A Double Holiday

Today, March 25, is a double holiday for the Greeks; Greek Independence Day, as well as the feast day of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary are celebrated on this day.

Greece began to become independent from the Ottoman Turks in 1829. The exact date of the liberation was not March 25, but since the day is a significant Orthodox holiday the two were blended into one celebration. Today there was a huge military parade through the main square. Ranks and ranks of military personnel marched proudly through the street. The line of tanks and jeeps of every size and shape seemed almost endless. Incredible amounts of artillery passed in front of me, while helicopters and jets flew overhead. It was an impressive and awe-inspiring display of the Greek military forces. As soon as the parade began, we started to clap and we did not stop clapping until the very last person passed an hour later. There was an incredible feeling of pride and vocation among those in the parade and those who were watching.

It was a beautiful day for a parade!

The feast day of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the celebration of the day when the angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary and told her she would conceive the baby Jesus.  This holiday, of course, occurs nine months before Christmas day. The Annunciation is a very common subject of Christian art. Yesterday I visited a middle Byzantine monastery in Daphni and saw a beautiful mosaic of the Annunciation. I made sure to take a photo in honor of the holiday!

A mosaic of the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary –  Daphni Monastery (11th c.)

The Pantokrator of Daphni is a very famous mosaic of Byzantine art. You can see why!

The weather is becoming so nice. We have had several days of sun and 70 degree weather. Since it gets to be around 100 in the summer, the Greeks don’t consider 70 degrees to be all that warm. I actually saw a doting mother put a snow hat on her young son yesterday, though I was sweating in my t-shirt. In an effort to blend in, I am resisting wearing dresses and sandals, though I would certainly wear them in this weather at home. Tomorrow we’re heading to the beach because the temperature will be nearly 80. Hopefully we don’t see a single parka!

 

 

Getting Involved

I’ve written a lot about my travels away from Salamanca on the weekends, but having a home base in this city is very important for my experience. We were told when we arrived that we have to be careful if we were planning on traveling every weekend because we are here to immerse ourselves specifically in the culture of Salamanca, so it’s okay to stick around sometimes. During orientation we were also given ideas about how we can get involved while we’re here.

IES provides activities every month that we can attend if we wish. Many of these are cultural activities such as flamenco and salsa dance classes, paella night, and next week I’m going to a cooking class to learn how to make traditional Spanish food when I’m home! My favorite events (and the ones that are most attended) are the ones that include free food.

Giant paella for paella night!

IES has also hosted two “intercambio” events, one of which I could attend. “Intercambio” means exchange, so these events are essentially language exchanges. American students from IES come to speak with university students in English, and then we switch off and speak in Spanish. I don’t have pictures of the people from the event, but I did make sure to snap a photo of the food.

Tapas from intercambio night

In addition to intercambio nights hosted by IES, we have the opportunity to sign up for one-on-one intercambios. I put my name, age, and email onto the University of Salamanca website and students email me if they want to meet for an hour and learn English while I learn Spanish. I’ve met with one student multiple times for coffee, and it’s a great experience to meet natives, especially for those who aren’t taking classes at a local university.

Other students from IES have joined a choir, an ultimate frisbee team, and the mountain exploring club. On my own I’ve recently been getting involved with a youth group type organization for university students. There are many American students who attend as well as Spanish students. I’ve also met quite a few students from Germany who are studying in Salamanca. This organization provides activities throughout the week so that everyone can get involved, and it’s another cool way to meet other people in town. I usually go to the Bible study and the event that’s most like a typical youth group with food, songs, then a message or “algo profundo.”

Although the only photo evidence I have at this point are pictures of food, I promise that the activities here include people! While abroad for a semester, it is SO important to make connections with people and I’ve had the opportunity to meet some great people while I’ve been here. I’m thankful for the freedom to get involved during my semester and make Salamanca feel a little bit more like home.

Ticket to Ride

This past weekend an Ecuador bucket list item of mine was crossed off. Since last semester I knew I wanted to take this train ride in Ecuador that goes through the mountains and was supposed to have incredible views. Luckily, some other friends wanted to do it too and so my dream came true. We headed out on Friday and took a five hour bus ride to a small town called Alausí. There’s not much to do there, so we pretty much just ate some dinner and wandered the streets in hopes of finding anything really. We actually did stumble upon a community center that had a soccer game going on. Naturally we decided to sit in the bleachers and watch for a while. Everyone stared at us the second we entered because we were clearly not from the community, but it was cool to see a piece of the life in Alausí. After the game, we went to our hostel and hung out before getting some sleep.

In the morning we went to the train station to take the ride I’d been waiting for since November. The ride is called Nariz del Diablo and like I said, it goes through the mountains and man were the views beautiful. Everything was so green there and looked peaceful. We rode for about 50 minutes then stopped at a station for an hour where there were some very touristy attractions, such as indigenous music and dancing, a tiny artesanal market, and a restaurant. After that, we headed back to Alausí. While I wish the train ride could’ve been longer, it was a great experience. Since there was nothing else to do in the town, we ate lunch then grabbed a bus back to Quito. The trip was a quick one, but worth it for the good views.

On Sundays in Quito they shut down one of the main streets until mid-afternoon to allow people to ride their bikes safely in the street. It’s called Ciclopaseo and it’s a way to encourage getting outside and also a sense of community throughout the city. Those who know me well know that I have a pretty big fear of biking. I had a bad experience as a child and it has kind of haunted me since then. However a common theme with studying abroad is that you don’t want to miss out on any experience. Even if it is something that is uncomfortable or that you’re unsure of, it’s probably good for you. So I decided that I’d join my friends on this bike ride and I’m grateful that I did.

 

We rode for about 14 miles, going through parks, the historical center of the city, and in new areas that I’d never seen before. I rode at the pace that was comfortable for me and talked to my friends about all kinds of topics from visiting each other at our different schools next semester to how we have a pact that we’re going to invite each other to our weddings someday. I was pretty nervous before we left, but felt at ease the whole ride because my friends were by my side. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but getting out of your comfort zone is truly the best way to grow and to learn.

It was another nice weekend, but now I’m back to going to classes and living the life of a college student. I have papers and presentations coming soon, however I am still finding fun things to do during the week too. For example, I just got home from getting Papa Johns (sometimes we just need some American food, okay?) and going to see the new Beauty and the Beast (it was great, go see it). Traveling and seeing different parts of Ecuador is wonderful, but the normal everyday life things are pretty great too. I’ll be in Quito this weekend and the adventures will surely continue.

Historical Pilgrimages: Delphi and Hosios Loukas

Last weekend we took a trip to upper central Greece to visit Delphi. If you have read The Odyssey (or other classical texts) you know Delphi is the place to consult the oracle. If a person was facing a tough choice, let’s say to attack a city or not, they would make the trek to Delphi to make a sacrifice and ask the oracle to decide for them. Whatever the oracle said is exactly what they did. It is interesting because there are many archeologists and chemists, among others, who have tried to explain how this divination could occur. Some say there were drugs involved. Others say that underground gas pockets caused them to become frantic and spout prophecies. The professor leading our group told us not to believe any of these theories, since the oracle of Delphi is not something that needs to be explained in a logical way. It was simply the practice for these people to accept the prophecies they received. This is made even more interesting by what I am currently learning in my Philosophy class. We have just crossed through the period of the scientific revolution and are reading Descartes. We are discussing how strict scientific thinking emerged only after the scientific revolution, and, after this point, westerners are unable to think of things as ‘true’ unless these things are scientifically quantifiable and ‘prove-able.’ It makes sense, then, that we have a difficult time accepting the oracle as a thing that is unexplained. Here is a photo of the archaeological site:

This is the lower portion of the site. The actual oracle consultation happens higher up in the mountain where you can faintly see the other columns.

The very best part of the field trip was visiting the Hosios Loukas monastery in Boeotia, founded in the early 10th century by the hermit Saint Luke (not to be confused with the Evangelist of the Gospel of Saint Luke). The artwork in the monastery and the crypt (!) was so beautiful. My Byzantine Art & Architecture midterm is tomorrow, so allow me to rehearse the information in the photos’ captions.

These buildings are adjoined (remember this for later), but were built at different times. On the right is The Church of the Theotokos. It has a slim “Athenian dome” and has a cross-in-square floor plan. It was built in the 10th century and is the oldest cross-in-square type building in Greece. Very important in byzantine architecture! The church on the left, named Katholikon, was built in 1011/12. It has a heavy octagonal dome. Both churches were built with the cloisonne technique: each stone of the church is framed by bricks. Both churches are decorated with pseudo-kufic script. This script is made of decorative characters which imitate Arabic Kufic letters. It is called pseudo because it does not spell any real words. It shows just how influential Islam was on Western art and architecture.
Here is a photo of the mosaics in the narthex of Katholikon. They’re stunning. The mosaics have been expertly restored by removing each tile (called tesserae), adding new mortar, then resetting the tile. Something worth noting is the abstract nature of the empty backdrop. There is no sense of “place” in these icons.
The crypt lies below Katholikon. The relics of St. Luke are actually kept upstairs in the hallway that joins the two churches, but St. Luke’s tomb was here for many years. The crypt also held funeral ceremonies and commemorations. The crypt is decorated with frescoes. Some of them were damaged early on as pilgrims would chip pieces off the walls to take home with them. Vandalism is an age old problem, folks!

And an obligatory photo of the flora and fauna:

One of our favorite local pollinators off to make some delicious Greek honey, or “μέλι.” Yum!

That’s all for now – as soon as mid terms are complete they will whisk us away to Thessaloniki (Northern Greece) for an entire week. I feel like the bees, bouncing here and there, but buzzing right along nonetheless. There is much to see and do, but the rewards are sweet!

 

Portu(girl)

This past week was midterms week, and to boost our morale after a tough week we took a trip to Portugal with IES. On Friday we left early in the morning excited to get away from studying and for a sunny weekend in Portugal. Our first stop was the city of Coimbra, where we visited the palace turned university. We had a tour, and we had a perfect view of the city from an overlook at the university. Most notable was that university students wore robes just like Hogwarts students. Apparently, J.K. Rowling was married to a Portuguese man and was inspired by the traditional university attire in Portugal. Portugal was also where she was inspired and wrote much of Harry Potter, but unfortunately we didn’t have time to visit that city.

University of Coimbra

From Coimbra, we made our way to Lisbon. There, we had time to relax in our hotel rooms for a while after a long day and then we met up to go out to a group dinner. We went to dinner and a show, so we were entertained by various songs, dances, and skits that are the traditional Portuguese “Fado.” Many of the songs are sad but they are used for all occasions. I couldn’t understand much of what was going on, but it was fun!

Lisbon, or San Francisco?

On Saturday we had breakfast in the hotel, which was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. Everyone was so excited because usually we only eat a piece of fruit or bread for breakfast so we couldn’t wait to eat bacon and eggs and croissants with Nutella. After the wonderful breakfast, we went on a quick tour of Lisbon by bus and then a walking tour of a palace. Lisbon has a San Francisco feel because of the hilly streets and the replica of the Golden Gate Bridge over the river.

 

 

Boca do Inferno

Next we went to Boca do Inferno, translated as “Mouth of Hell,” which are cliffs on the coast of Portugal that typically have rough waters but are a beautiful sight. After the cliffs, we had some time to explore the coastal town of Cascais and find gelato, which is always my priority when traveling.

Fátima

Sunday we started off with another spectacular breakfast. Then we started the trek home and we stopped at Fátima on the way. Fátima is a famous town in the Catholic faith because it is said that the Virgin Mary appeared there to three children. An enormous basilica and plaza were built after the appearance, and Fátima is now an important pilgrimage site. It blew me away to see people with such intense faith. There is a narrow white path that pilgrims walk on their knees to the altar, and we could see people walking while holding a family member’s hand. Something else that happens in Fátima is that people bring candles shaped like a body part that needs healing and they burn it there to ask for a cure from the Virgin Mary.

It was a perfect vacation with perfect weather after a crazy week of exams, but I’m glad to be back in Salamanca until the next adventure!

Field Trip to Atapuerca and Burgos

The religion class through IES Salamanca takes a field trip every year to Atapuerca and Burgos, Spain. La Sierra de Atapuerca is an archaeological site that contains some of the earliest human remains in Europe. We have been learning about prehistory and the idea of religion during that time, so the perfect place to visit is the most important excavation site in Spain. We left Salamanca promptly at 7 am for our trip. When we arrived, we met up with our archaeologist tour guide and drove over to the site. Most of Atapuerca is closed to the public, but we were able to see three excavation sites. Our guide told us about one area where archaeologists have to crawl through a long and narrow tunnel to reach one area with lots of human remains. At the excavation sites, we could see the stratification of the earth, and our guide pointed out where some of the most important artifacts have been discovered. The guide was great because he tried to keep what he was saying interesting and relevant. He also looked like Ross Geller from Friends, which was pretty perfect.

Excavation site at Atapuerca

After we had this part of the tour, we went to an outdoor interactive area where our guide taught us about how people lived during different eras. We went to a station where we learned the important technology of making knives by hitting a rock against another rock. We went to a cave painting station, then a hunting station where everyone had the opportunity to try out some bow and arrows and throw some spears. We ended the interactive part in a hut where our guide made fire out of a couple of pieces of wood and some flint. I’m glad matches were invented, it’s a much easier way to make fire.

After Atapuerca we took the bus to Burgos for some free time to eat lunch and explore the city. We had the chance to see the cathedral from the outside, and it’s an impressive cathedral. When we met up with the group again we went to the Museum of Human Evolution. This is where some of the real artifacts that were found at Atapuerca are displayed. They have areas that explore the evolution of the brain, the evolution of man, and modern science. It’s an interesting museum, and I would recommend it especially for people interested in science.

La Catedral de Burgos
El Museo de Evolución Humana

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was not a traditional day, but I’m glad I had the opportunity to see that part of Spain!

Learning to Serve Well

Quick life update: things have been going great here! Day to day life has become normal and routine but of course there are still moments that are new or challenging all of the time. Classes are going well (yes, I do go to classes much to everyone’s surprise). Friendships are continuing to grow. I am changing through my experiences and know that I will not be coming back to the U.S. as the same person, but as someone who is more aware and adventurous. Life is good in Ecuador, friends.

This week I’d like to share with you all a bit more about my service learning placement. I’ve mentioned it before, but twice a week I volunteer at a daycare with the organization Fundación Extreme Response. Currently there are kids from 10 months old to 6 years old at the daycare and they are all children of men and women who work at the local dump.

Extreme Response is an international organization that gives humanitarian aid in places where the living situation is dangerous. This organization began at the Quito dump and has expanded to 11 other countries throughout the world to provide sustainable support to those in need.

In 1997 an American family that had been living in Ecuador saw that the Quito dump was incredibly dangerous and that it needed help. The focus of their aid was on the women and children that are affected by life at the dump. In 2001 Extreme Response became an official non-profit and has been expanding its work ever since.

One of the actions that Extreme Response took at the dump was opening a daycare so that the children whose parents worked at the dump weren’t exposed to the unsafe conditions there. At first the daycare was located at the dump, but in the last few years it was moved to a new separate location where I am a volunteer.

My job at the daycare is to play with the kids and, in my mind, to just love on them. Who knows what kind of care they receive when they go home at night or what kind of conditions they’re living in. They come from families who face poverty and who are outcasts by society’s standards. These kids come from backgrounds that are devastating, yet they are some of the most joyful children I’ve ever met. When I come to the daycare, they love to play and to feel affection, whether it’s being held or sitting on my lap, they want to be cared for. They are loving, energetic, and are unaware of all of the hardships that their families face.

I really love the daycare, even on the days when the kids don’t listen or I don’t understand things about how the daycare is run. There are definitely differences between this daycare and others that I have worked at in the U.S., but nonetheless it has been such a privilege to get to be a part of this organization. I love the kids, I love the employees, and I love that I get to serve the city that I’m living in.

Along with my placement I have a class at school where we talk about aspects of service learning such as leadership, ethics, and the types of social issues that Ecuadorians face. On our first day of class we talked about the idea of “voluntourism”, meaning when people go places to serve but it ends up being a tourist activity. I am guilty of this for sure. I’ve been on mission trips where we serve a community, but also have days to travel and see the tourist sites. While I think serving is so important and in no way do I regret my past experiences, it is something to be aware of. Also, serving should be about long term relationships and less about going in and temporarily solving problems. Long term stability is needed in places, such as the Quito dump, and that is exactly what Extreme Response is trying to achieve.

There are many complicated aspects to serving and doing it right is pretty difficult. However, I consider myself a pretty service-oriented person and find great importance in going out and helping those in need. So that’s a little insight on what my semester of service learning has entailed. Below is a link to Extreme Response’s website if you want to learn more about it (it’s a very cool organization, so you should!). My advice for you: get out, serve, build relationships with the marginalized and outcasts and the ones who need love. By serving, you end up being served and filled in ways that you didn’t even know you were in need of yourself.

http://extremeresponse.org/who-we-serve/

 

 

This Time for Africa

Life of a Biochemical Engineering Major involves late night study sessions, long lab reports, and an endless swamp of assignments.  I love the challenge every semester brings but this time I will be embarking on a different kind of academic adventure; one that’s even more life-changing.

I’m trading in my thick text books for biographies of Nelson Mandela and Trevor Noah; my parka coat to protect against the icy Michigan tundra with short’s and T-shirts; my comfortable college environment with a university ten times as large.  This will be a new kind of learning and I plan to make the most of it.

About two weeks ago I arrived in the “motherland” the glorious Cape Town, South Africa to attend classes at the local college, the University of Cape Town.  Rather than meandering through  Hope’s  grove to the science center, I had to trek up the stunning mountain (Devil’s Peak) for my first day of class.
 

Already two days into the semester, I have come to discover three major takeaways as a visitor to this new land.  First that this diverse nation is home to 11 national languages.  It was quite fascinating to hear Afrikaans and Xhosa at a local grocery store; Xhosa being a language that employs multiple clicking noises and Afrikaans an evolution of the Dutch language arising from Dutch settler’s migration in the seventeenth century.  Although I heard an array of communication methods I was still able to use English when getting my groceries.  It’s amazing to think that almost every person in the country can speak at least two languages when sometimes I can have trouble with one (specifically grammar and various geographic colloquiums).

I also recognized that society has been largely impacted by the implementation of apartheid (which ended only 23 years ago);  that was the legal segregation of the black, colored, and white populations.  Immediately after stepping off the long twenty hour plane ride I was greeted into Cape Town with an inside look to the less westernized settlements of South Africa; the townships.  During apartheid people of colored or black race were forcefully removed to these township outskirts.  With a 35% unemployment rate many families have chosen to remain in these areas due to not being able to afford to leave their pre-liberation homes.

   

But even with blatant poverty as a staple in Cape Town society, somehow the city maintains a majestic energy,  I realized that this atmosphere  stems from the beauty of the land, citizens hope for the future, and the wide embrace of many cultures.    I feel like I have already learned so much and I can’t wait to see what the future will bring; for this time my semester is “for (South) Africa”.

  

 

Skeletons and Museums and Books, Oh My!

I started off this weekend by facing my fears and visiting the Catacombs of Paris. The remains of over six million people are held in these tunnels that used to be part of a mining network. In 1786 city officials began the process of moving bones from the overflowing Parisien cemeteries into the abandoned tunnels. Over the years the catacombs were renovated and decorated with tablets, archways, and inscriptions. The first known public visits began in 1814.

“Stop! This is the Empire of the Dead”

All I can say is I’m glad I went with a large group. It made the visit less spooky.

Later that weekend I visited the Musée de Cluny, which is the National Museum of the Middle Ages. The museum is undergoing renovations but the current building is still impressive and makes you feel like you stepped back in time.

The entrance to the Musée de Cluny.

Inside the museum are reliquaries, altarpieces, statues, and more dating back to the 5th century. The building itself combines Renaissance and Gothic styles and used to be the townhouse of the Abbot of Cluny, the head of a powerful medieval monastery in France.

There were several rooms filled with stained glass windows.

After Musée de Cluny, my friend and I went to get coffee. Since we ended up close to the Louvre, I decided to go there next. Because it was spur-of-the-moment I had no map, my phone was dying, and I definitely wore the wrong shoes. But it was definitely worth the aching feet. The Louvre is the world’s largest museum and the building, originally built as a fortress, is a work of art in it’s own right.

To be honest, I could have spent 3 hours just looking at the statues.

And lastly, I visited Shakespeare and Company for the second time that weekend (I’m very indecisive when it comes to buying books). The shop has a great selection of English-language books including Shakespeare, of course, as well as works by Lost Generation and Beat Generation authors.

Phew! After such a busy weekend, I have just a few days to relax before I head to Barcelona. Wish me luck on the 14 hour bus ride…

Packing for a Semester Abroad

Here are a few items that I have found to be very important (but often overlooked) when traveling abroad.

  • Plug adapters for every country you plan to visit

Small power adapters allow United States-style plugs to fit into different outlets. You can invest in fancy adapters or find them on Amazon. This is something you’ll use every day so I would suggest not buying adapters under 3 dollars… I bought an extra adapter at what I can only describe as the French version of Dollar General and it broke after two days. Also don’t wait until the last minute to double-check which adapters you need for any extra trips. For example, continental Europe uses a different adapter than the U.K. or Australia.

  • An umbrella

Unless you are blessed with a sunny destination (and even so) you should bring an umbrella. Sitting on the Metro for forty minutes after being caught in the rain is not an experience I wish on anyone.

  • Comfortable shoes

Especially in Paris, people tend to dress less casually than at home. You might be tempted to bring every shoe in your closet to impress the Europeans, but in this case your comfort is more important. Bring shoes you know are sturdy, good for walking, and won’t make your feet ache after a day of sightseeing. If you are still worried about “blending in”, sneakers are actually pretty common among students in Europe – a plain pair of Keds or Vans will do just fine. Or you can put comfortable insoles in those fancy leather boots.

  • Layers

Bring clothes that will layer well together. This will save space in your suitcase but also keep you prepared for crazy weather changes. Scarves and sweaters can also serve as makeshift blankets or pillows if you’re stuck in a cold bus, plane, etc.

  • Stain remover pen

This is one of those items I never think to bring but always end up needing. I dropped Korean food on a favorite dress and had to soak it for ages to get the stain out, wondering why I had left my Tide To-Go at home. They’re not expensive and will not take up any room in your bag. Please bring a stain remover pen.