Thumo? Fumo? Or Zumo?

Since I have been here I admit to having my fair share of misunderstandings, which have been awkward and uncomfortable in the moment, but looking back on it now, make me laugh. These small moments may seem insignificant, but they contribute to making my study abroad experience unique and memorable.

My favorite mix-up happened my first morning in Seville. I woke up around 8am and went to the kitchen where Maria, my señora, was making herself breakfast. When I walked in, she greeted me with a “buenos dias” and eagerly told me all of the breakfast options. There was pan con aceite y mermelada (bread with olive oil and jam), galletas (Belvita biscuits), magdalenas (muffins), fruta, leche, and “fumo”. When she said the last item I was a bit confused; “fumo” means smoke in Spanish. I learned from my previous night of orientation that smoking is a social norm here, but I was surprised Maria would offer that, let alone on my first day. Maria saw my uncertainty and continued explaining that the student who was here last semester loved “fumo” and would have two magdalenas and “fumo” every morning. I was about to explain to her that I don’t smoke but rather I was content with just the two magdalenas, when she walked to the fridge. She pulled out a juice box declaring “thumo”, which is when I had the big realization she was saying “zumo” with the Castilian accent. Not “fumo”. Whew!

The Castilian accent, also called the Castilian lisp, is when certain “s” or “z” sounds are enunciated with a “th” sound. For example, the Plaza de España would be pronounced the “Platha de Ethpaña”. Fun fact: this accent is only in Spain and not in any Central or Southern American countries.

I’m slowly but surely adjusting to the new accent! Thanks for listening! Grathias por escuchar!

 

First Week of Classes (Finally)

After what seemed to be ages of multiple orientations and time spent on Manly Beach, week one is officially here! Leading up to this week, I was so curious to see what my classes would be like compared to what I’ve taken at Hope. Finally, I could log into the ICMS app and my timetable appeared! Four classes, similar to a schedule at Hope, but the similarities end there. At ICMS, we have class once a week, and each class lasts three hours. That being said, we only have a few days of class per week, meaning we have loads of time for studying and homework… or beach days, parties, and exploring Sydney!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since ICMS is an international school, I have met so many people from around the world – surprisingly a lot of Germans! There are a few schools that are partnered with ICMS, so it gets a large influx of students from various schools in Germany and Asia. That being said, this September term is high on international students compared to locals. I wasn’t expecting it to be rare to meet Aussie students, but it is so exciting to know people from all over!

My first week of classes didn’t take much getting used to. Though different, the way they schedule classes here is simpler than in the US. I don’t have class on Mondays or Fridays, so I was able to ever so gently ease into school life. Spending

First day of school! First day of school!

most of Monday on Manly Beach building sand castles, reading, and watching surfers and swimmers in the glistening ocean waves seems to me like a well-spent day! Tuesday rolled around and I had to get it together. Dressing in a slacks, blazer, and flats instead of my swimmers and (of course) Chacos, definitely is a bit of a change, but after a few weeks of fun, its about time! Though three hours of class feels much longer than three hours, I can hardly complain. All my teachers give me coffee breaks about two hours into class, so that always helps me get through the last hour!

Though this first week has been pretty basic (much like most first weeks of classes are), I know I will have plenty of papers and projects in the near future! But for now, here’s to swimmers, sand castles, and sunshine!

Yeah… we build a lot of sand castles

 

Belfast, Game of Thrones, and Getting Lost

I am the king of the throne! This past weekend I ventured to Belfast, along with many of the Dublin IES Students. It was the best trip I have ever taken. On Friday, we visited the Northern Ireland Parliament (you might know a little bit about BREXIT, and if you do not know what it is, you should research it a little bit). Right now there is no border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, but the two areas could not be any different.

Friday night, me and my friends went out to a bar called Crusty Onion near our hotel. It was fun and we met a guy who was actually moving to Dublin to start working the next day. We had a fun time getting to know each other better. Saturday night was an adventure for me. Some bars and clubs in both Dublin and Belfast prohibit joggers/sweatpants because they are “track suits.” So me and a friend were preparing to go to a bar and the man at the front door did not let me pass. Then, to make things worse, my phone had just died so I had no navigation or means to get a taxi, since I was not carrying enough pounds. My friend made the tough decision to go into the bar, and I made the trek back to the hotel.

I got completely turned around, walking to the wrong side of town. I walked all the way back down town, which was probably a 2-3 miles trek all together. I was able to eventually orient myself towards the hotel. Then I decided to go to McDonald’s. There were many drunk people there, and unfortunately they were not able to read my card so I left empty-handed. It was around 2 am at this point, so I decided to return to the hotel. However, the next day was a better experience.

We had lunch at a seaside village, where Games of Thrones was principally filmed for seasons 1-3. We took a bike tour, and then headed back to Dublin. I am sort of dreading my early day Monday, but Belfast was GREAT!


 

 

 

 

School is different here

The view out my window on the train. You could see the cordillera of the Andes the whole way there.

School is different here. For example, my art class today was a field trip to the south of Chile. We spent about 9 hours in train, and 3 in bus so we could appreciate a mural painted in the small town of Chillán.

We weren’t allowed to take photos of the mural we went to visit, but here’s one from outside the library where it was located.

This smaller mural was painted by a Mexican artist and says “Gobernar es educar” (to govern is to educate).

I went with my 5-person class, made up of students from 4 different countries. Funnily enough, none of them are Chilean. Apparently the exchange students are more interested in learning about Chilean art than they are.

Regardless, the topic of education came up while we were waiting for the train. I was very curious; “como es la educación en tu país?” (What is school like in your country?)

I learned that in Ireland, computer science students learn at a slower pace than their Chilean counterparts. In Colombia, few scholarships are available, and most majors last 5 years. In Mexico, community service and internships are required for all degrees.

One thing we all agreed on is that school is different here. For me, one of the biggest changes to get used to has been their grading system. In Chile, they use a scale from 1-7, with a 4 being a passing grade. Most students strive for 4’s, rather than 7’s, which are rarely handed out.

This is not the same as our inflated grading system in the United States. A 4.0 GPA is the ideal back home, and was achieved by at least 15% of my high school class. The GPA is also an important measure in terms of deciding a student’s future. However, here, the important thing is that you get a degree. Employers don’t care much about the grades you get in school, just that you pass.

This leads to highly different cultural attitudes about school. At Hope, which is admittedly more academically rigorous, there’s a fixation on the exact number you are given and a competition to out-perform other students. In Chile, though, there’s a relaxed nature about school, and much less of a student’s identity is wrapped up in their performance.

This is also likely related to the fact that most Chilean university students still live at home. They participate a lot in family life. Though they are less independent, they often have responsibilities that have nothing to do with their schoolwork. My classmates have to run errands to buy things for their parents or pay the bills. This is something I never have encountered with American classmates, but I think it helps create a balance in life where school isn’t all-consuming.

There are other differences, like the way professors communicate, the structure (and sometimes lack of structure) of classes, and the frequency with which my classes meet. Now that I’m about half-way through my semester, I think I’m adjusted to this Chilean version of school. And I like it a lot.

I’ve had fun opportunities to travel; I’m working in groups with Chilean students; we visited the aquarium for marine biology; I crushed my first big exam; I got a compliment on my Spanish after a nerve-wracking presentation. All these things and more are what make studying abroad totally worth it!

Here are my notes and study materials from my first marine biology exam.

 

The final slide of a presentation I gave.
Las estrellas del mar, or starfish, in a tidepool at the aquarium. We even had the chance to touch them, which was really cool!

Playfair…Seville Style

I thought I’d never say this, but orientation week was a blast! It was no ordinary Playfair where all the freshman students crowd into the Dow Center and do speed dating and ultimate rock, paper, scissors. This was orientation in Spain!

The first night here, our guide, Pedro, led me and eight other students along Calle San Jacinto, the main road in Triana (a barrio or neighborhood). It is lined with delicious bakeries, restaurants/bars, and ice cream shops. Imagine 8th street in downtown Holland but even bigger and a lot cheaper. Any Dutch person’s dream. This street leads directly to one of the many bridges in Seville, the Puente de Isabel II, or more colloquially known as the Triana bridge. Pedro took us to a small café/ice cream shop called Mascarpone where we were able to buy snacks and meet some of our fellow study abroad classmates. I treated myself to a refreshing granizado de limón (lemon slushi)! One thing that surprised me during my first walk through Seville is that everyone smokes cigarettes. Young and old, male and female. People smoke while waiting for the bus, walking down the street, and in the outdoor seating of restaurants. Even the tour guide Pedro, who is about 21 years old, smokes. It’s strange to see so many people smoking, even some my age because it’s so different than what I’m used to.

Afterwards, we were led across the Triana bridge to an old train station transformed into a shopping mall. Inside the mall, there were cute clothing stores and a cine (movie theatre). Don’t judge me, but I was very excited about this since my Netflix is not working in Spain. It’s probably for the best that I can’t watch my favorites: The Office, Once Upon a Time, and the Flash to name a few. However, I will definitely be visiting the cine to enjoy some Spanish cinema!

During the next few days, the orientation guides continued to show us around the city, recommend fun activities, and point out their favorite restaurants, some which we ended up going to for tapas and drinks. One day, we had a “tourist day” where we visited all of the major tourist attractions in Seville. Pedro showed us the Torre de Oro, the Cathedral, the Giralda, and the Plaza de España. It was incredible to see all of the beautiful architecture! We also walked along the Río Guadalquivir, which is the river that separates the centro from Triana. The river is always bustling with tour boats, people doing kayaking, remo, stand-up paddle boarding, and rowing.

Throughout orientation, my group and I have become good friends because we all live in the same neighborhood of Triana. I have yet to meet students who live across the bridge on the centro side, but I’m sure that will change once classes start. The centro side is where the CIEE study center, University of Seville, shopping malls, and all the tourist attractions are located (so basically everything except my homestay). The centro has a more city-like feel while Triana is similar to a suburban area. Although it is a long 30-minute walk from my house to the centro side, I am glad for the peacefulness and home-like feel in Triana. Plus, I get all my steps in every day.

Hasta pronto!

Sappy October Feels

It’s one of those nights that I can’t stop gazing out the window. I pace back and forth between the terrace, which faces east towards the Andes cordillera and my bedroom, which faces south towards even more mountains that I am seeing for the very first time, thanks to yesterday’s rain. My study break is well-spent admiring the sunset over the cordillera, a view that never gets old and makes me temporarily forget about the Lake Michigan sunsets that I’ll return to in the blink of an eye.

The view from the terrace never gets old!

It’s one of those nights that I just want to hang out with my host mom because I still can’t believe I am living in an actual Chilean home and have semester-long access to speaking Spanish whenever I want (I’m not always this optimistic about that). I sit down with a bowl of cazuela and reminisce on the first day that I arrived in Santiago when my host mom and I conversed for hours over a bowl of cazuela (well, she talked and I nodded and pretended that I understood Chilean Spanish… some things don’t change). Two months later, I now know that you’re supposed to drink the broth first before digging into the meat and veggies, but I still stick to my old ways.

My host mom makes the best cazuela!

It’s one of those nights that I can’t actually get anything done because I am straddling between planning my upcoming trips and flipping through photos of the many adventures I have already had on the wild weekend trips. I am stuck in this weird in-between… it’s a nostalgia for the places I have yet to go and a longing to relive the moments that have already passed, all the while trying to be present in this very day of October 1.

Study abroad has been packed with new experiences. Here’s one I’ll never forget: skiing for the very first time… in the Andes!
Another great memory: the infamous stilt houses (palafitas) in Castro, a city on the mythical island of Chiloé. This was an IES-sponsored trip that most of my group went on last month.
The classic South American photo-op with a llama! This was taken on my spring break trip to San Pedro de Atacama, the desert region in northern Chile.

It was tonight that I realized how content I truly am. Disclaimer: study abroad is not all peaches ‘n cream and I have probably had more tough than easy days. There have been days of frustration, regret, and just wanting to throw in the towel on this whole “get out of your comfort zone” thing. However, I am learning that being content does not come from a compilation of good and easy days. It is a feeling that has come from trials and tribulations, from being forced out of the comfort zone day-in and day-out, and for the joy that arises from experiencing growth like I never have before.

One of my favorite Bible verses says,  “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want,” (Philippians 4:12). As I continue into my last couple of months, I cling to this: that the good and the bad and everything in between is all a part of the study abroad experience. Even more, it is a part of the life experience, and I am thankful for the growth that still is to come.

Study Off Campus, Do It.

Hey friends, it has been quite some time, and for that I apologize (in hopes that you have actually missed my blog posts).

So, let’s catch up.

This first month off campus has been a roller-coaster. If you know anything about me, you’ll know that I love roller-coasters. I have one piece of advice for any student looking to do something at Hope: study off campus, do it.

I never thought that I would study off campus. I assumed, similar to high school, that I would just stay put. Since attending Hope, I branched out to tons of student activities outside my comfort zone. Getting out of your comfort zone allows God to work through you in ways that you couldn’t have otherwise. Listen to what He is calling you to do. If you don’t hear anything yet, just wait. It will be better than you could have imagined.

 

My roommates and classmates could not be more amazing! I have been challenged by them, in many ways, to think deeply. Closest to the camera, is my sweet friend, Lo Wall. In the lower left corner is my other sweet pal, Georgia Armitage. From Saturday morning Farmer’s Market adventures to exploring Michigan Avenue stores; these girls make city-living the best!

 

 

These are my classmates. In this program, we spend the first five weeks in a seminar setting. The setting is meant to prepare us for our individual research projects. For example, I am designing a project that focuses on comedic reactions during the Cold War era.

From taking a water taxi across Chinatown to spending a day exploring Pilsen (a Hispanic neighborhood), we have seen a lot of Chicago. The program had challenged me to view the world through many different lenses, other than my own.

Now for the fun stuff! Kidding…kind of. 

In just this first month I went to a Cubs vs. Brewers game. Although we (the Cubs) lost, it was a nail-biting game till the end! Not to mention, our seats weren’t so bad.

I will say that studying off campus is what you make it. You could be anywhere in the world, but if you don’t step outside your apartment or host-home, you could miss out on something extraordinary. Chicago has treated me so well. 

 

An Ode to Domingo Faustino Sarmiento

It’s been just over two months since I arrived here in Santiago. Although things still feel new, exciting, and sometimes terrifying each and every day, I also realize that I have found comfort and routine living in the city.

Lots of these realizations have come as I packed up my belongings into a bag, yet again! A few weeks ago my host mom and I moved into a new apartment. Here is my ode of to my initial haven of safety and familiarity, my apartment in Domingo Faustino Sarmiento:

My empty room! Can’t believe how much this felt like home, even after just a month.

As I walk home from a day of classes at IES, I tap the “forward” button on Spotify, still jamming to my American folk/indie pop faves from the States. Judah & the Lion drown out the sounds of the city and the route home has become muscle memory. I approach the gate to Domingo Faustino Sarmiento and the gate is opened for me, I am no longer a stranger here.

I approach building E and smoothly open the door, scoffing to myself in memories of the first few days of rumbling through my ring of 7 keys and having to call my host mom on my prepaid flip phone to open up the door.

I slip off my shoes and right into my slippers, give a “besito” to my mom, and flip on the kettle to warm up with my favorite (and classically Chilean) Ceylon tea.

I plug in my space heater and warm up within my 7 layers of blankets (thanks, ma!). The Chilean winter no longer bothers me, and I have newfound joy in cuddling into my safe little space.

To the apartment where I first found calamity in the shock of big city life, thank you for your quaintness that forced me into growing conversation and active listening. I am refreshed by the simplicity of limited space and belongings — my dresser and closet fit exactly what I needed and no more. Thank you for the peaceful escape I experienced after walking through your doors, especially after the long days of Chilenismos and a frustratingly small Spanish vocabulary. Thank you for a place to call my own in a city full of people that know I don’t belong.

Here’s to you, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, you were good to me!

Moving day consisted of shopping carts full of boxes going up to the 14th floor of our new apartment!
Barrio Italia, a hipster neighborhood just five blocks from my new apartment! I frequent this place pretty often now.
The view from the terrace of my new apartment! Although I miss the small neighborhood feel of Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, I sure can’t pass up a sunrise view of the Andes every morning!

The Castle on the Hill

The International College of Management, Sydney (ICMS) is located on what seems to be the tallest hill in Manly, Australia. Driving up to it after a weekend in the outback seemed like a dream. With only about 200 students living on campus at a time, it is a small but incredibly stunning school. Just to show how amazing it is, here are some fun facts about ICMS!

  1. It is casually known as the Hogwarts of Australia.
  2. The Great Gatsby was filmed here.
  3. There are at least 5 beaches within walking distance of campus.
  4. Downtown Manly has countless cafes (food + coffee = happiness) and shops all within walking distance of campus as well.Image result for icms campus castle

There are more aspects of ICMS that makes it great, but those are some of my favorites! On top of it all, most students only have class about three days a week, so there is so much time outside of class to go enjoy these beautiful places surrounding campus. One of the more interesting things about ICMS is that we have to dress in business professional attire to class in order to prepare us for the working world once we graduate. Even after being in class for only a few days, I feel out of place when I’m not dressed up. I feel as if I need to look as classy as this castle that I have the opportunity to live in!

I categorized this post as “daily life” which blows my mind because this paradise is my daily life here! A typical day consists of going to your 0-2 classes, then quick change into your swimmers and head down to the beach for a swim, or to watch

View from my window of Manly Beach!

the sunset down on the water. The motto of my hometown, Lake Orion, is “where living is a vacation,” but those Michiganders must never have been to Manly. This is a vacation where I get to earn college credit. It’s a win-win! Two weeks in and I’m so thankful I was given the chance to be here.

 

 

Dublin architecture

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was strolling around the city one day when I decided to snap some pics of the surrounding buildings. The architecture is very gothic, very fitting for a city that is known for its Gothic culture, especially in architecture and literature.

One interesting fact is that the author of Dracula, Bram Stoker, was himself a Dubliner, exploring the town while writing his masterpiece. James Joyce is another name that comes to mind for famous authors. Rody Dowell is a more recent name too, but the city is home to some of the most unique and talented authors we have seen.

Now, back to the building architecture, it is such a departure from what I see in my hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan. The buildings here are historically old but symbols of Dublin’s historical significance and culture. It was just a leisurely stroll through the heart of the city but Dublin is such a beautiful place. Every day you encounter something new, fresh, that opens your mind and eyes to this city. I can finally say that I am adjusting to my new home for the next 3 months. My travel plans are still being finalized so more abroad trips are to come. Stay tuned!