June 2017 – Page 2 – GW Blogs from Abroad

Dance Battle Party

AdminJune 13, 2017

As I have mentioned before, my professor is very much “in the know” on local events that may be of interest to young people like me. Well, this past week he out did himself.

This past Tuesday, I had a truly incredible experience. I observed a Vietnamese break dancing competition. But, really, it was so much more than that. To start, it was in the back of this art space/bar that housed some really interesting pieces done by local artists. All not the proper size to ship back, but one can dream.

But, as assumed, the main attraction was the break dancing. We walked in during the preliminaries and stayed all the way through the finals. Everyone that danced was incredibly talented and each contestant could put me to shame. That being said, there were several things that I wanted to share with you all (a.k.a. my reader).

...continue reading "Dance Battle Party"

Perpetual Foreigner

AdminJune 13, 2017December 14, 2018

By riakkim

As my time in Korea has increased and I increasingly acclimate to Korean society, I have felt a strong longing to meet and chat with 교포들, "gyopos," a term used for Koreans who didn't grow up in Korea. Perhaps because the glow of being in Korea has begun to fade and I feel that surreal-ness fading with it, I still have not been able to make any close "Korean-Korean" friends, despite being proficient enough in the language, and instead building close friendships with Korean-Americans, Korean-Brazillians, Korean-Australians, etc.

I've found that the gyopo community here is really its own within Korea, just as it is back home in America, both feeling that they don't really belong in either place, lending me to my post title, perpetual foreigner. I can't deny my American childhood despite growing up with Korean customs, and its frustrating to be treated coldly by many of my Korean peers as well, as Koreans can be very cold, particularly to foreigners.

Yet finding my gyopo community within Korea has also been more rewarding and comforting than my Korean-American community back home, perhaps because of the short period its been and many are only here for a short period. Yet between schools and my church community, I feel that the gyopo here feel like an even tighter community, using a mix of English and Korean as we usually do, and perhaps even looking like a group of normal Koreans on the streets, yet the mutual understanding and feeling of being considered "not a Korean" in Korea and "Korean" anywhere else in the world perhaps has a stronger effect than I ever could have imagined.

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Reflecting Back

AdminJune 13, 2017December 14, 2018

By rsengupta18

I am officially back in the US, and it’s a weird, familiar feeling. With the rush of moving back, seeing old friends, in and starting my new job, I’ve had little time to reflect. But as I sit down and I think about all I’ve done, all I’ve seen, all the people I’ve met, all I’ve learned—I realize how much my perspective has changed thanks to this experience.

I had no idea what to expect going into Europe with the intention to research environmental policy. To be honest all I knew was that they were “good” at it. After months of immersion and research, I now have a sense of pride for all the work European countries have completed in environmentalism. Now, my career path has definitely shifted.

Before coming to Europe I knew European Environmental Policy as the Copenhagen Accord, the Paris Agreement, and a general way of life that viewed climate change has an important universal issue rather than a politicized one. After months of immersion and research, I now understand the complex image of environmental policy in Europe. Rather than being uniform, it is a complex puzzle as each country has different threats, abilities, and commitments.

Most notably, I realized the role of major cities in driving environmental policy, specifically through the C40 (a collaborative group started by the former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone). After learning more about the C40’s strong organizational structure, and high success rates, I’ve realized the impact of mega-cities and big businesses. Before coming to Europe I had the idea that all notable policy came out of the embassy’s, but I now aspire to work in city governance or sustainable business consulting—helping small regions take big strides in sustainability.

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Ya está

AdminJune 13, 2017December 14, 2018

By jcapobia

Ya está. That’s it. As quickly as study abroad began, it seems like only about a week remains until I find myself on a 7 hour one-way flight back to the states. Although it seems like so long ago, I remember my flight here, sitting nervously in my seat, very uncertain of what lay ahead. I even remember my last few moments in the states before I got on the fateful flight from NY to Madrid. The week before I left, I had done my best to not think about the biggest displacement of culture, identity, location, and language I was about to experience. I went about my business as usual, until on the drive over, a sense of dread suddenly befell over me. I remember looking at everything (house, dogs, favorite restaurants, highways, cars, etc.) and thinking how much they would all change by the time I got back.

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Hot off the Press: Stonewall Workplace Equality Index – 2017

AdminJune 13, 2017December 17, 2018

By erbeeler

Have there been any current international or domestic issue that have affected your volunteer work/research, has your work become more relevant or has it been Hi there - this is my penultimate blog post... which makes me realize just how fast this experience in London is passing by. While it's definitely a sad post to think about, there's also the fact that I get the opportunity to think about and reflect upon the incredible experiences that I've had and the friends I've made here so far.

Also - just an update (mostly for my parents... hah!), but I've gotten some of my first sets of grades back from papers earlier this semester. I've been getting pretty good grades so far, and my professors have been commenting that they have really enjoyed working with me and reading my papers.

As for my volunteer work... there's recently been a release of a really important milestone: the 2017 Stonewall Workplace Equality Index in the UK. This recent report shows that the average UK company in the top 100 has an average 74% score, which illustrates a huge improvement in recent years. Over 439 employers and 91,248 employees across the UK participated in the survey, the largest number of submissions ever.

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Deserts, Pyramids, and the Nile River

AdminJune 13, 2017December 14, 2018

By emilycreighton

Egypt has always been I place I longed to explore. When I found out I was studying abroad in Greece and that I flight to this illusive country would only be two hours, my heart was set and mind made up.

Of course this journey was met with a lot of opposition. My friends scoffed, my parents worried, and I second-guessed myself. If you do consider planning a trip to Egypt, you rightfully should be concerned. The country is plagued with a weak economy, overwhelming pollution, and a hotbed for terrorism. The US State Department even warns against travel there.

However, I wouldn't have traded the trip for anything. The way I see it is I would never vacation to Egypt. It's not a place you bring children to or a place you relax in. So, my chance to visit this country full of culture, history, and mystery would only occur during my semester abroad. And I was determined to do it.

...continue reading "Deserts, Pyramids, and the Nile River"

Ain’t no volcano high enough

AdminJune 13, 2017December 14, 2018

By vgosalvez11

This has been a very busy, exciting and exhausting couple of days! I just got back from a weekend trip to Pucon! Pucón is a town in central Chile's Lake District, lying on Lake Villarrica next to the snow-capped Villarrica volcano. Pucon is an adventure tourism hub, and is renowned for access to hiking trails, white-water rafting and kayaking as well as skiing and snowboarding, amazing natural hot springs and most importantly the trek to the top of the Villerrica Volcano!

Villarrica is the most active volcano in Chile, and top three most active in the world, with its more recent eruption being just a couple years ago in 2015. Trekking Villarrica is usually one of the major draws for backpackers and adventures who come to Pucon and even Chile in general. The trek to the crater / summit of Villarrica takes 4-6 hours of steep uphill climb and using an ice axe to break summit a frozen glacier with ice falling down around you. The climb is considered somewhat dangerous and tourists have been hurt or even killed in the task. So regulations have now changed requiring any non-expert hiker to hire a guide or tour company and shortening the amount of time allowed for the climb.

So being the inexperienced climbers that we are, we did some research (not enough) and booked the hike with a local tour company. On the night before our 6:30am start time I made the mistake of doing some more research into the difficulty of the hike and honestly I started to panic. Before coming to Chile, I have hiked maybe three times in my life and never in conditions like this. I like to work out and be adventurous but I am also very nervous about failure and this has sometimes kept me back from trying things which don't come naturally to me. (Also I just really hate the cold, so ice glacier did not sound too appealing).

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Vacationing but still Learning

AdminJune 13, 2017December 17, 2018

By rmattiola

When I came back to Arica 2 weeks ago, I felt like I was seeing it for the first time, free of judgment, with eyes wide open. When I left over a month ago, I was tired of the depressed desert, eager to escape the sand and wind. But now, I’m beginning to feel like I don’t want to leave. Of course, at the end of the journey I am finally comfortable. Today I attended the last group meeting before we travel off to our independent investigation locations. Some of my friends are leaving today to hike the W in Patagonia before starting their project. I’m incredibly surprised they pulled it off. I’ll be even more surprised to hear their stories when we return together. I’m heading out tomorrow on a night bus to the town of San Pedro de Atacama, a desert oasis and geological haven. Also home to some of the largest telescopes/ satellites in the world called ALMA. I expect the sights in both the day and the night to be spectacular.

Today, and only today, did I realize that I made some incredible friends on this journey—without trying. I did not seek out friends; rather I allowed relationships to form organically, almost accidentally. Of course I am going to miss everyone over the next month, but I will be eagerly awaiting my reunion with Catherine, Madeline, Rosie and Minerva. Yes, the Rosie/ Rosie issue developed quite early on, so I decided to go exclusively by Rosalie during my time in Chile. Madeline and Rosie are funny Midwestern runners. Catherine is an upstate New York sweetheart with witty, dry sarcasm. Minerva is a sassy, tranquil, Mexican partier. All are great company one on one or together.

The trip to San Pedro was the most relaxing and exciting trip thus far. Well worth the time and money. I took in spectacular sights with 4 other girls, learned a surprisingly large amount of geographical and cultural information, and met tourists from all over the world. On our second day trip, we formed lovely and all too brief friendships with our tour guide, a 22 year old girl named Andrea from Santiago, and the other 5 tourists.

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Last week in Amman

AdminJune 13, 2017December 14, 2018

By amberherrle

It's my last week here, this time. I know I will be back to Amman soon and I couldn't be more excited. Amman is a city full of smells that permeate your clothes and coughs from smoking as often as laughs. It's a special place and I'm lucky to have called it home for the last few months.

I turned in my independent study project last Thursday and I don't have much more on my plate until I leave. All of the students on SIT here present our research proposals to each other this week. It has been really cool to see just how much we accomplished in a month. The topics addressed in this month varied greatly between students, making the presentations even more interesting.

There have been some aspects of my program that I am not super-duper grateful for, but I am extremely grateful for the research component. I have learned so much about the writing process in the last month, and I have gained valuable research skills that I wouldn't have gained otherwise. I just found out that I will be continuing this research next year with the Elliott School next year, through the Elliott Undergraduate Scholars program. I am really looking forward to continuing this research under the Elliott School's guidance, and I hope to continue it after graduation as well.

This past weekend I got to go to Aqaba to complete my scuba open water course. I can't recommend the red sea more for water-lovers. It is out of this world in its beauty and inspiration. The water is so beautiful and clear at any point you can mistake the choral for plans and the fish for land animals because of the visibility. Going to Aqaba was the perfect trip after turning in my ISP!

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April Updates

AdminJune 13, 2017December 14, 2018

By ZoNaseef

I am continuing to volunteer at the Improv Theater in Copenhagen. The volunteering is always shifting depending on what they need me to do but overall it remains consistent. I photograph the shows, as well as helping to set them up and break them down. Since it is an English speaking theater I do not face many language barriers. It is a very laid back and easy going space so overall it has been going really well.

I am proud of a show that I planned, hosted, and MCed at the theater. Usually the improv shows have fixed ticket prices but this was a stand-up show that we allowed people to pay what they wanted. We then gave half of the money to the theater and the other half we donated to planned parenthood.

I think this work has become more relevant because due to current events many people around the world have turned to comedy. The shows often get somewhat political and it is a great space for people to rewind and have a good laugh after a hard day. I think people are paying more attention to comedians because they are able to be more brash and upfront than journalists.

...continue reading "April Updates"