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The Week in A Nutshell

September 21, 2014 / margaretprunty / 0 Comments

For the past few weeks, I have been working with first and second graders at my internship to help with reading and grammar. Last week, I enjoyed spending time with the older kids, grade six and seven, to help with math work. I still truly like to work with younger students, but I have also been thrilled giving assistance to older students. It’s been a lot of fun getting to know them and getting good feedback from them on homework that we worked on in previous sessions. One of the girls I helped, Brumelda, has become a buddy of mine. After the first time helping her with work, she’s come to me for other help ever since. This was a neat moment for me because I was worried that I might not be as useful to the students as I would like, but I’m more confident now in helping them. It’s very satisfying to me when I see them to start understanding the work and have students approach me for help. I try to be extra positive and enthusiastic with the students because they might not get that at school, according to my supervisor. Brumelda noticed this and, at first, I thought she might have found it a bit annoying, but she ended up writing a story for school about a day when her life changed and she wrote about meeting me! I think she picked it mostly because she was struggling to chose a topic, but it was awesome that she even thought about me for that. As far as interning goes, it has been a great week and was followed by a fun weekend.

On Saturday night, we celebrated the first birthday in our house. We had fun going to a sky bar at the top of the Hilton Hotel in town and then made our way to other parts of town. It’s always fun to try new places around Windhoek and everyone had a great time. Following our evening, we decided to go out for brunch on Sunday morning. It did not go as planned, though. The restaurant we selected only got one of eleven orders correct. For example, two friends got Eggs Benedict, but they gave them a piece of stale bread, ham, and boiled eggs slathered with a frighteningly large amount of mayo. Some of us were a little frustrated, but the group of us have such good attitudes, we were all laughing about it an hour later. I can’t wait to see what lies ahead this week as we travel to the northern part of the country.

Exploring Cambridge

I’ve been in Cambridge for a few weeks now, and I feel like I have settled into a routine. My days these past couple of weeks have been filled with a few classes, but mostly going out and getting to know the city that is my home for the next eight months.

I keep myself busy during the days by walking around the small little streets of Cambridge. I don’t have any classes on Wednesdays, so I usually take that day to explore. I go out by myself and take my time going down whatever road I want to just to see what’s there. I love wandering around and exploring and even getting a little lost. It’s been a great way to get to know the city. I love the smaller shops and local businesses. You never really know what kind of shop you’re going to walk into, and I think that’s awesome.

Yesterday, the entire group went punting. For those of who who don’t know what that is, a punt is a wooden boat with a flat area on one end. Someone stands on that and uses a long pole to push the boat through the water. Anyway, it was another unusually gorgeous day outside with clear skies and the sun shining, and I had a blast.

The group split up into two punts, and our two tour guides had us go side by side so they could both talk about the things we were seeing at the same time. We passed St. John’s College, Trinity College, King’s College, and Magdalene College on the River Cam. Both of our guides were very knowledgeable and had a lot of interesting stories to share about the colleges and things that happen in Cambridge. It was nice to sit and relax for an hour and be outside in the sunshine and see Cambridge without having to walk anywhere.

Today I climbed the the highest spot in Cambridge. Granted, I live in Colorado, so this “high spot” was a little baby hill. But nevertheless, it still offered the best views of Cambridge. I could see the entire city, and I realized that it was much bigger than I thought it was. Because I can walk to anywhere I need to go so easily and relatively quickly, I always assumed the Cambridge was smaller than it was. I could see all the way to the King’s College Chapel.

The hill that I climbed was actually built by the Romans in the early A.D.’s. It was a point where four different roads met to cross the river Cam into the city, and, being the highest point in Cambridge, it was easy to defend. Like I’ve said before, and will probably continue to keep saying, it is fascinating to be in a place where the history extends over a thousand years.

I have really enjoyed getting to know Cambridge so far, and I am excited to do some more exploring. Tomorrow is International Student Orientation at Anglia Ruskin University, and a few of us are attending that. I’m sure there will be many more stories to tell and things to talk about when classes at Anglia start in a week and a half!

The only collegiate chapel in the world that is larger than Valpo’s Chapel of the Resurrection: King’s College Chapel

Gearing Up for Berlin and Travel Season

September 17, 2014 / Katie Rinda / 0 Comments

Waiting for the bus.

This last week was a little on the quiet side. Went to class, ate more chocolate croissants, attempted to say more than “Ein. Brelzen.” to the very nice bakery ladies, and polished off my third jar of Nutella. (It actually is better in Europe. The chocolate to hazelnut ratio is perfection, and the smoothness is reminiscent of Wynton Marsalis’ patter at the BBC proms. I feel for you who have never experienced the wonderfulness of European Nutella.) But a nice, calm week is probably the best kind of week to have right now, as Friday begins our whirlwind of class traveling on a train headed for Berlin.

Yes, I color-code my travel maps. Although not entirely consistently.

In honor of our season of traveling, Brittany and I began our travel map, pinned with places we’re going and hope to go. The list is long, but between the map and the realization that Italy is a lot closer that we thought, our plans are coming along quite nicely. In addition to Berlin, we’re headed to Hamburg and Köln (Cologne) in the next couple of weeks. Don’t worry, I will post pictures of it all. I will also figure out how the post works again so I can send all the people I said I would send stuff a postcard. I promise.

We found this walking to the train in Reutlingen. I think it’s a coffee table. I also think it’s for sale.

Oh, I forgot something for my summary of the week’s events… Tübingen! This university town is 10 minutes west of Reutlingen, is home to one of Germany’s oldest museums, and sits on the Neckar River. It’s a very pretty and very vertical town. We briefly toured the downtown and the castle with our Art History professor, who’s lived in Tübingen for at least thirty years. We also got to go on a boat ride on the Neckar. It’s not that big, as rivers go- compared to the Mississippi, Illinois, or Mackanac, it’s a mild-mannered stream- but that made it an even better choice for punting, in which the boat is moved by digging a long stick into the bed of the river and pushing the boat forward. Our punter (the guy that makes the boat move) was also a member of one of the university teams for the annual punting race up and down the Neckar. According to our professor, the winners throw a huge party, and the losers have to drink castor oil. Our boatman’s team got 5th out of 30-ish last year.

The beautiful Neckar, and the punter.

While we were there, we enjoyed a dinner at the Neckarmüller, a microbrewery right on the river. We ate with everybody associated with the Valpo program in Germany, even including the retired language professor from the start of the Valpo program here, almost 50 years ago.

Kaitlyn and Katie, two non-Reutlingen Valpo students in Germany, enjoying the sunshine on the Neckar

That was Sunday, and it was delightful. But what will Berlin bring? You have to check back next week to see…

A Lifestyle Change- Day to Day Differences

September 17, 2014 / Sarah Blackwell / 0 Comments

Lately I’ve been adjusting to a new rhythm as Japan has forced me into a completely new lifestyle. At home, like many American college students, I drive or take the (somewhat inconvenient) bus everywhere. Walking all the way across campus at Valpo seems like a long hike, and though I don’t own a bicycle, I don’t think a lot of students ever go very far on their bicycles. I spend many hours a day doing homework around my classes, which occur at the same time throughout the week. I almost never bother cooking since the meal plan is sufficient.

Here my routine is completely different. My classes aren’t usually at the same time and all of my homework for all my classes can be finished in three hours or less. Usually it’s a lot less. Driving isn’t really an option here, so that leaves walking, cycling, and public transportation. Walking is actually a bit inconvenient in Hirakata, at least with the weather still as hot as it’s ever been. Any supermarket, store, restaurant, or train station is usually a twenty minute walk or more. So instead of paying bus fares, I bike all over town. I’m pretty sure I’ve never biked this much in my life. Going up the plentiful (and often fairly steep, compared to my home terrain of plains as far as the eye can see) hills was definitely hard on my legs the first week or so, but I’m getting used to it now.

At Kiyomizudera, Kyoto

I take the trains EVERYWHERE, and they’re incredibly convenient. Back near Chicago, if you miss your train, you could end up waiting thirty to sixty minutes for the next one. Here, you’ll wait a maximum of ten minutes, and the trains are always on time. My speaking partner, Mizuho, and I were talking about trains once and she mentioned how people here start getting irritated if trains are one, two, or three minutes late. She was rather surprised when I mentioned how people near chicago expect the trains to be running at least ten minutes late. Often more. Once I get off the train in the city, it’s all walking from there. It’s exhausting, but it’s nice to be able to go slowly through the city and actually notice the little things instead of driving right past.

Purikura with Katrina and Mizuho!

Moreover, my diet is completely different. A lot of the easily accessible junk food back home isn’t available here, and if they have Japanese equivalents, they’re hard to find. Even grocery shopping is different. It’s actually more of an adventure now; I can’t read a lot of food-specific kanji, so mostly I buy things based on price and looks. The other international students do the same. It’s not uncommon to hear, “That looks good. What is it?” followed by, “I have no idea,” at dinner in the Seminar House. It may not be that I don’t know the words that are printed on things, but speaking and reading Japanese are two completely different things, unlike Spanish, my other foreign language. Spanish is spelled exactly as it sounds, but the complexity of the Japanese language makes shopping quite a bit harder than at home. But honestly, it’s kind of fun sometimes, buying mystery food.

The most striking difference for me is that I’m always on the move and always planning my next outing. Hirakata is conveniently situated very near both Kyoto and Osaka. It’s also not too far from Nara. Shinkansen trips to Tokyo are expensive, but not out of the question. Dinner discussions usually revolve around either trips people have just returned from or the next trip they’re planning. Hirakata itself has a little of the small town feeling, but is also near huge bustling Osaka and the cultural bastion of Kyoto. We’re never short of things to do around here, only the time necessary to do everything!

Costa Rica–Guest Blog

September 16, 2014 / studyabroad / 0 Comments

Like a Child

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

My first few days in Costa Rica have been incredible, overwhelming, humbling, and wonderful all at once! So much has happened already, I feel like I’ve been here a month, but it’s only been about a week! Classes have just started, but I’ve learned so much already just from experiencing this different life. I guess the best way to describe what I’m feeling is to say I feel like a child, both in a good way and a bad way.

I feel like a child when I can’t successfully communicate what I need, want, or feel because I am not yet comfortable with the language. I feel like a child when I use the wrong word in Spanish and cause a lot of confusion (I mixed up the words for ‘before’ and ‘after’ and it took about 10 minutes to clear up what I was trying to say!). I feel like a child when my language and grammar is corrected in almost every sentence I say. I feel like a child because I still have to be escorted everywhere because I’m still trying to learn my way around. I feel like a child when I don’t know how to count the correct amount of change to give the bus driver and everyone stares at me because I have no idea what I’m doing or where I’m going. I am sure as a child it was overwhelming when so much of life is brand new to you and others have to help you with everything, and I feel the exact same way.

But I also think feeling like a child can be a good thing. I am seeing this world with a whole new child-like wonder! Every time I go outside I see the gorgeous mountains that surround the city of San José or the vibrant, different plants outside, and I just marvel in the beauty of this new and gorgeous world I’m in.

: Sporting a little Valpo pride with the beautiful mountain backdrop at Guayabo, Costa Rica

: The gorgeous view from the backyard of my host family! Loving the vibrant and beautiful plants!

Also, like a child, I am an information sponge right now! I ask a ton of questions everyday, and I am learning at an extremely rapid rate, just like children do in the early years of their lives. I feel like I ask the question “What is this called?” about 50 times a day, but I am learning so much just by asking! I feel like a child when I see and taste new fruits and vegetables and foods that I’ve never seen or heard of before. For example, this is a fruit called a mamón chino that we saw at a street vendor in downtown San José. It looked so weird on the outside – red with these long spikes on it. I thought to myself “There’s no way that’s edible food”. But when he opened it up and I saw the fleshy inside of the fruit, I was so surprised! And by the way, it was delicious and very sweet. And this has happened many times already!

A mámon chino! How weird looking, yet delicious!

In this new and crazy adventure, I need to have the faith of a child as well. Faith that others will help me get to the right place. Faith that my host family will take care of me. Faith that I will get more comfortable with the language and that things will get easier. I need the faith that God will get me through each day and that He will keep me safe. The faith of a child is completely trusting, and I need that kind of faith at this point in the journey.

I think appreciating the little things in life like a child does is an important part of the “Pura Vida” or pure life/good life that the Costa Ricans live. I hope I continue to keep my eyes wide open like a child and learn and appreciate all the little things that this new life has to offer.

Guest Blog Post written by Jeneal Hunt. See original blog post here.

Family Matters

September 15, 2014 / margaretprunty / 0 Comments

For the past week, I lived with a family in Katatura, Windhoek. Katatura is an informal settlement, similar to a suburb. I attended classes during the week, interned in the afternoons, and returned to my host family’s home in the evenings. During the week, I enjoyed dinner with them and I was lucky enough to go to a Swaziland v. Namibia soccer game. Soccer is very important to the Namibian people, so it functioned as both a sporting event and a cultural experience. Between the fans and the environment itself, it was very similar to any sporting event in the United States. We sat next to the Namibian women’s team, who came to support the male players. I was happy to be there and for the experience especially because I don’t know if that is something I will ever be able to do again.

On the other hand, the week did present its challenges. Between being busy with class, school work, an internship, and trying to find time to spend with my host family, I found it difficult to manage time. During the weekend, I also experienced my first wave of homesickness. I was wishing I was spending time with my own family, as the weekend presented difficulties. I did, however, enjoy the soccer game and some of the conversations we had. I learned a bit about the politics of Namibia and the culture of the family’s tribe, which we have been discussing in class. I liked hearing stories from a direct source and being able to apply them to recent readings and topics. In general, they were willing to answer the questions I had and the topics I brought up. I was pleased to answer any questions they had about the United States and I jumped at opportunities to correct some stereotypes they had aboutAmerica.While the week went by very fast, the weekend moved a little slower and I was happy to reunite with my group. On this home stay, I discovered that part of the fun was rehashing the weekend and sharing experiences with fellow students and I look forward to telling the story of my home stay to friends and family back at home!

Zinjingang Campus

We are not in Indiana any more…welcome to the future

September 13, 2014 / Tobiah Meinzen / 0 Comments

Except for the unfamiliar banter around me I might as well be sitting in some coffee shop just blocks away from any American college campus: Worn brick accents on the walls, chic wooden shelves, the occasional potted plant, a wall covered in sticky notes, colorful couches, abundant wifi, and cartoon chalkboard art. Instead I’m in 1897, a little cafe tucked into the first floor of one of the Yuquan Campus’ numerous dorms in Hangzhou.

Mr. Egg, a local English teacher and tutor who I met last Sunday invited me here last night (just a five minute walk through the maze of buildings from my dorm) to participate in another English club. There were seven Chinese at the club this evening. All of us were college students except for Mr. Egg and a guy named Erik, a software designer. I was the only foreigner. Most of the students happened to be studying some form of mechanical engineering which I thought was pretty neat, and provided at least some initial fodder for conversation.

We talked about job aspirations, hometowns, families, sports, transportation (trains and vehicles) and eventually politics. (Fun Fact: Hangzhou grants license plates via a lottery system: 10,000 a month, though they often get 100,000 applicants a month.) Erik asked about my opinion on a Scottish independence. Unfortunately I was caught flat-footed on that particular topic because although I’ve had plenty of time in the last week to indulge my news-reading appetite I had not read anything on the subject. Erik seemed surprising concerned about the economic effects (in China) of Scottish independence. I was at first very surprised, but his reasons were not too far-fetched. Then today on CNN International I noticed an article highlighting fears in China over Scottish independence. Although the article was substantially more focused on the political implications of successful separatist movements.

~ ~ ~ Post interrupted: time to go to dinner with Leifeng, new friend from Sunday’s English club. ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ 24 hours later… ~ ~ ~

Well this place is just incredible.

Leifeng picked up four of us (foreigners), took us to dinner and then an English Club. Now if I’ve experienced any “culture shock” since arriving it hasn’t been the numerous people, the odd smells, the lack of a personal bubbles or the new food—it has been the utter generosity, friendliness, and curiosity of the Chinese. In comparison Americans seem cold, aloof and overly private. Back to the story…

I felt surprisingly safe riding shotgun as Leifeng deftly maneuvered his Porsche Cayenne through the obstacle course that is Hangzhou traffic. Dinner was at a ubiquitous yet wonderful hole-in-the-wall restaurant. At the English Club I spent most of the time talking with a man named Alan, who works in the financial sector. He taught himself English as a hobby, and loves reading classics such as A Tale of Two Cities and keeping up with world (western) news. Though we ended up talking about the cultural differences in relationships, dating, and marriage—why? (Yes, why are on the Chinese so interested in the American hook-up culture and our terrible divorce rate?) Alan’s explanation of for his relationship-oriented questions was brilliant: “Love is universal.” Whew, being a conduit for the American-norm is a rather gargantuan task, though it provided ample opportunity to reflect on norms we take for granted.

Now going back in time by a day: On Wednesday the Valpo/Luther group took a city bus to Zhejiang’s main campus. Huge slate and glass academic buildings surrounded the southern perimeter while an expansive park and lake filled the middle of campus (with dorms on the northern half). No American campus can compare except maybe Stanford. (In an attempt to be politically correct I’ve tried to use United States instead of America whenever possible, but the international community clearly recognizes us as America or American.)

We ate lunch on the Zinjingang campus in at complex that can serve 15,000 students per meal. The cafeteria we were in had a single counter (probably a 100’+ long) with every dish individually plated and a slow progressing crowd of Chinese often two or three people deep filling their trays while the cashiers did the mental addition so fast that number pads would be superfluous. (Turns out the second cafeteria was closed so this one was doing double duty, but for the price and variety I was completely fine with giving up all personal space and tolerating ten minutes of gently pushing through the crowd.)

China has somehow managed to become a model of efficiency (probably out of shear necessity). The controlled chaos of traffic and nonexistent lines can leave more regimented foreigners scratching their heads. It helps immensely that Chinese exhibit very little aggression or need for personal space.

Since ZJU’s orientation doesn’t start until next week our dorm has seen an increasing number of new foreign students arriving in the last few days. In the last hour I made new friends from Belgium, England and France…nothing liking traveling to the opposite side of the globe as a way to make new friends! We’ve shared a meal, visited the ATM and convenience store, climbed the ridge behind campus and are going clubbing together tonight!

Made in China… I’m not the best pink hat model.

Zinjingang Campus

Keeping Up With the Times

September 12, 2014 / stephanieblack / 0 Comments

As a whole, I don’t think people keep up enough with current events. You may think that the current events of the country you’re studying don’t matter, but I would beg to differ. I think that they can play a huge role in how you view a country, and how the people of that country might view you as an American.

In England, the biggest current event right now is the Scottish referendum. In just a few days, the Scots will vote on whether or not they should separate from the United Kingdom and become their own independent country, much like Ireland already is. For awhile, the vote to stay with the UK was much more popular than to secede, but in the past week, Scottish nationalists have gained a slight lead in voting to secede, jumping nearly twenty points in polls from a month ago. If, on September 18, the Scots vote to separate from the UK, this would be one of the biggest voting turnarounds in history.

There are a lot of factors that have to be considered if or when Scotland becomes independent. Many politicians say that it will be hard for Scotland to regain membership in the European Union, up to five or six years. It would be a big change for English people, because Scotland has been a part of the UK for such a long time. It will be a big change for Scotland too, because they will have to figure out their government, their military, and simply how to survive without being a part of the UK. This could even end up setting off a chain reaction, and Wales could be the next country to claim their independence.

I’ll admit, England is probably an exception, as this is not the sort of current event that happens every day. And I am by no means an expert on this subject. But I still think it is important to listen to what is going on, and understand the implications this could have for the country. Whether you realize it or not, whatever happens in your country will affect you in some way. Maybe not in as drastic a way as the end of the United Kingdom, but it is still important to pay attention. I would encourage anyone who travels abroad to read the newspapers, watch the news stations, do whatever you have to do to stay informed about your country’s current events, because they just might have an affect on you.

The group at Parliament, which could see a lot of changes within the next few days when the vote goes up for the Scottish referendum

Just some good old sitting on the wall next to the river.

Tübingen, bist du gar so hügelig?

September 10, 2014 / katherineackerman / 0 Comments

After having been in Tübingen for a few days now, I have come to love the city an its charming atmosphere as well as the other Austauschstudenten in my intensive German course.

I’m living in a so-called student city, which is basically a bunch of dorms that are all located in an area that no car can reach on top of a hill (all though the car bit isn’t exactly true, it best describes the feel of the area). My Wohngemeinschaft (WG) is made up of two hallways, each with three rooms and a bathroom that are connected by a kitchen, shared amongst 6 people. It’s really a lovely building and seems to have been recently renovated. What I really like about the student housing here is the fact that there are so many windows, each of which can be fully opened and are paired with the ever-charming Rolladen. Rolladen are a special type of blind that are attached to the outside of the window and can be changed to either block out the light, which make them great if your room is next to a street lamp. I’m in a single which is the norm here in Germany, and nice because I can go to bed as early or late as I want (lately it’s been rather early, since I’m still suffering slightly from the effects of jetlag, although much less so than when I first got here).

Every day, I take the bus down the hill and into town to the university, where I have two classes to help me improve my German. One is based mostly on grammar and the other on overall understanding. I’m actually quite glad to have the grammar course, because we’ve been working on tenses like Futur I and Futur II that I haven’t reviewed in a while and doing really specific things like practicing pronouncing vowels with our mouths open at the right distance, which helps to immensely improve accents. Everyone in the course is required to speak German with each other and this has been working perfectly EVEN OUTSIDE OF CLASS!!! Anyone who knows me, could probably automatically recognize that this has been a long-standing dream of mine, to be surrounded by other people who want nothing other than to speak German (which admittedly comes true at my job during the summer, but seeing this outside the confines of Waldsee is somehow really surprising anyway). The second class is also fun, but I’m really loving the grammar bit.

I have also come to know a bit about the city. There is a gorgeous mix of old and new buildings, although in the main part of the city, the historic tends to be the best. It is also an incredibly green city. Everywhere you go there is a gorgeous view of the nearby mountains, which are currently a deep green color, meaning that soon they will turn brilliant orange (or at least I’m counting on that, but based on how many times I’ve heard discussion of climate change so far, they may stay green the whole year). On every street there are bike paths, which are surprisingly not separated from the pedestrian sidewalk (I can attest that I have almost been run-over on a number of occasions). But everything is accessible by foot, even-supposedly- the student village that I live in, although I haven’t been able to get up early enough to try it out. The famous hills that I have heard so much about haven’t gotten to me yet, but I do suppose however that on the planned hiking excursion listed in my German course syllabus will be the true test of the nature of Tübingen’s geography.

Bis Bald!

A Lovely Day in Londontown

September 8, 2014 / stephanieblack / 0 Comments

This past weekend, the entire Cambridge group packed up our backpacks (with a few suitcases) and travelled to London. I loved London the last time I was in the UK, so I was really excited to go back and see what I remembered, and enjoy what was new.

While there were many things that I enjoyed seeing in London, I would have to say that my favorite thing was Westminster Palace and Parliament. When I walked into Westminster Hall, I was overwhelmed by the amount of history that was in that one room. I could imagine King Henry VIII holding a masque and everyone dancing in that room. I could imagine Guy Fawkes and the other conspirators in the Gunpowder plot being tried there. It was absolutely amazing to stand in a place where so much history had occurred.

Touring Parliament is a lot like touring places in Washington D.C. In D.C., you get to see where all of our government’s action takes place. I got a similar feeling when I was touring the House of Commons and the House of Lords. It was there that I began to realize and appreciate the similarities the American government shares with the English government. In both cases, we have two separate houses with a figurehead. No one group has too much power, and everyone keeps each other in check. It’s very cool to be in a place where you know that the greatest issues of the country are discussed and resolved.

Going to the theatre in England is one of the most exciting things to do. London especially is exciting because it was the home of William Shakespeare and other thriving playwrights of the Renaissance and later. I was thrilled that as a group, we had the opportunity to see two plays this weekend. My favorite would have to be Matilda, based on the children’s book by Roald Dahl. The sets were intricate, the music was fantastic, and the emphasis on Matilda’s brilliance and ability to read and tell stories was refreshing. I would absolutely recommend going to a play while in London.

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend, but I am definitely glad to be back in Cambridge, where it is not so busy and everything is smaller. I am looking forward to class this week as we start to get into the swing of things!

Going off to Hogwarts!

Big Ben

Cambridge Theatre where we saw Matilda

Student Stories from Around the World