Let’s be realistic here. It would be weird if I woke up every morning totally in love with doing my readings. On second thought, I am weird and I do love my readings – some of it. I am different from the other exchange students and Americans in many ways. I don’t drink and, let’s just say, I would not score participation marks in any activity that involves it. So that pretty much forces me to find other ways of escaping the “stress” of keeping up with all the bright minds in GWU. Laundry and grocery shopping don’t count.
Georgetown
Does it count as taking a break if we wake up early and walk more than a mile? Yes it does, especially when we get free cupcakes. Every Friday or Saturday, while everyone else sleeps in bed my roommate and I would take long morning walks to D.C. Cupcakes in Georgetown for a free cupcake. They only have 100 each giveaway!
Walking to DC Cupcakes. “Bo” went with us that Saturday.
Here it is!
So many cupcakes!
Our free cupcakes of the day!
The best part about our walks back is sitting down by the Potomac and enjoying our free treats.
New York City
Over the weekend we figured we really needed to experience something else and New York is only a really affordable 5-hour bus ride away. My roommate and I out really early in the morning and arrived with much time to spare before lunch. Here, street food is halal and much cheaper and the tall buildings, fast cars and people provide a different atmosphere.
The city is far from calming, but just what we needed to freshen up for the weeks ahead. We took time to visit a few places to restock our supplies, find clothes to prepare for cooler weather expected in the weeks to come and buy souvenirs early so we won’t be distracted when there’s assignments to do and exams to study for.
We got a shock when we arrived because the city is much bigger than D.C. and everything was moving in a much faster pace. By dinner though, we kind of missed the calm tempo of Foggy Bottom.
I was assigned a room in Ivory Tower with the most awesome roommates I can ever ask for.
Haziq (National University of Singapore), James (Uni Melbourne), Andreas (Copenhagen Business School), and Muhammed (National University of Singapore)
In the temple of the great emancipator, we sealed the bond of roommate-ship with a photograph, after a day’s worth of persistent counsel by those who have had bad experiences to compose a “Roommate Agreement”.
Being laid-back and very trusting of each other, we have yet to talk about anything related to any document of understanding ever since this photo was taken. The only thing we agreed upon was to take turns buying milk. The only other consensus was that cockroaches are not welcomed in our apartment.
I have stayed on campus back home occasionally to finish assignments and to do group work with friends, but this is a whole new experience. If I’m not making my own breakfast, I could get a dose of caffeine on my way out and before my hair dries, I’m already in class, answering a question, barely having swallowed a sandwich.
Now that I’m more orientated with the Foggy Bottom area, I find myself bravely using shortcuts to classes, confidently grabbing cheaper options for groceries on my way back to my room, comfortably eating from the many cafes, delis, vendors and food trucks around (I need my food to be halal) and smartly keeping quarters in my pocket for the trip to the laundry (when I say trip I mean 5 short strides to the machines across my room door).
Lessons and Challenges
I don’t have much to say about the classes I have so far since it has only been a week but what I can say is that I enjoy the “class participation” atmosphere here. My home university has vibrant and competitive “tutorials”, or the equivalent of discussion sections here, especially for participation. Here, participation also extends to “lectures” with impromptu polls and sharing of opinions on required readings as well as related current affairs. As a political science student, I somehow feel “at home”.
However, my greatest challenge here so far is the deficit of knowledge I have with regards to issues of local context. I am able to discuss theories and issues in general, but occasionally, I find myself lost when a reference is made regarding, for instance, the education system in the United States. Often, I am the only one not laughing when the lecturer makes a joke that only Americans would understand. I predict my non-involvement would get more serious as the weeks pass and I will have to borrow a few extra books to read over the weekends – I may still not laugh along, but at least, I hope, I will not be left behind in class.
I did get my first chance to “keep up” when a lesson was cancelled and I managed to catch President Obama giving a speech at the Lincoln Memorial!
YES! YES! YES!
To end off my first week, I went for some family-entertainment at the Verizon Center – WWE Live! I was a wrestling fan when I was very young and, like how I’m unfamiliar with U.S. politics, I had to “catch up” and learn about the new characters.
WWE at the Verizon Center!
I found myself sympathetic towards “Daniel Bryan” and I loved chanting along with the crowd to cheer him on. Can I make it through the rest of this semester? YES! YES! YES! YES!
When I knew I was supposed to blog about life as an exchange student here in D.C., I made a wrong assumption.
It was that I had to go out of my way to make my exchange life interesting enough so that the Office of Study Abroad would not regret making me represent Exchange Fall 2013 in this blog.
I came on the first day to check-in, expecting a routine, cookie-cutter, exchange orientation programme doled out every semester. Meaning to say, I was not expecting much since we were just going to be here for 4 months to a maximum sentence of a year and we were not going to be true “colonials” anyway. I naively thought of 2-3 fun activities off the top of my head to do by myself to fill up the first blog post since my arrival.
I was wrong, of course, because after getting our keys and going on a short but sufficient trip to Target for logistics, we began the week with a pool party at Mount Vernon. “Eyebrow-raising” is probably the closest adjective I can find to describe the past week.
Okay, the pool party was conservative because we were restrained by the awkwardness of barely having known each other’s names.
So, not to send any more wrong ideas to our parents who might be reading this (Hi Mom), here are some of the things that made my first week in D.C. worthy of a blog post:
Night Memorial-ing
We were given an informative tour of the memorials in the national mall at night, beginning with the Washington Monument and including the National World War II Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial.
Washington Monument at night.
In the near-silence of the night, the tour was deservedly respectful where necessary, reminding us “non-resident aliens” that even though locals may occasionally drunk-memorial (verb), we would be living so near a place that holds significant symbolic value to the people here. Besides that, the entire place is as beautiful during the night as it is during the day and I realized I may be coming here quite often – sober.
50th Anniversary of the March on Washington
March on Washington Reenactment
When my friends and I heard that this was not part of the programme, we knew we had to somehow find a way to get ourselves involved. Even though I come from a place so distant from this very significant part of history, I find myself inspired by the narratives and even more by the people who, after 50 years, still have a strong emotional connection to this moment in time. It was just massive; people with all kinds of signs and posters, marching for old, unfinished causes and new ones.
We thought it would be pretentious if we borrowed a cause to march for, so we marched for our own personal causes and beliefs. I was just really glad to be part of this moment.
I even went to the Lincoln Memorial the night before to reflect in private.
Fall 2013 Exchange Orientation
Last but not least, the orientation programme itself was really fun; not merely because of the activities planned for us (I could go on and on about it), but because of the people who were part of it. You could sense the sincerity of the EXO leaders from the way they welcomed and got to know all of us.
They were volunteers and they did not really have to put in so much effort (in both senses – that is they could decide not to put in effort anytime, and that they were awesome people so their presence alone was premise for fun).
Yet, they still extended a hand of hospitality and some of them even hosted parties. In my case, my EXO leader, Ahana, was from Singapore. She and Charles really made me feel at home. As an exchange student, a traveler a wanderer in a foreign land, the guidance we received from the Office for Study Abroad, the facilitation we experienced with our EXO leaders and the nascent friendships we engendered were all precious blessings we really needed to kick-start life as a Colonial.
Special thanks to everyone who made my first week away from home bearable, including my Dad who was with me for a few days before I moved in.
Colonial Intentions
Being “Colonial” means different things to different people. So I guess, it gives me the freedom to define for myself what being a non-resident, alien, temporary “Colonial” means. Hence, I would like to begin my exchange life with Al-Haddad's intention for seekers of knowledge which I shall re-purpose to fit this new context of life, in the world’s most powerful city where monuments and memorials stand to remind others of the price of freedom and the value of peace and justice, in a place that attracts the brightest of minds and the most intelligent of beings.
I intend to study and teach, take and give a reminder, take and give benefit, take and give advantage, to encourage the holding fast to exemplary virtues and noble values, and calling to guidance and directing towards good, hoping for the countenance of God and His pleasure, proximity and reward, transcendent is He.
GW Exchange is excited to announce our Fall 2013 Blogger- Haziq Jani!
Hi! My name is Haziq and I’m from the National University of Singapore. As a political science major, I would be joining classes in international relations, comparative politics and political thought.
I am a “Javanese” – my home country has a colonial habit of identifying our ethnic group or “race” – and so I speak Malay and some Bahasa Indonesia and no, being Javanese does not mean I know how to make a good cup of coffee nor do I know how to code.
Aside from learning about US politics in DC itself, I look forward to meeting new people and soaking into the "culture" in Washington, and if possible, I hope to be able to cycle around as well!
Don't forget to follow Haziq on his exchange adventures this fall!
Every time I sit down to write my final goodbye I just can’t seem to get myself past the first few words, before I find tears rolling down the side of my face. I guess because once this post is published, it will officially be the end of my exchange experience. The end of the most amazing five months of my life. The end of late night pizza delivery, and the end of midnight monument tours. Simply the end of GWU.
Kogan Plaza
I know that my GWorld card will be deactivated and I will no longer be a resident of Philip Amsterdam Hall, but the memories and friends I made here will forever be part of me.
From the Italian pasta party to the Korean birthday parties, to the amazing Latino music; we became a family. Never will I forget the feeling of sitting in a room hearing over 7 different languages at the same time and learning about everyone’s different cultures.
These 80 students have not just been friends but more of a family to me. We learned to face culture shock together, to accept everyone’s differences and by the end of the semester we had shared secrets, laughs, and tears. We become a family.
Going back home no matter what stories I share or what pictures I show to my friends and family, nobody will understand or know what I went through expect for my new family. We shared it together, went through it together, and now we only have pictures, blogs and our memories to remember those great days. I am certain though that we will meet up again, because as I said they are not just friends, but a second family.
While the experience may be over for most exchange student as they pack their bags and journey throughout the US or head back home, they have all said their goodbyes. However as for me I am traveling to Florida with a few exchange students and I’m back to DC for a whole new challenge. I managed to land an internship with the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and will be staying in DC till end of June. Not able to stay in Foggy Bottom without my exchange students, I have decided to move out of the dorms and stay in Tenlytown.
A whole new challenge, an experience I’m ready for, I’m ready to enter the real world. Goodbye GWU, thanks for having us I will still be around, but this time call me a GWU Alumni.
So. My last blog post I’ve taken a little time to get this up – it’s been a whirlwind week since I left DC on Monday and headed to NYC. I’m with my family now. It’s definitely a change after 5 months living on campus!
From NYC I’ll be heading solo to Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego before flying home. I’m getting my travel all done now, after the semester is over, my marks are back and the stress is long-gone. It’s amazing how easily you forget how stressful finals can be. Every six months I get the surprise of my life trying to cope with the anxiety about final papers and exams. But enough about the easily forgotten finals!
To say goodbye to DC, GW and my exchange experience I thought I’d list the things I’ll miss:
My Roommates and neighbor – were awesome. There’s no other word for it. They know how much I’ve appreciated their support and friendship, and hope I’ve been able to as best I can return that support and friendship. We won’t be living together any longer, and they’ve all just graduated this weekend to move into a new chapter of their lives – but I won’t be giving up on these friendships any time soon!
My exchange friends – I can’t remember who said it, but ‘no man is an island’ (John Donne maybe?). Friends are the people that make life what it is. Creating new bonds with people (who, unlike family, aren’t obligated by blood and marriage to love you and put up with your quirks!) is a pretty darn wonderful thing! A week after leaving I still can’t quite grasp the fact that I won’t be able to just randomly bump into these new friends walking to class every morning and text a friends for an impulsive late night coffee or snack run. My friends and I at home all live much further from each other, and our university, work and life schedules are much harder to coordinate. Which brings me to…
Living on Campus – is something I didn’t realized I’d love so much. Convenience is one of my favorite things. When the library, food, coffee and company are all within a 5 minute walk it’s a pretty darn wonderful thing. Especially given the campus itself is in such a great location and a 15-minute walk takes me to Georgetown or Dupont or the Tidal Basin.
DC – Never again will I live so close to the monuments. If I was ever feeling a little stressed I could just wander down to the mall and instantly feel better. The fresh air and people watching potential will be sorely missed! Because no building can be higher than the statue above the Capitol, Washington never feels impossibly tall or overwhelming. The American accents you hear on the streets are from all over the country and there’s something about DC, about it being the capital, so full of energy, power and super-important-decisions-I-don’t-even-want-to-know-about, which I just love.
Goodbye George Washington University! Goodbye DC!
With many thanks to Jacki and Shawna and the whole Study abroad office for their help and support.
I've been asked to write a “semester in review” blog post to summarize and finalize the semester. What can I say that hasn't already been said? I have seen a great deal of what D.C. has to offer, travelled all over the Eastern part of the country, been exposed to literary and academic works that I wouldn't have been exposed to in Prague, and finally, made friends that I will remember long after leaving George Washington.
If you are an avid reader of my blog, you have already heard about my adventures around the Eastern and Central time zones. The semester was a lot of work and long nights. However, I did manage to find some time to see the biggest and most famous cities in the U.S. My first trip was to Philadelphia for a day and then to Hartford, CT. Philadelphia speaks for itself, and I was actually there twice, so I can speak a great deal about it too. You might question why Hartford. While it does not have the international fame that Philadelphia, New York or Boston does, Hartford has been home to a number of writers though the ages from Mark Twain to Jack Kerouac. I couldn't pass up a pilgrimage of sorts like that. Over spring break, I saw two much more famous cities: Chicago and Boston. I was instantly in love with Chicago, and while D.C. will always be my U.S. “home” Chicago is my favourite city. Full of interesting architecture and art, it was teeming with life. After Chicago, it was a short flight to Boston, which I found to have many similarities to European cities, and is one of the most historical place I visited in the U.S. Honourable mentions go to New York and Philadelphia. Philadelphia was also full of life, art and very interesting people that were really living by the city's reputation as the city of brotherly love. And New York completely speaks for itself. It is like no other place on earth.
As I’ve made mention to before, the semester was demanding in terms of the workload. I wrote approximately 230 pages (or about 70,000 words) in total for all my courses. The courses gave me insights into both what I had been studying as well as new areas that I can incorporate into my studies when I return to Prague. One of my goals in coming to study at George Washington was to increase my knowledge and broaden my sources for my work on my thesis for Charles University. My time at George Washington has more than fulfilled its expectations in this area.
While D.C. was a great place to live and all the travel in the U.S. was amazing, the thing I will be most sad about leaving is the friends I have made. I formed close bonds with my room mates, the other students in the exchange programme and also some four-year George Washington students. We shared experiences all over the city and country and they know whenever they want, there is a couch waiting for them in Prague.
It’s pouring rain today, and the campus is filled with students going to and fro between finals, the library, places that serve coffee and food, and their dorm rooms. Amidst the stress and trying very hard not to focus too much on the semester coming to the end I went and got lunch with Hanna (from Egypt) and Marie (from the Czech Republic). In our orientation week we won a quiz, and had been planning to all three of us have a celebratory lunch. Which ended up only happening today (whoops!).
We sat over big plates of Pad Thai and had a good hour long chat about life. About friends, family, university, the future, GW, our exchange experience overall. Sure, we’ve had chats about all these things before – but now we’ve nearly come to the end there’s a certain tone or mood to them. Every conversation I have with a fellow exchange student is shaded by discussions about where everyone’s is traveling, when their flight home is, whether people have internships. It’s the realization that this semester is coming to and end, and we have to actually think about what we’re all doing next. Some of us have a few more semesters of university to go home to, and some of us are truly finished with our undergrad forever. We’re all looking towards post-student life, and whatever that many entail. It’s pretty darn daunting to be honest!
As we finished walking back to our dorms, I was about to say goodbye. But when I started to I realized this wasn’t a ‘bye, see you in a day or two!’, It might end up being a proper goodbye. So we decided it wasn’t going to be. Instead it was a ‘goodbye, I’ll see you later this week, and we’ll say goodbye properly then!’. But I don’t really want to do that either.
The marvelous thing about friendships and technology is that the latter helps you maintain the former. Thanks to email, Facebook and Skype the friendships I made here won’t just be maintained in the occasional letter. We have instant connections to people all over the world. It’s something I’m very glad for.
At the start of semester in Orientation we wrote goals down for our semester. One of mine was to work on having a ‘global network’ of friends. A pretty silly name for it really. But thanks to GW Exchange, I’m going home knowing that’s what I actually have. We come from all over the place, and leave with a variety of friends, acquaintances, and contacts and memories we’ll have for an awfully long time.
For all my time living and studying in another country, the international experience I had this past weekend was by far the most insightful into cultures that are vastly different from both the Czech Republic and the United States. Last Saturday, over forty embassies opened their doors to the general public. The embassies showcased food, drink and culture including music and dance. The event was completely free and there was a lot of buzz surrounding the event. Being students of the world, we decided to partake and see what the world had to offer us. We decided to stick to the Western Hemisphere as it has been our home for the last four months and none of us have been south of the boarder, it also ties into my studies and I felt that it would be rewarding to get a little closer to the cultures I was learning about in my classes.
Marie, Pavla, and Myself at the embassy of Trinidad and Tobago
Our journey began in Peru. We were greeted to the unique musical sounds of a Peruvian pan flute band. This is not unlike the sound that one can find in the Renaissance era of the old world, but it had it's own South American feel to it. Everyone representing the embassy was dressed in very colorful traditional clothing. We saw llamas, an animal that has been extremely important to Peruvians for hundreds of years. Native to South America, these animals provide fiber for making clothes and blankets as well as their use as pack animals. After viewing the wildlife, there was a showcase of native Peruvian dancing, namely, the Marinera. Somewhat similar to the tango, this dance uses a handkerchief instead of a rose and represents courtship between the two dance partners. Finally, we indulged in the edible offerings of Peru. Most enjoyable was our sampling of quinoa, prepared with basil and Inca Kola, a sweet lemony soda that tastes a bit like bubble gum. We also tried Pisco, however we were not overly impressed with drinking this straight.
After Peru, it was a short trip to Trinidad and Tobago. Like Peru, we were welcomed with traditional music from the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago, the steel drum. While it is a well known sound, we were quite impressed by hearing it in person and the musicians ability to make such wonderful sounds from a seemingly simple instrument. After the music, we looked into the native dress of the small island country and were surprised to find that we were able to wear them ourselves. While we found them to be a little tall for our tastes, they were intricately and beautifully made. Finally, we once again were treated to some food, although this time much sweeter. Traditional sweet bread and a not so traditional coconut cupcake made for a great tastes of the Caribbean.
Then it was back to South America to visit Chile. There was a large presentation and video screening about the folklore and the countryside of the country, which was quite interesting, but was a short stop to the best part of the visit to the Chilean embassy: the food. They are known for their wine and the red was excellent. It accompanied the smoked salmon excellently. While it is very possible to get fish in the Czech Republic, we are a land locked country far from the ocean and fish is not a major part of our diet. When we find it prepared by people who have been doing it for generations, it is really a treat. The small meal was topped off with a Pisco sour, yes the same Pisco that we did not enjoy in Peru, but when mixed with some lemon or strawberry juice and a hint of sugar, it was much more pleasant.
Nicaraguan Embassy with Pavla
Finally, we saved the best for last. All day we had been hearing that Nicaragua was the best that everyone had been to, so we finished the day there. The lines were long but very well worth it, mostly from a gastronomical point of view. There were loads of samples of excellent Nicaraguan food and drink. Namely, the sweet bread, served with some jelly, accompanied with Nicaraguan rum. We make rum in the Czech Republic, but like the fish, sampling it from it's origin, prepared by time tested methods gave us a very different and authentic taste. Finally, we had some coffee. I don't mean to write a short sentence about the coffee, it might have been the best coffee I’ve ever had and my friends will agree with me. While not native to South America, they have been growing coffee for hundreds of years in a climate that is perfectly conducive to it's growth and cultivation. And it really shows. Like Peru, we were able to try on some head wear from the country.
Finally, our trip around the world came full circle with a little trip home. The embassy of the Czech Republic was not open (that's next week when the EU embassies will host a similar event) in our wanderings, we found memorial honoring the first president of Czechoslovakia Tomáš Masaryk. While Czechoslovakia has split, Masaryk is still a very important figure to the people of the two new countries and after a day of traveling around the world it was very nice to see a little piece of home at the end of our journey.
As I’m laying on my bed with a severe fever, I’m desperately trying to find the capital gains and the present value of “Smith’s vehicle workshop”. You know it not a good day when you’re trying to study for a comprehensive finance final and French final scheduled for tomorrow, all with a fever and a mind wandering off. I’m not thinking about Mr. Smith’s vehicle workshop, or how to conjugate the verb “aller” in French, all I can do is sit around and wander how time passed so fast. Was last Wednesday really my last day of classes? Do I really have less than a week before I have to say my last goodbyes to the people I now call my family?
I promised myself that I wouldn’t make this a sad post, as this is definitely not my last one but, it really is a bittersweet feeling. Instead I’m going to push back tears and move away these thoughts, and begin by telling you about my first concert experience.
Living in Egypt, and especially after the January 25th revolution, not many celebrities would pick Egypt as part of their world tour. So unfortunately the idea of singing your lungs out and seeing your favorite celebrity live, is something extremely new for us. That is why the crowd sure did hear my voice, and must have been annoyed, at the sound of a tone-deaf, Egyptian girl singing her lungs out to Rihanna’s new hits. So if you missed Rhianna, as she rocked the stage at the Verizon Center last Monday, don’t feel too bad.
But seriously can you blame me? A girl who has never been to a concert before and who has all of Rhianna’s songs memorized; can she really keep calm at her favorite singers concert? It was clearly impossible. I really had such a blast, as I was able to dance the night away and celebrate the last day of classes with other exchange students; Julie from Argentina, Rhiannon from Australia, and Dina from Egypt. Definitely, a night to remember.
Dina, Rhiannon, Julie, and Hanna
Apart from a crazy concert, my rest of the week consisted of work, work, and work, and as an exchange group we managed to squeeze in a dinner at Sequoia. Sequoia is a fancy restaurant that overlooks the Washington Harbor. With a reservation of 20, it was a nice dinner where we had a chance to reminisce about some of our hilarious memories. However, our dinner abruptly ended when we all realized we had to go back and study for finals.
Exams week almost here, and I can’t even get myself around the fact that this exchange is almost over.
