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Month: March 2014

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By msotomayor12

It is obvious that each country has charming qualities that make it unique, but finding the real treasures within each leaves one completely enamored. Andalucía, Spain’s southern region, is full of gems that illuminate Spain’s history. Each city is aesthetically beautiful thanks to the mix of small city streets and the fusion of Christian and Islamic architecture. In other words, these are the best cities to rack up likes on Instagram. They’re also the cities I absolutely recommend one visits before they die. Here’s a glimpse of Córdoba, Sevilla, and Granada.

Córdoba

Even though its the smallest city in the Andalucía region, Córdoba is the home of the largest Mosque-Cathedral in Spain. Centuries ago, Muslims originally built the religious monument that consisted of an outdoor patio and a breath taking mosque that still stands. When one enters it, they see a “forest” of red arches and columns that seem to be never ending. Several prayer rooms are ornately decorated in traditional Islamic plaster, which are detailed with faded colors and intricate designs.

However, if one walks to the center of the building they enter a completely different world. When Charles V saw the mezquita, he felt that the only way to signify that Catholicism was the official religion was to build a chapel in the middle of it. White walls decorated with gold Renaissance details build the skeleton of the chapel. A large wooden choir and a three-story altarpiece are the touches that complete the wondrous site.

The town itself is filled with charming, quiet streets. Restaurants are located on either side and serve typical Andaluz food, including salmorejo and bull’s tail. After grabbing some lunch, one cannot leave Córdoba without seeing the Roman remnants, like the archway and wall witin the ancient city.

Sevilla

After an afternoon in Córdoba, we headed south to my favorite city in the world, Sevilla. I say this because the city is filled with everything I love. The city is built like the most beautiful laberinto (labyrinth) that you dream of getting lost in.

Everything about Sevilla is romantic. The extremely narrow streets are lined with tall apartment buildings, each decorated with rustic balconies and tiles. One can peer into the apartment’s patios, or open terraces in the center of the building. They are filled with flowers, fountains, and more Spanish tiles. With every twist and turn, tourists seem to find a dead end, but really there’s an almost invisible street leading you elsewhere. The streets are so narrow in this city to create some ventilation from the extremely warm weather, which is something this Florida girl does not mind.

All the rustic streets lead to the heart of the city, where one finds La Giralda and the Cathedral. La Giralda stands tall as the last remnant of the ancient mesquite, which was demolished to build the Cathedral. I absolutely recommend going to a nearby rooftop to enjoy food and drinks with an a breath-taking view. Better yet, climbing the 32 ramps to the top of the tower gives one a panoramic view of the city.

If you’re just as obsessed with tiles and Islamic architecture as I am, I recommend visiting El Alcazar. The expansive palace has rooms after rooms filled with incredible tile patterns. And if that isn’t you’re thing, stepping out into the gardens is worth it. There are waterfalls, patios, and mazes that leave you awestruck.

Another must see is Plaza España, located next to the King and Queen's former private park. This Sevillan landmark was built for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. Each city in Spain is represented with a tiled bench and a picture that most represents it. One can walk around the plaza and over its many bridges or take a boat ride through its slender stream. It's a beautiful location for a perfect date.

Remember how I said I left my heart in Madrid years ago? Well I’ve been so careless that I think I lost it again in Seville. It is so hard to describe just how beautiful the city is. It’s one of those places that makes you forget about any worry and instead, welcomes you to appreciate every minute of pure relaxation. Even though this was my third visit to Sevilla, it keeps on blowing me away with its charm. I guess another trip there is necessary!

Granada

Lastly, we took a day trip to Granada.  In Spanish, Granada translates to pomegranate. When Isabel and Ferdinand took over the last non-Catholic city in Spain, they named it Granada to represent that it is one of the many “seeds” within the unified Catholic country.

The Muslim empire is still standing in Granada at La Alhambra, which translates to “red walls.” Before Isabel and Ferdinand conquered the last Muslim empire in 1492, La Alhambra used to be the Sultan’s palace. The miniature city houses a military base, remnants of civilian houses, the Sultan’s palace and summer house, as well as Charles V's architecturally perfect palace (circle within a square layout). The most impressive location is the palace. It is a time vortex that made me wish I were the Sultan’s wife so that I could experience the wondrous place.

The second stop in Granada was visiting the tombs of Los Reyes Catolicos. It is in this church where Isabel and Ferdinand, their daughter, Queen Juana la loca and her husband, Philip el hermoso.

Although I did not spend enough time to appreciate everything Granada had to offer, I loved its atmosphere. Near the Gran Via, or Main Street, everything looked so modern. However, if you take a turn past the Cathedral, everything suddenly feels like you’re in Morocco. Tiny thrift and souvenir shops sell Middle Eastern clothes, tapestries, and trinkets.

If it isn’t obvious enough from my experiences, Andalucía is the best place to visit in Spain.

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By maxikaplan

With two weeks left of classes in Lent term, there are only two things left to do: work hard and plan spring break. The working hard part is proving particularly difficult, especially because the weather in London this past week could not have been better. In a city where it rains almost every day, 60 degrees and sunny is most definitely not the norm, and it makes you want to throw your books out the window and go for a run. The looming danger of finals is far enough away—about 2 and a half months—to still take the lazy Saturday off to explore London, which has been very rewarding but which can’t last forever. In two weeks, however, I’ll take off for a hitchhike to Croatia, and then fly to Switzerland and Greece, so I am really in no position to complain.

This week GW again managed to put together a great event by taking many of the study abroad students to see Puccini’s Turandot at the Royal Opera House on Friday night. This was an opera written in 1924 that takes place in China, although it was written by Puccini who was Italian, which made for a confusing story line, but the orchestra was incredible and it was an amazing experience nonetheless. These events seem to get better and better, and I would definitely recommend to the potential study abroad student that they try to attend as many of these as possible. Not only are they free, but you get to see all the other GW students who are studying here too, and it is reassuring to be reminded of how many of us there are in London. The day after the opera I walked around London with two of my friends that turned into the longest I’ve walked in London since I’ve been here. My legs really didn’t appreciate it, but it was an interesting experience because after living here for seven months you tend to think that you’ve seen everything there is to see. And then when you walk around you’re reminded of how massive this city is and how much there is to do, and I can probably say I’ve only experienced just the tip of the iceberg. Much to my dismay I have not even been to Brick Lane, which is a famous street in London known for its Indian food—something my long time readers (if I have any) will know I love.

Even though I am really looking forward to my spring break and not having any classes, any work, etc., I can’t express how in a weird way I will miss my classes at LSE. I’ve said before how the teaching style here is different from the US and GW in particular, but the breadth of material that they’ve taught me has been incredible, and I’m truly indebted to many of my teachers for their hard work as well. I am sure many of my blogs sound like an advertisement for LSE, so I will stop there, and in short just say that this experience has really defined my time in college. I’ll check in with ya’ll next week.

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By haleymb

After three months of waiting and watching friends begin their semesters both at GW and abroad, my time has finally come. Ola, Brazil! In my brief day and half in Brazil plus my 28 hours of travel time, I have had quite the experience. My first shock came at the Orlando airport; when waiting in line at the TAM Airlines counter, everyone was speaking Portuguese. I hadn't thought this through when imagining my trip in the past weeks, and with only a few words of Portuguese under my belt, I was completely caught off guard and incredibly scared when this happened. I called my mom, questioning my ability to go through the program. I finally arrived in Salvador and met the others on my program. Everyone was so kind and joyful, my fears immediately melted away...literally - the bright sun and humidity immediately brought pools of sweat to my skin.

On Sunday evening, I meet and move in with my host family. My extremely limited Portuguese and American culture makes me nervous, yet excited to embrace a new way of life. Beyond living with a new family who I cannot communicate with, I have a lot of adjusting to do, including being more cautious about my surroundings and health issues (i.e. tap water, purchasing more bug spray, etc.). I'm looking forward to beginning Portuguese classes so that I can communicate more smoothly.

The beauty and size of the city took my breath as soon as I left the airport. Bright colors, tropical plants, music, and animals flow through the streets. At the beach today, we danced to the samba music playing loudly from the restaurants. How amazing is it that unlike the US beaches that play the same music to try to make it feel more tropical, this is truly the culture here? All of these things give me confidence and excitement to overcome the challenges that I know I will face next week when orientation ends and I actually have to move about the city on my own.

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This past weekend I was lucky enough to visit Venice for Carnivale! This was my first time visiting Venice and going during Carnivale had its pros and cons but all in all it was an amazing trip. As many of you may know, Venice is packed during Carnivale, with people visiting from all over the world to dress up in masks and period costumes with capes and hairstyles to rival those of Marie-Antoinette. My Italian teacher said the city looks like an opera stage during Carnivale—a description which turned out to be very apt. We arrived Friday morning after a train ride through the beautiful Italian country-side, past mountains, and lakes, until we crossed the bridge to Venice. Since I was little the idea of this city on the sea, with streets like small rivers, has intrigued me. As I grew older, seeing paintings by Turner and learning of the city’s rich and risqué history only increased my interest.

The three days we had there were simply not enough. The streets were the most narrow I have ever seen, some covered with wood beams, some tall with tilting buildings looming on either side. We got lost almost every time we left our hotel. In my Literature of the Grand Tour class we read an excerpt from Goethe’s travel accounts in Italy, and even he, so many years ago, remarked on the narrow, maze-like quality of the streets. It is brilliant to see that it is still the same.

At night the streets were wonderfully empty as well and it felt like a fairytale. The utter lack of cars on the street, paired with the 19th century looking street lamps made the city look even more like a portal to the past.

I am far from the first, and certainly not the last person to be so ridiculously charmed by Venice but it is nice to know that even when a city is an inundated with tourism as Venice is, it can still retain its charm.

Aside from the beautiful architecture (I could wax poetic for hours but I’ll spare you) we also had some of the most amazing seafood there. We also took a break from the revelry and pageantry of the first days of Carnivale to take a quick trip to Murano, one of the nearby islands. While Venice was only empty at night, Murano was nearly deserted during the day. The island, which is known for its glass, was like a smaller, less grand and less tourist filled version of Venice. As we walked down the street a party of old men and women thrust wine and frittelle on us and threw confetti over our heads before sending us on our way. We went to a glass blowing demonstration and the artist let us have a go as well (I failed miserably, as did one of my friends). We had amazing food and the waiters gave us two free rounds of Limoncello.

At the end of the day we took a sun-drenched ferry ride back to Venice, which was packed to the brim with tourists for the Carnivale parade, but even the crowds couldn’t shake the blanket of calm our day-trip had brought to the holiday.

In other words it was the perfect antithesis to the dark, mysterious streets of Venice, but equally lovely and beautiful. It was all so wonderful though, I really could go on about it forever—and I’m lucky enough to be returning with my mother in May—but I will spare you all. What this trip has reminded me of though, is how lucky I am to be studying here, and to have the opportunity to travel around Italy, and how diverse the history and architecture is here. It was wonderful to see something that was so different.

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By christinatometchko

Can you imagine being 10 or 12 years old and having a science or art class taught in an entirely different language?  If you're an elementary school student living in Barcelona, this is the norm.

The official language in Barcelona is Catalan-- a mixture of Spanish and French-- that is native to the Cataluyna region of northern Spain. During Francisco Franco's dictatorship in the twentieth century, the Catalan language was outlawed in Spain and school was exclusively taught in Spanish. Following Franco's death in 1975, the ban on Catalan was lifted and many cities throughout northern Spain re-instituted it as their official language.

Flash forward to present day Barcelona and school is now primarily taught in Catalan with additional classes in Spanish and English. From the first day of kindergarten to the end of their primary school education, students in Barcelona are taught in three different languages and often end up being fluent or at least conversational in each one of them. I can't wrap my head around learning three different languages at such a young age and give the Spanish education system so much credit for recognizing the importance of knowing more than one language in this increasingly globalized world!

It's also really interesting that students in Barcelona don't just have an English class or a Spanish class where they learn about grammar and sentence structure.  In addition to those basic language courses, they also have other classes like Math and History that are taught in another language. While I'm sure this can be very difficult for some students, it's a great way to help them vastly expand their vocabulary and learn the language in a relatively quick amount of time.

I witnessed some of these struggles with the language barrier during my first day volunteering in an Art classroom at the Pare Poveda school. The class was taught entirely in English, the students were required to speak in English, and they even listened to American music as they were working on their projects. As I walked around the classroom and helped the students with their work, I spoke to them in English and was surprised by the vast differences in their levels of comprehension. Some students understood everything that I said and were able to respond fluently in English. Some students understood a little of what I said but could only respond in Spanish. And some students didn't understand a single thing that I said and just nodded their heads and smiled politely when I spoke.

Throughout the afternoon I had to consciously stop myself from speaking Spanish when the students were confused or didn't understand what I was saying. Even though that would have made things so much easier, it wouldn't do anything to help them improve their English which was my main purpose for being there. Instead, I had to find creative ways to get my point across like using my hands to help explain what I was saying or drawing things that I was trying to talk about. While communicating with the students was a bit tricky at times, I had so much fun and can't wait to volunteer again next week!

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By sdemetry

Hello Again!

As I sit in an airport terminal in Norway, I think my ideas for this blog entry are quite fitting.

My internship has been going extremely well lately- lots of new tasks and responsibility have been handed off to me. But I am now entering a school vacation period- the German university system runs quite differently from ours in the US- and that is where the root of my current challenges lies.

It is difficult to work while traveling- limited internet access and no one to bounce ideas and questions off of in the next room adds hours to seemingly simple tasks. I am, however, about to embark upon a month of nonstop travel, with a load of nonstop assignments to do "at home"  I am a bit worried about deadlines and questions, but I think given the proper planning and considerations, I will be able to be relatively successful. Other than that, the challenges have been relatively minor recently- I have gotten into the flow of working and I know the routine of the office. It is starting to feel really comfortable.

My boss has given me more responsibility, and we have begun speaking more as equals, which is a huge accomplishment in my eyes. I have worked hard to earn the respect of my employers, and it is really starting to pay off.

I am excited for this period of travel to be behind me so that I can finally get back into a normal routine. It is hectic and stressful to think about work while reminding myself to also have some fun and let go of responsibilities- I am holding myself to a bit of a double standard- but it's nothing that I can't handle, and something that I am actually extremely thankful for. Not everyone gets these kind of opportunities, and I have to embrace and appreciate them while I still can!

I will keep you updated as to my struggles and successes, but as for now that's about all I have to share!

Mit besten Grüßen,

SD

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By zamorse

The University of Haifa is situated atop a mountain on the edge of the city and thus is the beginning of many of the bus routes into the city. To make life more exciting, there are two central bus stations in Haifa, one by the beach and one on the other side of the city.

That context is important because I tried to go to the beach today on bus #146. Bus #146 is an Egged bus route, the main bus company in Israel. It runs from the University to both of the central bus stations, sometimes the one by the beach and sometimes the one on the other side of the city. That's why it's important to ask the bus driver before you get on the bus which bus station he's going to. To make matters even more complicated, the #146 will run to the beach at 8:30 and another #146 will run to the other central bus station at 8:32, so they leave literally around the same time.

I used my Egged phone application to track when the bus was coming, got to the bus stop a few minutes early, and where I see that the #146 is already waiting, so I get on it. Without checking which central bus station it's going to...

Luckily I realized that I was on the wrong bus before we had left the University and got off the bus. Unfortunately, as I got off the bus, the correct  #146 zoomed past us and I was left to wait for the next bus a half an hour later. And I made it to the beach anyways.

That was actually the second time I've taken the wrong #146, and the last time because I didn't know how to take the buses, I took the 146 all the way to the wrong central bus station and then had to take another bus from one central bus station to the other.

As they say in Yiddish, oy vey.

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By billienkatz

"Me pone un cafe con leche para llevar" is a saying you rarely hear in a cafe or restaurant in Barcelona, unless of course, the person saying it is speaking in a botched 'spanish' accent, and is American. This also may or may not be the summary of my abroad experience, in which, drinking coffee while walking, in class, outside of a cafe, or in a cup to-go is probably worse than FC Barcelona losing to Real Madrid.

Meals in Barcelona are extremely grounded within the family, which is the most central structure of Spanish life. As a result, meals are elongated processes (something I like, yet had to adapt to), you are never rushed to pay the check, and every bite and sip of the meal is consumed within the restaurant. Then, there's me, and the rest of the American study abroad students. I live off of 1-2 cups of coffee every morning at home, and during orientation for my IES program when they explained that coffee wasn't allowed in class, I took it as a personal attack.

I found an alternative solution to the weak instant coffee that was available in my apartment - cafe con leche. This drink uses espresso and hot milk, and combines to give the caffeine kick a person like me needs to be functional during my 9 AM classes. Un cafe con leche para llevar, which is translated into "a coffee with milk to take away" became my morning mantra, and since it's just a tiny cup of espresso and milk, I'm able to finish my cup quickly before entering the IES building.

Now that I am more comfortable in my host city, I decided that my coffee needs were more important than the stares and dirty looks I was receiving from my locals, as I walked down the street with my 'take-away' cup. Maybe this is culturally incompetent of me, and I know that my cross-cultural psychology teacher would not be proud, but this is a cultural faux pas I make day in and day out.

Me gusta mi cafe,

Billie

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By maxikaplan

With only about three months left to my time in London, it’s really begun to hit me how long I’ve been here. I know that six months doesn’t sound like a long time, but recently, for one reason or another, I’ve felt that the next few months are going to go by quicker than I anticipate. With this idea breathing down my neck, my friends and I realized a few days ago that if we were to leave London today, we would not be 100% satisfied with the amount of new experiences and places we have discovered. So, despite our schoolwork, we’ll be taking almost every Wednesday and Saturday “off” to explore the UK and more of Europe as well. We have not yet planned where we will be going or what exactly it is we want to do at these places, but this is a plan that’s better than no plan, and I know that I won’t look back at my time at LSE and say, “I wish I had spent the day inside writing an essay rather than exploring the North of England with my friends.”

I am not sure if GW maintains the same level of involvement with other students study abroad experiences, but it seems that here in London there is another GW event every couple of weeks. On Thursday I’ll be having tea with the other students at the National Portrait Gallery, which might not sound like the most exciting event there is, but the Londoners appreciation for tea is pretty interesting. Some of the places that I’ve been to for tea have over 200 types of teas on their menu, and the food that they pair with it is usually a “biscuit” (dessert) of some sort that is absolutely delicious. If it sounds so far like my week hasn’t been filled with exciting new action, it’s because of two reasons: First, I had to catch up on the work I missed while I was on my mini-vacation, and second is that the highlight of my week was watching someone blow bubbles.

On Saturday, with a rare occasion of perfect weather, my two friends and I walked for hours along the Thames River through many markets and shops, and towards the end came across one of those giant bubble making contraptions street performers use. We stopped for a second, leaning against the rail by the water and not thinking much of it, but as more kids came around and were fascinated by this man’s talents, we found ourselves sucked in. It was an ephemeral moment that words can’t quite do justice to as we stood there fixated on their happiness, but it was akin to staring out at a landscape and feeling that time has climaxed, and suddenly stood still. There wasn’t anything in the world I cared about in that few minutes we stayed there, and watching these kids chase bubbles twice their size was, surprisingly, my favorite moment this week. It is moments like that where I know I’ll look back on these Wednesdays and Saturdays I’ll be taking off with nothing but joy.

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By zamorse

Israeli food is phenomenal, cheap, and healthy, so it was hard to choose a top 5 list. And of course, writing this post is going to make me very hungry, but here we go:

#1: Skakshouka- A dish of poached eggs simmering in a tomato sauce broth, with chili peppers, onions, cumin and other spices. It's a North African dish originally, but is popular in Israel because of Jewish immigrants from Tunisia. What I love about shakshouka the most is that it's easy to make at home. First you sautee whatever vegetables you want, pour in the tomato sauce, and then you poach the eggs in the sauce. Look up a recipe online, it's easy to make.

#2: Hummus and Pita- This dish, which I eat more of as a snack, is easy to get in any grocery store in America. But the hummus and pita is just better here. Hummus is made from mashed chickpeas, tahini sauce, lemon, olive oil, salt and garlic. It's a little complicated to make at home, but it can be done. There are restaurants here that are entirely devoted to hummus---imagine a restaurant in D.C. entirely devoted to cream cheese.

#3: Schnitzel- Brought to Israel by its German Jewish immigrants, Schnitzel is essentially a flattened chicken breast coated in bread crumbs and flour and deep fried. Served with french fries and lots of ketchup. This I mostly get frozen from the grocery store, which is still delicious, but every time I find it in a restaurant, I have to order it.

#4: Pomegranates- This fruit is one of my favorites back in the states, but in Israel, again, they're just so much better. Cut open the pomegranate over a bowl of water and let the seeds fall into the water, then drain the water, and you have a bowl full of pomegranate seeds. This is my go to snack when watching a movie or a TV show, rather than popcorn or chocolate.

#5: Shwarma and Falafel- This should really be two different foods, but i'm going to combine them both into my top 5 list because I couldn't figure out which one I liked better. Shwarma is meat of some sorts, usually lamb, turkey, veal, or beef served on a vertical spit. It's basically a rotating vertical spit of meat. When you order it, the restaurant takes what looks like a clothes iron and cuts the meat off, puts it in a pita or laffa bread, then adds hummus, tahini, tomato, cucumber and other sides to your liking. Falafel is served also in pita or laffa, and the various sides, but is a totally different dish. Falafel is a deep fried ball of chickpeas and is a healthy vegetarian alternative to shwarma. Both are street foods and easily about $5-$6. Restaurants here specialize in falafel and shwarma, so they are usually found in the same place.

Israeli food draws from its immigrant culture who come from all around the world, and come together to make a melting pot of food heaven.  And I can't wait to try more.

Unless otherwise indicated, the content and opinions expressed on this web site are those of the author(s). They are not endorsed by and do not necessarily reflect the views of the George Washington University.
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