Study abroad – Page 4 – Valpo Voyager

Tag: Study abroad (page 4 of 13)

Heading Home Tomorrow

This time tomorrow I’ll be flying back to the United States.

Like semesters at Valpo this semester in China seems to have passed in the blink of an eye, yet held a lifetime worth of experiences. (Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration.)

I’ve spent the better part of the last two weeks reflecting on my experience here, trying to summarize what I’ve learned and how I’ve grown. I probably won’t fully understand the effect China has had on me for at least another couple months, after I’ve reacclimatized to the States. Although I recognize that culture is a powerful global force, my experiences here have continually reinforced similarities we share all across the globe. Although now I’m trying to tease apart the difference between culture and humanity, as I think I have overly amalgamated the two.

While Christmas trees and other holiday decor remains few and far between, the balmy t-shirt wearing weather is (finally) gone. The cold, grey chill of December should make the transition back to Valpo a bit less harsh.

Classes wound down without much fanfare. My Valpo class’s final was a week ago and we had a short Chinese final on Friday.

Learning Chinese, although daunting at times, was great fun. Even I made rapid progress. This was definitely the way to learn a language: living in among the language/culture, taking an intensive course load and sharing it with a dynamic group of classmates. Maybe someday I’ll return to Chinese for a couple years to gain fluency.

On Wednesday my Chinese class went out to dinner as a send-off party for myself and Professor Pati (who also studied Chinese with my class). We dined at the Vineyard, an American-style sports bar and restaurant. Our three Chinese teachers came along which was really neat. I have greatly appreciated the way the Chinese teachers interact with the international students—they treat us as adults (some of us are) which leads to some very interesting discussions and lots of laughter. (One more hilarious memory was a class where we got distracted translating epic movie phrases from English to Chinese, such as “I’ll be back!” and “You shall not pass!” which sound significantly less intimidating in Chinese.)

At the Vineyard I spent most of the evening talking about culture and politics with a Ukrainian and Pakistani. The U.S. Senate had just released its damning CIA Torture Report, so I was feeling pretty sick about America’s moral standing. Yet here I was sharing friendly conversation with a student from Pakistan—a nation that has a justifiable reason to despise our government. Now it is hard to know anyone’s true feelings on political matters, but my time in China has definitely reaffirmed the belief that although government and extremist organizations may portray the world as a violent and scary place, most people are much more interesting in being friends holding anger. (At least within the educated demographic.) Also, curiosity seems to be a universal phenomena—we all asked questions about how people think/do/view things in _________ (insert home country).

Overall it was definitely one of my favorite evenings in Hangzhou. (Even if I got into an argument with the other American in the class about U.S. military policy towards Russia. Admittedly I enjoyed the argument.)

On Thursday I attended my final Big Bang English Club. I’ve been going weekly since September and made many more Chinese friends at it than on campus. I was nicely spoiled, they treated my like a celebrity. Given the approximately 10:1 Chinese to foreigner ratio, the Chinese were very comfortable chatting which I hope gave me a bit of insight into their daily lives and opinions which I lacked living in a dorm (a homestay would’ve been much appreciated, but only so many things can be fit in 4 months).

Hefang Street

This weekend flew by with packing, an adventure downtown, miscellaneous ‘desk work,’ and good byes to my Chinese friends. Though it wasn’t without something new.

On Saturday as I was walking back to campus from last minute gift-shopping on Hefang Street. I decided to climb a bouldered ridge near West Lake to get back to campus. The bare rocks provided a 270˚ view of the city and ranged from a walking path to a 20’ vertical face I nearly got stuck climbing down the previous week. The boulders were fun to scramble across thanks to the lack of guard rails and other safety restrictions which would surely be in place if this were in the States.

From the boulders I headed into the forest as darkness was descending. The city was coming alight and plenty of Chinese had gathered on the boulders to enjoy the view. The most beautiful scene unfolded in the forest around us where hundreds of high powered flood lights illuminated the forest. The lights shown up into the leaves almost as if the stars had come down from the sky and settled amongst the trees. While I don’t want to consider the kilowatts needed to light up the hillside I found waling backing to campus through the lit-up woods to be a magical experience.

West Lake

Goodbye to Chinese friends!

Well I should probably get back to packing and cleaning!

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

The Narrowest Street in the World and a Prussian Prince

September 7, 2014 / Katie Rinda / 0 Comments

Week Two in Reutlingen

Berg Hohenzollern, sitting above the Swabian Alps

After the exciting jet lag recovery, soccer game watching, and chocolate croissant eating events of the first week, I spent most of week two familiarizing myself with my new hometown. We found the real grocery store, which was exciting. More exciting was our tour of the Stadtmitte with a native Reutlingener, including a visit to the narrowest street in the world: Spreuerhofstraße!

Me at the end of the narrowest street in the world

To further aquaint ourselves with Reutlingen, we also went to the Heimat Museum, which is devoted to the city and some of the surrounding area. It has artifacts from the Middle Ages through WWII, including everything from original stonework from the Marienkirche (local cathedral) to a complete room from a traditional guild hall. The sword used for executing thieves was intimidating, but the little textile shop room from the early 20th century was really charming.

The most important thing I have learned from the tour and the museum: Reutlingen was an imperial city. This meant, back in the days of the Holy Roman Empire, that Reutlingen had market privileges, trade privileges, and self-governance. You can see evidence of this everywhere in the town. The manhole covers in the Stadmitte feature the imperial eagle, as does the facade of every major building built before the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire by Napolean (that cad). The Marienkirche even has the imperial eagle in some of its tile work. To this day, the mayor of Reutlingen still has to swear every year in a formal ceremony to serve the citizens of the city, which is cool. (I would also like to take this moment to point out the history I’m learning- Look mom, education!)

The most scenic event of the week however was our visit to Burg Hohenzollern, an honest-to-goodness castle that is still owned by actual royals. The journey there was nice, but the footpath up to the castle was steep. And long.

Brittany and Kaitlyn taking a brief respite from climbing the near vertical stairs.

Once you’ve made it up the stairs, you’re rewarded with a castle, and some really gorgeous views.

The view from the top.

This castle was part of the ancestral lands owned by Kaiser Wilhelm II, also known as the guy who was technically in charge of Germany during the first world war. The castle itself is fairly new, only dating back to the 1800’s. (Insert comment about the lack of years of American history here!) They have some excellent artifacts from the family on display, who became the rulers of much of the lands we now call Germany in the Middle Ages and hung on through WWI.

No members of the Hohenzollern family have really lived there since the early 1900’s. But, they do occasionally visit. We just happened to be there at the same time as Georg Friedrich, who is the current Prince of Prussia. I was unaware that any German noble titles still existed to be granted, especially the ones belonging to the now-defunct monarchy, but my ignorance has now been remedied.

The Prince very kindly offered to take a picture with us- that is, the group of around 70 international students from Reutlingen University. I do not have access to this picture, but somewhere there exists actual photographic evidence that I was within ten feet of royalty. Maybe Georg Friedrich has an Istagram? I shall investigate, and leave you with another beautiful view of the Schwabian Alps.

From one of the guardposts on the outerwall.

Olympic Park - Beijing

A Grand China Tour

September 2, 2014 / Tobiah Meinzen / 0 Comments

Two days ago the Valpo group returned to Hangzhou after a weeklong whirlwind trip through Chinese religious, cultural and political history. We visited three cities: Qufu, Beijing, and Xi’an. In those cities we toured the following sites (listed in chronological order): The Temple of Confucius, Confucius’ Grave, The Temple (Altar) of Heaven, The Hongqiao Pearl Market, The Great Wall, The Beijing Olympic Park, Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, The Wild Goose Pagoda, The Terra Cotta Warriors, Xi’an’s Muslim Quarter (including The Great Mosque), and the Shaanxi History Museum.

Now I’ll see if I can compress the highlights of those places into a reasonable length post.

The high speed rail system in China shares more similarities with the American airline industry than our Amtrak. The Hangzhou East Railway station is a huge high-ceilinged building with numerous security check points, fast food joints, and nearly a dozen gates/escalators leading down to the train platforms below. In the train huge windows and ample leg room treated us nicely on our three hour ride to Qufu. The quietness of the train and the smoothness of the ride did much to hide the fact that we cruised at 300km/hr (or ~180mph).

Qufu is a small town (~200,000 pop.) and most notably home to Confucius. As we drove to the walled-in old city we pasted dozens of high-rise apartments in various stages of completions which our guide informed us were part of the “new Qufu.” In Qufu (and likewise in most of China) many historical structures have undergone continual restoration or rebuilds since their original conception centuries ago. The Temple of Confucius is set in a forest with a central corridor which has numerous “gates.” These gates, pavilions, and stone tablets were erected by various dynasties after Confucius as ways to honor him and provide a place to “worship” Confucius. The roofs and eves of the gates and pavilions are massive, repetitive and intricate structures combining brightly painted symbols, patterns, and often dragons. (As an engineer the quantity of rafters looks like overkill.) Stone lions, dragons, and turtles were also common along our path (a few unicorns too)! After the temple we visited Confucius’ simple grave—a giant mound of earth a forest. Smaller mounds at the entrance of the forest were the graves of commoners, and the mounds grew in size with the importance of the thinker they contained.

The next day we took the high speed rail to Beijing. In Beijing we visited the Temple of Heaven (technically it is more like the Altar of Heaven) where the emperor would make biannual prayers and sacrifices to Heaven. Much of the architecture was similar to Qufu, but here the importance of colors (blue roof tiles) and shapes (circular buildings for Heaven and rectangular walls to symbolize Earth) stood out.

We then visited the Hangqiao Pearl Market who’s fourth floor has been visited by numerous foreign dignitaries to shop for jewelry. Meanwhile the bottom three floors are crammed with stalls selling counterfeit design handbags, silk scarves, fake-iPhones, loads of Beats products and other miscellaneous electronics of dubious authenticity. I had fun bartering for fake iPhones and found a few real Galaxy S5s. For dinner the non-vegetarians in the group had Peking duck (a Beijing speciality).

The following day we visited the Great Wall outside of Beijing. The highway weaving up a mountain valley reminded me of Colorado and I had fun climbing and descending the Great Wall——it is the closest I’ve been to hiking a mountain in a long time. After a couple hundred vertical feet the number of folks thins out dramatically and I could more easily ponder the massive effort to both build the wall and run an army up and down the variable height and often far too steep steps. In the afternoon we drove by the Olympic Park, walked through Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, and climbed a hill in a local park to get a 360˚ view of Beijing. Unlike the many cold monolithic monuments of Washington D.C., the Forbidden City is filled with color and extravagant detail, all the while great attention is given to overall symmetry and mathematical relations between walls and buildings.

On Thursday we took the high speed train to Xi’an where we visited the Wild Goose Pagoda—a nearly millennia old Buddhist library and meditation center. Xi’an was a very neat city—it had a newer feeling than both Beijing and Hangzhou, although it is famous for being the ancient capitol city of China. We drove past Aston Martin and Lamborghini dealerships and Gucci and Prada stores. For dinner we found a bustling street near our hotel with numerous locals frying and cooking in little stands where we got some delicious and cheap noodles.

On our second day in Xi’an we visited the Terra Cotta warriors. The vast scale of thousands life-size clay soldiers each unique and detailed make it a well-deserving contender to be the 8th Wonder of the World. In the afternoon we walked through the Muslim Quarter of Xi’an which contained the Great Mosque (one of the first mosques in China)—yet with a small single minaret and Chinese style architecture only the Arabic inscriptions gave away its religious affiliation.

On our final day of traveling with visited the Shaanzi History Museum in Xi’an which contained numerous artifacts and replicas (often undistinguished from the “real” items) from ancient China. The handiwork of their jewelers and stone carvers was quiet impressive though I felt as id most of the exhibits didn’t provide enough historical context to accompany the numerous artifacts.

We then flew back to Hangzhou on a new A321. From jade to jet it was one amazing trip!

Outside the Temple of Confucius

A common occurrence: impromptu photos with locals

A traditional Chinese gate in Qufu

The Great Wall!

#Pride – Luther & Valpo

Every Day I Shall Have a Chocolate Croissant

August 31, 2014 / Katie Rinda / 0 Comments

Katie Ackerman (Right) and I at the Reutlingen SSV match on Saturday

Week One in Reutlingen

Five Valpo students arrived at the Stuttgart airport Thursday noon, hauling our lives around in suitcases, energy sapped, but enthusiasm mostly intact. Four of us: Brittany, Alan, P.J., and I, were bound for Reutlingen and the Valpo Study Center there. The fifth, Katie Ackerman was tagging along until she could move into her apartment in Tübingen. Of the five, I think I’m the only one to have never visited Europe before. I apparently was not as nervous about this as I could have been.

The Reutlingen students and I are all living in Wurmhaus, a mostly international student dormitory with a longer name which I currently cannot recall. Theophil-Wurmhaus perhaps? It’s on the edge of campus, and a short walk from the city soccer stadium, where we went to watch the Reutlingen SSV get Portugaled yesterday. (For those who don’t recall, this is where a scoreless game is finally broken by your team, only to be crushed by the other team a few moments before the game ends. See also: USA v. Portual, 2014 FIFA World Cup.)

Wurmhaus, Home Sweet Home

It’s a longer walk to downtown- about 25 minutes- but the bus runs pretty frequently. Like many cities that are hundreds and hundreds of years old, Reutlingen’s center is filled with historic and beautiful buildings. The Tübinger Tur and Garden Tur are gates from the original castle walls that are still standing imposingly around the city center, or Stadtmitte.

We’ve been exploring our new home the past few days, learning mostly the practical things like where the grocery and train and buses are, but also getting into the beat of the rhythm of life here. We wandered through the Reutlingen Wine Festival Friday. The vendors’ tents were circled all around the Marienkirche, Reutlingen’s cathedral, completed in the 15th century. By nighttime the tables and the paths were full. We stood and chatted over glasses of local Riesling, along with about everybody else in the city. Today we walked through the massive park next to the soccer stadium. The morning rain had pushed slugs and snails onto the asphalt path, which grossed me out. (Brittany found them quite adorable, and asked that I tell you so.)

But perhaps the most important place we have been introduced to is the bakery down the hill from Wurmhaus. It’s open every day. It serves delicious coffee and baked goods. It’s less than a minute walk from our dorm. The best part, however, would have to be the Nutella filled croissants they make EVERY DAY. This is possibly the greatest thing mankind has ever invented. I now have breakfast plans for the entire semester. Done.

Hangzhou: First Impressions

August 26, 2014 / Tobiah Meinzen / 0 Comments

It is hard to believe I’ve only been in China for a week. With the exception of the language barrier I feel that I’ve acclimated very quickly to my new life in Hangzhou.

Our group had safe and smooth flight from O’Hare to Shanghai where we met Professor Pati. Even though the flight was 14 hours long we chased the sun westward so the window shades in our 747 were the only respite from continually bright clouds and sky all the way from Chicago to China as we flew over Canada, Alaska, the Bering Sea, South Korea and finally the East China Sea.

We took a bus from Shanghai to Hangzhou, about a two hour trip. It may sound cliche, but as our bus weaved towards Hangzhou I felt as though I had been dropped into a Soviet-era James Bond movie set—the monstrous scale of unfinished apartment complexes, verdant fields and farm houses abutting sprawling power plants, a concrete suspension bridge rising as a sword into the hazy sky, and most of all reddish sunlight filtering through the thick smog.

We spent the next three days exploring Hangzhou. Sometimes as a whole group with Professor Pati and his family, or in small groups or solo. Our wandering walks were thoroughly enjoyable.

Hangzhou truly has a mixed-use transportation grid. Taxis and buses practically clog the streets while bicycles and electric mopeds scurry in and out of traffic, often in dedicated lanes at the edge of the street while pedestrians stroll past various shops and stalls on wide sidewalks. Traffic at first looks to be a recipe for disaster as lanes vanished in intersections—but after further observation it looks as though the Chinese has a much more fluid approach to driving—constantly speeding up, slowing down, weaving around parked cars and mopeds—versus the rigid, aggressive and territorial driving of American cities like Chicago.

Three aspects of Hangzhou though have stood out to me:

First is the widespread aim at electricity and water conservation. Our dorm rations electricity and reduces water pressure to a functional minimum—living at Holden I completely understand the importance of these measures. Recycling receptacles are common sites along city streets and nearly all the apartment buildings surrounding campus have laundry hanging out the window. While the signage and small steps won’t completely satiate China’s consumption it is very heartening to see a government taking conservation seriously.

Second, is the absolute abundance of greenery. When the sun is not blocked by smog or tall buildings I often find myself under a roof of leaves—the street just outside my dorm is a verdant tunnel. Shrubs and trees hug the sidewalks and squeeze between buildings. The Zhejiang University campus where I’m living abuts a ribbon of forested hills which contains numerous trails—the ridge trail probably runs at least a dozen miles to the south. Only a mile or so from campus is West Lake (think China’s equivalent of Central Park). I spent on free day walking around the Lake (about 10 miles)—the park space was well maintained and lovely. The use of well-marked paths cordoned off green areas allows lush vegetation to thrive among the throngs of locals and tourists.

Third, the Chinese people are incredibly friendly. Growing up in Eugene I was used to making eye-contact with strangers in passing and saying ‘hello.’ The shear volume of people make that difficult in Hangzhou, but whenever I (or our group) stumbled through a food menu or asked for directions or found a local English speaker they were always more than happy to help. When walking around West Lake I was invited by an elderly gentleman to visit the “English Corner” where every Sunday locals gather to practice their Chinese. Never in the US could I imagine myself (or anyone else) spontaneously spending twenty minutes of my day telling total strangers in a city park about my life, but there I found myself in front of a score of inquisitive Chinese.

Currently I’m sitting in a Beijing hotel room, tomorrow we climb the Great Wall—so more stories and pictures will be coming soon!

Shanghai Airport: Still smiling 15 hours later!

The International Dorm

Walking Near West Lake

West Lake

Saying (a Temporary) Goodbye

May 13, 2014 / kaitlyncarzoli / 0 Comments

Today I have to find a way to summarize what the last four months have meant to me, and honestly, I have no idea where to start. I feel like everything I could possibly say has been said a million times before, and yet I feel compelled to say it again because I really wish that more people would take that leap of faith and go study abroad. No words can completely describe how amazing an experience it is or how profoundly it changes you. It really would be a shame to miss out on this opportunity, so here is my final attempt to convince the masses.

First there are the tangible things–all the travel, events, and adventures you get to have. In addition to the two 10-day class trips that are jam-packed with activities, we had over 25 other events, including many free meals, concerts, and excursions. During the semester, they keep you busy. And of course that doesn’t even count the long weekends and spring break, when you can just go anywhere and everywhere.

Like Prague:

and Paris:

What’s arguably even more important are the intangible things you gain from this experience. You can meet people from all over the world. You’ll get completely comfortable hearing multiple languages, often spoken in the same room. You’ll learn that there is more than one good way to do pretty much anything. You’ll become a better problem-solver. You’ll get over all of your dumb little fears. You’ll learn how to do laundry, shop for groceries, and cook. (But hopefully you already do those things.)

But what has by far meant the most to me is getting to wake up every single day and be really excited about life. I’ve become much more independent and confident. After you successfully navigate Europe pretty much on your own, you’ll feel like you can do anything. Because you can. If you think about it, there aren’t a whole lot of things that are harder than packing up your life and moving to another country, so once you’ve done that, suddenly, the things that used to scare you just don’t anymore. And more importantly, you come to the realization that it’s the scary things in life that end up being most worthwhile.

Tomorrow, I have to say goodbye to Reutlingen, but I’m in a different position than most of my classmates. This goodbye will be easier for me because it is only a temporary one. Because I get to come back in three months, I’m mostly just excited to go home right now. But come August, it’ll be time to put everything I learned to good use again. I guess more than anything else, today I feel grateful, for the transformative experience this semester has been, for the relaxing summer ahead, and for the opportunity to spend another year right here where I belong.

Cape Point

Cape Town and Goodbyes

May 9, 2014 / Maddy Rainaud-Owens / 1 Comment

The past two weeks have been an emotional roller coaster to say the least. The final week and a half in Namibia were filled with final projects and papers, but also tearful goodbyes. After all of our projects were done, the fifteen of us cooked dinner for all the staff that made our four months in Namibia what it was. We got a chance to go around the table and say our thank yous. A lot of the group mentioned how awesome it was that in a group of 15 of us, we all got along really well and how uncommon it is for that to happen. I couldn’t agree more. Living with three guys who go to polytechnic of Namibia, we were able to really get to know them and it was a rough goodbye. I know I’ve said this time and time again, but Namibia has become home to me, and my heart broke leaving.

Inside Robben Island prison

Despite the sadness, an excitement filled the bus because our long awaited trip to Cape Town was finally here. Throughout the week, we visited various museums, churches and heard from many different speakers. My favorite of which was Robben Island where we got to tour the prison, hear from a man who was imprisoned for five years, and see Mandela’s solitary confinement cell.

Throughout the week we also got to to non-academic actives like visiting Cape Point, Boulder’s beach and hiking Lion’s head. Cape Town is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. On the hike up Lion’s head — unfortunately we weren’t able to hike Table Mountain while we were here because of weather — we were able to see all around the coast for miles with Table Mountain and Devil’s peak on one side and the twelve disciples on the other. It was an incredible view, photos don’t even do it justice! Cape point was breathtaking standing on one of the southernmost points in the world seeing two oceans joining together. Great white shark cage diving was planned for me and Sam, but the weather and time scheduling didn’t permit it.. I guess I’ll just have to come back for that one!

Cape Point

Despite all the fun activities that have been happening this week, it’s not easy knowing I’ll be back in the U.S in 48 hours. The best way I can describe it really is simply bittersweet. It will be nice to be with family and friends, but I am so not ready to be leaving southern Africa. Every day, I’m reminded just how special my time spent here was. There is no doubt in my mind that I am no where close to the person I was when I left Claremont, CA on January 18th. The people I’ve met, the things I’ve seen and the places I’ve been have shaped me in ways I never imagined possible. God has worked in my life these past four months in pretty incredible ways that I’d have to take way longer to explain to you — if even possible to explain. I’m leaving Namibia and south Africa with a very heavy heart, but a heart filled with memories and experiences that I am infinitely grateful for. There’s no doubt in my mind that I’ll be back in two years with my BSN. Thank you southern Africa for the most amazing time of my life, and thank you to each and every one of you who reached out to me with words of encouragement every step of the way. I am beyond blessed.

A group shot on top of Lion’s Head

All my love always,

Maddy

The Best & The “Worst”

April 17, 2014 / Maddy Rainaud-Owens / 1 Comment

I have 16 days left in Namibia and 23 left in southern Africa, WHAT? Crazy, right? So this past week was full of classwork and projects, so instead of telling you about that, I’ll give you a little glimpse into how I’m feeling as this last month of the semester rolls in – as hard as that is for me to admit. My semester has been 100% all I have ever hoped for and so much more. I’ve learned things I never would have even thought I would learn about myself and about the world around me. I ‘ve made new friends, tried new foods, seen beautiful places, gained family members, and fell in love with every little bit and piece of Namibia. I can say with my entire heart that Windhoek has become my home, and I know that when I leave, I’ll long to return.

As I was writing in my journal the other night, I was trying to make a list of what I’m excited for about going home vs. what I know I’ll miss about southern Africa. Seeing family and friends definitely tops the first list, but the latter? I could go on for days. I’ll try to make it as short as possible:

Things I’m excited about:
1. Seeing Family & Friends – This goes without saying, I miss my family and my friends like crazy. It’ll be awesome to see their smiling faces in person again. Thank God for FaceTime.
2. Fruit – I can’t wait to sink my teeth into a fresh strawberry – scratch that how about an entire fruit salad. I’ve had plenty of apples for just about the rest of my life – but it’s all those good berries I miss.
3. Salad – You’ll notice a lot of this list has to do with food. My apologies. As one Namibian student put it here.. “You guys just eat leaves in America.. Is that even good?” YES.. yes it is. I’ll be having a nice fresh salad when I get home. (And some in-n-out)
4. Clothes Dryer – Don’t get me wrong, a clothes line works just fine, but there’s something so nice about knowing you can wash & dry your clothes in around an hour instead of 6… unless it rains. Then give it another day.
5. A gym – Running around our neighborhood has been nice, but the same loop gets boring after a while. It’ll be nice to be back in a gym again.
6. Driving – If I even remember how or which side I’m supposed to drive on, it’ll be nice to drive again.
7 . Baseball games – Hey.. it’s baseball season.. I can’t help myself
8. The radio –Of course we have radios here, but it’s about a year behind the U.S. I couldn’t tell you one song that’s being overplayed on American radios right now. It’ll be nice to hear all the new stuff that’s been released in the past 4 months

Things I’ll miss:
1. Sunsets – if you’ve been reading my blogs, I’m sure you’ve caught onto this by now. Sunsets are by far one of my favorite things and in Namibia, they’re just about as beautiful as they come. The pinks, the purples, the oranges, the blues… nothing beats ’em.
2. Days spent laying by the pool – Pretty self explanatory, nothing beats a poolside nap. Have a ton of reading to do for class? Oh, I’ll just lay by the pool and do it. Can I do that at Valpo ? No. Will I miss it? YES.
3. The mountain/sky duo – Oh my goodness… The picture perfect white clouds in the light blue sky meeting the green mountains that encompass Windhoek.. pure beauty right there.
4. The pap – Despite my hate for carbs that has been created by this trip, I really will miss the pap – eating it with our hands, and all the delicious sauce – ah perfection!
5. Non-stop beautiful weather– Again, if you know me, you know I don’t do well in anything but sunshine = aka Valpourainsnow can be torture at times. There’s nothing better than not having to look at the weather app, just knowing that shorts and a tank top will do no matter what. (Or a bathing suit poolside)
6. CGE House- This house has become a home to me, no doubt about it. I remember getting here the first day and being like whoa this place is huge. It’s familiar now – especially after being gone for 3 weeks.
7. $1 Taxis- Sure the taxi drivers are pushy and annoying at times, but what’s better than only paying N$10 ($1 USD) to get wherever you need to be in the Windhoek area
8. Nights out on the town – Whether it’s seeing a play, watching a sunset at three circles, staring at the city lights, or out at the club, nights in Windhoek have made for some amazing memories.
9. FHS- My heart breaks leaving this place, especially the people. I’ve made a family over the past 4 months at FHS and these people have touched me more than I could have ever imagined – those I worked with, and the little ones I taught every Monday & Tuesday. I long to see their smiling faces again, but I know God is constantly working in their lives.
10. The people- I’ve said it time and time again, but I’ve made a family here in southern Africa – in Johannesburg, in Windhoek, in Katutura and in Khorixas. Whether it’s my home stay families, my teachers, my coworkers or the group of 15, my trip would not have been the same without these amazing individuals. There’s not much more I can say besides that it kills me to know I may never see some of them again. And a huge thank you goes out to each and every one of them for touching my life in a way they probably don’t even realize.

I could go on for days, but I won’t. I’ve never been happier than during my past 3 months I’ve spent in Namibia. I still think every day about how lucky I am to have been given this incredible opportunity, and thank you for letting me share it with you! But hey.. I still have 23 days, 7 of which include CAPE TOWN! So peace out for now.

This photo doesn’t do it justice, but see what I mean?

Here’s what my third month all around southern Africa looked like:

Thanks always for reading!
All my love,
xoxo
Maddy

Missing my little Marvelous already

Love, Laughter & Lessons Learned

April 3, 2014 / Maddy Rainaud-Owens / 3 Comments

My apologies for the lack of posts recently – I’ve been out of internet touch for a little while now. So bear with me as this post will be quite long. These past weeks have been some of the greatest of my life, ones I will absolutely never forget. We left from Windhoek on the 18th, en route for our last and final home-stay on a farm in northern, rural Namibia. We set out for Khorixas and once again, to say I was nervous to meet my new family would be an understatement. Knowing there was only 1 guaranteed English speaker in each home, and my lack of success speaking Damara, I wasn’t quite sure how I’d navigate through the week. I was placed on the Inhoek farm about six kilometers from the town of Khorixas with five other students- each of us with a different family to call our own. (We were on a family farm so most of the houses were all related to each other in one way or another.) My nerves were quickly forgotten as I was welcomed by my host mom Dena, two sisters (Buyela 23, Immseline 9) and three brothers (Sydney 17, Delvin 14, Marvelous 3).

My host siblings - minus Marvelous

One of the beautiful sunsets

As the week went on, all of the young kids on the farm spent time together – whether it was sitting around talking or dance parties at night, I constantly found myself smiling and laughing uncontrollably. Each morning when I woke up and went to use the bathroom (a bush) and brush my teeth, I’d hear the pitter patter of footsteps behind me. Every time I turned around, I saw Marvelous running up behind me and as he got closer his little hand reached up and grabbed my two fingers. Marvelous didn’t speak or understand a word of English, but he’d always greet me with a smile and we’d walk hand in hand (or hand and finger) everywhere we went. This happened every morning and each time, I couldn’t suppress the large smile that overcame me. Needless to say, as the days passed I came to love this family as my own. We spent days playing soccer, going on hikes, playing volleyball over the clothes line, riding in donkey carts, learning new games, telling stories, milking cows, herding goats & sheep, and whatever else we could think of. The sunsets each night were absolutely breathtaking, unlike any I’d ever seen before. I found myself dreading the day we’d have to say goodbye.

Marvelous and I on our morning walk

On one of the days, we decided we’d pass the time by walking into town. We rode in on one of our host dad’s trailer because he figured we wouldn’t want to walk all the way there considering the heat. We spent a little time in town eating ice cream and just walking around. On our way back we took a “short cut” that ended up being more of a long cut, but it left us laughing later that night. Every night after dinner we’d all gather at one house and have a dance party under more stars than you could ever imagine; we’d dance for hours until we couldn’t dance anymore. As I was admiring the stars one night, one of the girls asked me if we had stars in America. I laughed a little and told her we did, but we don’t get to see them like theirs. We told the story of Cinderella and Goldilocks and they told us a few of their traditional stories. All of the young kids our age spoke great English and they made an attempt to teach us more Damara. I think I can successfully count to 10 now. Much to my dismay, the days passed, and the Monday I was dreading finally approached. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have to fight back tears knowing I may never see these people again, but I can’t help but be filled with joy knowing I got to spend a week with such an amazing group of people, filled with joy knowing I’ll always have a family in Namibia.

Missing my little Marvelous already

After our week in Khorixas, we spent three days camping and going on safaris in Etosha. On our multiple game drives we saw zebras, giraffes, an elephant, cheetahs, lions, rhinos, wildebeests, warthogs, a hyena, and lots and lots of springboks! Following Etosha, we headed even further north to a guest house for the next two nights. Though the previous weeks were incredible, I have never been more happy to see a bed in my entire life. We visited a few museums in the most northern part of Namibia before we made our way to Tsumeb to catch a bus to Victoria Falls for spring break.

Giraffes!

…But before that could happen we had a 9 hour wait for our bus to arrive. As we sat and waited we wondered why everyone was staring, until we realized there was a group of 14 of us sitting in a median under a tree with lots of luggage. To pass the time, we walked to the grocery store, climbed the tree and played cards. Much to our surprise the time passed quickly and we made a mad rush to the bus when we finally saw it arrive. 12 hours later we were at the Namibian/Zambia border and spring break was officially beginning. Another two hours passed and we finally arrived to Vic falls. Most of the group stayed in Zambia for two nights before heading to Zimbabwe but myself and two others went straight to Zimbabwe. Little did we know the walk from the border to the customs office was about a mile or so from the border. Not so bad until you remember you have to carry your 30 pound bag in the heat of the day.

Once we finally arrived to our hostel the activity planning was immediately in order. The hostel we stayed at was absolutely beautiful and just a 15 minute walk from town. Our first night in Victoria Falls we went on a sunset cruise on the Zambezi river, and to add to our list of animals we saw hippos and crocodiles. The next few days included a trip to see the falls, elephant riding, zip lining, and canoeing on the Upper Zambezi. It’s no surprise why Victoria Falls is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Seeing the millions of gallons of water pour down minute after minute, creating rainbows every where you looked was awe strikingly beautiful. We spent a few hours admiring the falls and got absolutely drenched from the rain the falls created. Knocking one more thing off my bucket list, elephant riding was amazing too. Sam and I rode on a 24 year old girl elephant named Star. She was pretty small compared to the others and had a short trunk because she was attacked by a lion when she was just a baby. After the hour long ride, I got to sit on her leg while she knelt and feed her some pellets. An elephant is a lot more comfortable to ride than you would imagine, and it was a funny feeling when she sucked the pellets through her trunk off of my hand. Of course, nothing compares to skydiving, but zip lining over the gorge was stunning as well. Canoeing down the Zambezi was loads of fun and very peaceful at the same time. Sam and I got caught in a few rapids but it definitely made it more exciting.

A day at the falls

As I sit on the 24 hour bus ride home to Windhoek, I’m sad to say my spring break is coming to an end, but I know it will most likely be the best of my entire life. I look back on these past two and a half weeks with great memories, so many new faces met, and so so so much happiness. I learned so much about myself and the world as a whole especially in my first week with my family. The week I lived with in Khorixas vs. my life in Claremont and Valparaiso are obviously different, but I’ve come to love so many aspects of each. No way of life is better than the other, none right or wrong – just different. It’s hard to believe that a month from today I’ll be in Cape Town. Time to make the most of my last month in Windhoek.

Elephant Ride

Thanks for reading.

Xoxo

Maddy

Ps- since I was gone and not able to post it, here is what my second month looked like:

Valpo Voyager

Student Stories from Around the World