Monthly Archives: May 2011

Let’s Play Catch Up!

Oh my gosh, although it has only been a few days, I feel like a worlds have passed since the last time I wrote!

Our first night in Sevilla, we had dinner with our Orientation groups (Grupo 6 for me!), and since then, we basically spent our entire 2.5 days of orientation with our groups and really became close with each other. I was surprised at how quickly we went from all trying to meet each other to forming cliques and groups of some sorts. Our orientation groups were split by the amount of time we were staying, which is awesome because now my good friends are all staying here for 9 weeks. This experience really reminded me of how people become closest with their hall mates from freshman year. Since we were always together, we just naturally got to know each other better and formed our friend groups that way. Other than that, we also started to get to know people in our living areas since we walk everywhere together.

Our orientation group leader was Roberto (aka RUCHI) and he is absolutely awesome. He’s so sweet and funny though and our entire group just adores him. It’s so cute when he speaks English and he also jokes around with us a lot. We call him Ruchi because when Steve affectionately tried to call him Bobby, he told us that his real nickname was Ruchi. During those first days, he took us all around the city, to CIEE info sessions, and out for all our meals. We went out for tapas a bunch and they were soooo good. But if I ate like that everyday, I would blow up like a pig. In the beginning, we didn’t understand anything on the menu so we just asked Ruchi to order for us, but everything was so delicious.

Ruchi (in blue) y Grupo Seis!

On Friday we were picked up by our host families–I was so nervous as to how everything would be and I felt completely overwhelmed. My host father is named Antonio and although I was nervous and a tad quiet at first, we get along SO well now. He’s absolutely hilarious and he always jokes around. My first afternoon here was really rough. I hadn’t really spoken that much Spanish since I got here and that was the first time where I really entered an immersion environment. I was so rusty (it’s been two years since my last Spanish class) and they said so many things that I just could not understand. I felt so overwhelmed and I literally just NEEDED to get out of the house and talk in English to regain my sanity. I was so relieved when Emily asked me to go shopping with her. Since I didn’t really know where I was going, Antonio dropped me off at OpenCor (something like CVS for us) on his motorcycle which was super cool! So many people ride motorcycles here!

I had never really noticed my race as a huge factor before because I’ve always been in places where it’s normal to see Asians, but I literally did not see any Asians around that day and I just felt so foreign and out of place. I thought I would adjust really well to life in another country and homestay since I’ve already done it twice in Japan, but I didn’t realize how much being Asian actually helped me in Japan. After talking to Emily and shopping though, I felt a lot more comfortable, and now I feel pretty much normal. I’ve seen a couple Asians around–one in a school uniform today and others in little convenience stores. In fact, you’ll see little Tiendas Chinas (chinese stores) everywhere–the stereotype for Chinese people here is that they all own convenience stores.

New phones for Jason, Whitney, Andrew and me!

On Saturday we went to Cadiz (the oldest city in Europe) and it was so beautiful. In the morning we did a walking tour (my feet were dying already due to how much we’ve been walking) and ascended this cathedral tower from which we could see the whole city. It was so awesome– the buildings were all white, which I loved because it reminded me of Santorini. In the afternoon we just chilled on the beach and it was so relaxing. The waters were so beautiful and blue, but the beach area was kind of dirty and rocky.

La Playa de Caleta en Cadiz con Olivia y Ashley

Entrance to the Castillo de Santa Catalina

View from la Catedral en Cadiz

Beachfront street in Cadiz

Yesterday (Sunday) we took a hiking trip to Valdelarco in Huelva. Almost everyone signed up but less than two thirds actually showed up. It was a lot tougher than I thought it would be, but so worth it. I initially thought it would be a leisurely walk through nature on paths, and all of us wore shorts, but the morning walk was pretty rough. Save for a couple big steep hills, it wasn’t actually that difficult physically. The sucky part was that we had to walk through plants and we didn’t know to wear pants so a few of us got really scratched up. I got a couple scratches around my left ankle and they were bleeding. Then we had our bocadillos (sandwiches) atop this overlook of the mountains and it was so beautiful. The afternoon walk was also much more beautiful and scenic and looked more like the Spanish countryside that I had envisioned. I loved it. I got home around 5:30 and then literally just sat on the couch with my family until bedtime. I love spending time with them; they are all so nice and welcoming and I just really like being in such a warm family atmosphere.

Hiking in Huelva

Today (Monday) was the first day of classes and it was fun! Although class lasts for 3 hours every morning, I enjoyed it because my teacher is so animated and we have a small class (6 people) so it’s really interactive. I’m taking Intermediate Spanish right now.

In the afternoon, we came back to CIEE to meet with some representatives from travel agencies and I decided that I really really really want to go to Morocco this weekend. The two places that I wanted to visit the most since before I came here are Portugal and Morocco, but unfortunately most of my friends here have no interest in Morocco so I kind of gave that up. But then I realized that I need to stay true to myself and not submit to peer pressure so much. Sometimes I feel like I need to constantly do what everyone else is doing because I want to be “in the group”, but I hate having to try so hard. I like many of the people here and they’re all really nice, but I realized that I’m not always like everyone else. Many of my classmates here all want to go party all the time, and I was really excited about that at first, but then I realized that that’s not what’s most important to me. I’ve definitely grown since my last summer abroad in Tokyo, where I just wanted to always go out with my American friends. Now, I really want to get to know Spaniards and embrace new ideas and cultures.

Location: Sevilla, Spain

Fall 2011 Destination: Atenas, Costa Rica

Hola! That’s how you say hello in Spanish, right?

Just kidding. It just goes to show how NERVOUS I am too be learning tons of Spanish when I travel to Atenas, Costa Rica for the Fall 2011 semester though. I just got home from finishing up my junior year at Penn State and I am disappointed I won’t be seeing Happy Valley until 2012. But I am excited to be doing research and taking classes with The School for Field Studies this Fall as part of their Sustainable Development Program.

As I am reaching the end of my Penn State years, it is crazy to think how much I have grown from Freshman year to now. I have changed my major, moraled for THON and become very passionate about sustainability.

However, as I look past the summer, after my second internship has come to an end, I guess I couldn’t help but notice that with my plans for senior year, I am probably going to grow a lot more before I graduate.

Through this study abroad program, I will be taking a cultural class, a resource management class, an ecology class and also participating in research. It is not a typical study abroad program. I will have classes six days a week but the classes take place outdoors. The program is also based on a small coffee bean farm and there are 25 to 40 students who will be there with me.

I am so excited to meet new people and professors that go on the program and also meet community members. I know I am going to learn so much which could lead my career path in a totally different direction so I am taking this last year day by day.

I hope that I can be healthy while I am down in Costa Rica and face this trip head on so I can get as much out of it as I can. Sometimes when I move to school or come home, I get sick during the transition and I am nervous this could happen at the beginning of my trip. I can’t imagine being sick the first few weeks I am out of the country!

When I study abroad, I am looking forward to not having a lot of stuff and not having a cell phone. I think this will be an interesting experience to really shape how I live when I come back to the U.S. If I can survive out of a suit case for six months, I can probably live with less stuff than I have now.

As it has been raining for the last two weeks, I am seriously looking forward to warm, sunny weather in Costa Rica! I have booked my flight for September 5th and will arriving in San Jose around 2 p.m.

Until then, I have to get one more vaccine, pack and look into calling cards so I can call back home! But right now, I am just going to enjoy summer vacation! Adios!

Location: Marblehead, Massachusetts

Benvenuto in Italia!

Ciao! My name is Brianna Paterniani and I am studying in Florence, Italy for the summer. After just finishing my sophomore year as a Neuropsychology major, and Biology minor, at University Park, I quickly became nervous about my trip this summer. Now, I am currently sitting in my apartment on Via Ricasoli in Florence getting nervous about starting my classes tomorrow. As I sit here and realize that this is only the fourth day of my stay in Italy, it has not hit me that I’ll be here for six whole weeks. During these six weeks, I hope to gain greater cultural understanding, learn Italian a little better, become more outgoing, travel, make new friends, and get more credits to my undergraduate degree. One of the biggest parts of this trip will be new experiences.
It may not seem like much but I’ll give you a recap of my first few days here in Florence. It started off a little rough but then quickly turned into the most amazing few days of my life. On Tuesday, two of my roommates and I left for Italy. The flight from Philadelphia to London was surprisingly good taking into account my dislike for flying. The only thing that was terrible was that I literally only slept for about 15 minutes. In London Heathrow, we were meeting another one of our roommates and we had an airport switch. When we got to the airport our other roommate was nowhere to be found and one of the girls luggage never got on the plane from Philadelphia. So while we looked for our roommate, and solved the luggage problem, we were stressing about getting to the bus station in time for our shuttle to the other airport. Once we got to London Gatwick airport, we had a very long layover and ran into a lot of trouble with luggage limits because this plane was smaller. We arrived in Florence around 11 pm and got into a very sketchy taxi who dropped us off at our hotel. When we went to open the door to the hotel it was locked. Since none of us had phones, we had to walk a few blocks to another hotel (remember we have all of our luggage) and ask for help. We found a man who was nice enough to call the emergency number listed. We didn’t get settled in to our hotel until around 3 am. In the morning we left as early as we could, eager to see our new apartment!
When we walked into our apartment it all seemed worth it. At the time I had been somewhat bitter about the trip and this bitterness quickly disappeared. Our apartment is fantastic

From my bedroom window you can even see The Duomo!

After settling into our apartment, we all went out to eat with some other students that we met earlier that day. If you ever make it to Florence, I highly suggest you go to Il Gatto e Il Vulpe. It is all you can eat, all you can drink for only 15 euros!

Since Thursday, I have had Gelato at least once a day! Things to notice at Florence 1) sometimes cafes and restaurants charge you for sitting down and/or have a service fee 2) apparently you aren’t supposed to tip anyone 3) men are usually way to friendly and the best thing for you to do is not even acknowledge their existence 4) Italians are very aware of electicity and wasting things 5) Theyre absolutely crazy drivers and 6) they NEVER wear shorts! Even in 90 degree weather like today, it was hard for me to even find them in capris! I’m sure I’ll have many more of these tips to post throughout this trip!

On friday morning we had a very long and extensive orientation about Florence and the program. On Saturday we picked up our schedules and books. Palazzo Rucellai is absolutely gorgeous. Apparently students have never been able to use the front entrance until this year. We are the first group of students allowed to enter through the front door.

Throughout the days we have been wandering the streets trying to figure out the layout of Florence but I don’t think I’ll ever truly understand it!
The Duomo:

Ponte Vecchio:

I’ll update soon about classes and travel plans with hopefully more pictures! I’m sure this week is going to be extremely busy though.

Location: Via Ricasoli, Florence, Italy

Hola de Sevilla!

Hola everyone! My name is Steph Brunner and I am writing to you from beautiful Sevilla, Espana! I am involved in the Seville Summer Language and Culture program through CIEE. This program operates as three 3-week sessions, and I am staying for all nine weeks!

I just finished my junior year as a psychology major with minors in Spanish and HDFS. At Penn State, I am a football cheerleader, a research assistant in a developmental psychology lab, the secretary of the Penn State Concert Choir, and a THON volunteer. Needless to say, I am very busy! I have known since high school that I wanted to study abroad, and I am so glad that I found the time in my jam-packed schedule to fit this experience into my undergraduate career!

I arrived in Sevilla on Wednesday May 18th. We stayed in the Hotel Melia-Sol until Friday afternoon when our host families picked us up. Here is a picture of the hotel!

Throughout these nine weeks, I will be writing about my goals, my experiences, and my (hopefully) changing perspectives. My main reason for studying abroad is to completely immerse myself in a new culture, thereby enabling myself to learn about customs and norms, to improve my Spanish skills, and to become a more globally-knowledgeable citizen. I hope you enjoy reading about my journey this summer! Hasta luego!

Location: Seville, Spain

Eres la vida que me falta

“yo soy la vida que ya tengo, tu eres la vida que me falta”
Calle 13

–

Qu� locura eres, Venezuela, y como te extra�o…

Favorite Moments (that could be captured on film, haha)
Momentos favoritos (que puedo mostrar por fotos)….

The view of merida from the sky

adventures with friends in the rain to see the view of merida from the mountain tops…

walking and taking note of all the various colors of the city…

I just love latin america for this reason.

concerts that dont begin until 3:30am

streets burgers after 2am!

a piercing, a tattoo and a handsome boy, all in the same night. hahaha.

Chicos locos y playas hermosas…

an intense game of spanish/english scrabble

Dangerous things…
(hahaha) like:

attractive boys and no helments…

…waterfalls and sharp rocks…

…fast horses and wide open plains.

LAS COCADAS!

Anacondas, german urologists, and cuddling with anteaters…

Impromtu craving trips (La Nota has HOW MANY sauces?!)

BAILAR! (Dancing)

taxi cab confessions…

Yoga on the plains…

Lasting relationships…

Hermanas <3

Then, of course, there’s all those other memories that will only ever be just that.

——–

Yo, check out these videos of our awesome night at the CALLE 13 CONCERT!

Location: Lebanon, Pennsylvania

ARRIVED!

I am currently at my aunt’s apartment writing this entry.

But oh boy, the amount of time travelling and waiting was too much to bear..

-2 hour bus ride from Philadelphia to JFK airport in NY
-3 hour wait in the resting area for the plane
-14 hour airplane trip
-1 hour from the airport to aunt’s apartment

I don’t know quite how I managed to endure the (endless) journey, so don’t ask. lol

This was my first time going through the airport process for travelling internationally so I was a bit nervous.
I didn’t want to mess up and cause any complications. I was nervous enough that I’d miss the bus or plane and have to deal with that!

I did like Korean Airlines though. The stewardess were very polite, the food was more than decent, and the entertainment system had a good selection of movies.

Airline ticket included headphones, pillow, blanket, toothbrush/paste, disposable slippers.

What I found myself mainly looking at was its channel for pinpointing the airplane on a map at all times.
The option showed you information like altitude, how many more miles until Incheon, how much more time, etc.
Constantly viewing that, I found that time went a lot slower. But as soon as I flipped the monitor to something else, I felt this urge to go back and check.
Sigh.. that’s how I spent the majority of the trip (besides sleeping and watching “Little Fockers”).

But yeah, I’m pretty anxious and excited to check out Seoul.
It should, though, take me a while to get used to everything NOT being in English!

It’s raining (booo!) so I might not be able to do much today but it’s alright.

In the next few days, I should have located some kind of housing for me that’s closer to Sogang University.

So yeah, until then.. cyaa!

Location: Seoul, South Korea

The Precipice of the Next Great Adventure

Hallo everyone! My name is Michael Frieber, I’m an International Politics major, a rising Junior and a fantastic American. And, in just under one month’s time, I’m gonna be on my way to study abroad at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.

As someone incredibly interested in exploring the world outside of what I know, I jumped at the opportunity to go on an adventure in a distant country before my junior year of college. I had no idea, however, that I would discover a program so reflective of my goals as a student, and of my interests as an individual.

There are two halves to the “Maastricht, Netherlands: The Politics of European Integration” program. On the first half of the trip, I will be going, along with other Penn State students, on a ten-day study trip, visiting important international institutions in Frankfurt, Strasbourg, Paris, and Brussels. Some examples of these are NATO, the Council of Europe, and European Parliament.

Once the study trip is over, we will begin phase two of the trip, on which I will be taking a class called “Political Aspects of European Integration” taught by a professor Alexander Hoogenboom. The basic goal of this class, and of the study trip, is for us students to examine how European governments are negotiating with one another via these institutions, oftentimes sacrificing degrees of their own autonomy, in the interest of reaching higher levels of efficacy, security and prosperity. And examine we shall!

But don’t worry folks, these blog entries aren’t going to be centered around European politics. No one wants to read that. Not even European politicians. Rather, I plan to tell the story of a young man (ME) traveling halfway across the world and losing himself in the adrenaline rush of wandering through the streets of the old world. We’re gonna have a ton of fun.

Unless that guy in Irving’s exaggerated. See, on the last week of classes, I was in the basement of a bagel shop back at school eating some breakfast, and I saw a student wearing a Maastricht University t-shirt. I called out to him and explained that I was going on a study abroad trip there this summer. As it turns out, he took the same trip last summer. I was left with his words echoing in my head: It was the best six weeks of my life.

That could be a critique of his life just as well as it could be of this trip, but I’m just about completely positive this is going to be one of the most exciting, important things I’ve done in my life thus far. Whatever it is, a statement like that can make these next four weeks until June 19th seem like four months. So, for now I’ll continue to bide my time at my home in New Jersey, living on the precipice of the next great adventure: Maastricht.

Location: 71 Riverwood Avenue, Bedminster, NJ USA 07921

Zaijian Beijing (Goodbye Beijing)

Here I am in Kimpo, South Korea, a few weeks after that fated day, the day when I last saw Beijing. I’m still dazed and confused, utterly blindsided by what just happened to me these past few months. Indeed, what just happened?

I woke up at 7 that morning, but went to sleep at 3. Last day celebration extravaganza at Wudaokou, Beijing’s foreigner/bar district. Wasn’t too tired that morning. It was more of a wispy “dude, I can’t believe I’m leaving this place, this place I’ve called home for the last 4 months” kind of feeling. I packed up my stuff. Ended up buying so many souvenirs that I had to buy a second luggage case. For some reason my judgment lapsed during that purchased and I convinced myself that 300 RMB wasn’t bad for a luggage case. I completely failed to factor in the Chinese’s continual dedication to craftsmanship and quality (insert sarcasm). But hey, you get what you pay for.

My friends all gathered to my dorm room door at around 10:30 in the morning. They wanted to catch lunch with me before I headed off, as I was the first to leave out of our group. With some degree of poetic irony, I chose the shoujuabing stand. As Gob Bluth once said: Return from whence you came. I slapped Nick on the back and asked him if he remembered our first time there and the buttload of troubles we had just trying or order something, anything. We didn’t know the menu, any of the Chinese characters on the menu, or what we were supposed to say. So I resourcefully said “I want the same” after the guy in front of us ordered. It turned out to be the first of many times I ate a delicious shoujuabing, but that day was to be my last. With a much greater degree of fluency, I ordered the works, something I’ve been too stingy (or maybe scared?) to try before. One crispy flour pancake wrapping around cheese, egg, lettuce, a variety of sauces, and not one but two pieces of bacon. It was to die for and the most fitting of last meals.

So we all grabbed our meals and a drink and sat outside the tables just outside the Red Umbrella convenience store, thusly named for the red umbrellas it puts out during the summer. I’ve yet to see these umbrellas and probably never will. We chatted, reminisced about our adventures in China and our plans for the summer. Then I said my goodbye. Many of my friends planned on staying for the summer in order to better solidify their Chinese, so they urged me to stay as well. Perhaps if I didn’t already have plans this summer, I would’ve obliged. But alas, I have Korea and an internship waiting for me in the States.

So is this goodbye? This may be copying a little too directly from Will Fienberg’s IES Beijing commencement ceremony speech, but whatever. Zaijian translates to “goodbye”, but more literally, it means “See you again”. In that sense, maybe I will see this country again: a place where explosive growth is happening, a place of extremely deep and profound culture, a place that boasts one of the most difficult languages to learn… A place I’ve once called home. I’ll see you again someday. As for my friends, I’ll see you guys again someday too. Till then, zaijian.

Location: Kimpo, South Korea

7 days and counting

My name is Amanda Flick. I am a life science major with a minor in French and psychology. I just finished my junior year at University Park, and I am study abroad in Besancon, France. I just received my first email from my host family. I cannot wait to meet them.

I am nervous that, when I get off the airplane, I will be completely lost. I am afraid that I will not be able to communicate enough to get where I need to go. I am sure this is normal and as long as I do not think about it, I’m fine. I am arriving in Paris a day before I meet up with others traveling to Besancon so hopefully I will get over most of my nervousness by then.

I hope this trip will make me more outgoing and social. I want to learn the language and travel to surround countries. I want to explore and experience new things. I want to make new friends and enjoy everything the program has to offer.

Location: Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey

I’m Leaving On A Jet Plane

Well, it’s official, I’m leaving for Italy in matter of hours! I’m a mixture of happy/sad/excited/nervous/anxious all bottled up into one. My suitcases and carry-ons are packed, and hopefully I didn’t forget anything. I said all of my goodbyes to my best friends from home the past few days, and it feels so weird – this is the first summer I won’t be spending with them practically every day. I know that I’ll still be able to talk with them semi-frequently over the summer, so it’s not necessarily bad, just different. I also am saying goodbye to my parents today, and it just dawned on me that I think this will be the longest I will have ever gone without seeing my family or friends… weird. In a good way, but still weird.

my family last weekend at a phillies game.

my best friends from home, circa 2009.

I must admit though, that my biggest concern right now is that I’m going to end up on the plane either a) next to a crying baby; b) next to someone who won’t stop snoring; c) someone who talks to me the entire flight (don’t get me wrong, I love to make friends on airplanes… but I’d like to be able to catch some z’s on the red-eye tonight); d) next to an anxious flier, who jumps or yelps at every patch of turbulence; or e) next to someone who smells terribly. Now obviously these are all worst case scenarios, and I have yet to really encounter any of the above – knock on wood – for long periods of time, & there’s a first time for everything… ha. But really….

So I will spend the next couple hours doing last minute things (IE: making ipod playlists, making sure I have food for the plane, charging my phone… you know, obviously the most important things), and then I’ll be on my merry way to Philadelphia to board British Airways Flight 66 to London, then to Rome. Meaning this will be my last post from the United States! Ahh. I still can’t believe that I’ll be in Italy tomorrow… totally unreal!

Location: Philadelphia, PA

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