Valpo Voyager

Student Stories from Around the World

Page 90 of 125

Birthdays Abroad

September 25, 2012 / / 0 Comments

So my birthday was on Saturday the first of September, and it was my first birthday in a different country. I spent Friday night (and the midnight going into my birthday) with my very good friends in La Calera. We went out to a karaoke bar after and I sang “Rehab” by Amy Winehouse. Saturday night I went back to Vina and spent the night at home with my host brother, who was hosting a BBQ with his friends. He incorporated my birthday as the new-found reason to celebrate and surprised me with a delicious mil hojas torta con manjar. It was delicious.

I received some nice phone calls from my family over Skype singing me “Happy Birthday”, and that’s when the homesickness began. I started questioning why I was here at all; why I had left everything that was comfortable and familiar to me thousands of miles away. I wanted my family, my house, my bed, my entire closet, my mom’s cooking. I wanted home. I shrugged it off to enjoy my weekend, but the feeling came surging back with a vengeance right after the weekend. I didn’t like to show it at all though; I felt as though I would be ungrateful or something, but I still couldn’t get rid of the homesickness. A few days after, I had a Skype session with Julie Maddox, the director of International Programs at Valparaiso University. She sent me this article about homesickness, and it gave me a little more perspective for when I’m having some of those moments.

Stages of Adjustment

Stage 1: Cultural Euphoria

At the start of your study abroad, there is an initial excitement about being in a new culture.  This is often called the “honeymoon stage.” Everything is new and wonderful, and you are eager to explore it all. This phase seems pleasant enough, but there are some drawbacks involved. You tend to see the culture through rose-colored glasses, and your interpretations aren’t necessarily realistic. You also focus more on all the visible aspects of the culture (e.g. food, scenery, and clothing) and ignore the more complex and less obvious cultural aspects. In addition, you tend to focus on similarities rather than differences in the early stage of the visit. Most tourists who travel for a short period of time remain in this stage for their entire journey.

Stage 2: Cultural Confrontation

In the next stage, the initial excitement you felt when you arrived diminishes and the process of cultural adjustment begins. This stage is characterized by confusion and frustration and, as such, is the most difficult stage. Your feelings can shift from very positive to extremely negative. You may view both the home culture and the host culture in very unrealistic terms; one is superior while the other is lacking. This is because everything that you used to do with relative ease in your home country appears much more difficult due to the culture and/or the language. Homesickness may also contribute to your feelings of discomfort. You feel discouraged and begin to doubt whether you can learn the language or adjust to the culture. Despite these feelings, you are making critical progress in expanding your cross-cultural awareness and, whether or not you are aware of it, you are developing your own strategies for coping with cultural differences.

Stage 3: Cultural Adjustment

This stage represents the transition out of culture shock into significant cultural adjustment. You feel increasingly comfortable and competent in the culture, and these feelings prevail over the times you have felt frustrated or out of place. Homesickness may still be an issue for you, but you are interacting more effectively with people from your host country, leading to an increase in self-confidence. You start to look forward to further communication oportunities in the host country and what you can learn throughout the remainder or your experience.

Stage 4: Cultural Adaptation

In this stage, you have reached a point where you have a great deal of confidence in your ability to communicate and interact effectively. You have a deeper understanding of the influence culture has in peoples’ lives. You have acquired considerable cultural knowledge, but you also recognize that there is much you still don’t know or understand. You have integrated many of the values, customs, and behaviors from the new culture into your daily life. You now possess the ability to examine and comprehend a wide range of cultural norms, values, and beliefs.

(Taken from Statements of Adjustment Activity (p. 84-89) in Maximizing Study Abroad: A Students’ Guide to Strategies for Language and Culture Learning and Use.) 

Homesickness

Homesickness is one of the most common adjustment problems related to culture shock and loneliness. Experienced by students from every country, homesickness is a universal side–affect to being away from home. Psychologists often refer to homesickness as “separation anxiety” because students–in particular those moving away from home–feel separated from all that is familiar.

homesickFeelings of homesickness may even start before you leave to study abroad in the country of your choice. You may find yourself mildly depressed or anxious several weeks before leaving. The anticipation and preparation for this major change of lifestyle can trigger pre–departure homesickness, or sudden feelings that you don’t want to leave, or even a want to back out of your decision to study abroad.

Some students might experience homesickness within the first few days or weeks of being abroad, while others might not be hit by homesickness until later on, or closer to the holidays. Holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, family events or even family illness or death can all cause you to feel homesick, or make you wish you were at home. Also, many students report increased feelings of homesickness during the winter months when darkness, rainy weather and the cold can lead to feelings of depression.

The following are a few tips to help you cope with feelings of homesickness:

homesick

  • Don’t wait for homesickness to go away by itself. Confront your feelings by talking to someone (a counselor, family member, roommate, or another student, etc.) about your homesickness. Chances are that the other students in your program may be feeling the same way you are.
  • Bring some of home along with you to the country of your choice. Be sure to pack photos of family and friends, bring your favorite CDs and cook family recipes while abroad.
  • Make friends with locals and invite them to spend time with you. Creating such a support network can really help to alleviate homesickness while creating lasting friendships.
  • Be patient with yourself as you adjust to the unexpected realities of being in the country of your choice, and how abroad is not like home.
  • Get involved by seeking out opportunities that keep you busy and occupied so that you won’t think about home. Try to work, intern, volunteer, or travel. You could also join a sports team or club, join a gym, or participate in program activities.
I hope this helps for all those who might have these moments :)

La Chimba

September 25, 2012 / / 0 Comments

The international UVM (Universidad Viña del Mar) students had a tour in Santiago. We left very early that morning so we could enjoy the sights that the city had to offer. I couldn’t take any pictures though because I forgot my camera at a friend’s house…sad. I’m also going to apologize for vague descriptions and almost no names of places…the sheet with all of that has also been misplaced. I’ll find it and update you!

Palacio de la Moneda with other UVM students

 

When we arrived near the Palacio de la Moneda, I noticed a very eclectic mix of architecture; modern day with bohemian with traditional, classic structure. When we stopped for lunch, there was a center with a plethora of choices of places to eat. There were people at the front of each restaurant badgering people to come into theirs because theirs was the best and so on; very typical in Chile, so don’t be surprised if that happens. Just politely ignore them. We finally decided on a place called Agusto’s which I highly recommend. They serve unlimited Hallullah (best bread) for free (and even more so for us because they understood that we were students). They fish was also incredible; no idea what kind it was because it was simply just called “fried fish” but it was incredible and cheap. A plate that could easily feed both me and my friend, Felipe, was 4mil pesos (about $8). Definitely worth it.

BBQ with everyone!
Later that evening, a few friends and I spent the night in Santiago’s Bellavista region, much more of a Bohemian feel. I had never stayed in a hostel before, but the name caused me to expect the worst, especially since it was so cheap (about $14 for the night). It was actually almost nicer than a majority of the cheap hotels I’ve been to in the US. It was called “La Chimba”, slang for a good-looking girl. The staff was very friendly and helpful. The place was huge and very clean with various works of art cluttering the walls. It had its own flare everywhere that you could really compare to any hotel; even the courtyard was covered in tasteful graffiti. We met people from France, Colombia, Germany, Sweden, England, and Australia. We specifically got to talk to a bunch of Colombian engineers at the BBQ (hosted by the hostel). We chatted and laughed around some pisco sours and afterwards they attempted to teach me how to dance salsa and merengue. It was partially successful.

Then we went out to Club Chocolate (the next block over) and danced the night away :)

I love it here.

Can you Con Con?

September 25, 2012 / / 0 Comments


So my friends and I decided to take a nice day trip to a town less than an hour away called Con Con, known for their sand dunes. The bus ride cost the equivalent of about 75 cents each way and we rented sandboards upon arrival for about $2 for an hour. It was incredible. The view was breath-taking, and sand boarding is crazy fun. Plus, you get a workout going up and down the dune. I was really surprised with myself with my hidden sand boarding talent; I don’t snow board or anything, but I was pretty good at it on sand. But more on the view:
The dune we were on was very steep and very tall, and when we got to the top, we could see everything. When we looked back we were facing the hills and mountains behind smoky smears of high top clouds and mists of the rain that had just passed that morning. When we turned around, however, a large open greeting came to us from the sea with its majestic blue. The ocean looks so different here…it feels like I should be in a movie or something with its seeming perfection. The sun was straight to the right of us, slowly making its way down to kiss the sea (because let’s be real, who wouldn’t want to kiss this sea?) and sealions were barking down by the rocks near the bottom of this dune calling out for us to come visit (which we did eventually). It was more of a place than I had ever thought or anticipated.

Don’t worry, the rest of this will not be fluffy fifty-cent-novelist style. Afterwards, we were looking for a place to eat, and settled on a nice place called Dely…something. Turns out, they didn’t have a card machine or change for cash, so we had to all deal with exactly the bills we had, and luckily it worked out nicely including tip.
Cultural note: always bring sufficient bills and coins with you for that day.

Yesterday was my busiest day. I had a class at 820am but I also wanted to jog beforehand (I had a random burst of energy I guess). So at 5am I got myself up and was out jogging by 530. However, it being still winter here, it was also still dark, and typically people don’t get don’t partying until about 5am…so I thought jogging up the hill would be my safest bet because it’s farther from the main street and the bars. So there I was jogging and then I notice 2 decently large looking in the distance. You can bet that I booked it the other way. I settled on walking down some impressively (& painfully) steep stairs only to look back, curse myself for what I had just set it in head to do, and ran back up (well…ran most of it).
Moral of the story: don’t run alone, especially if you’re a girl & especially in the dark.

It’s raining right now, so it’s cold and all I want to do is snuggle in bed…but I have a class at 1400/2pm…my only class of the day. Poor me.

Everything is so relaxed here… Enjoying every moment while it lasts.

North and Etosha

September 25, 2012 / / 0 Comments

I just got back from “the north” and I’ve posted some pictures from our time in Etosha so I won’t say a lot, but want to tell you guys about some of the cool things we got to see.

One of the CGE professor’s got married this past weekend, which was our main purpose for traveling to the city of Ongwediva.  It’s about 10 hours north of Windhoek and we stayed at the Rural Development Centre where we got to see some of the new technologies they’re working on to help farmers and improve sanitation.  The ceremony and wedding receptions were in Okatana and Onampira the home towns of the bride and groom.  And yes, wedding receptions, there are two!  It was a traditional catholic service with hints of tribal rituals.  The bride wore the big white dress and veil, there were bridesmaids and groomsmen, and they went through a typical Christian ceremony with church service following.  The exciting part was that you got to relive the reception the very next night, which is always the most fun part of the wedding.  We had lots of food, even cow intestine, and on the second night had a blast dancing with a group of kids.  (It was strange to us that not many people danced at these receptions and the DJ ended soon after dinner).

We spent time at the local trade fair, which was a lot like many of the local fairs we students are used to.  There were vendors from all over Namibia selling tractors, handmade goods, and other accessories, lots of food, booths for government departments and also university advertisers.  So we bought a few of our favorite pieces and had lunch.  “Black and Yellow” came on while we were eating and this had me pretty excited.

I noticed here and in many parts of the north that people are curious about our being here and often stare.  For the most part if you smile and wave it’s received fairly well, but a few times people just continued to stare and I had to brush it off.  I also had to realize that white people were really uncommon in this area and I can imagine that people who are “different” in the United States are also stared at—it’s humbling to be on the other side some times and I think throughout this trip I am going to need to get used to it.

Finally, we headed to Etosha National Park!  It’s a fenced in park where animals roam and within it there are places where people can camp.  The park is almost 9,000 square miles and includes elephants, rhinos, giraffes, zebras, lions, springbok, kudus, so many types of birds, and many other animals.  The first evening we arrived in a camping ground called Halali and had a braai (barbecue).  There was something really homey about a being with the group, taking the time to prepare the food and then roasting marshmallows for smores (using the can opener as your stick).  Overall being at the park was comforting.

We slept at another park called Okaukeujo the second night.  A few of us went swimming and in the evening relaxed by a waterhole where you could watch the animals.  This was definitely my favorite part and I think the pictures will do a much better job of describing how amazing this place is.  This park had a nice restaurant where we tried some Kudu and lamb, which some of us were a little turned off by after having watched Kudu a few hours before.

After one last game drive and some final views of the animals, we headed back to Windhoek to start our classes for the semester.

 

By Samantha Frisk, more blogs to come soon!

A day in Hangzhou

September 20, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Hi everyone! Today is another busy day in Hangzhou, as this morning we had our official Opening Ceremony for the international students at Zhejiang University. It is amazing to see so many different people from all over the world in one room sharing a similar goal: to learn more about the Chinese language and culture. Everyone here comes from different backgrounds and unique cultures. It really reminds you just how large the world is, and the endless variations of people you still have yet to meet. And while this idea may excite some people, it might be intimidating to others. That is why I believe it is important to be very mindful of  cultural differences that you may encounter when studying abroad.
During our time here in China, there have been many occasions in which every member of the group (excluding myself) has been stopped in the middle of the street by a local asking for them a picture. While this would be considered not only rude, but extremely strange in America, the Chinese who do this act like it is completely normal. And if there are none who are bold enough to ask for a picture, there are definitely a good amount of Chinese who blatantly stare at anyone who has different physical features than what they are used to seeing. At first, all the attention was sort of intimidating to the group, but now it has almost become second nature to our group.


Likewise, some things that we as Americans do are confusing to the Chinese. In China, there is no tipping. You can try to tip, but it is most likely that whoever you are tipping will reject your money, or even chase back after you to return the money. Don’t tip at restaurants, don’t tip the cab driver, etc. Speaking of restaurants, there quite a few items on the menu that may startle a Westerner’s appetite. Don’t be surprised if you see a chicken served with its head still on, or if you are served a fish whose eyeballs haven’t been removed from the face. While it might seem grotesque to some of us, to many Chinese, those are the most delicious and vital parts of the meal! (there is superstition that eating eyeball can improve your eyesight, eating brain can make you smarter, etc.) To those of you who are adventurous enough to try such cuisine, do so! (with care) For the rest of us who aren’t quite ready to take that step, I would just order anything else that looks delicious to you. (trust me, it is definitely possible—China has some delicious food!)


These are just a few of the cultural differences I have noticed so far. Some are greatly different than American practices, but as long as you keep a positive attitude and open mind, you will find yourself easing into your surroundings. If you are planning to study abroad, I would suggest attending some of VU’s cultural events that  they hold right here on campus. For example, if you are interested in studying abroad in China, attend the local Chinese New Year celebration in VU.  It is a great way to slowly integrate into the culture, step by step. This way, you won’t be as flustered once you arrive in a country that are you not yet familiar with.

By: Gloria Llenos, more blogs to come soon!

Where are you from?

September 20, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Where are you from?

So a couple weeks have passed by, and I’ve gotten that question a lot. I hate that question. It’s frustrating because physically, I appear Latinoamericana, but as soon as I open my mouth, it all disappears. I want to completely integrate myself into this culture, into this society, but I can’t when it’s so obvious that I’m not from here. I do have an advantage over other Americans, however, with my seemingly Latina appearance; I don’t get any prejudice that way. They don’t immediately approach me with a more simplistic approach, speaking slower and carefully as though they might have to repeat themselves. I came here to be challenged, to integrate myself, to be fluent. I want to be treated as though my native language is Spanish, but of course that will take time. Ah, my perfectionistic nature: a blessing and a curse.

I’ve experienced a lot over the past couple weeks. I’ll go more in detail in the pages, but here are a few things so far:

The greetings here are awesome; everyone greets each other with a kiss on the cheek, even if you’re just meeting someone. I even got to greet the Mayor of Valparaiso like this (yes, I met the Mayor of Viña del Mar; you can be jealous). It’s very common and creates a warm environment (but not too warm of course). I was used to this already though because of my international friends at VU; they did this all the time.

There’s a lot of English music here. I thought I would be able to escape from the mainstreams of American pop and such, but it still exists over here. I’ve heard my fair share of Adele, One Direction, and Carly Rae Jepsen over here (still can’t escape “Call Me Maybe”…), but of course, they have plenty of Bachata and Reggaeton to compliment it. In the clubs, primarily, is techno-based music but of course, that is entirely dependent on the club you go to.

The Chilean eating schedule is different, and I actually prefer it to the American. They have a normal sized breakfast and later, there’s the almuerzo. Lunch here is the biggest meal and it’s usually a bit later in the day, about 2pm or 3pm. They usually consist of a simple salad (usually not of mainly lettuce but maybe some raw cabbage, celery, or carrots, and it’s generally salty), the main course (varies), and of course, dessert (usually fruit, but occasionally cake). Then much later in the evening, around 8pm or 9pm, they do something they like to call “tomar la once”. This is their version of dinner, but it’s really not dinner at all; it’s much more of a late night coffee or tea with maybe some bread or something light. Typically it’s time to sit and relax and converse with the family.

There are tons of dogs here…tons. They are roaming around the streets, sleeping in gardens, begging for food; it’s an epidemic and a major issue not only here but all over the country. Some have fleas, but most here are pretty safe to pet. In Valparaiso (the city next door), that’s a different story. They’re a bit more gritty over there, and if one starts to become aggressive with you, reach to the ground and act like you’re about to throw a rock at it (it works; I had to do this on one of my jogs). Generally however, as long as you pay them no mind, they won’t do anything to you. In fact, a lot of them have walked me home before as a bit of protection; they just want love…but you can’t give them all love. So, you learn to deal with it and ignore them a majority of the time.

I’m currently enrolled in 4 courses, 3 at the main campus (Rodelillo) and one at the international center (Montaña).

The way their “Carreras” (Major programs) are different than what I’m used to. When they choose a carrera, it’s a set schedule for all your years of school, which here is 5. There are usually around 15 students per year per carrera, so you’re with these students for every class every year, unless someone decides to change or someone from a new university comes.

Basically I love everything here. I live within walking distance to the beach, good shopping, and friends from all over the world. Life is good.

[The beach closest to my house]

Oh, and APOLOGIES FOR NOT WRITING IN A WHILE; I’ve been immersing myself 🙂 I’ll do my best to update you more on a regular basis.

Chao chao

By Micaela Johnston, more blogs to  come soon!

Germany!

September 20, 2012 / / 0 Comments

 

I have been looking forward to going to Germany for a very long time, basically ever since I started taking German as a freshman in high school. Well, now that I have the opportunity to be here, it is basically a dream come true. However, there are some things that one notices as an American that either take a while to get used to, or to acknowledge as normal for Europeans. I expected this before my airplane even landed in Europe, though, because I know that most of what Europe has in common with the United States can be counted on one hand (maybe two). The differences can be put into general categories, such as culture, architecture, and language. These differences are probably what will make up the most exciting parts of my time here. For example, most Europeans speak three languages (including their native language, and probably English) if not more. But it’s ok if they don’t speak English, because why else would I take German for six years and study abroad in Germany for a year if I didn’t want to speak a lot of German while I am here?! Of course I do not plan on spending the whole year in Germany, so culture and architecture will have more of a prominent role during my travels through countries like Italy, Spain, France, England, et cetera.

 

From country to country, cultures may not differ so much, but compared to the United States there is a pretty big difference. Americans are primarily all about Thanksgiving, Christmas, and (for some) St. Patrick’s Day. Europeans, however, have a lot of different festivals, traditions, and important seasonal times like Spargelzeit (asparagus season) in Germany, and the running of the bulls, which is most famously held in Spain. Differences in architectural style are quite apparent from country to country, though, especially when traveling from North to South.

 

In cities like Florence, one sees Renaissance architecture literally towering over the city with buildings like the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (commonly referred to as “the Duomo”), one of my favorite buildings in Europe. However, if one goes to London, then Neo-Gothic architecture is seen in buildings like the Palace of Westminster. Different architectural styles can convey completely different feelings and time periods. For example, if one looks at Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, even though it was built in the late nineteenth century, one typically associates a fairytale with its appearance, so it is very much fantastical creation. The Duomo causes me to think about Leonardo da Vinci and humanism coming into existence in art. However, when one sees the Palace at Westminster one is almost overwhelmed with the amount of detail, and is almost forced to think of a monarchy and ornate crowns.

 

 

Even with giving just a few examples, one can see how there is so much to experience by traveling just a couple hundred miles in any direction. In Europe, having a building that is three-hundred years old is completely ordinary, and citizens care a lot about their traditions and culture. Experiencing all of these things might be overwhelming for most Americans, but even if it is a lot to handle it will still be worth the while to be submerged up to my neck in a new environment that “spoiled” Americans can’t really experience anywhere in the United States. I guess what I am really looking forward to is having a new experience every day, while being placed in the middle of a real-life history book. The best part is that I don’t have to read hundreds of pages to know different time periods, because I can simply travel to different locations to experience them.

 

 

By John Ertel, more blogs to come soon!

Into the Foray

September 20, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Little questions strike me, for instance; Paisley? Knit? Polka-dot? How many of my dozens of ties will I NEED? Well, really the answer is likely one or two, but this little dilemma is representative of the  wider debacle that presents itself in preparing for 4 months studying abroad.

My name is Gregory Maher, and I will soon depart for the city of lights, oui, c’est Paris! Yes, France shall be my home for a semester, and my program, Paris Internship, is coordinated through Boston University. In France I will take classes with professors from local universities for the first half of the semester to prepare me for the second half, ze internship. My placement I know not, BUT I’m interning in Paris, so how could I lose? Well, back to the present . . .

. . .  I am in the midst of preparing my bags for departure, which means I’m making numerous piles of stuff that I “need,” only a portion of which I can actually take. Oh lordy, how’m I to fit my life in these few bags for a whole semester??

As I’m attempting to reserve a shuttle from the airport to my host family’s apartment, my mother tries to convince me I need a passport wallet to wear around my neck at ALL times, while I’m still pondering that eternal question . . . what could Indiana offer that my host family could ever desire as a welcoming gift? Oh well, amidst the tying up of all my loose ends in America, I’ve surely knotted a few in the chaos of preparation. Among the lessons I learned through this process is this:

Truly, it is so easy to get lost in the momentary stresses of packing and preparation- to worry over my ability to revive French vocab long-buried in the recesses of my mind, to wonder if I’ll really be glad I’ve gone when all of my friends and those I hold dear to me are miles and miles away, across the ocean and horizon. I really just have to slow myself down and truly realize the incredible opportunity I’ve been afforded. I smile as I pack away the last of my things, thinking of the new experiences and people I will encounter, and the chance to truly come face-to-face with zis place called Paris. Au Revoir les États-Unis! À Paris!

Do your research: the Boston University website for the Paris Internship program actually contains practical day-to-day info (seems obvious after the fact) from obtaining cell phones in Paris to the location of the closest chocolate shops. And yet I did not discover this until perusing the site a week before my departure. Know that there are resources available to you for every question your (at this point, probably neurotic) mind can come up with. How else might I learn that public restrooms may in fact contain a doorman to assist me in my toileting process!

By: Greg Maher, more blogs to come soon!

Culture Shock about the streets

September 20, 2012 / / 0 Comments

One of the biggest cultural shocks that I have experienced so far would be the life of people on the streets. The very first day that I walked through the streets, my impression was somewhere along the lines of, “this is so adorable!”. The streets are narrow but the buildings are cute, and there was much life on the streets.

At first I was mesmerized by how different a typical “street” was. Considering that Cambridge is a pretty big city I expected it to be somewhat similar to Chicago which I am fairly familiar with – lots of cars, tall buildings, a lot of people walking, homeless people, and mostly: many honking cars. However, Cambridge was pretty much the opposite of everything that I listed above. Everything, thats is, besides a lot of people walking.

I realized that the people of Cambridge get to point A from point B, primarily by walking. You see many people walking down the streets in suits and business attires which is quite similar to Chicago. This part I was familiar with. The thing that I wasn’t familiar with though, was how many people used biking as their method of transportation. I’m used to seeing a few people here and there riding bikes, but here, there are quite a few. And they like to ride their bikes pretty darn fast. I have learned that in England, the drivers have the primary right of way, then bikers, then pedestrians. This is very different from the US system of pedestrians always having the right of way. This means that bikes and cars can go pretty speedy even in areas of people walking and they aren’t too afraid to knock you over. This was a surprise to me since growing up in the US, I assumed that it was natural for me to always be the priority on the streets if I was walking. This is definitely something that I need to become accustomed to.

 

Another different aspect of the streets at Cambridge is the buildings. In Chicago I always have to crane my neck to see the top of the buildings and most of them are all new and shiny. The buildings on the streets in Cambridge are fairly short and definitely not new and shiny. Most of these buildings have been around for hundreds of years. I especially love this because although I’m not such a history whiz, I very much enjoy seeing old buildings that are filled with history. The thought of people living here and having such different lives here many, many years ago is so thrilling to me. It’s hard to describe in words though. But I am sure these buildings have seen so many people come and go and every person having their own stories. Sometimes I wish I could invent a time machine and go back in different times and observe people and their lives then…although that sounds a little creepy. But overall, the buildings are the symbols of the deep and long history that Cambridge holds.

Something that was similar but different are the homeless people of Cambridge. There are a few homeless people on the streets begging for money just like Chicago. However the difference is that none of these homeless people have signs explaining why they are homeless and need the money. But the bigger surprise to me was that almost every single homeless person I saw in Cambridge had a dog with them. This was something that broke my heart. I have a soft spot in my heart for dogs (especially because I own an adorable dog that I miss very much!) and seeing the dogs looking sad and poor made me feel worse for them than for the people, to be quite honest. I’m not sure if that is their technique to make money but it is possibly something that I will find out during my stay here.

The last difference I noticed (but there are probably many more out there), is how less noisy the city is. The one thing I dislike about Chicago is how noisy it is with people honking their cars ALL the time. In Cambridge though, and English people in general, I have noticed that they are somewhat more patient and tolerant. I hear hardly any cars honking at each other and typically the English don’t have conversations with each other in a very loud tone. That is probably why the Americans are knowns as being very loud. Typically, the city seems to be a peaceful place.

Street life is something that is right outside the door of our centre and it is amazing to see how much it’s different. Of course there are similar things like the language we speak, what kind of music they listen to, but when it comes to culture, something can be so different – even if we are all living on the same planet. This leads me to expand my thoughts on the differences of culture. If I am surprised at how the English street system is compared to the US one, how different is it going to be in other countries such as Russia, or India, or South Africa? It is just endless thinking about it but it also brings awareness to myself and how many different cultures are out there. Hopefully one day I will be able to expose myself to many other cultures and countries. But for now, I am looking forward to be able to travel to see the nearby European countries!

By Aya Takahashi, more blogs to come soon!

One of the best decisions I have ever made.

August 30, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Alumni Guest Blog.

Kelsey Howard, Valpo alum, studied abroad in Cambridge, England in 2008 (C-82) and writes about how her experience impacted her career plans.  Valpo alumni are invited to email study.abroad@valpo.edu to share their story on how studying abroad impacted their lives.  

 

It has been four years since I took the plunge as a Valpo Study Abroad student in Cambridge, England.  Since then I have travelled to a dozen countries in Europe, completed my Bachelor’s degree at Valpo (Political Science and Humanities at Christ College), earned a Master’s degree from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge (Intercultural Communication) and now work at an amazing international college where I interact every day with students from all over the world. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t had the opportunity to study abroad.

Fall 2008 Cambridge co-hort

The Fall 2008 Cambridge Co-hort, C-82

I’ll admit it wasn’t an instantaneous, divine revelation for me to choose to move overseas. I came as an undergraduate for a semester and that was all I expected it to be. I wanted to travel, to eat, drink and be merry—all whilst getting to meet new people and experience cultures different than my own. I did all of these things in three short months, but after awhile of being back in the States I knew that I wanted more. When I saw the MA program at ARU entitled ‘Intercultural Communication’ I immediately felt like I had struck gold. I thought to myself, ‘that is exactly what I want to do’.

 

After putting in my application and waiting for a few nervous weeks, I got an offer to return to what had become my second home in 2008 to study once again. I can’t even begin to describe the richness this course offered, but suffice it to say that the students and lecturers I met taught me more in one year than any book could teach me in a lifetime.

my ARU coursemates and I dining at a family-owned Turkish restaurant in Cambridge

Once finishing my Master’s degree, I landed a job at Cambridge Ruskin International College in academic and student support. This post was originally supposed to last only one year (to cover maternity leave), but I have recently been offered a permanent position. I could not be happier to be where I am, doing what I do. I love the students I work with every day—they have already taught me so much!  I couldn’t have asked for a better first real job.

Workmates and I at a social event I planned for my students- CRIC's Got Talent!

Lots of people say that studying abroad changed their life—I am a living testament to that. If it had not been for my decision to study abroad while I was at Valpo, I wouldn’t be where I am today. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made.  

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 Valpo Voyager

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑