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Tag: IES Abroad

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Greetings from Freiburg, Germany! After several weeks of writing about my “experience abroad” I am finally in Freiburg. I arrived late Monday night and stayed at the Kruezblume hotel, which is actually a small bed and breakfast located above a restaurant. I would highly recommend staying here as the manager really helped me with all 50 lbs of my luggage and extended breakfast for me as I am a severely late riser in the mornings. The following morning I checked into my program at the IES center (which fun fact: Uber does not work in Freiburg) after lugging my suitcases a little less than a mile down cobblestone streets. Once I met with the director of the program, I was immediately taken care of and sent to my apartment where I unpacked and immediately went to sleep. After traveling to 4 countries in the span of 2 weeks, I was exhausted and simply could not explore the city that night. Luckily my housing tutor invited myself and the other IES students in my building to dinner, so I had an incentive to leave my room.

Since Wednesday we have had several city tours and have gone through the basic orientation steps necessary to start the program such as completing a residence permit application and going through security precautions. Nothing too exciting or different from your typical freshman orientation week, which is a bit bizarre considering I am turning 22 in a few months and will be living on my own in a little over a year. I would describe this week as the typical freshman first week on campus reincarnated, but in a different country. On the other hand, one excursion that stood out was this Sunday - as in today - my program director took us snowshoeing on the Feldberg Mountain. Although I am quite outdoorsy and active, prior to today I had never been snowshoeing, so it was quite the experience. Basically snowshoeing allows you to hike in deep snow during the winter time by strapping your hiking boots into a snowshoe that maximizes your surface area, so you do not sink into the snow with every step. We hiked approximately 7 miles in a little less than 5 hours and were able to grab some hot soup on the mountain top. I must say that I am a pretty experienced and well versed hiker, but this hike made my Top 5 Favorite Hikes list easily. I would highly recommend if you were in Freiburg and had a spare day to spend. The conditions were perfect as it had just snowed the night prior and was not terribly cold. Tomorrow I have my second German class at the ungodly hour of 9:15, so I will be promptly going to bed soon as that hike completely exhausted me. Included is a picture of Feldberg Mountain! Til next week -

 

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Two months in Barcelona have flown by! Aside from attending classes during the week and exploring on the weekends, I have been spending a lot of time experiencing the food culture. Anyone who has visited Europe could tell you that things move slower here, but food culture embodies that concept to the max. The American standard of ordering an "Iced Venti Latte to-go" is frowned upon; Spaniards like their coffee to be piping hot and enjoyed at a cafe among friends. Authentic restaurants and cafes have an extremely relaxed atmosphere, which is a nice change of pace. Spanish residents grocery shop at the local market each morning for the ingredients they will use that day, ensuring that items are always fresh.

On the opposite side of the spectrum is the homeless population in Barcelona. Although less visually apparent at first, there are still handfuls of people living on the streets. I began my volunteer shifts several weeks ago at a church in the Gothic Quarter, which has helped me gain perspective. I was unsure what to expect going in, but was welcomed warmly by Alba, the woman who runs the program. She explained that this local church runs a food kitchen multiple times a week; the volunteers meet to assemble sandwiches, and then groups head off into the night to locate people living on the streets. I noticed many similarities between the initial part of my first evening and my experience working with food kitchens in the United States, but the rest of the night was starkly different. Back home, most of the organizations are run out of a building and homeless populations come there to receive food. At this group, we split up into small groups and each ventured into a section of Barcelona. My group headed towards Placa de Catalunya, which is a large tourist square next to my abroad program building. 

Throughout the course of the next two hours, I experienced a lot of eye-opening moments. The two women in my group, Alba and Catarina, explained that the organization knows each of the homeless people in the city on an individual level. Alba explained that it is important for a friendship to be formed because they don’t want these people to feel like they’re only receiving charity. We spent ten to fifteen minutes conversing with each individual that we delivered food to, simply asking about their recent life and making conversation. This aspect of socialization was new to me because most of the food banks and kitchens in DC with which I’ve volunteered in the past don’t emphasize the human connection between the volunteers and the recipients of the food. However, this certainly made our work feel more meaningful. I look forward to returning each week, especially as my language comprehension improves.

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By Marissa Kirshenbaum

This weekend I did something that I had yet to do in my (almost) eight week adventure in Paris: I traveled alone. I did not cross any international borders or even go very far at all. I stayed in the city, but I traveled through it by myself. I went to countless monuments and museums, I walked over bridges and through tunnels, I sat and I strolled. I saw Paris through a different lens this weekend, a lens that presented the city as a sight of exploration rather than a the scene of classwork and tight schedules. When something caught my eye, I went to it. When I felt like walking to a new spot, I did so. No rules, no constraints, no boundaries.

It took me a while to feel comfortable enough in Paris to be able to travel through it alone. Even though my normal collegian life is spent in a city, it took time to readjust back to the urban lifestyle as well as to the culture of studying abroad. Just because you are used to living in a city doesn't mean that it is easy to live in any city in the world. Every change in life requires an adjustment period, and studying abroad in no different.

I have finally reached that place where I feel extremely comfortable in Paris. I don't clutch my bag every second in fear that somebody will pickpocket me, and I don't hesitate to sit close to someone on the metro even though there is an open seat. When I bump into someone, I say "Pardon!" instead of "Sorry!", and when someone on the street offers to make me a bracelet I just walk on by instead of indulging in their con act. These little adjustments have helped me to feel more like a local, like someone who is well-versed in the subtleties of the Parisian urban lifestyle. Because of this, I have gained the confidence to be able to travel places on my own without any fears or hesitations.

...continue reading "A Day with Marissa"

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By neerjapatel

Having grown up in Vermont, I have always been exposed to a sense of community. I was nervous when I first came to Barcelona, as it was a new city with a different culture. Although I knew a few people who were in the same program as me, I forced myself to go outside of my comfort zone by picking a random roommate and living in a homestay. This was extremely difficult at first because for the first time since freshman year of college, I was faced with a lack of familiarity. But, I quickly found my sense of community in Barcelona in a variety of different ways.

Picture 1: My roommate Emma has become one of my closest friends here abroad. With similar interests and personalities, we’ve been able to explore a lot of Barcelona together. Emma, as well as my host mom, have really made me feel like I’m at home in Barcelona.

...continue reading "Mi Familia"

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By nadyahhilmi1

Throughout my four months in Morocco, I have had the opportunity to travel to cities all across the country, every weekend brought another adventure. But my most memorable experience was climbing Mount Toubkhal. Located within Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, it is the highest peak in North Africa, totaling almost 14,000 feet tall. The trekking tourism website described the hike as a ‘mild walk’ – this became a running joke as me and ten of my friends’ ascended the mountain, it was anything but a ‘mild walk.’

After taking a five hour train ride from Rabat to Marrakech, and spending a night in a hostel, we were picked up by a bus early on Friday morning to drop us off near the trekking company’s shop. Here we put all of our bags on mules, laced up our hiking boots, and rented gloves, walking sticks, and other equipment. At around 9 am we started our ascent, going along the non-existent path, avoiding boulders, mud, goats, and donkey carts along the way. After nearly eight straight hours of hiking through fields, valleys, mountains, and streams, we made it to the base of the mountain. This is where we found our basecamp, where we slept for the night. It was freezing, and the altitude made many of us sick, dehydrated, and weak.

We had to be up at 4am to start hiking to the summit at 5am. After putting on even more layers, and stuffing bread and hardboiled eggs in our mouths, we started again. It took five hours to reach the summit, and since it was 5am, it was pitch black outside. Since none of us had headlights, we used the flashlights on our cellphones to scale boulders. It was even more difficult the second day, we were already sore and the altitude wasn’t getting any friendlier on our lungs. After hours of scaling rocks, avoiding boulders, and trying not to freeze to death, we finally made it to the top of the mountain.

...continue reading "Morocco: My Most Memorable Moment"

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Coming to a new and unfamiliar country, I didn’t know what to expect. In the past, everywhere that I have traveled, I have either known someone there, or have traveled with someone. But this time, I was coming to a country where I knew no one. It is strange to have to create your own community in less than four months, with people that you barely know.

But, travelling in a new and unfamiliar place can also lead to unfamiliar friendships and communities. In Morocco, I’ve been lucky to have an incredible host family that I can go back to at the end of the day and feel at home with. Even with a language barrier, my host mom and I talk about a range of things, including Moroccan culture, politics, religion, or food. She makes me freshly squeezed orange juice every morning, and always does her best to make sure that I feel comfortable at home.

Likewise, travelling around Morocco has been an incredible experience – not just to see the beauty and diversity of the country, but to bond with others in my study abroad group as well. From the intense heat of the Moroccan sun in the hot cities of Fez and Meknes, to summiting the highest mountain in North Africa, it has been amazing to share unique experiences with the others in my program. Although I’ve been missing my friends and communities back at GW, it has been good to have another group of friends in Morocco, with whom I can share my hopes, fears, and worries.

Pictured: Some of my friends as we were trekking up Mount Toubkal - the highest mountain in North Africa. This was hour eight of climbing!

...continue reading "Finding Community Abroad"

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My identity has been something that I have questioned with my whole life. My father is Sri Lankan, and my mother is American. They come from two very different worlds – one the son of a tailor who lived in a small village, and the other the daughter of an auditor at the Federal Reserve in New York. They met in Tanzania, while working in refugee camps after the Rwandan genocide, and soon afterwards got married in Sri Lanka. My relatives live in all corners of the world and are all exceedingly different.

Being multiracial and having international roots, I was lucky to have the opportunity to grow up in different countries, and to have my feet planted in the roots of both my parents’ cultures. Going to international schools, then moving to the US were experiences that have made me aware of my identity, and has forced me to think about how others view me as a woman, Muslim, American, foreigner, or anything else.

By diverse background has been a source of constant learning and has shaped my mindset to be more accepting and globally minded. But being biracial and having international roots can often mean being invisible as well. My body is a battleground of two nations and cultures, constantly vying to be defining parts of my story. I am simultaneously my mother’s child and my father’s biological heir, and balancing the two can sometimes feel impossible.

...continue reading "Your Identity is What You Make It"

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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.

...continue reading "Reflecting Back"

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By rsengupta18

There are so many things we can learn from French environmental policy. Every day I am inspired by their success and commitment to mitigating climate change. However, it is still a mega-city with many complexities and challenges.

Paris is a leader in the C40; a group of 40 cities committed to combating climate change, regardless of national politics. I find this trend especially interesting. As national politics grow increasingly convoluted, I think this is the most strategic move for the green movement—utilizing influential cities and companies to lead societal trends.

As part of the C40, Paris has vowed to cut yearly emissions by 7 million tons in the next three years. Because of this commitment, I find Paris to be very progressive in their movement to green transit. The key to this success is their high inter-mobility between public transport options. The “Pass Navigo”, an economical 70 euros per month, gives citizens access to the metro, the regional train, the bus, the tram, and, within the next year, the bike-share program. Having all of these systems integrated increases public transit, making these green systems easier than driving. Additionally, Paris has limited the quantity parking spaces in the city to prevent individuals from driving. They also lowered the speed limit on the main highway to decrease emissions. Lastly, they’ve Auto-Lib, an electric car sharing system.

...continue reading "L’Environnement à Paris"

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By rsengupta18

 

For February and March, I’ll be exploring environmental conservation efforts in France. My analysis is especially interesting this month as I had the chance to travel throughout the European Union during my spring break. I was able to compare France’s environmental policy with Denmark, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. What I saw throughout the EU was not what I expected.

The EU has a reputation for being the world leader in climate change. Because of this, I assumed every country within the union would be dedicated and innovative to mitigating climate change. But, as with everything in life, it is more complex than it appears. I realized the policy is fragmented, and effects countries in different ways. The most glaring trend I saw was that climate change leadership went hand in hand with a strong economy.

First Stop: Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen was extremely environmentally friendly (note the strong, stable economy). I was impressed by their innovative infrastructure that has come about in reaction to rising sea levels. My favorite was the Inderhavnsbroen, a massive pedestrian bridge connecting two of the islands. The bridge stretches 590 feet, has a stunning view of the water, and a winding, modern design.

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Copenhagen is a beautiful, relatively small, walkable city. This means fewer cars, fewer emissions, and less pollution. I swear, I saw more bicycles than cars when I was there.

What I loved most about Copenhagen, and what I think other cities should learn from them, is their ability to reuse and recycle items in a creative way. For example, at the Street Food Market, old cargo carts are now used as lookout decks where visitors can sit by the fire, sip a drink, and watch the beautiful sunset over the Baltic Sea. Sounds romantic right? I would never have guessed that old cargo carts could be romantic.

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...continue reading "Is the EU really the leader in climate policy?"

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