Today’s study ablog post is written by Breanna Browne, a junior SPA currently studying abroad in Rome!
When you go abroad you will learn things. Sometimes being abroad will change your conception of time.
Or sometimes it will change your conception of gravity.
Sometimes being abroad will change your idea of passion.
Sometimes it will change how you think about food.
Or how you think about money.
And that doesn’t even start to talk about the things you’ll learn about yourself. Sometimes being abroad will be scary. You might not know the language or the customs or where you are or how to get home.
And sometimes the scariness will make you want something from home. Sometimes it will make you want to go home. And that’s okay.
Because other times, you will feel like this. And these moments, when you find yourself on an adventure making a fool of yourself, will make every moment worth it.
Category: Study Abroad
From Paris with Something… [Study Ablog]
It’s time for a check-in from a SPA student studying abroad. Get ready for advice and adventures from SPA! Today’s post is written by junior Thom Josephson who is studying in Paris at SciencesPo.
Abroad divides returners into two groups: Those who found the experience lacking and those who find the return to be so. I am of the former. I’m not going to gush forth praise and excitement. I won’t lie either.
Abroad, if you choose to go, will be hard. Being in another culture is not easy. Making friends is not easy. Adjusting is just plain hard.
But you might love it.
I found myself in a group of wonderful people, assembled from around the world. I found passionate teachers and interesting subjects. I found a city that glows, that positively sparkles, at night.
And I hit a point in my experience where I did not want to leave. I wanted to stay in Paris forever. I wanted to eat whole baguettes, drink cheap wine from the Côtes de Rhône, and glare scorn to tourists. I wanted to be French.
That desire passed for me. It doesn’t for everyone though.
Here is the truth: Go abroad. Or don’t. But don’t go because anyone told you to and don’t stay because anyone said to. Others’ experiences are not your own. Don’t trust them. Don’t trust me.
You may relish the culture, the different perspectives, the food and whatever else. Or you may find the academic difficulty lacking, the people dull, and the culture fake.
Whatever you decide to do, remember that the important thing is not where you go, but why.
I can tell you this: If you go, you will learn something. It just might not be what you thought it would; and that might not be such a bad thing.
Read my blog if you like, or don’t. I’m a blog post, not a cop.
See you all in the Spring.
From Budapest With Love [Study Ablog]
Today’s Study Ablog is written by Kate Kozak, a junior currently studying abroad in Hungary!
I love doing things differently, stepping just a tiny bit outside my comfort zone, and being just a tiny bit unconventional. And I found no better way to do that than to spend this semester in Central European University’s Gender Studies Master’s program here in Budapest, Hungary.
CEU was founded after the fall of communism to encourage the free exchange of ideas. My particular department, Gender Studies, is all about deconstructing our ideas about society and norms, but does so with a very critical eye towards Western (and particularly American) ways of thinking.
Some differences on the “other side of the Iron Curtain” are significant: I spent a day in Memento Park, an open-air museum which houses the remaining statues and monuments from the Communist era. I was there on October 23rd, the anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution, in which Hungarians made the first significant threat against the Soviet government; our program coordinator wanted us to spend our day off outside the city, where violent nationalist demonstrations were planned. But some differences are very subtle, to be caught in an offhand remark about “before the transition,” or, as a Hungarian classmate explained, manifested in the sometimes self-deprecating attitudes of the Hungarian people.
Being far, far away from the US has allowed me to jump, leap, and fly outside my comfort zone in ways I hadn’t expected. I’ve made more friends here than in any other period of my life (I am outgoing, but bad at the whole “friend” thing). I’ve engaged more with challenging texts than ever before (and I took Prof. Winstead’s class on Nietzsche last semester, so that’s really saying something!). I’ve attempted to communicate in one of the most complicated languages in the world: Hungarian is such that just learning a few phrases really doesn’t do you much good (but I can order a coffee in Hungarian now!). I spent a weekend with my grandfather’s cousin, someone I’d never met but who was family and treated me as such. And, most importantly, for the first time since graduating high school, I have not angst-ed over being home. I’m homesick, absolutely. I can’t wait to be home, to see my family, to eat mac and cheese. But I’ve achieved an unanticipated level of autonomy in my two months here.
My comfort zone, Grinch-style, has grown three sizes. At least. And I’ve still got a month to go.
From Madrid With Love [Study Ablog]
Today’s Study Ablog post is written by junior and UHPer Kimya Forouzan, and ESIA student studying abroad in Madrid!
Hello my lovely Honors Program members! Where am I writing to you from? Madrid, of course. The actual city that never sleeps. It’s 2:00 AM, and I’m just finishing up my homework for midterms week, astonished that I am still functioning despite never sleeping. Getting used to the schedule in Madrid was the hardest part of adjusting to the new city. I eat dinner with my host family most nights around 10:00 PM, and often don’t meet friends on weekends until 12:00 or 2:00 AM.
My time in Madrid has flown by so far, although that’s not to say it didn’t begin with some bumps in the road—because it did. I still remember the first day I met my host mom. She forgot to give me a key, which convinced me that she already hated me and just didn’t want me to come back home ever.
Once the first three days of orientation passed, I was tasked with having to navigate through the city using Spanish. At first, it was so hard to just say words. I was so afraid of being completely wrong and embarrassing myself that I hid behind a few phrases that I repeated. I was late to almost every single class I had because of my long commute, and I almost fell off a donkey.
But eventually, I learned that my host mom actually loves me, started getting comfortable with the language, got the hang of the city, and vowed to never be within a 100-mile radius of a donkey ever again. Despite all of these bumps that I had in the beginning, I have come to realize that studying abroad is the most valuable thing I’ve done while at GW, and I already cannot wait until my next travel experience.
From Costa Rica With Love [Study Ablog]
Time again for a check-in from a SPA student studying abroad. Today’s post is written by sophomore (kinda) Erin Brewer, who is an ESIA student studying abroad in Costa Rica.
I spent my first two weeks in Costa Rica desperately clinging to a routine. I woke up, ate breakfast with my host mom, met my friends at the bus stop, went to school, came back from school, spent the rest of my evening on Skype or otherwise avoiding homework, went to sleep, lather, rinse, repeat. I occasionally strayed the tiniest bit from the safety of my schedule. I went to a café near campus after school. I took a terrifying bus ride by myself. I once even ventured to the mall just a few blocks from my university. But I stuck to the same neighborhoods, the same restaurants, the same bus routes, the same (American) people. I was just trying to survive Costa Rica.
Before I left for my semester abroad, I had found a group on Facebook who played pick up Ultimate Frisbee in San Jose. I had messaged them from the safety of the States, telling them I was interested in playing with them while I was there. But once I finally arrived, it took me two full weeks to gather the courage to venture out to their weekly game.
I played my first game with them on a miserable Monday night. It was pouring rain and had been since two in the afternoon. I got a ride from a guy who lived near my neighborhood. He spoke little English and I spoke little Spanish so we settled for speaking Spanglish the entire awkward car ride. When we got there, there were hardly enough people to play. The field was more of a swamp than a field. We were cold, soaking wet, and otherwise uncomfortable. And it was the best game of ultimate I have ever played in my life.
When it was all over, I found myself sitting in a nearby bar with my new “Tico” friends. We were still cold, still wet, and still otherwise uncomfortable, and now we were covered from head to toe in mud, as well. Everyone was laughing, giving me advice on bars and restaurants in San Jose, cracking jokes in Spanish—some of which I actually understood. For the first time since I got off the airplane I was not just surviving Costa Rica, I was living here.
From Paris With Love [Study Ablog]
It’s time for a check-in from a SPA student studying abroad. Get ready for advice and adventures from SPA! Today’s inaugural post is written by junior Brian Dab, who is studying in Paris at SciencesPo.
Bonjour crazy UHPers! Studying abroad is not as glamorous as it always sounds. There, I said it! I’m going to be completely honest: If you don’t believe me, just read my blog. Not every second is spent sipping rosé along the Seine with a baguette and chèvre cheese – or whatever the version of this ideal is in other study abroad destinations. Classes do exist, chores still have to get done, and your life back in the US doesn’t disappear. Your abroad experience is filled with adjustment, discovery, and adventure. For some students, it might take a month or so to fully adjust and feel comfortable in your host city. Others might realize their classes are easy and don’t require much effort, leaving time to gallivant around the city. Every study abroad experience is different and each is life-changing for various reasons.
However, they all have one thing in common: they are about you. You make the experience what it is. You choose where to live, what classes to take, how often to travel, when to go out, who to meet, and decide why you’re there. Live the semester for yourself and do what you want. When I decided to go abroad I was at a place in my college experience where I thought returning in the fall would just be more of the same. I was ready for a new challenge, and this is certainly shaping up to be such a challenge. I took some time to really think about what I wanted to get out of this experience. I am excited to learn more about myself and being in the real world, as I navigate a completely foreign environment.
As a Political Science major, I knew studying at SciencesPo in Paris would be a great choice as a hub for social sciences in Europe. Although I know almost zero French and I’ve never really spent time in Europe, this was another challenge that I knew would force my personal growth and teach me more than walking the streets of Foggy Bottom for another semester. Paris is a city where meaning, purpose, and history abound. From monuments to cultural norms, most things in Paris can be explained by its vast history.
I encourage all of you to seriously consider the prospect of studying abroad. Where are you in your college experience? What can you still learn about life and yourself? Would another semester at GW be more of the same? Will living in another city help expand your horizons? There is much to consider, but there is no wrong decision. Follow your instincts. Trust your heart. And remember to make the most of the opportunities you have in our short four years at GW. As I do on my blog I will end with one of my favorite quotes:
“The world is a book and those who don’t travel read only a page” -St. Augustine
Public Libraries and Int'l Development
–This post is written by UHP student Megan Kavaras, currently studying abroad and working on her senior thesis project.
Shambling thatched roof houses amid communist era block apartments pass by outside the train window. I am currently squashed into a crowded car with my friend and translator, as we make our way across six of the seven historical regions of Romania to study the impact public libraries have on community development and civic engagement. This research for my senior thesis has provided a first hand understanding of the social fabric of a post-communist transitioning economy. Although 23 years past communism, Romania is still struggling to move past the political system of bribes, nepotism, and a disenchanted, disengaged population. Funding, support and organization for public goods and services often does not trickle down from Bucharest.
In the second poorest EU member state, civil society and civic engagement is weak. A combination of low political efficacy and a leftover mentality that father government takes care of everything helps perpetuate the system. I decided to study public libraries after learning that Romania had over 2000, at all levels and areas of development. NGOs such as Biblionet, funded by the Bill and Melinda gates foundation support programs and services for education, youth involvement, minority inclusion, job and career development, and public health. My project focuses on understanding the effectiveness, challenges and impact of these services.
I first learned that public libraries here do not have national funding, but rather are overseen by each county, and support depends upon the county directors and the mayor’s personality and interests. This is one of the biggest challenges libraries face in reaching the community and providing quality information.
Perhaps the biggest challenge to development in Romania, through libraries or otherwise, is changing the current mentality. This is what I am hearing over and over again, from library users to librarians and NGO leaders in Bucharest. Only 10% of the population currently uses public libraries, and while some truly incredible development progress has been made, the numbers are still low. The positives are that libraries serve a variety of interests, are an inclusive environment (they often partner with minority cultural organizations) and are present at all socioeconomic levels. More advocacy and publicity are needed to make people aware of what libraries offer- outside of going into the library itself or searching for its website, it’s difficult to find information on services. More funding for quality materials and programs would also help increase use.
My experience has been that Romanians are generally warm, welcoming people willing to show outsiders their culture and traditions. Often, the assertion that civil society is weak and engagement low unjustly conjures images of people with few interests or complex opinions. Rather, unity and cooperation are the issue, and according to several people I’ve interviewed, one need is for change in the education system to teach discussion and include more debate and critical thinking in the curriculum.
This generosity and thoughtful opinions many people here have shared with me as an outsider has been genuinely rewarding. However, this sharing does not always exist between community members, something I found unusual. As one librarian explained it to me, people don’t have much and they worry about taking care of their own. They are hospitable but those that grew up under communism learned resilience but not civic responsibility or a sense of volunteering. While still developing and at the very early stages, I feel public libraries could be one of the most effective institutions for civil society development, providing space and means for public education and involvement. Library users and librarians alike have said it would be disastrous if the library did not exist or had to close.
I will continue this project by researching branches of the EU that support public library networks, and will work with the ANBPR on a petition program to gain EU support for Romanian libraries this fall. There is still much to do in developing public resources such as libraries, especially with the current Biblionet Program grant, the main source of funding, coming to an end this February.
