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Art field trip to Quilotoa

¿Qué tal amigos? I hope you all are doing well and are excited to hear about the second volcanic crater I entered. If you don’t already know, Quilotoa’s crater was formed several hundred years ago, much like Cuicocha. The lake now sits in that crater and is a popular place to canoe and observe.

For our Andean Popular Arts class, we had a field trip to Quilotoa mostly because it’s such a beautiful lake and it’s near the art and history exhibits we planned to visit.

Our first stop on this trip, however, was at an hacienda where we visited the capilla del Divino Niño de Isinche. The story of this capilla and small church begins years ago when the Spanish came to Ecuador. A statue of baby Jesus appeared on the property and people took it as a sign that a church should be built to adore God. So the church was built with a smaller building that, to this day, holds the statue of el Divino Niño.

Hacienda Isinche Grande

La iglesia desde afuera

La entrada de la capilla del Divino Niño de Isinche

Many people visit this hacienda to ask el Divino Niño to grant miracles for them. The tiny capilla is full of photos and plaques asking for help and thanking for prayers granted.

After a few minutes admiring the hacienda, we continued on our journey to Quilotoa. When we got to the town, it was cloudy and cold; the altitude made it even colder. I was not prepared for the chill, so I bought myself a blue alpaca sweater from a vendor inside the small artesanal market. I put it on, over my three layers, and went to go observe the lake with friends while looking like a fluffy, blue snowman. But I was warm!

SAMSUNG — *Posing with my new, warm sweater 🙂*

We opted for a photo shoot instead of a hike down the crater (approx. 40 minutes) and a hike back up (approx. 1.5 hours) since we had a limited time before lunch. The view was a lot more amazing in person, much more spectacular than any camera could capture. When small rays of sun would hit the lake from in between the clouds, the water would appear lime green and turquoise! ¡Simplemente espectacular!

*Looking down into the lake on a cloudy Saturday afternoon*

Lunch wasn’t amazing… but we ate while the rainstorm hit, so we stayed dry. After lunch, we made it to our final destination of the field trip: a small shop and art studio outside of Quilotoa.

The shop sold many colorful masks, paintings, shoes, sweaters, bracelets, etc. The paintings were by far my favorite since they were full of color and several Andean myths. The paintings shared stories that I wish someone would have explained to me, but nonetheless I was amazed. The masks were also quite chévere since they were hand-carved out of wood and painted with bright colors.

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I fell asleep on the 3 hour bus ride back, mostly so that I wouldn’t get car sick (but I still did). I had an amazing day learning about different aspects of Andean culture and observing the beauty of Lake Quilotoa. Plus, I got my cozy, alpaca sweater as un recuerdo excelente of the trip. ¡Hasta el próximo blog, amigos!

Going bananas; a little experience starting the ISP

While perhaps I haven’t been the best at posting regularly, that will certainly change! Here’s some background information: SIT Abroad has a policy to include a course called “ISP,” or the Independent Study Project of the semester. The ISP follows introductory coursework meant to prepare the students for a topic of their choice, mine being sociolinguistics in a migrant community to Cuzco. About a week ago, we finished up with the majority of our coursework (13 credit hours worth) after two and a half months of study; from there, we turned in our project proposals, were each given a check to live off of for a month in a community of our general choosing, and were sent off to start researching!

This is, of course, assuming your proposal was accepted. Mine was not immediately; and as an incentive to revise it quickly and get going, I was not given my check until I was given the green light, or as we colloquially say here, luz verde.

Therefore! I figured it only appropriate to include as my food for this post, a picture of a humble banana peel.

The humble banana peel, taken on a bus back to Q'eros in San Miguel — The humble banana peel

Why? you may ask. How could this possibly be appropriate?

Well, my friend, let me enlighten you. When you’re in a fix; when you don’t have much money and must navigate a developing country in the tropics without becoming sick from street food, the banana is by all means your best bet. First of all, plenty of carbs. Second, the peel, which is a convenient guard against any and all invading sicknesses. Third, I got three of these things for 15 US cents. Now that’s a deal!

That all being said, no, I wasn’t quite left in the dark until I turned in my assignment. The school was actually quite friendly and lent me a small sum to get by for a couple days in case I needed it, and beyond that, I could have easily withdrawn some cash, although generally I like to keep my spending, outside of budgeted spending perhaps, to a strict minimum.

As to my site for the ISP, I am staying in the barrio or neighborhood of San Miguel with migrants from a community that calls itself Q’eros: these are Quechua-speaking people who were isolated in a region called Paucartambo until the 1950’s, and have been since known as continuing to carry the torch of relatively pure Inca traditions. In the past week, San Miguel has held two celebrations; one for the anniversary barrio itself, and the other a local Catholic holiday in Cuzco called Qoyllorit’i, in honor of the Santísima Cruz and the Señor de Qoyllorit’i. If you want to read more about this latter one, wikipedia does have a page 😉

To end this post, here’s just a couple pictures of the community, its view of Cuzco, and the celebrations that have been held.

A banner for Qoyllorit'i — A banner for Qoyllorit’i

Hope all is well—and assuming you’re currently north of the equator, have an awesome summer!

First Impressions

Yes, yes, yes, I am alive and in Japan!!!

Sorry if it seems like I’ve been M.I.A. lately! My first few days here were absolutely wonderful, and as much as I wanted to share my thoughts about the beginning of my journey, I really wanted to just soak everything up by myself first. I didn’t have WiFi at first, either, so it was a true and complete immersion for a while.

Now that I have been in Japan for a while now and have gotten settled in, I thought it would finally be a good time to write about some first impressions and thoughts I had that you might find interesting or helpful (especially if you have never been to Japan before!). I’ll split it into categories.

Firstly, FOOOOD:

Not many restaurants give you napkins! You will usually get a damp towel if it’s a nice place, or more commonly, a packaged damp wipe. This is used for you to ‘clean’ your hands before eating. Sometimes restaurants will also have some paper-thin napkins available on the table, but if you are a messy eater, maybe request some extras from the waiter or just be wise with whatever towel you’ve been given.
Underneath the towelette is an example of the paper-thin napkins you’re usually given. If you go shopping at a conbini, you’re given utensils at checkout as well!
Surprisingly, a lot of places offer green tea as the default drink option instead of water. And if they do have water, it’s usually in a really small glass, so you may have to ask for a few refills or just buy some water yourself later.
Fast food here is so different than what is considered fast food in America…A lot of it is healthier and has higher quality ingredients. Some people tend to lose weight here because of those reasons.
Going off of that, a disadvantage to having really good, healthy food is that it can get kind of pricey. But not to fear! If you plan your meals out right, you can eat a lot of stuff without breaking the bank!

BATHROOMS:

I had been warned in advance about the lack of hand-drying machines and/or paper towels, but man, they were not kidding! Always bring a handkerchief or small hand towel everywhere with you, otherwise this is your life:
Soap dispensers can sometimes be confusing. A lot of the ones I’ve seen have the pump on the bottom, so the soap goes directly on your hands as you push up. I felt really dumb the first time I encountered one.
See that tiny little spout thing under the yellow bubble?! Yeah, that’s where the soap is.

TRAINS:

BAAAHHHH, OH MY GOODNESS, SO CONFUSING.
If you ever need a humbling experience, try navigating a train map all by yourself for the first time.

-–At least, for me, because I have never encountered public transportation system of this magnitude before. In reality, the system is not meant to be confusing at all and is quite organized, but does take some time to figure out where you’re going (and how) after looking at a million maps and signs multiple times.
Once you learn the system, you realize how freaking efficient everything is. My first time traveling by myself by train, I somehow managed to get to my destination early ON ACCIDENT. Each train is planned out down to the minute, so you can know exactly when you’ll arrive. I must have taken an earlier departing train when I made a line transfer, because I arrived almost 10 minutes early!!

OTHER THINGS:

This was just something that I knew would happen but felt shocked anyway: the fact that everything is in Japanese. Looking out the window during my bus and taxi rides from the airport were definitely the times when I thought “Oh, wow. I really am in Japan.”
This picture of Shibuya may not be the best example because there are some signs in English text, but it is still cool to see so much Japanese at once!
Sidewalks on the road are not really on the “side;” they are just wee little margins of the actual road. They’re SO NARROW!
Yep, past the green line is the road. This margin is actually one of the wider ones I’ve seen!

I kept getting yanked by the people I was walking with over to the side of the road because I kept going over the line.
Many appliances, doors, switches, and other small things you wouldn’t normally pay attention to are just slightly different enough that they can throw you off. Other than the obvious fact that instructions are in Japanese, some knobs and latches have to be turned the opposite way or sideways.
Here’s an example of some typical light switches.
Everything is quiet and clean. Even dirty places aren’t that dirty compared to America.
The dogs here are TINY. Oh my goodness. And a lot of them wear sweaters and/or have their own strollers that they can ride in. Dog lovers, does this make you excited or freaked out? I’m currently alternating between the two myself.
GOOGLE MAPS ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND. Japanese addresses (especially streets) are the hardest to understand, so no one uses them to give directions. There are also helpful train info apps you can download that help you get from one side of town to the other without too much trouble. Here’s an example:

TIME FOR THE “YES/NO” Q&A CORNER!
FOR THINGS YOU MAY BE WONDERING ABOUT!

YES…

…There are a lot of people who speak English and some menus/signs are written in English, but if you completely depend on that, you will get very stuck. Even though most Japanese people’s second language is English, not a lot of people are actually fluent. Usually you will get a very thick-accented, broken English, so do your best to try and learn Japanese so that you can at least meet people halfway.
…There are squat toilets. And yes, they are weird to use, but for all you girls out there, they make it easier for you if you’re wearing a skirt that day!
But there are usually also Western toilet alternatives so that you can avoid using them if you want to.
…The high-tech toilets are as wonderful as they say! Even though the bidet weirds me out, I tried it anyway, because c’mon, I’m in Japan after all!! And it’s quite nice! Also, the heated seats are amazing, especially when you have to go in the wee hours of the chilly morning.
I mean, look at all those buttons!
…People do stare at you, because you look different. Usually in their peripherals so that you don’t notice. Unless they’re kids. You’ll get used to it.
…The trains are as crowded as people say. Ho boy. It can get pretty hot and stuffy in there. Ugh. But it’s only bad during rush hours!

NO…

…Being a vegetarian in a country full of seafood is really not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. It’s not like the only thing people eat here is sushi!!
Japanese salad, pickled veggies, ramen, kimchi, and onigiri for lunch! Nutritious and delicious, am I right?

The only sad things for me are that I haven’t seen a lot of fake meat products here (bean patties, imitation crab, veggie burgers, etc.) so far, and also that Japanese people have no idea what food vegetarians do/don’t eat, so you have to be patient when explaining to someone.
…conbinis are not cheap. Just because they’re convenient doesn’t mean the prices are! I learned that the hard way after getting some of the same products at a grocery store later for a much lower price.
…I haven’t gotten truly lost yet, surprisingly! Like, I said. GOOGLE MAPS. It is wonderful. But if your phone dies or something, it is relatively easy to just walk until you find a train station, and then you will be in the clear again. And most people are willing to give you directions as well!

And this concludes my First Impressions post of Japan! If you have a question that hasn’t already been answered or want to see more pictures of something I’ve mentioned, feel free to leave a comment!

See you in the next post!

Choir and El Clásico

Clasico1 Most of Spain follows two religions: Catholicism and Fútbol! Recently held was El Clásico, the ultimate soccer match between Real Madrid and Barcelona. This match is the equivalent of the United States Superbowl, complete with intensely loyal fans, advertisements galore, and houses and bars full of people glued to the screen. In fact, nightlife throughout the streets of Spain is active, loud, and constant except for this sacred night. The streets were barren as everyone was inside watching the game.

(Please excuse to poor quality photos, I felt it would be strange and awkward to spend lots of time taking photos of people!)

Though I confess to knowing little to nothing about most sports in general, I must say that I find soccer more engaging than football or baseball etc. The game did not disappoint. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the entire night was that instead of watching the game in a bar with my fellow American students, I had the very good fortune of being invited to a house party of my choir director here in Granada! A quick aside:

Though study abroad is all about trying new things and experiencing that which you have not and perhaps will not ever have the chance to experience again, I also think that studying abroad is an important time to discover aspects of one’s life that, regardless of the situation, do and ought to persist. Such an aspect for me is music. Even before finalizing my study abroad plans to Granada, I made an unofficial vow that I would find a choir in which I could participate. Though finding one and working through scheduling conflicts was certainly not easy, success! I am part of the Coro de la Facultad de Ciencias, or the University of Sciences Choir. I am delighted to be a part of this group, about which I will tell you more in the micro-bio below.

Back to soccer. My choir director invited the entire choir and other friends to his house to socialize, eat, and watch the game. What fun it was! I spent the evening in a cool basement decked out with pool and foosball tables, ping pong, funky seating, and tons of food. This event confirmed several Spanish cultural norms: I arrived just under an hour late and was still the fourth person there; everyone else trickled in after an hour and a half to two hours! When anyone entered the space, he or she said hello to everyone with an hola and two kiss Gol es on the cheeks or a handshake and hug. My favorite aspect of the night was getting to converse with a variety of people. I had a long and lovely conversation with an older woman and member of the choir who very flatteringly told me that I speak well! (This is the ultimate compliment for a study abroad student.) I also made friends with Alicia, a 20-year-old student at the Universidad de Granada who is studying to be a dentist. She was very engaging and fun; we spent the majority of the time vacillating between being heavily involved in the game and snickering at those far more involved than we were. I swear the very life of Joaquin (a fellow choir member) depended upon this game! Thankfully he survived as Real Madrid, the favored team by most Granadinos, won! The game was exciting; Barcelona scored first after an intense first 80 minutes. In the second half Real Madrid scored and the whole basement shook with applause! Later Real Madrid scored again but the referees did not count the goal for some particular reason. Filled with renewed vigor and some frustration, Real Madrid scored (again) within two minutes. ¡¡¡¡GOOOOLLLL!!!!

(I managed to capture the moment of triumph on audio when Madrid scored!) After the match, the rest of the night was filled with food, friends, games, and singing. I think it is impossible to have a group of musicians (especially choristers) gather and not sing at some point! So, shortly after the Real Madrid victory, we sang a fun French number, Tourdion.

The night was exhilarating and exhausting. I can say with pride that I carried on lengthy conversations in Spanish for the entire evening with one exception. I met Lino, a friend of a choir member. Lino is a University of Granada computer engineering student who spent some time in the US and who speaks pretty decent English! He was very excited to practice his English and I happily obliged. At one point we were playing darts; I am abysmal. “You have to forget everything and be the dart.“ I laughed and continued to fail to “be the dart.”

All in all I felt included and engaged in an authentic Spanish experience if ever there were such a thing.

Micro-Bio: My choir 🙂 El Coro de la Facultad de las Ciencias is a group of roughly 50 students, faculty, and staff of the Granada Sciences department. I love that despite a diversity of backgrounds, interests, personalities, and ages, they as a group are united in a mutual love of creating beautiful music. What they may lack in perfect blend they make up for in passion. For example, the Chapel Choir sang Amor de mi Alma by Randall Stroope (and a poem originally by Luis de Gongora, a very famous Spanish poet). While the Chapel Choir sang it with such extraordinary beauty and blend, there is something extra added when the song is sung by native Spanish speakers. The director, Paco, did not need to teach musical emphasis for various 20160318_205639 words because the choir felt the words already. It was beautiful. A few members I know particularly well are Cristina, Immaculada, Clara, Albert, Angel, and Salva. They are some of the students of the university with whom I go out for tapas after choir on Thursdays. Though they are the most difficult to understand (slang and heavy accents!) they are so much fun! I have also become good friends with Jane, a woman originally from London who moved to Spain. We enjoy the mental break of getting to speak in English or Spanglish with each other.

Like most musical groups, this choir has become like family. I have learned so much, sung some of my favorite choir pieces, and met wonderful humans. We are touring to Valencia soon, so more to come!

Building Community Through the Practice of Bikram Yoga

During ISP/ISPJ period we have very flexible schedules. We don’t have any scheduled class time, the entire month is devoted to working on our projects.

Since I am spending less time in class I decided to take advantage of having a few more hours in my day. While my project takes up a good deal of my time, I always have room for some exercise.

After the half-marathon I decided to take some time off from running and try yoga instead.

I have been attending classes at a Bikram studio I found in Belgrade. Here is a short profile piece I wrote about the owner:

The room is surrounded by mirrors which fog up with steam as class begins. Stephen Donegan stands at the front of the room directing his students. They interlock their fingers, place them underneath their chins and breathe deeply, extending their elbows upward as they do so. Sweat drops begin to stain the floor as class progresses and Donegan pushes his students.

After the 90 minutes pass, students stand around chatting. Many friendships have formed in this cozy studio in the basement of a building in Belgrade. The man responsible for this is yoga instructor Stephen Donegan, an Irish expat who manages the only Bikram yoga studio in the Balkans.

The building on the right houses though studio. — The building on the right houses the studio. Though its in the basement the studio is quite nice.

Of average height, looking younger than his 40 years and a lean build from years of yoga, Donegan chats excitedly with a student after a one-on- one class, explaining a pose she didn’t understand.

“We are trying to build here a community, not just people coming and going,” said Mina Djunisijevic, a local 28-year- old who started teaching with Donegan at the studio several months ago.

Mina works the front desk. — Djunisijevic works the front desk.

Donegan had not always practiced Bikram, a form of yoga consisting of 26 postures, practiced in a room that is heated to 104 °F. Until 2006, when he became a certified Bikram instructor, Donegan worked in the IT industry and moved working locations every few years, spending time in Amsterdam, Australia, and Ireland. Although unhappy with his IT job, Donegan has always enjoyed traveling, “it’s my main passion since I could look at a map.” Having gained his yoga instructor license, he began traveling once more. Only this time he was doing something he truly enjoyed.

Donegan performs triangle in the yoga room.

Having gained his yoga instructor license, he began traveling once more. Only this time he was doing something he truly enjoyed.

In 2014 Donegan was teaching yoga in Denmark when he received an email from a Serbian friend he met in Turkey- he needed help running a Bikram studio in Belgrade.

Donegan took over the studio in January 2015 and has unintentionally been fostering a community ever since, as to him it is something that happens naturally. “I think that is more organic…from studying or practicing in other studios we pick up a lot of different things we think are good or not and see what works, what doesn’t, and what way you want to do it.”

But Donegan’s engagement with the community does not end in the yoga studio. Occasionally students go to a nearby Japanese restaurant for dinner following class or attend events together such as the Belgrade Story Club, a true story telling event which Donegan will be hosting in March.

Donegan almost always has a smile on his unshaven face which his students notice even in the classroom.

“He’s really funny and unlike other teachers he doesn’t really stick to the script but he sort of does his own thing and he’s hilarious,” Jasmine Sanders, 31, an expat from Germany said.

Perhaps one of the reasons Donegan’s students keep coming back is because he is committed to his students. His goal for every class it to “make sure they feel comfortable and have fun and go home feeling a little bit lighter in spirit.”

The Belgrade Marathon

This weekend was the 29th Belgrade Marathon. I had heard about it before arriving in Serbia and knew I was going to run the either the full or half marathon. In the end I decided to do the half because I did not have enough time to train for a full marathon.

On the day of the marathon it was much warmer than I expected. When the race started at 10am it was around 75 degrees, but by the time most people were finishing the half marathon it was already 80 degrees. It was also humid and a strong breeze on a long stretch of the course made running more difficult. Overall, the conditions were not the most ideal but it was a really fun experience.

Marathons and half-marathons are an event everyone should try at least once. You might be sore for a few days after the run, but the experience is worth it. Here are 9 reasons why I think you should run a marathon.

Run for a cause
A picture of my friends and I in our RAS shirts before the race.
- As I mentioned in my previous blog, I was running on the Refugee Aid Serbia (RAS) team. We all wore t-shirts to raise awareness about the organization. It also served as a fundraiser for the organization since all the runners asked people to sponsor them by donating to the organization.
- If there is a specific cause you really care about you can probably find a race that focuses on raising money for a certain cause. Here are a few examples.
- Running for a charity can also improve your chances to participate in highly competitive races such as the Boston Marathon.
Get to see a new place
- Running is a great way to get to know a city. I always try to go for a run when I am in a new pace because it gets me outside to explore!
- Marathons are held all over the world and it can be a good reason to travel to a place you’ve always wanted to go. When I ran a marathon in Chile I met a woman who had run a marathon on every continent! Yes, even one in Antarctica!
Meet new people
- Most marathons have several events leading up to race day. For instance, many races will have a free pasta dinner where you can mingle with and meet other runners. You also get the benefit of some much needed carb-loading.
- If you traveled for your marathon, you will likely have the opportunity to meet other runners and people wherever you are staying.
Bond with old friends
- Haven’t seen an old friend in a while? Why not plan a trip to visit your friend and run a marathon together? Many races have options for relay teams so you can get four or five friends together and enjoy a long weekend, while also completing a marathon.
Free stuff
- Most marathons include a free t-shirt with registration. Sometimes you are given water-bottles, bags and discounts for athletic wear.
Learn to push yourself
- Running really is a mental sport. It requires strong endurance but also significant brain power to keep running for 26 or even 13 miles.
Encourages daily exercise
- Running is great exercise. Training for a marathon requires a lot of planning and hard work. Once you register for a marathon you have a goal to work towards and motivation to train on a daily basis.
An excuse to eat sweets
- After running a marathon your body needs to re-fuel. It is okay to eat a little extra sugar the week following a marathon since your body used up a lot of its energy while running.
Fun!
- Marathons are just plain fun. There is often live music, people line the streets to cheer, and the overall mood is exciting.

The Perfect Holiday Pt. 2: Le Carnaval de Nantes

The highlight of my spring break in Nantes was the Carnivals parade, which had the theme “Around the World.” The floats in the parade represented different countries and cultures and were accompanied by many dancers and performers. These floats were the most amazing ones I have ever seen! You could tell that everyone involved with the parade dedicated a lot of time, energy, and money to make it great. There were so many families out, confetti was everywhere, and everyone was enjoying the festive atmosphere. Despite a little rain, it was the perfect weekend to visit. Here are some pictures from the day for your enjoyment 🙂

The float to begin the parade; let’s go on a trip!

I wasn’t sure what this was… there was also a toaster on the back with toast and bacon? lol

I can’t imagine how long it took to make all these floats, but they did an amazing job. I was glad to be in town for the parade and had a great time. I hope you enjoyed the pictures as much as I enjoyed this cotton candy 🙂

xoxo,

Briana

The Perfect Holiday

Hey there 🙂 The craziness of study abroad has come to a halt because I am now on spring break! Or as Europeans say Holiday. I love to travel and learn about new places but for spring break I decided to return to where I studied last spring; Nantes, France. Sometimes in the midst of all the new it’s nice to take a break, I wanted to go someplace I knew I would enjoy and I knew Nantes would be that for me.

A few of my favorite things. Maybe I love France so much because it has macroons?

Chelsey and I left Berlin at 4am for our flight to Paris where we would take a bus to Nantes. Long story short, it was a rough journey, but it was all worth it when I arrived in Nantes again. I was a bit nervous to visit Nantes again; What if I romanticized my experience so much in my head and I was disappointed when I returned? That fear quickly left when I was greeted by the shining sun, the French language and the city that I love.

A pro of terribly early flights are the beautiful sunrises 🙂

We stayed with my French host family and it was so nice to see them again, although it was a little strange for me that I was just a visitor now and they had a new host student, but that’s life : ) We made traditional French galettes (salty crepes) and crepes for dinner and it was just like old times.

Looking ratchet but happy after a day of traveling with my galette.

I took Chelsey to my favorite places, some being a beautiful park that my friends and I would have picnics at often, a little town right across the river called Trentmoult which has the best crepes, and the park that has a life-size wooden elephant that you can ride and sprays water from its trunk. We spent all day going around the city eating plenty of delicious French pastries and practicing my French. I was so relieved to see I hadn’t lost it! Visiting Nantes, it was like I never left.

The highlight of our visit would have to have been the Carnival of Nantes which theme was “Around the World.” I will dedicate a whole blog to it because I loved it so much so look out for that next. 🙂

Overall, my spring break in Nantes was great. It was the perfect weekend to visit. I got to see old friends, visit my favorite places and see how Nantes has changed since I left. Even Chelsey loved it, telling me I have to get a flat there so she can come visit. : ) it’s great to love many places and I encourage you to find those places that you love as well.

This city will always have a special place in my heart.

À plus tard!

My Weekend Homestay

It’s been quite some time since I’ve written a post. Life in Berlin is crazy busy! With classes, excursions, church, friends, babysitting and traveling, it’s hard to find time to sleep! Nonetheless, I’ve been having some really great experiences; one being a weekend home stay with a German family.

Stephanie, Me, Zoe and my friend Chelsey : ) (the wind was really blowing)

Everyone in my program had the option to spend a weekend with a German family in Berlin to see and experience their everyday life. Living with a native family gives you a completely different experience compared to only living with students, so I knew I had to take advantage of this opportunity.

I stayed with Stephanie, an artist, and her 15 year old daughter Zoe in their flat by the East Side Gallery. As soon as we met, Zoe asked me “Sprechen sie Deutsche?” (Do you speak German?) After I admitted that my German was very basic, (I really need to do better with German) we had plenty to talk about in English and I knew we were going to have an amazing weekend. Here are the highlights!

Berlin is that you?

Stephanie and Zoe showed me so much of Berlin! I honestly felt like I was in a different city. We took a bus around the city which allowed me to see new sites and really soak all of Berlin up. I usually take the underground train and didn’t realize how much I was missing! Some of the things we did were go to a movie in English and one in German, visited a mall that was connected to the zoo where you could see monkeys while having a coffee, and went to an opera concert and an art gallery. The weekend was full of new experiences!

The opera concert was at this beautiful church.

So many interesting things around the city!

Live like a Berliner

Stephanie and Zoe showed me how to appreciate Berlin. We went to an outdoor market, sampled and brought things that we enjoyed, and Stephanie even had a bouquet of flowers made for their flat. Then we explored the city while always stopping for a mid-day coffee. It was great to actually relax and enjoy myself. So often we get caught up trying to have the perfect plan or save money when we just need to simplify and enjoy life a little.

SubstandardFullSizeRender (1) — The flowers at the market were so beautiful.

Food

Stephanie is an amazing cook! I was eating gourmet food all weekend and am sure I had a third helping at every meal.

IMG_9474 (1) — Stephanie was so sweet and made me a German Easter baked good 🙂

Stephanie and Zoe

Stephanie and Zoe were great hosts! They were so open sharing their life with me and showing me a good time. It was nice to have a girl’s weekend. They even invited me for Easter and we had a great day going to a photography exhibit, grabbing a mid-day coffee and cake, and eating a delicious dinner afterwards. They always made me feel so welcomed : )

I’m very glad I did the home stay weekend! It’s nice to have a host family when studying abroad so you can get that sense of a home away from home. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience and look forward to many memories to come 🙂

Semana Santa Part 2

As aforementioned, Semana Santa, or Holy Week is a very important religious holiday for Spain. Therefore, most everyone is given the week off from work, include us students! During this week, many of us take advantage of being in Europe and travel. First stop: Dublin, Ireland. I had to pleasure of visiting a good friend who is studying abroad there! Natalie Reid has been a friend since middle school. Growing up in the tiny corn fields of Cedarville, Ohio, neither of us would have predicted that we would get to hang out across the globe in Ireland. In fact, few people even leave the town, much less the country! We can say with pride that we are exceptions.

Natalie

Though I arrived two days after Saint Patrick’s Day, the city was still decorated with flags, green lights, and posters on every corner. Dublin is a really beautiful city. The roads are winding, the buildings aren’t too tall and imposing, and each building face has a unique character. Natalie gave me a tour of the city, taking me to popular sights like Grafton Street and Trinity College. What a change to speak in English! When I accidentally used a Spanish word, I suddenly found that the rest of my sentence would follow Spanish. It was a serious effort to speak solely in English. I have so much respect for multi-linguists, especially those who move from a country with one language to another with a different language. After wandering the city, we took the double-decker bus (Ireland’s principle form of transportation) back to her homestay in a quaint Irish town. The walls were white with flowers and hedges. Spain is lovely, don’t get me wrong, but oh how I missed natural greenery!

Castle The next day we visited a beautiful little fishing village named Howth. Normally the village is calm and relatively void of crowds, however, surprise! Howth was hosting its Prawn Festival! There were huge crowds, music, fair rides, and of course, lots of prawns. We went to a typical Irish pub where I sampled said prawns; they were great. I found myself missing the taste of Spain though, so I had them with chorizo and penne pasta. It was delicious. We took a stroll by the water’s edge and lo and behold there were sea lions! They were the cutest ugliest things. Just beyond the ocean path there is an old Irish castle. I got the full Irish experience seeing this lovely stone time capsule. The whole day trip felt like a dream, with castles, rivers of daffodils, cascading sunlight from a fresh blue sky, and an old friend. Ireland was a much-needed escape.

I spent my last full day in Ireland visiting Natalie’s school, shopping around, meandering through a park with elegant swans, and attending an Evensong at St. Patrick’s Cathedral! The music sent shivers down my spine. The men’s voices floated through the gorgeous space and their notes hung like clouds many seconds after they had been sung. I walked away inspired and, frankly, with a renewed love for God.

St. Patricks Cathedral

For the rest of my Semana Santa vacation I visited a good friend and former co-worker of my father, Dr. Andrew Wiseman in Valencia. Dr. Wiseman is the director of Cedarville University’s Spanish study abroad program. He is truly one of the most amicable human beings one may ever meet. He set me up with a Spanish host mother and welcomed me like one of his own students.

Valencia was hot! So naturally I loved it. It averaged 80 degrees each day, with a sunny and blue Simpsons sky (you know, perfect shade of blue with puffy white clouds). I mainly wandered the city, visiting popular attractions such as the City of Arts and Sciences─a futuristic collection of buildings with amazing architecture─as well as El Río, a miles-long riverbed now full of parks, flowers, fountains, and bike trails. Though I did not do much in Valencia, it was the perfect opportunity to rest. Not to mention I am returning with my choir in a few weeks so I do not feel as though the time was ill spent.

Ciudad de Arte y Ciencias

Micro-Bio: While in Valencia I met one of Dr. Wiseman’s students, Jackie. (Here she is with Luna, her host mom’s granddaughter.) Jackie graciously showed me around the city and helped me with any questions (particularly about navigation) that I had. Jackie is studying Spanish and hopes to be a teacher in Jackie another country, yet to be determined. Though she is originally from the states, her heart belongs to Honduras where she has lived for the past few years with her family. She shared some interesting differences between Spain Spanish and Honduran Spanish with me. For example, in Spain vale is a common expression to say “okay” or “valid”; in Honduras, vale is extremely formal and therefore not common. Instead, she says cheque. Not only has language influenced Jackie, but also the Honduran lifestyle has made its way into her attitude. She is a very relaxed individual, taking life as it comes. I would say that Jackie embodies the no pasa nada (no worries, or hakuna matata) phrase perfectly.

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