Ashley Connelly, Madrid, Week 8

Hi everyone,

Guapos 

It has already been 8 weeks in Madrid, but it seems like no time at all. Over the past week, I´ve had to say a lot of goodbyes. My piso which started as 10 people has lost half of its tenants. And, since new people don´t move in until September, the emptiness is a sad reminder that my time here is almost up too. It´s been hard to see everyone leave, but it has been such a great experience getting to meet so many amazing people and share my time in Madrid with them.


As I say goodbye to my pisomates, the city of Madrid echoes the same sentiment to many of her inhabitants. Leaving town for August vacations, Madrid is starting to quiet down for the remainder of the summer. Many businesses and restaurants are closing as their owners go on vacation for the next month. This new atmosphere makes now the perfect time to take my own mini-vacation to Morocco, but it also makes new challenges at work.

Over the past few weeks, my office has been getting ready to move offices as the current office undergoes some renovations to make it more suitable for serving food and for how many people it must serve (we continue to get new users every week). The past couple days at work has mainly been a collaborative effort to pack everything in boxes and get it out of the office. This has included some interesting discoveries including the headrests to some car seats that no one is really sure which car they are from. Currently, the office is a mess, cluttered with boxes waiting to be loaded in the furgoneta.

In addition to the chaos of the move, we continue to serve meals to families as they come to the office to pick up their food. While the move has complicated this part of my job, the real challenge is in the following weeks. We normally get food from 8 hotels and restaurants and starting in August all but 2 are closing. This means instead of getting food twice a week, families can only pick up food on either Monday or Tuesday. While month long holidays seem nice, logistically a lot falls through the cracks and sometimes, there aren´t enough people around to clean it up.

Kledia | Tirana, Albania | Week 10

This past week at work was spent mostly doing translations. We got a little bombarded with them because now everyone knows that we do a great job at them so they ask us for help. Regardless it's great practice for my Albanian and I'm learning a lot of Albanian words that I did not know before and it's cool to see how government documents are written. We also got the chance to go to a conference held by the different ministries and the Harvard group that was working at the ministries. We got to hear different ministers speak about their partnership with Harvard and their future plans for Albania.

This weekend we took a trip down south to the Albanian Riviera. One of my roomate's friends that's a Michigan student was studying abroad in Italy and decided to visit us so we got to act as tour guides. We were lucky that we chose this weekend because Monday we didn't have work. It was a National holiday and all the government offices were closed for Bajram/Eid. So we got an extra long weekend!

Ashley Connelly, Week 6 and 7

Hola,

My summer here is almost over- I only have 3 weekends left here- and as everyone here heads home or off to vacation for August, the end is becoming too real. In light of this development, I´ve been trying to take full advantage of my placement in Spain and see as much as I can of the region. These past two weekends I traveled to Toledo and Sevilla and in the coming weeks, I am planning a trip to Marrakesh, Morocco.

My first trip during these past two weeks was a day trip to Toledo. About an hour outside of Madrid, Toledo is a historic town with an amazing history of co-existence between Mulsims, Jews, and Christians before the Reconquista. In addition to the still visible mix of these cultures, Toldeo is home to a grand cathedral and marzipan. Toledo´s cathedral is truly a testament to the beauty of gothic architecture and is considered "the magnum opus of Gothic style in Spain" as according to Wikipedia. After taking in the cathedral, I explored the old city including Ancient Roman ruins and El Greco´s "The Burial of Count Orgaz." Finally, I bought some traditional Toledo marzipan and headed back to Madrid on the bus.

Real Alcazár of Sevilla

Plaza de España

This past weekend I traveled to Sevilla and discovered the most amazing place I have ever been. When you think Spain, Sevilla is what you are thinking of. Wandering the streets of the old cit, you encounter cute little tapas places decorated with bull heads and other bullfighting paraphanelia which surround the main plaza in front of the cathedral where Christopher Columbus´ body is laid to rest. A couple mintues from this plaza and cathedral, you find the Real Alcázar. Even though much of the Alcázar was destroyed during the Lisbon earthquake during the 18th century, much of it has since been restored to present one of the most beautiful palaces and gardens. In addition to this beautiful Moorish architecture, Sevilla´s Plaza de España is as impressive as the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and the Royal Palace in Madrid. Every Spanish city has a Plaza de España located in or near the center of the city, but Sevilla´s takes the cake.

Salmorejo croquettas and shark tapas with some tinto de verano

Plaza de Toros

After exploring these amazing sites, I enjoyed a passionate performance of flamenco, tapas including salmorejo croquetas and shark, and the old, calm streets of Sevilla influenced by both the Moorish and Spanish cultures that flourished there. On Sunday, I toured the Plaza de Toros and stood in a bullring older that the U.S.´s independence and the Plaza de Toros only scratches the top of Sevilla´s history. I ended my weekend by climbing the Giralda tower to get a view of Sevilla from one of its highest points. In the end, Sevilla has become my favorite place I´ve visited in Spain. Less overwhelming than Barcelona, but more alive than Granada and Toledo.

wandering the gardens of the Real Alcazár

Tony- Cusco, Peru Week 11

I spent my second to last weekend traveling to Machupicchu. he journey there was just as enjoyable as the destination. There were many beautiful sights along the way.

This was my final week at my volunteer project as well. The school has a two week vacation that starts on Peru's Independence Day on July 28. On my last day I gave a short goodbye speech to one of my groups of kids and had lunch with about 20 of the professors after school. The professors and I made sure to swap contact details and give genuine goodbyes. It was very heartwarming.

During my final week, I will explore as much of the nearby cities as I can.

Kelli Pape - Week Eight

"Hay que aprovechar." One must take advantage. I swear it's one of those expressions I hear a Spaniard tell me nearly every day. I like it - it keeps me grounded, reminding me my summer is finite and a great experience that calls for looking beyond my own ego. A decent chunk of the beginning of my stay here was spent panicking about all the ways in which I'm different, and how without a flexible grammar and extensive vocabulary I had such obstacles in expressing myself without out-stressing myself. My attitude toward adaptation to a foreign working and living environment has made a paradigm shift since then. For example, once realizing and processing that speaking, reading, writing, or listening to anything in English while in Spain is not a sin, I was finally able to relax enough to enjoy the fact that now I can function in both languages back and forth all day long and not feel ashamed for not knowing some complex Spanish sentence. However, my level of comfort in speaking without thinking so much has improved drastically since I began watching Spanish movies and television, most notably my favorite show “Aqui no hay quien viva” on Youtube, as well as reading anything I can get my hands on. Attentive exposure is key. And a delicate balance of confidence and humility.

Some highlights of the most recent epoch include:

The Lumineers. I went with my host brother and a friend of his to the concert of one of my favorite bands from freshman year, for some reason expecting for the crowd to be full of other Americans. The moment that solidified that it indeed was not was when the band repeatedly told the crowd to "quiet down" and the decibel level remained constant. We had arrived about four hours early so as to get in the front row and meanwhile befriended a group of Spanish girls and played cards with them in line.

The Design Life. Still finding myself ever more grateful for the position I landed with DIMAD (Madrid Design Foundation) as the pace of events and activities continually picks up. As seen in the photo above with all the posters, we are hosting a month-long exhibition called "Agitadores de Conciencia". In fact, to find out more about the event, you could refer yourself to the recently published memo about it here on this Italian design news site, which I happen to have translated from its Spanish version. I also stayed after work the whole week to help strategically set up the posters, with a party for the associates and directors of DIMAD coinciding that Friday.

"Agitators of Awareness" - graphic design exposition aimed toward making people think about contemporary controversial political and social issues in society today, both in and out of Spain

Another this-just-inarticle from the nation's main newspaper El Pais (at least from March) is that my workplace, Matadero Madrid, supposedly comes in third place for the whole country after the two world-famous art museums the Prado and the Reina Sofia in terms of the cultural value it adds to the community. Seeing that makes me take my job pretty seriously, to contribute the best I can. Most of the time that's with the creating a graphic informational archive and website for an upcoming interior design exhibition, but I also help a lot with translations for articles or manuals and creating newsletters of local cultural events. I'm satisfied with the level of trust that they've put in me as an unpaid intern to properly do their translations without even having anyone else to double-check them. I’ve been much busier there lately and often stay a few hours longer than my supervisor does, just because I’ve adopted this website project baby and the work seems to be interminable, as we say in both English and Spanish. To my fortune, there are several other foreign students also doing summer internships there, as now we have two Italians and a guy from France. Although the Italians have an edge by their language being nearly grammatically identical and immediately fitting in with the Spanish, it still is nice to not be the only alien in the work environment. And there’s a startling amount of English vocabulary used in both technology and the design fields, because (a) plenty of things were invented in America anyhow and (b) it just sounds exotic and cool to them. The same with the clothing here. Oh my, is the majority of the printed clothing here in English and sometimes the phrases on them are just hilarious. I should probably devote an entire blog just to that topic. But the work I'm doing involves looking at interesting and innovative design products, and has indirectly inspired me to want to join some club related to publishing when I get back to the U-M campus. Although we'll gauge what I have time for. I've also changed my mind and will more than likely be minoring in Spanish when I get back, since I'm already close to having the credits for it anyhow and certainly want to continue practicing and exposing myself as much as feasibly possible in the Midwest.

My Office, while everyone else was out to lunch

The Almost-Made-It-To-San-Fermin Trip. Arguably my best weekend in Spain yet has been my trip with my fellow Michigander friend Laura to the countryside. At first we were planning on watching people get trampled by bulls, but didn't exactly feel like sleeping on bare dirt for two nights and hardly being able to see the festivities without paying for balcony access. That certainly would have been an unforgettable time, but we forewent it for the chance to have a huge old hostel practically to ourselves, which included all meals and free bikes to borrow! Therefore we went out Saturday with the destiny of Ubidera National Park in mind. Figuring we had only made it about two-thirds of the way, we ended up heading back to our host village of Estella so as to turn the bikes back in on time. Realistically it might have only been three miles there, we realized, since the return route was all downhill. We stopped in a village that could fit on the head of a pin, where we ate our canned clams, non-lion sausage, and dried corn kernels. That same night, we explored the town and walked to various sites along the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage trail that extends several hundred miles through northern Spain where Catholics, hikers, and Catholic hikers from all over the world come to either hike or do Catholic things. The next morning I attended both my first Catholic mass in general and first religious service in Spanish, and it was fairly amusing to me that I understood everything they were talking about based on the Spanish I’ve acquired in the past two months and all the church stories I knew in English anyway from back home. We essentially had to climb a mountain to get to the regular Sunday service, but many of the elderly couples drove up it in their SUVs. What was so endearing to me was that even halfway across the world almost everyone in that Spanish Catholic service reminded me of the adults I know from my little hometown Methodist church in Mayville, Michigan. They greeted one another warmly, took a moment to stare at the ones who were obviously not regulars (a.k.a. me and Laura), yet still greeted us, listened attentively to the sermon, sang their hymns by memory without even books as an option, took their communion, filed out to go have Sunday afternoon lunch with their families and gossip in the parking lot. It was a beautiful experience to show me that the country is the country no matter where you go. The bus ride back to Madrid was dauntingly delayed by several hours as everyone was coming back from partying and bullfighting, but I was more than satisfied with our rural excursion. The next four-day weekend trip we’re thinking of doing will be to Morocco, as my boss has already given me permission to have those two days off work. Although realistically I should ask my mom first...

biking/hiking day!

The Catholic monastery in Estella, Spain

Laura on a bridge on the Camino de Santiago

-And as for posting photos of myself with Michigan gear, unfortunately I only brought a sweatshirt and it's been over 100 Fahrenheit here lately. I did, however, spot a cute old Spanish man sporting a Michigan Football jersey in my very own neighborhood, where I would least likely suspect it actually. I couldn't work up the courage to ask him for a picture with me. Just grinned at him knowingly. Though that comes off as creepily when the recipient is not in the mutual know.

Actually an oldie from Barcelona, but just found it and how often are Michigan squirrels represented in Barcelona cathedrals?

I may have gotten somewhat used to couples' frisky behavior in public, but my jaw won't ever stop dropping at the sight of public display of raw meat.

India week 3

Wow I can't believe my trip is already halfway over! It seems like just yesterday that I was getting off the plane and complaining about the crazy heat. India is a crazy beautiful country that has shown and taught me so much that I will definitely miss it when I leave soon. This week we got the chance to go see some of the beautiful monuments of Delhi such as the Lotus temple, Humayun's Tomb and the Qutb Minar, along with some various markets in between in which I spent a ton of money on things I don't need oops. Everything is just so beautifully handcrafted I can't resist! Unfortunately pictures don't seem to be showing up on my ipad and I frustratingly can't figure it out why. The Lotus Temple was a beautiful white temple made in the shape of a lotus temple. It celebrates the Bahai religion, which embraces all different religions and believes that they can all be in harmony. It was very fascinating to read all about the religion and we had to take off our shoes to go into the temple. Sermons are never held at the temple, everyone is allowed to come in to pray to whomever they choose in peace and quiet. There are also no pictures displayed anywhere and while everyone is allowed to take as many pictures as they want outside, no pictures are allowed inside the temple. It was such a beautiful and interesting place to visit. Humayun's Tomb was massive and incredible. It looked more like a palace than a tomb to be honest. We had to pay 250 rupees as foreigners to get into the tomb while Indians only had to pay 10. I found that this price exists at most monuments and although I was aghast by the price difference at first, it made sense later on because my host mom explained that most Indians are poor and if they were charged a high price, they would never visit these incredible monuments. converted to dollars, it would only actually be around $4 and this is not so bad to pay to foreigners. We read about the history of the tomb and it's surrounding layouts and took many many pictures. I have noticed that when many Indians take pictures at monuments, they pose as if they are in model shots and it is quite entertaining because they do not seem to be embarrassed at all! Many also do not smile for their pictures which I.cannot fathom because I'm always grinning in mine and I can't help it. I hate solemn pictures. Next we took the metro to Qutb Minar, the 2nd tallest Minar in India at 73 meters. There are 5 stories and it was started in 1192 but not completed until 1368. People used to be able to go inside but there was an accident some time ago that caused a stampede that killed a bunch of children since the stairs inside are very narrow and public access has been denied since then. It is very unfortunate but still beautiful to look at on the outside. There are also a bunch of ruins surrounding it. It was quite a day of adventure and we are now masters of the metro.the metro is an inexpensive way to travel around and is also very fast because it doesn't get stuck in traffic. The first car is always for women only so that makes it a lot safer but many times it is extremely crowded. We are meeting up with another intern from umich today for tea and are excited to meet a new friend, as there are not really people our age around. I'm excited to start my homestretch!

Hasper, New Delhi, Week 1

Namaste!

Since arriving in Delhi, I've hardly set my pen down. I've been attempting to capture my first impressions and thoughts. I've had an acute look at India through fresh eyes, that's for sure. Everything is new, everything is bright, and everything seems different. It is the end of my first week, and I'm already feeling more comfortable! Let's hope that I remain this observant in the upcoming weeks. Yesterday was a holiday, so I took advantage of the break and saw some incredible monuments. The temples and tombs are vividly colored and a little wild, not unlike the rest of the city.

In the taxi from the airport I had my first look at the impoverished neighborhoods of Delhi. I've had much more exposure since then. I'm working with an education NGO called VIDYA, which works with children from the poorest slums. This organization has formal schools to prepare students for college admission, and informal schools to assist children enrolled in inadequate government schools. I spoke with the administrator and she explained that while the school gets requests from middle and upper class families frequently, they choose to admit the underprivileged first. It's been great to observe the efficiency of this organization and hear of its success. From what I understand, NGOs are many in number here, but have remained quite ineffective. One survey concluded that there is currently an NGO for every nine people in Delhi. There is little to no communication between NGOs and corruption is rampant. The greatest struggle is assuring validity, as the NGO sector is held in suspicion nearly as much as government institutions. Literacy rates for women are very low (around 50% in India), and illiterate mothers will rarely send their daughters to school, so VIDYA has created programs for adult women. Another excellent NGO for women's empowerment is partnering with my school. The female students will be designing campaigns about women's safety to promote in their neighborhoods.

The expectations for women are very different. Practically, it's been difficult wearing long pants and sleeves in high temps and humidity- I miss shorts. Nearly all service jobs are held by men, and while there are often men lounging on the streets, women are rarely outside during the day. A white woman out alone is a spectacle, understandably. Of course, I'm in a safe neighborhood, and have people to help me navigate where I can travel alone. India is facing an epidemic of crime against women, and is struggling to combat it. There is a separate carriage at the front of each metro train only for women for safety. I'm intending to strike up a conversation each time I'm on the metro. I want to know what the women in Delhi are feeling and aspiring to. This week I rode with several groups of students and businesswomen.

Teaching has been fun! The kids are so keen. The teachers have asked me to help specifically with pronunciation and spelling. They are struggling with the basics, so I've started there, and I'm building a six week curriculum. I've also become a rogue PE teacher- a soccer ball in an alley way brings in kids from miles around. I've promised to teach them soccer as long as they teach me cricket. It has been difficult being the only foreign teacher at the school. Hindi is spoken conversationally so communication is difficult.

I'm teaching in Okhla, a predominantly Muslim community. Recently the community has faced new pressures because of a political shift towards Hindi nationalism. Today's breaking news showed a politician's intolerant behavior toward a Muslim during Ramadan. This was the topic of conversation and concern today amongst the school teachers. Lately they have had parents come in demanding to have a one religion or another taught in the school. The negotiations have taken up classroom time.

On another note, my rickshaw commute to work has lengthened thanks to the cow traffic, and the house lady keeps a cricket bat at the front door to ward off the cheeky monkeys. Also the lack of coffee has caused me to substitute with tea- probably all the better for lessening my caffeine addiction.

Jess

                                                     The Okhla Education Center

 

Humayun's Tomb

The Lotus Temple (Baha'i)

The ISHKON Temple (Hindu)

Olivia - Galápagos - Week 2

This week we spent multiple days working in a nursery in one of the national parks. We did small maintenance jobs and helped with weeding out the invasive plants before they spread. But most of our time was spent planting new coffee plants! Coffee is one of the main exports of the Galápagos and is quite delicious if I do say so myself! The coffee is grown in these nurseries to prevent it from the harmful invasive plants, mostly mora, from destroying it. It is grown completely organically without any types of pesticides or fertilizer. During the work days spent on the reserve we went on a couple hikes with our machetes in hand to help clear the trails which had been almost completely covered due to the overgrown plants. It was hard work but well worth it when we made it to the coast and found a fresh water lagoon! San Cristobal is full of little surprises everywhere and I am still in awe of it's beauty. I am growing more and more in love with it everyday and am honored to help with this conservation program! The nature on this island is such a special place that I hope people will continue to enjoy and respect for years to come. They say the key to living in the Galápagos is to love nature and Mosquitos, which by the amount of bug bites I have they sure love me! 

My view after our hike. 

Who needs Starbucks when you have this?

Chao!

Olivia

Olivia - Galápagos - Week 1

Greetings from the Galápagos! I have completed my first week at Jatun Sacha, a wildlife reserve on San Cristobal Island, which means "big forest" in Quechwa which is the native language of a local tribe. So far I am having such a wonderful time! Not only are the sights breath taking and unlike any other place in the world but the people I am working with have been so kind! There are about 12 other volunteers around my age from the US, Canada, and England in addition to a couple older volunteers from the US and new volunteers from around the world arriving weekly. 

We are fighting two wars on this island, the war against mora and the war against wild pigs. Mora is an invasive black berry type plant that is taking over the land and killing off lots of the indigenous plants. The wild pigs have been ruining gardens and natural wildlife around the reserve. They also make for a tastey dinner if we catch one!

This week we spent two days cutting down over a hundred yards of mora on a local farm. I'm considering adding "Machete Master" to my resume after losing count of the blisters that appeared within the first hour. We also helped weed a garden and uproot old tree trunks to make room for new plants. 

In our free time we have explored the reserve which included finding a hidden waterfall in the forest! It was nice and refreshing to take a dip after a long day of cutting mora. 

On Friday the reserve leader and his wife cooked a barbecue lunch for us on the beach of Puerto Chino. The weather was wonderful and the beach was absolutely stunning. It was an amazing experience to catch some rays next to a sea lion and ride the waves with two sea turtles! This weekend we are taking a trip into town to do some snorkeling and kayaking on our couple days off. 

This is the experience of a lifetime and I can't wait to see what else is in store!

A hidden waterfall on the reserve. 

Sharing the beach with our seal neighbors!

Adios!

-Olivia

Jaclyn - Saying Goodbye to Cardiff

I write my last blog post from a train en route to London. I'm with my family now, as my internship has come to a close. And, man, are there things I'm going to miss….

1) The walk from my flat to work.

Most of the time, I would have my headphones in, playing some inspirational song on repeat as I marched off to work. At 7:45, there aren't all that many cars or people out and Cardiff is peaceful. Even on a hot day, the air is cool at that hour of the morning. And one thing that I've noticed between Cardiff (the UK in general, too) and Chicago (or the States as a whole) is that everyone is enjoying where they are. No one seems to be in a huge rush, even if they are.

2) Admiral

I have made such good friends in the short time that I've been here…. I can still remember the flight from Chicago to Heathrow, way back on the 15th of May. I was trying to sleep so I wouldn't continue focussing on the fact that this was my first overseas flight by myself. I told myself on that flight that everything would be perfectly fine. I would be really friendly at work, but completely expected my weekends to be full of exploring alone. To my surprise, I spent hardly any of my weekends alone. My weekends were jam-packed with plans and events. And the people I spent them with were the best part. Between the incredible personalities of the Recruitment team/Admiral Academy and the constant smiles that stemmed as a result, I didn't have time to miss home.

What can I say, I fell in love with Wales. And even though I will be ready when I have to go back to the States in a week, Cardiff will always have a piece of my heart.

3) My flat mates (and honorary flat mates)

Elisha, Fiona, and Brogan - if you hadn't knocked on my door that Saturday night, who knows how different my experience in Cardiff could have been. You were the first to introduce me to UK nightlife where you don't go home until AFTER the sun has risen. Safe to say, we never had a boring night together.

Thank you all for taking me under your wing and thank you for becoming my friends. xxx

4) The incredible views

Coming from the Midwest of the United States where everything is flat, these gorgeous hills were a nice change. My legs were definitely not used to walking up them, though...









5) Working next to a castle (I'll still never get over that)









6) The food.

And finally, 7) My team

The Recruitment team made such a lasting impact on me that I thought they deserved their own (second) shout-out. I was amazed at how easily I was able to become a real part of the team. They truly became my family. And I just want to extend a thank you to each of them:

Wendy for being the one to help bring me here

Ben for your (not) comical puns ;)

Lee for teaching me that it's rude to say "What?"

Janine for sharing my Starbucks addiction

AV for enduring my "Is there more I can do?" nags

Amie for answering all 239580 questions I had

Louise for giving me future hen (bachelorette) party ideas for my sister

Ian for interrupting a telephone interview just so I could say goodbye

Tom for insisting (and more importantly, no longer insisting) that I hate the English

Carrie (honorarily) for bonding so quickly with me in such a short time

Gary for helping me create THE coolest Recruitment Team logo ever

Amy for giving me a tour on my very first day and being attached to my hip ever since.

I will never forget what I have learned from you all these past two months, work-related and not. You all made my experience and I will never be able to repay you for that. Thank you for the incredible gifts you got for me and, most importantly, thank you for making Cardiff, and Admiral, my home away from home.

Oh, and don't worry, I'll be back :)

                  

All My Love,

Jac xxx

Kledia | Tirana, Albania | Week 9

This week we finished up some translations on Monday and Tuesday and other little things around the office. On Wednesday through Sunday we went to Vlora - a city on the southern coast of Albania. As I mentioned before we were communicating with the people on the boat in order to help organize the event with the orphans. On Thursday we were invited to a lecture at the local university and after that we went on the boat. The boat was pretty small. I really don't know what I was expecting because I wasn't sure at all what the boat was doing in Albania. The boat is actually a scientific expedition boat called Tara and it goes around the world collecting samples of different marine life and analyzing the pollution. It was its first time docking in Albania and their goal is to spread awareness and educate the public, along with their scientific studies. Going on the boat was a pretty cool experience and what was surprising was the University of Michigan is one of their sponsors! I was very surprised to see a little block M on the boat!

On Friday the event took place and the orphans came into the port. The children ranged from 5 - 15 years old so it was a very different group. I had the group of the youngest children and they were the cutest little things. My task was to translate what the scientists on the boat were saying. It was quite difficult because the man that gave our presentation was French and his English was a little difficult to understand and on the other hand I had to simplify what he was saying in order for the little kids to understand. It reminded me of when I was in Turkey last year teaching English to kids and I really liked it. Maybe a future career path for me? The event was a success and the kids loved it. For us it was a nice chance to get out of the office and do something different.

[Here I am translating for the kids]

Hannah - Madrid Week 9

Hello,
This past week, my friend, who is also a UofM student, came down to Madrid after he finished his own internship in Poland. I reserved some of the main tourist attractions for his visit so that we could explore some of city together. One of the places I was looking forward to the most was the Royal Palace. It´s filled with over 3,000 rooms and though I passed through a couple of the main spaces, it´s still imppoissble to fathom the the size of the palace. All the rooms were elaborately decorated with paintings, murals, elegant cabinets, and plush carpets. Walking around, I felt like I should have been dressed in a fancy evening gown. I haven't been able to explore much of the area by the palace and even from glancing over at the neighborhood, I wished that I had more time to get to know that district. It's filled with colorful houses and cobble stone streets. I realized that one of the things that I'll miss most about Madrid is the pink and yellow buildings that line the street. It seems so trivial but I would like to see more of them in Ann Arbor! Right next to the Royal Palace is Parque del Oeste, where we took a cable car that gave us an amazing view of the rest of the city. I had never seen the river that goes through the west of Madrid but it was nice to see that the city had some body of water nearby. Even though this week I did a lot of the main tourist activities, knowing my way around the city and some of the main customs, I realized that I felt like I had settled in and that I could see myself coming back here to study abroad!

Hasta luego,
Hannah

Hannah - Madrid Week 8

Hi everyone,
It's gradually been getting hotter here so now I'm beginning to understand why foods like cold soup can be very appealing here. To cope with the heat, I've been spending some time at the pool lately. Unfortunately, Madrid seems to be the only major city in Spain that isn´t located by the coast; it's right in the center. Though the central location is beneficial for traveling to all the other cities, being surrounded by land makes the summer unbearably hot. I guess this is the main reason that everyone travels out of Madrid for the month of August, leaving the city almost abandoned and empty. 

I've also been occupied with watching the World Cup. Although the U.S. is out, my flatmates still have countries that they are cheering for. For the Germany vs. France game, we went out to an Irish restaurant. I cheered for France because my French roommate was the only one who had supported the U.S. during our game against Belgium. Despite my support, however, France lost and Germany advanced. It was still interesting, though, to see French and German people gathered together to watch a soccer game in Spain. It showed how a big city like Madrid could be home to people from all over the world! 

Until next time,

Hannah

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Alyssa Tender week 8, Rabat

I can’t believe my time in Morocco is finished. I have really enjoyed my time here. This city is finally starting to feel like home. I loved getting to meet so many different people in Rabat. Each night before break fast my host dad and I would walk around the market and he would introduce me to all of his friends. My host dad was born in the same area when he now lives so he knows everyone. When I see those same friends on the street when I was by myself they would always say hi and ask how I am doing.

 I am really going to miss a lot about Morocco. I will miss how everyone nice and welcoming everyone is, you can’t go into someone’s house without being offered food –which is always delicious. I will miss how random strangers will drop everything to help you, and the sense of community I gained living in the medina (the older, more historic part of Rabat). 

I will also miss the Hamams or public baths. Unless I am traveling, I usually go to the hamam every weekend. I usually spend 1.5-2 hours there; many Moroccans spend almost double that time. It’s fun because not only do you get super clean (you spend most of the time in the hamam scrubbing all the dead skin off your body) but the women all sit around talking about their lives and gossiping.  

One thing I will not miss is the taxis. I have had to take a grand taxi to work every day. They squeeze 4 people into the back of the taxi and two on the front seat. They are crazy and usually really hot because you can’t open the window. Even if there is a seat belt, and you have enough room to put it on, the driver won’t drive with you wearing it because he sees it as an insult to his driving ability. Since most people in the medina don’t have a car (there is nowhere to park it and most things are walking distance) the taxis are the most common way of transportation to other parts of the city. It was interesting to see how people in a different country get around. I like that we did not get any special treatment because we were not from Morocco, the organization expected us to get around Rabat the same way the people who lived there did: taxis.  

Wendy in Buenos Aires, Week 2

So far I have gotten the opportunity to celebrate America's Independence day, Argentina's independence day and today I got to celebrate Colombia's! There is so much to do here, I have to figure out how to work in all these places into my work schedule so I have to start making lists! I'm loving the prices, especially after you find a cueva and get 12.6 pesos per dollar. I'm working with Fundación Metáfora where we travel to a small rural village about an hour from Buenos Aires and provide workshops to help them improve their sustainability. The difference between the village and the part of Buenos Aires that is shown throughout the internet in all of those amazing pictures is astonishing. There is a vast difference, and I've learned that Buenos Aires is an autonomous city that can be described as being slightly isolated from the rest of the country. For this reason I'd like to go out and explore outside of Buenos Aires to get a better idea of Argentina. Starting tomorrow I will be making the hour drive to the village every single day to work with the youth since it is their winter break, yes it is considered winter here although it is more like Fall in Michigan. So far I have gotten lost in a cemetery that is basically it's own city and swore I was being followed! I witness some wild love birds over take some pigeons for some bread I was feeding them, gotten lost numerous times,  been crushed inside a subway as people force themselves in and lets not forget the fact that I accidentally ended up in a riot when Argentina lost to Germany and was one of the few that got tear gassed! But, the celebration when Argentina made it to the finals was amazing and an experience that I am so utterly grateful I got to be apart of.

I've met some amazing people from all parts of the world and have learned a little bit of each culture. I had homemade crepes with some French students, ate a homemade meal with my Colombian friends, learned a bit of the culture in China, discussed the political and economic situation with a group of Brazilian students, divulged my dream of traveling to Australia to a student from there, compared latin dancing styles with non-Mexican friends and plenty more. In return I have answered many questions about America. Are all the people fat, is college there like in the movies, is everyone stuck up, is it as nice as it looks, how can I possibly hate Burger King and Micky Ds lol.  And the funniest one to me, "you don't look American". Which reminds me of how America is portrayed through sources that reach other countries. I even had a conversation with a man about how I was American but didn't have blonde hair or colored eyes, or even how I could speak Spanish so well. Then there was the incident with a friend of mine where it was the complete opposite. He was told that he didn't look like he was from the US because he was white and all the Americans he saw on TV were black. But never the less it is always interesting to see how the country you represent is seen and though of by the rest of the world. I do however seem to blend in, until I start speaking Spanish and use words that are not common here or use the "sh/ch" sound for double Ls or Ys. After someone hears me speak they almost always say "ah eres Colombiana!", when I laugh and say no "soy de los Estados Unidos" they give me confused looks, thats when I inform them that my family is from Mexico. Within the next few weeks I plan to visit Uruguay and spend a few days in Rio De Janeiro!!! So that will definitely be awesome. I think I've talked enough and I will be back next week =)

India week 2

This week the monsoon season officially started and with the rains, some days were actually cool and not scorching hot! My roommate and fellow intern at work Emily is leaving today so I'm very sad to see her go.. I'll miss her a lot because she has been such a big help for me with adjusting to the culture and workplace here in India. However, I have another roommate Jess who's just arrived also from Michigan so I'm excited for us to start our adventures together! We have already made a list and there are so many places we want to see I can't wait to get started. I will definitely miss Emily at work though because she is the only other English speaker as the teachers and students do not really speak English well. My boss does although I am learning to understand her better since she speaks so rapidly and with an accent. I hope there will be another intern who joins us! We attended parent-teacher conferences this week and I think it's really helpful to hear the concerns of the parents and how Manjir and the teachers will try to solve them. It also gave me ideas for what I can do to help. This weekend we went to another market, Hauz. Khas village which is set up in a little quirky format and has more of hipster vibe. A lot of the shops were very unique, one selling everything made from only recycled materials. There was also a whole ton of restaurants so if you're craving anything, this is the place to go! There was an American Diner serving fries and burgers yum. We visit this monument in the middle of the village which was kinda cool because you could see the intersection between the new and old. It had a spectacular view of this park below where a river flowed through. We also visited another of delhi's famous park Center Park and there were so many people out relaxing! It was a busy yet calm environment at the same time. I've noticed that Delhi is full of contrasts and I love it, it is so amazing to observe. The picture below is of me and Emily at Center Park in front of the giant famous Indian flag.

Ejona Korcari, Week 8, Tirana Albania

My internship in Albania has been a blast so far. The days are going by really fast and I have had a lot to do. This week I continued to work in the translation of the UNWTO document and I just finished it. It took a bit long because the document surprisingly was written in a convoluted manner. Some of the sentences were really confusing and supper long. At the same time it was an official document which as far as I know, it is still confidential and only a few people have seen it. In this document UNWTO, after reviewing the Albanian Tourism Draft Law, provided the Albanian Government with this document with suggestions and comments on how to improve this law and how to make it be in the same standards as the Tourism Laws of countries already part of the European Union. It felt good to see that the government has done so much work already and now we are working to improve the tourism in our country. At the same time, by doing this translation from English to Albanian, I got the chance to get more familiar with how government works, how laws are made, how countries cooperate, and how much hard work is needed in order for Albania Tourism to be in the levels of the EU countries. This document, since it was sent by such an important organization was a very detailed and elaborate piece of legislation. I got to read, understand and at the same time explain it in Albanian, therefore this experience was really important and helpful for me because now I know how complicated laws are, how much effort it takes to make them and how they have to consider every aspect of the situations they are about (tourism and all of its elements in this case). I learned a lot about Albanian Constitution and Laws because in a lot of cases I had to look through Albanian Legislation terms to figure out what the UNWTO was referring to. For example "statutory laws" in Albania are "Decisions of the Ministers Council (VKM-s)" and many other terms. Albanian Legislation is much more different than the legislation in other countries, so in a lot of cases, on the side of the document, UNWTO would suggest something and than explain that this suggestion might not be in agreement with Albanian Constitution or Laws. This was true in some cases but in the others it was just to make sure because UNWTO doesn't have much knowledge about Albanian legislation since it is a bit confusing for them how our legislation works, which laws are more superior and what institutions can make regulations about certain situations. So, even though translating this document was a bit tiring because it was needed ASAP, it was totally worth it and taught me a lot. I also have been working in other things that have popped up during the time that I have been in the office. We made a flier to promote camps that the National Costal Agency has opened along the Albanian beaches, who accept volunteers at all times to help in cleaning of the beaches, so we can offer a better and more beautiful beach to the people who visit them. I translated this in Albanian and now we are finding ways how to spread the word in order to attract as many volunteers as possible, Albanians, travelers, tourists, foreigners etc. Also we have helped the BBT (Black Belt Team), the team created by the Harvard Grad students in Ministry of Tourism. We (Kledia, Enxhi and I) have been part of this team since the first day we got in Albania and now we are working with the other members of the Team in Making a Tourism Package for Albania. We have helped in research of the materials needed to make the final presentation, translations and structure of the materials prepared by other members of the group etc.  This internship was the best choice I ever made. 

Finishing up the translation :)

Except work, in late afternoons after we left the office,I tried to find some time and go visit my family. I had the chance to spend some time with Grandma, who is always asking to spend more and more time with her. In the weekend, the girls and I were in the UNESCO protected city Berat. This is a city that everyone must visit if in Albania. It is a big city, separated in the old Berat, a 2000+ year old city, which is the part that everyone wants to see. Here there are small white houses that look like boxes and they have brown windows and doors. They are placed in the foot of the mountain and the view that they offer is breathtaking. On the top of the mountain there is located the Castle of Berat. When we visited it we found out that it was a Castle City . All the houses and the Main Castle were surrounded by thick walls. A good part of the ruins was still intact. It was amazing. Osum river splits the city in half and over it there are two bridges, one of them really old. The people were really friendly, the food was delicious and we got so many good memories from this city. This is my Albania on week 8.

Castle of Berat

Traditional albanian tables (sofra) and sofas. Really rare to see tho now

Me flying over Berat

A normal neighborhood

Kledia and I sitting on the porch and talking using a lot of body language