Independence day in Mallorca

The 4th of July in Palma de Mallorca (a small island of the coast of Spain) was definitely the most interesting one that I’ve ever celebrated. All eleven students on the program crowded onto the roof of one of the apartment buildings we were staying in, and the Madre’s (host mothers) threw us their version of a 4th of July barbecue complete with red, white and blue streamers (I have no idea where they found these) hotdogs, pizza, and champagne. Then after dinner and some festivities, they passed out copies of the Declaration of Independence to everyone… in Spanish. We took terms reading aloud fumbling through all the Spanish words we had never heard of, much to the delight of all of the madres. We ended the evening at an American themed bar called Hogan’s, where I think heard the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s song Dani California at least 5 times.

Los Simpson

In Buenos Aires, Los Simpson are everywhere. Posters, t-shirts, magnets, notebooks. My host mom's grandsons loved watching the show when they would come over to her house after school and it was really interesting to hear the show in another language. Since I was used to hearing Homer and Bart's English voices, it was strange to hear their banter in Spanish for the first time. Honestly, as much as I love the language, the Spanish voices were kind of high pitched and obnoxious and not Simpson-esque.

Posted by: Jamie, Buenos Aires, Spring 2007

Our First Excursion: Madrid!

After about our first month in Seville, Spain my friends and I decided it was time to plan our first overnight visit to another city. We decided on Madrid, as it is a must see in Spain and a relatively easy trip to plan on the four days of preparation we allowed ourselves. We chose the cheapest mode of transportation to reach our northern neighbor, the bus. We scheduled the midnight bus and arrived in Madrid at 6am, with our excitement temporarily clouded by our sleep-deprived status. Feeling both adventurous and also skeptical about booking our first hostel on the internet, we figured since we knew a good deal of spanish at that time we would find a hostel once we arrived. And so, 3 American girls began strolling up and down Gran Via in Madrid looking for lodging in the early morning hours. We settled on the first place we found with a vacancy: Hostel Acapulco, a nice place, but a bit expensive. We did not yet know the ins-and-outs hostel living: good rates, the best websites, the different room options. The little, old madrileño working at the front desk let us know it would be a few hours until the room was ready, so with no other option we hit the streets. After a brief stop for a cafe con leche we got out our trusty map and began whizzing through the city. As the Spanish are known for their late nights and late mornings, we had much of Madrid to ourselves during our first hours of sight-seeing. We were so excited to explore the city and just see a new city for a change, as we had been itching to travel. Ever since high school Spanish classes I had learned about the great paintings of Velazquez, Goya, el Greco, and Picasso housed in Madrid museums. Seeing the paintings in person was like coming full circles as I could remember sitting in Spanish classes looking at these paintings in textbooks and dreaming of studying abroad in Spain one day. It was hard to believe the day had come. Throughout the trip we made near constant comparisons to Sevilla, as we had become so acquainted with it. We noticed similarities and differences in the food, the accent, the character of the people. Maybe it took out first trip away to see how connected we had gotten to the city, our new friends, and our host families. The weekend helped us see another side of the country of Spain, another aspect of its personality.

Posted by Clare, Seville, Spain, Spring 2007

News from Past Peer Advisers, now in Thailand

Note: two peer advisers from the 2006-2007 academic year, Kristine and James, decided to move abroad again after they graduated in May '07. They now live in Khon Kaen, Thailand, where they teach English. We received this update from Kris in early January 2008.

Sawatee Ka!
Happy New Year!

I had a pretty interesting time spending Christmas in a Buddhist country. James and I celebrated by exchanging gifts and eating a really good breakfast. Then we decided to go to the Nine Tier temple in Khon Kaen look at some of the relics and statues, after that we walked around the lake, had some good coffee (another oxymoron being that I am in THAILAND), and had a wonderful dinner in a little restaurant up the street from us. The next day I had to be back at work for the little kindergarteners to celebrate Christmas. The next day the celebrations continued with learning “The Twelve Days of Christmas” as part of their math assignment. Friday is where the real fun begins because now I have four days off for New Years!

The trip starts at 8pm when James and I along with 7 Thai teachers load into two cars, and embark on a 12 hour journey to Chiang Mai. It was 12 hours because every hour and a half we stopped for 20 min to use the bathroom or get snacks at 7-Eleven! We arrived at our destination at 8 am had a shower and then a Thai massage. Afterward we had lunch then went to the Hot Springs where we got to boil and eat eggs. I even ate Quail eggs which tasted exactly like regular chicken eggs. There were two pretty tall Geysers and around the hot springs you could stick your feet in the warm water. This was also the point where I said "hey, could James and I go to the Mountains for the day and come back?" *Thai people begin to speak rapidly* and voila...we are going camping on New Year’s Eve and of course I don't have my sneakers.

The next day we met with three more Farang teachers, inform them of the impromptu camping trip, and spend the day in the Queen Sirikit Park seeing botanical gardens and waterfalls. It was all beautiful and when we came back to the city we went to the central Night Market. I saw some really cool things and of course began to stock pile, I will have to ship stuff back at the rate of which I am collecting gifts for people. There is a temple at the end of this market where people were sending these white cylinder shaped balloons with fire up into the air. We learned that it was for the New Year that you chant, then lift away all your sins (so to speak) and bring good luck for the coming year. The higher it goes the more luck you will have.

The next day we went camping. There was a campfire and we roasted meat and also made sticky rice inside of hallowed out bamboo shoots. It was really easy; you fill the shoot with enough rice and water that it is about an inch from the top then cook it over a fire for however long it takes for the rice to cook. It was really cool to do and I hope that I will be able to re do it when I come back. We did the countdown on the mountain I will have to say that this is one of the best new years I have ever spent in my life! The next morning we pack and get ready to go back home. Finally we are ready to leave at 3pm (we were supposed to leave at 6am but oh well); or so I thought. But nope, we went to visit Taki's family in Lampung, it was cool and I enjoyed drinking a bit with his uncle. My Thai is not that great so communication was a bit hard but somehow we got a bit of conversation going. Final arrival time back in Khon Kaen 3:30 am in the morning and I had to teach at 10 am.

Study Abroad: Australia

Almost every peer advising session, usually between doing homework and counting the Lonely Planet books, one or more students come in wanting to know more about studying abroad in Australia. I cringe. It's nothing against Australia. I'd love to go there someday and it looks/sounds like an amazing country to visit. But the fact is, that studying abroad in Australia is usually done as a vacation, not a once in a lifetime experience. I want redirect there attention to somewhere less conventional. I want to tell them that although Australia sounds fun, they will gain more out of a less interchangeable culture. I want to tell them I've never been to Africa so you have to go for me. But then I'm left with the question: What if Australia is that ultimate new and life-altering place for them? Everybody is different, maybe Australia is where they will learn and grow the most.

I've found that peer advising the "Australia situation" is like walking a fine line. I answer their questions and help them with whatever it is I can relating to Australia, but I also ask why they want to go. Usually that can open the conversation up to other locations offered abroad. It is the best I can do to withhold my bias. I don't want to steer them away, because that is not what peer advisers are here for, but I do make sure they know there are other options.

If all goes well they leave with information on Australia as well as stacks of paper about many other, less conventional places; and I move on to playing with the Glimpse magazines.

Posted by Ian, Salvador, Brazil, Summer 2007

Movie Review: "Au Revoir les Enfants"

The other night while I was doing some homework, I was flipping through the channels on TV and came across one of my favorite movies, “Au Revoir Les Enfants,” or in English, “Goodbye Children.” It is a semi-autobiographical film, written and directed by Louis Malle. It takes place during World War II at a Catholic boarding school in France; the priests at the school are hiding a Jewish boy named Jean Bonnet from the Nazis. A great portion of the film focuses on the friendship between Jean Bonnet and another student at the school, Julien Quentin. For anyone who is interested in French culture, or even historical films, I would totally recommend this movie. I originally had seen it for one of my classes, but I have been a huge fan ever since. Louis Malle does a great job of portraying the struggles that accompanied World War II during the 1940s… Definitely check it out!

Posted by Jen, Brussels, Belgium, Spring 2007

Study Abroad with Friends?

Recently, I encountered students interested in studying abroad together in the same program, even if they both have different interests and are seeking to gain differing experiences during their time abroad. I handled the situation by asking them about their majors and if they wanted to continue taking classes abroad related to their majors. I also asked them preferences about where they would want to travel during their time abroad and tried to highlight certain programs based on their interest of travel. They seemed very set on studying together, and it was hard to accommodate both of their needs into one specific program. I let them know that studying abroad really brings people together and bonds the members of the program, so even if they did study by themselves, they would meet new people easily and make new friends in the program. I was able to recommend certain programs to them, some of the programs being different from each other and others being the same. I wanted them to definitely consider the option of studying on their own and learning to be independent and meet new people, but I also kept in mind that they were interested in studying with each other. In the end, I think I opened their eyes to the possibility of them seeking different programs, because based on their majors, traveling preferences, and other interests, they did desire diverse experiences. However, we did find several programs within Europe that did fit many of both of their interests. Hopefully based on their preferences for their study abroad experience, they will find programs that will help them gain the most out of their time abroad.
The reason why I was interested in this issue was because when I decided to study abroad in Rome, it was my first time being completely on my own without any other familiar friends or family with me. It was at first an overwhelming experience, because I knew that I didn't have anyone to fall back on right away, but after a few weeks of transitioning into the culture and meeting new people, I felt very comfortable with being by myself and knowing that I could rely on the new friends I was making. I became a lot more independent from my time abroad, which was an eye-opening experience for me.

Posted by Jill, Rome, Italy, Spring 2007