Author Archives: Study Abroad

Houston, the plane has landed

Posted on by
Reply

Safe and Sound. Finally to the guest house after a very long but successful journey! My itinerary consisted of some pretty long flights doubled with being bused around the airport having no idea what’s happening, but moved along with the flow of everyone else. When I saw my baggage come through in Udaipur my heart was at ease and I was left with just one hurdle to jump, finding my contact in the crowd of people who was supposed to be wearing a yellow shirt. I walked out the main doors and standing there was my India Study Abroad Center Contact and the director of my internship site. We handed me a goodie bag and we were off!

At that moment started my introduction into India with the famous driving/ road situation. Zooming along were huge trucks painted with little tunes for horns that are constantly playing, autotrickshaws piled with people to the point they are sitting on top and hanging off the back, motorcycles and taxis swerving in and out of traffic and then add in the stream of camels walking along the highway. It’s the biggest game of “chicken” you’d ever seen and the bigger car doesn’t always win.

 

The market in town where all the shopping is done

The market in town where all the shopping is done

The top word says, Sirohi. That's where I was standing. It made me giggle :)

The top word says, Sirohi. That’s where I was standing. It made me giggle 🙂

Learning to navigate through lots of people and cows crowding the market

Learning to navigate through lots of people and cows crowding the market

It’s already a lovely place and my guest house is wonderful. Today many people already came by the guesthouse to meet me. Tomorrow morning I start off to my first day of work with Educate girls. Thankfully my ISAC contact is still here with me so I don’t get lost walking to work. Goodnight for now and till next time!

Open minds and open hearts make room for growth and change. Striving to live by this day to day. ~Anna

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”~Gandhi

 

Two Weeks Down, But It Feels Like So Much Longer!

Posted on by
Reply

Wow. I have only been here for 2 weeks, but it feels like so much longer!
My Spanish is improving and I just finished my midterms for my Spanish class (already, man!).

My Tico family is absolutely wonderful and I am so thankful to have a Mama Tica who loves me and my roommates so much!! Mama Tica sure does know how to cook, too….MMMM!

I have experienced so many fun new places on our excursions that we go on as a CIS group. Last weekend we went to Uvita and went on the BahĂ­a Ballena boat tour. I got to see a mother and baby Humpback whale and some enthusiastic dolphins. We got to jump out of the boat and snorkel for a bit also! Snorkeling I saw some incredible things. In Costa Rica, for the most part, the people truly value their natural surroundings and want to preserve the beauty of their country! I saw starfish, sea urchins, fish, an eel, a sting ray, and even a sea turtle! How incredible…I got to swim 5 feet from a sea turtle in its natural habitat. Out guide said that God had blessed our day since we got to see so much

Me Zip lining!

Me Zip lining!

Whale!

Whale!

! The next day, we stopped in Manuel Antonio on our way back to San Jose, and I got a BEAUTIFUL hand made, painted, and carved vase from a street vender. The artists name was RamĂłn, and he had beautiful pieces! The culture of business here is quite different than in the US, which I kind of like. I was happy to pay 7,000 Mil Colones ($14) for my one of a kind, handmade, authentic Costa Rican Vase, and didn’t even want to barter with him to get the price down, which is acceptable and common here. In the states you would have to go to an art market in a bigger city to find something like that, and I’m sure it would cost more than that! There was more interaction between the maker and buyer, rather than just buying everything at a department store.

My school work kept me very busy this week during the weekdays, and each day I had more to do or study for! Soon enough it was Saturday again and my CIS group was off for another day-trip excursion.

Saturday we went to el Volcán de Poas, and the Canopy Tour of the area. Sadly it was too cloudy to see the crater at Poas, but the Canopy tour was so much fun! We zip lined across 12 lines over a lush valley, with a beautiful view of the Volcano/area! All of the employees there to help us were incredibly friendly–true Ticos!–eager to show us the beauty of their country and help us enjoy our time.

Sunday I went to an Evangelical church a block away from my house here in San Jose, which was a great experience! I will definitely go back when I have the chance. After church, some of my roommates and my Mama Tica went to la feria (a farmers market) in Zapote. That was such a fun experience!! The fresh produce here is wonderful and so affordable! I love that aspect of Costa Rica!

As I start a new week I anticipate more growth with my spanish speaking and exploring lots more of the city!

First week–done!

Posted on by
Reply
Traditional Hand-Painted Ox Cart at Cafe Britt

Traditional Hand-Painted Ox Cart at Cafe Britt

Theater in Downtown San Jose

Theater in Downtown San Jose

This week has been so…so full!
After my first night here I was already leaving for my first excursion. We went to Cafe Britt and did the coffee tour put on by the lovely and comical staff there. I had a great time tasting coffees and learning more about the coffee making process.

Once we returned to San Jose we did a walking tour of downtown. The guide for my small group was wonderful and was so aware of all of the little details in the city! As we passed numerous types of plants and trees, he commented on them and was explaining to us the significance of each plant and adaptation.

Walking downtown was nice, but as expected my group got a lot of stares. So far the Tico’s, or Costa Ricans, that I have met have been nice and enthusiastic about their country.

Classes here are pretty intense. I have 6 hours of class per day, and a decent amount of homework. This actually makes me have to work, so they are serious when they call these classes “intensive.” My Spanish classes are from 8am-12, and are only 4 weeks long each. That means I am a quarter done with my Spanish term, already… what in the world!?

I am also taking Marine Bio (in English) and Digital Photography (in English), and my profs for those classes are GREAT! Can’t wait to see how the rest of the semester goes!

I’m leavin’ on a jet plane!

Posted on by
Reply

Tomorrow I take off for an adventure of a lifetime. I will be interning with an organization called Educate Girls for three months in Sirohi, Rajasthan, India. I’m told that I will be shadowing the director for the first couple weeks and then moving on from there. Starting with behind the scenes and then looking at the front side of the organization will give me a better idea how NGO’s function and are stabilized. I don’t truly know what’s in store and it will probably all change once I get there so I will have an open mind and am excited to simply just be there. My travel time is about 32 hours arriving in Udaipur at 6am then a 3 hour car ride to my guest house and start work and 9am the next morning. I am staying up all night tonight in hopes to sleep the entire time on the plane so the time goes by faster. The past 3 months have been spent in great anticipation for this moment and in the morning I head out. I am told I’ll have WIFI and all my meals prepared for me.  This does not sound like the stereotypical India everyone thinks about. Preconceived notions can’t be helped so I’m excited to see how these compare and to break down others. I know only very basic phrases in Hindi so this will be a fun adventure to communicate in everyday life. I studied abroad in Germany last year but I was there solely for the purpose of increasing my German language skills. Although this isn’t my first time abroad or traveling on my own, there are naturally butterflies in my stomach and I can’t wait to just get there already. Enough for now and next time I write will be from wonderful India!

 

Sirohi is in southern Rajasthan closer to the border of Gujarat. Rajasthan is also one of the most touristy areas of India. Famous for the great desert in Jaisalmer where you can ride camels, the lake palaces of Udaipur or the mountain range containing Mt. Abu.

 

My Bucket List for India:

~Ride a Camel
~Ride an Elephant
~Be involved in a festival
~Attend a wedding
~Learn enough Hindi to engage in small talk
~Master the art of not using utensils
~Learn 5 Bollywood dances
~See the Taj Mahal
~Have a successful internship
~Simply Enjoy Life!

“The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” Saint Augustine
Onto the next chapter. ~Anna

Back Home Again

Posted on by
1

1521953_10202667311307824_822177666_n

My Boyfriend was not sad to have me Home

The last few weeks have been so jam packed and insane since coming home that I haven’t had a second to myself. When I got home for the first couple weeks it felt really seamless. I felt like I came back into life in my family like I had never left. I had kept up with them weekly so I was constantly filled in on what was new on the homestead. I was really surprised it was so easy because of the big hype about reverse culture shock. I didn’t really experience that until I came back to school. Now it is hitting me really hard.

IMG_20131013_145440 My Host brother and His Dad

I really miss my family. They sent me both a Christmas card and a New Years card and both I cried when I read them. They sent me big kisses and it just made me really miss dinners with them and nights at home. I miss my little host brother a lot and think about him all the time because it seems like everything I see reminds me of him. It feels so strange to me that my family there isn’t here anymore and that I am not seeing them every day. I still wake up in the mornings sometimes and not know where I am.

11.24.11 010 My Host Mom and I

 

I really like how cheap everything is in the States. I have not been sad about paying in US dollars again just because everything in Europe was so expensive. I also am glad to be able to make my own food choices because while I was in France my host mom would make all my dinners. While this was awesome and easy for me I wouldn’t get to have control over portion size and felt bad not finishing my food because she was always giving my host brother the starving children in Africa story. So I usually would eat more than I really wanted to. I’ glad to be back home where I don’t feel pressured to eat.

12.16.13 304 My abroad Friends out to Dinner for the last time

I also miss my abroad friends. We have a facebook group message going where we still talk but it is a lot harder being home and away from them than I thought it would be. A lot at school has changed since I have been gone and I feel like the friends I had while abroad really understood me better than my friends here at school. I really miss them and how easy it was to talk to them.

Arrival- New Zealand at last

Posted on by
1

Another journal entry that I kept for when I arrived.

First thing, woah! That was a long plane ride. 12.5 hours is way too long to be cramped into a little seat. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be though! I had two lovely girls next to me that were great company! I had some pretty bad anxiety thinking about everything that could go wrong from PDX to LAX to Auckland and then finally to Wellington, New zealand where I call home for 12 weeks. LAX was just as bad as everyone said it was going to be! I had never flown in or out of that airport until this trip and it was easily the most stressful part of the travel. I got lost and thankfully I had a two hour layover because after an hour of walking and searching I finally made it to my terminal.

When I arrived in Auckland I had to go through customs which went well and then I hopped on the plane for a short ride down to Wellington! When I arrived at the airport all I could do was get to the baggage claim and hope that my bags had arrived from Los Angeles. On my way down, I had to snap some pictures of huge birds they had in the lobby! While I was waiting for my bag, I was approached by the lady that found me my internships and housing and we set off from there and took a little drive around the city, went to the grocery store and then came to where I am now, my new apartment!

The weather is okay today for being Summer here, it’s a tad windy but it doesn’t seem to be too bad. My apartment is nice and is a block away from the heart of the city I hear. I will begin my adventures today as I have two days before I start working!

Until later,

Amanda

My home for 12 weeks!

My home for 12 weeks!

Wellington, New Zealand

 

 

Pre-departure

Posted on by
1

It took my awhile to get computer access so I’m a tad late as I am already in New Zealand, but I kept a journal entry for while I wasn’t able to post.

It hasn’t hit me yet that I will be leaving in less than a day! I feel like yesterday I still had a couple of months and hadn’t even started thinking about it yet. Writing this all down has got my nerves going a little bit, I’m starting to get a little anxious, excited and nervous all at the same time. I feel like I am someone that really can’t fathom things that I have not seen and since I have never been to New Zealand before, I don’t really have any expectations of what the country will have to offer. Of course, I hear they have a lot of sheep, love rugby, and are crazy about The Lord Of The Rings, so I guess I’m leaving with that notion.

While I have heard only good things from people about their travels in the country, I am crossing my fingers that I have a wonderful time as well. I am beyond excited to start my internships and am so lucky to have two great internships coming my way with what seem like pretty amazing people. I am looking forward to seeing what the country has to offer and the experiences I will forever take with me.

 

Arrived in Costa Rica!

Posted on by
Reply

image

I have made it! Yay!

After getting off of the airplane at SJO I went through customs and went on to the baggage claim area. Once I had found my checked bag I got some colones to get me started I was off to go through one last security checkpoint.

As I stepped out into Costa Rica for the first time I was surrounded by lots of people waiting to pick others up, as well as taxi drivers offering rides, and many people holding up signs with different company logos. I found a rep from CIS Abroad and made my way towards them. I was cheerfully greeted by the onsite director, Lisa, and then waited around for a little bit as other students also arrived. We all shuttled together and were dropped off at each of our host families homes.

I was greeted by a wonderfully sweet woman and one of her sons who helped me with my bags. Her son, Johan, speaks the most English (Ana Lorena, my Host mom speaks no English!) and helped me out yesterday.
The host family has 2 houses next door to each other, so the family lives in one and the students live in the other! I have 4 girl housemates and 1 male housemate, who I have yet to see around. The girls are better Spanish speakers than I am so they help me when I am having troubles communicating, which is very helpful!

Though it was a little bit overwhelming to arrive here and immediately be thrown into Spanish, which I am not currently very good at, I know that I will pick it up fairly quickly once classes start and I am more familiar with the language.

The weather here is wonderful and I am excited to see how much I will learn!

Bye for now!
Nicole

Before I Go…

Posted on by
Reply

https://publicdomainvectors.org/fr/gratuitement-des-vecteurs/Vector-drapeau-du-Costa-Rica/2995.htmlHello all!

*update- I had trouble with the wifi at the airport, so this is finally posting now that I have wifi*

Pretty soon I m off to Costa Rica! I am not quite sure where the time went… but its already time to start a new year and a new adventure! I am excited, but very nervous about being in a new country by myself where I do not know anyone yet. I have not used Spanish in years so I know I will feel very overwhelmed when I get there with people asking me questions. I guess I will just have to go with the flow though until I pick it up!

From everything I have heard, and pictures I have seen, CR looks like a beautiful place!! Once I get more tan and get more Spanish down I feel like I will fit in better since I have a couple similar features as Ticos already, such as dark and curly hair. Hopefully b the end of my stat I will be loving Costa Rica and feeling like it is another home of mine!

Nicole- A little bit about myself

Posted on by
2

Hello!

My name is Nicole. And I will be studying abroad in San Jose, Costa Rica this Winter and Spring term. I decided to study in Costa Rica because I enjoy traveling and have not traveled to any countries in that area. I also am wanting to speak Spanish fluently, so living in Costa Rica will be a great way to learn!