Fiestas, Fiestas, Fiestas

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Hannah Williamson

Peruvian party life is crazy. Typically, in the United States, when we party we try to start our night around 10 or 11, anytime after 11 is getting a little late, especially since the bars in Monmouth close at 2 am. Here in Lima, people don’t even go out until midnight or later. I have found it difficult to keep up! Welcome week was full of events and parties hosted by a group called “USIL Buddies” and it is a group of Peruvian students who host parties and events for the international students. The first weekend there was an all night party in a secret location about and hour outside of Lima. You could pay s./30 a ticket which is around $10, and this ticket “included” a bus to and from the party, drinks, food, and the house which also had a pool. Little did I know how unorganized Peruvians can be, the bus my group ended up on was a little micro bus, and for the hour drive we were packed in like sardines, standing rather than sitting because we could fit more people by standing. Once we finally got to the party there were hardly any drinks left at the open bar, it was WAY too cold to swim, and there was no place to really sit and relax. The first hour was a blast but once I realized I couldn’t get on the bus to go home for another 5 hours, I was a little worried. Luckily around 3 am they let people on one of the buses (a nice tour bus) to sleep until it was time to leave. It was fun at first, but I will know for next time to choose not to go somewhere that is an hour away, so that if need be I could get a cab home.

Don’t get me wrong the parties here have been AMAZING. The night life is great, it will just take time getting used to the late hours 🙂

Allons-y!

Posted on August 25, 2013 by Kacy Helwig

Image from: https://old.unit5.org/northpointimc/IMC/France%20Webquest/Images/francemap.png

I’m getting ready to leave for my term abroad on Thursday this week, and I have to say that I can’t help but be nervous. I have heard a lot of things about the French that both are exciting to me and a little scary.

Image from: https://resources.touropia.com/gfx/w/france.jpg

I am very nervous to leave because I have fears that my fluency level is not high enough to really be able to express myself in French. I know that many people at my college will be able to speak English but I am scared of not being able to articulate myself. I know that this is a normal fear for most foreign language students but I can’t help but feel a bit nervous. I’m excited to be going to a less touristy part of France to do my semester. Aix is much smaller than Paris and I think that because of that I will be more accepted as a foreigner than I might be in a larger city like Paris or Lyon. I hope that because it is a bit more remote that I will be able to assimilate faster and easier into the culture.

Image from: https://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/64/6415/TZK9100Z/posters/peter-richardson-fruit-and-vegetable-market-aix-en-provence-bouches-du-rhone-provence-france-europe.jpg

One of the things I am most excited about is the open markets that happen during certain days of the week. These markets sound to be a great way to get fresh and local produce from farmers in the area. I really enjoy supporting those that produce things close to where I live in Oregon, and I am excited to be able to do the same in France. In addition to food, there are also flower markets. I hope that I will be arriving in a time that flowers will still be around and in season. I think that going to a French flower market would be really beautiful and I would love to be able to experience the smells of all the flowers and to see all the colors together.

Image from: https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Rm2txOLw0ng/UaTdmEktqVI/AAAAAAAACec/fU0DrzR-w7o/s1600/french+wines.jpg

I have also heard that the French drink a lot of wine and mineral water. I am not a very big fan of either, but I would like to be able to go there and experience them as any French person would. While I am not twenty-one yet, alcohol is not illegal for me in France. I have heard that because of this when a lot of students go abroad they have a tendency to go crazy and drink a lot. I really don’t want to follow suit in this. While I think that I will indulge in wine at dinner or the like as with the normal French customs I don’t want to be drinking all the time nor do I want that to be the goal of my trip. I hope to enjoy the customs and culture as it is.

Image from: https://recipe-finder.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/mineral2.jpg

It is to my understanding that most drinks don’t come with ice in Europe. I know for some of my friends that use ice constantly in their drinks this would be a problem. But I don’t usually tend to put ice in my beverages. So I think that I will be okay with this custom.

Image from: https://www.newhorizonsforchildren.org/nhfc/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Luggage-Stuffed-Suitcase-XSmall.jpg

As far as getting ready to leave I haven’t started packing yet. I leave in four days and mostly I have just been making piles of things that I think I want to bring which I am sure will be twice as much as what I really will bring. I have been buying a few last minute things recently. I went on a mission to find a boring black purse that will be boring enough to not tempt anyone to mug me. I think I have a small fear of that happening. Today a friend of mine bought me luggage tags as a going away gift. I still feel like there are so many things that I have to get done even though my to do list is dwindling.

The past few days I have been almost apathetic about leaving. I haven’t been excited or nervous but rather “whatever” about the whole thing. It hasn’t been until today when I started cleaning and putting some personal things in boxes in my bedroom that I am beginning to feel sad to leave my friends and family. I had a small party with my friends last night as a way to see everyone before going away. It was hard to say goodbye to them and also many of my family members the last couple days. I know that I have a lot of support to leave but it doesn’t make it any easier to know that I won’t see them for quite a while.

Image from: https://i.istockimg.com/file_thumbview_approve/5853965/2/stock-illustration-5853965-question-mark.jpg

I am also nervous that I haven’t gotten any information about my host family other than their address and an email. I sent them a letter about myself a week ago and haven’t gotten a response back yet. I was hoping to know if I was staying with a family with brothers and sisters or just the single woman whose name I was given. So it has been a little disheartening to wake up every morning to check my email and find nothing… I know it will not be a big deal once I am there but I think I would feel better if I knew a little bit more about the situation I was ~~walking~~ flying into.

I am happy to be going and I don’t want to make it sound like I am not excited, but I can’t say that I am not going to be sad to leave my family and friends. It does help to know that I have support for this trip, and that if I need anything there are people I could Skype call.

Overall, I have some last minute things to do… like pack. But I know that when the time comes to get on the plane on Thursday I will be ready and excited to start my life changing experience!

Week #3 London/ Paris

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Catherine Wheat

My highlight for this week was our weekend trip to Paris! Though my week in London was full of adventure too. I went to Alnwick Castle where outside shots of the first Harry Potter film was filmed. I also got to visit Oxford for the first time.

Paris was fantastic! We really only had about a day and a half to do Paris so we fit a lot in. It was unnerving not knowing the language. Many people at least spoke a little English and we did not run into any problems but I felt bad not being able to communicate better. If I go back I will study more French beforehand.

Group shot with the Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower at night

View from the top of the tower

Notre Dame

The lock bridge #3. People lock their love on the bridge and then throw the key in the river. There are so many locks they are on to the third bridge now. I put a lock on with some friends.

Week 2 in London

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Catherine Wheat

Another busy week here in London! I have classes for most of the day on Mondays and Wednesdays but I still manage to do something in the evening. One thing I love about London is the theatres. The shows here are the best casts you will see and there are so many shows to see! This week I saw “The Cripple of Inishmann” with Daniel Radcliffe in it. After the show we rushed to the stage door to try and meet Daniel but there were too many people there that night. Other girls went back another night and managed to get pictures and autographs. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have field trips for my classes. I enjoy my field trips because we go to places that I probably wouldn’t find on my own.

We went to Glastonbury Abbey and Tor. The Tor is a large hill completely surrounded by flat land so you have a gorgeous view at the top.

When I first got here, I met this amazing person named Paige! She has been so cool on this trip! We’ve climbed two mountains together. If that’s not bonding then I don’t know what is! We started at the top now we’re here.

My second field trip was to a pretty little abbey called Lacock Abbey about 15 minutes away from bath.

My Harry Potter class in Snape’s cauldron and classroom at Lacock Abbey.

I also got to go to the Dr. Who experience in Cardiff this week.

I flew the tardis!

Week 3

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Mario Barba Jr.

Well this week went by so fast. I think it had to do with the fact that we were all looking forward to the weekend. We were going to Mexico City and had a lot of things planned. The only problem was that we had to meet at the bus stop at 8am and people went out the night before so I knew people would have issues with that schedule. On the plus side was the the streets are pretty empty at that time and taxis are cheaper. I didn’t know that but I guess the taxi prices go and down depending on the time off day and if its raining or not. Well I got to the bus at 8 exactly and there were probably a good 7 our of 17 missing. So we waited and left at around 8:35am which wasn’t too bad. The best thing was that we had a tour bus for 20 or so people.
Well, it took us about 3 hours to get to our first stop which was the pyramids of Teotihuacan which was a Mesoamerican civilization that had vanished before the conquista which explains why it still stands today. Simply because the Spanish had the tendency of tearing apart pyramids and using the rocks to build their own temples or cathedrals. Which is what you will see in a few more paragraphs. Teotihuacan was amazing! I had no clue the size of these pyramids and also the work done on the stones. It was an impressive sight to see. Teotihuacan had 3 main pyramids being Quezalcoalt, the moon and the sun. Quezalcoalt had figures on it that protected the village and it was the first one we saw.
Then we climbed the sun pyramid which is massive. Also the steps i don’t think were meant to be climbed because they are steep and also very high. It made for a very hard climb. But we all made it and it had an awesome view.
Then we went to eat and there they gave us free samples of some pulque which is an alcoholic drink that was the drink of choice by the mesoamericans. Pulque is made from the maguey plant the same as tequila. Its a milky white drink that taste almost like vinegar most of the people didn’t like it but I thought it was ok. I don’t think I’ll drink it again but I at least tried it.
After eating we all went to El palacio de Bellas Artes were we saw some awesome painting from Diego Rivera, Siqueros, and others.
After that we went to our hotel and we called it a night after sitting and chatting in our rooms. Awesome first day or so I thought. At around 4:30 am I hear a man screaming I look out my window and there is an Ambulance, and 3 police cars. The man had blood down his chest and back and pants and bandages with blood coming from his chest. He had been stabbed by I don’t know who, but was giving them a piece of his mind. I said to myself. “That’s why I don’t go out in Mexico City.” I went back to bed and the next day was just as awesome. We walked to the Templo Mayor which is the main pyramid of Tenotiichlan which is where the Aztecs were and were the Spanish took over, and this was a prime example of what the Spanish would do with the pyramids. I guess the pyramid was a good size but what was left was basically nothing.
That church you see in the background was smaller than what the pyramid once was as well as that was what they made after taking apart the pyramid. There was an awesome pyramid there as well that was awesome.
Then we went off to the best place in the world in my opinion. The National Museum of Anthropology. We saw some of the things I’ve only dreamed about. A few were the great heads of the olmecas
The actual Aztec calendar
there we must have spent 3 hours and I don’t think it was enough. It was just awesome. I stayed with the out teacher/tour guide so I could learn as much as I could. There was so much to see and I had so much fun. After that we went to eat and then we went to El Castillo de Champultepec which is where passed presidents of Mexico lived and also the last battle of the Mexican-American war and also the last battle of where the Aztec lost against the Spanish. Very nice big mansion.
After that we went back to our hotel and another great day in the books. We literally went to go eat and I came back and went to bed. I must have walked about 10 miles that day. We woke up packed up and went to La Plaza de las 3 culturas. This is in Tlatelolco where people were killed on October 2nd 1968 10 days before Mexico Hosted the olympics.
After that we went to Frida Kahlo’s blue house which was very awesome to see. we were not allowed to take pictures inside her house so I don’t have any for you but after that we went to El Museo Soumaya which is Carlos Slims the richest man in the world’s museum named after his wife who passed away in 1999. Its a gorgeous building designed by his son in law who is a very successful architect. that was our last stop and we were all ready to go home. It was the best 3 day weekend of my life so far and I’m glad I had to opportunity to see those things in real life. Great time. Until next week you all. Adios

Feeling like a tourist again

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Kevin Kronenfeld

I have been traveling with locals whom I have met from my internship that are from India. So it has been pretty easy for me to travel, but this time I made my way back to Mumbai by myself.

I traveled by train there, and the journey was not so bad. I met a couple people who spoke English. All together I was off to a great start. When I got to city the humidity of Mumbai hit me and I was feeling dehydrated. I ran straight to a food stand for water. My provider had a guesthouse in the city so that is where I went first to drop off my bag. Then it was off to downtown Mumbai.

My first impressions of Mumbai were where did all these white people come from. I live in the countryside where all I see is Indians. The last time I saw a foreigner was about my second or third week. The rest of the time I have been staying in the countryside where I have been hanging out with the locals.

As I walked around downtown, I headed towards Colabo Market. The city is so drastically different from the country. For one there is more people. Second, there is a lot more English speakers. Third, there is a lot more people who want you to buy things from them.

My first encounter of the people who want you to buy things from them was a guy who wanted to clean my ears for money. He came out of nowhere with a cotton swab and a metal pick and started to clean my ears. I told the man I was not going to pay him, but he incessantly tried to clean my ears and put medicine in my ears. He kept telling me to give him 50 Rupees. Luckily, I got away from this man and made my way to the Colabo Market.

My second encounter was with some English Speakers who were Indian. They worked for Bollywood and they seemed nice. We had a nice chat, but then the conversation went in another direction. They asked me to be in one of their films because I was white. They would pay me 500 dollars American and give me room and board. I told them I was not interested and left.

Finally, I made my way to the market where I found cafes that sold steak! I know I said in my last blog that you could not find steak, but the two cafes that sold steak were more geared towards foreign tourists and not Indians. The cafes were nice and filled with many pastries.

The market itself is filled with vendors who sell clothes, instruments, and tricates. I only bought one item and the rest of the time I just walked around. As I was walking, there was a man who came up to me and asked me if I wanted some hash. The man sounded like a tweaker, and kept repeating himself saying, “You want some hash, you want some hash, you want some hash.” I told the man I did not want any hash. I finally got away from this man.

All together, I found my trip to downtown Mumbai successful because I got to enjoy the people of the city. I like to observe people and how they interact, and I feel I got some of that in Mumbai with my encounters.

Day 2

The next morning I made my way to the train to head back home. It was a pleasant ride, but then the train staff asked for my ticket, and they said I was on the wrong train. I ended up on the other side of the state. I had to backtrack, and make my way back home now. I got off the train, and I had to take another train to a city that had a bus stand. After I got to the city with the bus stand I got on the bus.

I felt comfortable in the position that I was in. I realized two things. One is that you have to be calm in a certain situation like this and the second thing is that I feel more comfortable in the country then the city. I felt that I would be ok because I could find my bearings a little bit easier than the city.

As I got on the bus, and I met a person who was going the same way. He was Indian, and he asked if I wanted to travel with him, but as we were traveling our bus broke down. We had to get off and take a new bus to a village that had a bus that would take us in the direction that we needed to go.

We got on that bus and finally made it to the village that we needed to go to, but there were no more connecting buses that we could get to make it to our destination. The Indian told me to take a taxi to the neighboring village and take the bus to my destination. I did as he told me and made my way to the next village on the taxi. I got to the village and finally got on the bus that was going the right way and did not break down! The journey took around 7 hours.

From wandering around the city to getting lost in the state, I realized that I am a tourist who does not know what he is doing. The best thing to do is stay calm and just relax, because all is good when you have a good story to tell afterwards.

Classes

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Jake Hyde

I have been here now for three almost four weeks. its been really hard adjusting to the classes here because the classes are much less structured. I asked my professor when our assignment was due and he told me that it will never be due because it is used to study. I wont have anything other than quizzes and tests. This is much different from classes back home where I would have an assignment each week. I was able to get down to the beach though. it is really beautiful water and sand here. with lots of surfers and swim baths. The beaches are very regulated too. My mates and I were told to get out of the rip tide by the lifeguard. They have flags posted all along the beach for safe swimming areas. Coffee shops are a big thing here too! These have come in handy when I was up late doing an assignment. Many of the terminology is different, things like “boot” instead of “trunk” and “bonnet” instead of “hood”. My mates give me a hard time for my accent too because I keep calling things what I normally call them back home. Overall I am having a great experience, lots of nice people and a good community in my dorm complex.

Jake H.

Spent a few days at the beach just a short ride down to it.

Journey

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Ann

After flying for eighteen hours and going through security checks in two countries (Germany and Italy), I finally landed in Florence. I was terrified my luggage would get lost but it arrived on schedule. Yay!

During the short flight from Frankfurt, Germany to Florence, Italy, I met a woman named Vickie. She was from Pretoria, Africa and was traveling to Certaldo (Cher-tahl-doh)which is one train stop before Siena. So, we agreed to travel together since we were both alone, a little unsure, and going the same direction. However, I have to share my first impression of Italy with you…When I first stepped outside the Florence airport, what did I notice first? Roadsigns…everywhere! No joke, they pointed in every direction you could imagine. And some were just plain confusing.

Luckily Vickie and I took a bus. After a quick bus ride that could have been from an amusment park (I thought it was fun), we arrived at the Ferenze Santa Maria Novella Station. Or, Saint Maria Station in Florence. I have one word to describe my first trip through it. Chaos. There were so many people trying to get tickets using automated ticket machines and rushing about to board trains. The architecture of the building was beautiful but with everyone pressing from all angles I could not stop to admire it for long.

When getting my ticket, I did not have the exact amount needed (8.50 Euro) and the machines don’t give change. With that, I pulled out my credit card. Only there was one problem no one told me about. Italian credit cards have pin numbers just like debit cards. American credit cards do not require pin numbers to use. Vickie was kind enough to try her credit card for my ticket but she had the same problem. We tried asking station employees what to do but none of them seemed to know how to help. One man even said he had no clue.

Eventually, we found a newspaper stand outside the station that sold train tickets. We purchased them and boogied to our train where we could finally relax a bit. Two hours later, after Vickie let me read a newspaper she had brought with her from her home (I have to admit, it was a singular and unique experience to be in Italy reading about gazells jumping into moving vehicles to escape cheetahs) we parted ways at the station in Certaldo and I continued on to the Siena station.

Once there, I met up with representatives of the Siena School for Liberal Arts along with most of the other students in the program from the U.S. We were given information packets and divided into small groups to be taken to our different apartments. (I found out later everyone in the program lived in differently styled apartments all around Siena.)

That night, after everyone had arrived, the whole group went to a ristorante named Due Porte where you could get pizza with almost any kind of topping and many other famous Italian dishes. I had the plate of Cinghiale (boar, pronounced cheen-ghah-lay) and it was deliscous! Yes, those are fries.

Afterwards, everyone was exhausted from traveling so we all went back to our apartments and fell asleep to the sounds of an Italian midsummer night.

Here are a couple of photos I took during the day at the apartment

My bedroom on the second floor Me and my roomates

And I am home…

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Kylen Dix

It was a long ride back to the U.S. but I made it! It is nice to be back and see my horses and friends here, but I am missing my friends and the culture back in the U.K. One thing I am not missing from the U.K. is the food, in exception to Nandos! I could use a little Nandos in my life here in the U.S.

The main difference in the two arrivals was having familiar faces to see. It was so nice after a hectic 24 hours of traveling to arrive in the Portland Airport with my parents and boyfriend awaiting my arrival. On the other hand, when I arrived in the U.K. I had no idea who to look for, or what to expect. Not one of the experiences were better than the other, they were just very different. Arriving in the U.S I new what to expect, and I knew what I had to look forward to, but arriving in London I only had the pictures and stories to live off of. The feeling I had in the two airports were almost completely opposite, the only similarity was the feeling of excitement. In the U.S. I had a feeling of relieve. I had successfully completed my five weeks abroad, and made it safely back home. Excitement followed the feeling of relieve because I was able to see my family! Arriving in London was more of a stressed/excitement feeling. I was excited to see what the next five weeks held for me, but what if it wasn’t what I expected, or what if I didn’t meet any people that I clicked with.

Luckily everything worked out better than I could have ever expected. I have made life long friends, and life long memories. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything!

Kyoto Day Trip

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Casey Gallagher

On 8/18 I woke up pretty early (for me) in my hostel in Osaka, 8:30am, and got ready for a scorching hot day in Kyoto! It cost me about 750 yen each way to get there and back again, but didn’t take terribly long, because the JR line has a special rapid train that gets you there in about 30 minutes.

Kyoto was the imperial capital of Japan for over 1,000 years, however, the imperial palace not resides in Tokyo so Kyoto has faced a significant demotion. Many consider Kyoto to be Japan’s cultural capital. Relatively little bombing took place in this city during World War II, and it was spared as a target for the atomic bombs by an American general.

I arrived at around 11am, without having eaten breakfast, and decided to save money by walking nearly everywhere. This was already a bad idea by itself on such a hot day. I had wanted to basically book it straight to a certain shrine that I had heard about from some friends, so I headed in that direction. My first impressions of Kyoto were not good at all. Near the main station is a huge mass of low quality housing and buildings, basically a slum. As I proceeded to get lost, I continued to see a lot of this. However, the people in these areas were very friendly and nice (as opposed to what I saw in Osaka).

After some backtracking, I wandered into a temple complex that had some really cool shrines, as well as some humongous wooden buildings. I’m not sure when these were built, but they were very old, and building them must have required a herculean effort. After wandering through here, I continued onward to my original destination, Fushimi-Inari shrine.

Fushimi-Inari is unique in a few ways. This shrine is a Shinto shrine dedicated to Inari, the god of rice. His messengers are foxes (kitsune), which explains the many hundreds of fox statues present. Additionally, this shrine has thousands of torii (gates) to walk through, and the visual effect is quite stunning. There are also hundreds of small shrines throughout the entire mountainside that houses this complex. At some point, I decided to take a “shortcut” that left me lost in a bamboo forest (worth it). The whole shrine was very beautiful, but a little hard to walk all the way through on such a hot day.

After getting un-lost from the bamboo forest, I mostly gave up on long-distance walking as I was getting pretty scorched and the back of my shirt was completely drenched. This sounded like a good time for a soak, so I headed to my next stop, the Funaoka Onsen! I took the train to a station that I thought was close to the destination, but it ended up being abother long hike. By the time that I was close, I had pretty bad chafing going on from my pants, and a headache from not eating (also some dehydration). So I stopped in at a convenience store for some quick snacks and water. Then I was ready for the baths.

Funaoka Onsen is not really an onsen, as its waters are electrically heated rather than natural heat. It’s actually a sento (public bath facility). This particular sento is quite famous due to it’s age, beauty, and entrance policy. Everyone (that can afford the 420 yen entry fee) is allowed to partake. This includes Yakuza members (Japan’s organized crime group, similar to the mafia). In fact, on this visit I had the opportunity to bathe with two of them. They were easy to spot, with their large, spectacular tattoos, and the marks on their bodies (presumably from fights).

(The outside of the Funaoka Onsen)

The Funaoka Onsen has quite the variety of baths. After showering and getting clean, you can hop back and forth into several different baths. Two of these were relatively normal hot water baths, one was tiled and the other was made of wood. Then there were the jet baths, with massaging water jets. The last fairly normal bath is located partially outside and is made of rocks. This sento, however, also had:

An ice cold, freezing, outside bath – which I quite liked for short periods of time
A boiling hot death bath – I could only stand to immerse my legs in this bath for about 30 seconds
A sauna – I didn’t use this
A medicine (kusuri) bath – not sure what was in this bath, but the water had a reddish tint and it was pleasant
An electrical current bath – I used this for a couple of minutes, and it was a strange experience. You are, quite literally, being electrocuted as you bathe. This seemed to be accomplished by rows of underwater electrical sockets

All in all, the sento was an experience I would highly recommend. I felt extremely relaxed afterward.

My final stop in Kyoto was in Gion, the old style district where the lucky few might catch glimpse of a geisha hurrying down the street between appointments. I was not so lucky, so I just wandered through a few more temples (and more GIANT wooden buildings) before heading back to Osaka, feeling very tired and quite burnt.