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Month: December 2014

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By rosessupposes

This semester has been... eventful. So many new experiences, with travel, food, people, customs... And now, I'm home again, back in my tiny Massachusetts hometown- it's a far cry from Dakar, the bustling capital of Senegal. But I've only been home about 5 days, and it's still hard to truly process how this experience may have changed me (besides the henna that's still on my hands).

I believe it will take a lot more time and probably re-entry into the GW school & social environment to really conceptualize what about my outlook on the world has changed. So, to finish off this blog, I'll talk about what I can understand at this point.

What I'm Glad to Leave Behind:

  • Bathrooms with only sometimes-working water and no toilet paper
  • Eating red meat almost every single day
  • More frequent street harassment and marriage proposals
  • Not being able to understand the Wolof or Pulaar conversations around me
  • Lack of washing machines, dryers, or dishwashers
  • Weekly power outages
  • The neighborhood chorus of obnoxious sheep and goats
  • Street cats and dogs

What I'm Going to Miss (or am missing already)

  • My little host brother Mohammed and his toy cars
  • Cafe Touba in the street for 10 US cents
  • Haggling with taxis and in markets
  • Tailored clothes from the fabrics you chose yourself
  • Speaking French and hearing myself improve
  • Ataaya with the Ouakam kids
  • The balmy temperatures of winter in Dakar

What I Am Bringing Home

  • Two bags of Cafe Touba that I'm learning to brew myself
  • 'Wax' fabric for my mum and bracelets for my friends
  • Huge Senegalese flag for my dorm room
  • Much more functional French vocabulary and ability
  • Better appreciation of my privileges here (especially technological)
  • Improved awareness of strong and weak sectors of development in Senegal and similar countries
  • Experiences of living in a part of the world that most of America knows little-to-nothing about

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By Jess Yacovelle

I'm currently sitting on a plane from London Heathrow to San Diego's Lindbergh Field. I waited until I was on the plane to write this last post for two reasons: 1) packing woes previously overwhelmed me, and 2) it felt silly to write about my overall London experience whilst still in London.

The past three and a half months were more than I ever thought I'd experience in regards to Europe. When I entered my freshman year at GW, I had no plans to study abroad. My parents were against it because of the cost, my then-boyfriend didn't like the idea of me leaving the country, and my own personal goals as a student and a writer meant that I didn't want to be away from GW. In the second semester of my junior year, I chose to study abroad on a whim - literally two weeks before the application deadline for King's - and I barely submitted my materials in time. In truth, I can't remember what made me decide to study abroad - the promise of adventure, fear of the future, a desire to get away - but to any GW students still on the fence about study abroad, I can tell you this: it was the best decision I've ever made.

Studying in London allowed me to start over in a new city but with the safety net of GW ready to provide help if I needed it. I had to find my way (literally and metaphorically), make new friends, and create a life for myself in the King's community in a very different way from when I started as a freshman at GW over three years ago. It forced me to stand on my own two feet. I'm still terrified for the future and apprehensive for life after GW, but I'm now confident in myself and my ability to build a life and identity for myself, no matter what.

More importantly, study abroad opened my eyes to the different cultures of the world. I grew up fairly sheltered - I've traveled heavily in the US and Canada, but I never left North America as a child - and it's only through participating in study abroad that I've realized just how much there is to see, and how easy it is to see it.

There's a famous post on Tumblr, in which a blogger states: "My bro just came prancing into my room with a Burger King crown. We don't have Burger King in Belgium. He drove all the way to the Netherlands." That sort of cultural-merging is absolutely true about my experience with living in London. I remember back in October I spent the morning in Prague and the evening in London. I took a train from London to Paris in 2 hours. A flight to Ireland lasted barely an hour. All of these different countries and cultures are so close together, there's no reason not to see it. As Americans, we're at a disadvantage because these things aren't at our fingertips.

Study abroad changed my life, because I'm now determined to return to Europe and spend a month or two backpacking. Public transportation passes like the Eurail Pass make it affordable to travel for a couple of months without breaking the bank, and hostels are decent enough accommodations. In fact, I've done the math and - as a west coast girl - the most expensive part of my trip would be the plane tickets there and back; the plane tickets are almost equal to what hostels and train tickets would cost for one month.

I now have a strong desire to see the rest of the world, to experience the differences between as many cultures as possible, and I didn't before. It's a cliché (perhaps it's a cliché for a reason), but study abroad opened my eyes to the rest of the world, and I would highly recommend it to any and all GW students.

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By bevvy2212

This week I'm going to talk about a few things that study abroad has taught me. I have to admit that in the beginning of my time in Europe, I'd rather be in Madrid than Paris, so I wasn't sure I would get anything out of this experience. I think at one point, I was actually a little bit bitter because I felt like I'm not enjoying my study abroad experience as much as everyone else is. But as the program is wrapping up, I did a little reflection and I realized how much I've learned/matured throughout this four months I've been away from my comfort zone.

1. An appreciation of art. Europe is the center of art. I wouldn't say I was a brute before coming to Paris but I've definitely gone to more museums than I have previously combined during my stay in Europe. I mean, there's just so much around. Louvre, L'Orangerie, D'orsay etc are just the big names. There are countless less famous museums scattered around Paris and they don't pale out in comparison either. Churches are also one of my main things. Even though I am not a Christian myself, I admire the intricate designs whenever I encounter one, and since there are so many churches in Europe, it's really fun to compare and contrast the different styles/ epoch of the churches. I even decided to take an art history course (Italian Art and Architecture in the 16th century) once I get back to GW next semester. Also, I recently got into Dan Brown's books and since a lot of the settings of his book are based in Paris/ Italy, it was very interesting for me to go see those places in real life. Not to mention the background info that was provided in the books gave me the privilege of playing the tour guide to my friends when we go visit famous historical landmarks and made me look smarter than I actually am. *brush dust off the shoulder*

2. Embrace solitude. It's hard sometimes, studying abroad, especially if you're in the direct enroll program instead of taking collective classes at a study center. That being said, sometimes, it does get a little bit lonely when I can't find people to have dinner with. Back at GW, it was never really a problem because the probability of all my friends having prior engagements and not being able to make it to dinner is miniscule. Even with the rare occasions when this does happen, I'll just get chipotle to go and eat in my room, no big deal. Solitude enlarges itself when you're abroad in a foreign land where you can't completely master the language. I used to be terrified of being alone but  as I get myself lost in those winding European streets, I realized that solitude is ok. I just came back from a week-long solo trip in Italy and I visited this small island off of the coast of Venice called Burano, and as cheesy as it sounds, I found inner peace. It was a tiny fishing village with brightly painted houses. I walked past the tourists and into this very quiet neighborhood, and it was just me and the water and the houses, and I’ve never felt so at peace with myself at that moment. It was nice to get away sometimes, all by yourself, and just think, because most of the time we are so wrapped out with pesky little things, all cooped up in a city, that it's hard to hear ourselves think sometimes. I was able to think a lot of things through on my one-man-wolfpack trip.

3. Learn to let go. I hate letting go, albeit it be an old sweater or a friend. I just dread the feeling of losing things. I met a lot of new people here in Europe and 95% of them I'm pretty sure I will never see again in my life, even though we all parted with "oh yeah I'll come visit you for sure", we all know that's never gonna happen. There's this French friend of mine who's a really private person and doesn't have any form of social media to interact with others and during our last class together, I kind of puppy-eyed him and was like, "I'll never see you again." He shrugged, c'est la vie. And I realized, he is right, as much as I hate to admit it. Life is like a train, people get on and get off, rarely anyone will be there for you from start to finish. I made incredible friends at hostels while traveling and we had a blast, but it was like Cinderella's party, after the clock strikes 12, everything returns back to normal and we'll have to move on with life. It's a very helpless feeling, at least for me, because I can not stop the progression of time. I can not make those friends stay in my life, nor will I be able to stay for them either, so enjoy the feast while it lasts.

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I've been back in the States, after leaving Brazil, for almost two weeks now, and either I am exceptionally well-adjusted or I will experience a rough bout of reverse culture shock and withdrawing in the rapidly-approaching future. Despite the whirlwind that is being home for the holidays, I have had a few opportunities to sit back and reflect on what my time in Brazil was to me.

I re-read some of the things I wrote during the extensive process of applying to my program and to scholarships, to see what I had intended to do in Brazil and to think about how my actual experience differed or didn't and why. Before arriving, with my trip still an abstract possibility, I had wanted to use my time in Brazil to examine bottom-up community development in the favelas, with a focus on the role of community centers. I had wanted to work on building homes in the favelas, to understand permanency and how communities are built physically and conceptually. I had wanted to combine my academic study at my Brazilian university with field experience and interviews culled from my contacts in the fields of community-centers-working-on-bottom-up-community-development-in-the-favelas and organizations-building-homes-as-international-volunteers-in-a-favela.

What did I find out? Easier said than done. For better or worse, for a variety of reasons, many of which--but not all, I will admit--beyond my control, I didn't really do much of what I had intended to in Brazil. I volunteered amongst the urban homeless population a few times, and had the opportunity to lay eyes on one of the small favelas in the historic center of the city as well as an urban settlement called Crackland and to meet residents of these communities. I worked within a local NGO, gaining a much deeper understanding of the organizational elements that go into the actual practice of community service. I did go to classes, and I did think a lot on my own about how my course material manifested itself in contemporary situations and problems in Brazil, but I'm not sure I applied them in practice in the streets of Brazil.

The things I did instead of my grand plans were incredible. I met amazing people, both other students and Brazilians from all walks of life--through my host family, through my volunteer experiences, through random conversations in corner bars, everywhere. I traveled, and experienced some of the most stunning places I've ever seen. I relaxed, I took it slow, and I lived a Brazilian life. The fact that my reality in Brazil was not the academic experience that I had envisioned does not devalue either of the two. I was actually living in Brazil, and through that experience, I gained a deeper sense of the Brazilian and global communities than I could have ever imagined.

There are many elements of my time there that I want to bring back with me. The pace of life, the sense of family, the honest and real love for your neighbor and for your fellow Brazilian/human. I think these lessons will improve my life and will serve to deepen my own engagement within all of my own communities and families, everywhere that I call home now and in the future.

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By rbhargava

On Thursday Nov 13, Hunter, Jannis, Rita, and I left the Happy 2B Backpackers in Joburg for Polokwane. The bus ride took about 4 hours, and we arrived in Polokwane in the early afternoon. Not entirely sure how to get from the Polokwane train station to the airport (where we had rented a car from Hertz), we spent a few minutes trying to figure out how to get there before a random guy who appeared to be a taxi driver offered us to take us there. The man – Siyanda – turned out to be a very kind guy, although we were all skeptical whether or not he was actually a licensed taxi driver. His car had a “For Sale” sign in the back and seemed to be falling apart.

As the Hertz office in the airport, we came across the most incompetent employees I have ever seen, and spent an absurd amount of time trying to get our rental car at the price we had booked it at online. An hour or so later though, we were off on our way to Sabie – a small town close to the Blyde River Canyon (and also Kruger National Park). The drive, as every drive is in South Africa, was a beautiful one…and we enjoyed driving a large chunk of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. Driving through very small rural towns, we were surprised to find a massive mall halfway along the route at a town called Burgersfort. We stopped to eat there, and found the mall to be crowded and identical to any mall you would find in the states. It was quite a weird scene, although a few conversations and google searches later -we realized that platinum mining had made this previously tiny village into a well developed town of much wealth. It was a strange town to drive through in the midst of rural South Africa, but one that really captured the importance and influence of mining in the country.

As usual, the drive took much longer than we had anticipated, and we arrived in Sabie in the dark. After checking into our hostel, Sabie Backpackers, we searched for some food in town and soon realized that it was a very dead place to be. Almost everything was closed or empty, and none of had much of an appetite in this eery town. The next day we drove to Graskop, a town about 30 minutes away, checked into our next backpackers – Valley View Backpackers – and set out to see the beautiful Blyde River Canyon. The canyon is known to be the largest “green” canyon in the world – as no other canyon of its size has green vegetation within it. Unfortunately, when we got to the most famous viewpoint above the canyon – God’s Window – we were in the clouds and visibility was close to nothing. We saw none of the canyon…just never-ending whiteness. We spent the rest of the day driving around the area – seeing a few waterfalls, swimming in a natural pool, and walking around the small town. Hunter and I also went on a giant swing in the canyon, in which we jumped off backward from a platform and had a 3 second free fall before the swing caught us and swayed us back and forth. This was by far the highlight of the day, and the fact that the canyon was full of clouds made the fall into an abyss of whiteness extremely cool.

That night I became quite sick and vomited a few times…but thankfully I was fine in the morning! This turned out to be the only time the entire time I was in South Africa that I was “sick.” Quite an impressive feat!

The next morning, after a great breakfast in Graskop, we drove along the length of the canyon and finally got a view of parts of the canyon. It was beautiful, and through the canyon one could see Kruger National Park, and behind that Mozambique. From the canyon we drove back to Polokwane, stopping at the Echo caves for a tour of expansive caves that were inhabited thousands of years ago.

After dropping off the car at the airport in Polokwane, we struggled to find a taxi and ended up calling our friend Siyanda for a ride to the bus stop. We were in for quite the night as we had booked an overnight bus to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The last leg of traveling was about to begin!

Continuing on, on Saturday the 15th we took an overnight bus to Zimbabwe. The bus we took from Polokwane to Bulawayo – Eagle Liner – was full of Zimbabweans returning home…and was far from luxurious. At around 12:30am we arrived at the South African side of the border, where we all had to disembark the bus and get an exit stamp on our visa. The line was long, and we spent about half an hour there. Once on the Zimbabwean side, our bus waited in a long line of trucks and other buses until we were asked again to disembark. As foreigners – we had to wait in line to buy a Zimbabweans visa for 300 rand/$30, and then get our customs forms approved by a separate station. Thankfully, the bus operator helped us fill out the forms and get our visas. We thought we were all set to go, but then we were asked to take all our luggage off the bus for “inspection.” Three hours after arriving at the border, we were finally in Zimbabwe and on our way. The border crossing was quite an experience, and later in the early hours of the morning we came across a few roadblocks by what seemed like police officers. Every roadblock we passed seemed to be literally in the middle of no where – and our bus driver appeared to be bribing the officers at each roadblock to get through. It was quite strange…and I felt quite thankful we were in a bus and not driving our own car.

When we finally arrived in Bulawayo, it was Sunday morning and the city was completely dead. We took a taxi to the train station, where we planned on taking a train that night to Victoria Falls. The station was closed until the afternoon, so we decided to walk around the city. In the middle of the city is a massive power plant with cooling towers that dominate the skyline, and it made the city feel very eery as we walked around the relatively empty streets. Realizing there was little to do there the entire day, we decided to take a local bus all the way through to Victoria Falls. The bus ride was about 7 hours long and gave us a great opportunity to see much of the country. I was surprised by how undeveloped and empty it seemed, as there was very little to see besides small villages and huts here and there.

We finally arrived at Victoria Falls in the evening, checked into Victoria Falls Backpackers, and had a nice dinner at a completely empty Asian restaurant. It truly seemed like off-peak season. On Monday, we spent most of the day at the Zimbabwe side of Victoria Falls. We came at the driest time of the year, so although it was beautiful, they were underwhelming compared to what they are earlier in the year. The day itself was quite uneventful, and the next morning we took a taxi to the border crossing and walked over the bridge into Zambia. After checking into our backpackers in the nearby city of Livingstone, we booked a trip to the famous Devil’s Pool, where one can swim in a natural pool on the edge of the fall. The experience was absolutely surreal, and one of the highlights of my entire time in South Africa. A guide took us through a very marshy area to Livingstone Island, right on the edge of the waterful. Normally, one has to take a boat to the island, but because it was the dry season we could walk. From the island, we had to swim across the river, with the falls roaring down several meters to the left of us, to the natural pool. At the pool, there was little time to think and we were all swimming on the edge within a few seconds. The view was magnificent and to watch the water we were swimming in crash down beneath us was incredible.

That night we had a fantastic meal at a local restaurant called Cafe Zambezi, and celebrated the end of our trip. Late the next morning, Hunter and I had to say goodbye to Jannis and Rita (who were continuing on through Zambia and to Malawi), and left for the airport to return back to Stellenbosch. It was another sad goodbye, and I was quite jealous that they were to continue traveling. Nonetheless though, Victoria Falls was a perfect place to end my travels. I could not have imagined swimming in Devil’s Pool months earlier when I arrived in southern Africa, but what an experience it was! Already looking forward to coming back for another round.

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By marisalgado94

Through my research project, I have had a really great opportunity to spend time with some very dedicated, inspiring people in the community of Nordeste, a barrio that is made up of three different neighborhoods and that is plagued by violence, drug trafficking, and a lack of support from the government.  In looking into how community programs help to keep kids out of the negative influences, I have interviewed coaches of a community body boarding/ surf team and they have been so incredible to learn from.

All of these guys were born in the community and many of them still live there; they are very familiar with the lives of the kids they coach because they have lived that struggle themselves.  They know what its like to have parents that are alcoholics or involved in drug trafficking.  They have seen friends get sucked into gangs and have lost people close to them to the violence that surrounds the community.  Despite their struggles, they all found a way to rise above their circumstances and have now turned around and invested back into this community.  For many of them, the beach and body boarding was what kept them off the streets and they have gone and done the same by creating a community body boarding team that is free, open to all kids as long as you are enrolled in school, and gives them a space to have good roles models, be in a safe environment, and grow into responsible, caring citizens that give back to others.

I wish I could write up all of their stories and share them with you, but for now I'll stick with one.

One coach's interview struck me the most.  One of the first questions that I typically asked them was, "What is the biggest problem that is facing your community today?" There being no right answer, many coaches said drugs, lack of education, mistrust of police, but his answer was just one word- Prejudice.  The look in his eyes when he answered spoke more than any words ever could.  His answer has begun to shape the way that I look at all the interviews and stories that I have collected throughout my second week of research.  Those other problems- drugs, violence, lack of education- they are all just symptoms of a greater underlying issue.

I am slowly coming to the conclusion that the underlying issue is prejudice.  Nordeste is an almost entirely Afro Brazilian population and race is a very sensitive issue in Brazil.  Yes, there are gangs, drug traffickers, and a lot of bad things and people in this community.  But, there are also good, kind, intelligent people who just need someone to look at them and say, "You are worth investing in because you are just as much of a person as I am".  Sadly, this community is looked down upon; outsiders see everyone that lives here as being the same... thieves, vagabonds, hopeless.  I have learned how important community programs like Amaralina Kids Body Boarding Team are.  They are taking charge of the community's future and deciding that it is up to them to change the perception that people have.  They are working tirelessly to show these kids that they are worth someone time, that they can be good people who change the way outsiders look at the community.

Instead of being upset, dejected, and angry about the lack of government assistance and the racism and prejudice towards their community, the coaches and kids of the team are doing their best to make a change.  To some, it may seem like something small, but for them, its everything.  This is their team, their family, their home.  It has been amazing getting to know these kids, learning from the coaches, and seeing how they are making waves for Nordeste.

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By Jess Yacovelle

For the majority of my blog posts, I've written about the United Kingdom social culture or the schooling system. This time, I'm going to wax on and on about arguably my favorite part of the UK: the fan culture. Living in the United Kingdom is like living in Hollywood: chances are, someone has filmed something on every major street in London, so if you're a big nerd like me, you can experience some major geek-out moments no matter where you go in the UK. Here are my personal top give fandom tidbits about the London and the United Kingdom.

1) Soccer, aka football. I'm not one of those people who insist sports aren't fandoms; anyone willing to spend hundreds of dollars a year on stadium tickets belongs in a fandom, and the UK is therefore a great place to visit. In London, there are (at least) four different football teams and games are shown at almost every pub. You can essentially watch a soccer game anytime you want. Many stadiums also offer tours, and all stadiums have a gift shop! If you're a soccer fan, the UK is the place to feed your addiction.

2) Olympics. In the same vein as soccer, some people are massive fans of the Olympics. The 2012 Olympics were held in Stratford, just outside of London, and you can go tour the area! Some of the stadium is closed for renovations until 2016, but the rest is currently open to the public and visitable. Furthermore, you can see some of the medals and the Olympic torch, which is kept in London's City Hall, by Tower Bridge on the Southbank.

3) Doctor Who. It's the show all generations of people love. Doctor Who recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. In Cardiff, Wales a Doctor Who Museum and set tour has been assembled for fans of the long-standing series to peruse. Fans of the Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood should also go see the Roald Dahl Plass, where the Torchwood hub is marked and Ianto's Door, a memorial to a fictional character. You can also check out sites that appeared in the show, such as Cardiff Castle, Canary Wharf, and Trafalgar Square. Want more Doctor Who goodness? Check out fan forums for tips.

4) Literary love. If you're a fan of any English literature - Shakespeare, Victorian, Irish - there are tons of places you can visit in London. A replica of Shakespeare's Globe theatre stands on the edge of the Thames. The Fitzroy Tavern in Holburn offers literary pub crawls. Plaques all over London and Dublin detail the places favorited by writers and poets, or where they used to live and write. A certain cafe in Edinburgh boasts being the writing home of JK Rowling. For Victorian writers like Dickens, you can still see the same streets and landmarks that are mentioned in their stories! Do some research and check out the best sites!

5) Harry Potter! Remember how I mentioned JK Rowling earlier? The after effects of her works are visible all over London and the UK! In addition to visiting the famous Rowling cafe, you can head over to Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station. Then, visit Leavesdon Studios (off of the Watford Junction train stop outside of London), where they filmed the movies. You can take guided walking tours of places either mentioned in the series or used in filming, including Borough Market in London and the Millennium Bridge. Get your wizarding nerd on with some Harry Potter love!

These are just my nerdy Brit-joys; research yours and enjoy the experience!

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By clairemac93

I pour out the contents of the folder that perched in my cabinet for the duration of my year in Stellenbosch. Not once sifted through. I cast my memories into this folder- ticket stubs, notes from friends and roommates, pictures, and brochures. On day one, I started with my plane tickets; this being my longest journey to a new country. However past that, it’s blurry where this odd assortment can be placed in the space and time of my year. Concert wrist bands from that Afrikaans festival where we dogpiled in public and danced to music not even on-par with the worst of wedding bands. One labeled “Balkan dance rave” where, unsurprisingly, I lost my phone and from what I can remember, there was a dead pig hanging from the ceiling. A receipt from the Cape Town city tour bus, where in the pouring rain, alone, I spent an entire day seeing everything I’d put off the previous semester. Stormers tickets. A recipe for Fettkook. Knicknacks from an off-season Karnival hosted by the German Society. A secret note passed to me in class by my best friend in Stellies during the first week we met, “Hoe gaan dit mit jou Afrikaans?” Each item turning my brain a new direction, making me think of different people, making me remember how I felt at that moment.

I’m aware that most of the reason that I kept these things, mostly pieces of paper, is to remind myself that this year happened. As much as I now have moments which so influenced me in how free, or happy, or moved I was that I have a clear, still-frame image in my mind of that moment…I fear that given enough time that image will fade, or be forgotten. And scarier still, I fear that I’ll forget the feeling I had along with its image. These items consequently help me physically and mentally piece together where I was and where I am now.

To be perfectly honest, I was waiting to write this last entry until some morning that I woke up after coming home, when the lessons I learned in South Africa would suddenly be made clear and I would write my feelings down and feel satisfied for an easy summarization of my time. And yet, 3 weeks in, and I’m yet to have that moment. South African culture was much harder to pin down or understand than other countries I’ve visited. Each family I stayed with, each town I visited, was so starkly different that each time I walked away with even the basic facts I thought I’d learned about the country shattered. So often did this happen that eventually I gave up on trying to draw any generalizations across people. In many ways this was part of the excitement- always questioning, always confused, always open. But in other ways it made living in Stellenbosch frustrating, as a town relatively monochromatic and privileged, as I had to make a concerted effort to put myself into the unfamiliar.

This being said, I left my year as exactly who I wanted to be. I saw Johannesburg, jumped off the highest bridge in Africa, did two homestays in local townships, traveled to Namibia and along the Garden Route, met my South African relatives, and hiked my fair share of mountains. But at the moment, to be frank, I hardly need to factor those bits into my year. I walked away from South Africa a much better, and purer version of myself, than who had left. I learned to stand up for myself, to focus on others, to live in the moment, and how to verbalize my feelings to those who made me feel used or hurt. I found that life is as simple or complicated as you make it. And I learned to address, via the behaviors of others and myself, the person I want to be and how to honor that via my actions and inactions. And that, is what I’m most proud of from my year.

I am of the opinion that a year abroad is in the end just another 12 months in your life, which is made spectacular and life-changing by the fact that there is a clear start and end date, as opposed to other years in which that blurs. Though I continue to struggle to figure out what this year meant to me, while simultaneously having to evaluate where my life goes in 6 months when I graduate, I am thankful for having had a year to gear all my energy towards shamelessly questioning, exploring, laughing, and wondering - things I often lose sight of in the bustle of the city.

Thank you to everyone who read my blog, to the friends from home who kept me consistently motivated and giggling, to my grandma for always being my most avid and engaged reader and my always inspiration for traveling, to the families who let me into their homes, and most importantly, to my parents for dealing with my visa problems and tendency to wander.

“For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return.”

~Leonardo di Vinci

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By bevvy2212

This week I'm going to talk about a few things that study abroad has taught me. I have to admit that in the beginning of my time in Europe, I'd rather be in Madrid than Paris, so I didn't really expect to get anything out of this experience. I think at one point, I was actually a little bit bitter because I felt like I'm not enjoying my study abroad experience as much as everyone else is. But as the program is wrapping up, I did a little reflection and I realized how much I've learned/matured throughout this four months I've been away from my comfort zone.

1. An appreciation of art. Europe is the center of art. I wouldn't say I was a brute before coming to Paris but I've definitely gone to more museums than I have previously combined during my stay in Europe. I mean, there's just so much around. Louvre, L'Orangerie, D'orsay etc are just the big names. There are countless less famous museums scattered around Paris and they don't pale out in comparison either. Churches are also one of my main things. Even though I am not a Christian myself, I admire the intricate designs whenever I encounter one, and since there are so many churches in Europe, it's really fun to compare and contrast the different styles/ epoch of the churches. I even decided to take an art history course (Italian Art and Architecture in the 16th century) once I get back to GW next semester. Also, I recently got into Dan Brown's books and since a lot of the settings of his book are based in Paris/ Italy, it was very interesting for me to go see those places in real life. Not to mention the background info that was provided in the books gave me the privilege of playing the tour guide to my friends when we go visit famous historical landmarks and made me look smarter than I actually am. *brush dust off the shoulder*

2. Embrace solitude. It's hard sometimes, studying abroad, especially if you're in the direct enroll program instead of taking collective classes at a study center. That being said, sometimes, it does get a little bit lonely when I can't find people to have dinner with. Back at GW, it was never really a problem because the probability of all my friends having prior engagements and not being able to make it to dinner is miniscule. Even with the rare occasions when this does happen, I'll just get chipotle to go and eat in my room, no big deal. Solitude enlarges itself when you're abroad in a foreign land where you can't completely master the language. I used to be terrified of being alone but  as I get myself lost in those winding European streets, I realized that solitude is ok. I just came back from a week-long solo trip in Italy and I visited this small island off of the coast of Venice called Burano, and as cheesy as it sounds, I found inner peace. It was a tiny fishing village with brightly painted houses. I walked past the tourists and into this very quiet neighborhood, and it was just me and the water and the houses, and I’ve never felt so at peace with myself at that moment. It was nice to get away sometimes, all by yourself, and just think, because most of the time we are so wrapped out with pesky little things, all cooped up in a city, that it's hard to hear ourselves think sometimes. I was able to think a lot of things through on my one-man-wolfpack trip.

3. Learn to let go. I hate letting go, albeit it be an old sweater or a friend. I just dread the feeling of losing things. I met a lot of new people here in Europe and 95% of them I'm pretty sure I will never see again in my life, even though we all parted with "oh yeah I'll come visit you for sure", we all know that's never gonna happen. There's this French friend of mine who's a really private person and doesn't have any form of social media to interact with others and during our last class together, I kind of puppy-eyed him and was like, "I'll never see you again." He shrugged, c'est la vie. And I realized, he is right, as much as I hate to admit it. Life is like a train, people get on and get off, rarely anyone will be there for you from start to finish. I made incredible friends at hostels while traveling and we had a blast, but it was like Cinderella's party, after the clock strikes 12, everything returns back to normal and we'll have to move on with life. It's a very helpless feeling, at least for me, because I can not stop the progression of time. I can not make those friends stay in my life, nor will I be able to stay for them either, so enjoy the feast while it lasts.

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By Jess Yacovelle

London as a city is obsessed with Christmas as a holiday. From the day after Halloween up until Boxing Day, London is decked out in Christmas spirit and cheer, even more so than in the United States. There is no question of political correctness and whether London is allowed to celebrate Christmas when not everyone does, and as a result, the city has transformed into a holiday wonderland. Here are the top five pre-December 25th London Christmas facts!

1) Everyone wishes you a Happy Christmas. Yes, London acknowledges that other religions and holidays exist, but Christmas has sort of become so separated from actual religion in England that it's perfectly normal to wish everyone a Happy Christmas regardless of their beliefs.

2) Decorations. Decorations are everywhere. Christmas trees pop up in shops and lobbies, tinsel and lights are hung across streets, and fairy lights decorate trees and bushes. For nearly two straight months, you can walk down Oxford Street or Chancery Lane and see near-constant decorations, and it is absolutely beautiful, especially at night.

3) Hyde Park. Northwest of Buckingham Palace is Hyde Park, a lovely large patch of grass and trees that stretches into Kensington Gardens. During Christmas, the southwest corner of Hyde Park is transformed into a Winter Wonderland carnival. There is a ferris wheel, carnival rides, ice skating, games, shops, and every type of fair food imaginable. It's free to get into, and absolutely worth attending, especially since Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens are gorgeous tourist destinations in and of themselves.

4) Winter markets. There are Christmas-themed markets hidden all over London, especially along the Thames. I've accidentally stumbled upon three thus far, and there are more I haven't been to yet. Some of these markets - like the one in front of the Tate Modern or by the London Eye - are temporary and not there for eleven months out of the year, so these holiday markets are truly a unique aspect of Christmas in London.

5) Everything is set to shut down Christmas Day. All of those markets and the Hyde Park fair that I mentioned earlier are completely dead on Christmas day. Theatre shows don't have performances, shops close, and public transit is much more limited. In fact, only nice restaurants offer Christmas dinners on December 25th, but you have to make reservations months in advance.

Bonus: Christmas TV specials. Yes, we do this in the states as well, but England as a whole has a tradition of creating new Christmas specials every year. From scripted shows like Doctor Who to comedy panel shows like 8 Out of 10 Cats, England produces new Christmas specials every single year. One of the better known panel shows that is released only at Christmas is The Big Fat Quiz of the Year, a show that is released once a year around Boxing Day, and one that I luckily got to see recorded live.

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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