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Arrival in Costa Rica

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All of my flights went smoothly and before I knew it I was in Costa Rica. Within the airport it was hard to differentiate between Ticos (Costa Ricans) and tourists because they are very similar in appearance. Customs was a breeze and my friend Megan and I walked out of the airport where we were bombarded by more Taxi drivers than you could shake a stick at. We walked confidently by them however as they hounded us for rides, we knew that someone in the crowded walkway would be holding a sign for us.

Shortly we found our group and we were whisked away in a van towards the center of the city. On the way in, there were plenty of signs advertising foreign products and restaurants ( for example, Coca Cola and Taco Bell). The highways and roads are mostly skinny with small cars. What was striking was all of the people walking everywhere. I and the other international students in the van noted how full all of the public parks and squares were as we went by.

We were all dropped off at the front of our host families’ houses. We noticed many houses had more than one secure gate to the front door, every window was encased in iron bars, and fences surround the perimeters of the houses. On top of that, some of them had barbwire. This made all of us a little curious about the safety of our neighborhoods. Later it would be explained to us  in orientation that it was not because that the neighborhoods were unsafe but that Ticos are very precautious and not big risk-takers.

Es todo para ahora.

Hasta pronto, Kelsey

Nerves, nerves and more nerves

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Hello everyone!

I will be going to Australia for a 4 week program. While there I will be visiting places like North Stradbroke Island, Binna Burra Eco Lodge in Lamington National Park, Hervey Bay, Fraser Island, and so much more. I am very relieved that I will be going to an English speaking country! At this point I am so nervous even English may not come out right. I have been checking the weather for probably the last two months and it seems to be in the mid 60s- 70s, so nothing I am not used to. I think interacting will be a little different than here because I will be in a different country with different customs and people I am not used to. I do not think I will have a lot of problems because I think I can adjust quickly and well, but it will be an adventure for sure. Since I can remember I have wanted to travel to Australia and their culture. I have always seen it as warm and sunny with a lot of poisonous snakes. I am not sure it will be “perfect” but I know that it will be amazing.

Right now, I am still in Monmouth waiting to head to my mom’s house and then PDX to start my long journey. I will be flying out of Portland on the 12th and arriving in Brisbane, Australia the 14th! It is all starting to sink in that I am actually leaving. Right now, I am wrapping up last minute details and waiting. It seems like I have been waiting for forever. I have never been outside of the country, or really traveled much at all, so I getting more nervous by the minute. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard from other people what a great experience I will have or how lucky I am. I have to agree with them, I am very grateful to be getting this amazing opportunity, but I am still scared. I am not sure if I have ever been this nervous for anything and it is hard to explain how I feel because there is a lot going on around me. Right now, I am trying to not think about my nerves and think about how much fun I will be having in just a few short days =)  Katherine

France at last!

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I arrived in Paris by train rather than by plane because I flew in to London Heathrow rather than Paris Charles de Gaule. This was my first time riding on a train like the Eurostar trains, but it was also the first time I had traveled so far by myself.  Coming in to the train station was overwhelming because it was busy, crowded, and completely in French. Finally entering the country was exciting and frightening, but my lack of proficiency with French was making me more and more nervous. I understood enough of the signs to make my way towards the metro and wait in the long line to buy my metro ticket to move around Paris. The train station I took from Paris to Angers (Gare Monparnasse) was different than the train station I look into Paris from London (Gare du Nord). The whole experience was over stimulating, and as it was early in the morning, I was even more overwhelmed by the information I was processing. I had been excited for studying abroad, but my arrival in Paris made the reality of the situation sink in and I became ecstatic about being in France. I loved to see that even in the train stations, there are little shops that sell French food like baguettes and croissants and even some Paris merchandise with little pictures of the Eiffel Tower. The single most frightening factor of arriving was trying to find out where I was supposed to go in a mass of people, all in a hurry and walking with confidence as to their destination.  People seemed distant from each other, and this have something to do with it being such a large city or perhaps it is  the normal in France.

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This picture is of the train station, these people are waiting by this giant board that shows the platform for each scheduled train. The catch? The platform is only displayed 20 minutes before departure so people gather right under the sign so that as soon as the platform is revealed, people scurry over and begin boarding.

My time on the train to Angers went by quickly and I was greeted at the train station by the coordinator of my program as well as by my host dad. There are three of us staying at the same house, and I was the first to arrive, I had first pick of the bedrooms. I picked one upstairs, and it is shows in the following pictures:

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My pretty bed 🙂

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What you see upon entering the room, these cool windows with electric shades! You just push a button to close them, and you can completely block out the sun or leave some coming in.

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My view out of my bedroom window

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My armoir and desk, important for all the studying I will be doing!

The first day was extremely exhausting and I was excited for the other girls to arrive as to have some break from speaking French, and to not be the person of sole attention from my host parents. They have a lot of questions (which is great!), but all of the thinking in French is very tiring already! Only four more week in Angers!

Maggie

I hope the bread and cheese stereotype is true!

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I am both excited and uncertain about my trip to France this summer. I previously visited France on a trip where I saw some cities such as Paris and Nice, but I feel like there is much more to do and so many places to go in the country. I am excited to see Angers, meet my host family, and begin the overwhelming task of adjusting to another culture. I believe Angers will be like inviting to us because there is the established program for exchange students and this may mean people are more willing to assist us with problems that arise because of our lack of fluency in the language and culture. I found that people were very helpful, and some even went out of their way to assist my family when we visited the country previously. I feel like the culture is welcoming to outsiders, which is part of the reason I chose to go to France. Another aspect of the culture I am really excited to experience is the meals and food in the way that the French people experience them. I believe both the food choices as well as the culture around meals will be different than the United States.

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I chose this picture of the Eiffel Tower because I believe it represents one aspect of the trip which will be comfortable to me already. I love to travel, and so visiting monuments, museums, and national landmarks is something that I already know how to do and love doing. The other aspect of this trip that is exciting, but also scarier, is the submersion in to the culture. The touristy side of travel, like visiting the Eiffel Tower, and the study of the culture are both interesting and important to me during my study abroad session.

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This picture of a variety of different bakery foods again shows my interest in becoming fluent with the food culture of France. I believe that the culture of food in a country can tell so much about the country itself. Aspects such as country’s wealth, health, and lifestyle are all shown by what the people eat, how much they eat, and when they eat. Do families eat most meals together or are there meals which require individual agendas? Is there one meal that is much larger or more important than the others? What types of food are common for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? I hope to find all these out in my stay in France.

Maggie

Tips for making your posts even better

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Hello Summer 2012 Students,

Now that most of you are settled into our photo-blogging project, I’ve sent you an email with some tips and suggestions for making your posts even better.  If you have general questions about our blog or about specific assignments, check out the blog menu items across the top of the blog for assistance.  And don’t hesitate to contact me if you need more help.  I look forward to more of your posts.  Michele

 

A Weekend To Remember!

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I have just gone to the most amazing place that I have ever experienced, Iguazu Falls! A group of us took an 18 hour bus ride to a different province to see this wonder of the world. And oh was it worth it. I bet all of the WOU students will blog about it, if they already haven’t because it was just that amazing. Now, I have never been to the famous Niagara falls before, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I can tell you that I have no interest to go see those falls anymore. Iguazu was breath taking. It was well worth all the money spent and the long hours on buses that seemed to never end. We went for a whole weekend and unfortunately most of it was spent riding buses. But the time that we did spend at the falls, almost 8 hours was a must see. First we walked down onto the lower trail to see the falls from below and then we made our way to the upper trail to look down as they fall. Then for the grand finale, we went to the garganta! It’s the mouth of the falls. It was huge and the most amazing site to my eyes. If anyone is ever in Argentina or South America for that matter, then going to Iguazu Falls is a MUST!

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These photos don’t even do the falls justice, but I want everyone to see what they are missing out on!

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I hope you are thinking that this place is amazing, because it totally is. Now just one more picture for the road…

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How many of you are jealous of me right now? It’s still hard to believe that I actually made it there. Can’t wait to see what else is in store for me here in Argentina!  Melissa

Fernweh: the craving for travel

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I am sitting in my new dorm room right now barely able to keep my eyes open. Now is the perfect time to reflect on the last 30+ hours of how I got here. The trek began at 5:30am from Clackamas, Oregon on Thursday July 5th. After a few Italian parent speeches and lots of hugs & kisses, my lovely family waved to me goodbye as I approached airport security. My stomach was in knots and my arms were full of luggage, but got through just fine. I then  proceeded to the gate that would put me in Philly. After a painless, sleep filled 5 hour plane ride I was  all the way across the country. Soon to be, across the world. There was a 5 hour layover in Philly. I did some homework and listened to music as I laid in the cozy spot I set up for myself on the floor of the airport.

I was so jittery and needed some food. After I re-fueled I was SO ready to get on that plane. 4 hours later…..

“Now boarding section 5!” to London Heathrow! It was time. Time to embark on this journey I have wanted to take since I was little, finally… me, in Europe! By that time it was 10:00pm, and it was highly suggested to sleep on the plane. But come on, sleeping on a plane in a aisle seat is difficult enough, on top of being on my way to study abroad in one of the best cities in the world! I watched “Walk the Line” on the plane ride which is one of my favorite movies. I was hoping to have it take my mind off being so nervous so I could get some shut eye. After many failed sleeping position attempts, I finally just gave up and said to myself “You can sleep when you get home, this is London.”

Landing was a piece of cake! As was jumping through all the hoops after a flight abroad. Right away I started hearing accents and seeing a more diverse group of people. Then walking outside to the bus was a shocker because everything was backwards as far as driving goes. There was one familiar thing; The weather. It is just like Oregon, and hearing the east coast kids complain about the rain was quite amusing, I must say. They don’t even know what rain is like! It cleared up though this evening and has been very nice out.

London was weird (in an AWESOME way) at first, the roads are ALL over the place and people honk at each other a lot. There was quite a bit of litter on the side of the roads driving in, but as we got closer and closer to residential area it cleared up. Once arriving to Kings College I fell in love with the neighborhood. So quaint!!! Needless to say, this is going to be an amazing experience. I cannot WAIT to be all caught up on my sleep and take on the town tomorrow with my new friends 🙂 So thankful for this experience.

xo- Rachael

Laugh, Dance, Play!

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A Monumental Occasion in the Park

I was excited to see what waited on the other side of our long bus ride from Buenos Aires to Rosario. The weather was poor for the first time the whole trip as we sat on the second story of our double-decker bus gazing through the haze at the blurred vision of the fading capital of Argentina. We all tried to catch up on sleep as much as possible as we made our trip to Rosario wondering what it would be like. Finally, we arrived! Karie warned us about the taxi drivers from her experience the year before. (They had to take one taxi for each person to the hotel, and there were 14 people in the group.) This year we found two amazing taxi drivers that were willing for fit all seven of us in two taxis with our luggage. After we unfolded from our clown cars, we enjoyed a nice evening excited to me our host families the next day.

Soon enough, the time had arrived. We were all wisped away by nice ladies excited to be hosting us. My host mom’s name is Marilyn. Fortunately for me, she lives very close to the school. I can walk to class in three minutes. She is very good about gagging what level of help or instruction I need. This ability comes from experience gained from students she has hosted in the past. I make her 24th! Once she knew I was situated in my room, she told me I should go out and see the city. Of course, she was right. The city of Rosario is beautiful. My house is on the main street, Cordoba. I walked down this street enjoying the beautiful Sunday afternoon.

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At the end of Cordoba is a beautiful monument, which is the monument to the flag. I was not expecting it to be so big. I really enjoyed just walking around and taking in its magnificence. I did not have to talk. I did not have to listen. All I did was looked, and what I saw was beautiful. There are some attributes that translate through culture innately. Someone from a different culture cannot deny that the Great Wall of China is indeed “great” or the Grand Canyon is actually “Grand” by which they are named. That person may not personally like the object, but certain structures possess inherent greatness. This monument with an eternal flame and view of the river close by is one of them.

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This river close by is the Paraná. This is one of the most important and largest river systems in South America. One of the reasons Rosario is such an important city is because of this Paraná River. It runs through Brazil then Rosario and connects to the Atlantic Ocean in Buenos Aires. This River is also the area with the highest wealth. The farther away from the river you get in Rosario, the poorer the neighborhoods get. Along this river are beautiful parks that are opportune for people watching. I did not need to say anything, but just sit and watch. My attention was drawn to the children. The qualities they possess are the same in all cultures. I saw a little girl that could barely walk holding onto her parents bobbing up and down to the music, people smiling and laughing enjoying the sun, and people playing; most of all, I saw the characteristics of people alike all around to world. So many attributes unify humans around the world. The world becomes a better place when we choice to be unified rather than pick out differences. By design, humans long for relationship. We are not in this world alone for a reason. We need to remember that and build relationships with each other to collectively make this global community a better place.

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~Cain

Arrival Post

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Well, I made it! The trip here to Oviedo wasn´t completely smooth but I made it here safely and with all of my luggage.

I was a little nervous about my first time flying alone internationally, and when I arrived at the Madrid airport it proved to be a challenge to make my connecting flight. When I arrived at the airport I asked a desk attendant for my airline which gate my next flight would leave from, but a gate hadn´t yet been set. All she could tell me was that it would be one of the “M” gates. The Madrid airport is very large and complicated with escalators and trains to the different areas, but I managed to find the right area without too much trouble… until I arrived there and found that my flight had been moved to a completely different section of the airport! I was terrified that I would miss my flight and have to make new arrangements in Spanish, but I was able to make it to my gate before the plane began loading. After this one problem I was able to make it to my dorm without much trouble, and am now settled in.

Spain played in the Euro Cup on my first day here. Although I´m not usually interested in sports, I was excited to get to experience such an important event. Several of the students in my dorm went out to a bar to watch the game, along with what seemed like most of the city. After the game my group went to a plaza where we had been told people would congregate if Spain won. The plaza was packed with people, and policemen were directing traffic away as people yelled and waved flags out of their cars. Locals were celebrating the win by jumping into the large fountain in the center of the plaza, and after we were told that “we weren´t real Spaniards unless we went in” we decided to join.

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I am so glad that my first night in Spain I got to experience an event that the people here are so enthusiastic about. It is a very unifying event; during the game people were gathered around televisions that had been moved outside, and when something important happened in the game we could hear cheers and gasps from the street. After the game people from small children to elderly women were shouting and singing together. My first night set me at ease; it is sometimes difficult for me to communicate, but I have seen what a wonderful country this is, and how friendly and unified the people here can be.

I look forward to getting to see these qualities in daily life, but I am glad that I was able to experience this special event.

–Annelise

London Calling

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Pre-Departure

So I will be studying abroad in London this July. I’m sure for people who are going to more diverse cultures, like parts of South America or Asia, that they could possibly experience a culture shock and things might be very different for them. Since I am going to London, I don’t see this being the case with me. I understand that England is not America and is very different, that being said in my heart I’m a native Londoner. Since I was 10 years old all I’ve wanted is to study abroad in London, in middle school I watched BBC News every single day, now practically the only television shows I watch are British shows (not just on BBCA but online as well, thank goodness for Netflix). Thanks to my love of all things British, I’m quite aware of their culture, attitudes, language, customs, and much more.
So I’m mostly just incredibly exited to “interact” with my “host culture” because it’s everything I’ve ever wanted. Obviously I’m also a bit nervous because of the fact that all my dreams are coming true thanks to this opportunity. And of course, I’m exited to learn a ton about the culture that I can’t learn from television.

I will see you all very soon,
Allison