Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Shantel Simmons Krasnoyarsk, Russia Summer 2012


So Much to Tell…
The Church of Spilled Blood, Saint Petersburg
                It is impossible to know where to start describing my study abroad experience with the University of Utah, because so much happened in such a short time!  I could start with the new friends that I met and will never forget, or the delicious food that I ate every day, or the excursions around the cities and across the country.  I could start with my incredible host family and how my language skills improved immensely thanks to the classes and full immersion, or even the crazy things that happened to me while I was away from home!  But I think I will just begin with my Russian adventure in general and the fact that I still cannot believe I spent two months living and travelling around that beautiful and massive country, while meeting some of the most incredible people along the way.
A statue of Shakespeare in New York
                The adventure really began at the Salt Lake City airport when I met up with my flight buddy.  It was amazing how easily we got along and how we had so much in common!  From then on she became my travel buddy, by rooming buddy, my shopping buddy, and my talking buddy.  Neither of us had ever been to New York, which was our first stop.  I have no other way to explain it except for insanity, but we thought (for some reason) that it would be a good idea to take a taxi into the city and see some sights during our nine-hour layover.  Just as a side I should probably specify that we had just packed our lives in our luggage and our carry-ons weighed as much as we did. Essentially our little trip consisted of a few pictures, a lot of sitting, walking, and more sitting, along with the realization that we knew very little about American poetry.  The next thing we knew we were on a ten-hour flight to our destination—Mother Russia.
Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Moscow
A monument in the Moscow Expo Center
                Upon arrival we were regretting how much we packed as we made our way through the underground tunnels, stairs (hate stairs), and escalators of the infamous Moscow metro.  We could hardly focus as we admired the beautiful architecture and artwork that filled the ceilings and halls.  Soon, with the help of our generous friends, we made it to the hostel.  During the next few days we anxiously anticipated flying to Siberia from Moscow and meeting our new host families for the next two months, but our director Yulia was not about to let us sit around and wait—it was time to see the city! If you do not already know, the speed of Russian walking is equivalent to American jogging, but the sites of Moscow were too breathtaking to complain.  We saw the Kremlin, St. Basil’s Cathedral, Lenin’s body, the Church of Christ the Savior, and much more.  It was an incredible experience, but nothing compared to what we would encounter in Krasnoyarsk.
A toilet we paid to use in Irkutsk, Siberia
The Kremlin, Moscow

                When we flew into the city we could not believe our eyes as lush green trees and mountains replaced the monuments and buildings of Moscow.  We drove to our new university for the summer and met the most wonderful woman who became our close friend and mentor.  It was sad to see all of my friends leave for their new adventures with their host families, and even more sad that my family did not come to get me!  It turned out they lived very close to the university and once I got to their home (and freaking way delicious Russian food was on the table for me), I realized my decision to study abroad to Russia with the University of Utah was the best decision I had probably ever made.  My new family spoke no English and they LOVED to talk!  Every evening we talked for hours, listened to music, watched Russian television, met with their friends, family, and neighbors, and went on our own excursions together.  It was incredibly sad when I had to leave for a week to go to Lake Baikal (which was possibly the most awesome excursion in history ever), and it was literally devastating when we had to finally say good bye.  After Krasnoyarsk my new group of friends and I travelled to St. Petersburg, which is one of the most culturally astounding and beautiful cities in the world, and then back to Moscow where we bought souvenirs and prepared for our journey home.  I will never forget this study abroad experience and I will return to Russia again, so I hope my flight buddy is ready when I decide to leave again.
A sunset in Krasnoyarsk
                 
               

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Cameron Rowe, Oviedo Spain, Spring 2012



Three Americans, two Germans, and a Brit


Last Spring semester I studied abroad in Oviedo, Spain for five months. I got back in June, which means I have now been back for as long as I was away, which is a strange thought for a few reasons. I feel like my time in Spain flew by; it was over in the blink of an eye. At the same time it seems like last semester happened years ago, in some distant past. This may seem contradictory but it goes along perfectly with how I’ve come to see studying abroad.

Exploring Segovia, another part of Spain


Everyone asks me how my semester abroad was, what it was like to live in Spain, and the best way I’ve found to answer that is that “it was everything.” The best I can put it, my experience has been that studying abroad is superlatively everything, always. My semester was invariably the most difficult, most frustrating, most exciting, most overwhelming, fun, uneventful, ridiculous, incredible, trying, and rewarding six months of my young life. And this was all every day. There were no swings from good days to bad—although the culture shock charts they give you are so accurate. 



Annie enjoying chocolate.





As an example, my friend Annie and I had been out for a walk on a rainy Sunday afternoon and after a while we were so cold and wet we decided to stop into a café for a warm drink. We ended up indulging in ourselves in chocolates combinados. I should explain that in Spain they don’t just have hot chocolate like chocolate milk that is warm; they have drinking chocolate which is like melting a delicious chocolate bar and drinking it out of a mug.
 On top of this, even, ours had different flavoring added and whipped cream on top. My point is they were absolutely decadent and delectable and so perfect on this dreary, wet afternoon. However, as we should have known well enough to come to expect, just as we were reflecting on how lovely these treats were, we noticed a pigeon just exploring this café. And what’s more, no one else seemed to notice or care that a dirty bird was just hopping and flittering about around their feet. Spain is the best and the worst. Every experience you have is somehow just so wonderful and so awful at the same time, and it’s difficult to explain this to someone who is not a part of it without sounding like you’re just complaining about everything. You’re really not. I promise, you grow to love and miss the things you hated most. I hated how much it rained and having to make new friends in a second language, the terribly dubbed Spanish TV, the lack of punctuality. But mostly I loved these things and now I just miss them. I know it sounds clichéd but my experience abroad literally changed my life. I can’t believe all the wonderful people I met and things I got to do. It has altered my focus of study, my career path, and my plans for my future. In conclusion, Spain is the worst place in the world and I cannot wait until I can get myself back there.
Pigeon

Utah Girls in the fair city of Oviedo

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Robin C-- Amman, Jordan, Fall 2012


 The Following is a blog post from a student currently on a program in Amman, Jordan.

I traveled to Amman, Jordan for the Fall semester in order to complete an international internship with the Hinckley Institute of Politics. I was placed with the Ministry of Social Development, working within government institutions in Jordan. My original intent in studying abroad was to buff up my resume, complete an academic requirement for my major, and gain some practical experience speaking Arabic. The work that I have been doing has been very gratifying; I teach English in an orphanage two days a week, teach in a women’s shelter two days, and spend the final day at the Ministry office doing social research. I have grown a lot with my work here. In a few short months, I feel like I am much more independent, adaptable, and willing to take a leadership role. My Arabic has improved by leaps and bounds, and I feel much more comfortable communicating in a cross-cultural environment and overcoming language barriers. What took me by surprise though is that I gained much more from my life outside of work than I did from my actual program.

This was my first time traveling outside of the United States, discounting a day trip to Canada when I was twelve. I grew up in a small town in Idaho, and my idea of a grand adventure was moving to the East coast for a couple years. I put on a brave face as I went about my planning, but honestly, living in the Middle East was far outside my comfort zone, particularly since the program I chose required me to arrange the logistics, such as housing and travel arrangements, on my own. I was lucky to have so many people to support me. The Hinckley Institute connected me with a prior intern who loved Jordan enough to remain an additional year, and the help he and his wife provided was indispensable. Still, it was a major challenge for me to learn to navigate life in Amman. One moment that stands out occurred my second night in Jordan, I went into a restaurant by myself to order dinner, and literally froze. I was so overwhelmed! It was the first of many deer-in-the-headlights moments.

Amazingly though, within weeks I felt completely at ease. After 2 months here, there are honestly moments that I forget I’m halfway around the world. Life has started to feel normal here. I’m sure this is largely in part due to the quality of people I have met here. Everyone in Jordan has been fantastic! Within days of arriving, some Iraqi neighbors invited me to dinner, and I became quick friends with their daughter, who is about my age. A week and a half into the trip, I was even invited to attend my landlord’s son’s wedding! Amman is a very international city; I have actually met very few Jordanians here. Everyone is Palestinian, Syrian, Iraqi, or Egyptian. It has created a really interesting mesh of cultures, and a very welcoming environment. It is not unusual for a local girl to introduce herself to me in the street or at a café and offer an Arabic/English language exchange. There are plenty of foreigners from outside the region as well. I have a roommate from Honduras, close friends from Sweden and Denmark, and regularly hang out with Australians, Germans, Romanians, and Russians. I am truly getting an international experience!

The city is a perfect blend of ancient history, beautiful nature, and modern amenities. There is always something to do, and rarely time for sleeping. I drive past 2000 year old ruins on my way to work! There is salsa dancing on Thursdays, and organized hikes in the local Wadis every other Friday or so. Jerash, an ancient Roman city, is only an hour drive North, and luxury beach resorts are an hour South at the Dead Sea. With only two months left, I still have so much left on my list of things to do! Crusader castles to the East, Petra (one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World), Wadi Rum, and the Red Sea in the far South, and Jerusalem, only a short drive from Amman. And that’s just the start of the list!

Living abroad has certainly had its hard moments, but now that I have a taste for it, I almost don’t want to go home! It makes me feel like a stronger person knowing that I can not only survive on my own in a foreign environment, but I can thrive here. I can’t really think of any blatantly negative experiences that I’ve had in Jordan. Even the moments I struggled to figure something out, there was a lesson in it, and the task was easier the next time. In times of doubt, there was always someone to call for help. I can honestly say one of the best decisions I’ve made has been to come to Jordan, and I am already scheming to come back next summer!