By eryon180
This weekend, we stayed in the village of Simenya! Simenya is located an hour away from the the ancestral home of President Obama and his grandma Sarah Obama. I was a little worried because I had the expectations that we would be in a hut, as we had seen passing along the road. We arrived at night during the rain with our mosquito nets and toilet paper in hand. I was placed with the village electrician who lived away from the main town.
By eryon180
During my classes, we were introduced to an on-going development project in the informal settlement of Obunga in Kisumu. The slum is located on the outskirts of the city near the fish factories. My class, along with a group of Kenyan university students from Maseno University went through the site to see the differences between the Nairobi and Kisumu settlements.
Since Obunga is in a swamp, the houses have begun to sink into the ground and many of them flood during the rain. At the end of the walk-through, we went to one of the largest informal enterprises in the settlement—fish remains processing. Since the slum is located next to the fish (samaki) filet factories, the people pay the factories for the remains to be resold.
By allisonray94
Today, we had more rain than I've ever seen in Jordan...and hail...and flooding. I'm gonna go ahead and non-contentiously blame this on climate change. Anyway, unlike the United States, Jordan doesn't have infrastructure dedicated to rain and flood management. Never have I missed storm drains on the side of the street more.
Last week I spoke about the incredible experience of eating street food in India....but I got so carried away while talking about the local authenticity unique to eating off the street that I never actually got to explain any of the delectable things I've actually eaten. This post is thus dedicated to the plethora of tasty treats I've purchased from pick-up trucks, metal carts, dingy alleyways, and outdoor campus canteens during my stay here in India. If there's one characteristic that all of these delicacies have in common, it is the overwhelming presence of carbohydrates. Sometimes carbs take the starring role -- there's more varieties of fried dough here than at the Texas State fair -- but even when they aren't the main event, they always play an integral role. Whether it's dough wrapped around spicy fillings, thin crepes served with a myriad of dipping sauces, or sweet dough for dessert, if you want to embrace street food in India, you absolutely have to embrace the high-carb diet. But believe me, it's totally worth it...
...continue reading "No Carb Left Behind: the Indian Street Food Diet"
Recently, I feel as though the majority of my past blog posts have been a tedious recounting of all the activities I’ve done and sights I’ve seen since I have arrived in Italy as opposed a more truthful reflection of my abroad experiences. Thus, for this blog post I’d like to give a more honest description of the past week.
The two and a half months I have spent in Florence have been some of the most rewarding of my life. I have seen places I never thought I would visit until I was much older and I have continually tried to expose myself to a new culture and adapt to a new way of living and learning.
By allilopez
Part of living or studying abroad for an extended period of time is going through the dreadful process of registering with the Brazilian Federal Police (or DPF, as it is known by its initials in Portuguese). All foreigners staying in Brazil for more than 90 days must register with the Federal Police within 30 days from the date one enters the country.
...continue reading "Blog #6: Registering with the Federal Police (Pending)"
By jkichton
This week’s blog post will be dedicated to my current thoughts on Switzerland. As I have now been here for a little more than two months, I definitely have a new perspective on it. I have been to Geneva, Bern, Zurich, and Basel; all of the major cities in Switzerland who all have their own idiosyncratic personalities. Additionally, I have written a ten page research paper on xenophobia in Switzerland which has also changed my views. So, this blog will serve as a reflection thus far.
This week was extremely special for me. On Wednesday, my parents arrived in Madrid to spend some time in Spain with me. My brother is currently at basic training to become a U.S. Marine at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, so I was sad he was unable to come too, but I know he would’ve if he could. Having my family here to witness my study abroad experience alongside me was really incredible. I’ve been in a constant state of “go, go, go” for the past two months that I haven’t really had time to stop and reflect on how far I’ve come since I first got here, and this weekend I was finally able to do that.
Sawasdeeka again from the beautiful (and for once, somewhat dry - get outta here rainy season!) country of Thailand!
Though I've been spending the last few days trying to figure out how in the world my program is halfway over and I'm less than 50 days away from my return to the states, the last few weeks have been filled with research and community engagement driven homestays. As I've mentioned in previous posts, we're getting into the meat of our course, where we take all of the research and data collection tools that we've acquired thus far and actually get to put them to use in the field! Over the last three weeks, we spent two days and two nights each in a rural, semi-urban, and urban slum community in Khon Kaen Province.
By lacymyrman
Now that I have just finished midterms, I think it is probably a good time for me to reflect a bit on the first half of the semester and to speak a bit on what's to come.
During the first week of the semester, I met all of my professors and classmates and went through a lot of the standard introductory material - Why did you choose Marseille? Why French? What do you aim to accomplish from this program? The list goes on.
...continue reading "Réflexions de mi-semestre – Reflections of Mid-semester"