Category: Uncategorized

It has been almost two weeks since I arrived in Barcelona. I am getting used to the tempo of the city and better understand the cultures the city hosts. Until now, being a student in Barcelona has been a fascinating experience. I am taking long walks to observe different neighborhoods in the city. I could observe one common thing in all communities I have seen so far. People in Barcelona value time differently. In this short reflection piece, I will share how locals take their time to do things. 

As I observe, locals of Barcelona rarely rush. They do not feel the need to speed up while preparing or eating their food. They take long coffee breaks. They talk and listen to each other literally for hours. In short, they usually like to take their time and enjoy their everyday activities. 

The way locals approach time management has been quite unusual for me. So, as a student/researcher, I wanted to understand what locals think about my observation. I asked a few locals why they do not rush in their everyday life. I received fascinating answers. But one of the answers I received was strikingly interesting. I was told that “there is no Spanish fast food. Of course, you can find so-called fast food in Spain, but that is not really Spanish food. Spaniards like having enough time for eating and drinking.” As people do not rush in their everyday life, there is often more time for interpersonal dialogues.   

Local’s approach to investing sufficient time in doing things can also be observed in the historical architecture. Spain, particularly Barcelona, is known for its beautiful architecture. Yet, I was not expecting to see the exterior walls of many old buildings be so beautifully decorated. Almost in all streets, you can spot at least one or more buildings elaborately decorated. Whenever I look at the impressive buildings of Barcelona, I think about the time and labor invested in constructing them. Even the buildings of the University where I am taking my language courses are nicely decorated. This aesthetic dimension of the environment makes everyday life pleasurable. So, the people of Barcelona have long conversations in beautiful settings.  

The importance of having sufficient time also shapes my class schedules and the pedagogical approach at the language school I am attending. My current Spanish teachers rarely rush from one topic to another. Teachers make sure that students not only understand the grammar structure but also have sufficient time to practice phrases. This approach really helps me to feel more comfortable speaking Spanish with locals. 

Sometimes it’s hard to remember that I’m about to start 8 weeks of intensive Japanese training as the St. Joseph river flows under the South Bend sun as it always does in front of my window. My Japanese summer workshop at Indiana University is virtual, therefore, on top of the missed opportunity of visiting Japan, there’s also no immersive Japanese environment ready for me. I have therefore been thinking about what to do to aid my language and culture studies, and to make the experience at home more like a journey.

My fiancé suggested watching Japanese anime every day. But let’s face it, with 4 hours of live sessions every weekday, plus homework time, and time I need for graduate school TA and reading tasks, anime sounds like a luxury. I realized that I can’t add new activities to my day, but merely add Japanese elements to what I already do on a daily basis. Bingo! I can try making Japanese food.

I’m adding a picture to this blog post, and it’s of my attempt at making a Japanese poke bowl. I used Japanese white rice bought in a south bend Asian market for the base, and Japanese soy sauce for the dressing. The most important, and also the most tricky part of making this poke bowl was making the onsen tamago (温泉卵), a traditional Japanese low-temperature egg. I made sure that the water in the pot was around 70 °C and left the egg in there for 30 minutes when I replied to a couple of emails. As you can see in the picture, the onsen tamago turned out legit! Now that I’m fueled by the yummy poke bowl, I’m even more looking forward to learning the Japanese language and culture this summer by taking classes and also by searching for Japanese recipes to try my hands at them.

(Written last week)
Hello all! My name is Benjamín, and I am preparing for my independent Portuguese language study in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Currently, I am in São Paulo for an NDI study abroad program focused on Brazil’s social mosaic, comprised of its ethnic, racial, and cultural diversity. I decided to do this study abroad right before my independent study in Rio because I wanted a brief introduction to Brazil through an intensive English-language course in order to have a better understanding of the country’s background. Nonetheless, all of the paulistanos say that the cities’ cultures are very different.

Being in São Paulo has only heightened my excitement to go to Rio on my own. The Cidade Maravilhosa, as it is called, is a cultural hub for the country with a rich history. Because Rio is home to so many treasures of Brazilian culture, I expect a culturally immersive time there to teach me in ways a classroom never could. For instance, I expect to be able to feel the liveliness of Rio’s samba, the fierceness of its capoeira, the heat of its sun, the power of its street art, and the beauty of its landscape in a way no textbook could summarize. Furthermore, I expect to have frequent interactions with cariocas since I will no longer be with the Notre Dame crew. That means I will have a better ability to enjoy their hospitality and learn from and about them.

At the moment, I need my Portuguese to simply be sufficient enough to survive and get by. I want to learn its basic grammatical structures and words used to communicate daily occurrences. However, it is also important to me that I be able to discuss politics and social issues once my Portuguese becomes more advanced. There is an election going on right now, and I would like to be able to generally understand what issues are of most concern to people. This will help me explore topics I would like to research in Portuguese in the future.

My time in São Paulo has felt like cultural whiplash from my semester in DC, and I think Rio might feel even more so like that. That is good and healthy, though; it will help me grow as a person to be able to adapt more to changing environments. I expect to grow in my flexibility and in my ability to self-advocate. My time in DC helped me master my command over my schedule, but I think there, with this newfound independence, I will allow myself to enjoy more spontaneity and cherish the little things that make Brazil what it is.

Until next time!

Benjamín

As my departure to Georgia draws nearer, my time in this beautiful country inches closer and closer to the front of my mind! My courses at Notre Dame have taught me how to read and write in Russian fairly well, and while I am nervous about my speaking skills in this exciting language, I hope that my proficiency in conversation will grow a great amount while spending time in Batumi! Along with this, I am excited to learn about Georgian culture through this immersive program and have even started looking into basic Georgian phrases and customs. While I had originally planned to travel to St. Petersburg, Russia, Batumi looks absolutely amazing and I can’t wait to soak up some sun with the locals, and hopefully will grow close to my host family!

Having never traveled outside of the United States before (except for Victoria, B.C. near my home in Washington state), this will be a great test for me as an individual and an exciting new experience! I can’t wait to experience a different language, culture, and country, and learn about and engage with the Georgian people in Batumi. I am also excited to see how the dynamics of speaking Russian in Georgia play out, and how the Russian tourists interact with Georgian locals. I have been trying to improve some of my listening and reading skills in Russian by watching “Servant of the People” on Netflix, and cannot wait to hear this amazing language in person! I have a little more than a month of waiting to do before lift off: Georgia, I will see you soon!

(May 27, 2022)

I will be traveling to Tours, France to partake in the intensive (21-hour) french language course at the Institut de Touraine. I have traveled to France one time prior to this SLA experience, for an immersion experience in Vichy, France (in December 2021- thanks to funding from the Nanovic Institute). Classroom learning has its positives, but an immersion experience is the best environment for me to learn a language. While our classes at Notre Dame have a combined approach to learning French (e.g. oral, written, reading, and listening comprehension), there is something special and unique about stepping foot in a country and learning by doing. Rather than focusing on basic grammar and vocabulary, I expect to jump right into conversational French. In my past experience, this was extremely difficult but also very rewarding. It allows you to navigate around a city, engage with the people around you, and experience the culture.

I expect to utilize French language skills and intercultural competencies to learn more about French culture. I am a “foodie” so I would love to learn more about food in the Loire Valley of France. Additionally, I hope to take some short day trips to learn more about the culture and history of the Loire Valley. By taking these small trips, I hope to learn how to effectively get around the region, speaking seulement francais. My goal is that by the end of this trip I can more confidently converse with native French speakers. Specifically, I hope that they can understand what I have to say, and vice versa. Being able to engage in everyday conversations at restaurants, cafes, and activities at the Institut de Touraine are my top priorities. There are many opportunities at the Institut de Touraine to speak French with fellow students, but also on a more relaxed level with Professors, during breaks, and during planned activities. In the classroom, and at the mediatheque, I can fine-tune my grammatical skills, oral, and written comprehension. But the best way to improve my spoken skills will be when I am thrown into settings where I must speak french.

Additionally, since I am in the Masters of Global Affairs program at the Keough School (focused on Peace and Conflict Studies with the Kroc Institute), I also hope to learn more about international relations and diplomacy by reading “Le Monde diplomatique” en francais (which is available at the Institut de Touraine mediatheque) . I think that this will challenge me to start thinking about the news from a French/European perspective. It will be helpful for me to be able to read and understand French news in the future, as much of international diplomatic relations take place in French (e.g. in Brussels or Geneva with the UN Headquarters and European Union Headquarters). I plan to get to a point during my time here where I can engage in conversation about these topics, in French. These competencies will also help me better engage with people from French-speaking countries around the world.

I am looking forward to this immersion experience, and am grateful for the support of the Center for the Study of Languages and Culture, the Keough School of Global Affairs, and the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. 

– Emma Jackson, Master Student in Global Affairs and International Peace Studies

Armed with lots of rain gear, the strongest bug spray I could find, and my optimistically basic Spanish conversational skills, I’m finally ready to spend my summer in the oldest still-inhabited city in this hemisphere. Instead of spending another summer coaching my swim team in the suburbs of Western NY, I’ll be intensively studying Spanish for six hours a day in Cusco, Peru. I’m thrilled to have this opportunity and excited to meet my host family and make new friends, although I know that over the next few weeks I’ll have to adjust to more than just the extra 11,000 feet of altitude.

Without even arriving at Cusco, I’m already blown away by its Wikipedia page alone. The original Incan city wall is built in the shape of a puma. The city’s ancient indigenous architecture and engineering is said to be some of the most advanced of its time, despite the Incan people not having a written alphabet. The nearby Lake Titicaca, which I plan to visit, is comparable in size to the Great Lakes and is dotted with manmade floating islands, built out of taro roots by native tribes that are older than the Parthenon. I’ll be in the city for ten weeks, and I hope that’s enough time to see every single church, museum, temple, and cultural event I can find.

One event that I’m very excited for is the festival of Inti Raymi, a week-long Incan celebration of the sun god that will take place around the summer solstice (and my birthday!) in June. I have no idea what to expect from this festival, but I can’t wait. I’m also eager to make friends with students from all over the world, which is a unique benefit of going into my program alone. Having a host family in Cusco means that I’ll be surrounded by Peruvian language, food, music, and traditions at all times, which will be amazing, and I want to see my Spanish skills transform over my time here. On top of all this, I’ll be only a short drive from Machu Picchu, one of the wonders of the world.

Ten weeks from now, I hope that I will have a completely different understanding of Peru, its history and its people than I do now. I hope that I’ll be able to have a full conversation in Spanish with my host family, who I meet tomorrow. I’m excited to take my newfound knowledge, interests, and hopefully a few recipes home to my family and friends. !Hasta luego, Buffalo!

T-Minus four days until my flight to Germany!! I am so excited but am running out of time to complete errands. Even though I leave on Saturday, everything feels very distant yet urgent all at once. As I am only bringing a backpack, I do not even know if all of my clothes will fit. My baggage situation is my fault, yet I know it will be easier when I travel. 

Since I am a professional overthinker, I’ve dissected too many possibilities about my German intensive course. After pushing myself in my last German class, the complete immersion will support my foundational German, so that I become a competent German speaker. Between the course and the homestay, my speaking abilities will grow and help me in future German courses; moreover, I’m living with two other students with different first languages, so I can practice German with them. When I stayed with a host family for only two weeks in high school, my German oral and comprehension skills greatly improved; thus, my skills will hopefully progress.

My time abroad will focus my learning on my pronunciation and grammar skills, so I can easily use them in real life. I hope my German skills improve, so that I can enjoy museums and other historical landmarks in the original language. While English may be offered at different cultural events, utilizing my German skills will enhance my experiences. I think the complete separation from a familiar environment will broaden my perspective about cultural ideas and help me become more independent. Moreover, the time away will build my confidence in myself, as my summer completely depends on my actions – I can determine my activities, catering to my preferences. This summer, I am excited for my growth and development and cannot wait to share everything. 

It is just a few days before I head out to Chile, and I am getting more excited and nervous by the day. I have no idea what to expect, and I know I will be challenged in many ways. I am a beginner at Spanish and have never been in a setting where I have to use a different language on a daily basis. I am worried that I will struggle in basic daily tasks and events but I know that is what it takes to improve. I am so excited to meet my host family and I wonder what it will be like getting to know them. I wonder how long it will take me to be comfortable speaking Spanish. I am preparing to go into a place full of unknowns. I cannot wait to see all the growth that I go through throughout the next several weeks