April 2018 – Page 4 – GW Blogs from Abroad

The Great Wall is Pretty Great

AdminApril 9, 2018December 14, 2018

This weekend, my program took me and my 26 fellow classmates to Beijing to explore China’s capital. People will often times compare Shanghai to New York City and Washington, DC to Beijing. The comparison is mostly made because Shanghai and NYC are flashy, financial hubs and DC and Beijing are more calm capital cities. However, despite these basic similarities, there are drastic differences between Beijing and DC. For example, Beijing is about 40 times the size of DC, in regard to population, and over 10 times the size in terms of area. Beijing has its flashy moments but is still much quieter and newer than Shanghai. There is no glamorous skyline in Beijing. However, what Beijing lacks in modernization, it makes up for in history. We were lucky enough to be able to experience this over the course of three days.

This past week was the Qingming (Grave Sweeping) festival, and so we did not have classes on Thursday or Friday. Because of this, we left for Beijing on Wednesday night. We took a bus from our apartment complex to the train station and then took a high-speed train from Shanghai to Beijing that left at 7 PM and arrived at 11:30 PM. We then went to the hotel, got checked in, and passed out.

On Thursday, we were introduced to Jasmine, our tour guide who would show us around for the next two days. She spoke good English and was full of knowledge, some pertinent and some not (she spent twenty-five minutes talking about wedding dresses). Along with Jasmine, our group drove for an hour and a half to the Great Wall. We got to see it in a very unique state. It had snowed all of the previous day, and so the wall was covered in two to three inches of snow. While this made for a very pretty backdrop, it also made the walking surface very slippery and, at times, dangerous. Despite having to walk with caution, it was very cool to see the wall in this state, and it made for less tourists, which was great. We were able to explore for about two hours, taking pictures and reflecting on the historical significance of the wall. After this, we returned to Shanghai and had the evening free. Twelve of us headed out to a Southern Chinese restaurant for dinner. We got very lucky and they had a private loft to accommodate us which ended up being the perfect setting. We shared dishes like truffle mushroom’s in egg, fried goat cheese and spicy pork. Post-dinner, we walked around and explored the part of the city that we were in. We then returned to the hotel.

...continue reading "The Great Wall is Pretty Great"

Solo Trip to Taiwan

AdminApril 9, 2018December 17, 2018

By Maya Haziza

I wish that I had done a solo travel trip sooner. Traveling alone is one of the most liberating and incredible experiences I have done while studying abroad. For one weekend I explored Taiwan and got to see the city life of Taipei and also the coastal town of Jioufen, Taiwan. The first day I visited Longshon Temple which is a famous temple that serves as a shelter for residents in Taipei to pray to over 100 gods on a daily basis. One thing I didn’t know about Taiwan before travelling there is that there are a lot of earthquakes and therefore many of the architectural plans of buildings and temples are created to support these structures in the case of an earthquake or natural disaster. In this temple people gathered around to burn incense, give fruit and flower offerings, and drop half-blocks that are supposed to signal a “yes” “maybe” or “no” from the gods in response to questions they come to ask. One funny thing I learned here was that Dutch people colonized Taiwan in the 17^th & 18^th century so then incense burners are pictures of them, and are meant to burn their butts for their occupation. The next place I visited was the Presidential Office which the Japanese built for their president at the time when Japan controlled Taiwan. The architecture of the building is not actually Japanese, but is western because the Japanese are highly influenced by western culture and preferred to build it in a Victorian style. I also visited the thermal valley of Taipei and Yangminshan national park in the northern part of Taiwan. It was a really interesting experiencing seeing the natural hot springs and steam in the middle of a city, while also smelling the heavy stench of sulfur. There was one hot spring where a bunch of elder people gathered around and sat to soak their feet – so I did too, but little did I realize how hot this water actually was. My feet and calves were bright red by the end of the soak, but surely felt so much better afterwards. This was a very busy day running between locations and museums, including Taipei 101 (the tallest building in Taiwan) and historical artifacts museum, but it really was the perfect way to see the city of Taipei in the most encompassing way. The following day was my favorite in Taiwan as I explored the coastal town and area of Jioufen, which was originally a place where gold miners were located to labor. The small town in the middle of the mountains of Taiwan is filled with huge natural waterfalls and orange colored rocks that you simply wouldn’t believe are real. When you go farther up into the small town, there are tiny streets selling street food and souvenirs and other kinds of local goods. I purchased some golden colored oolong tea that I am so excited to share with my friends and family back home. I met two girls who met each other in Bali on a yoga retreat and sat down with them for lunch (one was from the Philippines and the other from Vancouver in Canada). They said that even though they’ve known each other for such little time, they are best friends and feel so close to each other. The one from the Phillipines just recently got married and the woman she met was one of her maids of honor. The woman told me about her experience recently marrying a Chinese man whose family did not approve of his marrying a Philippine and did not attend the wedding because of this. This example truly highlights the traditional culture of marriages in Asia which I found really interesting to hear about directly from this woman. I finished the day at a really cool and trendy area in Taipei eating at a local restaurant and wandering the streets that were filled with Korean designers and Japanese vintage shops. Taiwan was an incredible place to travel to – from the city life to the coastal nature, the city is calm and people are very calm. I can’t wait to come back here at some point to explore more than just a weekend!

The down side of King’s

AdminApril 9, 2018December 17, 2018

By Raman Mama

Let me paraphrase this by saying I’ve loved my time at King’s College. I’ve met amazing people and I’ve learned things that I never would have been able to in other places. The community is great, and the social life is amazing.

However!

There’s one thing that they don’t tell you when you come to study at King’s which is that during April, EVERYONE leaves for Easter break, and they don’t usually come back until May.

This means that you’ll be left with nothing to do, as all of your friends from earlier in the semester have gone home or are traveling.

The best way to deal with this is to make sure you have plans during April to stay busy. The tedium of being alone for a month abroad can be fairly frustrating.

Some things I suggest are traveling to another country, as trips on Ryanair are exceedingly cheap.

Or, you could use that time to study for your exams in May, which are faster approaching than you would expect.

I filled this time with lots of bike rides, studying, time at the comedy club, and the gym. Though I missed my friends, I learned a lot about myself.

Though people are starting to trickle back into the accommodations, make sure that you have something to do during April

The Clinic Life

AdminApril 9, 2018December 17, 2018

By Teniola Balogun

As a part of my Community Public Health program, we get to observe in the clinics in the Greater Gaborone Area. Wake up call is at 5:30 a.m. every Tuesday. Once we enter the clinics, lab coats are on and pen and pad are in hand. During our four hour stay in the clinics, we are able to wander in and out of the different sections of the clinic gathering information for our end-of-semester “health intervention” project. We are to observe each clinic’s use of resources, proper health waste management techniques, and overall patient care.

This past week, I was able to shadow the nursing staff at the Gaborone West clinic. This clinic is a public clinic with a maternity ward, a pharmacy, an infectious disease care clinic, and an emergency medical services unit. After attending the G-West clinic, I was able to observe the stellar clinical work that they provide for Batswana. I was impressed by how quickly prescription for medication was filled. Prior to the start of my first clinic day, a lesson on financial management was presented to the nursing staff. This concept of teaching important life skills to healthcare employers was so foreign to me, but I see the value of the action. While the clinic excelled in certain areas, issues of hygiene, crowded waiting rooms and provider-patient communication was also present. After having conversations with the health workers, I am optimistic that these issues will not persist. The health workers are aware of the problems and would like to see that they are fixed in the near future.

The hygiene issue seems to be the biggest at the G-West clinic. There is hand soap present in every consultation room, but not present in the bathrooms. The liquid soap is placed usually in “Energade” sports drink bottle. The windows were kept open due to the fact that there was no air conditioning. Despite the capacity of soap in the consultation rooms, I was grateful there is some available for the nurses. Another problem is that the nurses have to constantly re- contaminant themselves because paper towels and/or reusable towels are not available to dry off their hands. Between patients, the nurse that I was observing wiped her hands off on her skirt. She was fully aware that this was a practice that should not continue. It would have to continue because of the shortage of resources. Being the germaphobe that I am, I immediately started to analyze the number of germs that lived on the nurse’s outfit. ...continue reading "The Clinic Life"

Midterms in Israel: Just Enjoy

AdminApril 6, 2018December 14, 2018

By reuben31

Israeli academics, up to this point in the semester, have not been vastly different from academics at GW. Most, if not all, of my professors received their Masters or Doctorate degrees from American universities, so the structure of class tends to be rather familiar: a reading or two to be completed before class, and a PowerPoint lecture that covers material discussed in those readings. As a result, I’ve slipped into a studying routine that’s about the same as it is at GW, and in a foreign country with many new and different experiences, this has been somewhat of a comfort.

However, as the semester is about halfway over and midterms have begun, I have started to notice the Israeli culture and state of mind creeping into my academics in a way that is patently Israeli. At GW, professors may give a written, in-class midterm, and several weeks before the exam provide a study guide to allow students to focus in on what they need to study. This model provides clarity for the students in order to study as well as they can for the midterm.

Israel, however, likes to live constantly on the edge. Whether it’s the brink of extinction the Jewish people faced less than a century ago, or the almost constant threat of war from surrounding groups and countries, Israeli culture is inherently about risk taking and living in the moment – for each day could be ones last. This mentality has undoubtedly found its way into academic culture as well. Across the board, all of my professors have resisted the attempts of American students to pry study guides or exam descriptions out of them. This is not because they want us to just consistently study and be prepared, as my classmates and I initially believed. Rather, the professors explained that giving us these study guides or exam descriptions would hinder our ability to enjoy the moment. Spring has begun, its warm outside, the beach is a short walk away, why would we want study guides for exams with that right outside?

...continue reading "Midterms in Israel: Just Enjoy"

I Ate, I didn’t Pray, and I fell in Love with my pasta

AdminApril 2, 2018December 17, 2018

By frenezeder

For those who did not know, I am absolutely enthralled with Elizabeth Gilbert and her work. This affection towards Gilbert is not only due to her famous post-divorce journey recorded in the book Eat, Pray, Love, but mostly due to her outlook on life and writing style. I never truly planned on making the pilgrimage to Italy, India, and Indonesia, but when I was in Rome I somehow ended up doing a full Eat, Pray, Love journey. While my intention to go to the restaurants and cafes Gilbert frequented during her stay in Rome was purely to experience the food and espresso, I found myself becoming a super fan. For those of you who read my last post, you know that I spent most of my time in Rome alone just marveling at the city and consuming mass amounts of pasta. During that time I unintentionally found myself learning how to enjoy being alone just like Gilbert did during her post-divorce find herself stay in Italy. So during my four days in Italy I found myself EATing insane amounts of carbs and gelato, not PRAYing because that is simply not my thing, and falling in LOVE with my pasta. So here are some of the restaurants and cafes both Gilbert and I frequented during our mini find-ourselves-abroad stay in Rome. ...continue reading "I Ate, I didn’t Pray, and I fell in Love with my pasta"

Voluntario en Sant'Egidio

AdminApril 2, 2018

I cannot believe it’s already April! Time has flown by and I continue to learn something new about Spanish culture every day. The first day of the month was also Easter, which is widely celebrated through Spain. Since the country has strong Catholic history, even citizens who are not particularly religious celebrate the holiday. My host family celebrated with their extended family in the countryside and most of Barcelona was quiet on both Sunday and Monday of Easter weekend. It is really interesting to compare this prevalence of a religious holiday to my experience in the United States, where there is more evident religious diversity.

Over the past month, I have become more involved at Sant’Egidio, the church with which I have been volunteering. Aside from helping on Thursday evenings, I have also been able to volunteer for the Tuesday evening shift. This has offered a new perspective on the work the church is doing, and the customs of community service in Spain. On Tuesdays, there is an entirely different system of providing food to the homeless population in Barcelona. Rather than delivering sandwiches around the city, the church runs a restaurant out of the community room. Although slightly more similar to my experience with soup kitchens and food pantries in the United States, this system had stark differences.

...continue reading "Voluntario en Sant'Egidio"

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.

AdminApril 2, 2018December 14, 2018

By mahaliasmith

In Shanghai, if I am with a group of other international students—especially American ones—, I am typically the individual who appears the most ethnically Chinese or Asian; therefore, whenever a local attempts to speak to the group, he or she generally singles me out and begins speaking (or shouting) energetically in Mandarin, all the while I stand there, hands up in the air, shrugging with confused facial expressions for as long as necessary until a friend steps in who knows slightly more Chinese.

The most enthralling thing to me is how (9.999 times out of 10), even after locals discover I cannot speak almost any Mandarin, they continue to talk (or shout) at me in Chinese. I am not the lone soul this has happened to/continues to happen to, which is even more fascinating in my opinion. I wonder: how many times can you yell at me in Chinese, after which I reply loudly in English, and you yell in Chinese, and I in English, before anything of substance is accomplished? Honestly, probably a lot—I haven't tried that exact method out yet; Google Translate can be one handy tool.

——

Since I am constantly surrounded by millions of Asian people who relay a vague sensation of biological familiarity, yet am also a complete foreigner, I am persistently bound to this intricate feeling of belonging, synchronic to a slight feeling of alienation—unlike anything I have felt in my life—and, I believe it surprisingly makes me feel more human and especially more "American" than ever before.

——

...continue reading "Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."

The Real Spring Break

AdminApril 2, 2018December 14, 2018

By eevenden

Halló frá Englanti!

This week and a half have been dedicated to spring break! Woo!

Last Tuesday, I left the stormy city of Reykjavik for the slightly less stormy town of New Milton, England, to visit my grandma. I don’t see my Grandma very often, living across the Atlantic and all, so I was committed to seeing her while I am relatively close by.

This week has been fairly calm compared to some of my weeks in Iceland, a time to slow down and relax. If I am being honest, much of my time has been spent doing newspaper Sudoku puzzles, watching quiz shows, and touring all the local super markets as we decided what vegetarian foods to try for the week. Of course, it has been really great to talk to my grandma and look through old photos and hear about her life as a young lady. On Easter Sunday, we were both treated to phone calls from my family, as well as my Uncle and Aunt living in Australia who I haven’t talked to directly since I last in Australia two years ago.

For this week’s blog, I thought I would post some photos from the week and tell a bit about them rather than doing it day-by-day.

Barton-on-Sea

On my first, full day in New Milton, I decided to go on a walk along the coast. New Milton is a seaside town on the southern coast of England, so getting to the beach only take about 40 minutes of walking. Below are some photos from my walk which included treading through a muddy horse pasture and walking along the sea-cliff trail. A number of signs along the trail warned of the heavy erosion along the cliffs. It was easy to see the older path which has now collapsed.

A view of the sea and the cliff-side trail

Walk Around Lymington

On Saturday, Grandma and I took to bus to a town called Lymington. Long ago it was a famous port for smugglers, but today it is a popular tourist destination – especially in the summer times. Our main mission going there was actually to visit the big Waitrose supermarket in search of some nice Easter Sunday food. While there, we also visited a café and had some coffee, and walked around the town a bit. It was one of the cloudy (rather than rainy) days.

Building facades, older than those in Reykjavik

Kew Gardens

On Monday, Grandma and I did a big trip up to London to visit Kew Gardens, the Royal Botanic Gardens. Once it was the home to King George III and Queen Charlotte, the parents to the famous Queen Victoria. Originally built for a French merchant, the Royals used Kew Palace as a retreat from city life. However, they abandoned the home after Queen Charlotte died in the palace. Since then Kew Palace and the Gardens have largely been kept the same. Grandma and I had a nice visit, despite some rain. We had a good meal – I even convinced Grandma to eat the vegan option – and we particularly liked the Palm House, which was filled with very luscious tropical plants.

Kew Palace, the home of a young Queen Victoria

Succulents in the Princess of Wales Conservatory, dedicated to Princess Diana

Tomorrow I will fly back to Reykjavik, so sorry for a short (and late) post. This coming weekend my friends and I will visit the Westman Islands, off the south coast of Iceland. As far as my schedule for the rest of my time abroad. I have two more weeks of classes, and then I will spend a week in Germany visiting my Godmother and the Bavarian Alps. Then I will take my final exams and finish my time here by doing a week of field work for my Glacial Geology course.

Bye for now!

-Emily

I am American too.

AdminApril 2, 2018December 14, 2018

By ltchouaffe

People always say that you never know who you are or how you will act until you get yourself in a situation or environment that tests that. I truly think that goes the same for identity. You never know who you are until you go to a country that is different from yours in every single way. It is there that you will truly think about what makes up you and why you are the way you are.

In America, there is huge emphasis on diversity and knowing where your family comes from. One may be like me, whose parents came to America in the 90s and therefore directly knows and is impacted by their culture. And then you have those who are third and fourth generation American but still proudly call themselves Irish, for example. You may be American but you are a certain type of American.

In France, for the most part that is not true. Once you are French citizen, you are French. It doesn’t matter if your family has lived in France for six generations or just arrived ten years ago, If you have a French citizenship that is it and nothing more.

This idea in the American community has its pro and cons. For one thing, America prides itself in the plethora of cultures and identities that make up the fifty states. Afterall, at the end of the day no matter what one may say, the America that we know, is made up of immigrants from around the world who come to its shores for many reasons. Even in various communities such as schools, we celebrate cultural days. In my own personal community, the fact that I am Cameroonian-American has been something looked greatly upon and something that I should always be encouraged to embrace.

...continue reading "I am American too."