm weather and sunshine!

Our whole group enjoying the sunshine on a trip to San Jose (the capital city) with our director, Heidi. This was taken in front of one of many colorful murals found in the city.

Stay clean. Contrary to what some people from the United States might believe, Costa Rica is actually a fairly rich country, and its people pride themselves on their exceptional healthcare and cleanliness. Since it’s so hot all the time, people are always making sure they stay clean and fresh, sometimes even taking two showers a day. My host mom keeps her house especially spotless. She is very particular about certain things—like me making my bed and opening the curtains in the morning. It’s also important to always wear shoes in the house! Going barefoot is seen as bad hygiene.

Ticos. Costa Ricans have acquired the nickname “Ticos,” and they often have their own way of speaking. They like to add “-ita” and “-illa” to the ends of their words (my host mom does this all the time!), so even if you’ve studied Spanish before you have to pay close attention! A few other phrases we have learned are “Que chiva!” to say something is cool, “Que maje” to say “hey dude!” and the classic “pura vida” to say that life is good!

Addresses are different. Typically, the streets don’t have names and the houses don’t have numbers, so in order to find out where something is you have to use landmarks. However, Ticos are very friendly and willing to help you get where you need to go; just ask!

All the houses have bars on the front of them. No one really knows why.

Case in point:

(this is a street in my neighborhood, Santa Rosa)

If you look different, people will stare. I was warned about this in advance, but it is still a pretty strange feeling to have nearly everyone turn their heads when I walk by. When I was walking home from school one day, I saw a group of children riding their bikes, and every single face was a gaping stare. For a quite average looking blond-haired, blue-eyed girl from the Midwest, this is a very new thing for me!

It’s beautiful. In every direction, mountains are on the horizon. The houses are brightly colored. The food is delicious, and our host families never fail to offer us copious amounts of it. Coffee every morning is a must. The women buy fresh fruits and vegetables at the local market (La Feria), and then many make fresh fruit drinks with it (my host mom has made me a variety already!). So far, every day has been bright and sunny. Spanish music is nearly always playing in the background at my house. Our host families have taught us how to dance. Miscommunication with our host families is frustrating, but it leads to some hilarious stories. We’ve only been here for a week, but our Spanish has already improved.

The butterfly garden at el Museo Nacional (National Museum)

Our trip to Guayabo National Monument in the mountains

Although I’ve been out of the country before, I have never experienced culture shock to the extent that I have here. Maybe it’s the language. Maybe it’s the time frame. Maybe it’s the country. Whatever it is, I know deep down that I’m learning. I’m learning in a completely different way than I could at a classroom at Valpo. I keep reminding myself to be patient and take things one day at a time. Because here in Costa Rica, every day is a new adventure. Pura vida.

Student Stories from Around the World