One night last week, three of us (Aaron, Teddy, and myself) joined a guy from Aaron and Teddy’s floor for a game of pick-up soccer with some neighborhood teenagers. While they were significantly better than the three of us and at least pretended to not know English (and us not much German), we ended up playing well beyond the original 10 goals we first agreed to play to. It was a fun night!
Kellie, Nick, Lauren (pictured on the left), Kenneth (pictured on the right), and I went exploring on the trails near campus. A small pond, campground, awesome covered fire pit pavilion we plan to grill at later on, and a new restaurant to try out in the woods were some of our great finds! We also came across this little building/shack/tree stand on the hike so had to take the photo-op!
On a bit more of a somber note, our group toured the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp while on our Berlin trip this past week. Although we arrived and departed as a group, everyone walked around the camp by themselves. It was a very moving experience for me, because although I had been to the Holocaust Museum in Germany, actually visiting a concentration camp where people were murdered and not just viewing exhibits and photos at a museum had a much greater effect.
In the middle of our city tour of Berlin we stopped by a famous chocolate shop. Yes, that is actually a chocolate version of the Brandenburg Gate!
From a famous American university chapel to a world-famous cathedral. This photo was taken on a pew in the Cologne Cathedral during the free travel time after our group Berlin trip. I traveled to Potsdam and then Cologne, Germany with Nick and Maria. We all also met up with two of my German friends while in Cologne!
Also while in Cologne, Maria, Nick, my friend Marius, and I went on a gondola ride over the Rhine river. Nick is pictured here, snapping a photo of Cologne from up in the sky.
Hey all! A few days ago I made it to my temporary home, the Gold Coast! All though it is like paradise here I am going to tell you about my past weekend in Sydney!
So on Friday I arrived in Sydney and was very tired and exhausted from a 15 hour flight. Even though I slept the traveling was pretty tiring. On the plane I met a girl named Brooke who was also in my program. There were a few other students from my program on my flight. After getting through the busy and confusing part of customs I picked up my bags and met up with my group and on site director Jackie!
Jackie is awesome! She is like my group’s Aussie mom. Jackie lives in the Gold Coast as well as another team member, Keith of CISAbroad that was staying with us in Australia.
On Friday the group and I stayed at the Sydney Harbour YHA (Youth Hostelling Association). The hostel was in an area called “the rocks” which is the older part of Sydney by the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. When a group of us got there we just chilled out at a bar and looked out at the gorgeous sites of Sydney. We were waiting on a couple of other groups from the airport to meet up with us before lunch. We headed out into the city to lunch at a place called Bar100 where I got a chicken burger. I think chicken burgers are a popular thing here because I have seen many restaurants with that on their menu. In the afternoon the group had a scavenger hunt where we were suppose to do or find certain things. For example, we had to take a picture with an employee at an art museum. So two of us took a picture with a hot Aussie. My friend was having trouble taking the picture because he was so good looking. We explored the area by the Opera house gardens and had a grand ole time doing that. Next we went to the Pylon Lookout, which is next to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We took a lot of stairs up to the top but the view was definitely worth it with a site of the bridge and the Opera House. Later that night we went to dinner at The Australia Hotel where I tried Kangaroo pizza. I really do not know how to explain what it tasted like but they put a sauce in the pizza that made it taste like barbeque sauce. Kangaroo does not taste like chicken or beef. Ok more like beef I guess but I can definitely tell it is not beef.
On Saturday we hit up Bondi Beach and tried some Aussie style pies. When I mean pies I do not mean fruit or cream pie. I mean these pies have all sorts of ingredients in them. The one I got was the classic and was one they recommended us to try. It had peas on top, mash potatoes, gravy, and of course the crust around it. I wasn’t a big fan of it but did eat some of it because I was very hungry. The weather was pretty cold that day so we walked the trails, around the beach, which had some awesome lookouts. I think Aussie’s could tell we were tourists because we went too close to the waves and got bombarded by them. They also had these ocean swimming pools on the ends of the beach. They were very cool! Huge waves would come over the edges of pools and the people that were trying to do laps wouldn’t be swimming as straight anymore. After that we just explored the shops around Bondi beach and headed back for a night out with the group. My friends and I looked around and found a nice place to eat.
On Sunday we took a ferry (Circular Quay: Wharf. 3) and headed to Manly. We kayaked on the Harbour taking a few stops to hike up to a lookout, we ate lunch, and explored a museum where they talked about how they dealt with diseases by putting people in quarantine. We were all so hungry that we ended up eating at our second stop and then by the third stop they hooked all the kayaks up to the back of the boat and let us cruise on back to the dock. We explored manly beach area but were ready to head back soon after because we were wet from kayaking and it was quite chilly out. Our last night out in Sydney was a great one! We had walked past the restaurant the night before and everyone was all dressed up and ready to party. That night was a little bit more laid back because it was Sunday night. The place was awesome, they had a live band and a great DJ. I got a burger and fries but the burger had something different on the bottom like sautéed onions or something which made it very different but good. My friends and I got a few drinks and stayed later than the rest of the group enjoying our last night in Sydney.
Zaragoza is home to around 600,000 people and is the capital of the comunidad autónoma of Aragon. (Comunidades autónomas are comparable to US states.) Zaragoza (sometimes spelled Saragossa) is the 5th largest city in Spain and has become a tourist destination for many Spaniards and Europeans. Zaragoza was the host of the 2008 International Exhibition (Expo 2008) which brought many tourists and attention to the city.
Caesar Augustus
Before coming to Zaragoza, I did not know much about this city except that it is rich in history and is a major city in Spain. My knowledge was pretty limited. However, I have increased my understanding of Zaragoza and been appreciating its beauty and history during this past week and a half. I learned before going on this trip that it is a good idea to travel within the city the first few weeks of a study abroad experience. By doing so, the city you are staying in will feel like home and you can discover your favorite spots in the city right away. I have already found some of those spots in Zaragoza because of my travel through the city with friends and my host mother.
I have learned that Zaragoza was founded by the Romans in 24 BC under Caesar Augustus’s rule and the name Zaragoza comes from Caesar Augustus. If a numerous amount of people say his name hundreds of times over many years, his name eventually turns in Zaragoza. His statue is in an ancient part of the city nearby the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar which is a special part of the city that I love to visit.
El Pilar
El Pilar
La Catedral-Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar/The Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar is what I previously referred to as the Cathedral, but is actually the Basilica. (The Cathedral of the Savior is another famous site in Zaragoza which I have not gotten a chance to visit yet. Living in a city with so many famous churches can get a bit confusing!) Most people here just refer to The Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar as El Pilar. I was able to attend Mass here on Sunday which was a really wonderful experience. The churches here usually have around 3-4 services each Sunday and El Pilar has even more. There is Mass every day at El Pilar, but on Sundays alone, there are 12 different services. My host mother and I went to the 1pm service which was very full. El Pilar was crowded with people attending Mass and people just visiting the building. Many of the people at the service were visitors, but some live in Zaragoza and come every week. Later, we went up one of the towers of the El Pilar to see the entire city. When the elevator door opened, we were greeted by a spectacular sight of El Pilar and the city. We then climbed a small spiral staircase to the top of the tower which confirmed my slight fear of heights. I cannot write enough about the excellent view of Zaragoza surrounded by mountains.
I went to the top of this tower of El Pilar!
The Ebro River and El Pilar
El Pilar
As you can see, the Ebro River runs through Zaragoza with picturesque bridges like the Piedra Bridge and Santiago Bridge. Further down the river, la Pasarela Del Voluntariado shows its beauty as a pedestrian bridge. This bridge was built to honor those who volunteered with Expo 2008.
La Pasarela Del Voluntariado which is a pedestrian bridge built to honor volunteers who helped with Expo 2008 in Zaragoza.
Zaragoza is also home to the beautiful Palace of La Aljafería. Originally an Islamic Palace, La Aljaferia, along with other ancient buildings make up the Mudejar Architecture of Aragon known as a Cultural World Heritage Site. After being an Islamic Palace, it was ruled by Christians and later was the Catholic Kings’ Palace. Since then, it has gone through renovations and restorations. This Palace is an incredible treasure of Zaragoza and is similar to La Alhambra of Granada, Spain. I already want to go back to this site to take it all in once more. I went through it fairly quickly, but plan on returning with more time to spend in this famous palace.
Courtyard inside the Palace of La Aljafería
La Aljafería
I still have plenty to see and do in Zaragoza, but I have gotten a good start on experiencing the whole city. I already know which sites I want to visit again with friends. I am thankful to be learning about this fantastic city!
Traveling to China was an experience in itself. As I entered the airport terminal the flight attendant announced that the passengers would soon begin to board. First class. Business class. Premium economy and then there I was, my seat number had been called. I then grabbed my carry on, along with my passport in hand and prepared for a journey that would change me for the rest of my life. I didn’t know what to think of the 17 hr. journey, however I did come prepared with countless movies downloaded on my Ipad as well as an awesome playlist that would keep me grounded as I flew through the skies. 10 hrs of sleep (more or less), 2 movies, and a 2hr playlist later there I was, in Hong Kong. It was not my final destination but rather the first of two stops I had before I would reach Hangzhou. As I landed in Hong Kong a huge sigh of relief came over me as the hard part was now over. I had another 2 ½ hr flight from Hong Kong to Shang Hai but that seemed minuscule compared to the 14 ½ flight that I had dealt with previously.
Everything had gone well, the hardest part of the trip was now over and I was that much closer to Hangzhou. That is, until an error occurred with my groups tickets. Unfortunately we were booked on two separate flights, half of us had a connecting flight as soon as we landed in Hong Kong to board a plane to Shanghai. The other half however, was booked for a flight to Shanghai the next day. Essentially, we were all stuck in this foreign country where English was not the first language and had to figure out what to make of this situation. We had two choices: work with the airline company and try to stay together or we separated and hoped for the best. We chose to stay together and as we did our stay in Hong Kong got longer. We were put up in a hotel, courtesy of the airline company, and that following morning we would all depart from Hong Kong to Shanghai.
Although calling our teacher, calling our travel agency, conversing with the airline company and panicking in our spare time only allowed us to have 4 hrs of sleep, in an actual bed, we knew this trip would be worth it. So, the following morning we arose from our beds, and headed back to the airport we had only been 4hrs previously. Again with tickets and passports in hand, I walked into the now, Hong Kong terminal and awaited for my departure. That is, until the plane got delayed for another hour but nonetheless we made it to Shanghai. From there it would only be a three hour drive from Shanghai to Hangzhou, our final destination but who could have known that a 3hr drive would quickly turn into 6hrs. due to rush hour traffic. By then everyone was both mentally and physically exhausted but there we were, finally standing in front of Zhejiang university, A place we would call home for the next four months and it had been so worth the wait. 2 days later, Chicago–>Hangzhou ETA 48hrs.
First a brief introduction. Not that it matters, as a majority of readers will likely be my parents, but we will proceed regardless.
I’m Kenneth Bouman. 4th-year (9th-semester) mechanical engineering major from Cincinnati, Ohio. Though I’ve crossed borders into Germany a total of five times, this is really only my second time here. I arrived with (most of) the rest of the group on 27 August, but unlike (most of) the rest of them, I’ll be staying for a full year.
The program I’m enrolled in is called Valparaiso International Engineering Program, or VIEP. If you’re enrolled at VU, they’ve bragged (and rightly so) about it in their ads, and you should totally know what it is. However, since even some of my engineering classmates still don’t know a thing about the program (or inexplicably haven’t heard about it) despite walking past several prominent posters that explain the big points, I’ll fill everybody in. VIEP takes engineering curriculum and adds foreign language. It also adds a year to your study plan, but considering that this year is split between studying abroad and an overseas internship, this extra year is easily worthwhile. There are impressive statistics that accompany the program, but you can look those up yourself if you’re really that interested.
We’ve been busy enough that I haven’t found time to properly formulate coherent thoughts that can give a blog entry a good flow. Instead, I’ll talk about several things that I’ve noticed.
Euros are incredibly well-designed. You can sort through different denominations of Kleingeld (change) and Scheins (bills) by touch alone, and the size of everything is more indicative of its worth than the US equivalents. All of our bills are the same size, while larger Scheins have greater value. Simple. You can read more about the coins if you’re really interested, but I’m just going to share one fact that I find interesting: the front of the coin (the “Common Side”) shows the denomination and some map-like image of Europe, but the reverse (the “National Side”) will be different depending on the country in which it was minted. This is a cool way for the countries to maintain some semblance of a self identity while still associating with the much larger entity of the European Union. The Scheins also have a bunch of security features which I find fascinating, but these don’t need to be discussed here or now.
The bills are different sizes, which among other things, facilitates transactions for people with visual impairments.
Infrastructure seems to be developed far beyond that which I’m used to from back home. Recycling is the big one in particular, but much more on that later. Or maybe not, come to think of it. Infrastructure, though interesting to me, is most certainly not interesting to many people.
City planning seems to be more relaxed. Houses don’t necessarily have places to park cars next to them. Some had stair climbs to get from the houses to the road, and these houses may or may not be accessible by car or have a road going to them. (Google Earth helped me confirm this). This may not be true everywhere, but it certainly seems to be the case in Reutlingen.
There are quite a few playgrounds around. Seems like a great place to be a kid. These playgrounds even look to be far more exciting than their US counterparts, though this could be my fresh optimism talking. We’ll see if this is still the case in a few weeks or months.
When walking from Stadtmitte (city center) toward the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) – a 300-meter (3 block) distance – there are a minimum of 5 mobile phone stores. This seems like kind of a lot for a country that I didn’t really imagine as very consumer-centric.
You know how “there’s a Starbucks or a Walmart on every corner” in the US? It seems as though the German analogue might be a Kebob place on every corner. The closest one to our dorms, Campus Kebap, is about a block away.
Smoking seems fairly prevalent, but I could be biased by the fact that my room is situated immediately next to the two-seat smoking balcony for my floor. You get carded at grocery stores if you look like you’re under 18, much as one does in the US with alcohol. Interestingly enough, alcohol doesn’t have nearly the same taboo factor here as it does in the US. It’s perfectly acceptable to be seen in public with open containers of it, and none of us have needed (or likely will need) identification to purchase it.
My group is great. As usual, more on them later. For now, here are their names in alphabetical order: Aaron, Adam, Brittany, Jessica, Jordan, Kellie, Kelsey, Kenneth, Lauren, Nick, Mackenzie, Maria, Micah, Reid, Ryan, and Teddy. We’re spread pretty evenly across three apartments for international students. My experience of meeting more english-speaking non-germans in the dorm echoes what I’ve heard from the rest of the Valpo cohort. Carter Hanson, our director, lives with his wife Michelle and daughters Sophie and Elsa in a nearby apartment building. Classes are all in one room (but at different times, fortunately), which is about a 10-minute walk from the dorms. It takes about 20 minutes to walk into town, but the bus can get you there in less time.
By the way, the ‘eu’ in “Reutlingen” makes an “oy” sound, and rhymes with “boy” or “Freud”. If you’ve been pronouncing Freud incorrectly this whole time, now’s a great time to fix that.
As you may guess from these disjointed observations, they’ve been keeping us very busy. We’ve had two cursory days of classes so far, and are already preparing for a group trip to Berlin beginning tomorrow morning. Though there has been time to relax – to climb a nearby mountain and spend an afternoon at the pool, among other things of course – the whirlwind of stimuli has left room for barely anything else. I would hope that before too long, everybody will be able to settle into something of a routine, but in the meantime, we are a bunch of fulfilled yet busy travelers.
I am excited to say that I am officially on my way to Australia! Today did not start as smooth as I had hoped but I cannot really complain since I am having this great opportunity of studying abroad. Basically what happened in a quick nutshell is that my visa did not match my passport. The airline and the embassy tried to help but could only help me to a certain extent. I found a way to fix my visa and well that was solved luckily. Unfortunately I missed my flight from South Bend to Chicago but fortunately my parents were both able to drive me to Chicago and say our goodbyes there. As I currently sit on this flight to San Francisco I am constantly reminded of how lucky I am to not only have this opportunity but the support from my parents and family. I cannot wait to share my experience with you and I look forward to spending the next few days in Sydney.
The bus terminal at the Madrid airport, one of my first impressions of Spain
I am here at my home for the next 4 months, España. The act of coming here by myself sounds slightly terrifying, but it actually could not have gone smoother. The trip was long, but, call me crazy, relaxing in a sense. I think when you are left in an airport or in a plane for a certain amount of hours, there is nothing left to do but use those moments to take a break. I left my home in Bay City, Michigan around 9:00am on Friday, August 28. My parents and I were at the Detroit airport around 12:30 (after a stop for breakfast) and a few minutes later I was saying goodbye. Then I took a flight to Atlanta and around 7:00pm I was on the 8 hour flight to Madrid. On this flight, I sat next to a student from Ohio who is spending this semester in Madrid. Before I left for this trip, I was told by veteran solo travelers that I’ll meet people easier when traveling alone. I was pretty surprised at how quickly that happened for me. I enjoyed her company just being reminded that there are a lot of people like myself not only studying in Spain, but studying across the globe. After landing at 9:45am local time and getting my luggage, I had a few hours to kill before boarding the bus to Zaragoza which was spent people watching. Once aboard the three and a half hour ride to Zaragoza, I took in the Spanish countryside in between moments of sleep. I noticed a few things during the bus ride. 1. Mountains for days. No, they are not the huge ones in Colorado or Alaska, but they are mountains nonetheless (especially for a flatland girl like myself). 2. The countryside looks pretty dry (at least where I was). I did not see much green grass at all 3. The heat. The inside of the bus showed the temperature, but of course, in Celsius and I am not super familiar with Celsius. I saw 35° and thought, “Oh, that can’t be too bad.” Then I got out my phone and used the converter and saw that 35°C is about 95°F. Definitely warmer than when I left The Mitten State.
The view from the bus ride
I arrived at the bus stop around 5pm local time which was 11am Eastern Time where I was greeted by my gracious host mom. Much to my surprise, I was not that tired even though I had only gotten a few hours of (not so great) sleep on the plane and bus. My host mom and I took a bus to her neighborhood and then walked to her apartment (during which I was wondering why I had packed so much) where I ate some food and took a much needed shower. That night, we went to some stores near her apartment and walked around the city. It was then when I got my first view of the famous Cathedral in Zaragoza. La Catedral-Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar is known throughout the world and is a truly fantastic sight. We turned down the road to the Cathedral and a musician was playing Ave Maria on the violin. The music, people, and Cathedral all together resembled a dream.
The musician with the Cathedral at the end of the road
La Catedral-Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar
La Catedral-Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar
Since then, I have gone inside the Cathedral briefly and have seen only a portion of the beauty that this Cathedral holds. I’m looking forward to going back often. My host mom showed me around some other famous sights of Zaragoza, and I tried to take it all in. I was also struck by how Europe, in some cases, is just like the movies. Yes, I have only been here for a few days, but the mopeds are everywhere. It’s so picturesque when I see them coming down the cobblestone road with a gorgeous old building in the background.
As far as first impressions go, this one was pretty wonderful. My journey here went very well and my first few days have been great. I’m looking forward to an adventure-filled semester here in Spain!
The day we arrived, Thursday, August 27th, was a very tiring one during our meeting with Professor Hansen in his family’s apartment. Regardless of being exhausted all managed to put on a smiling face for our group picture!
One day after arriving (most of our jet-lag gone by this point), we took a tour of the city of Reutlingen, which will be our home for the next slightly over 3 ½ months. Although much of the city is newer than many other German cities, the cathedral luckily survived the bombings and fire during the last few centuries. This photo was taken on a later night with the moon in the background; the photo alone can’t show how picturesque it was!
Also during that tour of Reutlingen, we went through the world’s narrowest street, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
The tour of Tübingen, Germany was arguably more beautiful than that of Reutlingen, between the cathedral, river, castle, and flowers scattered throughout the city.
Earlier today we started off early (9am, so very early for college students) with a hike to the top of a “mountain” visible from our dorm rooms. The views from the top were spectacular, and we all cannot wait for the leaves to start changing color in the fall to go up there again!
This post was written by Tom Abbott, studying in China this summer.
For the last stretch of the trip, we took the high speed train from Hangzhou to Beijing. The bullet train was really something to actually see in person. We traveled at about 300 km/h, which had us arriving in Beijing about 5 hours later. The ride was really smooth!
Our first stop after arriving in Beijing was to see the Temple of Heaven. The Temple of Heaven is actually much more than just a temple. It is surrounded by a huge park and other great monuments. There were tons of people relaxing and playing games with others in the park and temple area. The temple itself was quite large and serves as a great spot for wedding pictures (three couples were there at the time we were).
View looking up at part of the Great Wall
Looking down.
The next day was the Great Wall. Often times you will hear people say that they have “walked” the Great Wall.
View looking up
This can be deceiving, however, because the part of the wall we visited was located in a very hilly area and I would call it more of hiking or climbing the Great Wall instead of walking it. The views from the wall were spectacular and it was a warm day with very clear skies. The part of the wall we went to was about an hour from our hotel in the downtown area and we spent at least 2 hours climbing the wall.
The Birdsnest, 2008 Olympics
For the time we were in Beijing the skies were actually really clear and the air did not feel like it was extremely polluted, as many people assume. Actually, the skies in Beijing were the clearest that I saw in all of my time in China.
Building inside the Forbidden City
The last day of activities was spent at the Forbidden City. The shear size of the Forbidden City was unbelievable! We walked through the whole thing and it took us close to two and a half hours. There is something like 8000 different rooms in the city and we got to see the political buildings as well as the halls for celebration. The Forbidden City served as the living quarters of many emperors but now it has been turned into a museum.
Me sitting on a royal chair
Beijing was one of the coolest cities for me in China because there is so much history, yet it is also quite modern. It was a mix of all the other cities we saw all out into one. The night life in Beijing was also quite superb as well. There were numerous night markets and food markets that Valpo students checked out and found to be satisfying.
Writing this final blog after having already landed and arrived home, there are definitely some last things I would like to say about China. First, although it feels great to be home, I already miss China and the people I met there and the things I saw even though I have not yet been home for one full day! I am already thinking about when I could go back again.
The thing I will miss most will be how affordable everything was, especially food and transportation. I ate a good sized breakfast every morning for less than $2 and took a cab home from work everyday which normally came to about $1 when split three ways. I always felt safe in China as well. I think this feeling was shared by all of the students there, even with the ones that were not able to converse with the people of China.
Tienanmen Square
This experience has been one that I will definitely never forget and it has shaped me in so many different ways, as well as given me the opportunity to meet and get to know some great people. I am forever grateful for Valparaiso University for offering this trip and for all of those who have helped me to make going to China for a month possible!
ded on my Ipad as well as an awesome playlist that would keep me grounded as I flew through the skies. 10 hrs of sleep (more or less), 2 movies, and a 2hr playlist later there I was, in Hong Kong. It was not my final destination but rather the first of two stops I had before I would reach Hangzhou. As I landed in Hong Kong a huge sigh of relief came over me as the hard part was now over. I had another 2 ½ hr flight from Hong Kong to Shang Hai but that seemed minuscule compared to the 14 ½ flight that I had dealt with previously.
