Tag Archives: Community Engagement

Berlin…and food

Firstly , here’s the over-all video my friend Aviva and I filmed about our whole trip to Berlin – featuring the Reichstag, Berlin Wall, city exploring, and even longboarding.

 

But for now, FOOD! After experiencing so many delicacies, I had to just make a dedication to what I’ve been eating. YUM.

1.  Authentic German Breakfast

Our friend Theresa, who is from Germany in our exchange program, kindly opened her Berlin apartment to host us. Promised a German breakfast, we took our time at the breakfast table having cappuccinos sprinkled with chocolate powder, fresh milk and organic yogurt, 2 different homemade jams, 6 types of cheese, NUTELLA, and that-morning-baked bread. YES. Although there weren’t typical meats/coldcuts which are also typical German she said, we were not complaining at all as we relished our feast.

German cheese and breakfast foods

2.  “Berlin” soup

German potato and vegetable soup with sausage.

Berlin soup

3.  Kreuzberg Markthalle 9

One cheese stand in the market    The packed market

Thursdays: Local. Fresh. And Every type of ethic food “street-food market”. It reminded me of Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market but full of less tourists and more locals and beer drinkers. It became one of my favorite destinations from the trip. After hunting through every food stand we made our choices.

DEER

The most tender, fall-apart-in-your-mouth deer on bread with crunchy kohlrabi slice on the side. – Aviva’s dish

Aviva waiting for deer   deer on bread

RACLETTE

Process of melting a Swiss Raclette cheese onto a food of your choice. – Theresa’s

raclette options

AMAZING SPANISH WRAP?

Although I have no idea what it was called – mouth wateringly it was a crispy thicker corn tortilla with Spanish chorizo sausage, guacamole, beans, chipotle salsa, and greens. ON POINT. – mine

spanish wraps being toasted     delicious spanish meat      the final delicious product

4.  Currywurst

Originating in Berlin, we went to the original currywurst “Curry 36” and I ordered the “Bio-Currywurst ohne darm”: organic sausage without sausage encasing. A little light on the curry powder but still a great experience. I was also recommended a great currywurst place in Freiburg, Mensa 3, excited to check that one too…

currywurst

5.  Doner’s on doner’s on doner’s…

A Turkish specialty, we see doner kebap pubs everywhere and anywhere in Germany. Equivalent to a fast-food, quick eat – I have yet to be disappointed by a doner joint. It includes meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie that is sliced off and topped with lettuce, cabbage, onions, cucumber, tomatoes, and yogurt sauce on a thick toasted flatbread.

Stand making doners

6.  Little potatoes and sheep cheese

I‘ve had these little potatoes many times before in Europe, moist flavorful and tasty. Alongside is salmon, just a favorite fish of mine. We also tried sheep cheese with vegetables and found it had a sweeter and curd-ier texture and taste to it.

salmon and potatoes      sheep cheese with tomatoes and olives

You’re welcome, your mouth may now be watering. And Bonjour Paris next week!!


Location: berlin, germany

Loquacious, Literary, and Loving Every Second

Now that I’m back in Galway, I have been drinking up the abundance of literary culture faster than the pints I’ve been partaking in.  I really lucked out in choosing to study in a place where music, art, history, and literature dominate the city; around every turn, there is something new and wonderful to stumble upon.

But to get to those places, sometimes it helps to ask questions along the way.  Before I arrived in Galway I was determined to find the residence of Nora Barnacle, who was James Joyce’s wife.  She was born and raised in Galway before she met Joyce, and now her old home has been turned into a museum (even though the house is tiny!).  When my friend Mary and I ventured into town, we stopped by the Galway tours office and I asked the man working how to get to Nora Barnacle’s house.  Jokingly, he said “She’s dead, she doesn’t live there anymore.”  After a bit of laughter, he did give us directions, and after two failed attempts, Mary and I finally made it to the small house nestled inside a side alleyway.  We happened to arrive at it at the same time as an Australian couple, so we all helped each other out by taking one another’s photos.

Mary and I standing in front of Nora Barnacle's House.

Mary and I outside Nora Barnacle’s house

It’s still difficult for me to fathom that I’m so close to the history of my favorite authors.  Every time I go into the center of town, I pass a statue of Oscar Wilde, who is one of my all-time favorites.  I’m loving being surrounded by a prominent literary culture here – it’s such a change from what life is like back in State College.

Oscar Wilde statue in Galway City

Oscar Wilde statue in Galway City

A few days after our Nora Barnacle adventure, my friends and I chatted with a local shop owner and got directions to Charlie Byrne’s Book Shop, which stole my heart as soon as I entered.  I could have spent hours looking around, but we had to get to class so we only had about an hour to browse.  It was time well spent, though!

Me reading a book in Charlie Byrne's book shop

Me enjoying a book in Charlie Byrne’s

There are so many book shops in Galway – I seem to notice a new one each time I walk down Shop Street.  It’s definitely a dream come true for me… all of it is.  There is something inherently magical about Galway, as cheesy as that sounds.  The constant music that’s played in the streets, in the pubs… everywhere, really… seems like a soundtrack to life.  I don’t think I’ve gone a day without singing here – it’s impossible not to.  And yes, my friends and housemates do call me out on how I’m always singing.  Galway makes it so easy to live my passions, though.

And Galway always seems to point me in the right direction, too!

Me pointing at a sign for Diagon Alley in the book shop

Diagon Alley and Galway feel like the same place to me!

Looking forward to sharing more of my adventures with you!

-Maddison


Location: Galway City, Galway, Ireland

Heading to Mayo

This past weekend I participated in a home stay, which means I went to stay with an Irish family and explore their hometown for a few days.  I spent my time in Ballintubber, County Mayo, which is just a ten minute drive from Castlebar, the biggest city in the whole county.  My friend Kaity and I spent the weekend with the Murphy family.  On Saturday we explored Castlebar with our friends Mary and Bridget, and then on Sunday we visited Ballintubber Abbey, which was conveniently located just across the road from the Murphy’s house.

Visiting the abbey was my favorite part of the whole weekend, though admittedly the drive to Castlebar from Galway was scenic and beautiful.  Driving through Ireland is something I could always do – it gives me time to take in the beauty of the country and really think without interruption.  Watching the sun descend on the fields and houses was one of the most beautiful views I’ve seen so far.  Writers, beware… Ireland will inspire all sorts of literary and romanticized thoughts.  No wonder this amazing country has produced so many successful authors.

Before we explored Ballintubber Abbey on Sunday, Kaity and I went on a walk to explore local Ballintubber.  We walked down past the school and around the training pitch, admiring the quaint houses and small town atmosphere.  On the way we made friends with some ponies who live right near the pitch.

Ponies in a field, Ballintubber, Co. Mayo

Ponies in a field, Ballintuber, Co. Mayo

When we returned to the Murphy’s home, Mrs. Murphy and her daughter, Katelyn, took us to Ballintubber Abbey, which has been offering Mass without break for 800 years.  It was founded in 1216 by Cathal Crovderg O’Connor, the king of Connaught (one of the four provinces of Ireland).  The beauty of the abbey took my breath away… the old grave markers, the hazy grey day, the sheep in a field near the abbey, and the looming presence of the ruins made for a memorable experience.  We walked around the grounds and admired the amazing history that surrounded us, both inside the abbey and out.

Celtic cross cemetery marker in front of Ballintubber Abbey

Celtic cross cemetery marker in front of Ballintubber Abbey

I enjoyed exploring Mayo, but I was eager to get back home to Galway during my stay in Castlebar.  It’s amazing that I’ve only lived in Galway for three weeks and yet I miss it when I’m away.  Every time I go into Galway’s city centre, I fall in love over and over again.  I’ve been feeling really attached to the city lately, and I know at this point that saying goodbye will be very difficult.  But until then, I have a lot more adventuring to do, so I’ll save sad thoughts of departure for another day!

Until my next post,

Maddison


Location: Ballintubber, Co. Mayo, Ireland

Link

Old McOrsini Had a Farm

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lesson on how to make pasta at Lake Trasimeno

Pictured above, I was receiving a lesson on how to make pasta at Agriturismo Orsini on Lake Trasimeno by the Orsini family. They own a farm on the lake and are one of the founders of the slow food movement in which they completely sustain their selves and farm by complete means of only what they produce themselves. Interestingly enough, there has been an olive oil “famine” this year in Italy due to a bacteria, Xylella fastidiosa, that grew on olive trees and wiped out a large majority of one of Italy’s main exports. Because the Orsini family are in complete control of their products, they were able to get their animals to eat the infected olive branches therefore saving their olive oil production this spring. They are one of the only companies in Italy that were able to successfully produce healthy olives this year and therefore their oil is in high demand. Our group was privileged enough to buy their homemade olive oil before it was released to the public which is sure to sell out quick!

As soon as our group, 90 American students studying abroad at the Umbra Institute this semester, arrived at the farm we were immediately welcomed with open arms by this family. They immediately fed us a “peasant’s breakfast”, which I thought was fit for a King! It consisted of their homemade bread with olive oil and then another sweeter bread that they also made there with chocolate chips baked inside. Molto buono! (Very good!) After a meet and greet with the family over some bread and olive oil, we were given a lesson on how to make pasta – start to finish. Starting with eggs and flour, all the way to how to correctly cut the pasta and then let it dry properly before cooking. After eating pasta that we made that day, and several other courses they prepared for us for lunch; they gave each apartment a plate of even more fresh pasta to take back with us and eat for dinner that night. Such sweet and loving people.

Below is the process of how to make pasta taught by the Orsini family:

 

pasta making

step 1: flour and eggs

pasta making

outside class

pasta making

step 3: rolling out pasta

pasta making

step 4: being taught how to cut the pasta properly

pasta making

took off the training wheels

pasta making

ready to be cooked!

pasta making

finished product, lunch!


Location: Lake Trasimeno, Italy

The First 34 Hours – Arrival!

Me

Welp, in short I’m loving it. I’ve started settling into the city and have conquered the first week! Exploring the town (I live right by the Old City) is discovering something new everyday and I’ve seen how you never know who you’ll meet when you introduce yourself (got a free snowpass for a local ski resort, mmhmmm).

“It’s two floors up” they said

Getting here – Turbulence, Tired, and Trains. Travel is never 100% flawless… A girl I was flying with had her luggage left in Philadelphia, so we missed our train from Frankfurt to Freiburg. Thinking we’d have enough time, I was told before leaving the US “oh the train station is just two floors up from where the flight lands”. After taking escalators up and down, a tram connecting the airport, and running through corridors, I saw the tail-end of the train riding away.

TIP: No matter how prepared you think you are, always check for yourself on travel recommendations given by people. They often may have misinterpreted your question (or flown into a different terminal).

But, thanks to our flexible ticket (can take any train that day) we made it to Freiburg! Since all stores were going to be closed on the following day (holiday – Three Kings Day), I had a list of Must-Do’s. 1) Get euros from ATM 2) Get groceries 3) Buy student-discount tram pass. A quick shower and I walked out through city and I was the ultimate tourist – biggest smile on my face and actually “wow”ing as I approached the Martinstor (large clock tower in picture). This. Would be my new home.

Alte-stadt as I approach the city. Martinstor

My dad’s advice for jetlag was to stay up for the whole day and eat and sleep when the locals do. Finished errands at 6 PM, it was too early for sleep and 2 girls on my trip messaged me asking to go to dinner. In my head I’m thinking, “I’m tired, I’m exhausted, and I’m drained; no.”. But if I can’t find adventure now, then what am I going to see over the next 6 months? I want to take every opportunity I can to explore and try. And I was right. We went with the first restaurant we found and it. was. awesome. Turns out it was live blues night. At our same table we had two older couples who were chatting it up with us and extremely nice! I haven’t used my German since high school and somehow we all were becoming friends through primarily German. After being up for 34 hours at this point, I was full of tired bliss and laughs and was kicking off Freiburg with a hoot. (We learned every Monday is blues night and have been invited back by our new friends)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgpzyMyXA0o

TIP: When you’re not fluent, it’s uncomfortable and sometimes embarrassing to stutter and struggle through the language. The locals love it. They see you are trying to fit into their culture and most of the time love to help you find the words and answer your questions. Again, you never know who you’ll meet and what they’ll share.

First Impressions?

  • The city is gorgeous.
  • Bikes, bikes everywhere.
  • Bio-Food (Germany’s version of organic natural food, found at every grocery stores with foods labeled “Bio” and a small price spike)

3 bratwurst sandwiches Dinner at Freiburg's favorite hausbrauerei feierlingred building found in freiburg

Classes have begun, registration logistics are being completed, and we’re starting to be completely settled in. Now comes the exploration, trip planning, and classes through the whole semester of blogs. I keep my mantra in my head and I can’t wait to do our first trip soon and share on the blog!

Until then, tschuss!

 

Feel free to check out a friend on the exchange programs video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEC9nQe6drQ


Location: Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

Farewell, America

Hello there!  My name is Maddison and I’d like to personally thank you for visiting my blog space.  I have a lot of plans in store for my GeoBlog, so I sincerely hope you return to experience Ireland with me each week.  And, just so you know, this will be my last post before I depart for Ireland because I’m leaving a bit early to tour the country with my mother and my aunt before my Dublin orientation begins.

My goal for this blog is to share my experiences and adventures with you, though ideally, it would be great to interact with you in the comments section as well.  I want my readers to gain not only entertainment from my blog, but a sense of culture, fun, and belonging.  It’s a well-known fact that Ireland is considered one of the most hospitable countries in the world, so I want my blog to mirror that welcoming tradition!

Well, I suppose I should introduce myself, as you’re probably wondering who I am and why I chose to start blogging.  First and foremost, my name is Maddison and I’m currently a third-year university honors student who will be studying abroad at The National University of Ireland, Galway during the Spring semester of 2015.  I am double majoring in English and History with an intended double minor in International Studies and Writing.  My hobbies include reading, writing, historical research and interpretation, acting, singing, crocheting, listening to music, archery, watching movies, cooking, genealogical research, riding roller coasters, traveling, and spending time with my family and friends.  But you’ll get to know me better as I post more frequently.

So that’s a bit about me.  But you still may be asking yourself why I chose to study abroad in Ireland.  Well, to me, the answer is simple.  I was raised in an Irish-American Catholic family, so I’ve grown up in an environment that has familiarized me with Irish culture ever since I was old enough to understand what it meant to be Irish-American.  The values, morals, and traditions instilled in me as a child have guided my life in many ways, but now that I am in my early twenties, I am ready to explore and experience Ireland as an adult.  And, if I’m honest, there really isn’t anywhere else I could imagine myself going besides Ireland.  I’ve never been there before, but something inside me already warms to the familiarity of traveling to the place where my family came from.  It’s going to be a very new experience to me, but at the same time, it almost feels like going home.

I can assure you that I will go into more depth about these topics in upcoming posts – this initial post is just my way of saying hello, thank you for taking an interest in my blog, and I hope you’ll join me on my journey.  If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comments section and I will respond as soon as I am able.  Thanks again for stopping by and I hope to see you back again soon!

Until my next post… farewell, America!

Maddison


Location: State College, Pennsylvania, 16801

GeoBlog Training

In this post I will be covering some of the basics of blogging accessibly. Blogging accessibly is part of a wider Penn State effort to make all of our web content accessible to those with severe visual impairment, low vision, colorblindness/deficiency, the deaf or hard of hearing, impaired mobility, learning disorders, neurological impairments, etc.

Formatting Section Headers

This section will cover how to properly format headers within the body of a text. The text, “Formatting Section Headers” begins a new section of this page and as such has been formatted as “Heading 1”. Examples of improper formatting are: FORMATTING SECTION HEADERS, or Formatting Section Headers, or Formatting Section Headers.

Starting a New Sub Section

To create a section within a section, aka a subsection or second level heading, use “Heading 2” as in “Starting a New Section”. If you are creating a third level heading (or sub-sub section) you would format the title as “Heading 3” and so on.

Creating Lists, Links, Photos, Etc.

When creating lists, use formatted bullets as appropriate (do not use asterisks or tilde or dashes to indicate a list). There should be a brief introduction before the list:

  • Do not just start the bullets immediately after a title or heading
  • Avoid directional language (“the list below,” “referenced above,” etc…
  • When incorporating links, you should embed the link into a phrase that describes what the link is, as opposed to saying “click here” or something similar
  • When posting an image please make sure the photo has alt text assigned
    • Alt text should briefly describe what is happening in the photo.
  • When adding videos, simply paste the Youtube URL into the text of the post. Please try to only add videos that are properly closed captioned.

For further detail on any of the formatting guidelines in this post please visit the Penn State Accessibility website.


Location: University Park, PA 16802

Elektrafied: My Trip to the Teatro

Wow. I still have “Orest! Orest!” ringing in my ears. Last night, I finally saw an opera in the world-renowned Teatro Colón. National Geographic ranks Buenos Aires’s crowning jewel as the third best opera house in the world. Countless famous musicians have corroborated this assertion, commenting on the quality of its acoustics. A group of 8 of us from my program decided it was time for us to be a little cultured and bought tickets to Elektra, a German opera based on Greek mythology. Boy, did my ears get a workout. Wikipedia says that the role of Elektra is one of the most difficult pieces to perform in the dramatic soprano repertoire, and I definitely understand why. She does. not. stop. From the opening of the opera to its close 90 minutes later, the singer was trilling through the entire range of her vocal chords, hitting piercingly high notes complemented by warmer low tones. The woman who played her sister, Chrysothemis, was also fantastic. I heard her loud and clear over the thundering orchestra.

 

I just need to take a moment to comment on the orchestra. They were absolutely fantastic. Their sound filled the entire room and they flawlessly captured every mood of this tragic piece. I also had a great view of the musicians up in the nosebleed section, which was especially cool.

 

Back to the opera: I have always wanted to attend an opera, since I’ve sung a few operatic pieces in my voice lessons a few years back. But, I never seized the opportunity. Well, there was no excuse for leaving Buenos Aires without having seen an opera in Teatro Colón (with tickets being around $8), so I am so glad I made it a point to go. I was standing in the last row the whole time, but hey, my wallet was happy.

 

Walking into the glittering room of bright lights, velvet curtains, and intricate murals, I immediately felt like I was living in a dream. How many 20-year-olds have seen a famous opera?! So freakin’ exciting. It was truly surreal. Before the opera started, I took a few moments to myself to say a little prayer of thanks for this opportunity and waited with bated breath for the lights to dim and the curtains to open.

 

I can’t say that Elektra has converted me into an opera fanatic, but I am definitely happy that I went and plan to go to another in the future. Maybe one that’s a little lighter, like an Italian romance. In regards to the quality of the theater, it wasn’t quite what I expected. To be completely honest, I wasn’t overwhelmingly impressed by the acoustics. It was often difficult to hear the opera singers, since they didn’t have microphones.  The orchestra just overpowered them. But, it’s highly possible that that’s because of where we were standing. I’m not sure. I wish I could see another performance there for comparison. Regardless, it was an incredible experience, and I’m thrilled that I put aside the books for a moment and took advantage of this beautiful city in my last 19 DAYS!!

teatro colon2 copy.jpgteatro colon1 copy.jpg


Location: Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Bienvenidos a Chile: Country #2 in Latin America!

I’ve been teasing about my “trip of a lifetime” for a while now, so I thought it was about time that I disclose the adventures of my 9-day trip to 2 countries, 4 cities, and 1 Wonder of the World. 

 

The end goal was Machu Picchu, but the flights were cheaper if we stopped in Santiago along the way, so my two traveling companions and I decided to seize the opportunity to see another country. We booked hostels in Santiago and Viña del Mar and embarked on this fast-paced first leg of the journey.

 

We arrived in Santiago around noon after a very early flight and crashed at our hostel. It was very strange, though: Santiago was a ghost town. Every single business was closed, boarded up for the weekend (except McDonald’s, of course). Never in my life have I seen a city so barren, especially on a Friday! We asked the hostel staff what the deal was, and they informed us that it was Chile’s independence day weekend, so everyone was celebrating at the multiple fondas throughout the city. Fondas are basically big out-door carnivals with live music and local street food. Since there was nothing else to do, we rested up and headed out to one called O’Higgins. It was a blast! We tried their typical empanada, choripan, chicken and steak kabob, and the infamous Chilean terremoto (the local drink of choice). We ended the night mingling with the locals at a free out-door concert. It felt so good to celebrate the end of midterms and this important day for Chile. It ended up being lucky that we arrived when we did!

 

After the fonda, we recharged and caught an early bus to Viña del Mar, one of Chile’s beach towns. Oh, to just breathe that crisp, ocean-y air. This was finally vacation. We walked along the coast, trying to convince ourselves that we weren’t dreaming. While we were walking along, gazing at the skyline, we stumbled upon a local market where they were selling everything from Viña del Mar key chains to the “drug rug” pants we’d been seeing around the city. We cruised along looking for souvenirs, mingling with the enthusiastic vendors. Along the way, we stopped to listen to a man sitting on the rocks, playing his guitar, and singing some American and British classics. It was nice to have a little piece of home even when we were so far away. It never ceases to amaze me how music seems to be the one language that transcends every boundary around the world. That night, we headed out to unwind and ended up in an interesting little place called Café Journal. While everyone else was enjoying their pints of beers, we ordered some hot chocolates (it gets cold at night!) and watched the DJ jam out to his strange playlist of 80s music videos. Besides one other woman dancing the night away, I think we were the only ones that took such enjoyment out of seeing Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston on the screen. It was very amusing.  

 

After a sound sleep, we headed to the vibrant Valparaiso. For once, we were grateful to be accosted by tour guides looking for patrons for their tips-only tours. Two extremely friendly Chileans guided us around the atypical tourist spots, giving us incredible views of the port city. The town is best known for its array of colorful houses lining the iconic hills. Our tour guide told us that these residential rainbows emerged as a makeshift address system. Since the town was mainly used as a trading center, there wasn’t an official government system until later on. Thus, everyone would identify one another’s houses by saying, “I live in the purple house with the yellow windows on Cerro (hill) Concepción.” This method became so engrained into the culture of Valpo that the idea stuck even when an address system was established. Now, we tourists have the privilege of climbing to the tops of the hills to enjoy the beautiful view. Well, to be clear, the privilege is the view, not the climb. There are two ways to make the trip: HUNDREDS of steep stairs or an ascensor, which is basically an outdoor elevator. We tried both ways, and I have to say: I prefer the ascensor. You get an unparalleled view of the city on the way up, and you don’t end up a sweaty mess by the time you reach your destination, which is how we arrived at Pablo Neruda’s house, La Sebastiana. Wow, his house was incredible. It was amazing to see this famous Chilean writer’s poems placed throughout the house, showing us the direct influences on his creative genius. I’ve read many of his poems in my Spanish classes, so it was surreal to have the same vantage point that inspired some of his greatest pieces.

 

The only low point of the day was our traditional Chilean lunch that made us all queasy. It’s always a risk to order mystery meals, and this time, it backfired. I ordered “Chupe de Locos.” I had no idea what it was, but I wanted seafood, and the waitress recommended it. What arrived at my place was a bubbling cauldron of doughy mush filled with OCTOPUS and blanketed in cheese. AHH. I was expecting “locos” to be lobster, so as I chewed the rubbery pieces of fish, it was quite an unpleasant shock to discover that I was eating tentacles, not delicate lobster meat. I stopped after only a few bites and rushed out of there as soon as we got the check–it was a very uncomfortable situation. With bellies full of who knows what, we headed back to our hostel in Viña.

 

After our stay in Cusco, we returned to Santiago for one day and took the time to explore the now-awakened city. After a failed attempt to find a guided tour, we decided to be our own tour guides for the day. First, we stumbled upon a changing of the guards led by a female soldier–very neat! Then, we headed to an indigenous persons museum, which was really modern and interesting. It always amazes me to see the incredible things people could create with such limited resources. After the museum, we climbed to the top of a castle on a hill in the middle of the city to admire the smog-filled skyline. What an interesting juxtaposition of snow-covered Andes and towering skyscrapers! After our self-guided excursion, we begrudgingly headed to the airport and hopped on our flights home to Buenos Aires.

 

I loved Chile, but it can’t quite compare to Cusco and Machu Picchu, so look out for my post about my new favorite place in the entire world. Coming to you within the week!

Fonda Chile.jpgValpo rainbow.jpgViña.jpg


Location: Chile: Santiago, Viña del Mar, Valparaiso