tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16788443124987079232024-03-24T23:09:23.952-07:002014 LSA International Internship BlogUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger208125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-79352605864365468252014-09-01T10:28:00.001-07:002014-09-01T10:28:38.637-07:00Enxhi Merpeza; Tirana, Albania; Twelfth Week<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This
week marks the end of our internship for two reasons: first of all, everyone is
on vacation or just about to leave, and secondly the ministry is undergoing
MAJOR construction (including the stable office space we had been assigned).
Between coffee shops and our bedrooms, we finished up the translations given to
us the week prior and also wrote some final emails and prepared some future
email templates for the National Coastal Agency. We also, double-checked with
them on the questionnaires regarding the beach clean ups that they will be
handing out to beach goers and tourists. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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Last day at the Ministries!</div>
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<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It was
emotional to say goodbye to the staff, the directors, the ministry and the
people we had gotten the closest to. As hard as we tried to arrange drinks or
dinner with our fellow colleagues, it just wasn’t possible between the European
vacation schedules of August and the work schedules (everyone was trying to
finish up duties before vaycay!). But we promised that if we were ever in the
area again, we’d visit them and go out for dinner! The personnel in the
ministry were a pleasure to work with alongside all the directors, our
supervisor Mejvis, and the Minister herself! The fact that this internship was
a learning experience, not only for us but for the Ministry itself as it positions
itself for future interns, made us realize that this opportunity allotted to us
by the University of Michigan is the beginning of a new chapter that begins
with the creation of ties between U of M and Albania. We cannot wait for others
to come out and experience all the beauty that lies in this tiny and culturally
rich Balkan/ Eastern European nation!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11921721202936928197noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-20138667286755357322014-09-01T10:23:00.001-07:002014-09-01T10:23:23.186-07:00Enxhi Merpeza; Tirana, Albania; Eleventh Week<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ejona and myself were the only ones in the
office for the first few days as Kledia was still nursing herself back to
health. While she was away I was given a new job to create a new ad campaign
for Albania’s coming surge of tourism…we don’t know if it will be used but I
think the work I did on imaging—with the help of my roommates and colleagues,
was pretty bombastic, especially for someone who doesn’t usually deal with
graphic design. I learned something new about myself—I love designing graphics
and layouts for pamphlets…new skill to add to the resume. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Next we were given a translation depicting
historical and architectural merit for various cities of Albania—Kledia did the
bulk of the translation while I was doing the ad, but we managed to get a good
start on it. Still, it was very convoluted text. It was a different type of
translation than the others because it was going to be given directly to people
who were interested in investing in Albania—but the language was flowery and
poetic—never fun to translate since words and expressions aren’t direct
translations of one another. To top off the week, we were given an urgent
document directly from the Prime Minister’s office and it was to be translated
within the day…we worked diligently and without stopping to get it done. It was
to be handed to a group of German officials upon the PM’s conference with the
group…no other information was relayed to us. </span></div>
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Forests and Beach... :)</div>
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Sunset in Velipoj</div>
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Even though I shouldn't have been provoking my seafood intolerance...</div>
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CLOUDS!</div>
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We went to Velipoj for the weekend, a beach city bordering Montenegro. It was
too crowded for our taste, which made sense since we visited at the peak of
peak season. Understanding the locals took more effort as they have much
thicker dialects than the middle part of Albania and to the south. The layout
of the beach of Velipoj was well thought out, but the crowd made it very
unappealing to me—despite it’s mountain-beach beauty. It made me appreciate
that each nation will have things you like and dislike, and both are necessary
to not take for granted each journey that you make in that new place. It was
lovely to see the northern part of Albania, and just as before. The mountains
were astounding and then some (the north is renowned for its mountains and with
good reason too!).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11921721202936928197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-75298255255813413862014-09-01T10:13:00.000-07:002014-09-01T10:13:01.722-07:00Enxhi Merpeza; Tirana, Albania; Tenth Week<div class="MsoNormal">
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After a consistent job well done with translations, the
Ministry decided to give us all the important translations needed, whether it
was for Portugal’s Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry’s monthly newsletter
(presenting a new city each week) or drafting the law on tourism, we became the
go to gals—the power team from Michigan! It felt to be appreciated for a job
well done, and we also learned that if you do something right the first
time…all the rest of the work would be landing on you lap as well. The good thing
was that the week went by quickly because we were constantly moving along from
one piece of translation or law draft to the next. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was most of the
Harvard Team Members’ last week in Albania and we were invited to attend a
conference that was held in collaboration through various ministries along with
Harvard themselves. It was a chance for the Harvard team member from our
Ministry to present the tourism package we had helped her do research for as
well as laws and provisions we had helped the staff members of the ministry
come up with. <span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It was nice to see our
work presented and to see how government collaborations work as well as how law
drafts are presented.</span></div>
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Almost time for presentations!</div>
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Kledia and I sitting cheerfully, waiting!</div>
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The rest of the picutres are Dhermi, Palas, and Jale, Albania.</div>
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Me, Ariel (my friend from Italy), and Kledia!</div>
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Had to oversaturate it just for you to see the real colors of the Ionian Sea!</div>
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<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After the conference was over we took a weekend trip to Dhermi,
down south located in the Albanian Riviera. One of my good friends from U of M
who happens to be studying abroad in Italy, joined us on the trip so we
provided all the pieces of the puzzle as any good intern of tourism should! We
had a long weekend all thanks to the National holiday in observance on Monday,
meaning all government offices were closed for Bajram/Eid. It was just our luck
too, the weather held up BEAUTIFULLY. We ended up swimming in Palas,
Albania…AKA THE MOST AMAZING/CLEAR turquoise water I’ve ever seen—part of the Ionian
Sea. The only downside is I had the 24 hour stomach flu on the way back from
the South to the Capital, Tirana, which was probably brought on through a combo
of sea, sun, and seafood. It was no fun to have to nurse myself back to
health—but that is just one of the many perks of traveling. Kledia didn’t have
the same luck as me and was sick for far longer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11921721202936928197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-2373545845476666302014-09-01T10:04:00.001-07:002014-09-01T10:04:57.301-07:00Enxhi Merpeza; Tirana, Albania; Ninth Week<div class="MsoNormal">
This week we didn’t end up staying in Tirana for work.
Instead we spent the majority of our week in Vlore—a coastal city where it is
said the first Albanian flag was raised and one of the oldest municipalities in
Albania. In comparison to Tirana, Vlora is calm and as a coastal city it is
vibrant with people who don’t take themselves as seriously, but instead focus
on enjoying the day ahead of them and diligently completing the tasks ahead of
them, without the added stress level that Tirana brings.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv6q1dSQoCRyicpl38j67S5LsMCSdnueyd0BMkwQcelNdjoPpJYnCp5d6Q_pgHVU23wCcPGD7RWrDRlzhLXMaSQm1lQuFckmHyy9BL3hCoAezzk7T8AtYqb9Vbr8KvCz1BZt_qH4CceQ3q/s1600/IMG_6306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv6q1dSQoCRyicpl38j67S5LsMCSdnueyd0BMkwQcelNdjoPpJYnCp5d6Q_pgHVU23wCcPGD7RWrDRlzhLXMaSQm1lQuFckmHyy9BL3hCoAezzk7T8AtYqb9Vbr8KvCz1BZt_qH4CceQ3q/s1600/IMG_6306.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Captain Enxhi ;)</div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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I felt that I could slow down immensely in Vlora because it
didn’t require me to be full-faced-masked with makeup and uphold my posture at
all times like a young business professional should. First of all, this was an
atypical work trip considering we’re usually in Tirana running promotional
activities from a laptop and cellphone in hand in an office space at the
Ministry. That being said, I cannot say one is better than the other—clearly
each capitol city serves the function of being the head administrative site of
any country on Earth—so Tirana is stuck with that duty. In addition, the Tirana
daily living also requires a lot more energy out of a person because the
activities are plentiful—even at night, the city doesn’t shut down completely
(but it’s still not comparable to an NYC urban place that never sleeps).</div>
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We started off the week with more promotion materials for
the National Coastal Agency then transitioned to working on coordinating with
the French expedition ship Tara Mediterranean and their convention/visit to the
Vlore port and University of Vlore “Ismail Qemali.” It turns out Tara is
affiliated with the University of Michigan and our biology department and we’re
one of the only Universities that funds them on their expeditions, which was a
huge surprise to us, but also to be expected given the reputation of our
science department. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix4jml2_sL5Vt7pnOaTeke7U-XAJXQjl4tGjgE4y4z4whUiXu6txXeDkhqfxiALAoCZF6FcFYN1sZ_6GLjo1UiT1MmsRybjoHzJheV3ii9Q7nLuEVetYnNHw3hnxTK1M0r-RAqOggUT28E/s1600/IMG_6317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix4jml2_sL5Vt7pnOaTeke7U-XAJXQjl4tGjgE4y4z4whUiXu6txXeDkhqfxiALAoCZF6FcFYN1sZ_6GLjo1UiT1MmsRybjoHzJheV3ii9Q7nLuEVetYnNHw3hnxTK1M0r-RAqOggUT28E/s1600/IMG_6317.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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With Ejona!</div>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkZgHnXERMQVVQjzidcW0LVFmbVmvMKnizgyr7e7UWcVo5KDKwbyG8SX4hixSPaG5l4ir9VubpOU0OL4F8yrDlFERe6di-2aAqBN1OoRpYqXAFOIeslnuNzWGZ2OOsfmTgPxdtLvVE1vnB/s1600/IMG_6318.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkZgHnXERMQVVQjzidcW0LVFmbVmvMKnizgyr7e7UWcVo5KDKwbyG8SX4hixSPaG5l4ir9VubpOU0OL4F8yrDlFERe6di-2aAqBN1OoRpYqXAFOIeslnuNzWGZ2OOsfmTgPxdtLvVE1vnB/s1600/IMG_6318.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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Look how beautiful the port is, add the mountains and it's magnificent!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Along with Tara Mediterranean’s crew we ended up
coordinating 3 orphanage trips from Durres, Tirana and Saranda (called Jetimore
in Albanian). We coordinated activities for the children to do and we figured
that the thee of us would each host a group onboard Tara and translate to them
from English to Albanian as the crew and scientists explained their expeditions
to us. Many of the acitivies, besides for the visit onboard, didn’t come to
fruition, but all is to be expected since weather delays and time constraints
prove to be problematic in organizing functions. Regardless, the kids
thoroughly enjoyed the visit onboard as well as being able to try out some of
the sails and expedition gear. Tara is an artic ship that is made for extreme
polar conditions, and its current Mediterranean sails are atypical of what its
cabin makeup was designed to withhold—so it gets quite hot in the cabin!</div>
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After we had coordinated with the Tara expedition ship, we
were able to enjoy our weekend that we had off and we fancied the beautiful
Adriatic/Ionian Seas and the Sandy/Rocky combo of the two that the Vlora
beaches offer! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Tara Mediterranean on the Left side!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11921721202936928197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-76308783173231344522014-09-01T09:58:00.000-07:002014-09-01T09:58:00.392-07:00Enxhi Merpeza; Tirana, Albania; Eighth Week <div class="MsoNormal">
This week we were swamped with work from translations, to
promotional activities, to emails-galore (I think I sent 30 content-based
emails in one day on Monday). Needless to say it was productivity to the max. I
learned a lot about how to relay messages via email etc. We had helped with an
ad campaign for the National Coastal Agency and we had to relay it to various
media sources, including the US embassy of Tirana, which featured it on its
cover page of its newsletter, Peace Corps Albania, and of course the Ministry’s
own media outlets. The poster is promoting the new volunteer camps that are
being assembled around the coastline, 10 different sites, to get volunteers
that would like to assist in the clean up of the beaches. In return they’d get
all accommodations paid for, for as long as they volunteer. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
At the end of the week we visited the UNESCO protected city of Berat, most
famous for its Castle and Mount Tomor, a very large mountain range that is tied
with many a Greek myth. Berat is a 2000+ year old city with lovely architecture
and rich history. Its cobblestone streets add to the antiquity and
authenticity. The homes of ancient Berat—Ottoman styled—give it the name “The
city of 1000 windows”. The ambience of the city was peaceful and traditional,
the locals were very lovely and the tourists were wide-eyed with amazement, as
were we! The top of the castle was beautiful and HUGE, as well as the city
views from atop the mountain. The castle is at the very top of the mountain and
we walked up…SO TIRING! But definitely a must see if you ever get to go to
Albania.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11921721202936928197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-41629723758568581302014-09-01T09:52:00.000-07:002014-09-01T09:52:51.161-07:00Enxhi Merpeza; Tirana Albania; Seventh Week<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">After 6 weeks of working directly under the Ministry and more
specifically the promotion branch, this week we got to connect with the National
Coastal Agency of Albania. They are technically still under the Ministry of
Tourism, but they deal with the coast specifically—this means everything under
the sun from research, to new companies/ vessels that enter Albania via the
Durres and/or Vlora ports. The director, Auron Tare invited us to help them
kickstart the opening of their new Volunteer Camps set in 10 coastal sites
along Albania. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB8vM_s7kq0xddrcaV6932daS3vda2WOcM_6Hqp12Ywotj425-BkqkF1wH0ooN17AOF5esYf1ixBuVt8eQe2MmBkiloagk7hSNj0ptyhuoq_XAn7XsWBQ8sAtDOexndLRYqpfN78dUaxcH/s1600/bear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB8vM_s7kq0xddrcaV6932daS3vda2WOcM_6Hqp12Ywotj425-BkqkF1wH0ooN17AOF5esYf1ixBuVt8eQe2MmBkiloagk7hSNj0ptyhuoq_XAn7XsWBQ8sAtDOexndLRYqpfN78dUaxcH/s1600/bear.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
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Me and Ejona on the beaches of Golem with YES...a BEAR, I swear it's real. SOO FUN!</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">The ideas is that volunteers and students will stay at these
campsites and help clean up the beaches as well as engage in prepared
activities by the Agency. Volunteering isn’t really a “thing” in Albania so
it’s still moving slow for now, but we were surprised at how many people came
out to the opening of the new campsite at Golem, Durres, Albania. At the Golem
opening, the Prime Minister came by to launch the camp and since we were the
guests of Director Tare we were introduced and also greeted the PM ourselves!
It was a really fun experience. At one point I was asked to hold on to the
canon camera and be the photographer for the day!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdMNw2cOd-qF9KUdcSH0eqVvIMbbvZ8rHZcKPYfKDBbNVgy2O-4UAcGcsKSfsulgNnJQ3B_j3IX2L3g4XdYCw7OWZLdjPxAiwlmfQ5FsTKazemDpkhCbCGi-Aew9G_hH4h8hcTWnBUSza/s1600/edi+rama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdMNw2cOd-qF9KUdcSH0eqVvIMbbvZ8rHZcKPYfKDBbNVgy2O-4UAcGcsKSfsulgNnJQ3B_j3IX2L3g4XdYCw7OWZLdjPxAiwlmfQ5FsTKazemDpkhCbCGi-Aew9G_hH4h8hcTWnBUSza/s1600/edi+rama.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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That's Edi Rama, the Albanian PM with Auron Tare the Director of the National Coastal Agency.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11921721202936928197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-70372925821117933062014-09-01T09:46:00.001-07:002014-09-01T09:47:26.653-07:00Enxhi Merpeza; Tirana, Albania; Sixth Week<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></b>This week we continued on with promotional translations and
we also got a chance to deal with the official government website for
tourism—they picked our brains about current touristic events happening around
Albania that we thought would be good promotional material. It just so happens
that we try to be tourists as well as give advice to the directors that we feel
all other tourists would give as well.</div>
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<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s World Cup time and Tirana is bumping with games EVERYWHERE.
It seems like the city never sleeps ever since </span><span style="color: #333333;">the games began. We decided to
go to the USA vs. Germany game and support/rep USA. Turns out we were the only
American fans and everyone was looking at us like we were foreigners who didn’t
understand futbol. But, needless to say, we are technically foreigners and they
came up to us and spoke to us in English until we told them we were indeed
Albanian nationals who just happen to reside, with our respective families, in
the USA. People took pictures of us!</span></div>
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The all too amazing fresh meal we had at the top of Sarisaltik, cute little restaurants in the middle of nowhere you could say!</div>
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<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We ended up visiting the Kruja Castle on Saturday, the place of
the dwelling of Albania’s national hero, Skanderberg who fought against the
Ottomans in the 1400’s. As for the Castle, it’s partially authentic and
partially restored, but fully amazing! We also had the privilege of driving
higher up to the top of the Kruja mountain to see the holy temple, Sarisaltik,
that is placed there, we walked around and explored.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Too scared to look down at Sarisaltik!! Yes, that's the ocean in the background beyond the fields of green and the majestic mountains and rolling hills!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11921721202936928197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-71674287778006143632014-08-30T23:52:00.000-07:002014-08-30T23:52:25.163-07:00Erik, Delhi - Week 6<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hi everyone,<br />
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For most of you who know me personally, you probably know that I've been back in the US for about 2 months now. I'm sure you're all wondering why this post is coming up so late. The answer is simply that I procrastinated to the point of having forgotten about it, and was reminded that I had a follow-up to write because of an email a friend of mine sent me today of the blog she's writing while studying abroad in Brazil (thanks for the unintentional reminder, Shelby!). So for all of you who have been waiting impatiently, if there are any of you, I sincerely apologize about how late this entry is. The good news is that while I had forgotten about this blog, I haven't forgot my stories from Delhi (specifically the stories from my final week there, all of which will be new to you)!<br />
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A lot of interesting things happened to me before I returned home. With only seven days left to see Delhi (only the day I returned home was free), I really felt a lot of pressure to make sure I could see everything I wanted to in the city before going back home. So while I had been traveling around Delhi my Sundays off for the previous weeks, and Sunday being my last day in India, I had to force myself to make time after work to see the sights - definitely a very stressful experience. Monday, I went with two friends from work to see the Lotus Temple, one of the most interestingly-designed buildings in all of Delhi, since it happened to not be too far from the Khushi Home for girls in the southeastern part of the city. Unfortunately, when we arrived, we found out that it was closed on Mondays, so we weren't allowed to enter. In spite of our thorough disappointment, we decided to just hang out and found a tourist-oriented restaurant nearby.<br />
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Don't be too disappointed for me though. On Thursday, after working at the Ummeed Boys' Home, my Indian co-worker there, Sachin, invited me to see the Lotus Temple with him, so I DID end up getting to go! It was a very hot day, so I was relieved that he took me there in his own car (complete with air-conditioning and the Indian version of Sirius Radio!) instead of us taking an uncomfortable autorickshaw. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me (this was an impromptu trip), but he had his smart phone, so we did get some photos of the complex. Unlike most of the religious monuments in the city, which are either Hindu, Muslim, or Sikh, the Lotus Temple is actually a house of worship for the Baha'i Faith, a relatively recent religion from Persia which emphasizes the unity at the core of all religions. As a result, members of all faiths may enter and pray in this unique building's austere, simple interior, as were we. Neither of us really WANTED to spend much time praying, so we (like most of the other tourists) were only there for a few minutes before touring the rest of the site. One thing which was a complete surprise to us were the pools in the shape of lotus petals in a ring around the temple. Though one of them desperately needed to be cleaned out, they were a nice complement to the beautiful grounds surrounding the temple. Afterwards, upon learning I had never tried sugarcane juice before, Sachin drove me around for a while looking for a sugarcane juice stand, as we talked about Indian music (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRCYuIowW2o">this song</a> in particular, which he tried to teach me the chorus of - my Hindi isn't nearly good enough to actually know it, but apparently it was good enough to find the song on Google two months after the fact, so I think that's pretty good!). The creamy juice tasted very different from what I was anticipating, being not super sugary like soda, but ended up being rather good! He then was trying to drive me to a nearby metro station so I could head back to the Ria Residency, but with the rush hour traffic (INDIAN rush hour traffic), the fastest thing to do was jump out of the car in the stalled traffic and have me jump on a bus heading for the metro - when I finally arrived there, the cars were so clogged up with commuters, I missed my stop because I couldn't exit the train!<br />
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The Lotus Temple, with its petal pools (photo by spirittourism.com)</div>
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The other big site I had to see before leaving India was the famous Akshardham Temple, an enormous Hindu temple complex located on the western side of the Yamuna River. On Wednesday, after work, one of my co-workers told me she and two of her roommates were planning on visiting this site after work, and she invited me to come along with them! Of course I said yes, and we took the metro further out than I had ever taken it before. I had heard that this complex was very recently built (it opened not even a full decade ago), and as a result of its newness, its size, and its importance, the security was very tight - we had to give up our cameras and bags before being allowed entry. It was very disappointing not being able to take photos inside - the entire complex is gorgeous and quite modern, with plenty of small fountains and pools, the hum of quiet music, and a well-constructed temple in the center, adorned with carvings of scenes and animals/animal-gods from Hinduism. The inside of the actual temple was beautiful, with ornately carved walls and ceilings, paintings of propagators of Hinduism in India, statues of various gods, and an awe-inspiring central room, filled with huge golden statues and decorated with bright crystals. While touring the area outside the temple, we noticed that it looked like a storm was coming. After being separated from my co-tourists as we went different ways on the metro, I exited the Hauz Khaz station near Munirka and found that it was pouring rain. After 15 minutes of having Indians beat me to the autorickshaws outside the station, I got lucky and heard a car shout "Munirka!" I confirmed what I had heard, and squeezed my way into the tight cabin in the back of the truck, with seven or eight Indians packed in. Though it normally takes about five minutes from the station in an auto to get to my neighborhood, the heavy traffic and flooding roads turned five minutes into 30-plus! In spite of this painfully slow end, it was still a memorable (in a good way) day!</div>
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The Akshardham Complex (taken from the metro station)</div>
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A DECENT photo of the main temple (photo from Wikipedia)</div>
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The fabulously opulent central chamber (postcard image from <a href="http://www.mountainsoftravelphotos.com/India/Delhi/slides/13%20Delhi%20Akshardham%20Temple%20Statue%20Of%20Swaminarayan%20Postcard.html">mountainsoftravelphotos.com</a> - the bigger version linked is certainly more impressive!)</div>
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My last few days of work were interesting, but relaxed. On Monday at the girls' home, I found out that a girl named Kajal had had an allergic reaction to some sort of plant the previous weekend which left her with hives covering her face. Although she was going to be okay, it was clear that the rash was bothering her. That same day, I saw one of the older girls at the home grinding leaves with stones and mixing that with water into a thin paste. When I asked her what she was doing, she explained that she was grinding neem leaves in order to make a medicine for the hives on Kajal's face. I thought this was absolutely fascinating, and was touched that she was going out of her way to help her friend - it's a real testament to the close bonds that the girls have from living together! On Friday, I watched part of a movie with the girls (Bhoothnath - a movie about a ghost that befriends a child whose family has moved into his manor, and perhaps the first movie appropriate for children I had seen them watch, besides on of the animated Barbie movies). They were so enthralled with the film, they didn't even notice me leaving to go home on my last day there! It made me a bit sad, but the next week, when I was home, my co-worker who was still there said that they all missed "Erik-Bhaiya," which made me smile.</div>
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Ishrat making the medicine for her friend</div>
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Meanwhile, at the boys' home, I spent my last few days mostly talking with students about the United States, and the cultural differences between the US and India, with many of the lessons about India involving Salman Khan, a famous action star and a favorite of the boys. We also spent a lot of the time playing games, like carrom, but also cricket, hangman, Uno, and chess, all of which was fun. On my last day there, the boys gave me a parting gift to remember them: a<b> </b>nice, white shirt that they all signed! It was a very sweet gesture, and they took a photo of me holding the shirt next to Sachin as I was about to leave - if I look a little sad, it's because I was - it was my last day of my internship in India, and the next day I would be leaving Delhi.</div>
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My goodbye to Ummeed Sneh Ghar</div>
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My final day in Delhi was a lot more relaxed than I was anticipating - having seen everything I definitely wanted to in Delhi before leaving for home, I spent the day relaxing, trying to avoid feeling stressed about going home. But before going home, there was one thing I still had to do. I had heard the whole time I was in India that I absolutely HAD to try butter chicken, an Indian delicacy popular in Delhi. I decided to finally try the little hole-in-the-wall restaurant just down the street from the Ria Residency to sample the food I had heard so much about. I sat down at the otherwise empty restaurant while the staff sat and watched <i>the Dark Knight </i>in Hindi. When my food came out with some rice and a Sprite, I dug in. Butter chicken is a chicken cooked in a spicy, buttery sauce and served over rice. It was probably the tastiest thing I had eaten since I had arrived in India! The dish managed to live up to the hype that had been built up around it for me, and I'm definitely glad I managed to get to try it before leaving. When I got back, I found out that the owner of the Ria Residency had cooked me a lunch for my last day in India, even though I had just eaten a very filling lunch. She had prepared some delicious puri, an Indian dish involving small "balloons" of fried bread, which are dipped into a sauce and eaten. I managed to be able to fill my stomach even more, and thanked her when I was all finished. I then spent the last two hours or so in my room at the Ria Residency, enjoying the air conditioning and just chilling out and packing up my stuff around the small room that had been my surrogate home for the past six weeks. When my cab arrived at 5:30 to take me to the airport, it was definitely a bittersweet moment - I was happy to be going home to see my family, but I would miss my Indian "family" (Smita-mum and Suresh the caretaker), all the friends I had made during my too-short time in India, and all the experiences that I had had in India and wouldn't be able to have back home.</div>
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And here I am now,contentedly watching a two-week long marathon of <i>the Simpsons</i> on TV and dreading the end of summer break, while at the same time looking forward to being busy again and enjoying thinking about where my next big adventure will take me. Two years ago, I could never have possibly foreseen myself spending six weeks in Morocco, my first experience outside of the country (besides Ontario, which isn't TOO different culturally from Michigan), and even last year, never would I have guessed that I would spend the first half of my summer in India. I certainly have some ideas, but who knows? It could be almost anywhere! I'm sure I'll go through the same stresses that are involved with travel and being an especially nervous person, but I'm still looking forward to more positive experiences in new and fascinating cultures and societies. Until then...</div>
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<i>Namaste </i>(for now),</div>
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Erik</div>
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Erik Wilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305342008125833254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-54547333836475540032014-08-30T20:39:00.003-07:002019-01-05T17:58:01.832-08:00Ejona Korcari, Week 13, Tirana Albania (the last week)<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">
This was the very last week I spent in Albania. I had a lot of things to do this week. First I went in Korca. There was a huge event called the "Beer Fest". This continued for four days. The event gathers thousands of people each year. During the event the best singers and bands are invited to sing in a public park. Also a lot of meat companies advertise/sell their products (cooked). And of course, there is a LOT of beer. Korca Beer is the first Albanian beer, so the event is really important for the city's economy. I went there with my aunt and uncle and we had a blast.</div>
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The next day I spent with my grandparents. They were too sad I had to say goodbye. Since my internship was in Tirana (four hours away from Korca) and I was really busy with other things, I didn't get to spend much time with them :(. </div>
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The next few days I tried to get the most from them and I went to shadow the doctors I talked about in the previous blog. It has been so much fun to be by their side. I have to wear a white coat when I am present during the patient visits. It is an amazing feeling to think that one day I will be a real doctor. Other doctors refer to me as Ms. Doctor, and I get butterflies in my stomach (lol). They say its ok to call me doctor since one day I will be their colleague. </div>
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My other grandmother had to spend two weeks at the Military Hospital (main trauma hospital in the country) after an injury she had, so I had to spend a lot of time with her there. It was great i had to spend a lot of time with her, but I wish she wasn't sick and we weren't in a trauma hospital. The only good thing from that is that I got to see a lot of injured people and learn a lot about their condition. It was like unofficial shadowing. The doctors and the nurses there were really friendly too. Of course, it was really sad and traumatic to be surrounded by so many injured people. </div>
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Another thing I haven't mentioned before is that during this time in Albania I also volunteered as an English tutor. Now passing the English exam is a requirement to graduate from an Albanian High School, so a lot of people in the neighborhood were interested to learn/improve their English. i also had some parents as my students. This gave me an amazing satisfaction because not a long time ago I was the one who didn't know English. I was glad that I could help and I tried my best to engage and encourage people to attend. </div>
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The last two days I spent with my uncles and their families. We went to family dinners and I spent some time out with my cousins. I also went shopping to buy some souvenirs. In the morning I meet the girls, who also returned from the time with their families. We went to the airport and took the plane back to USA. It was an amazing time in Albania. I will miss everyone and everything. I will miss the people, the food, the coffee....EVERYTHING. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My cousin</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinner with cousins and uncles</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cousins (I am the oldest of all)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The best flavor of Fanta ever</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Energency Medicine At Hospital</td></tr>
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This is my last blog from my internship in Albania....</div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">The End</span></u></b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498874773799734243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-38553235411383583092014-08-30T19:49:00.002-07:002014-08-30T19:50:29.390-07:00Ejona Korcari, Week 12, Tirana Albania<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This is the last week we are working at the Ministry. We talked with our supervisor and she agreed that we spend the rest of the time left in Albania with our family and friends. In the Ministry currently there is not a lot of space because the building is under construction. This is the best time to do this because most of the people are going in holiday, so the less workers, the easier to make changes. Even the Minister and our supervisor are going on vocations during this month. August is the peak of the touristic season in Albania. I wrapped up the translation I had to do about the Tourism Package and now I am all done. It was long and tiring. This was a document that i had to be careful to translate it with no mistakes. This is a long term plan on what Albania has to change about tourism, how to improve tourism services, what measurements to take, and their consequences. Also we helped with some small things at the <span style="color: #323333;">National Coastal Agency. On our last day we went to say Goodbye to everyone we worked with in the Ministry. It was a bittersweet moment. I am happy I get to go back to USA, but because we spent so much time in here, I am sad we are leaving. I made so many new friends and built so many connections.We promised to keep in touch through emails and social media, so I hope we continue talking. It was a pleasure to work with everyone and I will miss all those wonderful people who taught me a lot of things and skills. They always identified us 3 as a group, so I will miss Enxhi and Kledia too. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Minister's office</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside of the Ministry on our last day</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498874773799734243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-9137913197067588832014-08-30T14:59:00.000-07:002014-08-30T14:59:05.930-07:00Kledia | Tirana | Week 12After speaking with our supervisor at work we all decided that this week would be our last week at work because she and over half of the Ministry were taking their vacation. In Europe it's a very common thing for work to slow down dramatically in August as almost everyone takes their two week break. Also the Ministry was undergoing major construction and there was nowhere for us to stay so we mostly worked out of our apartment and coffee shops in the area. We finished up the translation that was given to us the week before and worked a little bit with the National Coastal Agency on some questionnaires that they were planning on giving out to tourists. The last day we went in and said goodbye to everyone! It was very emotional because we got used to being there and everyone calling us "vajzat nga Michigani" - the girls from Michigan!<br />
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[In front of the Ministry]</div>
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[In the Minister's office]</div>
Klediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14685622121370779877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-5292281618015780102014-08-30T14:34:00.001-07:002014-08-30T14:34:18.030-07:00Kledia | Tirana | Week 11After taking a 6 hour bus ride from down south back to the capital I started feeling a little under the weather. I think the combination of the sun, the sea and the long ride really did a number on my system and I ended up with a fever and so I didn't end up working for two days. When I went back to work, my other roommate and I were given another translation job. This one was a little different than the others because it was going to be given directly to people who were interested in investing in Albania. This translation was a summary of many of the tourist destinations in Albania. It was a bit difficult to translate because the language was pretty and flowery and language like that is much harder to translate than government documents that tend to use straightforward language. However, I learned a lot about the tourist sites and about the history and architecture of different castles. This translation took us bit longer than usual because of the language and I think by this point we were burned out from translating.<br />
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For the weekend we decided to go up north because we spent a lot of time down south and hadn't explored the north much. We asked around at the ministry and they recommended that we go to Velipoj -- a beach right next to the border with Montenegro. When we got there it was very crowded! Which we should have known because it was the first week of August and literally the peak of tourist season in Albania. It was a different experience because most of the people that were vacationing there were Albanians from the Northern region or Albanians from Kosovo and they have different dialects than I'm used to so it was a bit difficult to understand when they would talk to me. Of course from my experience at the Ministry I couldn't help but notice everything that was going well and what needed to be improved on. It was good experience for me to see exactly how the situation was on the ground because it gave me a better idea of what the Ministry was trying to do. This weekend with all the tourists made realize that one day Albania will be full of tourists and that it will be very crowded. It was a bittersweet realization because it won't be "undiscovered" anymore.<br />
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[Very big cow in Velipoj -- it was a nice combo of farm & beach] </div>
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[Pretty good calamari in Velipoj -- cheap and yummy ]</div>
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<br />Klediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14685622121370779877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-73583378436636220102014-08-29T20:47:00.001-07:002014-08-29T20:47:51.646-07:00Ejona Korcari, Week 11, Tirana Albania<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">
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My time in Albania is going by really fast, especially because I am busy all day. During the time that the Harvard people were working in Albania we were part of their Black Belt team. Their last project at the Ministry was to make a Tourism Package. We worked with them and other people who contribute in the realization of the project. We worked with the people of the team to do research, write it in English and make the materials flow and be easy to follow. After the materials were ready the Harvard leaders made the package and they presented it to the Conference last week. This week I got a new translation to do. Guess what was it?</div>
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I have to translate the Tourism Package from English to Albanian. This is a document about 55 pages long and I have about 7 business days to finish. I think that this is enough time if I work intensively during our office hours. There has been other works to do in the office like other previous weeks but my main focus is the Tourism Package.</div>
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An afternoon my cousins and I went to visit the Artificial Lake Park. That is a park where a lot of people go for a walk, jogging or just to spend some time away from the busy life of Tirana. We had a lot of fun in the fresh air. We visited the amphitheater in there, bought ice cream and then headed home.</div>
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Another afternoon we sent going at the mall. I was surprised to see that the mall was very similar to the ones in USA. There was a diversity of brands and shops. It was a blast and we bought a lot of clothes :).</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My cousins and I at the amphitheater near the Artificial Lake in Tirana</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mall in Tirana</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mall</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Velipoja in the evening</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Velipoja</td></tr>
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The weekend I spent with the girls in the city of Shkodra and Velipoja. Shkodra is a beautiful city in the North of Albania. After spending a couple of hours visiting the vity we traveled to Velipoja. This is a town in the district of Shkodra. In the middle of the town there is Buna River and The Adriatic Sea is situated on its side. I think this town has the most crowded beaches in the whole Albania. Especially because this is one of the closest beaches for tourists that come from Kosovo. As you might imagine most of the people here were Northern Albanians and people from Kosovo (also Albanians as they like to call themselves, that's a different story). We spent two amazing days at the beach and around the town. I will miss all this when I leave Albania, but as for now I really miss USA and my family and friends.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498874773799734243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-68807603407387942632014-08-29T12:23:00.003-07:002018-07-25T06:39:47.077-07:00Ejona Korcari, Week 10, Tirana Albania<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">My trip to Albania has been a blast so far. At work we have been all the time working non stop. A lot of days we had to work after hours in order to catch up. New people that we had not meet or worked before asked us to do translations from them. Seems like people have been talking about us and now everyone in the building knows we do a nice job and pretty fast. We try our best. I have been improving my communication skills and have improved my english and Albanian. This week we got to attend this conference organized by the Ministries and the Harvard groups that operate in most of them. Harvard students presented the results of their job in Albania. It was really nice to hear the amount of work that got done in such an amazing period of time. Abanian government is being really productive and that is really good for the people. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJQROCClvI88avaUih4XH-iL1D971duXAqRhFesywneJCuJpl3kMDuryaPwtsQ5A_PlclMZ4l3rEBJagR6iFHb2Lz9wUr8gDdJYBBkac9qGk9CQG3LDaJ4fRBG6_Br6-Yc9F150j48Sw/s1600/12254_818683908171198_4419109124622747569_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJQROCClvI88avaUih4XH-iL1D971duXAqRhFesywneJCuJpl3kMDuryaPwtsQ5A_PlclMZ4l3rEBJagR6iFHb2Lz9wUr8gDdJYBBkac9qGk9CQG3LDaJ4fRBG6_Br6-Yc9F150j48Sw/s1600/12254_818683908171198_4419109124622747569_n.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me working at the office</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">This weekend I didn't get to go with the other girls on a trip to a costal Albanian city because I wasn't feeling really good. Instead I stayed at home. I visited grandma and she took good care of me :). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Since my blogs tend to be long I never mentioned previously what I get to do during my free time in here. My experience in Albania has been really intense. Except the work at the ministry and traveling with the girls, during my free time I do several other activities. I have been shadowing several doctors at the UHC Mother Teresa in Tirana. I started by shadowing a radiologist doctor. Later she presented me to other doctors that work with her and they all were happy to have me there. This was at the pediatric hospital. I learned how to use the CT-scan and how to do scans of different body parts. I saw and read the interpretation of the doctors for the scans, X-rays, cystographies etc. The doctors and technicians are really nice and they are always answering my questions.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwEUnF5635FEkUVyXuWXZm1PxlCqe0-uqb_v6MyRu3iLgQUSZMNt-fBXuHgntyMfGGkKCD-Z4C3cT5bHlb1B_qoiQASwwhbUfVio8MWm-S8qmqapLgLQGp1K4bmhoIyGw5uT7KOX9bwk/s1600/IMG_3092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwEUnF5635FEkUVyXuWXZm1PxlCqe0-uqb_v6MyRu3iLgQUSZMNt-fBXuHgntyMfGGkKCD-Z4C3cT5bHlb1B_qoiQASwwhbUfVio8MWm-S8qmqapLgLQGp1K4bmhoIyGw5uT7KOX9bwk/s1600/IMG_3092.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The room from where the CT-Scans are made</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Another doctor i shadowed was Prof. Dr. Mentor Petrela (PU-PH Paris). I become part of his team. I got to follow patients pre and post operation, went with him during rounds, spent time in the clinic during patient appointments, had the chance to see how the patient is prepared for the surgery, the protocols and how they checked on them day-by-day after the intervention and much more. Also I had the chance to shadow residents and nurses and learn more about Medical schools in Albania and the education needed to be a Neurosurgeon. I saw cases of aneurysms, hematomas, hernia, traumas, tumors, peripheral nerve problems, emergencies etc. Through imaging techniques like CT-scans, MRI-s, Angio-scans I got to see how some of those cases look like and how we can diagnose those patients. I also got to meet a lot of patients who were really nice to me and let me watch procedures and tests done on them.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Protocols </td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgBC2m0vWdNt791bEsbBP1VWd5Q6rnIGSHy03r4w2P5fBkWQ0i8n8mq30Z-iLqpdCoNx2tw-wLe2kGQx3Q6MDTxujAy_4R2hslaPsyLv_nHnfIYxdMlFp8F857rTpNBhPOkF7Hks_4S_I/s1600/IMG_3307+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgBC2m0vWdNt791bEsbBP1VWd5Q6rnIGSHy03r4w2P5fBkWQ0i8n8mq30Z-iLqpdCoNx2tw-wLe2kGQx3Q6MDTxujAy_4R2hslaPsyLv_nHnfIYxdMlFp8F857rTpNBhPOkF7Hks_4S_I/s1600/IMG_3307+2.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doctors' locker room</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the floors I did rounds with the team</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498874773799734243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-58785165964811351162014-08-26T12:28:00.002-07:002014-08-26T12:28:27.128-07:00Ejona Korcari, Week 9, Tirana Albania<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">
This week was a bit different. We finished some short translations and social media work around the office during Monday and Tuesday. The rest of the week we spent it in another city in the south coast of Albania called Vlora. There we had to work on a project organized from the National Coastal Agency of Albania and a French organization. In the port of Vlora was anchored a scientific boat called Tara expedition. Their current mission was to study the small fragments of plastic floating in the surface of the sea. On Wednesday we got to see a presentation and a seminar from the group of people that work in Tara and find out more about them. There were present students from University of Vlora and Tirana too. On Thursday and Friday we got to visit the boat and meet the equipage. The Coastal Agency had organized an event involving kids from the orphanages of 4 different Albanian cities. The kids were from 3-15 years old and they didn't speak english, so I got to translate for two groups of the older kids. It was really fun. I learned so much myself about research in a boat, the life of the equipage, the boat itself and the sailors shared so many stories with us. It was really exciting. The kids were really fascinated by all this. They kept asking questions and the scientists tried to answer them in their best abilities. Tara was an unique ship. As we were on a tour in the boat, I was looking at some posters and to my surprise, I saw that University of Michigan was one of their scientific partners. I felt so proud I go there. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Seminar we got to attend with Tirana and Vlora students</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tara Scientific boat</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">UM is under Scientific Partners</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me in the board of Tara</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for the kids to arrive </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me translating for the oldest group of kids</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Treats in Vlora</td></tr>
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Since I am a Biology (Neuroscience) major, and have taken a lot of science classes being in this boat was really exciting for me. After the our in the boat I started reading about the boat and their past and present expeditions. I also think that it would be really cool if I ever participated in an expedition like that and travel around the world. It was a really unique experience.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498874773799734243noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-48602082777668493492014-08-25T08:51:00.001-07:002014-08-25T08:51:14.386-07:00Life as a Londoner<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivI9piRodTjJSVdorPIkK2hi9imWsV2xYNim4wDOkTBN1BubILc6vgGKNU-FmScF9a5sl1m2NjNK8i0zWKxkjrtw-ULHr50gRKwOqJBRhPGc8ENPIC1AGti32_I01pmhZ2bJqpimFf1CM/s1600/image+(2).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivI9piRodTjJSVdorPIkK2hi9imWsV2xYNim4wDOkTBN1BubILc6vgGKNU-FmScF9a5sl1m2NjNK8i0zWKxkjrtw-ULHr50gRKwOqJBRhPGc8ENPIC1AGti32_I01pmhZ2bJqpimFf1CM/s1600/image+(2).jpeg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
Hello readers,<div>
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My name is Jack Ridgway and I am currently finishing up my 2-month internship with OpenTable Intl. in London, England. Sadly, this is my first and last contribution to this blog. I would have liked to be an active writer but my primary internet and computer source was at my Opentable office and desk. Unfortunately, being primarily a tech-company, Opentable places domain restrictions on your google access at work (with the hope of everyone staying on-task) and thus, I was unable to access this Google Blogger feature for the majority of my period here. So, I'm sitting here on a Bank Holiday Monday, in an extremely quiet Pret-a-Manger, using spotty wifi on my laptop, to write you this post. </div>
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I'll try and keep things short and sweet here in my post. Because, as I've learned talking to friends from home, things that might seem of massive importance to me while I'm here, tend to be rather unimpressive to the average listener.</div>
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<u>Why I'm here:</u></div>
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I was hired by a Michigan Alumnus through the International Internship Department at Michigan to be a Project Coordinator for OpenTable here in London. I was born near Newcastle so having a UK passport was extremely helpful through the whole process I must say. I'm sure, or rather I hope, that a few of you have heard of OpenTable before. Basically, OpenTable is company through which you can book reservations at all the best restaurants. OpenTable is very popular in the states and is based in San Francisco. I've actually found that mothers are generally the most knowledgeable of OpenTable and have the app on their I-phones (what does that say about chivalry, gentlemen?). A user can make a restaurant reservation and search for restaurants by cuisine type, location, price, etc.</div>
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As mentioned, Opentable is very strong in the US. Through their current expansion into Europe, they are working hard to penetrate new markets and get as many restaurants, and people, using the app/website as possible. This is where I come in!</div>
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As a project coordinator, everyday I interacted with new restaurants who our sales team has recruited to join the Opentable family. Once the restaurant agrees to pay for our services and allow us to help them get diners, Project Coordinators will organize what benefits they will recieve and how to optimize their intake of diners!</div>
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As a german speaker, I primarily dealt with german restaurants, with a strong focus on Berlin. Even more specifically, my task within the Project Coordination team of 8 people, was to get restaurants mobile-optimized. This means that you can view a website on your iphone and it is simple/easy to use without having to scroll down forever or zoom in to read tiny font. My task was to make it easier for diners throughout Germany to book restaurants from their cellphones. In order to do this, I designed and implemented the code of mobile websites and also contacted hundreds of restaurants with prototypes of their mobile-optimized website.</div>
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I could not speak highly enough about OpenTable and the fantastic work environment I enjoyed everyday. Download the app!</div>
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<u>London life:</u></div>
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I apologize for boring you all with the work details but during my two month stint here, but outside of the office I had some enjoyable experiences too. Every Tuesday, I competed in a corporate softball league in Battersea park with some co-workers, and every Wednesday I played 5v5 football (soccer) with a different group of co-workers. Both teams were quite good actually and the Opentable teams won both leagues which was a blast for me. This is me at softball below:</div>
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Socially, I met and spent time with a group of people from Michigan State University (gross I know) who were taking part in a Study abroad program and lived quite close to me. They were an extremely kind and friendly group of girls and I have to thank them (should they so read this) for keeping me company and allowing me to have friends away from work. </div>
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In terms of where I lived, I spent both months living in a University of London dormitory. My room was extremely small, but what I lacked in amenities, I had in city-location. Located very centrally, College Hall on Malet Street is an affordable and safe location for anyone to stay during the summer. The university rents out the rooms while the students are on summer holiday, and I would recommend College Hall to any Michigan students working in London in the near future. Not to mention the staff there were always helpful and accommodating.</div>
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So when I wasn't playing sports, spending time with spartans, or at the office, I tried to attend as many english football games as I could. As a die-hard Aston Villa supporter in the Premier League, I attended 5 games during my time here. The atmosphere at football games here is second to none and the fan culture is on a different level to any american sports. Aston Villa are also off to a good start this year so hopefully that will continue!</div>
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<u>In summary:</u></div>
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These two months have been a fantastic experience for me and there is very little I can complain about. I did lose my phone and had to deal with getting a new one, which was a massive headache, but that was my own fault! I fly back in 4 days and I'm eager to get back to school despite the 5 hour time difference. It's particularly difficult to summarize my trip and write everything I did in one short blog post at the end of my time here. I did so much, met so many great people, while given the opportunity to work hard and enjoy life in a professional environment. If it were practical for me to write all my enjoyable experiences down here, I would. Please ask questions about anything you like, and I'll do my best to follow up in the comments below. </div>
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Thanks for reading. Cheers,</div>
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Jack</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03423947683445466522noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-49739478259584062652014-08-24T12:29:00.001-07:002014-08-24T12:29:08.016-07:00Olivia - Galápagos - Week 6<div>For my final week in the Galápagos we did a bit of everything! On Monday and Tuesday we worked on the reserve weeding out invasive species around the garden and our two houses. We also picked some fresh cilantro from the garden that we cooked with for dinner that night! It's always nice to reap the fruits of your labor. I can't believe how big the plants have gotten since I first got here!</div><div><br></div><div>On Wednesday I worked on a personal project with some of the students from Oregon and Oregon State. We started to create posters to hang in the houses and common areas that list the most common plants of the island. On each poster we classified the plants as either invasive, agricultural, or native/endemic. We added accurate pictures of each plant so that the future volunteers will know what plants they should be cutting down and what ones they should keep around! It's important that the volunteers are educated about the plants so they don't cut down plants that are vital to the islands ecological system. </div><div><br></div><div>Thursday was my last day working at the tortoise breeding center and We spent the day working in the nursery bagging coffee plants. We also helped clear a path to a nearby lighthouse that was starting to become overgrown with grass and other plants. </div><div><br></div><div>I have had such an amazing time here over these past six weeks and am blessed to have experienced and learned more about these beautiful islands. The people I worked with have solidified my belief that every person can make a difference. Each person that came to work on the reserve offered new insight, asked questions, and went the extra mile to give back to the islands. </div><div><br></div><div>I truly feel that the most important part of traveling is giving back to the places you visit. You can learn so much more about a place when you immerse yourself into it's culture and way of life. These islands have taught me the importance of respecting nature and being conscious of your impact on the world around you.</div><div><br></div><div>Chao!</div><div>Olivia</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06573978790400998994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-33261449777843534722014-08-20T08:46:00.002-07:002014-08-20T08:46:28.026-07:00Ashley Connelly, Week 10, 11, 12, MadridHey all,<br />
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This is my final blog post as my time in Spain has ended. The past three weeks have mainly consisted of visiting tourist sites in Madrid and doing everything I wanted to do, but hadn't been able to do yet. I went to Circulo Belles Artes' terrace to enjoy some tinto de verano while overlooking Gran Via. In addition to CBA, I made sure to spend some time in Retiro and visit the Prado again. My last few weeks in Madrid made me realize how much I am going to miss being able to ride the Metro and go somewhere like the Prado- one of the greatest art museums- or Retiro- one of the most beautiful parks. Ann Arbor and Michigan definitely don't have the history or allure of Madrid<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-wnYti7_47aH4pPJNMmZY1RzazYYsxMqsbR_VH0QPU0QVvxDL-ajt4OYabNQmrQHeJ5r_dmCoT8coKpI3NEM_LJ23-AbtNjn3q-sVAZ6ZAYOlzP-Gk7nEklOwQijR-2PZxwzgd1Xjj5g/s1600/IMG_3392.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-wnYti7_47aH4pPJNMmZY1RzazYYsxMqsbR_VH0QPU0QVvxDL-ajt4OYabNQmrQHeJ5r_dmCoT8coKpI3NEM_LJ23-AbtNjn3q-sVAZ6ZAYOlzP-Gk7nEklOwQijR-2PZxwzgd1Xjj5g/s1600/IMG_3392.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CBA</td></tr>
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Besides doing some last minute exploring in Madrid, I took a trip to Morocco my last weekend abroad. It was one of the best experiences of my life. We took a day tour where we visited a Berber market and house, climbed a mountain, rode a camel, and ate the best food I've ever tasted. The nest day we explored the souk in Marrakech and did some bartering. We also got incredibly lost because there seemed to be no street signs, but we enjoyed wandering the streets and discovering Marrakech that way. For example, we stumbled upon a museum and the owner let us see the old hall for concubines that was closed to the public. And, we met a a guy at a spice store who gave us a tour of all his spices and gave us a sample of tea (which my friend eventually bought). It was such an amazing experience and I'm glad I took advantage of my location in Spain to go. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Compilation of all the amazing food I ate in Morocco </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Climbing a mountain with Said </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the beautiful waterfalls </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the souk in Marrakech</td></tr>
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<br /><br />Ashley Connellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06960863797364837770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-67064459856462352402014-08-18T12:00:00.001-07:002014-08-18T12:00:26.911-07:00India Week 6<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I am home back in the U.S. and can't believe my journey is over! The past 6 weeks were amazing and have been an incredible learning experience. Delhi has shown me so much contrast can exist in one place, such a collision of the old and new, rich and poor. Working at a small nonprofit organization really showed the impact one person can really make and I'm so glad I got the chance to make a difference! In this last week I got to meet some engineers from Umich who are also volunteering in Delhi for 2 weeks and it was really fun to hang out with people my age again, as my roommate and I were the only volunteers in Delhi for the past couple of weeks. We saw India Gate at night and Connaught Place, which is sort of an open mall. There were certainly many pros and cons from my trip but I have definitely learned a lot. I am so glad I got to experience a country and culture so different from home, with perfectly-manicured green grass lawns and white picket fences. In Delhi they worried about monkeys terrorizing their houses and floods that came during the monsoon season due to a below subpar drainage system. People literally lived on the sides of the streets and in the garbage piles that would pile up and yet there were still huge shopping malls, where everything was just as expensive as it is in America! People crowded into homes right next to protected monuments that were thousands of years old and guarded. I find this contrast so strange as these monuments are protected so that they might be visited by tourists and yet they are right next to where people live in deplorable conditions. How does the government have money to hire guards and build fences to protect all these monuments (there are literally thousands in Delhi) and yet cannot help the people out? In Delhi I also discovered the true meaning of sexism. Everywhere there is security women are separated from men. Which is helpful in the way that the women's lines are always shorter. But on the metro there is a separate car for women and one time we were with some guys from work so we got on one of the regular cars and all the guys just stared at us the entire time. It was really uncomfortable and a lot of times people don't understand personal space/ privacy and they'll just stare, mostly because you're foreign. I managed to get used to it staying there for so long but it was still very discerning. It was hard to be trustful of any strangers for that reason, although we did meet some incredibly friendly and nice people, I was always cautious and aware of my surroundings. I never felt like I could let my guard down and in many shops, there are always men working, never women. I wonder what the women do, if they are not allowed to get jobs and work at shops. Rape has been a long-standing issue in India with no solution. I really think that there needs to be more education for women's rights and freedom, as society is so patriarchal. It really made me appreciate the freedoms we have in America, where there are still inequalities between men and women but it is not unusual to see a woman by herself, independent and in a career. It is not frowned upon to be an independent woman like it is in India, as our host mom herself told us it was hard for her to make friends sometimes because people did not want to be associated with an independent woman with a career. I am blessed to have had this experience as it has humbled me and made me more appreciative of all the opportunities I have. Although there were times when I struggled, I always knew that I had a home to go home to, where I would have all the amenities that I lacked abroad and that is so much more than most people can say. I really hope that my NGO continues to thrive and succeed and that the progress I have made in my time there has a lasting impact. This trip really showed me that I can adapt and be independent and although there were challenges, it definitely boosted my confidence that I can make it on my own in different cultures. I will treasure this experience and the memories and hope that one day I can really make a lasting large scale difference. Thank you India, for the adventure of a lifetime.<br />
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Selena Nguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739097089673786431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-43479871368357895732014-08-18T10:35:00.001-07:002014-08-18T10:35:09.350-07:00Abigail Collingwood: 6/13-6/19I went to the Amazon this week, and what an amazing week it was! When we arrived on Friday, Kelly, another volunteer, gave us a tour of the reserve and introduced us to Alejo, the owner. Kelly was at the reserve working on her thesis paper. She is studying the medicinal plants, and what their names and uses show us about the Quichua culture and traditions. I always loved talking to Kelly about the forest. She was so knowledgeable about all the plants, but she also knew that she had so much more to learn about them. It was a really amazing perspective to be exposed to while working in the Amazon. I would love to be able to read some part of the world as well as she reads the medicinal plants. Additionally, it's pretty cool how much the Amazon has to offer for research. Kelly is studying the plants and people, while other researchers stop by to study the plants, and two other volunteers are studying social spiders.<br />
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On Monday, we started work! We were out weeding their pineapple garden. The soil in the Amazon doesn't have a lot of nutrients, so the pineapples here are about a third of the size of those in the Galapagos. The volunteer director, Jonas, is from the Quichua community. His first language is Quichua, so I'm picking up a couple of phrases from him. It's interesting to be in an environment where everyone is speaking their second language. We definitely rely on laughter and smiles a lot, which keeps us all in a good mood!<br />
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On Tuesday, we planted some trees! Mine was a chucho tree, and will take 20 years to grow. It's really cool to think that I have a tree growing in the Amazon. It definitely keeps me environmentally conscious when I'm at home. I'm recycling more and things because I don't want it to get cut down!<br />
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On Wednesday, we went out to harvest cacao! First, we had to cut the cacao from the tree, and then split it open with the machete. My task was to scoop all the pods out and then collect them in a bag. It was really neat to think that I planted cacao in the Galapagos, and here I was harvesting cacao in the Amazon. Between the Galapagos and the Amazon I took a little trip to Mindo where they have a chocolate factory, so I learned about the process of making chocolate there. I really learned a lot about chocolate this trip!<br />
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Wednesdays are also Soccer Wednesdays in the Amazon, so we went to the local pitch to play a game. It was super muddy, so we played in our socks. We were all slipping everywhere and were caked in mud by the end. We were all constantly laughing though, so it was pretty hard to play! It's amazing how something like soccer can bridge language barriers and bring a group so close together. I can't believe I only knew the people I met in the Amazon for a week. It felt like so much more.<br />
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On Thursday, I left the Amazon. I am so so grateful for my time in Ecuador and feel so lucky that I got to spend time in the Amazon, even if just for a week. I learned so much about the place and feel changed because of it. It has definitely inspired me to see more and see more deeply, to get involved more, and to learn more about my impact on the world.<br />
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<br />Abigail Collingwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05754402219580891677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-79380770302299332042014-08-18T10:13:00.002-07:002014-08-18T10:14:00.696-07:00Abigail Collingwood: 6/1-6/9This week, we started preparing and planting the smaller plants in the garden. We were hoeing the ground to make plots for beans, peppers, and herbs. We also planted some cacao trees. In general though, we didn't work much this week because it was the start of the rainy season. It would rain continuously and really hard for hours. Unfortunately, this would mean that the water supply would get clogged with runoff and people would have to go out and clear it.<br />
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On the 9th, I left the Galapagos. It was really hard to say goodbye to all the friends I had made there. It was also hard to leave behind the work I had done without seeing the whole garden come into fruition, but I have to place confidence in the rest of the volunteers to finish it. I feel so fortunate that I had the opportunity to contribute to the reserve and learn so much about the environment and the islands. Although it felt less like Goodbye and more like See You Later, I am excited to continue to the Amazon and start a whole new adventure!Abigail Collingwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05754402219580891677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-40426867713780578802014-08-18T09:44:00.000-07:002014-08-18T09:44:32.604-07:00Abigail Collingwood: 5/26-5/31This week was a really exciting one at Jatun Sacha! On Monday, we went birdwatching. We had to take pictures of all the birds that we saw to catalog them. When the reserve was founded a couple years back, it was overridden with mora, so Cesar wanted to see what new species are settling in now that the mora is being cleared. Our group couldn't find many birds, but it was still nice to walk around in the forest for a while!<br />
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On Thursday, we were going to play in the volunteer soccer tournament, so we started practicing Tuesday. Every three years all the volunteer groups on the island get together and have a big soccer tournament, so it was a rather big deal. We spent a lot of time this week strategizing and practicing. It was fun to take a break from work and play some sports. Soccer is the biggest sport in Ecuador, so it was cool to be able to partake in a little of it during my trip. We came second in the tournament, by the way:)<br />
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On Wednesday, my friend Julia and I were assigned a special task: to plant the tomatoes! We had to plant 250 little tomatoes in plastic cups so they could grow and later be transferred down to the bigger garden. It was really nice to be able to work on a project from start to finish and be able to look back on all the work I did. When we work in the larger garden it's usually as a big group, so it's hard to see what my individual contribution was. With these tomato plants, I could, and it was really rewarding.Abigail Collingwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05754402219580891677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-33091738099696911402014-08-16T15:47:00.001-07:002014-08-16T15:47:13.743-07:00Olivia - Galápagos - Week 5<div>Back from island hopping and back to work! This past week on the reserve we had 35 volunteers from all over the world. I am meeting and making connections with people from so many different countries as well as people from my own town! Last week on a absolutely tiny beach in Santa Cruz I got stopped and asked about my hat, a Michigan football hat. It turned out that The lady who stopped me, Denise, is an academic advisor at Umich! She works in the Newnan advising center and just got back from a GIEU trip to the Amazon and was spending a few days on the islands with her family. We exchanged contact info and I am going to meet with her when I return to Ann Arbor to talk about our adventures. The saying "wherever you go, GO BLUE!" has never been more applicable!</div><div><br></div><div>For work we spent two days at the tortoise breeding center and continued our work on the trails. The other work days were spent on the reserve itself. A group of us spent an entire day in the garden cutting down the invasive plants that were growing around the pineapple and tomato plants that are thriving! Other people went and collected radishes, oranges, and papaya for us to enjoy at dinner! </div><div><br></div><div>On Thursday a group of us took a hike into the highlands with our machetes in hand prepared to clear up the path since no one had been up there in two years! It was amazing how different the vegetation was the higher we went. There was a plant that covers most of the mountain that changes color depending on the temperature. Our boss said that the islanders call it "natures thermometer" it goes from a forest green color (in mild temperatures) to a bright red (in extreme high or low temperatures). We also visited the massive freshwater lagoon and waterfall that supply most of the tap water for the reserve.</div><div><br></div><div>I can't believe I am already beginning my last week here. It has been so hard to say goodbye to volunteers as they begin their journeys home. We really have become a family here and I have experienced so much with these amazing people by my side! I am feeling excited and nostalgic to begin the last week of this unforgettable once in a lifetime experience. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-nnvr8yuspvk/U-_fRBqRsQI/AAAAAAAADps/wytnNMR08Tw/s640/blogger-image--1105809473.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-nnvr8yuspvk/U-_fRBqRsQI/AAAAAAAADps/wytnNMR08Tw/s640/blogger-image--1105809473.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">My island hopping group on the top of Sierra Negra!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-iKrmLiULO2o/U-_fVhbLYjI/AAAAAAAADp0/5fPgC3xj89Q/s640/blogger-image--1516610000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-iKrmLiULO2o/U-_fVhbLYjI/AAAAAAAADp0/5fPgC3xj89Q/s640/blogger-image--1516610000.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The last "family" dinner with all 35 volunteers!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-KJELZ6Do2iU/U-_fYgqMzqI/AAAAAAAADp8/OqY2QX8s_3k/s640/blogger-image--205437102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-KJELZ6Do2iU/U-_fYgqMzqI/AAAAAAAADp8/OqY2QX8s_3k/s640/blogger-image--205437102.jpg"></a></div>Nothing like an evening of surfing after work!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Chao!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Olivia</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><br></div><br></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06573978790400998994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-12679487690748022762014-08-15T16:01:00.002-07:002014-08-18T10:57:48.503-07:00India Week 5<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Wow this past weekend we were able to visit the Taj Mahal and it is truly one of the seven wonders of the world. The sheer size and craftsmanship are impeccable. Every design on the white marble was done by hand; no wonder it took 20,000 people and 22 years to build! There are truly no words for its beauty except for breathtaking. It is definitely a sight that everyone should try to achieve in their lifetime, it's a true testament to Muslim architecture and craftsmanship. We were also able to visit the Agra fort which is a massive fort across the river from the Taj Mahal and it was quite an impressive sight to explore. However, it was an extremely hot day and wandering around in the open for hours really tired us out! Plus we had gotten a tour guide to see the city but quickly found out that he was keen on taking us to a bunch of shops to buy things, which we figured he probably got a commission from whatever we spent. This seems to be the case with many tour guides which is very unfortunate because it really feels like you're not in control of what you want to see and where to go. It was quite a hectic weekend as we also visited another city Jaipur and then almost missed our train to see the Taj Mahal because our cab driver took us to the wrong train station! It is definitely hard here knowing only English and in the future if I come back To India I will make sure to know some Hindi. It would make communication a lot easier! At work I have designed a website for my NGO, PORDAC. It is fightforpordac.wix.com/pordac-ngo. It took me a long time and a lot of edits but I am so proud! I really think it clearly and precisely conveys PORDAC's mission and gets the word out there. Having this informative website also legitimizes PORDAC and will convince potential donors and sponsors that this is a worthwhile investment and not just another startup NGO. I hope that Manjir, my boss, will continue to keep the website updated and continue spreading the word. I will miss seeing the kids every day and bouncing out ideas to Manjir. She has been so kind to me in showing me the city and taking me to markets with her. I really hope she will continue to get volunteers who will become as passionate about the cause as I am and continue to make a big difference. I have become so passionate about PORDAC's mission that I will work on spreading the word even at home and even just one person spreading the word can make a difference. All of the little things add up to make a big difference.<br />
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Selena Nguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739097089673786431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678844312498707923.post-68347642464019051122014-08-14T05:39:00.001-07:002014-08-18T07:54:49.813-07:00Hasper, New Delhi, Week 3<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Namaste!<br />
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I've just come off a fantastic weekend visiting Jaipur and Agra! The Taj Mahal was stunning. It was built by the emperor Shah Jahan to honor of his third wife, who died in child birth. Our guide didn't know all that much about the history of the mausoleum, but he was able to show us a lot about the architecture. The building was constructed with many optical allusions, and contains layers of symbolism. We also visited the palace quarters. Only men are allowed in the Mosque, so we could only see it from the outside. Selena and I were also able to see some artisan work in carpets and marble! The labor and dedication involved in the creative work was stunning and inspiring. The descendants of the original Taj Mahal artisans are still at work in the city.<br />
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In Jaipur, we were hit by monsoon weather once again. The roads were too flooded to travel, so we were not able to see the forts as intended but stayed in the city and visited the city palace and museum. We also befriended some local textile artisans, who showed us their shop and helped us find a good place to eat and have chai. Many people in India have been so helpful and generous.<br />
They also explained to us more about the festival of Rakhi, which is going on this weekend. The festival dates back to a war tradition: as the brothers left to defend their people in battle, the sisters would tie sacred threads around their wrists. Today, it celebrates the bond between siblings.<br />
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Work at the school has become very busy! On the 15th of August, the school and community center is putting on a celebration for Independence Day, and the kids will be participating in a performance art. Celebrating the holiday is a brilliant way to bring the community closer together. The dance teacher has been working non-stop with students of all ages, and the level of focus that the kids are displaying is so impressive. Everyone is excited, and I can see the pride on the teachers' faces as the kids succeed. I'm playing my "little guitar" as accompaniment for the many vocal performances.<br />
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My fingers are quite sore, and luckily I haven't broken any strings. The event will be a wonderful time for the community and the kids.<br />
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Jess<br />
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<b> A weaver: the three foot carpet will be complete only after a few months work.</b><br />
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<b> Taj Selfies. </b><br />
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<b>The Taj Mahal.</b> </div>
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