What my Russian Grandmother Taught Me

Posted on July 16, 2016 by Anissa

I chose to live with a host family during my stay in Moscow and upon my arrival, still had no idea about the composition of my host family, their interests, language skills, etc. Olga Dmitreevna, my host mother, doesn’t speak any other languages besides Russian, and I speak only poor Russian so it’s been a fun game of learning how to communicate. While the first night was frustrating, by this point we’ve figured out how to talk to one another and how to hold conversations. After a few weeks of living with her, Olga Dmitreevna has taught me a few life lessons:

“No Exit” or “No Entry” in the Metro stations isn’t always true

When I first arrived in Russia, I was careful to observe all laws and social etiquette. It’s painfully easy for Russians to spot foreigners, and sometimes attention can bring trouble. Almost every day, I have to take the Metro to my university. At the station closest to my university, Белорусская, I have to leave the station, cross the street, go up a flight of stairs, and then walk down the street to my university. On my first day of classes, my host mother went with me so I didn’t get lost on Metro. As I prepared myself to go through the annoying paces to get on the right side of the street, I watched as my host mother, blatantly ignoring the two feet tall sign indicating “No Entry”, walked through the entrance and took a much easier path to my university. No one attempted to stop her and as I watched, a few more people did the same thing. Since then, I’ve always followed Russians’ lead on how to navigate street and Metro signs.

Sour cream goes with everything.

Blini. Soup. Salad. Potatoes. Pelmeni. Bread. Cabbage. Everything. I’ve only ever used sour cream as a way to cool down spicy food, and I’m pretty sure I’ve had more sour cream in the past couple of weeks than the past five years. After I arrived in Russia, I first started putting sour cream in my food because I decided “When in Rome…” but now I’ve learned to enjoy it. As to whether that will stay true once I return to the States, I’m not entirely sure.

Tea is not a drink but an occasion.

Since moving in with my host mother, a cup of tea has never taken me less than thirty minutes. I’ll have a cup of tea with every meal (even on days when the temperature reaches 40 C) and sometimes another cup if I come home earlier than usual. I love to drink tea but before coming to Russia, it was always a solitary, unwinding kind of drink. With my host mother, tea is a sociable drink for sharing with others. At first it was difficult with the language barrier but as my Russian improved, so did the quality of the conversations. Even so, I’m still terrible at small talk.

Patience is worth it.

As mentioned before, I speak very poor Russian, and my host mother speaks only Russian. I consider her a saint because she makes an effort to have conversations with me and not only over necessary things like food and laundry situations. The first couple of days it was like pulling teeth. It wasn’t fun, there was a lot of repetition and charades, and sometimes we just gave up. Even now, after particularly difficult days of classes when my Russian has gone down the drain, she still makes an effort to ask about my day or family or how I how liked whatever museum or park I had gone to that day. Sometimes I have to break out the dictionary. Sometimes I stop declining my nouns. Sometimes I understand but have no idea how to respond. Despite all of this, she still stubbornly makes an effort, and that has made all the difference in the world.

First week in Seoul

Posted on July 16, 2016 by Xinying

My first week in seoul starting from visiting the school- Yonsei University. As one of the most famous universities in Seoul, Yonsei University has been put a great emphasis on international relations and their communications with students from the global scale.

And this is a photo when I arrived at the Incheon International Airport, one of the most important airline transfer spot in Asia. There are many airport shuttles provided at the airport and we were able to take the bus to Yonsei University easily.

When we arrived at Yonsei, we also saw the Ewha Women’s University located just a street across the Yonsei University. In Seoul, interestingly, many businesses and fun places are located around the university area. For example, there’s Ewha Women’s Street beside Ewha University, and Sinchon beside Yonsei, also Donguk University and Hongik University also have fun places to visit.

Another famous place around Yonsei is the Ewha Library, which is an underground library with great design and reputation. Many tourists come and visit the library during our visit. The library has glasses around and stairs for people to rest and visit.

My first week at Yonsei is very fun and interesting. People here are nice and friendly, too. There are many differences between Yonsei and Notre Dame – Yonsei is located at the center of the city of Seoul, where you have a lot to explore and visit when you are free. Also there’s the kind of university culture around the campus, where you could experience the life of Korean students.Moreover, the intensive Korean language class every day also improves my Korean to a great extend. I love both Yonsei and the city it is located – Seoul!

I believe that my 6 weeks here will be a great and unforgettable experience in my life!

First week in Munich

Posted on July 16, 2016 by Yin

My first week in Munich has turned out to be great. I arrived at the airport last Friday, and the signs (a lot without English translation) all around soon reminded me that I had entered a German speaking world! Cultural shock came out soon as well. It took me a while to figure out how the Germans are still obliged to buy transportation ticket when there is no fare gate at metro station entrance: there are plainclothes who randomly check the passengers’ tickets and would make fine as high as 60 Euros to fare dodgers (in German they are called “die Schwarzfahrer,” the black riders!).

The place I live is in the southern part of the city. It takes me 40 minutes every time to go to Carl Duisburg Institute to take the German course. I enjoy the time on U-Bahn, because it gives me the opportunity to observe the life rhythm of ordinary German people. After an interview, the institute instructor assigned me into an A2 class. The teacher insists speaking German only in class, which was challenging to me (since my German had been a little rusty) at the beginning, but I can feel that I am getting accustomed to it. Besides me, there are only five students in my class: a Japanese, a Brazilian, a Korean, a Pakistani and a South African: a very international team! The South African Pedzi is a PhD student (like me!), whose specialty is modern theater. He has talked to me a lot about the project that he is working on, about how genocide is memorized in modern theater, and I feel it very interesting and inspiring!

Munich is a beautiful city. This weekend I will have time to pay a visit to the famous historic scenes in the center of the city: die Frauenkirche (the Church of Notre Dame), die Residenz (the seat of residence and government to the Bavarian rulers from 1508 to 1918) and etc. As a historian, I am really looking forward to it! And, I will enjoy the famous Bavarian Schweinshaxe!

L’Hors d’œuvres : A Noisy Summer

Posted on July 15, 2016 by

The lasting heat in Paris has rendered the city slightly unfamiliar to me, as well as most local Parisians. As we unanimously complain about the sweltering weather in class, our teacher further confirmed that “…we Parisians are not built for such weather.” Sunlight feels almost tangible. Street noises sound more irritating than ever. Even the once pleasant leaves turn glaring with an oversaturated green shade. Loud that is, the late coming summer in Paris.

As the sunlight grows increasingly intense, however, summer does not consist of endless carnivals or parties. A subject that I had always tried to avoid in my blog posts appeared ever so close to my daily life – the terrorist attacks. In fact, my rector once asked me before parting for summer, “You are going to Paris! Are you afraid, considering the November attack and everything?” Half thoughtless half self-encouraging, I gave her a No. Terrorist attacks however horrible seemed distant enough from me that I held but way-too-superficial sorrow and indignation for the victims. Not until the Nice attack took place did I come to full awareness that France has been in a state of emergency for months, and it would continue henceforth perhaps for a long time.

Feu d’artifice au 14 juillet 2016 (Wikimedia)

I was amid a large number of people celebrating the Bastille Day near Eiffel Tower. In retrospective, a slight and hazy fear bubbled indeed at the bottom of my heart. The powerful undercurrent of a huge crowd is always intimidating. Yet tracing back to the “No” I said to my rector, I went along anyway. The scene was doubtlessly wonderful. Shooting out from the Eiffel Tower itself, fireworks of various shapes made a grand feast of stars. People were exclaiming all around. In that extraordinarily joyous atmosphere, was absolutely hard to imagine that at the same time a truck was driving into the crowd in Nice.

La Flamme de la Liberté – From Where I Watched the Firework

A few days later, as I walked by a news stall near my school, a poster caught my attention with a caption “Comment vivre avec peur (How to Live with Fear).” Other than this, however, I sensed no great changes in everyday life because of the latest Nice attack. Our teacher mentioned but a little in class about the attacks. So did my classmates. If the whole Atlantic ocean seemed to be too great a distance, Paris is not close enough to make certain degree of “insulation” impossible. I find this state of calmness simultaneously baffling and soothing. I could still recall that after the Paris attack, a victim husband said, “Vous n’aurez pas ma haine (You will not have my hate).” People live on as usual and after all one could only comment, C’est la vie.

As for my French, it is hard to consciously detect much progress myself, but I begin to feel more confident going around and casually talking with someone. For the past week I have been to post office inquiring about a lost delivery, talked with customer service personnel and chatted with locals at cafés. Rather than an application that needs to be activated and takes time to warm up, French has become more casual and prompt to arrive for me.

Don’t cry for me Argentina

Posted on July 15, 2016 by Sandrine

I’m sorry about my blog posts being late, but between finals and travels, the past weeks have been crazy.

My last week in Argentina, I had my written and oral finals, but I also wanted to check off my list the things I hadn’t done yet. Therefore, I went to the Museo de las Bellas Artes, where I saw the works of famous artists like Orozco, Siqueiros, and Rivera, among others. The same day, I walked to La Flor, a giant metal sculpture of a flower, and waited about an hour in the cold until sunset to see its petals close. It was worth it.

The petals open every morning at 8a.m. and close at sunset

My last night in Argentina (at least what I thought would be my last night), my roommates and I went out to celebrate being done with classes and passing our exams.

Last selfie in front of La Universidad de Belgrano

We met up with some friends that we had met two weeks earlier, and I was told that my Spanish had considerably improved; I now understood them better and I was more easily understood. That night, I also went to a boliche (nightclub) with them, because I wanted to try it out. It was confirmed that I like Latino music and dancing.

The next day, we packed and went to our favourite bakery to get a few empanadas for lunch and some cookies and pastries for the road. We said goodbye to the workers there, and it was kind of emotional. We had been to this bakery everyday for weeks. We were for sure going to miss them (and the food), and they would miss us too (and the business we brought a.k.a every international student at the university). They wished us safe travels and good luck.

As we rode to the airport that day, I looked outside the window knowing I would miss this place. Despite the cold, the dog poop everywhere, the crazy drivers and the weird shoes, I had loved my stay in Argentina, the people, the food and especially the language.

Just more proof I was actually there

As I waited in the airport lounge that day, I learned that my flight was delayed 30 minutes. “That’s okay,” I thought to myself. That okay-feeling was replaced by anger, exasperation, tiredness and desperation, when five hours later, at 2a.m., they cancelled the flight and told us that the next one was not until 8.45p.m. the next day. I guess Argentina did not want to let go of me. The airline booked us a hotel right in the city centre for the night and offered us meals. Although it was stressful, I made it back safely to the US a bunch of hours later after missing two different connections. The thing is, airports can be really boring but they’re also cool places to meet really interesting people. I met a man from Bath, UK who works for a translation company and gave me good advice on a potential career path. I also met a couple from Argentina who needed help communicating with their friend who was supposed to pick them up in the US. So, as they talked to me in Spanish, I texted their friend in English. Fortunately, I was not alone during my airport adventures. A girl I had met earlier in the program was also there, and we travelled together all the way to Houston and became good friends.

From start to finish, this trip has been incredible! I learnt a lot about the country, but also about myself (travelling alone does that). I’d really love to be able to go back for the people, the history, the culture, the food, and the snapchat geofilters.

I hope you like my collection, and thanks for reading about my adventures. If you’re considering the SLA program or going on a similar trip, I would 10 out of 10 recommend it!

¡Adiós amigos!

Morogoro- Wiki Sita

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Casey

As I complete my final few days in Morogoro, I am reflecting on the significant moments in my language acquisition and time here. Two fascinating aspects of my language learning process have been the vocabulary the school’s book chooses to present and the slang I have been taught. The vocabulary the lessons focused on early on are indicative of Tanzanian culture. I have learned more Swahili words about farming than I thought I could explain in English, and through this process have also picked up different methods and processes of farming. As farming is one of the main sectors of Tanzania’s economy, this makes sense. Similarly, I have learned numerous words for different cooking techniques that I was unaware of—some that I think we may not have in the states. For example, Ugali is a very common Swahili dish and I have been informed of multiple words for different ways of stirring Ugali. Furthermore, I am intrigued by the numerous words in Swahili that all connote “to wash.” There are verbs for washing your body, washing your face or hands, washing your clothes, washing your hair, and then two broader words that signify cleaning and washing of many sorts. In almost every case, in English I would simply say precede the noun that is being washed with “to wash.”

What I have learned through this, more so than how to cook Ugali, is that language is highly representative of culture. Our culture is so information-based that we seem to have a vast array of descriptors that we use with more common verbs. However, Swahili has so many verbs and the verb depicts so much of the sentence. It seems to be expressive of the importance of action in Swahili culture, perhaps more so than abstract thoughts that have such significance in the U.S.

Learning slang phrases is something that has mostly just been fun! I am continually in awe every time I hear a new one because so often I have no clue how these phrases come about. Yet, I know I can’t complain because English indubitably has just as many, if not more, crazy phrases. I wanted to share a few though because they have been enjoyable to learn.

JIKO literally means “stove” or “kitchen,” but it is slang for “spouse”
KULA BATA literally means “to eat duck,” but it is slang for “to relax”
KUPIGA MSWAKI literally means “to brush teeth,” but it is slang for “to not be full”
FRESHIE is not really a Swahili word, but has become a slang response for when someone asks “how are you?”
KUWA BOMBA literally means “to be a pipe,” but is slang for “good” or “cool”

These have been my favorite phrases so far because they definitely seem to be the wackiest. It’s interesting to compare how I have picked some of them up or heard them used. I have one teacher who has explained the alternate slang meanings when I learn new vocabulary, but he always starts the sentence with “The youth also use this word to mean…” so I have gotten the impression that he doesn’t use these terms often. However, I heard the head of the language school respond “Freshie” the other day and was taken aback! Of the younger teachers, I’ve really only learned or heard slang terms from the male teachers. The female teachers laugh and explain the term if asked, but I also haven’t gotten the impression that they use these terms as much. Of course, this may have to do more with personal preferences of a few people than gender, but it’s interesting all the same!

Learning the vast cultural influences on language is one of the most daunting aspects of language acquisition. Picking up these nuances is such a long process, but crucial to really learning another language. It has been great having teachers that value sharing these through teaching about culture and the impact of it on Swahili. Yet, even though it is a bit overwhelming, it creates a far greater appreciation for the importance of language—particularly the value in learning other languages. As my six weeks in Morogoro are coming to a close, I am more aware of how extensive a process language acquisition is, but grateful for the progress I have made and excited to continue it. I am especially looking forward to having another month in Tanzania to practice Swahili, even though my time studying it in class is concluding.

Morogoro- Wiki Tano

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Casey

My time in Morogoro has been lovely since I’ve last posted. I switched teachers this past week and have enjoyed the new rhythm. All the teachers work a little differently and, I think, it’s helpful to change the pace after a few weeks with one teacher. My teacher and I have been focusing a lot more on talking during class so I can just get practice conversing. This has been really helpful and it’s been exciting to discuss a variety of things in Swahili. One day, one of the questions in class asked why hospital workers and police officers wear uniforms. It was meant to be a simple question, asked because the vocabulary for the lesson was about clothes, including uniforms. However, we were able to have a really interesting conversation about the benefits and losses to wearing uniforms. It was something I never would have thought about, but ended up being enjoying to consider in Swahili. We’ve also been able to discuss a range of topics, like women’s rights and Tanzania’s economy, that have provided interesting cultural insight, while also helping me to build up my political vocabulary. I have been reading short stories in Swahili, which has proved intriguing, fun, and helpful. It is especially useful in grasping a better understanding of sentence construction and how verbs are used. Since the campus is a bit isolated, this has been great for getting another source of Swahili in practice.

There were two holidays last week so we had a little bit of class shortened on Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday was Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan. Though most of the teachers have Christian backgrounds, it was really interesting to learn more about. Morogoro has a fairly large Muslim population and there are a few mosques near the campus. Often I am able to hear the call to prayer in the morning or evening on campus, but before Eid during the Night of Power a car was driving around with a speaker praying. Then on Wednesday, we were able to hear a sermon throughout much of the morning. It’s been so interesting to hear these since I’ve never heard a call to prayer before. Eid al-Fitr was especially fascinating because even though the teachers weren’t Muslim, they were so excited it was Eid. It’s such an important and joyful holiday that it extended outside of the Muslim community to friends and family.

Thursday, July 7^th, was Saba Saba a national holiday in Tanzania. Saba is seven in Swahili. Saba Saba celebrates farmers in Tanzania, but is also on the day that the political party, the Tanganyika African National Union, was formed in 1954. As this was Tanzania’s party during single-party rule, some opposition parties disliked Farmer’s day being on Saba Saba and now celebrate it on Nane Nane (8/8). However, Saba Saba is still a national holiday and seems to be celebrating Farmer’s Day. It was interesting because many people seemed to be excited about the holiday, but weren’t sure of the difference between Saba Saba and Nane Nane. I think it was determined that it was now a day for businessmen and Nane Nane is for farmers. It was intriguing to hear this uncertainty, but exciting to once again have teachers enthusiastic about their country, economy, and people!

Said Goodbye to some Friends from the School last week!

Tactics in avoiding mosquitoes

I’m in China!: Getting 挨宰ed and looking at art!

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Daniel

Hi friends. So it’s been less than a week since I last posted, but I did a lot of cool stuff! For instance, I went to the 798 Art District and was immersed in Chinese art. To be honest, I didn’t think have any expectations for this Art District, but I was stunned.

I had thought that the 798 Art District would display a lot of traditional art around its galleries, but I found more modern art than anything else. Some of the art included a headless Chairman Mao, political cartoons about North Korea, and paintings/drawings depicting the issues China is currently facing. I went to a little store and bought some small things, which included panda propaganda postcards and movie posters. My friend bought a pair of fake Ray Ban sunglasses for 69 RMB, which is the equivalent of approximately $10.38. What a deal!

This past weekend, I also went to the Silk Market and I ??? (didn’t realize) that the Silk Market was actually a huge shopping mall! It looked modernized, and it reminded me of the shopping malls back home near Chicago. The basement was full of small shoe stores that sold exactly the same thing, and the store owners hiked up the prices to around 600 RMB per fake pair of shoes. For instance, a pair of fake Yeezy Boosts was like 625 RMB. Converted into USD would be around $93.84: way too much for some fake Yeezy’s. I didn’t buy the Yeezy’s but I did get ripped off for some gray T-shirt. It’s okay though because I learned a good life lesson. When life hands you a 200 RMB T-shirt, don’t say 150 RMB, say 10 and you’ll be good. Well I’ll see you guys next week when I talk about my trip to Xi’an!

A Week Flies by in Gleann Cholm Cille

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Mairead

Gleann Cholm Cille is a small town in Donegal County in the Northwest of Ireland. Rising up around it on three sides are small mountains (or large hills, depending on who you ask), and on its last border is the sea. When I first arrived last Saturday, it felt like I had entered the alternate reality where American movies about Ireland take place: after all, the sheep outnumber the people here ten to one, every local person I’ve talked to has been beyond friendly, and a short walk up a hill will take you to the ruin of an old watchtower. Soon enough, though, Sunday came and I was plunged into the intense environment of Oideas Gael.

Oideas Gael is an immersive learning experience. Many of the people who come here are adult learners who are only able to come for one week, and they want to make the most of their time. As a result, we have classes every morning and afternoon, and activities in the evening. As you might imagine, the intensity was frightening at first. Even when I could understand the questions that professors and other students were asking me, sometimes it would take me so long to formulate an answer that they would repeat the question in English. By Tuesday of my first week, I questioned how much my ability to speak Irish could really improve.

Then, slowly, things started to turn around. At first it was just a few questions that I found myself able to answer, and then I could have simple conversations. As a rule, Irish speakers are bilingual, and most assume that Americans don’t have Irish, so for my first few days in the Gaeltacht I conducted my business in shops and restaurants in English. Finally, at the end of the week, the shopkeeper asked me what I would like in Irish, and I have spoken to her in Irish ever since.

Every day here feels like a week, and I’m not sure that anything I write could fully encompass all I feel I’ve learned already. The Irish teachers are so generous with their time and eager to share the language. Even some locals I meet in the street seem to know that I’m a learner, and slow down their speech for my friends and I when they ask, “An bhfuil sibh na Meiriceánaigh?” At the beginning of each week we have the opportunity to change our class level, and this week I moved up two levels, from a class which was being taught through English to one taught entirely in Irish. Today is Tuesday, and sometimes I feel my head starting to spin from concentrating so hard on trying to understand what I hear. This time, though, I’m confident that by the end of the week I’ll have improved more than I ever thought possible.

“We are not painters. We are writers.”

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Jessica

Visiting the 798 Art District has been, by far, my favorite excursion on this trip. As an industrial design major, I really appreciated every single exhibit and it was so inspiring to get a taste of the thriving art community in Beijing. A lot of the artwork and galleries revolved around political and social commentary, specifically on original socialist realism, so it was extremely eye-opening to see multiple varying perspectives through each artist’s creative expression.

798 Art Zone contains a series of decommissioned military factory buildings with unique canvases by graffiti artists and quirky shops selling local arts and crafts. The area also houses many notable open-air sculptures, such as a headless Chairman Mao. Sifting through the different galleries, I saw the political and social commentary come to life through very thought provoking forms.

Exploring a much different part of Beijing, apart from the traditional Chinese architecture and scenic spots, was eye opening because I was able to understand the modern issues that China was facing in a completely different light. The stores sold interesting postcards and local art pieces, and the streets were crowded with sculptures, people, and artists.

Painted on one of the walls of 798, I saw a graphic that said, “We are not painters, we are writers.” There was a sense of liberation in those words, and I think it really served as a good umbrella theme for the art district. Every single exhibit told a story, whether it was about history, politics, or social themes, and it led the audience from a beginning to an end.

SLA Profiles (2016)

Yearly Archives: 2016