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Month: February 2018

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By maxleo43

31.5 Hours. This is the amount of time that I will spend traveling to get from my house in small town Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania to Shanghai China. I am currently sitting on a train, two hours into my travels as I write this. I had to drive thirty minutes to the train station in Harrisburg, then take a four-and-a-half-hour train to JFK airport, then fly sixteen and a half hours to Taipei, Taiwan, and then fly another two hours to Shanghai China, where I will land two days ahead of when I left. That doesn’t even include my time spent waiting at airports or in layovers. This will not be my longest travel period (getting back from Kenya took forty-two hours), but I am sure not looking to it. Regardless, I am starting to truly get excited. For the last nine months I have been telling people that I am going to Shanghai, and now it is finally here. It still hasn’t hit me.

...continue reading "On My Way!"

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By Maya Haziza

4 cities. 9 days. North to South. Vietnam was not only one of the most beautiful places I have ever travelled to, but was an eye-opening educational experience. My two roommates and I began our trip to Vietnam in Hanoi, which is in the northern region of Vietnam. Hanoi was exactly what I had expected it to look like with mopeds and motorcycles swarming the busy streets. I would often times see families of three on one motorcycle with their faces covered with sanitary masks. It was a bustling and exciting city in every way. We ate our way through the street food and carnivals that were happening in honor of the lunar new year. Our second day in Hanoi we visited the Hoa Lo Prison, Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, and the Temple of Literature – all historical sites and museums in Hanoi. I have to admit that Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum felt creepy to experience at first because we were led into a small room with hundreds of tourists walking around his death bed and the guards in the room made the atmosphere rigid and cold. Later at night we explored Ta Hien street which is known for tons of “restaurants” and bars lining the streets. People flooded this street at night and sat so low to the ground to eat their pho noodles. The next day we took a bus from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay and began our overnight adventure on the bay. Ha Long Bay is probably is if not the most remarkable sites I have ever seen in my life. The entire bay is filled with more than 1,000 boulders and mini islands scattered throughout the water. It was unfortunate to see that the water was not very clean due to the amount of cruise boats and tourists that visit Ha Long Bay, but it still baffled me how such a place on earth can exist and still be in tact. We took a boat to one of the only islands on the bay that has a beach and hiked to the top of the peak only to witness the craziest view of the entire bay. We ate dinner on the boat and met people from Korea, Argentina, Israel, Holland, and more countries. The following day we woke up on the boat and headed towards one of the most beautiful caves in Ha Long Bay. The ceilings of the cave were indented by the water that had left dips in the ceilings over the years. It really is hard to describe the beauty of the cave from inside of it and the beauty of the greenery of the island. It is a UNESCO world heritage site, so that speaks for itself. We kayaked throughout the bay later that day, indulging in the serenity and quiet of the water. After we experienced Ha Long, our next stop was a city that I was recommended to visit by a close friend of mine in the middle of Vietnam. I had never heard of Da Lat before visiting it and my roommates and I truly had no idea what to expect. The two days we spent in Da Lat were the most beautiful and amazing days of my life. We rode on the back of motorcycles for two days exploring the entire city, visiting waterfalls, coffee farms, tea farms noodle factories, silk factories, black pepper farms, mushroom farms, and more. To this day, I am obsessed with this city and cannot wait to go back and visit it again, especially the couple in the hostel we stayed at who were the kindest people. Our Vietnam trip concluded in Ho Chi Minh city where we explored the huge markets and put our Chinese bargaining practice to good use. Ho Chi Minh particularly was an eye-opening experience because I learned more about the Vietnam War in two days than I ever have in a classroom setting or through a textbook. We visited the war remnants museum and learned about the tragedies that the Vietnamese people had experienced first with the French and later with the U.S. war on communism at the time. On our second day we went to the Cu Chi Tunnels which were dug by the Vietcong (communist rebels in the south) had hid and actually crawled inside of one. I was beyond amazed at how they built such a complex underground structure that helped them survive the Vietnam War. I could not stop thinking about how I, as an American, am so easily able to wander and explore a country that was invaded by Americans who had caused so much bloodshed and death. I asked my tour guide what Vietnamese people really think about Americans and he said that it is “generational.” The generation that endured the war hated the French and Americans, however my tour guide actually spoke about how much he loved Americans and looked up to former President Obama. It’s beautiful to see a country with people so strong and resilient after years of war. This is a shortened version and only small glimpse into my experiences in Vietnam, but what a special place on earth it is. If you haven’t been yet – make it the next stop, you won’t be disappointed.

 

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By teniolab

Hello!

I am just arriving back to campus after spending the weekend in Bahurutshe Cultural Village. The village is located in Mmankgodi which is about 22 miles from Gaborone. It is deemed a “cultural village” in that it is a village that tourists can go to participate in and experience the culture of the Bahurutse tribe. From the food to the dancing, two moments stood out to me the most.

 

1. Foreigner Acceptance Ceremony

Traditionally, when a foreigner arrives at a village, they must be accepted to stay by the chief and by the ancestors. The "ancestors" adorn animal skin on their bodies, paint on their faces and shells around their legs. They perform traditional dances that involve quick footwork. It was always a shocker to see the dancers throw in a backflip here and a back-tuck there. Accompanied by their impressive dance skills were their wonderful harmonies.

...continue reading "Bahurutshe Cultural Village: Unforgettable Moments"

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Time literally flies by when you’re having fun. I just finished my first week here in Kathmandu and I’ve completely fallen head over heels in love with Nepal. Ever since I touched down in Kathmandu, I’ve been constantly surprised and astounded by how different I expected everything to be. In my one week here, I’ve seen some of the holiest pilgrimage sites for Buddhists and Hindus, hiked one of the most beautiful trails to catch sunrise, and even crashed a wedding in a local town where they took us in as family. I’m pinching myself everyday wondering if this is real life. Here’s some of the things that stood out the most during my first week here.

 

Culture Shock

Ok, I’m not going to lie. I really thought I was well prepared to go to a developing country. But when I got out of the plane after thirty hours of travel, I felt overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of the people and craziness of everyday life. Nepal is definitely not like the United States. In so many ways already, I feel humbled. This experience has shown me a lot about the inequality of life that appears everywhere. In many ways, it has exposed privilege in ways that I don’t think I would have been able to understand without going through them myself. I’m eternally grateful to be able to learn this lesson.

 

The Beauty of Hello

In Nepal, the normal way to greet someone is to bring your hands together, bow your head, and greet them with “Namaste” which can be translated into “The spirit within me salutes the spirit in you.” What struck me the most about the Nepalese people is how happy they are. Their lives are simple in nature, but their souls are free from the material obsessions that consume people in the United States. I think part of that comes from the little things like using a beautiful greeting like Namaste to acknowledge the world around us.

...continue reading "First Impressions | Kathmandu, Nepal"

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By Raman Mama

Looking back at the first week in your host country, what has happened, what are some of the challenges you faced have you overcome them, if so how? What things you are looking most forward to when you return to GW?

Looking back at my first week in London, it’s insane to believe that I’ve been here for two months. I think that I’ve grown a lot and seen a lot in the time that I have been here as a result of the challenges I’ve faced.

One of the immediate problems I faced was that my dorm was way too far outside of the city. I lived in a location called Stratford One, which was one the edge of central London, at the very last stop on the Jubilee line. I called the university and they were very gracious in allowing me to move to a dorm by the London Bridge, which made my time so far much better. Being so far would have had massive financial as well as social costs for me. Transportation would have been a huge burden, and it would have been much harder to see my friends.

One of the biggest challenges I faced immediately when I got here was making sure I had a daily / weekly routine. I wanted to establish one of these early on so that I didn’t feel like I was living in the city listlessly, and I wanted to feel like I was actually achieving things. This involved finding friends to hang out with, a place where I could grocery shop, and a gym. In the beginning, I was anxious that I hadn’t found these things within the first couple of days. However, within two weeks, all of them had fallen into place. I was concerned originally that it would be hard for me to make friends to hang out with and be social with, but the people on my floor have been extremely welcoming. One lesson that I learned from this is that getting into a routine and getting comfortable in a new place is extremely difficult.

...continue reading "Looking back at the first week."

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By Raman Mama

Over my time in London, one of the things I’ve enjoyed doing the most is walking around the city and exploring new cultural nooks, to understand what ideas people value, and why. So far, the richest parts of the city in my opinion have been SOHO and Brixton. In these parts of the city, Londoners passion for culture and the ideas it promotes is on great display.

In these parts of the city, it becomes apparent how much British people value unique ideas and the stories behind works of art. In my first week walking around the city, I found several extremely interesting stores. There’s a store where each and every guitar is crafted by hand in Memphis to the specifications of the storeowner, then shipped over for sale. There’s a store that sells vintage records from the 70’s and 80’. There’s even a store where the owner hand curates each and every article of vintage clothing to be sold to her customers.

I find that in London, unique experiences related to stores and shopping are valued more so than chain stores. In major cities such as DC and Washington, this is still the case, and it’s sometimes hard to find truly unique brands and labels. Here, that is not the case.

Additionally, the music scene in London is vibrant. Intimate shows with bands are quite common, and good music travels around the underground quite quickly. The benefit to be had in this is that people connect extremely well off of ideas. There is always some fashion event, art show, and music room to go to, allowing for many opportunities to get to know the people, ideas and cultures that surround you.

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“So where are you from from?”

I’m sure almost every GW student has been asked this question at least once. Sure, everyone wants to know where you’ve grown up and where you call home. But they really care about where you’re from from. It’s like when you have to check those boxes on questionnaires to say whether you’re Caucasian, African-American, Asian, Hispanic, or Latino.

My response? “My mom’s from India and my dad’s from Pakistan. But I’m 100% Muslim.” But growing up, the answer wasn’t so simple.

Before, when someone asked me where my family's from, I’d say Pakistan. Sometimes I wanted to say India because it’s easier, but then they’d think I’m Hindu. But was I lying to people if I didn’t include every part of my identity that composes who I am?

It’s definitely been complicated to really hone in how I share my identity with other people. Though I’m just starting to find a healthy balance between my ethnic identities, my Muslim identity is the strongest. To me, my Muslim identity matters more than the country I hail from.

I’m a Muslim girl who grew up in an American suburb. I’ve lived in America my whole life, but my parents have always kept the religion and culture of my ancestral home alive. It’s a result of colonization, globalization, and diaspora. I contribute it to a sense of longing and connection to the homeland. Is my established homeland America (where I was born) or Pakistan and India (where my culture and parents’ families are from)?

...continue reading "The Beginnings of a Muslim-American's Journey in the UK"

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By maxleo43

Hello and welcome to my first Blog Post! My name is Max and I am part of the second cohort of GW’s Global Bachelor’s Program (GBP). The Global Bachelor’s Program is a comprehensive study abroad program with students from the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Elliott School of International Affairs, and School of Business. There are around 26 of us who are in GBP and we will all be going to Shanghai shortly, along with Stephen Suranovic, an economics professor at GW. As part of GBP, I am required to either spend two semesters abroad (Shanghai included) and hold an international summer internship or spend three semesters abroad. The idea is that by spending this time abroad, students will develop a truly global perspective of the world.

I will be studying at Fudan University, which is about 20 minutes from downtown Shanghai. The semesters at Fudan do not match up perfectly with GW’s, and so I do not leave for China until February 11th and don’t start classes until March 5th. The last day of finals is July 6th. Unlike universities in the U.S., spring break isn’t a thing at Fudan, and I only get about three days off for holidays during the whole semester.

I am in a rather peculiar situation in that instead of returning to the U.S. after my semester at Fudan, I will be heading straight to Mumbai, India, to intern for VIVA Group, a real estate development company. I am studying Finance and Real Estate and am considering a career in real estate development. As such, I am hoping that this internship will provide me with some clarity. As a result of this internship, I will be gone from the middle of February through the beginning of September, almost 8 months total.

I keep getting asked how I feel about leaving, and I am still struggling to find a good answer. I am excited for the change of scenery and way of life. Unsurprisingly, I am also nervous. I do not speak the language, I have never been to China, and I am still not even sure what a typical Chinese meal looks like. While I could describe my feelings as nervous or excited, I think that I could best be summed up as optimistic. I do not know what I will encounter. I just simply have no idea what the next eight months of my life will look like, and I am completely okay with that.

 

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Hey everyone!

I assume that if you're reading this you are either interested in studying abroad, curious about a life in Paris, or one of my beloved friends or family members. What I have to say this week, for my very first post on how I have been affected by living in another country, will hopefully provide enough insight to make my loved ones understand the cultural changes I have experienced, or will help the wondering and excited students to fully comprehend the meaning of study abroad. I will begin with this: I am no expert, and I don't intend to be one after my three and a half months in Paris. All I know right now is that study abroad is a whirlwind of an experience, one filled with childlike exploration in addition to independent navigation in a world unfamiliar to yours.

My story begins almost three weeks ago when I scurried off the plane in Paris, fatigued and unsure of what I was supposed to do. I had mixed feelings about touching the ground after my six hour flight, something that not everyone necessarily feels but what people even rarely talk about. I was so nervous. Of course there are people that mentally prepare for an experience such as the one I had just thrown myself into, but I didn't give much thought to the fact that I would be living rather than visiting a foreign country for the next few months of my life. This means grocery shopping, completing homework, and using transportation all in a country that I had only seen for ten days prior in a high school class trip.

For me, Paris was always the destination. I have been an admirer of French culture and a dreamer of life abroad since the first day of French class in sixth grade, when my teacher relayed to us his experiences of living in Paris. Having never known this was an option, I dreamed of historic cobblestone streets and the iconic monuments for years. There's something very special about a dream that becomes reality, but it is also a little scary. With a dream this large comes years and years of buildups of expectations, and there is enough social pressure to live out your dream to the absolute fullest to be able to suffocate you. What I have learned these past few weeks is that it is essential to separate what others want for you and what you personally want to get out of your experiences. People seem to think they know what is going on because of the outlet that social media gives to our outer circles, but the truth about apps like Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook is that they don't show study abroad. Study abroad is everything that happens between the uploaded pictures.

...continue reading "Explore More Than You Study"

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When the first gust of hot, humid air hit me as I exited Changi Airport I came to the realization that my study abroad experience wasn’t a topic of discussion with family and friends anymore, but finally a reality. The transition from the freezing temperatures from my home state of Massachusetts during winter break to the tropical rainforest climate of Singapore was quite drastic for me. Singapore is an island city state that is located south of Malaysia and lies immediately north of the equator. The locals here joke that there are four seasons in Singapore: wet and hot, wetter and hot, dry and hot, and dry and even hotter. The average temperature ranges anywhere from the mid 70s to the lower 90s. I arrived on January 9th, which was still in the wet season. As I travelled from Changi, which has been ranked as one of the best airports in the world, to the National University of Singapore (NUS) campus, I couldn’t help but be amazed as I saw the famous Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Singapore Flyer, and ArtScience Museum in person for the first time.

When I arrived on the NUS campus, I headed straight to my assigned dorm called UTown Residence (UTR). UTR is one of several dorms that exchange students live in. My dorm is filled with mostly exchange and graduate level students. I live on the 15th floor in one of the two towers at  UTR. I have a really nice view from my room and share the room with three other exchangers. I would say the room layout at UTR is similar to that of West Hall at GW. Each student has their own room which includes a bed, a desk, and a dresser. Then there is a small common space with three couches and a kitchenette. As I mentioned, my suitemates are also exchangers. One attends school at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia; the second is from Germany but studies in Switzerland. My third suitemate is coincidentally a GW student! I was really surprised that one of my suitemates attends GW as I believe there are only five GW students studying at NUS this semester.

After settling down into my dorm, I went out to the cafeteria where I was shocked to find out how cheap the food is in comparison to those in the United States. My first meal in Singapore was this dish called chicken laksa. Its a soupy dish that has noodles and chicken in it. That meal cost me $4 SGD which is around $3 USD! Chicken Laksa is definitely one of my favorite meals in Singapore. While the price for local food is not too expensive, other products that are imported into Singapore are quite expensive. The price for sunscreen for example is $8 SGD for around 1.6fl oz. Because Singapore is such a small country, most of its products have to be imported which drives up the price of products. ...continue reading "Welcome to Singapore!"

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