Tag Archives: culture shock

Culture shock: conquered ✓

Can you believe it is the week before finals? I have a few exams next week, and then I have my final in the local university on July 1. So I am leaving in two weeks on July 2. I have really enjoyed myself in Buenos Aires. I feel like my horizons have truly broadened studying liberal arts, improving my Spanish,making new friends, and living in an entirely different culture. When I arrived here months ago, I encountered a lot of differences in culture to which I have learned to adapt. I can truly say that I have conquered those culture shocks.

Greeting Culture

When I first arrived in Colombia, I went to a party. I entered and when I was introduced to everyone, I offered my hand, then quickly withdrew it as everyone leaned in to kiss my cheek. So when I arrived at my homestay in Argentina, I was prepared and boldly greeted everyone with a kiss on the cheek. When my friends and I go our separate ways, we all kiss each other on the cheek and say “chau”! It now feels unnaturally cold-hearted to greet or thank someone with a handshake.

Food Culture

While walking to class in the morning, I see waiters running through the streets carrying metal trays with coffee. This practice is the Argentine version of “to go”. A Starbucks opened up on the corner of my street, and my host dad complains about how everyone carries “to go” cups from there. He can’t understand how someone could possibly enjoy coffee from a “to go” cup on the run to the office. I used to bring my computer to cafés and I always felt that I was ruining everyone else’s relaxed vibe at the café. So now when I go for my café con leche, I maybe bring a book or my knitting, but more often I just sit, people watch, and enjoy the taste of well made cup of coffee.

Milanesa sandwich

Another challenge for me with Argentine food culture was their obsession with meat and misconception of what vegetables actually are. I pretty much have meat every day in this country, although I have been a vegetarian for the past five years. Along with the meat that I eat everyday, there is usually potatoes and bread, maybe a salad once in a while. Potatoes serve as a vegetable here, and I really miss things like steamed broccoli or But I wanted to share dinner with my host family every night and enjoy what is particular to their culture. So I have certainly enjoyed dinners with my host family, but I honestly cannot wait to go back to my plant-based diet when I get back to the US.

Transportation Culture

I have described the colectivo (bus) culture in another blog post earlier in the semester, but there are a few more things I have noticed during the past few months. A few new bus stop signs have been put up. The stop where I catch the bus to go to my university used to be completely unmarked. I learned to look for the particular bus line I want to take while I walk to the general area of the stop so I know exactly where to stand. But now there is a nice, clear sign that displays 111 with the colors of the line where I hop on the green and yellow bus. However, there are still no signs for the 106 or the 140, and none of these bus stop signs include schedules. So I have adapted to being patient finding a bus stop and making sure to have a plan B if I can´t find it or the bus does not show.

Although the bus can be unpredictable sometimes, everyone (unless they are heading to a Boca Juniors soccer game) is polite and respectful. Whenever a mother, child, or elderly person hops on the bus, there is always a person to jump from there seat and graciously offer it to them. I hear a woman thank a man for giving up his seat, and he responds, saying “no, por favor, it is your right.” While waiting at the bus stop, men are also always sure to let women on the bus first.

Political Culture

Another reason for the uncertainty of the bus is Argentina’s political culture. If you decide to visit the Plaza de Mayo, where the offices of President Cristina are, it would be rare to not encounter some kind of political protest. These protests often cause the streets to be barricaded and closed.

Plaza de Mayo with the Casa Rosada in the background

When my mom visited me, there were hundreds of people protesting for the right of self-cultivation of marijuana. The police barricaded the streets and stood by while the people set up their posters and light up their joints. Other days when I go to the plaza, there are people fighting for protection of the environment. A few weeks ago, there was an enormous protest against domestic violence. Almost every Argentine I know went. Protests where people, whether young or old, fill up the street and yell obscenities to their opposition are quite common in Argentina and a huge part of their political process.

Protest in the plaza

Unions, and their strikes, also have a huge role in Argentine politics. They will also participate in protests in political areas of the city when they strike. Since my arrival in Buenos Aires, I have experienced two general strikes. This may not sound like a big deal, but during these strikes, all forms of public transportation were stopped. In the last strike, transportation was stopped across the country: there were no trains, no subways, no buses functioning in all of Argentina. Not one plane flew into the Ezeiza International Airport, nor the domestic airport. These general strikes are normally not so common, but it is an election year. So the stakes are higher and everyone is trying to publicize their stance.

Economic Culture

Many of the strikes while I have been here have been about raises in salary. The last strike also was fighting for a raise, but focused more on the problem of inflation. They see this as the root of the economic problems of workers because the pesos they receive are worth less and less.

In the grocery store or in the mall, they offer to everyone to pay installments. I buy ham, cheese, and bread for sandwiches and the cashier asks me if I only want one installment on my credit card. Some clothing stores advertise offers of 12 installments over an entire year. Because of the economic uncertainty, Argentines are more likely to spend their money right in the moment because of inflation.

During the four months I have been here, I have seen everything go up in price by about ten percent. The scone at the tea house, the cost of doing my laundry at the laundromat, a salami sandwich at Al Sandwich: all up ten percent.

Since the default of 2001, Argentina has experienced significant inflation, and my peers in my university class have grown up with it. They ask me how much a dollar is worth in two years, and I don’t know the answer.

Adapting

These culture experiences are very different from my daily life in the United States. At times, confronting these differences proved difficult, especially trying to navigate them by communicating in my second language. Even more so, learning to be more laidback with uncertainty and unpredictability was hard with my type A personality. But over the past few months, I have learned the importance of a warm greeting, having a second plan, adapting to changes of plans, and enjoying a single moment without distraction or multitasking.

Drinking mate and relaxing at an estancia

Oops.. My American is Showing

One of the reasons why my transition to Korea was surprisingly so easy was because I had studied the korean culture for various years before arriving. It made the transition almost flawless. I knew some of the language, the traditions, the mannerisms. Had you thrown me into the middle of say… Morocco, Brazil, or any other culture that I haven’t had the chance to really study yet, I probably would’ve had a much harder time.

That being said, there are still times when Korea throws me off. But I’m all for it, because when you’re uncomfortable that means you’ve stepped out of your comfort zone, and when you’re out of your comfort zone, that’s when you truly begin to grow.

So my last post was all the praises I had to give to this great country, and now here’s all the times I’ve been aboard the struggle bus. (more like driving the struggle bus…)

1. Squat Toilets
WHY. Why why wHY WhY why WHY? A squat toilet, in simplest terms, is a glorified hole in the ground. It boggles my mind. In a country so developed as Korea… why are squat toilets still around? Don’t get me wrong, there are still many normal toilets, but every once in a while you find a squatter (is that even a real term? I just made it a real term). And you find it in random places, like some subway bathrooms or even bathrooms in my class buildings! It makes it feel as though it’s Russian Roulette every time you push open a stall door…

2. No Trash or Water. Anywhere.
Dear Korea, why do you hate trash cans? Why do you hate water fountains? Why do you hate me???? I told my friends that finding a trash can is basically like playing ‘Where’s Waldo?’ One of biggest mysteries of the world is how Korea is so spotless when they HAVE NO TRASH CANS. I generally can walk for a solid 20-30 minutes with trash in my hand before I finally stumble across trash cans… or a water fountain, too. As a result, if you ever see me around Seoul, it’s almost a guarantee I am dehydrated and my pockets are filled with wrappers.

3. Gym Shoes
I pulled the classic “dumb foreigner” card the first week I was here, and I still get embarrassed when I think about it. It was a struggle and a half for me to get a gym membership, and when I finally managed… I got turned away my first day trying to go. I feel as though it was a sign that I should just take the semester off working out and get fat off korean food, right?!?!
Why did I get turned away, you ask? Because I didn’t have another pair of shoes. Yup, Korea (or at least my university gym) requires you to have outside shoes, and inside gym shoes. Don’t worry friends, I have cheated the system and bring my other pair of outside tennis shoes in a bag so I can change into them as soon as I step inside the gym. (Don’t tell anyone)

4. Pedestrians do NOT have the right of way.
So you know in America how they have cross walks? And side walks? And red lights that people actually pay attention to? Yeah well Korea doesn’t really care about that. Pedestrians are the last thing on the driver’s mind. You have no idea how many times I’ve had to dodge a motorcyclist who was driving on the sidewalk. Yes, the sidewalk. It’s a dog eat dog world out here, guys. Don’t worry mom and dad – I’ve made it so far!!! The danger is what makes the walk to dinner or shopping that much more exciting!!!

5. CCTV
You’ve all read 1984, right? “Big Brother is watching you.” Well there’s basically that here in Korea, which is something I had NO IDEA about before coming. There are virtually no police anywhere, and Korea is a crazy safe country. How is that possible? Because there are cameras everywhere. All over the streets, in restaurants, in the dorms. They’ll catch you if you do anything wrong. CCTV is watching. They’re always watching.

(If you ever want to see my freak out, just reference CCTV in my presence. It makes me feel like I’m the protagonist of the next big dystopian YA novel)

So those have been the biggest struggs thus far on my journey. And I’m sure there will be more. Bring it on, Korea! I’m ready for them.
(Except CCTV…)

Adventures of Amsterdam

Well, if you’re reading this on Saturday (March 5^th) I’m currently in the countryside of England in a little “market town” called Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire. I’m on a HOST program visit with another girl, but I’m not sure where she’s from yet.

My latest adventure (besides my current one) was to Amsterdam! We took the coach there, obviously, and it was scheduled to leave at 7pm London time and arrive at 7:45am Amsterdam time (1 hour ahead). When we got on the bus, some guy came on and asked if he could sit next to me. I wasn’t going to say no, so I let him. He turned out to be very creepy. Since it was such an early bus, I couldn’t fall asleep right away. The guy sitting next to me kept talking to me; he started talking about traveling, which is my favorite topic, so we talked for a while and I was fine with that. We took the ferry again and when we were parked, we went upstairs and were walking around when the creep guy tried to talk to me again.

When it was time to board the bus again, I put my iPod in, so that the guy knew I was sleeping, and fell asleep. Luckily, I was in and out of sleep the rest of the time. Around 5:30am we were coming to a stop; Mary and Kate asked me if we were there and I said no, we still had about 2 hours left. I happened to look out at the station sign and it read “Amsterdam Amstel”. I was so confused because I knew that was the name of the station but I couldn’t figure out why we were there so early. We were all still half asleep so we got out, got our luggage, and wandered into the station. I was a bit nervous at first because every sign was in Dutch and none of them were translated into English. I wandered over to the maps to look but had no clue what I was looking for. I pulled out the hostel paper and we tried to find the street name on the map but it was impossible; the street names looked like letters jumbled together. The three of us sat down on a bench and just stared at the floor for a while. We didn’t know what to do since it was so early and we were seriously still partly asleep. All of a sudden, the creepy guy came up to me and asked me for my number; I told him that I didn’t have a phone (and then I realized he saw me on it earlier). He then proceeded to ask me for my yahoo, g-mail, or facebook name. I told him I had a facebook but that my profile was private so he couldn’t find me. About 10 minutes later, he came back over and told us to give the woman he was with the name and directions to our hostel so she could tell us how to get there. I ignored him and told him we were fine; there was no way I was giving him that information. We must have been so out of it; no one would go up to the security guards to ask them how to get to the hostel and I was apparently reading the directions wrong that the hostel has online. After almost 2 hours of sitting there, I realized that the directions told us exactly how to get to the hostel. We saw people just walking into the open doors to get onto the metro, so we did the same without buying a ticket (oops). When we got to the central station, we realized that there were actually security guards at this one and the doors weren’t open. We were initially like “Oh no!” but then we saw a door open in the very corner so we went through that one. It was such an easy walk to the hostel from the central station! We were walking down the street and were already getting whiffs of marijuana. And it wasn’t even 8am! I loved our hostel so much; the atmosphere of the place was so chill. When we checked in, they told us that we could go into our rooms at 10:30am and that we could “smoke anything legal in Amsterdam” in the smoke room but not anywhere else in the hostel. There was also free breakfast downstairs that we could have; I love the word free!

The first place we wanted to go was to the I Amsterdam sign. Of course we walked everywhere; it was so pretty. The canals are breathtaking and the architecture there is different from anything I’ve seen so far. I loved that the main transportation is bicycles and that they always have the right of way. We didn’t rent a bike though, it was way too rainy for us!

We finally ended up at the sign and there were so many people there!

We went to a Dutch pancake restaurant for lunch and sat upstairs; the steps were small and steep and we were talking about how I almost fell. It was funny because one of the workers overheard us and said something along the lines of “try working here and having to go up them all the time! It’s alright though, just get high before you go up them and you’ll be fine! It helps me when I’m working!” I loved how he was just so open about it and it was completely normal. It was really rainy, so we went back to the hostel and rested for about an hour. We didn’t want to feel completely lazy, so we went outside on an adventure. One thing to keep in mind, Caf�’s are where you get coffee and pastries, Coffee shops is where you buy marijuana.

I wanted to at least go into a coffee shop while we were there because it’s a part of Amsterdam’s culture. Wow is that a different way of life! When you walk in, they card you immediately because you have to be 18 to even be in there. In the one we went into, there was a separate place to smoke; they aren’t all like that, some of them you can smoke wherever. There was munchy food and drinks being sold and a menu of marijuana. The list was about 25 names long and in parenthesis next to the name was the type of high you’d get from that specific type. It was so bizarre to see but actually really interesting to think about. Mainly because Amsterdam has it right; they regulate the legalization of Marijuana by making it illegal to purchase under the age of 18 and making it illegal to smoke outside in public. Since this is the case, there aren’t any marijuana drug lords and there aren’t any concerns that you’ll be buying something that is either laced or isn’t worth what you paid. Everyone in Amsterdam is so chill and friendly!

The friends I went with wanted to go to a museum and I wasn’t feeling it, so I stayed behind to wander around alone. I went in and out of all the souvenir shops comparing prices and items they had and just walked around the area close to our hostel. I was in such shock because in the shops, there were more accessories for drugs and less for actual souvenirs; they literally had signs in the glass displays that said “cocaine accessories”. That was a bit excessive to me. I wanted to take a picture of them, but I was afraid the store owners wouldn’t like that. Later that evening, we went to go get some food quick. We didn’t really want anything big because we were paying 15 euros for a pub crawl. For the first hour of the pub crawl, we met in a bar and it was an hour of all you can drink shots. The shots were awful; it was vodka splashed with some cranberry juice for coloring. The worst part was that they didn’t supply anything to chase it with. It was actually a lot of fun and it was one of the first times I’ve really gone out since I’ve been here. We went to 5 other bars and a club. I met so many people; one of the guys was from Scotland and I talked to him for a while about traveling, I met a guy from Ireland that told me he was going to show me all around Dublin, I met a guy from London that I said reminded me of Russell Brand, and I met a girl that was on our pub crawl that is living in London in Shortidge. We talked for a while and she was telling me all about her love for traveling and everywhere she’s been and how much she loves living in London. All in all, it was a good night.

The next morning, they asked us to be checked out by 10:30am. We had our free breakfast and then went off on our merry way. We didn’t realize it, but it was incredibly windy and rainy outside. There was a caf� where we all sat for a while because it was too windy to walk around with our umbrellas. The rest of the day, we walked in and out of the souvenir shops and caf�s. Later in the afternoon, we decided to walk towards the Red Light District.

We were walking through it, and all I can say is that it is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. I later learned that it is a legitamte job and they have a union, pensions, and benefits! It started to get incredibly windy again, so we went into the museum we were clostest to, which happened to be named “The Erotic museum”. It was the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. I really didn’t enjoy the erotic art, but it was not raining in there so I was happier than I was outside.

We eventually made it back to the hostel to get our bags and then headed to the metro station. I left the hostel and then realized (when we were almost at the metro station) that I left my passport and tickets at the desk of the hostel in the safe. I was so lucky I remembered them before we got to the coach station! We actually paid for the metro this time and took the train to the Amstel Station. We were told that our bus was going to be boarding at 10pm so around 9:50, we went outside in the rain. About 10:15 this bus pulls into the station, almost tips over going around a turn, and then pulls in the spot we were standing next to. There was a girl in front of me that asked the bus driver where the bus was going the bus driver freaked out and asked why we were standing in the rain because he didn’t even have his paperwork yet. He was so rude and I wasn’t looking forward to him. When he came back, he told us that we have to put our luggage on first and then we could board. He closed all the doors and then made us give him out suitcases in order of size called by him. Of course my bag was a backpack, so he freaked when I asked if I could put my bag in the little corner. He ended up taking it and shoving this huge suitcase on top of it. When we got on, he told us that he’s very mean if we get on his bad side and if we don’t keep the coach clean to remember that “he’s the one controlling the gas”. I happened to be putting my coat in the overhead compartment when he asked me to sit down. I said that I was just putting my coat up and he goes “I know, I’m watching you; I like watching you”. I was terrified! Fortunately, I slept most of the way and didn’t have a creepy man sitting with me. I woke up and realized we were in London. As we were pulling into the station, we were redirected to a different spot and we were told that we had to go through more security but they didn’t tell us why. We ended up having to get our passports checked again and our luggage was scanned through 3 different scanners. There were also bomb dogs there that had to sniff every single suitcase. We had to stand outside in the freezing cold for about an hour and it wasn’t enjoyable in the least. It wasn’t the most pleasant ending to our weekend, but I was happy to be back home. Even though our weekend wasn’t filled with adventure and seeing lots of sights, it was the perfect trip to end February with because it was so relaxing and not demanding at all.

Tuesday, I left for class a few hours later than usual because my tutorial was cancelled. As usual, I took the tube to get there. I got 2 stops away from my stop and then we weren’t moving from the platform. I started to get antsy after we were sitting there for 5 minutes when someone came over the loud speaker. I thought they were going to say they were trying to space out the trains (they do that a lot; usually around 10am). Instead, the woman said that there was “a person on the track” at Arnos Grove and all trains were instructed to stay put until further notice. When they say that, it means that someone threw themselves in front of the train to commit suicide. From what I’ve heard, it’s not that uncommon here. It’s really sad to think about, but when you’re on a 45 minute commute to school, the last thing you want is for someone to mess that up. Oddly enough, people’s reactions to this were basically that whoever did this to kill themselves should be a little less selfish and think about all of the commutes they’re messing up. I feel like you can’t help but think that in the moment. I sat there for about 10 more minutes and then decided to just try and find a bus to class. I ended up being about 25 minutes late, but the professor totally understood.

This past Wednesday, my Historic London lecture was at the Imperial War Museum. I didn’t think I’d like it but I ended up loving it so much that I want to go back. As I sat down that night to do my first bit of homework since I’ve been here, the fire alarm went off! I thought it was just being tested, but it didn’t stop. It’s such a loud and horrible noise so I followed everyone outside. Apparently, there actually was a small fire in one of the kitchens. It was pretty comical because the fire department came and we were watching the fire fighters standing at the elevator doors for a few minutes waiting for one to get them. Is it just me, or is it Fire 101 that says you have to take the stairs? It was a very funny thing to watch.

It’s hard for me to believe that it’s already March; I feel like my time here is dwindling down and I really don’t want it to. I’ve learned so many things about myself since being here and there’s no way I’ll be returning home the same person that left.

Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The Count Down

I wanted to create an entry on my trip to Nikko, but since I cannot upload pictures, I will talk about the re-entry workshop I had today.

I was sad to be reminded that I will be leaving Japan and going back to America in 2 weeks. We were reminded to say our goodbyes and to get contact information from all the friends we have made this semester. I don’t want it to end!

One interesting thing that was mentioned was the reverse culture shock. I don’t think I’ve had a culture shock in Japan. To be honest, I don’t really know what it is! In the beginning of the semester, a lot of people asked if I had a culture shock, but I never really knew how to answer. I mean, yeah, there were things that I thought was interesting and surprised me, but I wouldn’t really call it a “shock.” So after hearing about this reverse culture shock, I’m interested in seeing how I would be when I go back. Last semester, I had a friend who went through a reverse culture shock and he said things felt different in America–that he took some time to adjust. Maybe that will happen to me as well.

After the workshop, I kept thinking about how much I would miss all the friends I have made here. It is a very depressing thought. It can be years before I get to see them again!

I will have to make the best out of these last 2 weeks and make sure I have no regrets! And I will definitely keep in touch with all these great people.

To add to that, all the final papers and exams are in these 2 weeks! Oh, what stress!!! That just gives us that less amount of time to be able to enjoy the rest of the time we have here.

Well, I’ll end it here now. Hopefully, the photo upload problem will be fixed soon.

Location: Chiba, Japan

Sydney to Brisbane to Canberra!

Hello everyone! It’s been quite the two weeks…

My sister and I arrived in Sydney after a terribly long 14 hour flight at 7:30 a.m. with a full day ahead of us! We arrived to where we were staying and immediately walked down to the Rocks and the Opera House. It was amazing! It’s so much more interesting up close and in person! The Sydney Harbour Bridge was also quite magnificent. We were hoping to do the Bridge Climb but decided to save our money and go on a cruise around the harbour instead. All the houses on the water are beautiful! There were so many sailboats and yachts everywhere…we even saw a few dolphins by the boat! On the cruise, we also had our first introduction to Australian bikkies. Lamingtons are very tasty! Then again, I love coconut.

After the cruise, we continued to wander around and made it to the Royal Botanic Gardens. Another beautiful place! Australia has very different flora and fauna than the U.S., that’s for sure! We ducked into small shops the rest of the day and immediately noticed how expensive everything is compared to the U.S. Some of the touristy stuff was really cheap because it was made in China, but even a small sandwich is at least ten dollars over here! Also, the accents took me quite a while to get used to. Everyone we met was very chatty and helpful, but they talk so quickly that it was difficult to understand at first, even though it was English!

We spent another few days in Sydney and Glebe, just learning how the Australian’s do things and getting rid of our jet lag. Everyone seems to be very fashion-forward and dressed up all the time too! That’ll take some getting used to…no more sweatpants for me!

Next, we headed to the Blue Mountains, about an hour and a half away from Sydney. What a beautiful place! We stayed at the YHA there which resembled the typical ski lodge nestled in the Rocky Mountains. It was about 15 degrees F cooler there than in Sydney. We climbed down the Great Staircase and saw the Three Sisters. We saw waterfalls and wildlife and saw the wild cockatoos that live everywhere here! It was very much like a rainforest.

The next day, we wandered around the Blue Mountains more, then headed up to Brisbane on the night train via Sydney. That was another experience! I’ve never been on a train like that so it was pretty exciting. It gets dark around 5 p.m. here so we missed a lot of scenery on our trip. Arrived in Brisbane, found the YHA there (AWESOME place!!), then took a bus to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. We got to pet kangaroos and walk around with them! And best of all, we got to cuddle koalas!!! They are so sweet! But heavier than you’d expect. We saw a bunch of other native animals, like Tazmanian Devils, platapuses (platapi?), emus, dingos, and lots of snakes and birds. This place is a must if you are heading to Brisbane!

The next few days, we went to Moreton Island. It’s the third largest sand island in the world, and it’s so cool! We took a big ferry across the ocean and as soon as we were on the beach, we saw tons of starfish! There’s a big resort out there, as well as primitive camping sites in a few places along the shore. In the middle of the island, there was “The Desert” which was literally that, a vast expanse of sand dunes. We tried out sandboarding…quite the rush! You can either sit or lay down on these curved boards, then slide down these huge and steep dunes! Crashing was bad though…you get covered in sand! But what an experience! We also went snorkeling and 4WD-ing through the sand roads. Saw some whales too!

Went back to Sydney, my sister flew back to the States, and I took a train to Canberra. I’m here now and I’ll blog all about it another time! I think this post has been sufficiently long enough… Until next time…

Location: Sydney, Australia; Brisbane, Australia

Back to America

After one last day at a beautiful beach in Zanzibar, I started my 40 hours of travel home on Friday morning.

We first took a ferry from Zanzibar back to Dar where we caught our 4:50pm flight to Dubai. The ferry pretty much sucked. We were going so fast and against the current so the boat was flying all over the place. We had 4 of our students get sick and about 5 more feeling like they were going to be sick. It wasn’t just us either. People all over the ferry were in rough shape. It was kind of amusing in a way but really it was just bad. To top it off, after being on the boat for 2 hours of rough riding we had to go straight to the airport – no showers or refreshment. I bet we all looked good!

The flight to Dubai was alot better than the flight in from Dubai. The plane was bigger and nicer. We had a couple hours of layover in Dubai. That airport is insane. Especially after spending my trip in the rural villages of Tanzania, the upscale, flashy ways of Dubai airport seemed ridiculous to me. We left Dubai for New York at 2:00 am – Dubai time. And after 14 hours of flight we landed in New York at 7:30am. From there I had a longer layover till my flight to Pittsburgh at 2pm.

I was a mix of emotions. Through all the travel I felt fine. Being in the crazy Dubai airport made me a bit uneasy – all that flashy stuff seems silly when you put it into perspective. Through the flights I felt good, focusing on the next leg of travel. My first episode came on the last flight from New York to Pittsburgh. As we were flying into the airport, I was looking out the window and noticed how huge some of the houses are, and how much open land we have. Add in my fatigue and travel-weariness and I was almost in tears. How lucky we are to live in America! My mood improved when I made it off the plane and into the airport. I was very excited to see my family, give gifts and tell all my stories.

The first evening passed by smoothly for me. I was content to be home and happy to be reunited with my family. The next few days however, I have been having a harder time. These new emotions have surprised me. I expected to have some culture shock and homesickness when arriving in Tanzania – but when arriving home? I never expected it to be harder to come home. And for me it has been harder. A lot harder. I felt pretty comfortable in Tanzania. I had a few moments of homesickness and discomfort here and there but I was never that bad. Being back in America has been hard. I know I shouldn’t feel guilty for the way I live but I do. At this point I don’t know how to look at our lives and not feel guilty or wasteful or ignorant. The differences between America and East Africa are bigger than me. The two places are two completely different worlds. Going from one world to another in a matter of days is hard to adjust to. I’m sure in a few days I will find it easier. The improvement between today and yesterday has already been extreme. I look forward to feeling comfortable again but at the same time, I don’t want to loose this outlook. I don’t want to go back to the way it was- spending money on useless things, being wasteful and secluding myself into work and school. Hopefully, with some thought and effort I will be able to integrate some of the Tanzanian qualities into my own life.

The study abroad trip was amazing. I can’t stop thinking about going back. I don’t know how or when but I am defiantly persistent in making my return to East Africa. The thought of spending my summers or years after graduation at home is really unappealing. I have the travel bug. I’ve seen another new place and now I want to see everything. The whole world lies out there – I’m itching to see it all!

I promised a photo blog entry and it will be coming soon. We all traded pictures so I literally have thousands to go through, transfer and edit. But soon enough I will post them. Expect a couple or entries too. I’ll try to post as I go through them, or else it would be a while for the whole group.

Location: Murrysville, Pennsylvania

Home, Sweet Home

Well, I have been home for about a week now and it is crazy how hard it was to re-adjust to life in the US. I thought it was going to be easy coming back and picking back up right where I left off–buuuut, no. It was hard to adjust to my real family’s eating schedule. When my dad would sit down for lunch at 11:30am and ask me if I wanted to join him, I was no where near hungry because we never ate lunch until 4pm in Mexico. It was extremely hot here in Lancaster, PA when I got home as well. And it wasn’t just hot, it was humid as well and we have no air conditioning–so that was fairly similar to Mexico. It was tiring but cool to see everyone and everyone wanted to know all about my experiences and see all my pictures. I could not help telling them all how it was such a great experience and about everything that I learned. Because traveling abroad and studying in Mexico was a chance of a lifetime for me and something I am so glad that I took advantage of. I met so many new people and had the opportunity to see how another culture lives and breathes and functions outside the US. It was amazing and I miss my host family so much and the other students that I met there and the relaxing life that the people of Guanajuato led.

Location: Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Arrival in Istanbul, Turkey

May 22, I woke up at 5:30, and got ready to leave for Istanbul. It is now 10:39 p.m. on May 23, 2010 and I am getting ready to sleep. My trip started out normal, but I had to drive from York, PA to JKF airport in New York. I decided to leave at 8 a.m., thinking that would be plenty of time to get to New York for my 4:45 flight. However, I was wrong. In New York I got into heavy traffic, and I ended up missing the boarding of the plane I was supposed to get on. It took about 6 hours instead of the 3 and a half it was supposed to take to get there. After some conversation with the woman at the ticket counter, I was able to get a flight that took me from JFK to Paris, France then from Paris to Istanbul.

I have to say for my first time flying, this was definitely and experience. However, I loved it. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The delay between my flight to Paris and my flight to Istanbul was about two hours, which gave me plenty of time to depart from the first plane, find the gate for my next flight, and board my flight that took me to Istanbul. I am going to say, that for the first part of my trip I was a nervous wreck. I had never flown before and here I am taking a non-direct flight. Instead of Turkish Air, I flew Air France. I was fed pretty tasty meals (my first flight had dinner and breakfast and my second flight had lunch). I arrived in Istanbul around 2:30 p.m. and went through the lines for passports and grabbed my baggage. I had no idea what most people at the airport were saying, and it was hard to understand where to go. I happened to run into a college student about my age that was studying abroad in the United States (he actually missed the same flight to Istanbul that I missed), who helped me make a call on a pay phone.I then went to find the place where we were to meet up with the rest of the group members.

After several students and the professor and grad student were assembled, we headed to the hotel. After a little time unpacking and resting, we ate dinner, and afterward we went out to walk to an open air market that is close to where we are staying in Istanbul. We have a Turkish tour guide, and he would point things out as we walked. When we got to the market he said good bye, and we started walking toward taksim square. As we were walking I noticed how hard it is to drive without people walking in front of the cars. We even saw an emergency vehicle that had to yell at people to get out of the way.

As it is getting late, I am going to head off to bed now. I have to get up early after only having a few hours of sleep on the plane to hold me over until now.

Location: Grand Hotel Halic Refik Saydam Street 37 TepebaÅÄ± 34430 Istanbul / Turkey

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