Author: agliwa

Submitted by Ceara Stewart on the 2019 fall semester study abroad program in Barcelona, Spain…

These past few weeks have been filled with a lot of adventures, new experiences and a little bit of apprehension.

Week 4, we went to Zaragoza. It was a weekend trip filled with a huge amount of history. We visited the Palacio de la Aljafería, a palace that has been between the hands of the Christians and Muslims for centuries. It is here I got to further my knowledge of the territorial struggle and architectural change that came to Spain through various years of Christian and Muslim rule. We also visited the Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar and toured the remaining Roman ruins. Coincidentally, we happened to go to Zaragoza during the beginning of their week long festival celebrating La Señora del Pilar.

On our way back from Zaragoza, we stopped in the town of Belchite. This town holds the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. As we walked among the ruins, we learned about the the destruction of the town and the lives that had been lost. The town is preserved today because Franco wanted to remind his opposers what lengths he would go to create a Spain in his vision. To us, it was a reminder of the horrors that Franco put his citizens through. Coincidentally, during my 5th week in Barcelona, it was announced that Franco’s body will be removed from his tomb and moved to the town where he was born. This helped give closure to families still mourning those Franco killed.

Week 6 is interesting. On Monday, news came out that the political prisoners from the 2017 Referendum were sentenced to many years in prison. This sparked a fury in the Catalan citizens who favor independence. Throughout the weeks, protests have caused public transport to be majorly effected. At night, trash bins and cars are set on fire. During the day, the streets are filled with people shouting for the freedom of the prisoners and the need for independence. Throughout the region of Catalonia, people have been marching towards Barcelona and today the highways were filled with masses of people and most streets were shut down. Police were sent from Madrid and at times the demonstrations get brutal. Classes have been affected too and yesterday the school canceled classes even ones which had midterm exams because of fear of demonstrations. Thankfully, most of these protests are peaceful and they should be over by the end of the week.

I can say though that I am “lucky” to be here during a time when politics are anything, but set. I get to see first hand the effects of taxation without representation and the political unrest that results from it. For those wanting independence it is a long road ahead, but for us outsiders, we have really gotten to appreciate our time here and we are excited to see what occurs in the next couple of months.

 

 

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Submitted by Zachary Shulman on the 2019 fall semester DIS program in Copenhagen, Denmark…

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity, and as I reflect on their contribution to my semester, I realize that in two months’ time, I will be boarding my flight back home. Therefore, I consider this blog post to be uniquely important to the overall perspective I will have at the conclusion of the semester. I am not only writing these to provide advice and insight to students who currently, or intend to, study abroad; my second motivation is to provide for myself a sort of cartography of thoughts that have influenced my perception of Copenhagen as a city, Denmark as a country, my place within them, and who I will be upon my return to the United States.

Studying in an unfamiliar environment is a unique opportunity to grow as a person, and not exclusively in an academic context. Alongside European politics, I have been searching for ways to learn more about myself. This semester has presented me with challenges for which I was not prepared in a country I had never visited. Unlike my experience in Rome, before which I was able to meet the other attending students, I entered this program with a  clean social slate. This was both an exciting and intimidating venture; never before since kindergarten had I been placed in a situation so unfamiliar as this.

So how did the last two weeks profoundly change the course of this semester? There were two main functions they performed, with each week taking on a respective function. The second of these past two weeks was quite eventful in a more academic context. A staple facet of the DIS Copenhagen program is the long study tour, which is a week-long trip to another country in Europe full of experiential learning. For my study tour, I visited Brussels, Belgium, which is the capital of the EU. We were so fully immersed in European politics last week that even our hotel was just down the road from some of the most important EU institutions. We toured most of them, as well as the European External Action Service, a European think tank, and conducted interviews with European diplomats and lobbyists.

The effect of last week manifested in a tendency of the college experience I have noticed since freshmen year, but never occurred in such a concentrated dose. When you choose your major in college, you are typically informed by a broad interest in a given field, without much knowledge about what effect that degree will have on your relationship with that field or your future aspirations. I have noticed throughout my four and a half semesters that learning new information, of any quantity, can revolutionize the way you perceive that topic. Any given reading, lecture, or conversation can create a paradigm shift, opening up brand new avenues of thought. The most effective catalyst for this type of change, of course, is experiencing it firsthand, and that is what last week was all about.

The most interesting stop on the trip was the European External Action Service, which is the primary institution through which the EU member-states can express a collective opinion regarding a development in international politics. It does not, however, supplant each country’s individual foreign policy, as that would constitute a major shift of sovereignty from the national to the supranational level. However, within the scope of issues that the EU faces as a whole, the EEAS serves to provide effective and immediate responses. We heard from a few select speakers who were surprisingly conversational in their approach to the lecture. Ultimately, they touched on their various topics with a degree of casualness and nuance atypical of political discussions.

The second effect these weeks had on me kicked in when I came to terms with a permanent sense of solitude. This is not to say that I do not have reliable, consistent friends here with whom I regularly communicate. However, given the distance of my homestay from the city center and the unfortunately short length of the semester, I have found myself growing more comfortable in the time I am able to spend alone. I genuinely believe that young people, especially in this generation of kids that have grown into adults with the constant power of connection at their fingertips, to truly understand the meaning of solitude. I do not mean physical separation, but a social separation as well. I implore my peers to take purposeful breaks from their communication with and company of others, and use that time discover themselves.

Sometimes it can feel in my situation as though this social separation is involuntary, and that my unique situation here has forced my stifled ability to make connections. This feeling only arises, however, out of the unnecessary comparison of myself to others in different situations. Some people make fast friends; others take time. Some are socially advantaged by living alongside their peers; I chose to live with a Danish family and receive a more culturally holistic experience. Contextual factors must be taken into consideration if you are to find satisfaction and comfort in your situation and fully appreciate the experiences and opportunities that you have. This may require a bit of “trial by fire”, and the pressure can get heavy. Only after this process is complete will you be able to look back and recognize just how far you came, how much you grew, and how deeply you developed as a person. And it will all have been worth it.

Submitted by Nicole Caracciolo on the 2019 fall semester study abroad program in Barcelona, Spain…

On Sunday, I took a dance class in Madrid by myself. I was in London for the weekend with my friends and flew into Madrid from London, took the class, and then took a train home to Barcelona. This was the first time I have ever traveled alone before, so I was a little bit nervous, but mostly excited to navigate my way alone. I waited too late to leave for the airport on Sunday morning and just barely made my flight in time. I totally underestimated how long it would take me to get to the airport, plus security lines and time to get to my gate and terminal, from my hostel. I had to take a bus to the train, then a train to the airport, and then a shuttle to my terminal, and was extremely anxious the entire time. I was truly petrified I would miss my flight and completely worked myself up over it. With literally minutes to spare, I made it to my gate as more than half the plane had already boarded the flight. I learned from that experience to always make sure I am aware of how long it will take me to get to the airport in countries I am unfamiliar with, especially when I am alone. I was lucky this time, but I was very close to not being so.

Submitted by Haleigh Kidd on the 2019 fall semester program in Paris, France…

I wanted to take the opportunity of this blog to talk again about the richness of the peripheral areas of Europe rather than the main cities Americans usually think about first. Much like LA and New York are major destinations in America, they hardly reflect daily life in other regions of the country. I think of Paris like this often, too, it is a big metropolitan city, a world tourism destination, and it holds a host of work opportunities. But there is truly no other city like Paris in the rest of France. The rest of France holds cities and regions with very distinct cultures, styles, architectures and even languages – no I don’t mean dialects, I mean entirely different languages. France especially is rich in these ancient regional languages that have since been overtaken by French as a national language, but these languages have existed for centuries before France was even a country, some such as Alsatian, Occitan, Breton, and Basque, which are respectively Germanic, Gallo-Iberian, Gaelic, and Basque is even a language-isolate entirely unrelated to any Indo-European languages. This past weekend, I had the chance to learn more about the Alsatian language and culture in Strasbourg, and even had the chance to speak to an Alsatian couple. It was quite a unique experience as Strasbourg has switched from German to French property 6 times since the medieval times. We often think of European countries being these very old and established places with distinct cultures, but that’s not quite right, every country has a fluid culture with many variations within its own borders, especially AT the borders where you get a very unique mixture of people and ways of life. So this week, I will share some pictures of Strasbourg in hopes that when you think of France next time, it is not always Paris that comes straight to mind.

 

Submitted by Daniel Bailey on the 2019 fall semester study abroad program in Granada, Spain…

This past weekend, I went with a few friends to explore the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. It was a nice change of pace to see life outside of the city. With only minimal confusion, we took a public bus to the town of Monachil, right on the edge of the mountains. Before we reached the trails, we walked past a few small, run-down houses with tin roofs and lots of land to grow food and raise animals. This type of life is so different from the one in Granada, and definitely from the life I know in the United States. Part of the reason why I love traveling so much is not always to see all of the big tourist attractions and take photos for social media, but to actually see and experience what life is like in other parts of the world. This may sound like a cliché, but doing so has helped put my own life in perspective and allowed me to see the privileges I’ve been given in life, and to not take them for granted.

We hiked for a couple of hours and took in the beautiful scenery of the mountains. The trail had all sorts of terrain, including muddy slopes along the river, long and shaky bridges, and narrow crawl spaces between rocks. This trip was a great break from the city life that I have become accustomed to ans coming back home to Granada after a long day feels like a sigh of relief. And as I had said in my last blog, Granada really does feel just like that: home.

 

Submitted by Lia Naselli on the 2019 fall semester program in Prague, Czech Republic…

It seems almost impossible that I am almost halfway through my semester abroad. I have absolutely fallen in love with Prague, and it is starting to hit me that I will have to leave soon. Lately, I’ve been feeling like I haven’t seen or done enough with my time here. The stress of school and midterms is really starting to wear me out, so sometimes it is hard to muster up the energy to venture outside my apartment. However, this past Friday, my friends and I decided to go hiking. We thought it would be good for us to get some fresh air and exercise, and to get a change of scenery from the busy city.

We discovered a hiking trail in a small town called Karlštejn, which is about a 40-minute train ride from Prague. It is a quaint, quiet town with a large castle at the top of the hill. The hiking trail starts at the castle and goes all the way through the next town, Mořina. We actually ended up getting lost at the start of our journey. We went completely off-trail and had to climb up very steep, muddy hills to find our way back. It was a little scary at first, but we had some good laughs! The views along the way were definitely worth it. I’m so glad we went and got to experience the more rural part of the Czech Republic. This trip definitely made me want to explore more of this beautiful country.

Submitted by Caitlin Werner on the 2019 fall semester study abroad program in Granada, Spain…

This past week went by so quick! Over the weekend, a few friends and I took a trip to the Sierra Nevada Mountains and hiked the popular Los Cahorros Trail. It was a perfect day for it since due to the Spanish holiday many stores were closed. The adventure of finding the right bus stop to get to the town of Monachil was almost as difficult as the hike. We hiked many miles and saw many beautiful views of the mountains. My favorite part was going over the hanging bridges. It was nice to get out of the city for a few hours and just enjoy nature and the fresh air.

 

Submitted by Emily Gray on the 2019 fall semester program in Prague, Czech Republic…

Nearing the halfway point of my time here, I have begun to reflect on how different my life here has been. I have met so many new people, seen so many places, and done things I never dreamed of doing. However, I think it’s important to remind myself that I do not have to be doing something every minute that I’m here. I’ve talked to a lot of my peers, and we all share a sense of guilt when we take a night in to watch Netflix or read a book. And that’s understandable, we want to make the most of our time here. Yet, we must also acknowledge our own personal needs. For instance, this past weekend was amazing. I went to a medieval city, saw my first ever opera, and befriended people from other countries. While this weekend was brilliant, I found myself incredibly drained from it. I needed time to decompress and be alone for a while.

Living in a new country can take a lot out of you. Tasks like going to the market are infinitely more difficult when you don’t know the language, and it’s easy to get lost or confused. It’s only logical, then, to feel exhausted sometimes. The fear of missing out is strong in Delaware, but it’s so much stronger here. My advice to people studying abroad in the future is to make the most of your time abroad without the constant fear that you should be doing more.

Medieval city of Cesky Krumlov

Submitted by Nicole Caracciolo on the 2019 fall semester study abroad program in Barcelona, Spain…

On Monday of this past week, a girl in my class approached me as we were waiting to go on our field trip asking if I or the girl sitting with me had 1.50 Euros on us. She left all of her money at home by accident and didn’t have a card on her either – failing to realize this after she already ordered a coffee. I, of course, willingly give her all the spare change I had, which was about 1 euro, but the girl sitting with me seemed really reluctant to help her out. She almost seemed annoyed, but she gave her some change anyway. I knew it was the right thing to do to help out our classmate since we are all still getting adjusted to being in a new country and sometimes we have our off days. She was so thankful we were there to help her since no one else around her was a student or spoke English. I know if I was in her situation I would’ve wanted my classmates to do the same thing for me, especially since it was less than 2 Euros she was asking for.

We spent the weekend in Zaragoza, Spain with the Barcelona SAE program. In the background is the Cathedral of Pilar.