SLA – Page 16 – SLA Profiles (2018)

Soccer, Turkey, and Symphony

This past week I was able to engage in the culture more than I have in the past weeks. After my first class on Monday, I started out the week working out at the gym I have been able to use through Notre Dame. I have been following my intense workout regime that our football strength and conditioning coach planned for me throughout the summer. After having been in South Bend last summer, I remember the intensity of the workouts, so it has been a challenge recreating that atmosphere, but the gyms in Berlin are well equipped and there are plenty of parks to get footwork in on the field. After my workouts, I will either go home and cook a meal filled with carbs, proteins, and other nutrients, or I will eat at my favorite Vietnamese restaurant, Dong Do. I learned that the Vietnamese presence in Berlin grew rapidly in the 1970’s, and since then there has been a good amount of Vietnamese restaurants, stores, and marketplaces showing up around the city. The food at Dong Do is to die for, and I make my way there at least once a week.

On Tuesday, I gave a presentation in German on a “vacation region” in my homeland. I chose Phoenix, and discussed the beautiful hikes, sports teams, and bodies of water that come with this city. Everyone else in the class presented on their respective homelands, including Uzbekistan, Russia, Syria, Mexico, Italy, Venezuela, and others. Being able to speak about one’s culture in another language is very important for people, so it is definitely a skill I would like to use when speaking to other German natives. That same day I also played in a soccer tournament against a refugee team and two other German high school teams. Sadly, we got demolished, but it was awesome to see how these kids were working to perfect their soccer and communication skills with each other. It is so interesting to see soccer dominate the sports world in these European countries, as the U.S. does not highlight soccer nearly as much as football, basketball, and baseball.

In the middle of the week, I took a taxi and noticed something that stuck out to me. The taxi driver pulled up to a red light, looked over at the car next to us, and said something friendly to the driver in Turkish, and drove away. I asked the driver if he knew that man, and he explained to me that nearly all of the taxi drivers knew each other and were friends. He also explained how he had immigrated to Germany for better opportunities. We had a great conversation, and I was able to explain the stories of my Turkish friends from my language school, including the background of my friend Göktürk’s name and how it literally translates to jumping Turkish man. It was a quick moment from my week, but I definitely enjoyed talking to him. Another amazing treasure that Turkish culture has brought to Germany is the döner, a kebab of meat that is sliced with vegetables and sauce and thrown together in bread to make a delicious meal. This is a very cheap meal and has been my guilty pleasure on the this excursion.

On Wednesday, I went to the Berlin Philharmonic and saw Sir Simon Rattle’s last indoor performance as a conductor, after having performed at the Philharmonic for the last 31 years. He performed the same 90 minute piece that he opened with at the Philharmonic 31 years ago. It was an incredibly emotional composition, stringing together, violins, harps, percussion, piano, trumpets, and other instruments. The acoustics in the Philharmonic are beautiful, and the sound surrounded me as I closed my eyes. This was the first symphony that I had ever been to and I loved it.

The following day, I toured Neuköln, a neighborhood in Berlin that houses more than 160 different nationalities. The tour guide was a Syrian refugee who explained to us his difficult journey from Syria to Berlin, including years of failed and dangerous attempts to travel between countries without proper identification. It was an incredibly sad story that ended with a successful reunion of his wife and child in Berlin after years of uncertainty. The tour was centered around the Arabic influence in Neuköln and involved attempting to decipher Arabic words and phrases on local businesses. We ended the tour at a restaurant called “Aldimashqi”, where I ordered fried chicken with seasoning I had never tasted with chicken. It was so delicious that I went back the next day. On Saturday, I went to a restaurant to watch the Germany v. Sweden World Cup game. This was a very intense game because Germany had lost to Mexico, so the pressure was on to win this game to keep their hopes alive. Sweden scored, then Germany tied it up. With 30 seconds left to go in the 95 minute match, Germany had one last chance to score. They set up a shot with a deceptive play, and bended the ball at the perfect angle to score and keep Germany’s flame alive. The entire crowd at the restaurant exploded with joy and cheers for the next five minutes. It was definitely an experience that does not come around too often, and now I look forward to watching Germany take on South Korea this week.

New Sights and New Heights: Exploring Peru

To kick off the week, my friend Anita and I experienced a chocolate cooking class! During a 2-hour instruction, we learned how to make chocolate from these mere little beans.

We learned how the process of making chocolate changed over time from the Aztecs tribes to the European explorers. Thankfully since, human blood has been deleted from the chocolate recipe. This picture demonstrates the process of making chocolate.

To break the bean down into a paste form, we had to grind our cocoa beans three different times by hand. My favorite part was sampling different kinds of chocolate and being able to make our own chocolate creations. I made chocolate with almonds, sea salt, and even quinoa!

Next, it was off to the lagoon and salt mines. This has been my favorite traveling trip so far! We were able to drive ATV’s through Peruvian countryside to visit these two locations. Our first stop was the lagoon. Unfortunately, we weren’t given any historical facts or background of the site, but the view certainly made up for it.

After leaving the lagoon, we were able to visit the salt mines of Maras. These Salt mines are made up of more than 2000 little pools of water. The water comes from a small stream that flows from within a nearby mountain. Because the mountain is made totally of rock, there is no way to tell exactly where the water comes from or how much longer it will flow. However, the salt mines have existed since before the Aztecs, so the water has been flowing for almost 500 years!

After water fills each pool, the channel is blocked so water can begin to evaporate. When all the water evaporates, nearly 12 centimeters of salt is left behind. There are 3 different layers to this salt: pink salt, medicinal salt, and flour salt. After nearly 2 weeks of drying the salt is harvested and then put in to use. Each year, the mines produce over 10,000 pounds of salt!

The next journey I took was horseback riding to the moon temple. To be completely honest, I am not sure why it is called a temple. It was a giant stone structure that tourists could climb, but nothing like the “temple” I had in mind.

In addition to the moon temple, we stopped at a few other structures, including one that resembled Machu Picchu!

This picture was my favorite from horseback riding, but it took incredible guts because I have a fear of heights. I wish I knew how high the peak of this structure was, but “don’t look down”, was the only thought running through my mind!

Most tour guides here do not speak any English, so in addition to cultural immersion, these adventures allowed me to practice my Spanish skills. When I first arrived in Cusco, speaking the language felt quite uncomfortable. I knew I had the ability to converse but lacked the confidence to speak freely. Taking advantage of every single opportunity I have had in class, at meals, or even on tours has been the most helpful way to improve both my confidence and speaking skills. Now, after 3 weeks in Cusco, my confidence is much higher! Every day presents new challenges that I tackle with everything I have. Quitting is not an option. All these experiences are shaping me into an independent Spanish speaker who takes risks. Even though I have made many mistakes, I am learning and growing in the best way possible. I cannot wait to see what 4 more weeks in Peru have in store for me!

Coming Out of My Cage…

View of St. Basil’s Cathedral (and a lot of football fans) from Red Square.

…And, as the 2004 hit song by The Killers goes, I’m doing just fine! Though the rest of Mr. Brightside thankfully does not apply here, these first few words describe a gradual but noticeable change in my approach and attitude for the summer. As my second week in Moscow has somehow come to pass, I am excited to explore the city, interact with my host family, and try home-cooked Russian meals. Given my pre-trip fears and the realization that I would be set up for the thing I hate most – failure – I find this an accomplishment.

Of course, the failure in this case, as I soon learned, was not a lack of ability to survive, but rather just repeated and stupid language mistakes that come with immersion in a new culture. I have spent my first couple of weeks trying to listen rather than just talk as much as possible, cognizant of the need to comprehend others’ thoughts. Perhaps my host family thinks I’m really quiet and shy, but I think the process has had benefits. This past week, I was proud that I didn’t ask my host family or other professors to repeat as many of their words and sentences as last week. Furthermore, I can understand main ideas and topics within a Russian history lecture.

In a sense, then, this summer abroad is a chance for me not only to learn Russian, but a personal experience for me to learn how to adapt to new environments, embrace failure, and confidently seek a new tomorrow. I’m proud of what I have done so far, and I look forward to engaging even more with my host family and other Russians.

But for now, let’s recap the highlights:

World Cup fans – After a theater performance on Friday evening, some of us went to watch a game at the bar, and some Belgians were having an incredible evening to say the least. Mind you, Belgium wasn’t even playing, but they still sang and cheered and interacted with us. Additionally, Mexico has an incredible following here – a young man played La Bamba on the trumpet in a metro station as others sang along.

Food – My host mother has already made some amazing meals that I simply would not have back in the states. For example, at breakfast I had сырники (sirniki), which are like mini-pancakes stuffed with cheese, along with a strawberry and sugar jam. Lunch consisted of a delicious meal of peppers stuffed with meat and rice. The diet here centers around fruits and vegetables, meat, and potatoes, and these meals are quite filling.

Classes – The professors are intense and it’s all in Russian, but so far I understand a good bit, and what I don’t understand I am learning. They also make sure that you absolutely master the material before moving on. I’m starting to realize that they know very well what I do not know.

Errors – In this program, we have conversation partners who are native Russian speakers, and the idea is to interact weekly with them in order to improve our speaking and listening. So, in perhaps my most egregious error yet, I met my conversation partner outside of the university, and I proceeded to hear and understand absolutely nothing. After a long day of class, compounded by the outside noise, we had to work out introductions in English. Hopefully I get the chance to start over with her this week.

Red Square (Красная площадь) – Authorities have been limiting access to Red Square during the
The wall of the Moscow Kremlin that extends along Red Square. Hidden against the wall but just under the small center tower is Lenin’s mausoleum.

World Cup, but I was finally able to get onto Red Square this week after multiple previous attempts. Other highlights include the State History Museum (Государственный исторический музей) and seeing St. Basil’s Cathedral (Собор Василия Блаженного). I’m hoping to check out more museums and sights around here.

Russian Catholic Mass – Well, this wouldn’t be a Notre Dame blog post if I didn’t throw in some Catholicism. Seriously though, in spite of a small Catholic minority, Moscow has a beautiful cathedral tucked away in a busy neighborhood. Named the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the towering red brick spires stand out among the other buildings. Like so many other churches, the Cathedral was closed during Soviet times, but in the late 1990s the church became active again. Today, the Cathedral has Masses in many different languages. Last week, I attended a joint English-French Mass, but today I went to an afternoon Mass entirely in Russian. As expected, there was much I didn’t understand, but the universality of the Mass seemed apparent to me even here, nearly 5000 miles away from my home parish. I was even able to pick up on a couple phrases and passages.

As I continue to go forward, I’ll post some highlights, some errors for your amusement, and my personal thoughts and interactions. This is a personal journey for me in more ways than language, and I’d like to bring you along with me. For now, good night from Moscow and I’ll post in another week!

The Highs and the Lows

So my first week of class has come and gone, and things are feeling a lot more comfortable. The first class I was placed in only had American students, so naturally a lot of English made its way into the classroom. The next day I moved to a higher level class, and this class was much more diverse. We had students from Austria, Mexico, Brazil, America, and Japan. Because of this diversity, everything in the class had to be explained in Italian. This made it much more difficult to explain my thoughts, but then the Italian conversation was much more intelligent. I’m very happy that I moved into a higher class because now I feel like I’m pushing myself outside my comfort zone.

Taking my Italian skills outside of the classroom has been a lot harder for me, but I’m getting there. With my host family, I have trouble following everything they say at the dinner table, but I have also been trying to ask questions until I understand what they are saying. For the most part, I can hold a conversation, and they have been very gracious with me asking them to repeat themselves or talk more slowly. I’ve gotten very comfortable ordering from restaurants in Italian, and I am able to pick up much more from conversations I hear on the street. I still fall back into English when I’m not fully concentrating on my speaking, but I’ll get there. This is only week 1 of Italian bootcamp, and I know that I will only get stronger from here. The more I put myself out there, the more I’ll learn and be able use in my daily life.

On the culture side of things, Siena is a great place to be. As a part of one of my classes, we get tours of the many museums around Siena. Because of this class, I get to see the city from the eyes of a very informed local. Our professor, Luca, is a wonderful teacher, and it is obvious that he loves Siena. He teaches the class in English, so I get much more of the city’s history out of this class, but it would be a great test for myself to see how much I could understand, like the cooking class I took. From that experience, I learned how to make a four course meal, and all the instructions were in Italian.

Language and culture and food. What else could I want out of my summer in Italy?

Weeks 1-2

I have been in Japan for almost two weeks and I finally feel as if I am getting settled in. When I first arrived the Wednesday before last in the Haneda (Tokyo) airport, I had started to get very nervous, as there was this transition in landing there from seeing mostly English to mostly Japanese. Then, once I arrived in the significantly smaller Hakodate airport the amount of English dropped down to pretty much zero, as did the number of people speaking English. Those first few days were a bit nerve-racking what with not having spoken Japanese all that much for almost a month and it definitely gave my confidence a shake, but since then I can say that it has been all uphill.

The group from HIF met at the airport and then spent the first few hours getting carted around from the train station to the tram station and then finally to the youth hostel where we stayed for the first two nights of our stay here in Hakodate. I was able to get acquainted with some of the other students and we were all given passes to the nearby traditional onset for baths for the night. It was a really interesting experience and definitely very different from anything back in the US, but I can say that I would gladly go again because it was also extremely relaxing. In the onset there was also even a restaurant, where we were able to get our first meal in Hakodate outside of the hostel!

I met my host family consisting of two sisters that weekend and got to unpack and relax, and on Monday classes began. They have been pretty great so far, even with having class three hours a day. We get to do an Independent Study project where we can explore things we are interested about Japanese culture, and so I am going to look into different sports and ways to exercise around Hakodate, such as martial arts, hiking, or swimming.

Along those lines, I tried kendo and kyudo last week! Kyudo was really hard because the arrows just kind of went into the grass. I only hit one target (and it was the wrong one three targets over) but it was awesome to watch the high school kids do it really well. Kendo was super fun because I got to wear a cool outfit (pictured!), yell, and swing a wooden sword around. It was kinda scary at first because we were just hitting the sensei in the head repeatedly, which was mildly worrisome, but after we all adjusted it was pretty great.

This last weekend I went hiking (for the first time!) with friends up the most well known mountain in the area, Hakodate mountain (函館山). It was insanely beautiful and I plan to hike it again to explore more of the trails. Later this week I get to try judo and take a kimono etiquette class, both of which I am super excited about! I am trying to take advantage of all of the culture classes available as I know that I will most likely never get an opportunity quite like this one.

Art and Culture in Munich

This is my second blog post from Munich and today I want to talk about the art and culture in this historic city. Munich has a very nice art museum called the Neue Pinakothek, which I visited this past week, and there are truly some stellar works of art in this place. Lots of paintings by the greats of the past few centuries, like Van Gogh and Monet. And there’s a lot of great paintings of the local landscape done by relatively famous artists from Germany.

A very nice relief of Cupid riding a panther

Besides the great art, I also got to experience some local culture when I visited the English Garden with some friends. The English Garden is the largest city park in the world, and thousands of people spend time there every day to relax and unwind. Generally these people go about scantily clad (with the apparent motive of sunbathing) or wearing nothing at all. I confess that to me this seemed rather uncouth, and so I refrained from photographing the immodest locals, as I didn’t think it appropriate for this blog.

I did however manage to photograph a more snazzily clad parkgoer, whose dress I deemed appropriate for the blog.

Surfers riding the unbelievably strong current at the English Garden

Another encounter with German culture occurred when I visited the Italian restaurant Eataly with some friends. The food was excellent, and the waiters all spoke Italian, much to the delight of my Italian friend, who stopped every waiter walking by to ask them in Italian for one thing or another.

A massive kebap from the shop in Dachau recommended below (photo includes Henry for size)

I really do consider restaurants like Eataly or the kebap shop in nearby Dachau (which I heartily recommend if you ever find yourself in Munich) to be authentic pieces of German culture, just like I consider Chinese fast food places in America to be authentic pieces of American culture. These are places that locals really do frequent, and I consider them more authentic than places like the open air market, where they sell pretzels and beer, and which is packed full of tourists.

That’s all for today, but I hope you enjoyed this glimpse at the life of an SLA grant recipient in Munich.

Minorities in Jordan

Identify two people who are members of a social/ethnic/racial/economic minority in your country of study. Ask them about their minority status and how they feel that they are treated by the majority members of the community. Note cultural attitudes that influence the treatment of minority communities in your country of study and how these attitudes differ from the US.

A very significant group of minorities in Jordan is the Christians. Christians have inhabited the Middle East for as long as Christianity has existed, and when Jordan was created as a state, the state included Muslims and Christians. Christians and Muslims live together here in Amman and you frequently see mosques and churches next to each other throughout the city. I spoke with two Christians – one a retired businessman and another a student who works at my school – and they both expressed the feeling that they are treated very well in the country and incorporated 100% into its economy and political life. They both expressed gratitude toward the King because the King has always done everything possible to ensure peace and equanimity between Muslims and Christians and to protect their minority rights. In fact many Muslims in Jordan are very proud of how Jordan society incorporates minority groups – not just Christians, but also Palestinians. These feelings are somewhat different from attitudes in the USA. One of the reasons the attitudes between Muslims and Christians in Jordan are different is that it is very difficult for Jordanian Muslims to say that Jordanian Christians should “go home” or anything like that – since they have lived there forever. In the US of course you frequently hear calls for Muslims or other minority groups to “go home” and this is because of a different history. Muslims have been present in the USA of course since the very beginning of the country but most Americans do not realize this.

Democracy in Amman

This is a brief blog post on the recent protests and political changes that took place here in Amman. Amman, and Jordan as a whole, is struggling economically right now – although the city remains vibrant. One of the economic issues is how to create jobs for the increasing number of college graduates. Other economic issues include the price of daily living expenses, which have been skyrocketing in the past few years. One of the things Americans, in my opinion, don’t take enough time to think deeply about is how our own actions as a country affect others, and not just immediately, but also for years to come. For example, under Saddam Hussein’s government in Iraq, every Jordanian received free gas from Iraq. This was Iraq’s way of assisting its neighbor and maintaining solidarity, especially as a way of thanking Jordan for all the work it does for Palestinians. Anyways, after the American war in Iraq Jordanians obviously stopped getting free gas and the economy has suffered in many ways since then. Recently the IMF offered some loans to Jordan and Jordan instituted a new income tax law. The new law set off a wave of protests in Amman. The protests were a remarkable thing to see. At one point, the soldiers present at the protests literally found the leader of the protest and they talked about how tired they were. The protestors, in an act of solidarity with their compatriots in the military, agreed to “take a break” and everyone sat down on the ground. Then the soldiers sat down on the ground and everyone took a break. After a while, everyone got back up, protestors kept protesting and the soldiers stood guard. The King ultimately fired the prime minister and hired a new one and formed a new government and they repealed the income tax law. It is often said that democracy does not exist in the Middle East but this was democracy at work. As Americans, we should be very thankful to the Jordanians for all the work they do in this region – including resettling massive numbers of refugees.

The Beginning

It’s always been my dream to walk the streets of Japan and to be able to do so now makes me unbelievably satisfied.

The 13-hour flight from Chicago to Tokyo was just how I imagined–painfully slow. The last three hours were especially difficult because of my motion sickness, and landing did not help with my nausea. However, I was able to sit by the window and thus had the wonderful opportunity to look at the scenery upon my arrival. It was breathtaking.

Before the program started, I was a bit nervous about studying abroad in Japan. I barely studied over the summer, rarely ate seafood, and hardly spoke Japanese on a daily basis. I also knew I was going to miss my family back home. I was looking forward to all three aspects of the HIF Program but was unsure if I would enjoy every aspect.

Having been in Japan for a week now, I must say that the beginning was rough. Traveling from place to place exhausted me. And although we were given free time to explore Tokyo and Hakodate, I napped for the majority of it until the placement exam. Of course, I did visit the onsen and convenience stores but did not walk as much compared to other HIF students. I have also heard of the intensity of the program, but the workload still surprised me. Even now, I am still struggling to find a balance between studying and sightseeing.

Settling into my host family’s house, the realization that I was living in a different country suddenly hit me like a fast curve ball that I never saw coming. The unfamiliarity of the environment and the people overwhelmed me to the point where I shed tears in my room.

However, my host family has been so understanding and so open-minded and so kind. Before moving in, my biggest worry was leaving leftovers behind (I’m particularly picky with my food); I did not want to be rude in any way towards my host family because they allowed me to reside in their home whilst abroad. But my host mom reassured me that leftovers are “OK~!” Fortunately, every breakfast and dinner has been absolutely delicious. My favorite moments so far have been making gyoza and takoyaki together. But cow tongue for dinner was definitely the best meal! I highly recommend it!!

Trying new things is part of the study abroad experience, and so I should not shy away from expanding my food palette and visiting new places. Although the beginning might have been a bit difficult, the story still continues, and, in my opinion, it’s the ending that really determines the experience abroad.

Siena Week 3- Feelings about the US (?)

I personally haven’t noticed a great difference in my language skills between week 2 and week 3 but everyone around me confirms that I have made major improvements. During class I am no longer nervous to speak out or voice my opinion during conversation. I love the program I am enrolled in because it really forces you to step out of your comfort zone. In class we converse about real issues that are interesting and thought provoking and sometimes a little difficult to talk about or translate clearly. Common topics include: politics, religion, and sexuality. These exercises have been so vital to my language learning process because no matter how hard you try there is no simple way to explain why you think “religion should or should not be taught in school”. It really forces you to articulate yourself. Sometimes it’s frustrating because I don’t know how to accurately translate my feelings but it’s also fun because it challenges me to rethink my message and phrase it in a way that I can explain. It’s been a really eye-opening experience because not only am I rephrasing my opinion grammatically but in a way I’m also challenging myself to view that topic from a different perspective.

This week I was able to expand my knowledge of the Italian film industry at school. We watched “Bevenuti al Sud” and it was the cutest movie I’d ever seen. It was interesting to see the exaggerated stereotypes of Southern Italy. I’ve been to Sicily a few times and I never thought it was that much different from the rest of Italy, but man was I wrong. Then again, as far as I’ve seen, each region of Italy seems to be entirely different. From different foods typical to that region, to different dialects and accents. I can’t register different dialects or accents yet. I just assume when someone is speaking and I don’t understand what they are saying it’s because I wasn’t paying attention or am unfamiliar with the specific vocabulary but in reality that person is speaking in a dialect which is comparable to entirely different language in itself.

I purchased and began reading my first Italian book and I am excited to say I have only 10 pages left to go! The book is for “young adults” but I am so happy because aside from a few words here and there that I need to translate, I understand the storyline. I am planning to purchase another one soon! I would love to stock up on Italian books to bring to America.

Outside of the class room I did some more exploring around the city and surrounding areas. I discovered Siena’s botanical gardens and I had planned to do some work there, but sadly it started to rain soon and my stay was cut short. Either way it was remarkable. The garden stretched over the side of a large hill and had everything from tropical to desert plants. My favorite part was a small little pond at the bottom of the hill filled with water lilies and little frogs.

Saturday I visited Pisa for the first time and it was incredible! The tower was miraculous as well as “Il Duomo”. It was beautiful in an inexplicable way. I was just so lucky this weekend because Pisa was celebrating one of its Patron Saints with the “Luminara di San Ranieri”. Around 11pm all the lights surrounding the Arno River were turned off and the city was illuminated by thousands of candles that surrounded windows and doors of the buildings and edifices along the river. It was spectacular. Around 11:30pm the fire work show on the river began and it was truly a once in a life time experience.

For my community interaction task last week, I decided to ask native Italians their feelings about the United States of America. The general consensus seemed to be the following. Everyone I consulted with agreed America is a country they would very much like to visit. The United States is home to all environments from hot, cold, mountainous, beaches, lakes, deserts, big cities and more. There is something for everyone in the United States. America is unique because there is a great sense of patriotism that is not custom to other countries. Americans are usually proud of where they come from and hold a very strong national identity. Italians think it is beautiful how richly diverse America is. There is no foundational tradition or no real “American Culture” more so the “America Culture” is a melting pot of all cultures. One thing that seemed to be a big problem for most people I spoke with was the air of hypocrisy of Americans. Americans pride themselves on the idea of freedom yet the Country was founded on manipulation of people and forced labor. They are very keen on American news and see that racism is STILL a large issue that America is dealing with. No country is perfect and everyone I spoke with is very aware of that and so despite America’s flaws they still really enjoy the America tradition and would someday like to experience it themselves.