This past week I went on the Spring Break trip of a lifetime. My Sophomore and Junior years roommate and I traversed around Europe exploring new areas and going on adventures. We decided to travel to Vienna, Prague, Venice, Athens, and Santorini.
Starting off the journey, I left Athens for Vienna Friday afternoon. Here's some background for you: in high school, one of my best friends stayed with me as an exchanged student from Austria. Now, it was my turn to visit her in her homeland.
By rmattiola
"We are all children of mother earth"
In Chile, there are about 10 recognized indigenous groups, although many others exist. The largest two are the Aymara (or Aimara) of the extreme north (aka the region of Arica and Parinacota) and the Mapuche of the Central- South (Arancunia Region).
During class, we received small details about each group, and we occasionally can pick up on personal opinions, but it seems like the program is encouraging us learn directly from the indigenous, rather than from a secondary source from an outsider’s perspective. We quickly learned the significance of Pacha mama (Mother earth) and Inti (Sun) from various artisans and educators in Arica, but I was craving more information.
I was fascinated by a brief lesson taught in a Spanish class about the Andian Cosmovisión (roughly translates to “world view”). The surviving Andian communities are the Quechua and Aymara who share many aspects of their world beliefs. This ancient group is thought to have migrated from Lake Titicaca in Tiwanhaku, Bolivia to the coast of Chile and Peru well before the conquistadors arrived in Latin America. We learned of the strong community connection rooted in familiar ties between the inhabitants of Aymara towns. Apparently, the hardest and most important work is often shared. The whole community will come together to dig a canal, or plant seeds, or harvest potatoes, and then feast together afterwards. We learned of the belief in 3 worlds:
Uku or Alak pacha: the world below the earth; the roots; where the dead live—but not to be mistaken for “underworld”—uku pacha has a lighter connotation. It is a respectful resting place, rather than a punishment. In fact, apparently the Aymara will pour out a little wine or milk or liquor on the ground for their ancestors (called antepasados) before drinking the beverage themselves.
...continue reading "Putre: “Somos todos hijos de la madre tierra”"
By lrich522
This past weekend was Easter, and while I didn’t get to participate in any egg hunts, I did get to observe how Senegalese celebrate the holiday (and I even got to eat pork for the first time since I have been here). The religious split in Senegal is roughly 95% Muslim and 5% Christian, and I would argue that the relationship between the religious majority and minority is very unique and completely different from that of the United States.
During the Christian holidays, those who are celebrating will cook massive amounts of food so that they can share with all of their Muslim neighbors and friends. On the flip side, Muslims offer food to their Christian friends during Muslim holidays. Being here during Easter definitely gave me the sense that celebrating holidays, even if you’re celebrating for your friends, is an absolute must.
Year after year on the day before Good Friday, Senegalese Christians prepare ngalakh, a sweet peanut butter dish made with fruit from the baobab tree, millet, and whatever other sweet fruits are around. Our Christian friend here told us that his mother stayed up all night and ended up making 3 massive tubs of it to share with the community. I hadn’t realized that when I was eating it for lunch that day, it had come from his house. Later, I saw all of our other friends with little personal sized buckets of it. For the rest of the weekend you would see people whip out a mini bucket and go in on some gnalakh. It is absolutely delicious and I only wish I could eat a bucket of it every single day.
By bmlee18
Prague was possibly one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen, especially during the day, when the sun shone brightly and accentuated the orange tiled roofs of homes and buildings. What was particularly convenient about the city was how easily accessible all the main sites were on foot. It certainly helped to have booked a centrally located accommodation (a charming studio right next to the train station), but generally, I found the city relatively easy to navigate. Now, there's no doubt that Prague could, at times, be rather confusing because of the winding roads that seemed to be devoid of organisation and planning - which could perhaps be said of many older European cities. But thanks to Google Maps, I was able to traverse from one end of Old Town to the other without much problem.
Walking along Charles Bridge was one of my favorite moments. Many have called the Charles Bridge as possibly the most beautiful bridge ever constructed, and true to this statement, the Gothic architecture did not fail to impress me. Adorned with Baroque statues and providing an exceptional view of Old Town behind and Malá Strana and Prague Castle up ahead, the bridge was packed with excited visitors and lined with street musicians and souvenir stalls. The particular day on which I had crossed the bridge and back was beautiful, with the Vltava River glistening from the sun and the pastel colours of nearby buildings all the more highlighted. The chit-chat and lively music further added to the animated atmosphere.
By vgosalvez11
Now I am not actually sure if that is a real nick name for Valpo or not but I really think it is should be. Valparaiso is a Chilean port city which is famous for its steep funiculars, the incredible street art and the numerous colorful, clifftop homes. Valparaiso was also once home to the Nobel Prizing winning Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. As one of only two noble prize winners from Chile Neruda is something of a national hero, and several of his houses and other important buildings have been turned into wonderful museums and monuments to him.
The city of Valparaiso and its sister beach town of Vina del Mar are very important to any Santiago study abroad experience. At first glance Santiago could sometimes be mistaken for many other modern cities in Europe and North America. It is large and busy, a bit dirty (but less so than NYC) and generally seems pretty modern and westernized. If you don't know where to look you might miss the history. Valparaiso on the other hand allows you to see more of the art and culture of staring you right in the face. And it is so close to Santiago that it will surely be visited by and exchange student. You can get to either Valpo or Vina from Santiago in just a quick 90 minute bus right that costs between $5 and $10 US Dollars.
Since I have been in Santiago (about 8 weeks) I was hearing so much about other people's trips to Valparaiso. i had made it out to the beach at Vina but Valpo was very much lacking in my life. So on Friday morning I fought against my impending cold and we dragged our selves through Semana Santa (Easter Weekend) traffic to Valpo.
This weekend I visited one of China’s most beautiful sights, Huangshan (or Yellow Mountain). Yellow Mountain is the most sacred mountain in China because, according to legend, it is where the Yellow Emperor, the ancestor of the Han people who are now the majority in China, ascended into heaven. Since then, it has held a special place in the heart of china and is both heavily visited and well maintained by the millions who visit it ever year.
Huangshan is in Anhui province, a beautiful rural area that is 5 1/5 hours by bullet train from Shanghai. The train ride over passed through lush forests, beautiful green rice terraces, and sleepy towns. I love taking the bullet train because it gives a spectacular view of China outside the famous metropolises the country is famous for. We pass by burial tombs, farmers, and small villages that really highlight how a large portion of the country has lived for hundreds of years, and still lives.
Recently, my program partook in a traveling seminar throughout Vietnam. Although the trip did not include many stops, it gave an incredible look into the diversity that I never knew existed within the country.
Our first stop was the capital—Hanoi. When talking to some people in Saigon, they described Hanoi as being a much more toned down version of Saigon that wouldn’t get as rowdy and didn’t have as much to do. Despite only being there for roughly 4 days, I’d beg to differ. Hanoi was an absolutely incredible city and had so much to offer. We were fortunate to be in a very popular area of the city—The Old Quarter—so getting around was not difficult.
Hanoi's history, unsurprisingly, is very scattered and the architecture consists of remnants of an old citadel alongside French villas that are now occupied by fusion restaurants. During the 20th century, Hanoi was the capital of Northern Vietnam and now, subsequently, modern Vietnam. Walking around the streets, and when talking with locals, the capitalist/communist influence is very evident.
By amberherrle
The travel warning issued by the US Department of State last December has severely limited my travels in Jordan and my program had to cut our educational excursion to the Badia.
This was a huge disappointment, the homestay in the Badia was one of the big reasons I had chosen this program. The Badia region is where the Bedouin population in Jordan are from, this area is much more rural than the rest of Jordan. There are three regions of the Badia: the northern, southern and eastern Badia. Okay, so anyways - life in the Badia is very different than in Amman. There is a much larger emphasis on tribal connections, families are larger and even the Arabic there differs greatly from that of Amman!
My research in Jordan relies on qualitative interviews conducted in the northern Badia in Jordan. This meant a lot of coordination with my program to find interviews and spend time in the northern Badia. So with their help, I managed to get up to the Badia "capitol", Mafraq for interviews with youth and mothers in the Badia about masculinity in their community.
I was surprised by what a short trip it was to get to the Badia. Only an hour away from Amman, it really feels like a different world. I am always surprised to realize how small Jordan really is, there are so many things to see and they are all really close to each other (all the more reason to visit Jordan!).
By bmlee18
I remember first watching the classic film, Roman Holiday, starring the beautiful Audrey Hepburn and the charming Gregory Peck. The Rome that I saw in the film was spectacular, and who would've thought then that I would be able to see Rome for myself? After my travels to Capri, I spent four fantastic days touring the Italian capital, marveling at Roman ruins, sampling delicious dishes, and passing by famous Italian fashion brands and gaping at the price tags.
Rome was similar to, but nonetheless uniquely different from the other Italian cities I had visited such as Florence and Venice. While all of these places were bustling with large groups of tourists from all around the world, Rome was especially packed and busy. And given the large amounts of tourists, there were plenty of salesmen and tour guides, waving around their goods and approaching you from all angles possible. I was especially shocked at the Vatican, where I must have encountered at least 50 tour guides trying to sell me special tour packages and skip-the-line tickets as I was walking the relatively short distance from the St. Peter's Basilica to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel.
I tend to be a pretty spontaneous traveller, ready to encounter and learn about a new place without extensive planning beforehand and figuring out things along the way. This worked out quite fine at the other destinations I had visited, and certainly added an element of adventure and surprise, but for the Vatican, I was totally wrong about choosing to go with the flow.
A few weeks ago, several CYA students had the opportunity to travel to Delphi and participate in the 2nd annual Delphi Economic Forum. This year's theme was: Outlook for Greece and the Region vision 2020- 2030.
According to their website this conference, "aims to identify the main global trends, assess their implications and review the resulting challenges and policy options confronting decision-makers of the wider Eastern Mediterranean Region. It will also focus on Greece’s need for structural reforms and new leadership strategies, which will result in a new model of governance."
Hearing about the economic and refugee crisis in Greece coupled with living here for the past two months, one can immediately see the need for a discussion like this one. From speeches by foreign ambassadors to discussions about the Greek diaspora and the refugee crisis.