Students Abroad Archives

 

Miranda Nixon-- Spanish
Studied in Mexico

As a returnee (and since I take the grad level Spanish classes here on Ohio University's campus), I had an internship with the government institute INDEMAYA that promotes the Mayan culture in the area. I first worked in the Department of Mayan Language and Culture, where I recorded a few announcements in English for the airport and radio, as well as some snippets in Mayan and Spanish. After a month, I moved on to the Department of Attention to Migrants. In this department, I mainly translated US documents that related to labor certificates from English to Spanish, and some Mexican documents to English.

My most favorite moment was realizing that I had become a part of the family, and they were now my brothers and sisters...


My favorite experience cannot be lumped into one lone event. The second time around, I was placed with a different family than I was during my first stay in Merida, a much more talkative, energetic, and loving family than my first. I came to love them dearly. My favorite moments were sharing sweets with Papa (we were the only two sweet-tooths in the family), watching telenovelas (soap operas) in the kitchen at night with Mama while she gave me manicures, and spending an hour or two after lunch just sitting at the table and talking with my family members. After a baseball game, or when all of the four siblings were visiting in the house, we would all sit on the porch for hours just talking, playing with the new puppy, or discussing the drama of my roommate's life. My most favorite moment was realizing that I had become a part of the family, and they were now my brothers and sisters, just like my biological siblings, and these were a second pair of parents that cared about me greatly. It was extremely sad saying goodbye to my home and my familia mexicana on my last day there, and I will never forget how my papas clung to me as they kissed and hugged me goodbye. Thus, my favorite experience was acquiring a second family.

This photo is from when my friends and I were invited to be in a parade during Carnaval on Isla Mujeres. This is the mask I got to wear (and keep!).

Annie Valente-- Biological Sciences
Studied in Spain

While traveling in Spain, Annie wrote
a full-length feature article
for submission for publication in a travel magazine.
Click here to read her story.

 

 

Emily Miner -- History
Studied in Dharamsala, India

Hi from Dharamsala! Today (Sunday) has been a really beautiful day. As I write this I am in Mcleod Gaunge, the city right above ours where the Dali Lama lives. We've just been wandering around, visiting temples and looking at the shops.

We've had the opportunity to do a lot in Mcleod. I've gone to lectures on Buddhism, visited a monastery and an art institute, and toured the recycling and environmental office which is really amazing - they reuse absolutely everything! But as much as I love Mcleod, I'm really glad that I am in Dharamsala -Dharamsala is split into two sections - upper and lower, and we are in upper which means we have the most amazing views.

You can't drive directly to where we live. It's about a 20 minute walk along a really pretty path full of houses, goats, flowers, monkeys, kids who run out to say 'hello, I'm fine how are you!!' and the (ever so charming) sess pool that runs along the side of the street... well, usually in the middle! Our apartment overlooks the mountains and because it's so hot , we sleep out on the porch overlooking the stars and the mountains and the entire valley of lower Dharamsala, and listen to the noises of wedding celebrations which seem to be going on more days than not! Recently since there have been lightening storms it has been so beautiful as the entire sky turns completely purple and the rain comes in and cools everything down at least for half a day.

... I have had the opportunity to see things I never would have otherwise and meet some really interesting and inspiring people.

As far as the actual program I am doing, I have had the opportunity to see things I never would have otherwise and meet some really interesting and inspiring people. I am actually doing two placements at the moment since they are only two hours each and I prefer to be busy, so in the mornings I work at the school for kids with mental handicaps. It is a real challenge as they are all at different developmental levels and none of them have been properly diagnosed as there isn't a certified psychologist or even trained special ed. teacher at the school. But the teachers are really great as they do their best and it obviously makes the kids happy to be there and to be learning. It's also great to see how the parents and the community treat the kids. While one boy complained about being teased, mostly I've seen that people are really patient and just sort of accept them as they are which seems like a welcome difference from the US.

My other placement is at a Red Cross drug rehab center. While I love the guys there, and I do think that the center probably helps them get off drugs, it has been really eye opening in terms of the corruption possible here, or I guess just in big organizations. At first I thought it was just very badly funded as the men there have no activities and are literally just locked in the building for 90 days and heavily medicated. But after talking to some of the people who work there, I've found out that its really well funded, but that little to none of the money actually gets down to the center. Even proper staff aren't hired because they cost more- they hire ex- addicts with no qualifications because they are pretty sure they won't rat them out for siphoning off funds. It's very disheartening. The two other women who are volunteering there and I try to break up the monotony a bit by bringing in board games and badminton and doing art classes - I even teach yoga which is a lot of fun, and it gets them moving which is good as they aren't allowed out of the tiny building, but I think what they really need is tools for when they leave and I'm not really able to give them that.

I've never drank so much chai nor been asked soooo many times if and when I'm going to get married and why I'm not yet!! Also, one of the guys, Raja, is Indian and works here for a local NGO and has organized Hindi lessons for the other three of us. So from 5-7 every evening I feel like a complete idiot as I am by far the worst at picking it up!! But it's really interesting, and it's especially great to experience an Indian teacher - no laughing, and we copy things for the whole two hours into notebooks. It's a lot different.

Everywhere else I've ever been has been, to greater and lesser degrees, is similar to home but with noticeable differences. But India is the opposite. It's nothing at all like home, and when I see something similar I'm shocked by it!

I've only been here 5 weeks, but I think the truest thing said to me- that I thought was a little odd at the time- was that India is a society full of contradictions. India has some of the best school and most intelligent, well educated citizens, and yet over 60% of its population is illiterate. Everyone is so welcoming and friendly; we are constantly getting invitations to people's houses for dinner or chai or even to a family wedding, yet the treatment of women so horrendous that all of my cultural relativism - at least on that issue- is entirely gone.

But it is a really amazing adventure, and I'm so glad to be here. Namaste, and 'Apka yeh din acha ho' [have a great day!] and see you in the summer!

Erin Randall -- Social Work
Studied in Ecuador

I'm doing a homestay in Cuenca, Ecuador. It's an Ohio University-run study abroad program, and 16 students from OU are here in it too. I'm taking three classes here in Cuenca at an international school called CEDEI. My classes are civilization and culture of Latin America, Advanced Spanish 3 and Latin American literature.

We've done a bit of traveling as well. So far, we've gone to Quito, Ingapirca (incan ruins), Girsn (awesome hikes through a cloud forest), Prmncipal (a tiny rural town where they weave panama hats), and tons of places along the coast: Guayaquil (the biggest city in ecuador), Puerto Lspez, Isla de la Plata (the "galapagos of the poor"), Manta, Bahma de Caraquez (a recently named ecocity), San Vincente, Rmo Muchacho (where we visited an amazing organic farm), Montaqita, and Canoa. This weekend we are going to a town called Saraguro to try cuy, a favorite food among many people here. Cuy, by the way, is guinea pig-yum yum. (I'm a vegetarian, so you can imagine how excited I am!)

My host family is pretty fantastic. I have two little host brothers, and my host mom calls me "mi hijita", "mi amor", and "mi vida" constantly. (Translation: my little daughter, my love, my life.) She's so sweet. on my first full day with them we went to a soccer game in azogues where they were playing against manta, a team from the coast (we live in the sierra, the mountains). It was fantastic, the crowds were crazy and so much fun, and then we had lunch and conversation at a relatives house until late in the evening. These people really know how to relax!

I meant to buy a watch when I got here ...6 weeks ago. I guess I don't need one? Now we have 2 weeks of class and a week of finals, and then we're off to the Oriente, the jungle, for our last week in Ecuador. Can't believe how fast it's going. Loco.


Eric Hornbeck -- Journalism
Studied in Spain

I started out this week at the carpa, which was reminiscent of an Athens party. In order to raise money for trips, the various departments at the university host a big carpa-which literally means something like "big tent"-and more or less amounts to cheap drinks and live music. Students and professors from the particular department who want to go on the trip act as bartenders at the carpa, which is sponsored by local businesses. This one was held in a big field across from the main university building for the engineering department. Although they weren't going on the trip, they wanted to support their classmates. Lots of people and music, and even two big bathroom semi-trucks like you'd see at a music festival, GOBA, or the site of a natural disaster. I drank more sangria (a mix of wine, fruit, and sugar reminiscent of hairy buffalo) and met more people than I can remember. It reminded me of one of the best things about Athens parties-that you can meet so many interesting and different people in the same night and everyone wants to do so. Except this was all in Spanish.

After the carpa, I went to the really sad cena de despedida-farewell dinner. It was sad to see everyone go; it doesn't seem fair that we had to say goodbye to everyone after only 8 weeks. It made me realize how much I enjoyed this group. But I was also happy once again that I'm staying for two quarters. It just means I'll have even more great friends to return to.

The stay with Kara's friends in Valencia fell threw, so our American friend said we could just sleep in the park with the rest of the crowd. "You brought sleeping bags, right?" Umm...

Valencia is the third largest city in Spain (after Madrid and Barcelona) and the fallas--the gi-normous effigies--are scattered throughout all the barrios of the city. We arrived at the bus station and spent the first part of the evening just wandering around the city checking out the parades of falleras--women in period dress-and, of course, the fallas themselves-everything from Disney and cartoon characters to local politicians and George Bush--around the center of the city. The ranged in size from about as big as a person to many stories tall. Lights were strung across nearly every street, and people of all walks of like were out and about-young people with beers in their hands, families with strollers, old people with beers in their hands. And the valencianos really love their fireworks. Overall, a great mix of fiesta, sights, people-watching and culture. And pretty cheap when you sleep in the train station and only eat one real meal.

On a completely unrelated note, I'm starting to get addicted to soccer (fútbol). In the last few weeks, Osasuna, the local professional team, beat the two Barcelona teams--both the Mets- and Yankees-esque-the latter of which is first in the league. Last night they beat Real Sociedad out of San Sebastián 2-0. They're now second in the League, one point ahead of Real Madrid and two points ahead of Valencia. It's like the Bobcats getting in the Final Four or something. They're playing Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, so keep your fingers crossed. Idon't know if it's the better players, more intense competition, or the rabid local following, but I'm starting to get hooked.

Tomorrow we're off to Bilbao and Santander on our first excursion. Hopefully I'll get to know the new group there and maybe even learn everyone's names. We shall see.

Alicia Buckenmeyer -- English
Studied in Mexico

The following is an excerpt from an email from Alicia, dated Feb. 9, 2007. Alicia is on the left in this photo, along with her roommate Tina Carter, standing in the arch of a ruin at Labna.

"I'm studying abroad in Merida, Mexico, learning a ton of Spanish, lounging on the beach, and really enjoying every minute here. It's going to be really hard to come home to Ohio! I'm living with a Mexican family and I have loved getting to know them. Every Sunday, the whole family comes to our house for lunch, and there are ten conversations going on at the same time, but it is the best way to improve in the language. Besides attending classes in Spanish four days of the week, I have traveled to different sites, including Mayan ruins like Uxmal, Chichen Itza, and Ek Balam, swam in cenotes,
which are like natural pools which the Mayans used as water sources, and visited Isla Mujeres, a tiny island with beaches and a turtle farm located off the coast of Cancun. Everything I have seen is literally breathtaking. Overlooking the site of a ruin from the top of a Mayan temple is amazing, the water is more clear than I can describe, and I'm learning 10 times more about
Spanish than I would in Ohio. Through time spent in Merida, I'm learning a lot about the language and the culture here. I'm learning salsa through classes in the downtown, and it's interesting just to walk around to shops, and talk to the people who live here. Carnaval is coming up soon, and I can't wait to experience that aspect of Mexico as well. I encourage anyone with any hint of interest in Spanish or Mexican culture to study abroad here! It's been the
experience of a lifetime and it's going to be over way too soon. See you all in the spring!

Laura Rossi -- English
Studied in Wales

The following is an excerpt from an "update email" from Laura, which was dated Jan. 12, 2007. She writes...

"Sincere apologies for slacking off on my emails. I've been hearing how much people have missed them, and my only excuses are laziness and an excess of traveling. The good news is, I now have a blog, run by the British Council, here: http://britishcouncil.blogs.com/laura_rossi/

I'll be updating at least once a week, if not more, so it'll be easy to keep up with me. Please, read and comment. This is my first real blog, and I'm pretty excited about it. I'll still send emails, of course, but they sometimes will just tell you to go read my blog!

However, to catch up on what I've been up to: Edinburgh, London, and Paris, and Switzerland and Italy! It's been a busy two months. I'll just run through these quickly.

I visited Melissa (a friend from OU, for those who don't know her) in Edinburgh from the 15-20 of November, and it was such a nice vacation. We walked all over Edinburgh, which is a beautiful city, and I think I saw three different views of the whole city from different UP vantage points. And it was so good to be with a good friend, someone who knows me. We watched lots of Grey's Anatomy and caught up, talking incessantly the entire time I was there. And I bought the perfect winter coat in a vintage shop. I'm definitely jealous of her location in that city. We took a daytrip to Glasgow, which is almost shockingly modern after spending time in Edinburgh. We planned to do more than we could, as we got completely distracted by shopping. I can't wait to see her again – she's coming to visit me in a few weeks!

The following weekend I took a daytrip to London, organized by the Travel Shop, on the 25th of November. I wandered the city I love by myself for eight hours, and it was fantastic. When I saw Big Ben, I said to myself, "I'm home." I visited St. Paul's, Tate Modern, Leicester Square, the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, saw the Regent and Oxford Street lights, ate roasted chestnuts with mulled wine in Covent Garden in front of the Christmas tree listening to street performers, and nearly cried listening to "Carol of the Bells" on my iPod in Parliament Square looking at the tree in front of Big Ben. It was a marvelous day, and I love that city. So much.

Next up was Paris, the following weekend, from the 30th of November to the 2nd of December. Another trip organized by the Travel Shop, and although I was with a big group of annoying Americans, I covered Paris on my own. I had two days, and I did nearly everything I wanted to. First I climbed to the top of the Eiffel Tower, which was incredibly impressive. I love vistas. I love going up. Got into the Louvre for free; the Mona Lisa is really impressive in person, more than I expected. The Musee d'Orsay was better, in my mind, because that's where the Impressionists are, and that's my favorite art period. Monet, Degas, Van Gogh… I was in awe. I just stood, and stared.
My favorite part of the city is the Monmartres area in general, and I adored Sacre Coeur. I never wanted to leave it. Saw the Moulin Rouge after that, which was neat to see, and more or less just made me want to watch the movie. I got to visit Shakespeare & Co, the bookstore that features in Before Sunset, one of my favorite movies of all time, and one of my life goals now is to be a published writer to the extent that I get to give a reading in this bookstore and sleep in one of the beds that they have upstairs amongst the books. I also intend to have a room in my house one day modeled after the upstairs of this place; I want to cover the walls with books and then put a mattress in the corner, with semi-shabby (and thus romantic) pillows and blankets. Notre Dame was amazing; I went to Mass there Sunday morning, and even though it was in French, it was pretty cool.

This is getting long – I'll fly through the rest for now. Flew to Geneva on the 14th of December, where I met my great aunt Jackie and great uncle Jean-Robert. Jackie took me around Geneva the next day, and we visited the cathedral, and a very cool Reformation museum, and the best museum I've ever been in, the Bodmer, which houses a collection of manuscripts and books that spans the entire Western canon. If you like books, it will make you drool. We were there for two hours; I kept a list of everything we saw, but it's long so I won't type it. We spent the next twelve days at Verbier, a ski resort in the Swiss Alps… and what can I say? I lived inside a postcard. I skied for ten days. It was sunny and gorgeous every single day, and I ate better than I've ever eaten in my whole life. I got taken care of. It was the perfect vacation.

Then I was on to Italy, where I hit Torino, Verona, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Siena, and Rome. It would take far too long to describe what I thought of each place, though ideally I'll have blog entries about each of them eventually. The food was fantastic, and I had a great time traveling with Maggie, a friend I've made here in Swansea. We're terrible backpackers – we had a hair straightener and eyelash curler, and wore skirts sometimes. *shrugs* That's just us, I guess. It was fun, but it's really nice to be home now.

That's all for now. I've been realizing I've been gone for three and a half months, and still have six more to go. Know that I miss you all terribly, and no matter how much fun I'm having here, I'm wishing you could all be here doing it with me.

Love,
Laura"