April 2017 – Page 2 – GW Blogs from Abroad

Public Health Excursion

AdminApril 21, 2017December 14, 2018

This past weekend I traveled with my public health class three hours outside of Dakar to a village called Niarhar, in the Fatick region. I had never taken a public health course before, and chose this one at the beginning of the semester because I thought that Senegal would provide an interesting context to learn about the subject. We hadn’t realized until we arrived that we were in the town that our professor is from, and we were able to meet his entire family.

The point of the trip was to complete an “enquête”, or survey, that consisted of finding 40 kids and asking their parents questions regarding their children’s health. The class was split into 3 groups determined by the kids’ ages. I was in a group of 4 students charged with the task of finding the parents of 40 kids between the age of 3 and 5 years old.

Initially when our professor described the survey that we would be conducting, I was a bit apprehensive towards the idea of showing up to a village and asking parents medical questions regarding their children, especially considering none of us are actually studying medicine. The village itself was mostly Serer, and each group was provided a translator, meaning my already weak Wolof wasn’t useful for the most part.

We asked questions like age of child, sex, is he or she vaccinated, total # of children in household, has he or she been sick within the last month, did he or she go to the dispensiaire, was traditional healing used, what was the treatment, do you face obstacles in going to the local hospital, parents’ education level, and where they receive their information regarding health. I found that certain parents were more than willing to answer these questions for us, whereas others seemed a bit wary. In hindsight, I still feel uncomfortable about certain aspects of the experience.

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Home Stay Sweet Home Stay

AdminApril 17, 2017December 14, 2018

By vgosalvez11

This week, one of my program friends casually mentioned to me that we are already 25% through our program. (((The total is 20 week and we only have 15 left.))) I was astonished by this. I can already feel that this semester is going by so fast! It feels like I have been here forever, but at the same time, as if I should have endless time ahead of me.

I think a major contribution to my comfort level and immersion here in Santiago is living with a Chilean host family. Living with a host family has its pros and cons, of course, but at the moment I feel like it’s the best decision I could have made.

My hosts are an older married couple, Julio and Santina, who have been retired for years. They have been absolutely lovely, making me feel at home and teaching me about Santiago and Chilean culture and politics. I have my own area in the house—in fact, it is a building that is separate from the main house, with my own little bedroom and bathroom and even a little couch area. It appears me that this was probably the area for a Nana (a Chilean live-in maid). (((So I am very comfortable here.))) However, I can’t help mentioning that even the house is significantly different from ones in the US. There is no gas or central heating at all, so when winter comes, we will be using gas or electric space heaters to keep warm. The water is heated by gas and there is no hot water tank, so it heats as it comes out. (Luckily, it’s still in the 70s-80s here, so no problem with a little cold water so far).

For my meals, I eat with the family, which is lovely. I get an authentically Chilean meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the company of at least my host mother and often my host father. My host mother is a pretty great cook, and I know this is not something to be taken for granted. Generally speaking, Chilean food can be famously bland (probably like English food). The major staples seem to be rice, chicken, avocado, tomato and a variety of bean soups.

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L’Environnement à Paris

AdminApril 17, 2017December 14, 2018

By rsengupta18

There are so many things we can learn from French environmental policy. Every day I am inspired by their success and commitment to mitigating climate change. However, it is still a mega-city with many complexities and challenges.

Paris is a leader in the C40; a group of 40 cities committed to combating climate change, regardless of national politics. I find this trend especially interesting. As national politics grow increasingly convoluted, I think this is the most strategic move for the green movement—utilizing influential cities and companies to lead societal trends.

As part of the C40, Paris has vowed to cut yearly emissions by 7 million tons in the next three years. Because of this commitment, I find Paris to be very progressive in their movement to green transit. The key to this success is their high inter-mobility between public transport options. The “Pass Navigo”, an economical 70 euros per month, gives citizens access to the metro, the regional train, the bus, the tram, and, within the next year, the bike-share program. Having all of these systems integrated increases public transit, making these green systems easier than driving. Additionally, Paris has limited the quantity parking spaces in the city to prevent individuals from driving. They also lowered the speed limit on the main highway to decrease emissions. Lastly, they’ve Auto-Lib, an electric car sharing system.

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Trip through Central Europe!

AdminApril 17, 2017December 14, 2018

By bmlee18

It's been the start of my five-week long break, which has probably been one of the greatest perks of studying at Cambridge. Typically, students take this time to study for their exams and tweak their dissertations that are due next term, but given the different structure for my program's visiting students, I've been given the amazing opportunity to travel throughout Europe. Currently, my parents are here visiting me, and because they've never been to Europe before, we've really taken this time to explore and experience as many places as possible.

Among the destinations that we've visited thus far, I thought that I would share some of the most memorable places.

1. Happily ever after - Neuschwanstein Castle. From Munich, we took a two-hour long train ride to the Bavarian town of Füssen, eventually to reach the small but magical village of Hohenschwangau. Against beautiful mountains and a glistening lake, King Ludwig II had built this magnificent castle that became the source of inspiration for Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle. I was bewildered as to how a castle of such scale and grandeur was constructed on top of rugged peaks - truly a remarkable engineering success. While the view right next to the castle, as well as the interior, was breathtaking, I have to say that the best place to really gaze at Neuschwanstein was from Mary's Bridge (Marienbrücke), which was at a staggering height above a gushing waterfall. While I don't really have a fear of heights, I was actually quite frightened staring out at the ground below and walking to the middle of the rickety wooden bridge. It did make for some amazing photos, though, and was overall a wonderful respite from busy city life.

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Interning Abroad

AdminApril 17, 2017December 14, 2018

By hjensen95

A requirement for my program in Prague (Communications, New Media and Journalism) is to maintain an internship while I’m studying abroad. The internships range in roles but fall within the realm of journalism, new media and public relationships. I was lucky enough to land a tech internship. I’m interning at a co-working space called Locus as the User Experience intern. My primary role being a website re-design and online database revamp by the end of my time studying in Prague.

The owner of the co-working space is an ex-patriot who has been living in Prague for years. The members of the space range from Czech locals to international people. It’s been very cool to interact with people from all walks of life at the co-working space. This experience has been fulfilling so many of my intentions for study abroad. It’s such a unique opportunity to have an internship abroad.

Because I’m pursuing a special interdisciplinary major (SIM) in Interaction Design (IxD) I had to convince the panel back at GW to allow me to go abroad. I made the case that having a global frame of reference is imperative to succeeding in the Interaction Design field. The first step in developing good IxD is to have a thorough understanding of different types of users to design comprehensive interfaces for them.

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Study and Couple Culture

AdminApril 17, 2017December 14, 2018

By riakkim

Study culture in Korea can be pretty intense, and I've found that Koreans primarily study in two places: cafes and the various study spaces around campus, such as the library. Unlike America, Korea has various places that are like a library study environment but without the books. Regarding these study places, they have a very intense atmosphere and are dead silent inside- even making a slight sound makes me nervous and uncomfortable, and they feel slightly sanitary at times.

There are distinctions between laptop-use areas and areas that are limited to books only, and most of the time students have stands that keep their books up so that they are easier to read (like a music stand, but for desks).

Another difference is that you have to reserve spots prior to entering, and you can extend your time or change seats this way, but it can be frustrating if you don't know the area well and I've found myself changing seats on this system so I can sit by a window but don't know the seat number. I've found its a good place to sit and concentrate when I have lots of work I need to finish, and despite its occasional sanitary feeling, I've found that the ones on the upper level of Samsung Hall are wide open and spacious, which helps to make it feel a little better.

Another place that Koreans used to study are these places with desks and a light, that are much like the cubicles you can find inside Gelman third floor- but these rooms only have rows and rows of those cubicles. They're open late night which is good, but because of the rising popularity of cafes many of those places are running out of business.

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Ireland!

AdminApril 17, 2017December 14, 2018

By emilycreighton

I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Dublin, Ireland the weekend of St. Patrick's Day. Despite the heightened tourism, the city was absolutely incredible. I left a piece of my heart there and plan to return someday.

If you can't tell from my pale skin and rosy cheeks, I come from Irish heritage. I remember shamrock decorations and pictures of roaring hills scattered throughout my grandma's house. I remember a lamb stuffed animal from my childhood singing "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling." Therefore, I was so excited to be able to travel to my homeland.

The weather, however, was not that great. As per usual, the days were cold, rainy, and cloudy. But that didn't stop my adventures. The first day, I set out to visit the Cliffs of Moher. The weather report loomed cloudy but no rain (unlike the rest of my time there). So, I figured it would be the best day to visit the cliffs.

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Chilean Health Care 101

AdminApril 17, 2017December 14, 2018

By rmattiola

Thus far, I’ve toured and observed 6 health centers with in the public sector: Two CESFAM (centro de salud familiar: Family Health Center) one CESCOF (centro comunitario de salud familiar: Community Family Health Center) one Posta Rural (rural post), UNACESS (la unidad de atención y control en salud sexual:a sexual health center) and Teleton (a center for children with motor disabilities).

A brief explanation of the private and public system before I begin with my observations and opinions:

The public system is entirely government run. In fact, the level of government involvement in health care is surprising. It is easy to classify their system of health care as “socialized” although it is not universal. However, there is still an obvious connection to social medicine (which studies the social determinants of health). Between 80 and 90% of Chileans have public insurance called FONASA (Fondo Nacional de Salud) which has 4 levels, A, B,C, and D. Those with A and B receive free health care. Those with C and D pay a percentage of their fees to the government for their health care (10% and 30%, respectively). The public sector adequately covers primary care, although the region of Arica and Parincota is seriously lacking in emergency care centers, and specialists. In fact, there is only one SAPU (urgent care center) and one hospital where specialists are difficult to utilize. Apparently, all the specialists are concentrated in Santiago.

Regarding the private system, I only know that insurance is much more expensive, there are more specialists, and wait times are supposedly shorter (there is plenty of justified complaining from locals about wait times in both sectors). As far as I know, the government only regulates the private industry and has no other involvement.

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When I was in High School, I had a Pretty Severe Fear of Rollercoasters

AdminApril 17, 2017December 14, 2018

By jcapobia

I am writing this blog just after the attack in London (3/22/17) and a week after the attack at Orly airport in Paris last week. As someone who grew up in the shadow of 9/11 (literally and figuratively), I’ve more or less lived with the threat of terror in the back of my mind. all my life. Although I’ve been lucky and never suffered the consequences of a terrorist attack and really haven't worried about becoming a victim myself, there's something about these recent attacks that have given me pause for concern.

So when tomorrow comes and I fly to Paris-- to the exact airport (Orly) where the terrorist attack occurred.--for the first time in my life, I am a little scared. I know this fear is not logical as my likelihood of being killed by my christmas tree is higher than being killed by a terrorist. Nevertheless, when I saw the pictures of London under lockdown after the attack, it made me very afraid because I remembered being on those exact streets just a month before.

I think I’ve always looked at terrorist attacks through the safety of a TV, thinking they occured in a world far away from me. However, something about being on those streets before, traveling to the airports, and being able to place myself in these hot spots of terrorist activity has made it all the more real for me. I’ll be honest,and admit that I am a little worried about my next two trips (Berlin, Germany and Paris, France) because these are two countries that have taken an active role in the Middle East and have been targets of previous attacks.

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Preparing for my ISP

AdminApril 17, 2017December 14, 2018

By amberherrle

I am so excited to finally start the ISP period with SIT. The Independent Study Project is a key component of all SIT programs. Through this independent research, students are able to dive into a niche topic and explore it though field and open source research. I would say that most students on SIT choose the program because of the ISP component.

My project will look at the construction of masculinity in Jordanian society and how this construction contributes to radicalization in Jordan. Specifically, I will be seeking to understand the ways that mothers contribute to this construction.

Aspects of ISP

1. Choosing your topic - when you apply to SIT, you propose a topic for your research, but most of us are doing a totally different topic than we applied with. With that being said, I am extremely grateful that we did have to apply with a topic because it gets you thinking about what possible topics for your country and program theme are.

2. Finding an advisor - when I have an advisor, I will let you know all my tips on finding an advisor! For now, I would say start early and seek out actual experts in the field your studying. It sounds basic but a lot of students end up with people who generally know what they are talking about for their research topic, but they aren't able to provide students with the most adequate resources.

3. Meet with experts - One of the best things I did was reach out to every author of every article I read. Yes - I cold called, cold-linkedin and even searched endlessly for email addresses so I could send cold emails. And guess what? I got two great interviews with experts in this field! And these interviews have helped me tremendously in creating a great topic.

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