This Week Abroad - 3/27/15
Blogs Abroad: Choice, Chance, Change
This is Arcadia's weekly roundup of highlights from student blogs abroad.
Study Abroad is a transformative experience in any student's life, and if that wasn't apparent before, hopefully our student bloggers have highlighted that truth in great and entertaining detail. This week, those details are readily apparent in Yasaman's exploration of Ireland during St. Patrick's Week, Brenda's visit to the the Palau de la Música Catalana to hear some beautiful music, and Caroline's Myth-Busting of Paris.
Eien is honest about their struggles in adjusting to a new setting, and at the same time hopeful and optimistic about the incredible experience that awaits them. But even as Eien is settling into the semester, Jackie and Kristi see the writing of their semesters on the wall and reflect on the power of their time abroad. Meanwhile, Emma dazzles us with her wealth of knowledge of the Cretaceous period with a recap of her excursion to the Catlins. And speaking of New Zealand, Meredith is enjoying herself so much that she's going back for seconds!
Remy starts this week off by discussing these themes in her brilliant post, Choice, Chance, Change.
Choice, Chance, Change
Remy in Cape Town, South Africa
"Cape Town has been on fire both literally and figuratively in the past few weeks. While the record high heat sparked a fire that covered the mountain ranges, a fire was lit in the hearts of the UCT community and the population of Cape Town in general. On Monday the 9th, the “one man protest” occurred at the Cecil Rhodes statue on UCT's upper campus. A student threw human feces onto the statue and got the attention of the entire student body, faculty, staff, and media. Everyday since then, there have been students protesting at the statue, and security guards constantly monitoring. The Rhodes Must Fall campaign is fighting to have the statue removed, as it symbolizes and glorifies the ideals of colonialism and racism and creates an unsafe space for students whose families struggled through the apartheid and continue to struggle now. I chose to attend a large open discussion on the steps of Jameson Hall to watch students voice their opinions and get a better idea of the arguments from both sides. It was incredible to watch and listen, to hear the stories students had to share. Please do some research on this current event!"
Going Back For Seconds
Meredith in Canterbury, New Zealand
"When I look around, I see a country that is just waiting to be enjoyed, indulged in, and gobbled up. Every day, for one reason or another, I am reminded of how rich this island is. New Zealand is like a Pinterest-perfect dessert; full of decadent flavors, and layers upon layers of savory goodness. While I’m here, I want to indulge myself with more sights, more adventures, more wonders. So when my dear friends suggested that we spend a long weekend in Queenstown, I couldn’t possibly say no. It’s true that I may have just visited a couple of weekends ago, but I choose to look at my first visit as the first course meal, and this weekend as going back for seconds."
Adventure in Ireland
"Hello + Happy St. Patrick's Day! I just got back from an amazing adventure in Ireland! The cloudy skies, greenery, and architecture won me over and reminded me SO much of one of my favorite cities, Seattle. Being in an english-speaking country for a weekend was such a nice break and I was so amazed at the kind hearts and friendly people I met in Ireland. Every person we encountered opened doors for good conversation and good laughs. The Irish and their sense of humor seriously made my stomach hurt! "
Not Gonna Lie
"So I guess what I want to say about all this is that it has been a hard 5 weeks, but I'm still working hard to make this a great experience. It has been about not giving up, not settling for being alone when I'm upset, getting up and getting out of my room to scour the college for people to talk to. If you put yourself out there and push to make connections then you will find that its a whole lot easier to be abroad. I hope someone finds this helpful. It's not impossible to go abroad, even when you think the world is against you. It can be a life changing experience if you really try to make it one. Work hard, push through the anxiety, and make it abroad. No retreat, no surrender."
Nights Filled with Music
"Hi readers! This week was smooth and fast. On Monday, some of the students from the Arcadia program and I went to go see and hear famous musicians at the Palau de la Música Catalana. The Palau de la Música Catalana is a concert hall created the architect Lluís Doménech I Montaner. Some instruments that were played were the clarinet, piano, drums and the cello! All musicians were very talented and I was glad I was able to experience this. In addition, the designs on the building were extraordinary, especially the ceiling."
Back to the Cretaceous at the Catlins
"It was like I imagine the rolling green hills of the English countryside, just after dawn. Skies cold patchy blue behind a marine layer, rising sun backlighting the clouds. Our geology mobile, a retro-looking white and blue touring bus from the 90’s, cruised the Catlin coast’s blustery cliffs on the Southern Scenic Route, the region’s only road. To our left, the sheep sprawled out in the fields, bumbling in a frigid morning breeze. Waves of green hills flowed right to the oceanside cliffs like a frozen terrestrial ocean, competing with the tumultuous south Pacific that crashed blue below us."
The Halfway Hump
"I am officially over halfway through my time in London. I have been living in London for 80 days, and return back home to the States in 70 days (according to my laptop’s countdown app). It’s honestly unbelievable to think that I’m over the halfway hump. On one hand, it feels like a lifetime ago that I landed in Heathrow, knowing almost nobody and having no idea what my life was going to soon be like. On the other hand, I feel like just yesterday I moved into my flat at Queen Mary and started my new classes. The further I am into the semester, the faster time seems to be moving, and I’m afraid that before I know it I’ll be sitting in my room figuring out how in the world I’m going to repack my suitcases. At first, I thought it would take forever to reach this point, but now, I can’t believe it’s snuck up on me so fast. Getting to this halfway point, though, has been a journey filled with both challenges and experiences I could have never imagined."
One Month more
"It feels like yesterday I was just starting to get the handle of ordering an espresso and croissant, and now I’m getting emails about adjusting to life back in America. I only have one more month in Italy! I got quite overwhelmed with the feelings of it all; on the one hand I miss my friends and family like crazy, but on the other I’m not quite ready for this journey to end. Also at the end of my time here is the end of my time as a college student, which means adult job, adult responsibilities, adult life. A lot to expect from a woman who forgot to check the weather and left her clothes outside to dry in a rainstorm. And as other students in the library start to talk about picking classes and filling out FAFSA (one perk of not having a next semester) my heart starts to beat faster and I can feel my left eye twitch from the anxiety of this departure from reality coming to a close. But instead of crawling under my covers and hiding, which was my first plan, I decided to focus on the positives and list all the things I can wait to see when I get back to America. Think positive, right?"
Myth Busting: Paris
"Here is a list of things people say about Paris that are true:
1) Everyone dresses well and I mean literally everyone. Nobody wears sneakers, shorts, sweat pants, or colors. Basically, everyone looks amazing. 2) As long as you look like you’re sort of, kind of, maybe, older than 16, you won’t be carded. I ordered wine in a restaurant and I was almost bummed when the waiter didn’t ask to see my ID. 3) Every single building is beautiful. I don’t care if it’s some random bank or a crappy apartment building, the outside will look like the most stunning and important building ever constructed. Every building is covered in balconies and flowers and fancy windows with fancy roofs... "