FOFAC – Page 7 – GW Blogs from Abroad

Football! (As in soccer!)

AdminOctober 22, 2012December 14, 2018

As you may be aware, dear reader, soccer (sorry, football) is much more popular in Europe than in the United States. In the Czech Republic in particular, football is probably about tied with ice hockey as the most popular sport. So it goes without saying that I wanted to attend a football game (sorry, match) during my stay in Europe. Thankfully, that's pretty easy to do here. I think that in this regard I've actually been pretty spoiled. AC Sparta Praha is historically the best team in the Czech Republic and one of the best in Central Europe. But unlike, say, Real Madrid or Manchester United, you don't have to pay hundreds of euros for a single ticket. The price of admission to a Sparta match is 240Kč, or about 12 US dollars. Not only that, the stadium is three tram stops from my dorm, so it was very easy for me to attend a match on a whim after class one Monday evening. And NOT ONLY THAT, but my 240Kč ticket? It bought me this view. Pitchside, midfield, hell yeah. Do you know how much that would cost you in Barcelona? I don't even know, and quite frankly don't want to. ...continue reading "Football! (As in soccer!)"

I’m On a Boat (On the Nile)

AdminOctober 22, 2012December 14, 2018

By littlemisadventures

A favorite weekend pastime of students in Egypt is taking out feluccas on the Nile. Feluccas are small boats with bright lights and floors of varying durability. We walk down the river to the docks, negotiate a price, and have them for a few hours. Besides the river view and the good company, music is the best part of a felucca excursion. Either one of the Americans plugs in their iPod and we sing along to our familiar favorites, or we get an Egyptian playlist. I don’t know quite enough of the songs to sing along, but they’re great to dance to and great for learning Amiyya. The only downside of all this musical immersion is that I can never find out the songs' titles or singers. ...continue reading "I’m On a Boat (On the Nile)"

Solo Sessions

AdminOctober 22, 2012December 14, 2018

By oncptime

I’ll be perfectly honest with you; I’m not much of a team player. I’m the guy who’d rather build his own diorama of the Pantheon. I’m that guy to wander away from the guided group tour. I’m that guy who, against all recommendation, likes to travel completely on his own. Wandering the world alone lost in audiobook, armed with nothing but a map and a canteen full of water, I am at my happiest.

You might call me antisocial. I wouldn’t necessarily disagree with you, though I prefer to think of myself as “independent.” There’s something to be said for exploring on one’s own whileabroad. We’ve all seen those groups of students taking “cute” pictures with the Queen’s Guard, or beneath the Eifel Tower. That’s well and good, but I always find myself wondering whether these people are really experiencing their surroundings. There’s nothing quite like frantically navigating your way across a strange and foreign city in an attempt to catch the last train back to your hostel at 2A.M.

...continue reading "Solo Sessions"

British Beats

AdminOctober 22, 2012December 14, 2018

By rlubitz

British kids are proud of their music and they should be. Their music revolutions turn into our music revolutions from pop to goth to punk and a little bit of soul. Then of course there are The Beatles, four boys who made this country and are always hanging around London in advertisement and art.

Before I came to London I was terribly concerned with being cool. I’m giving up now and embracing my full on lameness. There is just no competing. The kids here play David Bowie at parties and Radiohead when they get home. In America we play vain songs from vainer artists. Walk through my freshman dorm and you can hear The Libertines, Florence and the Machine and Mumford & Sons who are every British kid’s patron saints since the release of their newest album.

I can’t pick a song that I love here because there are just too many. So here are a few of my favorites old and new. ...continue reading "British Beats"

Around Kathmandu

AdminOctober 22, 2012December 14, 2018

By tierneybb

Oh dear. With the realization that this week marks the point at which I am exactly halfway through my time here in Nepal, and just past halfway through the semester, I guess this means I've settled in to life as a student in Nepal. This mostly mean's I've found my niche and accepted my identity here: I hang out at the mid-level integrated Western cafes, where it's mostly white people and monks but you order the lemon ginger honey tea to go with your spinach crepes and no one's using the wifi. I say I'm studying here for a semester and try not to claim that I live in Kathmandu, as it's rather obvious I'm not from around here and don't have the cultural capital of the long-term ex-pats. It's a nice balance as some of the truly local joints are beyond my abilities both linguistically and in terms of limits on my dhal consumption. I take public transit if there's a direct line, but as soon as transfers get involved I know to give up and grab a cab. I've bought local traditional fabrics to have tailored into an outfit, but it'll be western style not a chupa because... there are many things I just can't pull off. ...continue reading "Around Kathmandu"

Standing Up to Street Harassment

AdminOctober 15, 2012

Antiharassment Artwork — Photo Copyright:
http://littleurl.info/lsp

While I am having an overwhelmingly positive experience in Egypt, things aren’t always easy. Something that is especially hard to deal with is street harassment, which is a huge problem here. Most of the girls here have had to deal with it at some point, regardless of their nationality. No “kind” of woman is singled out. I don’t want to generalize or paint all Egyptian men as disrespectful; most of the guys I have met are lovely. However, this is certainly an issue that needs to be dealt with.

The catcalls and comments are definitely wearing, so I was very excited to see a piece of anti-street harassment graffiti on a wall downtown. It depicts a hijabi in heels, spraying away a crowd of men as though they were troublesome flies. The message reads, “No to harassment.” I am glad that Cairo’s street artists have chosen to deal with this subject, as I think it is one that doesn’t get enough attention. You’re supposed to ignore it, be quiet, pretend you don’t understand, don’t start anything. (As if you’re the one that started it.) So to see a woman, even a two-dimensional one, asserting her right to walk down the street without being bothered was heartening.

...continue reading "Standing Up to Street Harassment"

Tsum Valley, Nepal’s Northern Border

AdminOctober 15, 2012December 14, 2018

By tierneybb

When you tell the locals of Kathmandu that you're going on trek, they nod politely and ask where, but they won't recognize the name "Tsum." Few people do, despite its proximity to the popular Manaslu circuit. However, protected from the nosing bustle of tourism by both the government and sheer remoteness, Tsum is one of the "untouched Shangri-las" of the Himalayas. ...continue reading "Tsum Valley, Nepal’s Northern Border"

Week 6: In Which Jake Talks About Art Or Something

AdminOctober 15, 2012December 14, 2018

By jfbarszcz

The Czech Republic has produced a great number of visionaries: the composers Antonín Dvořak and Bedřich Smetana; the writers Karel Čapek and Franz Kafka*, and the playwright-activist-turned-politician Václav Havel are just a few. A name that was unknown to me until recently, however, was that of late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century painter Alfons Mucha (pronounced MOO-kha). Perhaps he's better-known to people more versed in art history than I am, but I had never heard of him until I came to Prague. ...continue reading "Week 6: In Which Jake Talks About Art Or Something"

Opportunities Abroad

AdminOctober 15, 2012December 14, 2018

By oncptime

I haven’t been blogging diligently these past few weeks. At least not for GWU. You see I have been “dropping the ball,” as the kids say. But hear me out. I’ve got a good reason. It’s not that my classes have been particularly hard—we’ve still only really discussed one topic in each of them. I haven’t been doing too too much traveling. And my brief bout of homesickness cleared up after my first few days here.

“Well Charles,” I’m sure you’re thinking. “What ever could be your excuse for slacking on your blogs?”

Here’s the thing. I have a job. Here in Florence. I didn’t go looking for the job; but rather it found me. It’s sort of taking over my life and to be perfectly honest with you? I absolutely love it. ...continue reading "Opportunities Abroad"

Art I Like So Far

AdminOctober 15, 2012December 14, 2018

By rlubitz

I’ve never lived in a place like London and frankly never really thought I ever would. But now that I am, now that I’ve gotten to roam these streets and never gotten tired of them, I can’t think of living anywhere else. It’s a tough city where people are incredibly polite but not necessarily warm. That’s excluding very old English men because they are actually the best people that inhabit this earth. It’s been an adjustment but a fast one.

That being said, on my many walks around the city to nowhere in particular, I’ve run across a fair amount of amazing street art. Graffiti, I feel, lowers this art to mere illegal acts by people who are running from the law with bandanas around their mouths, etc. The art I’ve seen is fantastic.

...continue reading "Art I Like So Far"