Relax/Culture Shock!

Taylor King

Blog 6: Intercultural Competency

One thing I will do to ease my transition into a new culture is to relax.  I have experienced culture shock before and didn’t realize I was in culture shock until a few days later when I had time to adjust and become acquainted with the new scenery.   When I experience culture shock in Argentina, I plan on doing what I did before when I experienced culture shock and relax.  I can try my hardest to feel normal and like I felt at home but in the end it will be better to go with the flow and let things fall into place so that I don’t worry myself and cause myself more stress and shock.  There will be changes in eating habits in that I will have “a forth meal” in Argentina.  There is breakfast, lunch, then tea/snack time around five, then dinner around ten or eleven at night.  This means I will be a night owl and will be having some late nights out!  However, I am pretty excited about this part since I stay up late anyway in the US.  There is a possibility that I will get homesick and I will have access to a phone and internet that I can use to contact family and friends back home.  Again, if this happens I believe that it is best not to sit around but to go out with friends somewhere to surround you with social people.  Hopefully I will not get to the point of depression if I get homesick.  I plan to not let this happen!  I have a goal of making as many new friends and social networks as possible so that I will not have time to be sad that I have left my family and friends at home for four and a half ish months.  I tend to get frustrated fairly easily; however, I have a method for relieving my anger which is food!  Whenever I get frustrated, I treat myself to a little something to calm and distress myself.  Whether it be chocolate, a small snack, or a soda, it always seems to help me focus.  I do expect myself to experience a sense of failure here and there during my expedition.  Even though I can speak Spanish, I am not 100% fluent so I do sometimes not understand Hispanic people occasionally.  When it comes to illness, I plan on going to the local clinic since it is close and convenient.  I am planning on NOT getting sick but it is a different country with different surroundings so nobody knows.  My last note is that with my method of relaxing and going with the flow, I do have a restriction.  When the time comes, which it will, when I get so overwhelmed with school or other activities, I plan on stepping away  and withdrawing from the situation so that I do not become so frustrated it ruins my experience.  I will have to deal with adjustments I know, but occasionally one needs a few moments of piece to sort out thought and convince oneself that they can do it!    

Ode to Joy

As the departure date looms ever so closely over the horizon, I am constantly bombarded by thoughts of not getting to eat dinner with my parents. I am constantly reminded that I will not get to stay up until 3 in the morning watching movies with some of my ridiculously close friends. And I am ever so aware of the fact that I will not be comforted by the dark, cool recesses of my room at night.

These overwhelmingly intense realizations successfully shrink me to the size of ladybug.

So the question asks me how exactly will I deal with the teeth chattering, sweat inducing, bone crushing anxiety that I am about to encounter.

MUSIC!

......and other familiar things!

I have realized that I tend to be a typically sentimental person. I will hold on to movie tickets, concert stubs, pieces of paper, and honestly just about any other useless item just because I associate it with some sort of strong memory.

And in that realization I developed, what I believe, to be a pretty decent rationale on how to cope with homesickness, anxiety, culture shock, etc.

If I take a few small items of nostalgia, then I think it will be just enough to keep me sane.

I will be absolutely sure to take my iPod filled with the music that evokes such serendipitous and calming states within my brain. I will take pictures of loved ones. I will take tiny, objects that have no sort of explicit usefulness just to keep next to my desk marked "IN CASE OF EMERGENCY: Look at me for extended periods of time to keep your sanity in an unfamiliar space!"

I think that this will all work because of these objects' familiarity. These objects, both concrete and abstract, do not simply take up space. They create an atmosphere. And this atmosphere will keep me grounded, no matter how lofty or cloudy my head gets. The importance of a familiar atmosphere to me is indescribably important for my physical and mental well-being.

And so, in this sordid, trivial attempt to plant myself in Thailand with only a few sentimental objects, I think that it will be enough to ease my transition into another world.

Intercultural Competency

I believe the most important thing to do to ease my transition into Japanese culture would be to use Japanese almost always. I remember that during my trip, everything became much easier to adjust to when I really focused on avoiding English. It helped me to think more like a Japanese person, and I was able to step back from my culture and try to live in a new one. Of course, my home culture will always influence me; however, not comparing myself and what I know to be "normal" to the culture I was seeing, hearing, and feeling helped me transition a lot. I believe it will help deal with all of the adjustments I will face in Japan, as long as I look at it as "This is just the way things are here." This especially includes sleeping patterns, because there is no daylight savings in Japan. The sun rose around 5:30am in the summer.

Dr. Emma, the Traveling Novice

A Brief Travel History of Emma Slaymaker

• I have never been out of the country.
• The farthest away from home (Knoxville, TN) I've been was Disney Land in California when I was six. 
• I've only ever been on planes with my parents, and the last time I was on a plane was a very long time ago.
• I get homesick in Maryville, TN, which is a whopping 19 miles away from home. 

 It is safe to say that I will be hit hard with culture shock, but that's not to say that it will be a completely painful blow. I considered my above travel history when I was picking a country to study abroad in, and I did end up vetoing India and Morocco. To put it bluntly, when I imagine myself studying abroad I never picture being in a place where I'm still surrounded by white people. That's not why I am studying abroad - to be surrounded by people of a different race - that's just an easy way of visualizing. I am studying abroad to learn about a culture that is very different from the only one I have ever known growing up in America. Culture in the United Arab Emirates still has similarities to the culture in America, but there are some sizable differences. For instance, the major (and governing) religion in the UAE is Islam.

My point is, basically, that I am studying abroad to subject myself to culture shock. It will be a life changing, growing, once-in-a-lifetime, learning experience. When I start to feel the negative effects of culture shock, which I assuredly will given my tendencies towards homesickness, I will remind myself why I am studying abroad.

And when it gets so bad that even that won't work, I also like making lists. Even now when I'm feeling sad, I will make a list of things to do to actively make myself feel better.

SOME ADVICE FROM DR. EMMA, PHD IN ADVICE
 One very important thing that I have recently learned is that you are responsible for making yourself happy. It sounds simple enough, but when I'm sad I'll frequently catch myself internally whining, "None of my friends want to hang out with me... Probably because all I do is sit in my room and watch Netflix," or, "If someone would just notice that I'm feeling down today that would be great! Is it too much to ask for a hug or something?" Those aren't exact internal dialogues, but you get the idea. I expect someone to swoop in and help make me feel better. Being sad about being sad will only make you more sad. It isn't always easy, but if you're feeling sad the first thing you can do is work on cheering yourself up. Anyway, this is something I will remind myself of if I ever feel sad and bogged down by the fact that I'm somewhere around 6,000 miles away from home and experiencing the new sensation of culture shock.

Alabama = Argentina... Right?

Ahhh Alabama: The great state where people only care to focus on southern pride and tradition. Being a native of a place of such class, it's difficult to prepare myself for a shift in culture that's going to happen when I visit Argentina in the spring. On the bright side, at least I get FOUR MONTHS to try out all the different styles of grits and cornbread that are made in Argentina! The only problem is that, to my dismay, they don’t have grits NOR cornbread down there, which means I really AM going to be in an entirely different culture. 

How does a person like myself—one much more used to the rolling of the Alabama Crimson Tide than with the rolling of an “R”—get accommodated with the unpredictable culture differences that I’m going to face?

To answer this question, I’m going to venture where no Alabamian has ever gone... I’m going to be OPEN-MINDED.

No! By open-minded I DON’T mean that I’m going to say yes to all the drugs in Argentina.

NO! By open-minded I DEFINITELY don’t mean I will try to enjoy listening to songs by Miley Cyrus.

By open-minded, I mean that I’m going to try and look at the grand scheme of things the whole time I’m in Argentina. While this certainly won’t be an easy task the whole time, I think it’s a valuable tool to have while I’m in another country. 

How exactly will I use this never-before-seen-in-Alabama tool?

First off, there is a HIGH possibility (100% still counts as a possibility, right?) that I won’t understand every word that is spoken to me in Spanish while I’m in Argentina. 

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy staring blankly into the face of someone who is waiting for a response to the question they asked just as much as the next guy, but for some reason I sense the possibility of some possible frustration from this. Even if that’s the case, I’m going to try my best to stay open-minded. In this case, I just need to remember that one of the main reasons I’m there is to LEARN. If I went to Argentina already knowing how to speak perfect Spanish, my idea would be flawed. Keeping an open mind tells me that I am absolutely doing the right thing in the right place if I DO get frustrated when I realize that I am, in fact, an Alabamian gringo and not an Argentinian fútbol star... Shocking, I know.

At least I can rely on one thing to be the same while I’m in Argentina: southern hospitality!! Lets be honest, all I’m doing is going from the southern states to the southern hemisphere. 

I know... I’m wrong.

Even though I know people won’t be super eager and ready to be mean to me in Argentina, I also expect that there are some things, like southern hospitality, that I could miss from my culture. Again, I think that an open-mind could even help me when I miss things from my culture. Yes; even when I miss my momma. I think an open mind in this case would help me realize that, even though this culture isn’t my culture, it’s still a culture. Yes, there will almost certainly be things that I don’t like, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t things that I DO like. It helps that I’m generally a positive person. It’ll definitely be hard to enjoy the culture when I realize things like, “You mean you don’t wave at everyone you pass?” or “You mean you DON’T fry that?” Even so, I think opening up my mind to their culture will help me find a lot of things that I like about it too. 

Of course I will face more challenges than fried food vs non-fried food in the cultural change, but I think an open-mind can have many forms and help me in many ways. Whether it be that I focus on Argentinian fútbol instead of Alabama football or that I focus on the host family that is there instead of my real family that isn’t there, I think that thinking about things with an open mind will help a lot. 

Emma the Emirati

Every time I've gone to a new school I've wanted to fit in and make friends. What's different this time is that I'm going to a new school in a foreign country where I won't know anyone, I'll stand out as a foreigner, and I'll face cultural adjustments. My goals are still the same, though. Since I'm STUDYING abroad, however, I want to learn about where I'm studying as well.

My game plan right now for being a friendly, outgoing student who gets along in life is to try to learn as much as I can about the people, culture, and area I'll be living in; keep an open mind; actively work on being out going and meeting people; find opportunities to get involved in campus activities.

For the first couple of weeks that I'm at The American University of Sharjah I will probably rely heavily on the international student program there until I get my bearings.

There are a lot of interest-oriented clubs on campus including an environmental club, which I will look into while I'm over there. There is also an Office of Sustainability that has been working to implement immediate steps to reduce campus dependency on electricity and water.

AUS has an athletic center that I want to check out. I don't know how being on an athletic team wold work out, but they have different training sessions in aerobics, swimming, table tennis, etc.

Tyler Jones: TO THAI OR NOT TO THAI....THAT IS THE QUESTION!!

What an incredible 5 months of Thailand I have ahead of me. The sights! The sounds! The people! How could I not be excited? But ah! The people! I'll need to make friends, won't I? Not only do I need to make friends, but I need to travel around Thailand and take in ALL of the sights and sounds.

The brilliantly, mesmerizing landscape calls my name!

It's almost too much to even think about right now; my head will explode from anticipation.

Is this when I pray to the patron saint of traveling?

BUT I DIGRESS!

It seems the question is how will I live when I'm over there? How will I get connected with not only the people, but the culture, the atmosphere, the essence of Thailand...

After last week's class, Kara Loveday's tips were an immense amount of help. She told me (this makes sense after some thought, but it wasn't something I had thought about previously) that I should absolutely get connected with a native Thai. I should get connected with someone from the school who is my age and speaks a lot of English. From what I've read on ISEP, I do believe that the school sort of assigns me a "Thai buddy", but I'm not entirely sure if that will actually happen.

But regardless of that, I need to connect with people! Whether or not, I actually find a Thai person to travel around with, it would only help to have a local point me to places to visit. I want to visit places that tourists probably wouldn't go, somewhere off the beaten path.

I'm not there on vacation.

I have a job!

My God, to learn!!!!

I'm not referring to class, by any means.

I'm talking about true, genuine, untainted experience! I want to blend in (as a white, bearded, American, this will hardly be easy). I want to have this overwhelming sense that Thailand is paradoxical. On one side, it becomes familiar to me; it becomes an extension of myself. The sights, sounds, and people have become well acquainted to my Western body and soul. However, on the other side of the coin, I want to be constantly surprised by what Thailand reveals to me. A constant state of disbelief and awe in a familiar space sounds just about right. My hopes in achieving this would to dive under the superficial surface of tourism, and truly breathe in the authenticity of Thailand.

So if that is my goal, then how do I get to that?

Well for one, Kara has said she has lists and lists of places to go, so that will be a vital resource that I have before I go. And like I said previously, I really need to connect with native Thai students. As well, since I will be a part of the foreign exchange program, there will be numerous trips to be a part of that are associated with the school. Another Kara tidbit is that I should definitely enroll in some classes within the BBA program, because according to her, they go on incredible excursions for free, and the program is apparently considerably more organized than the Thai Studies program.

After talking to Kara and PJ, they both gave me good tips on local tips, such as eating at all the street vendors (they tend to have the freshest food), and they told me about certain banks, restaurants, and places to go.

(and I can't wait to get that list from Kara!)

Getting Involved and Living Like a Local - Whitney Bowers

In order to live like a local, I believe that I will need to become friends with one. I think it would be best to have someone that I can spend time with that knows the area well and can show me what locals do.

 For me, "living like a local" means that I would participate in activities day-to-day that locals themselves do. While I will probably be friends with some international students, I believe it would be best to spend time with local students while I am on campus as much as possible. I think that this would be one of the best ways to improve my Japanese language ability, and I have seen this work with my international friends in the past.

I also think that it would be a good idea to join a club (which is a norm in Japanese schools) so I can meet new people and find people with similar interests. I hope that my day-to-day life will include activities after class with friends. I don't normally do anything after classes, so living in a more urban environment may provide interesting was to kill time.

I hope that living like a local would influence my Japanese and help me to learn in a more native way. If I can think like a Japanese, maybe I can think IN Japanese better. I think that this will make my experience abroad more positive, and I hope that living like a native will make it easier for me to make local friends.

Rachel Burton: Becoming a True Fighting Scot

       After attending Maryville College and visiting Scotland, you would think that I would already know what it takes to be a "Fighting Scot."  However, I feel that there is really no true way to become a "Scot" without immersing myself in the Scottish culture for more than a week.  After five months of making Scotland my residence, I hope to feel somewhat apart of the culture.  In the heart of Edinburgh, I evolve from looking completely  lost and confused, to looking like I know where I'm going and what I'm doing, to actually knowing where I am, how to get where I need to go, and to know what I'm doing.  Once I feel like I've mastered that, then I will feel much more unified with the Edinburgh community.
       When it comes to getting involved with the campus, I hope to find several organizations, clubs, and groups on campus that I can join.  I don't want to be seen as simply another international student.  I want to be known throughout both the international and Scottish undergraduate students.  I also want to be known by the locals by immersing myself in the city of Edinburgh on a daily basis.  I want to be remembered and keep long-lasting relationships with people after my semester there has finished.  I want to make a name for myself there, such as "Rachel Burton, the cool girl," instead of "that American international student."  I'm fine with being referred to as the American girl until I make my place there, but I definitely don't want to be seen as the cliche American: loud, obnoxious, and wild.
         Being a naturally social person, I don't foresee a problem in becoming a local in Edinburgh.  I will make the effort to become a "regular" at local coffee shops, grocery stores, etc., so that I am hopefully remembered and can make friendships with locals in the working community.  Knowing myself, I will be going out A LOT, from walking around the city, learning to navigate on my own after class, to exploring different restaurants, bars, and nightclubs on the weekends.  I know the campus and city is much larger than what I'm used to here at Maryville, but that's part of the excitement for me and the challenge in becoming known in a foreign country.
          I love to attend events, so it will be easy to get involved with the campus by attending international events, campus parties, or invitations to student gatherings.  I have an advantage by knowing someone in a nearby city of Aberdeen.  I will get the "inside scoop" from John before and while I'm there.  He has already told me a lot about social norms and general knowledge of living in Scotland and the education system of universities there.  He will be coming down to Edinburgh to visit some weekends while I'm studying there, so I'll have him give me an Edinburgh tour each time to become more familiar with the city on my own.  If he has any connections there, he will introduce me so that I can add to my list of locals I know.  Having him to guide me throughout the city will help keep me and my girlfriends safe when we're in the city late at night.

The Excitement of Edinburgh Living!

Sounds like it should be the title of a magazine, right? Although I do not expect the transition from small-town Maryville every day living to bustling Urban city Edinburgh to come with ease, I do believe that planning ahead in steps, such as this, will help increase my success rate of having a better idea for the process of different living for the future months to come.  Away from home for the first time, I have the opportunity to spread my wings and taste a bit of freedom through activities on campus and outside of the school setting. 

Although I haven’t really thought too much about how everyday life will play out, I have thought about what my goals are to do during the time between classes and studying for exams.  It will be interesting to make the transition between the mind frame of thinking and living like I always have to fully immersing myself into the various aspects of my host culture.  To me, living like a local means doing several things. First off, the everyday eating style changes drastically from hamburgers, burritos, coke and chili to haggis, steamy bread, fresh vegetables and non-iced water.

 

      

Most students who attend the University cook their own food for themselves every day that they purchase weekly or bi-weekly at a small grocery outlet.  Thankfully, there is a small store that is within walking distance of the housing buildings for Napier, so it will not be too difficult a task to find food.  

Outside of school, I imagine my daily life consisting of bus rides from the city centre to the countryside where I could sit and enjoy the cold, brisk air while completing homework. Afterwards, I might find myself meeting up with some friends at a coffee bar to warm up and socialize a little bit before heading back into the city where I will cook dinner for myself and perhaps a few classmates while we wind down and chat about whatever we find interesting.

    

Ok, so hopefully my cooking in the upcoming months WON’T look like this! I’ve done a little bit of research on healthy and easy recipes that might come in handy. For example, one of my favorites is the Simple Spinach Cheese Pie that my mom makes at home.

Ingredients:
INGREDIENTS

§  1 tbps. Olive Oil

§  1 cup Chopped Onion

§  1 10 oz Package Frozen Chopped Spinach

§  3 cups Low-Fat Shredded Cheddar Cheese

§  ½ tsp. Salt

§  1/8 tsp. Ground Black Pepper

§  1/8 tsp. Nutmeg

§  5 Large Eggs, beaten (or Egg Beaters if you want to cut calories)

Directions:

1.     First, preheat your oven to 350 Fahrenheit.

2.     Lightly oil a 9-inch pie plate, use cooking spray if you have it.

3.     Next, heat a frying pan and oil in a skillet over medium heat.

4.     Once hot, add the onion to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring until soft.

5.     Add the spinach, and continue to cook and stir, until the moisture has evaporated; remove the mixture from the heat once done.

6.     Now, in a separate medium bowl, beat the eggs or egg mixture. Once beat, mix in the cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

7.     Next, combine the egg mixture with the spinach & onion mixture by carefully pouring the eggs into the pie plate, and spread the mixture evenly throughout the pie plate.

8.     Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is lightly browned. Use a knife or toothpick to test center to make sure it’s cooked; the firmness of the pie and how clean the toothpick is upon removal should give you a good idea of how ready it is.

9.     Let stand for 5 minutes. Cut into four to six triangle, pie-style pieces, plate and enjoy!

Recipes like this will come in handy as I cook to feed myself and the people that I invite over to my flat. As my mom always says, “The best of friends are formed over food!”

Napier University also offers many on-campus activities that both traditional students and foreign students (me!) can participate in. For example, Napier’s website boasts that “Around 29% of our total student body are international students coming from over 110 countries. Our largest numbers currently come from Ireland, China, France, India, Poland and Germany.”

The site also includes information on a program offered by the university titled, [EN]Gage which offers information such as the, “Sports Centre at the Sighthill Campus features a 200m2 fitness suite with the latest state-of the-art equipment, from Life Fitness treadmills to Olympic weight lifting platforms. If you prefer getting fit with your friends, our 1200² sports hall is available to book for sporting activities such as football, basketball, badminton and table tennis.”

Which sounds totally awesome!! Since I’m a part of the cross-country team here at MC, it would be wonderful to have a place to continue to stay fit even when it’s freezing and slushy snow covers the ground.

¡La Vida Argentina!

So far, planning for Argentina has involved me thinking of things such as transportation into the country, visa requirements, necessary vaccines, transportation while inside the country, trips I’ll take inside the country, and much more, but the thing that I haven’t planned for is how I’ll spend my time there on a day-to-day basis. Since I’ll be there for four months, my day-to-day activities are going to be a major part of my life in Argentina. While one of my goals for studying abroad is to experience a different culture, I want to make sure that I spend my time there in a way that helps me experience the culture like a local and not like a tourist. To do that, I’m going to use the local resources as much as possible. A few of the MANY resources I want to use are mynhost family, the community at Universidad Blas Pascal, and the community of Córdoba.

As for the resources available to me in Argentina, I think that staying with a host family is one of the best resources that I have. Local life in the city and local college life are both important, but being able to live with a host family and to do things in the same manner as them (ESPECIALLY if they have kids!!). I think a big part of living like a local is understanding the attitude of the locals. In my opinion, there’s not a better way to get an understanding of the attitude than by living with a family. I’m really looking forward to having a relationship with my host family and not just seeing them as a four-month hotel (although I do appreciate that part too).

When I’m not with my host family, I’ll be spending a lot of my time at the college. Forming friendships is one obvious way of getting a local perspective through the life at the college, but I’ll need to be careful of my time with the other exchange students. While I’m very excited to meet other people who are studying in Argentina and sharing the same experience that I am, I want to make sure that I still step out of my comfort zone to hang out with locals more than exchange students. In order to make friends at the college, I want to spend a lot of my time involved in on-campus activities. One thing that interests me a lot about Universidad Blas Pascal is that there is a really great sports/recreational program. On their website they have a list of times for everything from ping pong to paddling to soccer... QUITE the list of my hobbies. It’s extremely appealing to me and I’m really going to enjoy the things that I’ve already developed an interest for and things that the locals have an interest in. While I won’t fully know the ways I can make friends until I’m there and in the swing of things, my general mindset for understanding the Argentinian way of life in college is to put myself out there and to go out of my way to be in situations where I’ll meet people.

Outside of the college and my host family, the huge cultural resource for living like a local is the life of the city. From parks to mountains to professional soccer teams, Córdoba seems to have it all. One thing I’m very interested in is volunteering for a local non-profit organization. I’ve been drawn to that type of thing here in Maryville, and I think it would be a great way for me to be thrown into the culture and to get an experience of how people are helped in Argentina. While I won’t know exactly what I’ll do in the city, I definitely have a goal of using it to help me live like a local. It may be that I go to soccer games and cheer on the team with other locals, or it may be that I use local friends from college to help me understand what locals do in a big city like Córdoba, but I certainly plan on taking advantage of the numerous activities in Córdoba. For example, the night life (concerts, festivals, etc.) in Córdoba is something the city is very proud of. I’ve never really been one to experience a “night life” here in the US, but I may found myself drawn to concerts and other events in order to meet people and get a feel of the local way to spend time.

Overall, I think it’s very important that I use my time in Argentina to learn how to live like a local. If I spend four months in Argentina and I leave still acting and living like a tourist, I won’t be happy with myself. While I don’t know what I’ll do on a daily basis, I do know that I’m going to take advantage of the resources offered to me. Not only will this help me have a better experience, but it will also help me develop an understanding of way of life in Argentina.

Viviendo como una Argentina

Taylor King

Blog Post 5

Viviendo como una Argentina!

I want to get involved in some volunteer programs near the school but I am not positive on any specific ones as to right now that would be the best fit for me.  I would love to find a church there to assist in a volunteer way while taking classes as well as help out in the local jardin de Botanico in Buenos Aires.  It is a small garden but is a touristy part of the city since it is an all green part of the city.  I have had seven years of experience in working with flowers at Iris City Nursery and would love to volunteer at the Botanico garden to see how Argentinian plants differ from plants in the US.  One of my main goals while abroad is to find study groups on campus to join.  I love the way that Maryville has set up tutor sessions every week for each class.  I plan to either join, or start my own tutor/study session while in Argentina in order to stay up to par with my classes and work that my professors will give me. 

The term, “living like a local” means to me that I will be fully immersed in that I will not know anyone who speaks English, I will be on my own to find my way around reading Spanish maps, put in situations where I might now understand the entire conversations, may have a hard time finding friends, as well as trying and adjusting to different foods that I will have to eat for four months.  All of these aspects might be difficult to overcome; however, they are all crucial and a huge part of why I want as well as need to travel abroad.  As a person who is studying the Spanish language, I want to be able to become fluent and adapt to different lifestyles so that I can be a better rounded person as Spanish major.  If I ever want to pursue becoming a translator, I will

have to get used to being put in different situations that I have to adapt to.  I can’t get any better practice for that than going abroad to be cultured. 

In what ways do you plan on fully immersing yourself into the various aspects of your host culture (to live like a local), both on campus and in the community?  I plan on traveling to Uruguay if possible on my fall break to get a better, broader idea of what Latin America is like and traveling with my friend there in Montevideo.  I also plan to travel the strip from north to south in Argentina after my school classes are over.  I hope to travel with either Ben or Stacey so that I will have a safe trip, however these plans are still in the “planning mode and are not official”.  To experience what it is like to be a local, I plan on buying my lunches at street vendors, and small local restaurants.  I don’t plan on eating out a lot but I am definitely going to hit up some of the smaller more local restaurants that offer the traditional Argentine food as well as the coffee shops in the morning for a shot of espresso!

It is optional to have either a host family or live on campus of Universidad de Salvador.  I plan on having a host family.  I plan making local friends by going to local art showings, wine tastings, joining a study group, going to the local park, joining any intermural or after school related groups that are of interest, as well as ?

I imagine that my day to day life will be very busy.  I do not like having nothing to do and imagine that being a full time student as well as a member of some groups/volunteer opportunities will take up a good chunk of my time there. I see myself making friends and going out at night as well in a larger group setting to clubs and dinner spots.

I hope to become more fluent in my language as well as more confident in starting conversations. The goal I want to reach is to become a “local” in that I understand more about Latin American culture.

Stacey:Living like a Montevideana

     It’s official! La Universidad Católica del Uruguay accepted me as an ISEP exchange student! Apparently I’m the only one who is surprised, but I’ll take that as a compliment rather than a lack of enthusiasm. It’s magnificent news that brings me one step closer to my experience in Montevideo.

     Until now I've thought about my goals in going abroad, how I’ll adapt, and one (of hopefully many!) mini-trip. It’s time to think of the nitty-gritty details: what will life be like on a daily basis? How will I make sure that I get involved with the community, and not just float on the periphery of the culture? These are questions I can’t definitively answer, or guarantee have predictable answers, but I’m going to give it a try!

Something that is really important to me is that I don’t settle for living like an American tourist. If I wanted to live comfortably, live like “at home,” then why would I spend the effort traveling so far from home? I don’t mean to say that I want to feel alienated, marginalized, or crushingly “not at home” in Uruguay, but I think the discomfort of being immersed in a different culture is valuable. I also suspect that having always lived as an ethnic minority at home may help me out with those adjustments. If I can integrate myself  enough to empathize with Uruguayan perspectives, then I will begin to “live like a local.” I’m sure that there will be times when I turn to familiarity and comfort (having American/international friends, skipping out on eating beef, skyping too long), but a big point of this travel is to learn how to live differently!

     Arriving just before (South American) fall begins, I expect that the weather will still be warm enough to EXPLORE without my asthma getting in the way. I think this first step is crucial in finding local friends and building a space in my new environment. Maybe there will be a panadería near my home that I can go to for fresh bread, and get to know the people who work there. I’m staying with a host family, so I want to get to know them well – and I hope they have kids, because children tell the truth and are good at taking up all the attention. I've read other students’ blog posts about how friendly people can be, so maybe if I get the guts to talk to (trustable) strangers on the beach or around town, I can have insightful conversations. I’m also still heavily considering buying a bicycle so that I can explore larger areas, and have some reflection time to myself with the wind in my hair! I’m hoping that by the time winter comes, I will have put down some roots and made enough friends that I won’t have to stretch myself so, so far everyday looking for connections (I am pretty introverted, after all).   

     I think that using school activities will also be a good way for me to get involved. During the fall semester, the university offers workshops in parkour (seriously!), yoga, dance and pop choreography, and photography. Student workshops would be, obviously, full of students and potential friends. Does that sound desperate? Well, maybe I’ll have to be more eager to make friends than I’m naturally inclined… Adjustments! Also, I've read that if people will often invite others to their homes to drink mate and hang out, if they feel comfortable enough with that person. As long as I feel secure, I will not turn down that offer! I’m really looking forward to drinking mate with friends. My program also incorporates a community service element that I think will really help me to experience true Uruguayan ways of life. Plus, as a Bonner Scholar, I think just the routine of volunteering could feel like home.

     It is so crazy for me to think of my future routine, but I have to say that what’s more unbelievable is that these thoughts aren't just in my imagination. If all goes as planned, I will be living in Montevideo in less than 5 months..!

Day Trips to Dubai

When people ask me where I'm studying abroad and I tell them the United Arab Emirates, half of the time I get a confused look and a, "Where is that?" I reply, "It's in the Middle East." The confusion turns into concern, and so I tell them I'll be studying right next to Dubai. 

Even the internet gets excited about Dubai. Whenever I search travel guides for the UAE, 99% of the hits I get are for Dubai. I get a little frustrated about it because I want to explore more of the UAE than just Dubai, but let's be honest. Of course I want to go to Dubai. 

Dubai boasts scenes of luxury, five star resorts, exciting nightlife, shopping galore! But I am a college student, so I have looked into taking weekend day trips from Sharjah (where I will be studying) that are affordable but still provide a taste of the Dubai experience. 

I'm looking for a mix of adventure, culture, and entertainment. Here's what I've come up with.

Taxi fare from The American University of Sharjah to Dubai is anywhere from $14.79 to $24.34 depending on traffic. In Dubai there is a metro system that sells tickets for around $1.77. These tickets will get you to all 5 metro zones in Dubai, an they last up to 90 days.

Dubai Metro Ticket Info

I made a list of things I want to do on my day trip(s).

• Go to the Al Sahra Desert Resort of a 1.5 hour desert horseback ride ($81.68)
• Visit galleries in Dubai like the XVA art Gallery. There is a gallery called the Sahary Gate Gallery that supposed to offer Arabic culture and history exhibits, but the website is in a foreign language (it isn't even Arabic). I couldn't find out very much about it.
• Go to the top of the Burj Khalifa, the World's tallest building
• Go to the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo ($19-$30), which is in the Dubai Mall
• And visit the rest of the Dubai Mall

There is a hostel in Dubai called Dubai A that has an overnight rate of $30 for February 28, 2014. It would be difficult to get everything on my list done in one day. 

Here's where we're at so far with the trip cost: 

Taxi: $24.34x2 (assuming traffic is at its worst) = $48.68
Hostel: $30
Metro Ticket: $1.77
Total: $80.45

Possible Itinerary 

Friday February 28 (depending on class schedule) 

10:00 a.m. ~ Depart for Dubai A Hostel

10:45 a.m. ~ Check in and then depart for Al Sahara Desert Resort

11:30 a.m. ~ Arrive at Al Sahra Desert Resort for desert ride

1:30-2:00 p.m. ~ Eat somewhere

3:00 p.m. ~ Visit Burj Khalifa (general admission here is free, but there may be a long wait.)

5:00-6:00 p.m. ~ Eat somewhere

7:00 p.m. ~ Head back to Dubai A Hostel 

Saturday March 1

7:00 a.m. ~ Breakfast at Hostel then depart

9:00 a.m. ~ Visit museums

11:30 a.m. ~ Depart for Dubai Mall

12:00 p.m. ~ Arrive at Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo in Dubai Mall

2:00 p.m. ~ Eat somewhere

3:00 p.m. ~ Wander around Dubai Mall

6:30 p.m. ~ Eat somewhere

7:30 p.m. ~ Head back to The American University of Sharjah 

Estimated Trip Cost

Total so far (see above):  $80.45
Desert horseback ride: $81.68
Aquarium: $30 (this includes a behind the scenes tour) 
Food: $30-$40
Extra Spending: $30-$40

Total: $212.13-$272.13

It's not the cheapest excursion, but it is a trip to Dubai after all, and it would ultimately be adventurous, cultural, and entertaining! Not to mention really exciting and super fun! 

Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo

Dubai Mall

Al Sahra Desert Resort

Burj Khalifa

Yuki Matsuri - Snow Festival

This festival is held every February in Sapporo, Japan. If you've lived in an area that receives a large amount of snow every year, this may not be the trip for you. However, if you're from a warmer climate, this may be one of the most interesting places to visit if you're in Japan in February.

For those that are in other areas of Japan, reaching Sapporo can be surprisingly cheap. In Japan, there is a program in almost every continental airline that will allow foreigners to fly anywhere in Japan for around $100 per ticket. If you would prefer to do more sight-seeing, there is also a rail pass that will allow you to take virtually any train. There are different durations for how long the pass lasts, but the cheapest for an adult is around $280 for 7 days. Compared to how much each individual ticket would cost to travel all over Japan, this pass is a steal. 

If traveling on a budget, I would highly recommend staying at Jimmyz Backpackers. This hostel is in an incredible location, close to the center of the entertainment district by foot and close a subway entrance. The price for one of these beds is around $30 a night, but the owner offers discounts if you stay for a week or more. For the location and the quality of the hostel, this is an incredible deal. Having stayed here myself for two weeks, I can confidently say that this is THE place to stay in Sapporo on a budget. The owner speaks English fluently and is very kind. He also shows each guest what the hotspots are in Sapporo and marks them on a map for them. The place is VERY clean. I stayed there long enough to know that the owner cleans every room every day.

As for food, Hokkaido has some of the best sea food in the world. If you are a sushi fan, this is the place to eat it. It is not overly expensive, especially compared to the prices of real sushi in America, and it is the freshest fish you will ever eat.

Soup curry is also a famous dish in Sapporo. On cold days, this stuff will warm you right up! There are many restaurants that serve this, but I found that the family-owned ones were the best. My personal favorite was chicken and vegetable.

 

If you're a fan of beer, then you might also be interested in taking a tour of the Sapporo Beer factory. You can try this world-famous beer right off of the production line!

Itenerary

Day 1) Enjoy everything there is to see at the Snow Festival during the day

            Take pictures, view the snow statues, etc.

            Eat something WARM! 

            If there is a concert or even at the festival, attend

            

Day 2) If there are any different events at the Snow Festival, or if something was not seen yesterday, 

             attend again. Maybe try ice skating

             Shop at Sapporo Station (a huge mall above the rail system)

             Make sure to eat sushi at least once before leaving!

Snow Festival website (English) - http://www.snowfes.com/english/

Jimmyz Backpackers - http://www.jimmyzbp.com/english/

Guide for discounted continental flights in Japan - http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2364.html

Japan Rail Pass - http://www.japanrailpass.net/

Rachel: A Day Away in Norway

A Day Away in Norway

           What originally attracted me to Norway was pictures of the Northern Lights.  When I saw those
beautiful, intense colors in the sky, my first thought was I HAVE to go!  Well what better time to go than when all I've got between Norway and I is the North Sea.  It would not only be a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see these lights and other parts of Europe, but to also get the experience in student traveling, staying in hostels, and budgeting my own mini-vacation.  Upon researching the top 10 tourist attractions, I found many affordable, fun activities to do on a weekend.  The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology, Whale Watching tours, The Viking Ship museum, and The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet.  Although I doubt I could afford or have time to go to all of these attractions in one weekend, I would pick my top two or three most reasonably priced to keep the trip as inexpensive as possible.  Below is a tentative itinerary and plan for my Norwegian get away.  The way most tourists do their "Norwegian Experience" is by booking package deals.  There are Groupons and travel companies that arrange Northern Light Tour Packages that include flight, stay, and the tour for a weekend.  I would probably end up finding a great package deal by intense researching, but I also looked up some separate costs and listed them below.


Flight:
Norwegian Flights
72.80 EUR round-trip
www.norwegian.com

Hostel:
Oslo Youth Hostel Haraldsheim
Bed in Female Dorm
Breakfast Buffet included
male/female rooms (not coed)
32.49 EUR (per night, per bed)
http://www.hihostels.com/dba/hostels-Oslo-Haraldsheim-042001.en.htm

Meals:
Breakfast- included in hostel
Lunch- street vendors/ quick, cheap meals
Dinner- affordable restaurants

Travel:
If possible, walk to most attractions.  If too far, then get a cab there.

Tours:
Northern Lights/ Whale Watching- package deals
Museums/ tourist attractions- entry fee

Tentative Intinerary

Friday:

Morning- travel to the airport, fly to Oslo, Norway 

Afternoon- arrive, check into hostel, unpack

Night- Northern Lights Tour, stay in hostel

Saturday:

Morning- wake up, eat breakfast at hostel, tour the city
Afternoon- shop, tourist attractions (museums, etc.)
Night- see the night life, stay at hostel

Sunday:
Morning- check out of hostel, get breakfast, travel to airport
Afternoon- flight back to Edinburgh

This weekend trip for 2 nights would be around $200 for flight, stay, and meals alone.  I would need to set aside more money for the tours, museums, attractions, shopping, etc.  This trip, including the works,  would need to be considered my one "big get away," and keep other smaller trips than can be taken by train and very inexpensive sight-seeing for other weekends.

NORTHERN LIGHTS







WHALE WATCHING






ALL IMAGES ARE GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCHES: Norway Northern Lights, Norway Whale Watching   www.google.com