Tag Archives: preparation

Home stays: Making it work

    Living with a host family, in my opinion, is the best way to learn just about everything while studying abroad. It is like starting life over from the beginning. I highly recommend it to those who are truly interested in and curious about the people and the culture of a place. Language learning can be done anywhere if you are in a home stay or dorm, but I think a home stay is much more intimate and you get people who have higher regard for you whereas friends can be too busy or what have you. 

    Knowing all this, however, does not take away from the fact that you are living with strangers who don’t even speak your language on all possible levels. It’s very easy to just shut yourself in your room, only come out for meals and stick to yes and no questions. It’s scary, you don’t know the family’s routine or temperament yet, you might be jet-lagged and/or think your language skills are not up to par. If you are like me, you’re going to feel like you made a mistake and bit off more than you can chew. Do not fear, citizen. I come with some advice that can help move things along until you become a member of the family. 

 
1. Don’t hide in your room.
My new family is actually pretty busy so I am in my room more than my previous family, but when they are around, I try to be in the main area which is the dining room. Even if I am just watching tv while they scurry about, at least I am in the open. I think this is the biggest point because they want to see you and get to know you just as much as you do them. It’s a two way street and that is easy to forget for us students. Sometimes I bring down my homework or something to keep busy. Which brings me to my next point. 
2. Make your interests known. 
If you brought a laptop, take it around with you to the main area. If you entertain yourself in plain sight, they will take the bait and approach you. If you’re like me and interested in Japanese pop culture and media (or whatever media of your target land), it will be a piece of cake to get the party going. 
 
3. When they ask about you, you can return the question.
This is too obvious for words, but when I am in shy-mode I shut down. I find myself answering questions as economically as possible and then going back to whatever I was doing. “And you?” is really easy, so take a deep breath and spit it out. 
4. SMILE
Even when things aren’t that funny or if you have nothing else to say, just smile. A smile puts everyone, including the user, at ease. When your words are not as powerful as you need them to be, your actions really pick up a lot of the slack whether you like it or not. Don’t let your host family misunderstand your emotions.
    Of course this isn’t all, but these are things I tend to struggle with. It all sounds really simple and obvious in black and white, but I know I can’t be the only person who has defied these. Being shy and ambitious at the same time can be a dangerous formula that cancels everything out, so I hope that these tips can help my fellow Shambitious people out there better adapt to their new lives. It’s been four days so far and I think we’re getting there. 


Location: kuwana-shi, mie-ken, Japan

A Little Red Door

I can’t believe I’m only twenty four hours from being on a plane out of Chicago to Madrid! When I arrive in Seville, I’ll be meeting another girl from Penn State, dropping our stuff off at the hotel (which looks BEAUTIFUL, not to mention), and out to explore our home for the next four months.  I’ve already been in touch with some locals who interact with abroad students, and if we’re lucky we’ll have some friends to show us around on our first day. The forecast says it’s going to rain, but if weather permits I’d like to walk around Santa Cruz by the Cathedral and go to Parque Maria Luisa and Parque de Espa�a. Of course, I’ll eventually see all of these places, but I’m already itching to get out and see the sights! At night we’ll go to Calle Betis, and Calle P�rez Gald�s, in Plaza Alfalfa, where all the bars and clubs are.

Among all the advice I’ve gotten from people about my trip to Spain, some of the most valuable has also been the least expected. I just met with a coworker of my mother, who has been to Spain a number of times and studied in Sevilla back in college in the early 2000s, and he gave me some great info about local culture. He said that if I explore the seemingly dull corners, nooks and crannies, and go a little outside the usual places that tourists and exchange students usually spend their time, I’ll find some of the most rich and vibrant aspects of Spanish culture.  One of his favorite places was a flamenco dance spot hidden away behind a building with a little red door. Once I find these secret hideaways and underground flamenco joints, I’ll be sure to share details and photos 🙂

If I can’t find enough to do in Sevilla (which I doubt will be the case), or you’re curious, there’s this website with 85 Things To Do in Sevilla.

My dad’s friend Armando, who’s from Spain, also sent us this article about the cyclists and new green developments in Sevilla, which should be an interesting aspect of the otherwise mostly antiquated architecture and . It reminded me of the cyclists in Copenhagen that I wrote about in my last entry 🙂
luggage!.jpeg
The only thing I have left to do is finish a little (un)packing. I say unpack because on Monday when I stuffed my bags full of clothes enough to outfit a small army, I didn’t realize how heavy and excessive it would be. Lugging all that luggage is going to be a pain!! I also figure I might want to add to my wardrobe while I’m there, and I need somewhere to put the new additions! 😡
During the course of my trip, I hope to have many interesting and life-changing experiences, and look forward to discovering what’s  behind all the “little red doors” along the way. There’s not much more I can do to prepare, so stay tuned for my first entry after arrival to hear about how it really goes! And of course, feel free to ask questions and make comments, I’d love to  hear everyone’s feedback 🙂

Location: Té Cafe, Pittsburgh PA

Wait…I leave in less than 24 hours?!

Hey everyone! I truly can’t believe that I leave for the airport in the early hours of the new year! I have been going crazy trying to figure out what I need to pack to live in another country for 4 months; I hope I have everything! I have already packed and repacked 2 times to try and make sure I have everything that I wanted to bring while still being under the weight limit. It was certainly a challenge but there are some great packing resources online (and a personal packing list helps a lot too). Today I’ll be finalizing and zipping up my bags and preparing for the adventure to begin. What a crazy thought.

I’m so glad that the weather is cooperating so far for my departure; the crazy weather over the past week had me scared that my flight was going to be cancelled. My plane takes off around 8am from Newark and I’ll be arriving at Heathrow airport at about 8pm (3pm our time) on Saturday, January 1st. I am pretty anxious about trying to find my way to my hostile by myself with all of my luggage at night but I think that’s one of the great things about my semester abroad — I’m going to be put into many unfamiliar positions, but having to figure them out on my own will be such wonderful learning experiences.

Since I can’t actually move into my dorm until the 3rd, I have to stay in a hostile for my first 2 nights in London. That in itself should be a great experience — I’ll be sure to mention that in my next blog!
See you in 4 months, America!!!! 

Location: Susquehanna, PA

Of working in factories and other things

It’s a week before I head to Argentina, and I’m nowhere near ready.

I’ve procrastinated the preparations all summer long, so over the past week and a half it’s been a game of catching up – rushing to get vaccinated, calling relatives, booking hostel reservations, etc.

I think I’ve ignored the trip for so long because life in general has been moving especially fast recently. I needed to take a breather for a minute, and I wish things would just slow down while I catch my bearings. Like a lot of people, I’m not sure I know what I want anymore.

This summer, I worked full time at a factory, Hayward Laboratories, producing Palmer brand cocoa butter beauty products. I’ve shoved things in boxes, over and over again, and put caps on bottles, monotonously, for eight hours every weekday for the past two months, all to buy a Canon Rebel T2i camera for the trip. I also wanted to know what it was like to work a “real job” as opposed to silly part times at Dunkin’ Donuts, etc.

The work takes place in a dismal, squat building built in the 1800’s where none of the machines work properly and the concrete floor is caked with decades’ worth of grime. I knelt down to pick a bottle off the floor once and my pant leg was smeared black. There’s no air conditioning, so on hot days, it gets to be more than 100 degrees inside.

It sounds horrible, but it’s an easy job. The lines come fast sometimes, but really the hardest part is fighting sleepiness.

In the short time I’ve been there, though, I’ve seen lots of people filter in and out of the company. Most people don’t last more than a day. It can be “soul crushing,” as my one friend who used to work there says. I’ve had two mild nightmares about being trapped on an endless assembly line and even woke up once saying, “Wait, I’m not at work – I don’t have to do this crap.”

How this ties in is that, on this job, I’ve had time to think. A lot. And while we do have conversations with each other on the line, for most of the day the workers fall into silence. So I’ve been stuck with myself, rethinking my life and all the major decisions I’ve ever made over and over again.

This is hard to put concretely, and I’ll be coming back to this, but I’m hoping to find some direction in Argentina, whatever that means. Somewhere in the back of my head I’ve thought that I might prefer to stay working at Hayward for a while, giving me more time to figure things out. I’ve even thought that I might decide to stay in South America.

Funnily enough, most of the workers at Hayward actually happen to be Spanish-speaking immigrants. I’ve met people from El Salvador, Peru, Guatemala, Mexico and Columbia, most of which came to the United States looking for the clich�d “better life.” One guy, a supposed chef, even moved here because he was bored with his life in Puerto Rico and he just wanted to get away.

milhouse-edited.jpg

So far, the plan is this: I’ll be leaving on Thursday, July 29, getting there two days before the program starts. My uncle, Tio Rico, who’s lived in Argentina for most of his life and I only met once when I was very young, will pick me up from the airport and drive me to a party hostel at Milhouse Avenue.

On November 26, I leave for Peru, where I will be staying with family, visiting Machu Picchu, the rainforest, Lake Titicaca, etc. I plan to stay there through New Year’s.

After that, who knows?

One thing in particular has been getting me through these days, and it’s listening to this musician, Manu Chao, who is one of the world’s most popular artists but we hear almost nothing of in the States. He sings in six languages and his lyrics really speak to me – more on that later. For now, here he is serenading Diego Maradona, one of the best Argentine football players of all time:


Location: East Stroudsburg, PA

Planning for CzechMates version 1.0

Hi all

So I am the guy (formally known as Michael Elavsky, Assistant Professor in Media Studies; College of Communication) who initially had the idea to put together this first excursion of what we are calling CzechMates (see http://www.personal.psu.edu/cme16/czechmates.html ). Basically, my research and life are indelibly connected to the Czech Republic: I went there for the first time in 1996 for six months to teach at Ostrava University; I stayed for 2.5 years and in the meantime, found my research interests (music, cultural identity, the politics of the global music industry), my dissertation project (I had a Fulbright Research Grant to come back in 2002-2003, though I have been coming back every six months for weeks at a time since 96), my eventual wife (also a professor at PSU in Kinesiology, and reason for returning as frequently as possible), a new language to communicate in (Czech) and from which to see the world in new ways, and a calling to export the beauty and uniqueness of Czech culture out to the world. My work has allowed me to develop a large group of colleagues and friends in the country, many very well positioned in academia, the government, and the cultural industries, and it was always my hope to find a way to bring students here to engage Czech culture, history, and society beyond the tourist gaze and I finally found a way to do it in developing this program.

Namely, I designed the course as an extension of Comm 410 (international communications).

First, the design. I pepper my 410 class with anecdotes and information from my Czech experiences so my thought in designing this was to bring several students over to 1) experience Prague, 2) visit/engage several Czech professionals who work for international corporations in the Czech context 3) connect them physically with students (from the Czech side) they had been in contact with throughout the semester (arranged in advance at the beginning of the semester and 4) use all of the above to push the students’ thinking beyond the unsettling that Comm 410 had already instilled.

If I had not had such excellent contacts in this country — that I could really count on — the design would have fallen flat. The fact that I could call on my contacts and be received warmly and with enthusiasm as to my plans was a credit to being part of (and nurturing) a network in this country. I have often done whatever I can to assist the friends and colleagues I know on this side of the pond (sending research materials, helping with visas, connecting them to people who could help their career, getting them cheaper deals on electronics in the states, etc.) and when it was time to ask for a favor, karma was good to me, in that even those that could not immediately help me found a way to do so in abstentia (through connections, friends, etc.). SO, Lesson #1 — contacts and Karma matter. I never considered anything like this as I helped them out in very small ways over the last decade — what they did for me — perhaps small from their side — was HUGE for us. And I remain extremely grateful.

Second: Who to bring. I was informed early on that I should keep the group small. As this was my initial foray — and it had to be successful — I handpicked 4 students and one TA to invite. I had had them in my classes, they had proven themselves as exceptional, mature, and dependable students, and although they were not immediate friends, they all could get along. All were excited, all accepted the terms put forth by me (i.e. here is what we will do), all actively pursued  avenues to offset the costs AS a COLLECTIVE, and all were eager to embark on this adventure, even if it meant working odd jobs to raise money (it didn’t, ultimately). But through their excitement and dedication, I was confident one “intangible” was at least identified and neutralized. However, none of them had been out of the country — which was both good (this will be a new experience) and bad (how will they handle it). Enter my TA — he had been to Prague before, was a streetwise and extensive global traveler, and he had the psychology to link their perspectives to mine in really important ways — Lesson #2 – choose the group members wisely. To the point, I will use these group members in the future to weed out the candidates through a screening process — they all came away (see later posts) with an understanding of what i was hoping to do — and they are now invested in protecting it. In short, I see the value of the small group (again, see later posts) and will use essays, interviews, and former students to choose who will get the privilege of coming here. 

Third — the office of Global Programs at PSU is AMAZING (shout out to you, PAUL!) — use them extensively. They know all and if you plan accordingly, all will go swimmingly as far as administrative concerns. They really helped me to keep on schedule, think about all aspects in preparation for the trip, and supported me extensively (through ideas and grant money I applied for) to make this happen. They are a treasure and if you don’t dial yourself in to their knowledge and assistance, you will not succeed. Period. Lesson #3 — RUN YOUR ENTIRE IDEA FOR THE STUDY ABROAD past the Global Ed. folks in as much detail as possible — Penn State can be a bureaucratic nightmare (i.e. talk to the global programs about who is going and when — to the point, took 2 students who had graduated after graduation — a Bozo no-no for future trips) and avoid causing the problems that I did (with the Office of Risk Management – who knew we had such an Office! — if you want to know more — email me). Although this trip worked, I learned a lot, namely that one should be more thoughtful and considerate before putting undue stress and admin. duties on our fair friends in the Global Programs. 

Fourth — plan the trip with flexibility included. I did get the students’ airline reservations (all on the same flight) — I won’t do that in the future — too much of a hassle and too much time and energy on my part; have them organize it themselves. Again, an advantage to having a smaller group is that they CAN do this and it can be cheaper than going through PSU travel services (in my case, significantly — like 400 bucks/ticket). Students should check to be sure the services/tix are legit, so a planning meeting in advance to get the students in the right mental space was key (what is coming, how they should prepare, what they need to know/have, etc.). I flew on a separate flight with my family. I was to meet them at the airport an hour after I landed. We had contact info and a plan. The TA was traveling with them as a chaperone and although I was a bit concerned as to whether everything would fall in place, I was confident there were plans in place to fill the gaps if such filling was needed. Lesson #4 — treat the students as responsible adults (and make sure they are); I knew I could count on them to deliver and be responsible/self-sufficient to the degree necessary. This was important. I was to be the leader of this trip, not a hand-holder.

Fifth, and last for this entry, explore where the students’ are at before they go: namely their interests, knowledge and thoughts about where they are going and what they expect. Our meetings prior were ESSENTIAL in setting the proper tone (and getting the proper insights from them) about what I was about to deal with. Are they nervous? Do they have preconceptions? Are they aware of what they are about to do/see? What do they hope to get out of the trip (i.e. in relation to the ideas we raised in class and to their own personal/professional development). In a word, they and I were primed for the upcoming excursion. Lesson #5 — the closer you know your group, the more prepared and fulfilled you will ultimately be. And to that, we’ll begin to address in the next blog.

zatim (for now)

cme


Location: University Park, PA

Gearing Up for Tanzania

Although in the past few weeks I have had little time to think about what my time in Tanzania will be like, I have had a few moments to read and research.

I bought the Lonely Planet guide to Tanzania and have read mostly about Dar es Salaam.  I also spent a few minutes one evening researching news in the country and found an independent newspaper that also publishes online. 

My impression from the news sources is that Tanzanians are good-willed, strong-willed, outspoken people.  When reporting bad events (like murder), the event is stated but also a discussion of why the event is bad & how the community can rally to overcome it.  There also seems to be a broader discussion on why this is unacceptable & how it makes them look, as a people and a country, and how this effects their ability to be included in the global conversation on many issues & reduces their appeal to tourists.  Tanzanians are fighting hard for continued peace & justice in their state & region.  This is a type of news writing I have never seen before.  It is refreshing.


Location: Marjorie Mae Street, State College, PA 16803

About Me

Hi everyone. 

My name is Trevor and I am a freshman at Penn State.  I am currently planning to major in mechanical engineering and hope to persue a career in the automotive industry.  This summer I will be taking part in a class titled ENGR 197A, which is a 3 credit, 3 and a half week trip to China.  I will be visiting many major landmarks while there including the Great Wall, Three Gorges Dam, the Olympic Park, and many other historical and culturally important locations.  I am very excited for this trip and can’t wait to start writing about my experiences.


Location: University Park, PA

Rome is getting close!

colosseum.jpg     The Colosseum

Hi. My name is Carrie, I live in Cape Cod, MA, and I am going to Rome this summer with the Human Development and Family Studies program. I will be leaving in about three weeks and as the trip gets closer the more excited I am! My friend Allie and I will be flying out of Boston with Alitalia and we are hoping to have a better flight experience than our last trip home from Mexico. To prepare for the trip, I have just started packing and I am getting together my materials for my classes. I will be taking Early Childhood in Italy, Historical Roots of the Modern Italian Family, and Italian Relationships, both Cultural and Familial.

I am very excited to learn about Italian culture and experience a different kind of lifestyle than the American. I do not know much about the history in Italy, but I am eager to learn all about the ancient buildings and statues. Culturally, there is so much I don’t know and I can’t wait to expand my horizons. I can’t wait to go shopping, see the sights, and live as the Italians do. My program directors tell me that the gelato is a must have! They said that we can eat it everyday if we want because of all the walking we will be doing. As for the food, I am a little nervous because I am a very picky eater, but I’m sure real Italian food will be amazing! I will update you on it later. My program has planned trips to Venice, Florence, and Pompeii, and Allie, Britt, and I are thinking about trips to Paris, Barcelona, and/or Greece. We’ll see if we can manage to work those out.

Anyway, keep checking in to see all the fun adventures and the things that I see during my time in Italy! I am very excited to have the opportunity to go abroad and I plan to get as much out of my experience in Rome as possible. And those of you who know me, can you believe I figured out how to blog?! It’s actually pretty easy; let’s see if I can upload a video sometime!

View from St. Peter’s Basilica:

top of st. peter's.jpg


Location: State College, PA

Blogging Training Is in Session!

I’m in a training session learning how to blog.  So, while I’m away, check back often for updates as I move through Tanzania & our design project! 

Getting very excited!  Tanzania, here I come!

A little bit about me – my name is Katie Hess-Reichard.  I’m from the fruit region of Pennsylvania, near Gettysburg.  I went to college in the outskirts of the Metro area in Maryland & am a true East Coaster.  I’ve traveled internationally a few times before but only to “western” countries (Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Mexico, and Australia).

I never, ever, thought I would find myself at Penn State University Park as a Graduate student studying design in Landscape Architecture.  Never.  But, here I am…and very, very happy.

The Project –  is in Tanzania, eastern coast of Africa, just below the equator.  This is the first year for the project.  In recent times, villages were able to use land that is now protected for their needs.  However, since the land has become protected the villages no longer have access.  In addition, commercial farming has blocked them in on the other side.  Land ownership in Tanzania is kinda a mystery…we don’t really know how it works. 

Our objective will be mainly to observe daily life & learn what these villages want & need.  They don’t have enough land on which to garden & raise animals.  They are growing.  To grow successfully, they have attempted to develop a growth plan.  We will examine their wants & needs (their existing plan) & compare that with Tanzanian government regulations.  After, we will address additional issues…perhaps sewer, road & building planning, economics, etc…we don’t really know yet.  And that is our job – to find out. 

Our group of 13 will travel from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, into the country via a few stops along the way.  Our base is in a newly constructed research camp in a very large national park.  The WWF is already there & many universities & other Tanzania government agencies are working there.  As Landscape Architect, Marketing & Communication, and Biology students, our group has much to offer.


Location: Curtain Road, University Park, PA