Category: Europe

Submitted by Troy Flagler on the 2016 spring semester program in Tuscany, Italy…

During my first week abroad in Volterra, Italy, I’ve realized one major threat to the community here in Volterra. That would be the decline of Volterra’s population to the extent that the people of the town now fear the town’s inability to sustain itself. Currently, there are approximately 10,500 people living in the town of Volterra. It has decreased from about 14,000 people ten years ago, according to Signor Rossi, of Rossi’s Alabaster Shop. The Rossi Family has lived in Volterra for a long time. Mr. Rossi’s father was the man who led the excavation of the Roman Theater here in Volterra. Mr. Rossi also said that the town requires  a population size of about 10,000 people in order to hold up its economy and run its hospital, police station and tourist attractions. Mr. Rossi spoke to us on the importance of bringing youth to the town of Volterra so that the town can “remain a living town” in the future. That’s the predominant reason the town gambled $25 million on the founding of SIAF – the campus in which we are staying and studying here in Italy. The people of Volterra hypothesize that the solution lies in education. The school is meant to bring in study abroad students from around the globe so that they can learn all about Volterra and then go back to their own country with this information. The idea is that Volterra must gain further recognition in the world so more tourists will visit the town and more people will immigrate to Volterra. I personally believe that this is a good approach, but it will require time and human effort – two resources dwindling away in this town. I fear that Volterra’s hourglass may be running low and the economy is drying up. We see it in the relatively empty shops, the closure of the psychiatric hospital in 1978 with the layoff of more than 6,000 employees and the downsizing of Smith Bitts – a drill bit manufacturing plant that has laid off more than 200 people to date. During my time here in Volterra, I will be conducting a fair amount of field work with my professor Dr. Jim Kendra and my classmate Rachel Crow in order to seek solutions to the threat of a dwindling population in Volterra.

Submitted by Randy Short on the 2016 spring semester program in Tuscany, Italy…

After arriving in London and finding our hotel, we were able to take the Tube to Piccadilly Circus. It was a nice ride, but Piccadilly on St. Patrick’s Day is a bit disorienting. Club recruiters kept trying to sell us from off the street and we just wanted to find a place to eat! We finally did, but the exchange rate really does make it expensive. But, it was a good meal with my friends and I’m excited for the next day.

The next day, we were able to see everything in London, it was great! What helped the most was the tube, which was actually very easy to figure out. With our oyster passes, we probably used the Tube at least 25 times. We saw Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, then went back to Buckingham to see the changing of the guard. It was hard to see because it was behind a gate. I saw a changing of the guard ceremony in Ottawa, and it was a nice open field where everyone could see perfectly. I heard that they were in front of the gate, but changed it due to security and annoying tourists. It really is unfortunate that a ceremony like this is lessened because of modern changes, but that is the volatility of tourism. Afterwards, we saw the beautiful Tower Bridge. We ate at a pub for happy hour so food was so cheap! Later, we went and enjoyed the London Eye and had a great view of the city! We finished with St. Paul’s then went to bed quickly afterwards.

Submitted by Troy Flagler on the 2016 spring semester program in Tuscany, Italy…

This week we met with the prison director of Volterra. The prison director is a very unique woman with a futuristic take on prisons and their functions. This maximum security prison in Volterra is unlike anything else that we have in America. Here, the prison functions as an active part of the community. The inmates engage in social organizations that tie together the town and the prison itself. There is a restaurant in which the prisoners prepare the meals and wait tables, a theater where the prisoners put on shows for the local community, and a school where both prisoners and high school students attend classes together. Even though the prison features hardcore criminals (fulfilling a minimum five year sentence), the violence rates as well as the suicide and attempted suicide rates are virtually zero according to the director. She made it evident that her mindset is that the prisoners are still human and should be treated as such. Her prison focuses on rehabilitation rather than detention. Another unique thing about the prison is that certain convicts are granted the right to leave the prison during the day to carry out work in a local restaurant, shop or other business in order to not only earn money, but to have employment upon being released from jail. The idea is that if these people have legitimate work after their prison sentence is over, they will be less likely to conduct other illegal activities and wind up back in jail. In America, prison has unfortunately become a business through privatization. Criminals often times are forced to work so that a private company can use cheap labor to produce products. Another difference is that American prisoners are there to be punished, with little efforts being made to educate and employ these people. We have high rates of violence and suicide in American prisons, which may suggest that a change is due to take place. Perhaps we should analyze the outcomes of the social programs in the prison here in Volterra and apply some of these ideas to our own prisons in America.

Submitted by Nasir Wilson on the 2018 spring semester program in Limerick, Ireland…

This week has been a really crazy week especially with the adjustment to being in class with students from all over the world. The experience is once-in-a-lifetime and I am extremely grateful to be able to have the opportunity.

This picture represents the week that I was having. At first, the weather was really bad and I was not having a great time, but as the week progressed, the weather got progressively better and so did I. I was struggling at first with being away from home and being away from family and friends because this is and will be the longest I have been away from family by myself. It is definitely one of the most difficult journeys I have had to do on my own. I am not necessarily homesick, yet, but there are aspects of American culture that I take/took for granted while I was home.

One of the most significant differences is the food. I am a huge foodie. I love to eat and try new foods from different cultures, but the food here is very different from back home. It is not nasty or gross, but it has a very different taste. Most, if not all, of the food here is organic which is great coming from America where everything is processed, filled with preservatives and additives and other things that are not healthy for us, but the food being organic gives it a very different taste. It is also hard to find food that lasts longer than a few days as a result of the food being organic.

One of the hardest things about here is getting used to the food especially because it expires so quickly, but it is something that I am getting used to each day.

 

Submitted by Robert Ley on the 2015 spring semester DIS (Denmark’s International Study Program) program in Copenhagen, Denmark…

DIS (Danish Institute of International Study) offers numerous DIScovery trips throughout Europe, where you travel with other people on the DIS program and follow an itinerary. I signed up for Czech Trek which was a four day trip to Hrubua Skala, a village in the Czech Republic. We stayed in an old castle that has been repurposed as a hotel. The itinerary included all outdoors activities that were fitting to the beautiful area that is the Czech countryside. The trip was an amazing experience. I have never experienced a wilderness that felt so foreign. The giant rock formations and super tall trees were so interesting and beautiful. When people travel to the Czech Republic, they mostly think of going to Prague, which I have been to also and it is undoubtedly a beautiful city. Yet hidden away in the less touristy areas of the Czech Republic are different kinds of sights that are equally, if not more beautiful.

Submitted by David Yoncha on the 2016 spring semester program in Barcelona, Spain…

Easter just passed, and spring break just finished in Barcelona! My sister came to visit, and after I spent a few days showing her around Barcelona, we travelled to Malaga, Gibraltar, Sevilla  and Lisbon. It was an amazing trip, and I got to see a lot more than what I was exposed to beforehand. This picture is taken from a bus travelling just outside of Tarife, right at the southwest corner of Spain, and you can see Africa in the distance!

Gibraltar also had amazing views of Africa, and it was a very bizarre place that provoked a lot of questions. After hiking up and down the rock, we were naturally very hungry. We had a little bit of time before our bus left for Sevilla, so my sister and I indulged in what was my first truly American meal since arriving in Barcelona three months ago: a “Whopper” from Burger King. Most restaurants in the States have an entryway with two sequential doors, presumably to protects guests from unwanted drafts. This Burger King had no such entryway, and whenever someone entered or exited the restaurant, we experienced an uncomfortable chill. I found myself thinking “In America, we know how to build restaurants the right way, and this would never happen”. I think it was the first time during the semester that I thought of one country as right and another as wrong. Until this point, I had made a conscious effort not to do so, and I maintain that differences between countries, peoples or cultures are oftentimes just differences, and not inherently right and wrong or good and evil. It was probably no coincidence that I was eating in an “American” establishment when I had these thoughts.

Submitted by Olivia Smith on the 2016 spring semester program in Tuscany, Italy…

This week is a little stressful with trying to get all the midterm assignments turned in before spring break that starts on March 17. Along with that, I enjoyed other activities that didn’t involve classes. On Monday, students from Germany came to our campus and played soccer with us! They were really skilled, and I did what I could. They were nice, and it was interesting to talk to students from Germany; an opportunity I never had before now. Some of them spoke a little English. I felt that they were making fun of me while we played soccer, but it’s ok. The middle of the week was mostly focused on classwork.

Thursday was the start of spring break and my parents came over to spend some time with me in Italy! We stopped in a meat shop which was owned by an older woman. There, we all got a salami sandwich, which was really good!! I showed my parents all the interesting parts of Volterra, and it was nice being the tour guide for once. My Mom was in awe of everything. We also stopped in a couple of shops to see what they were selling. We walked back to campus to eat dinner, which was my favorite white bean and vegetable soup, ham, potatoes, salad and some fruit pie! Just a side note about Italy; no one here really celebrates St. Patrick’s Day; the only one who wished us Happy St. Patrick’s Day was the man in the brewery where my parents sampled one of the locally brewed beers. I guess it is more celebrated in the U.S.

Friday morning, we had a SUPER early start to our day. We had to wake up at 5:30 am and leave the campus by 6:30 am to catch the bus to Pisa. The really interesting part of the day is that  there was a transportation strike in all of Italy, which meant that all the public transportation services would stop from 9:00 am on Friday until 9:00 am on Saturday. We were told that the only time to travel using public transportation on Friday was from 6:00 am to 9:00 am. This is why we had to wake up so early. Nevertheless, we took a private taxi to the bus station. We got to the bus station about 30 minutes before it was supposed to arrive. We waited…the time of the arrival came…and passed, still no bus. The time was getting closer to 9:00 am, and we were worried that we wouldn’t be able to get to Pisa. Finally, we called a taxi and he drove us to Pisa. When we got there, some of the buses were running and some weren’t, but all of them were delayed.  It was good that the bus that we needed was running during the day. On the bus, a handicapped man walked on and I gave up my seat to him so he could sit down. When I did, he took my hand and kissed it….I didn’t know what to think. No one has ever done that to me and I was super freaked out. I have no idea if that is part of the culture in Italy. Then we got off the bus and checked into our hotel, which was really nice!

We went exploring and for lunch we found a place called Pizza Cone. The dough was formed in the shape of a cone and then filled with cheese and sauce. “Pizza in a cone.”  I had to get one. It was tasty. My Mom got a calzone with ham and cheese and my Dad got a salami sandwich with all kinds of toppings.

We found the Square of Miracles, which is the location of the LEANING TOWER OF PISA; it was really big! My Mom and I bought tickets to climb all the way up to the top! I believe that there are 296 stairs. THE VIEW WAS SPECTACULAR AT THE TOP!

We also went inside the Cathedral of Maria, which was also STUNNING! Dinner was a restaurant that we found on Yelp! For an appetizer, we had bruschetta and caprese salad. For entrées, my Dad had spaghetti with seafood, my Mom had ravioli with tomato sauce with a little cream, and I had spaghetti with tomato sauce. Dessert was tiramisu and ricotta cheese and Nutella cake. EVERYTHING TASTED AMAZING! After dinner, we walked back to the Leaning Tower of Pisa to see what it looked like at night. It was very interesting to find out that there are no lights lighting up the building.  Except for the first level on which there is a spotlight…it is dark. We took the bus back to the hotel after a long, but fun-filled day!

Saturday morning, the hotel we were staying at had a really big selection for breakfast. There were many different types of croissants, eggs, yogurt, cakes, cereal, hot chocolate, tea and super tasty fruit! I had pineapple, kiwi, yogurt with granola, 1 plain croissant and one which I put wild berry jelly on! Everything was so good! We packed up all of our stuff, checked out of the hotel, and took the bus to the train station. We got on the platform where our train was to arrive. We got there a little early, so I decided to walk over to the vending machines to see what there was. I found these Italian cookies that looked good and they were 1€.  I put my money in and pressed the number of the cookies. As the cookies were dropping to the bottom…guess what… they got stuck. I tried lightly hitting the machine, trying not to cause a scene. I even tried to buy something else for 1€ to see if it would move it…and nope. I got the second item that I bought, but the cookies were still stuck…then the train came and I had to leave. Oh well…I hope someone enjoys those cookies. Anyway, the train ride to Venice was about 3 hours, which wasn’t that bad because the train had comfortable seats.  We were in Premium seating, and we got a drink and a little snack, which was good!

When we got to Venice, we had an interesting first experience. A man approached my Dad and I and asked if he could take our bags to help us down the stairs. AND THIS IS A BIG NO NO. There are many people in Italy that just walk around, make it look like they want to help you, but actually when you give them your bag, they will run with it and take it. So you need to firmly say “NO,” so they back off. The hotel was very nice, but it had no air conditioning, so we had to open the skylight windows, which wasn’t that bad. Walking around we found a gondola guy that wasn’t busy, and we went on a gondola ride through Venice. IT WAS INCREDIBLE! If anyone has the chance, DO IT!

 

The rest of the day, we walked around, looked at stores, and had chocolate chip mint gelato! After hours of searching, we found San Marcos Square, and it was GORGEOUS! All the lights lit up the buildings and there was a really big Cathedral that was very well constructed. For dinner, we looked on Yelp and we went to a pizza restaurant. The pizza dough, tomato sauce, and mozzarella were SO FRESH! THE TOMATOES TASTED AS IF THEY WERE RIGHT OUT OF THE GARDEN! It was probably the best pizza that I have EVER tasted! Since it was Father’s Day (St. Joseph’s Day in Italy, which is a really big holiday) the restaurant gave my Dad a free dessert!  That was so nice! That has never happened once in the United States. While we were walking back to the hotel, I bought a few souvenirs! My visit to Venice, in summary, was INCREDIBLE!  And the best part was that I got to spend it with my parents, and especially with my Dad, for Father’s Day!

Sunday morning, I was awakened by the birds chipping outside because we had our skylight windows open; this was nice! When we got ready, we walked down to breakfast! There were SO MANY options! They had pancakes, potatoes, eggs, bacon, croissants, yogurt with cereal, rice and different kinds of fruit. I had a little rice, potatoes, a pancake with berry jam, a small roll with apricot jam and a bowl of fruit (kiwi, orange, apples and pineapple). I had tea with forest fruit and water! SO GOOD!

I am currently writing this on the train! Yay! We have a 3 hour train ride to ROME!…..In Rome, we checked into our hotel called Operadreams because it is right across the street from the Opera center. In the building there is an old elevator, which was interesting but a little scary at the same time. The rooms of the hotel were nice, but kind of small. While walking through Rome, we visited the Trevi Fountain that was so much more stunning in real life than in the pictures.

Just exploring Rome, we found many churches that had their own special look to them.  For lunch, we stopped by the place that supposedly has the creamiest gelato, and it was really tasty. I got chocolate, strawberry and pistachio. At 5:30 PM we went to a mass that was being celebrated in English. Before the mass, one of the priests was walking around and asked my Mom if she would like to read a part of the mass, which was really cool! After mass, a woman who was a member of the church made Filipino noodles and chocolate cake for refreshments. Everything was so good, and homemade!  We walked around and saw the Roman Ruins and the Colosseum, all amazing to see at night being lit up by lights. For dinner, we decided to go to an Irish Pub and I got a hamburger which was a nice break from all the pasta.  Later, we went back to the Trevi Fountain and it was a little less crowded.

 

Submitted by Evelyn Lopez-Martinez on the 2016 spring semester program in Granada, Spain…

Ronda, Spain is heart-stopping! It was amazing to see a city so close to a cliff. The trip itself was not too bad. Taking a bus instead of a car takes a little longer of course. After the average travel time of two and a half hours and a thirty minute break at a rest stop, Ronda finally appeared unexpectedly outside of my bus window. At first, it just seemed like a small town, nothing too different. While I was there, I walked endless miles to complete as much as I could in the few hours I had. There was total access to what seemed a dangerous trail along the cliff in order to get a closer look at a small water fall and a different view of one of the main bridges. Looking up was unbelievable, I just couldn’t believe how much beauty one location could have!

I couldn’t leave Spain without seeing a traditional bull fight. That was my mind set before I actually witnessed one. Just a few days before the fight, a friend of mine found out that there was going to be a show in Granada on the following Sunday. It was great news since that meant that none of us in the group would have to travel to another city in order to see a bull fight. To top it off, I found out that the show was going to benefit the Down Syndrome Association. The whole situation was happening so quickly, but I was completely excited. On the day of, in the back of my mind, I thought I knew that the bull would die, but reality didn’t kick in until I was halfway to the Plaza de Toros. To make matters even more drastic, there were six bulls not just three like I originally thought. I thought three bulls were a lot to kill so six was shocking. The worse scenes were the first and last bull. The first one was bad because it was the first I had witness die in front of my eyes. The last was pretty terrifying because the bull was the biggest and it had a slow death. I tried to view it as an art and that was what helped me deal with all the blood. I can say the bull fight was interesting, but the official culture shock that I went through in Spain.

There is always a new trail I can hike while in Granada. It’s like a new adventure every time. On this day, the trail I took was just behind the Alhambra so I didn’t need any transportation at all. Usually it takes a little over thirty minutes to walk to the Alhambra from where I live with is not bad at all. The majority of the trail was make for cyclists. From the top, I was able to see many olive trees, something that Spain in general has an abundant amount of. The sun was in and out on this day and the majority of the time it was fairly foggy. Overall it was fairly simple, relaxing and another great view of the city.

Los Italianos is known as the best ice cream shop in Granada. Everyone in the city was ecstatic once they found out that it was open a week earlier then expected. There were long lines on the first days since a nice ice cream cone complemented the weather. The location has been open for numerous years and since the first day I got a tour of Granada, it was one of the many traditions mentioned that were on the list of must do’s for the city. For my first try of this famous ice cream, I decided to go with carmel and vanilla with chocolate bits. The cone was much longer than what we have in the United States, but the price was about the same. The flavors I chose were quite tasty and worth the buy.