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By unprofoundobservations

I have less than two weeks left in Paris and I'm beginning to experience a biazrre mix of excitement to return to everything I know and love state-side, and depression at the thought of leaving everything strange and beautiful that is Paris. It seems to be a sentiment shared by many of my fellow study-abroaders, and I honestly have no idea how to reconcile the two. My time abroad has been amazing, challenging, and more than I could have visualized four months ago. However, there's a part of me that cannot wait to return to a real, routine, potentially more productive life. Knowing that you'll only have a limited amount of time in a fabulous space ensures your commitment to thoroughly exploring it, but it also constantly reminds you that you'll soon be saying au revoir. ...continue reading "I’m studying abroad. That’s a pretentious way of saying I’m… unemployed at the moment."

By kbartz34

My eldest host sister is in the process of getting married! Here in Chile, this life event turns into more of several days of festivities starting with the civil ceremony. For this week's post, I have included some of the photos from this first event. As my gift to the bride and groom I am acting as the official wedding photographer. The first wedding I ever photographed was in Serbia last summer, so maybe I'll consider a career in international wedding photography!

Appetizer feast
The civil ceremony is only attended by close family members, but you would never know by the quantity and quality of food. Primarily various Chilean appetizers - olives, pickles, pickled vegetables, empanadas, and cake.

...continue reading "The First of Many"

By nfiszer

This semester, I had the incredible opportunity to get to know various people and communities within Brazil through field study and community engagement. I was able to live in traditional rural communities and a major city, experiencing daily life and comparing the routines and relationships of Brazilian families, with my own life. I also gained access to health clinics and hospitals, getting a chance to study the health system close up through participant observation and interaction with providers. These amazing learning experiences culminated in the three - week period I have to conduct my own research about health here in Brazil. I chose to shadow and understand community perceptions of community health workers - a basic part of the Brazilian health care system that aims to provide preventative care services and human face to the health system for all citizens. The idea of a community health worker is something that has always interested me within public health, as it demonstrates the best of motivated community members taking action to promote health among their friends, families, and communities. By pinpointing which aspects are most necessary and impactful through the lens of community members, I hoped to provide insight into how a program like this can be strengthened, or established from the beginning. ...continue reading "Everything my semester has led up to – public health research!"

By rachels522

My favorite thing that we did in Costa Rica was stay in an indigenous Bri Bri tribe.

To get to the remote tribe we had to take a two hour boat ride upstream. Occasionally we had to get out of the boat to help push it up the river because it was so shallow. After the ride we got to a picture perfect community with thatched huts. The buildings were way bigger than I expected and were completely made of wood and thatched palm. There was no electricity, except for one light in the kitchen area. For the full 4 days we were there we showered by jumping into a river. The tribe is in complete isolation and far upstream, so the river water is pretty much as clean as any water coming from a tap. ...continue reading "Indigenous Living"

By unprofoundobservations

I've spent the past three weeks seeing Paris through everyone's eyes but my own. My fantastic family traversed the Atlantic to see me two weeks ago (to see me and the pastry I should say) and I was able to spend a week showing them my city and having some of the touristy adventures I hadn't yet experienced. It was wonderful to see them and to frolic around Paris with three people who - like me a few months ago -  were experiencing the city for the first time. Granted, their Paris was relatively warm and in full bloom while I came to the city under 3 cm of snow, but their wonder was contagious. In addition to eating better than I have in weeks, I was able to see a tourist's Paris complete with all of the romanticism and splendor that Americans search for in this city. We saw the streets flooded with parties as the Gay Marriage Act passed and spent days strolling through the Tuilleries under the blue Parisian sky. Paris is finally showing itself to be everything that I had hoped. Though 10 degrees and some foliage may not seem like much, Paris in the spring is a far more beautiful experience than one could imagine and I can finally begin to see la vie en rose that everyone is fond of talking about. ...continue reading "We manage to be together for a few moments and then off she goes"

By aubreygunnels

6 days. 12 hours. 31 minutes until my flight takes off across the big pond back to the land of free water, country music, and ranch dressing (among other things).  INSANE.

I’m having a terrible time wrapping my head around this fact. It’s that hell week. When you have to pack up everything you own, while studying for finals, saying goodbye to friends, and maintaining sanity. Finals week in the spring is horrific situation endured by college kids across the world but this week in a different country is a sick joke.

Trying to plan out this beautiful master piece of scheduling, making sure you fit in everything before you leave until god knows when is hard (drastic understatement) So what’s on the list? What do I have to do before I depart back to the DC life?

I can hardly think of a thing. My initial reaction to this realization was confused/horrified.. but giving it a second thought, not having anything left you absolutely have to do before you leave? That’s definitely an ideal situation. I know what I have done in Europe is just the tip of the ice burg but I think I completed the things I was really set off to do coming to Europe. ...continue reading "Finals and Departure Prep"

By ahblackwell

I'm leaving Morocco, today. I'm in the airport now, and my friend Netta just left for her flight. We traveled together from Rabat to the airport in Casablanca by a Grand-Taxi that picked us up at five in the morning. I only slept for about two hours, if even. After one last couscous lunch with my host family, one last Uno game with my little host brother, and one last long afternoon at the beach with friends, we finished packing and got a slice of pizza in the medina before all gathering in one of our rooms to spend a last bit of time, together. At three in the morning we woke up to finish getting ready, and then I went downstairs to send off a large group of people heading for the Rabat airport. It was a sad goodbye. Those of us who remained waved farewell as the van, full of our friends' tired and sullen faces, pulled away. I decided to travel to Casablanca with Netta to get her flight early in the morning, despite the fact that my flight won't leave until around noon. When we got to the airport, we watched the Moroccan sun rise from the parking lot before heading inside checking her in for her flight and grabbing a café au lait. Now I am just people-watching and waiting to be able to check in for mine. ...continue reading "B’salaama"

By jtmanley

Last Saturday, my friends and I went to the Centro Ana Frank in barrio Belgrano. Having known about the Anne Frank story and the eponymous museum in Amsterdam, I was excited to see what what in store.  Surprisingly, the Center was not on any of the tourist maps that I got months earlier, which usually go to great lengths to point out  interesting cultural spots around town. After taking the Subte's D line  to the terminal stop, Congreso de Tucumán, we walked for 20 minutes until we got to the unassuming yellow house, the front banner of Anne's face greeting us with a smile as we entered. ...continue reading "Anne Frank in Belgrano"

By jadoerge

After returning to Munich to re-pack and reload on supplies for a day, Morgan and I were on the road again with a small group from our program led by the program director on a romp through Italy! On the agenda: Naples, Sicily and Venice. We decided beforehand that we wanted to pay particular attention to the old ruins in these areas and spend most of our time revolving around ancient history and culture in Italy in addition to the usual sightseeing! ...continue reading "Feeling Neapolitan (but not the ice cream)"

By Adar

Growing up through the American public school system means accepting that holidays are about Jesus, Presidents, or Columbus; and that holidays are specifically for the purpose of consuming. Israel is an entirely different story. 

Jews love holidays. I think that’s safe to say. Holidays for planting trees (Tu B’shvat), holidays for miraculous oil (Hanukah), holidays for dressing up in costumes (Purim), holidays for freedom (Passover), holidays for being lost in the desert for too long (Sukkot), holidays for ending a plague hundreds of years ago (Lag Ba’omer). You name it. Each comes with its own foods, its own ceremonies. Some are rooted in the Torah and others on history. And each community celebrates differently, often depending on the size and religiousness. For example, Yom Kippur is a day when those who are religious fast and pray for atonement. It’s one of the holiest days of the Jewish year, and anyone who considers themselves a “one a year Jew” will use Yom Kippur as their time to demonstrate their devoutness by showing up to synagogue. And apologize for the weeks they accidentally missed the other 51 times that year. For many ultra religious, Yom Kippur is a day of purification, atonement, fasting and seriousness. They pray from evening till morning till evening again. For secular kids, on the other hand, it’s a day when absolutely no cars are driving; when the streets are empty; when school is closed and when all of their friends are available. If there’s a better excuse to go bicycling and play soccer in the middle of a usually-busy street, I haven’t heard it.  ...continue reading "Cheesecake Day, And Other Debates"