McDermott Scholars Abroad

Maija was on the French Radio

2011-09-11T09:47:00.000-05:00

Maija was interviewed by the French for her thoughts and memories of September 11, 2001.

You can still learn things while at 'Home'

2011-08-24T10:19:00.000-05:00

Saskia sitting on the grass on top of the library roofat the Technical University of Delft—a typical day working and studying (okay,with absolutely beautiful weather, too)

Most people expect a ton of new “firsts” when they studyabroad. First time visiting a city, first time speaking a foreign language,etc.

I, however, returned to my homecountry this summer—I was born in the Netherlands, and didn’t move to Texasuntil I was 8 years old. So please excuse me, but I expected the whole “foreigncountry” bit to be somewhat underwhelming… well, I was wrong. I had plenty offirsts this summer, and here are some of the best:

fixed a broken bicycle chain
visited Brussels and London and Geneva
gotten an autograph from a celebrity (okay, a first since Igot Mickey Mouse’s at Disneyworld at age 4)
hiked for 14 hours from dawn to dusk
taken—and survived—a rugby tackle
shaken hands with a Nobel Peace Prize winner
read a full length Dutch novel. Yes, it was Harry Potter en de Relieken den Dood(the 7^th book). Don’t worry, I read a ton more after :-)

Thoseare just a few stories from my 80 days spent in the Netherlands. I lived withfamily members, worked a day job, and took night classes. It sounded like apretty normal life, almost like my schedule back in Dallas. So, I wasn’texpecting too many adventures—but I kept the door open, and took anyopportunity that came my way. An e-mail from a freshman physics professor whonow works at CERN led me to look at easyjet.com for a cheap flight, and afantastic weekend hiking in the Alps and exploring an international physicslaboratory for minimal costs. I kept in contact with my McDermott classmates,many of whom were travelling across the continent on their own Eurotrips thissummer. Their growing expertise with hostel reservations, train schedules, andfree city tours helped me organize my own weekend travel away from my Dutchhome base. I even met up with another ’09, Anna Li, to take two weekend tripsto Copenhagen and London together!

Saskia with Anna after we saw Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothingat Wyndham Theatrein London’s West End. Did I mention that we didn’t have tickets to the showthat morning? We won them in a lottery drawing outside the theater at 10 AM,for less than 16 pounds each. A lot of theaters do this the morning of a show,so be sure to check the theater website before reserving your seat too far inadvance.

Those led to shaking hands with a NobelPeace Prize winner (Dr. Nielsen, one of the scientists who contributed to theIPCC Climate Change Report that was awarded the 2007 Prize along with Al Gore)and getting the autographs of David Tennant and Catherine Tate, two of myfavorite British actors in London.

I hadno idea that I would see or do any of these things when I arrived in theNetherlands. But a bit of flexibility with money and time goes a long way, andI want to make sure to leave you all with that message. The best part ofstudying abroad in a new place is the adventure, not quite knowing where you’regoing to be in the next five minutes or even tomorrow night (any alumns of thesummer 2009/2010 “Guanajuato Spanish Programs” will attest to that). So don’tplan much, keep in touch with friends and professors (you never know whenthey’ll be nearby), and appreciate every opportunity that comes your way!

Tips for Future Travelers

2011-08-18T10:29:00.000-05:00

I came back from Peru and Argentina having grown a lot. Iwas able to experience so much and change my views of those places, of theworld, and of myself. To keep track of how I grew, to make sure I could sharemy experiences when I got home, and to ensure that I could apply what I learnedto my life in Dallas, I took certain measures and learned new things I could doduring and after my trip. Here they are:

Bring a camera!!! And extra batteries. If possible,download pictures each night in case something happens to the camera
Takesaid camera everywhere with you, but be careful not to be a flashy tourist orthere will be no more camera!
Bring jackets and coats with inside pockets: you won’thave to carry a purse and all your important things are close to you
Writedown what you did every day and how you felt. Even between the beginning andend of the trip, you’ll find places that you want to go back to! That beingsaid, it’s always a good idea to have a small notepad and pen to write downnames, addresses, and emails of people you meet.
Keep a blog…it’s a good idea to keep in touch withfamily and everyone, so this makes it a lotttt easier than writing individualemails to different people
Tell your friends about the things you’re seeingand doing and how it changed your views
Bring back lots of things to show andshare with your family and friends. I wish so much that I hadn’t hesitated asecond on what to buy and bring back. Seriously, it’s probably cheaper than youthink and you will want to share a small piece of your trip with everyone, socome back prepared!
Keep practicing the language when you get back or lookup the national news from that country
Make the most of each experience anddo all that you can because you’ll never know what it could have been
Budgetahead of time and look up schedules for things you want to see so that you canfit everything in
Take lots of pictures as memories!
Make sure you bring back something for yourself toremember your trip in addition to gifts for family and friends More thananything, be okay with being uncomfortable! This whole experience is aboutgetting out of your norms and trying new things, so assume that you will be inawkward or surprising situations: that’s how you learn :)

Good Luck and have awonderful trip!

Centro, Buenos Aires in front of Rodin's ElPensador

Argentina group at Iguazu Falls in Argentina. The 18 hrbus ride each way was entirely worth it!

Making the most in Madrid

2011-08-10T11:01:00.000-05:00

Sammy Whooshing in Madrid

In Madrid I'm afraid I have been guilty of what I've been told is anentirely American habit of smiling too much. But it is simply unavoidable for me. The weather is lovely, not unlike April or May in Texas, right on theedge of Spring, and bleeding into summer. What heat there is, is dry heat. The museums are plentiful with generous servings of free hours. In the whole month I was there I paid forentrance to a museum only one time. Complutense's program is challenging, but the teachers are wonderful,and the campus is beautiful. In fact itis pictured above. I would advisedropping down if you think the level you are in is too high. It is probably the one thing I regret notdoing, however you do learn even quicker at such a challenging level. And it is easy to study in Madrid, there areso many beautiful, peaceful parks, that sitting down in the middle of the daywith a grammar book is almost fun. Andif you stay in a hostel, you'll have plenty of chances to practice thelanguage; I can't tell you the number of Argentinians I met. Being in a hostel you also get theopportunity to hear many different kinds of Spanish. With my fascination with accents, this wasperhaps one of my favorite parts of the trip.

Perhaps the most fun thingabout Madrid is it feels lived in. Thereare many European cities, where it is hard to imagine people taking uppermanent residence in them. But Madrid has a certain homey, welcoming qualityto it, along with all the culture that comes from being a big city. Madrid is not a place I am clamoring to getback to, but it is also a place that I thoroughly enjoyed. I would especially recommend Madrid if youare on a particularly long trip. Thelaid back atmosphere provides a much needed break from the hustle and bustlethat characterizes so many other cities. Also, the tapas are delicious.

Roaming in Rome

2011-08-08T10:59:00.000-05:00

Sammy in Rome

After encountering a float ofbears in Rome, an exploding river in Pisa, and an airborne attack in Venice Ihave been obliged to conclude that Italy is slightly less predictable than Paris. For those interested in traveling to Italy, I highly advise going inJune, it's open season on festivals. Andin case you hadn't heard, festivals are spectacularly fun, as I will attempt toshow in this blog, along with the more traditional fun of museums and churchesthat on permanent installation in Italy. For those who have no interest in floats of bears feel free to skip tomy time in Rome, or in airborne attacks skip Venice and so on, as I won't bemixing my cities in this blog, I find the idea utterly wrong somehow.

Rome

Okay so, here's the fastforwarded version of Rome. I did all the big touristy things, they're prettycool and as I'm sure you've heard at some point, everything in Rome is quiteold. My hostel, for instance, was in arefurbished convent. If Rome hasanything in abundance it is churches and gelato. I advise you take great advantage of both.However not at the same time, it seems the nuns frown upon that type of thing,something about the sacredness of churches and worship. However I can assure you it is worth it toput down your gelato for a moment to go enjoy the churches, as they are alltogether magnificent. In general,Florence churches excepted, churches in Italy aren't much to look at on theoutside but once you go in, it's a whole new world. As for me I went on a scholarly search fordepictions of Christ, and a personal search for paintings of Carravaggio.

Now we come to the float of bears. No I don't mean Winnie-the-Pooh, lives in azoo, bears; I mean the slang term for gay men who happen to be particularly large and hairy. These bears happened to be singing LadyGaga's caught in a bad romance in overbearingly strong Italian accents (pun intended). I know, I know, it's an odd picture but Ipromise it makes sense. You see Ihappened to be exploring the Coliseum one day, as one is apt to do at somepoint in Rome. I was just about to makemy way back down to the ground floor when I chanced to hear something odd. It was a song, it was, "Fun to stay atthe YMCA, it's fun to stay at the YMCA". "What the (word inappropriate for this blog)!" I spun around and marched back to the secondfloor arches. A crowd had,understandably, already gathered. Cursing my shortness I searched around on tiptoe until I found anunoccupied spot. Oh. My. God. I have never seen so much glitter in mylife. And people, so many people, theyfill the street in what seems like an endless parade of rainbows. In case you haven't gathered yet I hadstumbled opon a gay pride parade. Andnot just any parade, the gay pride parade for all of Europe. The gay pride parade that happened tohave... "Is that, um, is that LadyGaga?," I asked the girl standingnext to me. "Yeah" she repliedblandly, as if Lady Gaga showing up in her life was a regular occurrence."She's performing later tonight." "Oh, cool" I repliedbecause honestly, what else can you say in a situation like that?

Florence

Simply put Florence is the placefor you if you like Renaissance art. Itis everywhere. A stunning situation if,as most of us are, you are from a country that didn't even exist when this artwas created. And it's very picturesque.Florence looks like what you expect Italy to look like. They also have a famous Renaissance parademid-June. There are drums, and people incostumes, flag throwers (whatever you call them) and horses, and monks thatlook like they came straight out of Monty Python. All in all Florence is a lovely town that Iwould recommend.

Pisa

Most people go to Pisa for aday, which is usually enough. Pisa issmall, and a bit dingy, and for some reason smells of what I eventuallyidentified as pickles. But for all this,I loved Pisa. Then again, I saw her ather best, during festival time. Let mejust say that I cannot recommend the festival of San Ranieri enough. It's like if you mixed Christmas, and thefourth of July, and a carnival all together, and stuck it in Europe. In other words, it's awesome. What they do for the festival is light up theentire riverside with candles. Thecandles are in these glass holders on these wooden frames that make patterns,and are posted up on the houses all along the riverside. They spend all day putting them up, and thencome evening, everyone goes down to the river. There are street vendors with toys, and food, and gifts. Both kids and adults fill the streets, andthere's a certain air of happiness that comes with festivals andcarnivals. Make sure you get therebefore sunset, so you can get a good seat on the walls lining the river. Then about a half hour after sunset, thefireworks start. And it's not like we'reused to, where the fireworks are far away, and you only see the end result of an explosion of light in thesky. No, in Pisa, they fire from thewater. They have these barges all alongthe river, and that's where the fireworks shoot from. It's amazing to get to see them go off,reflected in the water. Even if you'renot the biggest fan of fireworks, trust me, this is a show that is not to bemissed.

Venice

I've saved the best forlast. Although I loved every single townI visited in Italy, Venice was far and away my favorite. And this is partially because of someexcellent advice I got, wander the back streets (especially in the earlymorning). Before you do anything else,wander the back streets, go into the small churches, find the nooks andcrannies that make Venice so wonderful. Do not, I repeat do not spend your time in the middle of the day at thebig tourist attractions. Though they arebeautiful, it will be so crowded you will come away like so many before you,hating them and hating Venice. I advisegoing in the early morning, or afternoon, after the cruise ships haveleft. I was also there during theirbiannual art festival, the best part of which is actually not the art, it isthe buildings. The way the festivalworks is the exhibitions are housed in these very old palaces, and houses thatare generally not open to the public. Attimes the buildings have been modernized, but at other times they have not, andyou are allowed a glimpse into the past glory of Venetian houses, forfree. But this blog has gone on longenough, so let me get to my last anecdote.

Theseagulls are fearless. I repeat. The seagulls have no fear.

As I've explained, much of whatis beautiful about Venice is not in museums, but in the back streets of Veniceitself. For this reason I spent verylittle of my time sitting down in Venice, even to eat. I couldn't seem to tear myself away from themystery I felt sure was hiding just around the next corner. So when I wrenched myself away from theresidential Dosoduro neighborhood, deciding I should probably see St. Mark'sbasilica before I left, strolling the square eating my sandwich was notunusual. I suppose I should say eatinghalf my sandwich, as it would be more accurate. Because on my way to get a closer look at the pillars, there was asudden flash of white in my face, and a firm tug on the sandwich clasped in myhand. The next thing I knew my sandwichwas gone, and there was a squawking flock of seagulls having an epic battleover my prosciutto and mozzarella. I didthe only thing you can do when a seagull steals your sandwich.

I laughed.

My slight embarrassment at being unable todefend my lunch from airborne attack was diminished, when I saw the exact samething happen to another girl the next day. Apparently this is a fairly commonoccurrence, which is why I must warn you, when in Venice, keep an eye on theskies.

Promming with Mahler

2011-08-05T10:11:00.000-05:00

Martin "Whooshing" in front of the Toledo, Spain historiccity center from across the Tagus River

I was supposed to see this symphony a year ago. I hadsnagged early on my coveted pair of tickets for the DSO’s performance ofMahler’s 2^nd Symphony, Resurrection, at the end of its 2009-2010season. I spent a good portion of that spring awaiting what would be a sonicepic that would combine orchestra and voice (many of them) to paint Mahler’sprofound views of life, death, and beyond, perhaps not without certain keyreferences to the Passion. I was going to experience catharsis and illuminationon a level that might have been divine.

Instead I spent that weekend on the forward deck of theCarnival Ecstasy, happy to be with family, but continually amused at thestrange twists of fate that led to me voyaging to exotic Caw-zuh-mel,Mecksikoh, surrounded by what could best described as the space liner from Wall-Ewithout the merciful Pixar gloss and the Disney guarantee that people wholooked like they ate other people would remain reasonably clothed. Peopleboarded as passengers and left as cargo.

Past misanthropy aside, I was electrified at the chance tosee Mahler’s Resurrection symphony live in London as part of the BBC Proms. TheBBC Proms is the world’s largest classical musical festival and consists ofconcerts by the world’s best soloists, chamber groups, choirs, and orchestrasover two months from July through September. In fact, it’s still going on rightnow. Normally, most seats are expensive and sell quickly. For BBC Prom 29,Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela wereperforming. They premiered to incredible popular and critical acclaim in 2007.Just watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZbJOE9zNjwThey’re a youth conductor and youth orchestra. Yes, no one in that video noranyone who performed on August 5^th was over the age of 30. I’ll letthat sink in.

The seats for BBC Prom 29, featuring that orchestra performing Mahler’s Resurrection, sold out in threehours. But for every concert, especially the popular ones, there are roughly500 tickets for the arena floor that sold the day of the concert for 5 pounds.Yes, 5 pounds. So what do you have to do get one? Just wait in line outside ofRoyal Albert Hall the day of the concert like I did.

The queue stretched down to the end of the street, turnedand kept on stretching, stretched some more, and eventually some thousandpeople later, looped back to Royal Albert Hall.

I got in line at around noon, resigning to the reality thatI would get no sight-seeing done for the day and that a return to London earlybefore heading stateside would be necessary. I brought lunch, water, and abook. We were given numbers at around 2:00 so that we could have up to a halfhour to leave the line and get food, take breaks, or just wander and smirk atthose behind us in line. Because Royal Albert Hall is across from the RoyalCollege of Music, I was treated to a rehearsal by a brass ensemble class thatused a classroom with open windows. I also spent a good part of the afternoon(the one afternoon where London was actually sunny/hot; lucky me) thinkingabout life, perhaps the best way to preface a performance of something likeMahler.

At around 5:30, I saw another queue form to the confusion tonearly everyone in line.

Turns out it was just the queue for the preconcert lecture.Naturally it was full of the older and wealthier patrons who managed to getactual seats during that lucky three hour window during which I was likelystill asleep in Texas.

Finally, at 7:00, I had my ticket. From the moment ofentering the arena floor onward, I really can’t describe any actual emotionsother than, “Woah, this is really happening.” Royal Albert Hall itself is justas gorgeous on the inside as on the outside. Like many others with me, I tookoff my shoes and kept them off as we stood for the entire two hour performance.

The performance itself? It was as grand, dramatic, intense,beautiful, and divine as you’d expect from a composition of its scope, ifanother were to exist. I have a hard time reviewing it, despite having heard itthree times, because it’s a piece to evaluated based on an individual’sspiritual reaction to it, not just the technical skill. Just start here andmake your own judgments: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi7kb4U7VsE&feature=relatedIt’s worth your time, especially when you’re at the last movement and readingthe lyrics, which can have profound personal import. Just watch it. Trust me.

My only qualms would be about the acoustics of the Hall. Thechoral work and the off-stage brass/percussion resonated with clarity andwonderful color. When the entire 500+ person ensemble of mega-orchestra (3 setsof timpani, anyone?), full choir, off-stage corps, organ, and voice soloistsplayed loudly in unison, the Hall worked magnificently, allowing each timbre tocome through despite the massive volume. Yet during passages of lower dynamics,the group sounded a bit watery and muddled, a fault I attribute to my locationon the arena floor and not the playing itself. Still, it made me miss the Meyerson’smodern and peerless acoustics.

When Dudamel ended the final climax, we treated them to thelongest and loudest standing ovation (okay, 500 of us were already standing)I’ve ever participated in, a good 20 minutes.

There was a great sense of camaraderie among us in thearena. Everyone was willing to take photos for each other (including the one ofme at the top) and unlike most DSO concerts I’ve been to, strangers freelytalked about the performance. In a way, perhaps, the concert made us better peoplefor a time. Here’s hoping this isn’t the last time I go to a Proms concert, butI’ll definitely try to snag tickets next time to avoid the fun (but maybeonce-only) adventure of waiting seven hours in line.

Martin Whooshing from the arena floor of the Royal Albert Hall after BBC Prom 29

Final Thoughts on Paris – Philip’s Summer of Adventure

2011-08-04T11:16:00.000-05:00

After nearly twelve weeks in Paris, it is hard to believethat my stay here is almost over. In all, I have had a great experience, fullof excitement, adventure, and free of any major mishaps. I have spent a lot oftime traveling in the second half of this summer (4 out of the last 6 weekends)and have had the chance to see what Europe is really like beyond Paris.

At the end of June, I spent a weekend in Rome, which isbarely enough time to being exploring the wealth of history that is there. Inmy day and a half that I was actually in the city (due to some unfortunatedelays in getting there), I had to rush around to see Vatican City Saturdayafternoon and the ancient part of the city on Sunday.


Rome

A couple weeks later, I found myself in London in thecompany of my good friends Josh, Sachin, and Camden. One comfort in this wasbeing back in a country where I could completely understand the language (myunderstanding of French has improved this summer, but I am nowhere near fluent).After spending most of Saturday in the British Museum, we attended a midnightshowing of Hamlet at Shakespeare’sGlobe, standing as “groundlings” in the yard.

The following work week was short, as July 14 was BastilleDay. For the French, this entails a huge festival with celebrations spread outall around Paris (and the rest of the country). Trying to experience as much aspossible, I went to an annual military parade on the Champs-Élysées in the morning, part of a concert on theChamp de Mars (the park by the Eiffel Tower), and ended the day watchingfireworks from the banks of the Seine.

Tour de France

Bastille Day Celebrations


Bastille Day Fireworks

That weekend I jumped on a train again to travel to Caen, inthe Normandy region. My main motivation for this trip was to visit the Caen Memorial,a World War II museum focusing on the impact of the war in France. My ticketincluded a bus trip to visit some important D-day sites along the coast. Undergray, rainy skies (similar, we were told, to what the D-day troops werefighting in), we drove out to Pointe du Hoc to see bunkers and pillboxes builtby the Germans as part of the Atlantic Wall to protect against attack fromBritain. The landscape was covered in huge craters left by the extensivebombing carried out in the days prior to the landing. From here, we visitedOmaha Beach, which has unfortunately been built up so there are houses alongthe road. However, we were able to betterunderstand the obstacles that this operation faced, as our guide pointed outthe German bunkers built into the bluffs making them difficult to see andattack. Additionally, we visited an American cemetery where thousands ofsoldiers were buried (and this was U.S. soil, so I was technically back in theU.S. for about an hour) and Arromanches, where we could see the remains of anartificial harbor built by the British to bring supplies to the Allied troopsuntil one of the real harbors along the coast could be captured.


Caen Memorial

My second day in Caen was cut short by the rain. In themorning I walked to some of the older historic sites in the city, including theremains of a castle that was built by William the Conqueror and expanded by hissuccessors. However, by the early afternoon, it was raining too much and I hadto pass the rest of my time at the train station.

The weekend after that I spent in Paris as a last chance tosee anything I had missed and because the Tour de France finished that weekend.On Sunday, I again trekked over to the Champs-Élysées, where the Tour de Franceriders make several loops to finish out the race. I was able to find a spotright next to the road, so I had a really good view of the riders as they spedby.

My final trip was to Avignon this past weekend to see alittle bit of southern France. Incontrast to the weather in Normandy, it was sunny and warm in Avignon – perfectweather to walk around and be outside in. Aside from the Palais des Papes,built in the 14^th century when the Papacy was run out of Rome, I hadno planned activities, leaving me free to explore.

Avignon Palais des Papes

Of course, in the time between all of my travels, I havebeen continuing my research. This is proceedingat an almost frantic pace as my departure quickly approaches. After someanalysis of data we took at the beginning of the summer, we have had newsamples prepared and only recently been able to start doing our experiments onthem. Added to this is the construction at the university, preventing us frombeing able to take any data during the day and forcing us to work during theevenings instead. Despite the odd hours I am now working, I am excited to seethe results and hopeful that these last couple days of experiments will be asuccess.

Overall, this summer was exciting and eye-opening. I havebeen able to see and experience the differences in lifestyle between France andthe U.S. While I may not be able to do all of the experiments I had hoped tofinish before leaving Paris, I have learned a lot from my research.Additionally, my opportunity to travel provided me with time to relax and enjoythe history and culture of Europe.

"I came to Oxford and now all I do is sit in my room and study all day," say Sachin and Josh

2011-07-27T18:29:00.000-05:00

Whoosh from the cloisters of New College, where Sachin and Josh are members. (You may recognize it as the place Mad-Eye Moody turned Malfoy into a ferret in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.)

It’s been almost a month now since Sachin and I left our friends at beautiful Brunnenburg Castle and made our way from the Italian Alps to the green pastures of Oxford University. After a couple of days of thunderstorms, missed trains, and general difficulties, we found our respective tiny, shabby flats in the heart of the city. The weather was chilly and grey. We had a week to explore the campus, check out the town, get inducted into our College (sort of like a House at Hogwarts), and get ready for class to start.

It didn’t take us long to find out that there are really two Oxfords. There is the Oxford thousands of tourists see every day – cramped, crowded, old, and dreary. It is an Oxford of fast food and souvenir shops, with nothing real to see but the antique stone walls of closed colleges and libraries. The other Oxford, however, is a different thing entirely. When you become a member of a College here, you enter a world of absurdly idyllic, peaceful, walled off courtyards and gardens, of hidden, back-alley pubs and local bookstores. The college we belong to, the New College of St. Mary, or just New College, is actually one of the oldest colleges here, founded in 1379. It was used as a filming location for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Tomorrow Never Dies. Parts of our Chapel were copied for use in Canterbury Cathedral. A segment of the original city wall, over a thousand years old, runs through our campus, and has been maintained by New College in perfect order for over seven centuries.

The first few days at Oxford were great. They were full of exploration, excitement, good food, and new friends. Then, in a catastrophic turn of events, classes started.

Sachin came here to study the economics of healthcare, and I wanted to familiarize myself with English novels and poetry. What we knew, but didn’t quite understand yet, was that Oxford courses are different from courses at American universities. Oxford is built upon the idea of the tutorial – an intense one-on-one co-exploration of a subject by a student and a professor. It isn’t a class so much as a collaboration. Sachin and I both came out of our first meeting with our professors amazed by two things. First, we were astounded by the expertise of our tutors. They are unbelievably knowledgeable – true leaders in their fields. The second thing that amazed us was the sheer amount of work we had gotten ourselves into!

I am reading over a thousand pages a week of literary works and their relevant criticisms. Sachin, in addition to his tutorial, has been tossed into a more traditional class his professor was already teaching on public economics. We now spend the vast majority of our time reading, writing, and talking to our tutors. Sachin and I try and get together once a day or so for dinner or ice cream, just as a way to get up and move around for a while. We are neck-deep in the most difficult academic work we have ever attempted. We have never covered so much complex information, in such detail, in so little time. But we have learned an incredible amount.

Sachin has written on theoretical reasons for redistribution of wealth and why charity doesn't work. He’s written on smoking as an economic externality and how smokers may actually, quite perversely, help society by dying earlier and not taking pension benefits. And he’s currently in the process of writing about the US healthcare system. He is studying the theory behind how healthcare should be provided in an ideal community, comparing the US system to those of the UK and Canada and France and Norway, and examining the pros and cons of Obamacare. He and his tutor are putting together ideas on how healthcare in America can be improved.

I have written on Defoe’s precise use of nonstandard capitalization to develop narrative voice and regulate pace and tempo in his novels. I’ve written on the 18^th century literary debate between the ancients and the moderns – the “battle of the books” – and how Alexander Pope’s mock-epic poem The Dunciad can be read as a comment on the direction of literature in his age. And now I’m in the middle of examining the complex relationship between ideas of eloquence, knowledge, and evil in Milton’s Paradise Lost. All throughout my explorations, I am studying an overarching theme of density and pacing in British literature, and trying to tie it to ideas of the urban, the industrial, and the imperial.

It is difficult, as the four-inch-thick book I must continue reading after I finish this post stares at me from my desktop, to truly say that we are having a fun time here. Particularly after we spent last month living in a castle and having tea with a Princess. Here, we barely see the light of day. We live on Nando’s chicken and Kinder chocolate. Our academics are our lives. So it is hard to say we are having fun. But we will both say that this is an incredible experience, and we wouldn’t trade it for the world.

The places built upon that which matters most

2011-07-27T07:25:00.000-05:00

From left: Elizabeth, Julia, myself, Eric, Jackie, Jason, and Christianna. The Cuatro Estaciones (Four Seasons) Restaurant. Tuesday, July 26th, 2011. It's only fitting that I'm tucked away in the corner. I am defined by my relationships with others, and on that night, I don't think I could have picked a finer bunch to be defined by. It's been only a little over 24 hours since this photo was taken, but I already miss you all more than I can compose with words. One day, we'll all go back. One day.

This entry will not be about a place. You see, despite my past six weeks in Spain, my brief and beautiful weekend in Italy, and my current status of nursing a cold with Fanta and take-out Chinese in gloriously grey Dublin, today those places bear only marginal personal import. In addition, there’s a strong chance that if you dig well enough through this blog, you’ll find several other entries about the same-ish adventures in the same-ish places scattered about the continent. So instead, I’ll write what most likely has been thought and felt by my fellow Scholars but only mentioned at times.

Today was rough.

It was the last day of my program with the Fundación Ortega y Gasset in Toledo, Spain. I was the only UTD student as part of a small contingent of other solo students with Arcadia University. The rest were large groups from Ohio State, Notre Dame, and The University of Minnesota. I lived within Fundación itself: the convent San Juan de la Penitencia reconverted into a dormitory/classroom building. Living and learning within “The Fúnd” (pronounced “foond”) gave me a taste of dorm life I never had at UTD. And within there and through other students who lived with host families, I developed friendships that are infinitely more valuable than any gilded locale of antiquity.

It’s pretty obvious, but what makes any place a home, regardless of the language spoken, are the people there. You see, Toledo is a beautiful city. It really is. It sits on a high rocky hill surrounded on three sides by the Tagus River and is postcard worthy from any angle at any time of the day. The perilously narrow and steep cobblestone streets challenge tourists and taxis alike, and even with the canopies and cleverly designed curving streets, the Spanish sun can still make it feel as if one never left Richardson. There’s lots of culture, art, and history. El Greco, swords, and marzipan are big deals here. But in all honesty, Toledo merits a long weekend trip from Madrid at most. It became surprisingly predictable after a week or two.

However, Toledo merits a special place in my heart because of the people I met there. I’m not particularly religious, but I can’t help but feel that some (non-Tarantino) divine intervention was at work during my time there. I expected to make friends and have a good time, but I didn’t expect just how close some of us would become. It worked counter to all my other friendships built upon time much longer and experiences more difficult. It happened in just six weeks. But it worked. And I can’t help but feel indescribably blessed by the people – not the places, food, nor tours – I have been given. Indeed it is my experiences with those people that are the most important part of my time in Spain.

It was by having breakfast early on that first Saturday that I went on my first run with Jackie. It was a chance encounter that would help me find a new running partner, but by the end of our last run, help me find a true friend when I needed one most. It was through playing cards the second afternoon that I met Jason, a young man who served as more than just a font of free laundry supplies but also as a measure of how far I’ve come in three years and how much I still have to go. It was by playing ninja in the lobby that I met Christianna, a young lady wise well beyond her years, with whom I shared precious conversations on her balcony about life, love, swing dance, and God. It was through buying a pesky red wristband and touring too many Toledan churches that I met Julia, our unofficial “líder” whose mind is as sharp as the sword she’s bringing home, and Elizabeth, the tall gentle beauty (who’s not actually 25 and from Australia) with whom I shared a passion for art and tasty food in Italy. It was through something random that I met Dickson, a manic of a man who rivals some of the people I know at UTD in bluntness and hilarity. It was through random musing about Onomatopoeia and flash mobs that I met Viktoria. It was through just sitting down at lunch with two new dudes that I met Lonnie and Sarvesh, two glorious gentlemen that taught me how to plank, made me speak Spanish during mealtimes, and gave a weekend in Italy to remember forever.

Indeed it was chance encounters with the above and so many other wonderful people that makes me feel even more blessed when I reflect upon how strong of friendships we have cultivated in so short a time. If there’s anything to be learned from this it’s that the scenery of a study abroad location is just that: scenery. The cast is the focus and should be. It is the lifelong friendships I’ve made here that inspire me to write as tangentially and cheesily as I have. Places like the Alhambra and Venice will be around for a while, hundreds or even thousands of years in some cases. People won’t. It’s precisely why they’re that much more precious, more deserving of space on this blog than whatever shiny old thing I saw in some overpriced city.

Today was rough. We had to leave at 5:30 for the Madrid airport and this did not allow for the most ideal of goodbyes. Viktoria and I learned the hard way that one cannot travel between terminals, even after check-in, even if it’s just to see dear friends off. I then had to go by myself to here in Dublin, where the grey skies reflect my sense of melancholy after departing sunny Spain and the friends I had there. I already really miss them, even though some are still within transit in the US.

But I know that one shouldn’t be sad that something is over and instead be happy that it actually happened. I think Dr. Seuss said that. I feel nostalgia in the most bittersweet and painful sense, and when I finally return home to the United States, it’ll hit me harder than today that I’m not quite sure if and when I’ll see mis queridos amigos de Toledo. It’ll hit hard when I actually stop procrastinating and upload all the photos I’ve taken in the past month.

But for now, I’ll upload the one that graces the bottom of this entry. It’s of several of us on our last night, having a nice last supper as former strangers, now lifelong friends. I have no idea when we’ll ever take that photo ever again. But I have faith it will. Somehow. Some way. Some day. For now, as much as I look forward to my planned trips through Ireland, London, and Scotland, I’m even looking even more forward to the days when I can travel to Columbus, Ohio; Notre Dame, Indiana; and Minneapolis, Minnesota. And of course, I look forward to returning to Fort Worth and Richardson. These aren’t places built upon cobblestone and gold, nor grand history and culture. These are places that are built upon that which matters most. These are places that are built upon friendship and upon love.

Highlights from Irene's trip to Argentina

2011-07-25T14:28:00.000-05:00

Photo: Marissa and me jumping and attempting a "Whoosh!" in front of the Floralis Generica

During my first weekend in Buenos Aires, my friends Marissa, Husain, and I all went to the Buenos Aires Zoo together. Upon entering, we were surprised and pleased to discover that many animals were just wandering around loose on the path, including ducks and some strange animal that looked like a combination rabbit and dog. After holding out on spending the money for awhile, I finally broke down and bought a bag of food, which all three of us shared. It was a good purchase, as we proceeded to feed zebras, llamas, goats, deer, lemurs, giraffes, and several other animals. We had the most fun with the giraffes, because if you threw the food far enough away from them, they would extend their super long and flexible tongues to get it. Overall we had a great time; the day wasn't too hot, and the zoo was very pretty, although a bit run down. Later when I discussed this excursion with my Spanish teacher, she suggested I check out a larger zoo called Temaiken, where the visitors can supposedly pet most of the animals, including wild animals such as tigers. Unfortunately I ran out of time to explore this other zoo, as it was a bit of a trip to go there, but I had a great time with the animals in Buenos Aires nonetheless.

During my first week in Buenos Aires, I began attending Spanish classes at the Fundacion de Ortega y Gasset. My Spanish teacher's name was Juliette, and it was just Lye-Yeng and me in the advanced Spanish class, so we received lots of personal attention. Juliette was by far the best Spanish teacher I have had in my life. She was incredibly knowledgeable about linguistics and therefore was very good at explaining things. She spoke in Spanish the entire time during class, but she was very easy to understand and had lots of insight on Argentine Spanish and culture. The first day of class we discussed differences between Argentine Spanish and Latin American Spanish that I had been totally unaware of, such as pronouncing "ll" as a "j" and changing verb conjugations in the second person singular. We also spent a lot of time in class discussing differences between American, Argentine, Malaysian, and Moroccan culture, all in Spanish of course. I could tell my Spanish was improving every day, and I was glad we had so many oral exercises in class. It was also helpful and exciting that Juliette also taught Latin at the university in Buenos Aires. Sometimes she was able to better teach me a concept in Spanish by relating it to Latin.

I had some good times with friends in Buenos Aires. One Saturday, Marissa and I went to Recoleta together and wandered around the large weekend market they have there for several hours. Afterwards we attempted to enter the cemetery, but it closed right as we approached the gates. To make up for this unfortunate event we walked to the nearby Floralis Generica, a large metal flower sculpture that opens and closes its petals depending on the time of day. We felt it was necessary to take some cliche tourist photos in front of the flower, and we proceeded to do so for almost an hour, having way to much fun in the process. The flower is very amazing and beautiful and is a nice touch to the city.

During the middle of the trip the group found out about an upcoming concert at the famous stadium Luna Park. La Fuerza Bruta, an Argentine acrobatics team that is similar to the American Blue Man Group was giving performances over several nights there. The entire group eagerly purchased tickets for the show, but unfortunately I was a bit slow on the uptake and did not figure out my plans for that night until it was too late to buy a ticket. I was extremely disappointed, especially when I heard reports from the others the next day about how awesome and interactive the show had been. I determined that I would make up for my situation by buying tickets for a later performance, even if I had to go alone. Based on tips from my friends, who were disappointed in the seats they had had, I purchased tickets for the pit. While I would have to stand during the entire show, these "seats" would be more exciting because the acrobats would enter and perform in the pit. Sure enough the performance was very exciting! The show was a combination of percussive music, inscrutable acting, and acrobatics. It featured movable stages and cranes that were constantly being driven in and out of the pit, forcing the audience to have to move out of the way continuously, as well as a large plastic beehive sheet that was thrown over the audience on which the acrobats ran, and two large clear plastic swimming pools that were lowered close enough over the audience's heads, so that they could touch the girls that were swimming in them, through the plastic of course. At one point water was dumped on the audience in the pit, and the entire pit routinely became a mosh pit. Needless to say, I was soaking wet and a bit dirty by the time the entire show was over, but I had a great time and enjoyed talking about the show with some new Argentine friends as I took the subway home.

As the end of the trip drew near, some friends and I realized that we had been to only one milonga, La Catedral, and that even this milonga probably wasn't representative of most Argentina milongas. Determined to remedy this situation, Jessica and I headed to a new milonga one evening. We arrived, and the place seemed crowded and very fun. They were alternating between tango music and other kinds of music such as salsa and rock-and-roll. We eventually found a table, and I ordered some lemon ice cream. While I was happily eating my lemon ice cream, determined that I would never dance, but hoping that Jessica would get asked to dance, so she could show off her tango skills, an older man approached me and asked for a dance. I was horrified. I immediately declined and told him to ask Jessica instead, but this cute old man was very insistent and told me he would wait till I finished my lemon ice cream and then we could dance. Despite my continuous protestations, I soon realized that my only option in this situation was to dance with the nice man, which was unfortunate for me since I knew no tango whatsoever, or any kind of dance really. Luckily this man (I think his name was Eduardo, but I don't remember for sure) was very patient and kind and taught me a few basic steps and one more fancy step. I could tell that he was a very good dancer, as I always knew where we were heading on the dance floor and I never got stepped on, even when I was not doing the steps correctly. While I'm sure I was horrible, I had a very fun time and enjoyed the tips he gave me ("Don't look at your feet"), as well as the stories he told me about his daughter who lives in Florida. To my surprise, after that performance, he asked me to dance again for some rock-and-roll songs. At this point I started to feel bad, because I, with no dance experience and really no desire to dance, was getting asked regularly, while Jessica, with tons of dance experience and a huge desire to dance some more tango before leaving Buenos Aires, had not gotten asked yet. The situation was only exacerbated when I was asked to dance again, this time by a different and younger guy. He was not as good and kept running us into other dancers, but I appreciated that he too provided me some lessons on basic steps while we were dancing. We must have been a humorous dance couple, as he was much shorter than me. Once again I had more fun than I thought I would, and I left the milonga in a good mood.

Anna's European Travels

2011-07-12T09:56:00.000-05:00


Rolling with the Locals

Outside of studying at Schloss Brunnenburg with fellowUTD classmates, I spent some time before and after traveling through Europe tostudy other types of European architecture. Every European city I visited wasso different from anything I knew in America--so many of the buildings,especially the museums and churches, are so old and magnificent. I lovedlearning about the different quirks of each city through free tour guides aswell as my hostel-keepers. Although I had studied abroad in Argentina theprevious summer, I had never traveled extensively on my own, so this summer wasmy first time doing that. Thankfully, the rail system in Europe is very easy tonavigate, and after a few nervous rides on my own, it seemed like there wasnothing to it.

Even though I have only studied Spanish in school, Isurprised myself with the ability to pick up limited but essential phrases inother languages, such as Italian and German. For example, while wandering aroundBerlin with a couple of new friends from London, I surprised them by readingoff gelato flavors in German! While traveling on my own, I also was reminded ofhow different, yet how similar, people across the world are to each other. InSeville, I bonded with two sisters from France and a guy from Australia overthe course of two short days. Even though we were from very different parts ofthe world, we could still easily relate to each other and joke with each otheras we explored a new city together. Overall, I am very thankful for theopportunity to travel and study abroad in Europe this past summer, and theexperiences and memories that I made while there will not soon be forgotten.

A different world - Marissa's perspective

2011-07-11T14:18:00.006-05:00

The first thing I noticed about the people of Buenos Aires was their colorlessness; the high-end fashion they wear comes mainly in shades of black, grey, black, tan, and black. Everyone wears leather shoes and leather jackets. Everyone has brown eyes and brown or black hair. Even on relatively warm winter days, when the temperature can reach about fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit, everyone is bundled up behind a thick layer of long jackets, scarves, hats, gloves, and boots. I was told that as a person of obvious European descent, I would not stand out at all here because lots of people “look like you do.” This is a lie. There are lots of white people in Buenos Aires, but there are no blonde people. I got used to heads turning in my direction when I entered the Subte in the morning, and any attempt I made to ask someone for directions was inevitably followed by “¿Alemania? ¿Inglaterra?” (“Germany? England?”). When I walked down the rows of blankets laden with artisan crafts on Florida Street or through the aisles of booths set up on Sundays at San Telmo, artisans would yell after me in English: “Hey you, come over here! I have a free gift for you!” On the few occasions that I went to a bar, men would turn to watch me pass them and say loudly, “My love!” When I walked down Florida to get back to class after lunch, the waiters who stand outside their restaurants thrust their laminated signs in my face and said, “Hel-lo, la-dy. You eat lunch here now?” I often took to wearing my leather jacket’s hood while in crowded public areas, just to give people one less reason to stare.

The fact that I stood out so much in Buenos Aires, and the attention that it often drew, did not dampen my experiences there; rather, it was merely an aspect of my trip that I had not anticipated and which played a fairly significant role in my life there. It was interesting to be an outsider for once in the sense that I could not blend in, no matter how hard I tried.

Buenos Aires: First Impressions from Irene

2011-07-07T14:16:00.001-05:00

Photo: Irene in front of the Casa Rosada (Pink House), which is where the president of Argentina works

As I entered the city of Buenos Aires for the first time there were two things I immediately noticed: traffic and trash. These things make the city very different from most US cities.

As my fellow travelers and I quickly discovered, crossing the street is a matter of life and death, and you often have to "play Frogger" with the cars, especially if you're crossing a road with two-way traffic. Luckily most of the roads here are one-way only, and there are several pedestrian streets on which you will only be bothered by the occasional moped. Interestingly enough, however, the city of Buenos Aires is still much more pedestrian friendly than most US cities. There are plenty of sidewalks and crosswalks, and there are other people walking everywhere, so you always have the protection of the masses when crossing a street. And when it comes down to it, the cars here will not actually hit you. I have already had several brushes with death while crossing the streets here, but the cars have always stopped and given me room to pass, even if I was the one "breaking the law" and even if they were angry about doing it. I put "breaking the law" in quotes here, because traffic laws seem very lax here. Stop signs are nonexistent; at many intersections cars just slowly nose their way forward until they can see if someone else is coming or not. And while there are lanes painted on the streets, no one stays in them, and mopeds are even known to drive up onto the sidewalk in order to pass some glut of cars that is in their way.

Another noticeable aspect of the city is the trash that is everywhere. In the US we have a mentality that it is almost morally reprehensible to litter, and that if you have some trash in your hand you have to hold onto it until you find a trash can where you can dispose of it properly. That mentality does not exist here. People drop trash onto the sidewalk, into the gutters, out their car windows, into the subte tracks, and the trash is anywhere and everywhere. In addition, people do not clean up after their dogs, probably because the owners are not usually the ones walking the dogs; a dog walker is. So the city is very dirty, and you constantly have to watch your step. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that the garbage collectors will occasionally go on strike (This happened once while we were visiting), and the uncollected bags of trash will simply lie around for days on end until they begin work again. Buenos Aires does not really have a recycling program in the way a US citizen would think of it, but they do have very poor men and women who root through the trash for recyclable goods that they can sell for money. This is a very sad sight to see, but is an appropriate image of the economic plight of the city combined with this other waste collection problem.

As I spent more time in the city, I quickly realized that traffic and trash were not the only distinguishing characteristics of Buenos Aires.

The city is very busy and runs around the clock. If you want to buy a bag of milk (Yes, they sell milk in bags here) at 4am, you can do that. And the interesting thing is, you probably won't be the only person doing that. I don't know if this is the case in big US cities like New York, but I know that this is a huge contrast to a city like Dallas. In Dallas proper, almost everything will be closed by 10pm, and in Richardson, where UTD is located, most businesses are closed by 8pm, if not earlier. I love the late-night rhythm of Buenos Aires. The people here tend to stay up very late -- talking, dancing, clubbing, buying bags of milk, working -- and then sleep in late as well. It seems that most jobs do not expect their employees at 8am sharp as in the US. In addition, if you do go out late to party, the scene won't get very exciting until at earliest 2am. This is hard for us US citizens, who are used to heading home from the clubs at 3am or 4am, while here they are just getting started at that time.

In addition, the public transportation system here is very good, better than any public transportation I've experienced in the US. Marissa and I ride the subte (subway) to school every day, which is a crazy experience. In the mornings, the subtes are jam-packed with people trying to get to work. When I say jam-packed, I mean more jam-packed than anything someone from the US could imagine. Standing on the subte during rush hour, your body will be touching the bodies of at least five other people. With so many people around you, you cannot tell if the guy behind you is feeling you up, trying to pick your pocket, or simply touching you unintentionally. I feel like the subte is a living organism. It arrives at the platform, and everyone presses their bodies together toward the opening doors. Then once you make it through the doors you are swallowed by the subte, and your body is not your own anymore. You have no control over where in the car you will end up, because you cannot move; the crowd moves you. However, despite the highly cramped conditions, the subte will get you where you want to go. The city of Buenos Aires is HUGE, but the subte covers a good chunk of it, and what you can't reach via subte you can reach via colectivo (bus). Colectivos are just like buses in the US, except they go faster and farther, and there are hundreds in the city of Buenos Aires, so there is always one to get you where you need to go. The don't run on a schedule; you just wait at the stop until one comes, but you usually don't have to wait more than 15 minutes, unlike in Dallas, where I have spent more than an hour waiting for the bus I needed to arrive. You do have to be careful not to miss your stop, especially if you are not familiar with the city. When in doubt, take a taxi. I disagree with the advice we were given and think it is perfectly OK to hail a taxi from the street, so long as you know what to look for to make sure the cab is safe. All you have to do is tell the driver the address, and he will know exactly where to take you, and it will probably only cost about 24 peses (6 USD).

The city of Buenos Aires, as well as the nation of Argentina, is definitely in a severe economic situation right now. Many people are without work, and the people you see on the subtes or walking in the streets look very somber. Everyone wears dark colors, and one of the primary ways foreigners stand out is by the bright clothes that they wear. The peso is worth much less than the dollar, and the public has not gained back the morale it lost during the economic crisis of 2001. It is depressing to see a country that was once so great in such a slump. Even the architecture manifests this situation. Grand old European-style buildings are crumbling throughout the city; it is as if the people don't care about preserving these architectural masterpieces, or don't have the money to do so, or both. I wish I could have seen Argentina in its initial days of splendor around the turn of the century, when it was one of the top economic powers in the world, but instead I am viewing the product of decades of coups, dictatorships, human rights abuses, and corruption. It is an important lesson for all nations, including the US, about the impact that bad government can have on an economic superpower.

¡Olé!

2011-07-06T13:38:00.000-05:00

Flamenco. One of the many Spanich stereotypes. However, although flamenco is no longer a popular dance form among the majority of Spanish people, those who still take an active part in flamenco approach their art form with a passion, energy, and dedication that is admirable and that helps them excel in their art form.
During my semester in Castellón, Spain, I took flamenco classes at a local dance studio and attended a few flamenco performances. Since my first class and first performance, I found this Spanish art form captivating. Although some of the flamenco footwork is similar to tap, which I’ve danced for many years, the deep emotion and simultaneously powerful but elegant movement in flamenco dance were unfamiliar to me. Gradually though, I started to realize why I fell in love with flamenco: it was because of how even the most uncoordinated student in class danced with all of her heart and lots of Spanish flare, because of the clapping, cheering, and huge smiles on everyone’s faces that conveyed everyone’s passion about their dancing, and because of how the dancers executed every movement with such technical strength and fervor, but also a grace and pride about their art form.
I think that it would be of much value if we applied these defining aspects of flamenco to our everyday life. What I’ve learned from my experience with flamenco this past semester is that passion, enthusiasm, and most importantly, a little attitude that sets you apart from the crowd are vital to succeeding in a field and having fun while doing so.

Prisha is "fortunate to meet so many people."

2011-07-06T09:46:00.001-05:00

Although it is a weekend, my roommates and I woke up early today to make it to Casa Rosada on time for our tour. It’s still surprising to me that foreigners like us could visit the executive branch of the Argentine government with such ease. Though we were only allowed into a few of the rooms inside the building, it was a very unique opportunity, and after today, we could all say that for a brief moment, we stood on the same balcony that Eva Peron used to address the crowds gathered outside during her husband’s reign.

After the tour, I visited Husain’s host family while my roommates left for a spot of shopping. Though it was the first time we met, Husain’s family invited me to join them for lunch, and I had a great time talking to the kids and learning about their day-to-day lives. After lunch, we shifted to the living room and watched a very important club football game against River Plate and Belgrano. Although the family’s favorite team, Boca Juniors, did not play in the game, it was enough that Boca’s arch-rivals, River Plate, lost the game for the family celebrate with hilarious songs and cheers.
By the time we were done with the merrymaking, it was time for evening tea, and I got a chance to once again talk to the parents about Argentine culture, and later, play catch with the kids. Although I did not initially plan on staying so long, I had a great time with the family and learned so much from them. It was not easy to say good-bye, but I promised to return before leaving. After numerous hugs and kisses on the cheek, Husain and I headed over to my host family’s house for dinner.
Our host mother had a dinner party that very night and gave my roommates and I permission to invite a few of our friends. However, we were in charge of cooking dinner and fortunately for me, my roommates are talented chefs and only required a very little of my assistance to create a thoroughly American meal consisting of rice, gumbo, potato salad, chocolate chip cookies, and ice cream. It was during dinner, while talking to our host mother’s friends, that I realized how much I have come to appreciate the way of life in Argentina.

I’m truly fortunate to meet so many people who continue to make my experiences in this country so wonderful. Overall, today was a fantastic day, and I am thrilled that I had a chance to meet so many such incredible people and learn so much about their culture and day-to-day lives.

Apeksha's Final Thoughts on Her European Experience

2011-07-04T09:28:00.002-05:00

It doesn't seem like it was too long ago that I flew into Europe to start my study abroad experience, but now it's almost time to leave. On a whole, these six weeks have been absolutely amazing since I've been able to study a subject of great interest to me and have traveled to places like Paris, Ireland, Venice, Cambridge, London, Longleat, Stonehenge, and more.

Medical Ethics
I didn't really know what to expect when I came to the UK to study medical ethics as a one-on-one course with an Oxford professor. I had already been in contact with my professor, Dr. Paula Boddington (5th picture), before leaving UTD and was definitely a bit nervous since I was coming from more of a research related background than an ethics related one. However, that's exactly why I chose to study this. It was to become more aware of issues that I don't necessarily come across in my science heavy curriculum. A look into the topic of consent to treatment allowed me to examine patient autonomy and circumstances in which patients may not be competent enough to consent to treatment themselves. Although consent in research (my next topic), was in some ways similar to consent to treatment, it also involved another dimension which went beyond the scope of just participant autonomy since different forms of research involve their own unique set of ethical concerns. In genomics research, for example, advancement of technology makes it harder to determine whether principles such as broad consent are more acceptable since the original terms under which consent was obtained may not apply to other possible future uses of the data. The third topic, which was probably my favorite subject this summer, was decision making in medical ethics since I looked into the importance of ethical reasoning and use of emotions in moral arguments in medicine. There was a great emphasis on aligning one's moral responses with his/her moral principles and beliefs. The final topic I chose to write about was resource allocation in healthcare which allowed me to look into an array of interesting questions when deciding how to fairly distribute scarce medical resources in a society. For example, to what extent should individuals be held responsible for the conditions they're suffering from such as lung cancer due to smoking or liver failure due to alcoholism? Should this affect resource allocation? Overall, this course really gave me the chance to look into a variety of issues concerning four main values in medical ethics including autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice.

Travels
Apart from the course, the best thing about studying abroad was being able to travel to places within and outside of the UK with friends. I traveled to Cambridge and London with other students in the program (the program organized these two trips for us). Maybe it's just because I've been studying at Oxford, but I must say that I liked Oxford more than I liked Cambridge (although Cambridge was just gorgeous). Along with these trips, a group of the girls and I made plans to travel to Paris from June 3rd to June 5th. The weather was great and it was a good bit warmer in Paris than in Oxford which was definitely a nice change. We visited the Eiffel Tower (went to the top), Arc de Triomphe, Avenue des Champs-Élysées, and the Louvre. Since we really spent only one whole day in Paris (June 4th) and walked around a great deal, we were pretty exhausted by the end of the day. After dinner, some of us decided to take a walk so we could see the Eiffel Tower at night from afar but we ended up walking straight up to it (grabbing delicious macaroons on the way of course). The tower would sparkle every hour (I think) so we were able to see it sparkle at midnight and then at 1...beautiful would be the right word to describe it. On our way there, it started raining pretty heavily so we were soaked by the time we got back but since it was warm, it was actually a nice walk in the rain. Completely exhausted but content with our day in Paris, we fell asleep as soon as we got back to the Westin in Paris. After coming back and submitting my third paper on decision making in medicine, my next trip was to Ireland from June 11th to June 14th. Once again, this trip was similar to the trip to Paris, in that a bunch of the girls and I planned it just a few days before leaving. We stayed near Dublin and were able to check out the coast, the city itself, Glendalough (a glacial valley in Wicklow), and Dollymount Beach. Although Dublin itself was nice, my favorite part of the trip to Ireland was taking a four hour hike around Glendalough since the scenery was breathtaking. Also, our trip to the valley itself was amazing since while on the train, we could see a beautiful view of the water on one side and a great view of Ireland's massive green hills on the other side. Definitely a much more relaxing trip than the one to Paris (since we were there longer), Ireland was a different experience for me and I'm glad to have visited. Unfortunately, we weren't able to travel to the Cliffs of Moher but I guess that'll have to be for another time. After gettting back from Ireland, I worked on and submitted my final paper about resource allocation in medicine and enjoyed my time at Oxford with the other girls since they were unfortunately going back to the U.S. in the next few days. Meanwhile though, I was getting ready for my next trip (which unlike the rest of my trips, was actually planned before I came to study abroad) to Venice from June 22nd to June 26th. I was especially excited about this trip because not only would it be my first time in Venice but I would also see a bunch of familiar faces. Over the course of my stay in Venice I was able to see Anna, Sachin, Josh, Grace, Kayla, Lauren W., Matt, John, Ben, Greg, and Monica (since they were all studying abroad in a castle in Italy and took a trip to Venice from the 22nd to the 26th as well). Like in the case of Paris, it was much warmer in Venice than it was in Oxford so I was fairly pleased with the weather. On our first actual day there, we visited the Rialto Bridge, the Basilica, and the Doge's Palace (the prisons were actually pretty cool) at San Marco and then Anna and I visited La Fenice (the opera house) where we were able to see a choir rehearsal. We ended the day with a really nice Vivaldi concert (Four Seasons) and headed back to our hotel. The next day, we went to the islands of Murano, Burano, Torcello (definitely my favorite), San Michele, and Lido (where we watched a beautiful sunset). The last day was also fairly relaxed since we checked out the Biennale, a contemporary art exhibit in Venice that occurs every two years, and then chilled for much of the rest of the day (of course, we went back to Lido to watch the sunset again since it was so beautiful the first time around). It was a great trip to Venice and I'll definitely miss the time that I spent taking rides on the Vaporreto, navigating through the city and it's narrow alleyways, and just having a good time relaxing with people I already knew from UTD. When I came back to Oxford, I spent the rest of the week checking out various museums on campus (including the Ashmolean, Natural History Museum, the Pitt Rivers Museum, and the Museum of the History of Science), visiting the botanical gardens, and going punting with my friends (which was a pretty awesome experience).

Reflections
When I look back at my study abroad experience, I just keep wondering how I was able to take a medical ethics course at Oxford and travel so much in a span of just six weeks. It has been an intense six weeks mainly because there was always something to do but I absolutely loved it! I was asked whether I've been through any change of persepective after studying abroad and quite honestly, I don't think I'll completely know until I'm back in the states. In some ways, I've been able to take a step back, take a look at the big picture, and be a lot more calm and relaxed about things than I usually am which is nice. Although I wanted to be able to meet up with familiar faces while abroad (and I'm glad that I did in Venice), I knew that I wanted my study abroad experience to be fairly independent on the whole and it worked out nicely for me. I was lucky enough to make friends with a group of girls I was comfortable enough with to make trips to Paris and Ireland. It's been a great study abroad experience for me and I hope that all the other scholars are having a great time abroad as well. The amount of time that I've spent at Europe seems just right -- I'm very satisfied with what I've learned and seen here, but I'm equally ready to go back home and start shadowing a doctor in pediatric emergency. Then I shall see everyone when I'm back in Texas!

Marissa sees similarities between Dallas and Buenos Aires

2011-07-02T09:23:00.002-05:00

Several days into this program, I realized that the image I had had of Argentina was very different from the reality. With no prior knowledge of the country or even of the continent, I had unconsciously visualized pedestrian cobblestone roads lined with short, squat buildings, strings of globe lights flung artfully around café patios, candle-lit tables, and brightly colored skirts twirling crazily on the dance floor of a milonga. The skirts in particular were the image that popped into my head whenever I thought of this trip, and since doing as the Romans do is always wise, I packed a previously unworn knee-length white skirt with bright daubs of orange and purple.
When we left the airport, I realized that Buenos Aires is very similar to Dallas, at least in appearance. After a week, I became more familiar with the similarities and differences between the two cities. Buenos Aires is more similar to Dallas than I expected, but a lot of characteristics of the city make it rougher, for lack of a better word. Bags of garbage lines the streets, tiles on the sidewalks are cracked, loose, or missing completely, political graffiti and posters cover every exploitable surface there is. The feeling that struck me most strongly about Buenos Aires was that the entire city is crumbling. Other phrases that come to mind are that the city is “rough around the edges” or “coming apart at the seams.”

At our pre-travel orientation, we were warned of culture shock and how it can darken a study abroad experience. I realized that in Buenos Aires, I was experiencing the opposite of culture shock: the city was simply far more similar to Dallas than I was expecting. There lots of people and lots of tall buildings. It is always very crowded. I have to commute forty-five minutes to school each day, and in order to get just about anywhere from my apartment, I have to plan a complicated route of trains and busses, something which the car-less on campus in Dallas are familiar with. I know now that I should have expected Buenos Aires to be a large, crowded, dirty city, but in a way, having my expectations dashed to bits was kind of fun—It made every day more of an adventure.

Husain ends his trip to Argentina

2011-06-30T09:22:00.000-05:00

The last week in Argentina has been great. We went to Tigre, a city north of Buenos Aires with beatiful river tributaries. We were able to talk to members of the Buenos Aires Rowing Club, and also toured the river by boat. There were many beautiful houses lining the river bank along with lots of shrubbery and trees.
We were also able to experience walking the streets of the Once neighborhood, which was lined with clothing stores and busy people. I also got to spend some time with my host father, talking about all sorts of topics. He has helped me very much in settling in the country and in learning the language. It has also been very fun to joke with him, as he has a lot of good humor. I will certainly miss living with the Carroll family; living with them has made this trip a wonderful experience.
Tomorrow will be the last day of classes, and will be a day full of goodbyes. Looking back, we've learned several things about Argentina's history, culture, and language that has enriched our knowledge. I'm glad to have completed this course and experience, and hope that future students in this program have a great experience as well.

A Geneva Getaway

2011-06-28T12:30:00.000-05:00

During my freshman year as a physics major at UTD, I had taken an honors mechanics course with a fantastic professor named Dr. Joe Izen. Two weeks after spring semester ended, he left for Geneva, Switzerland on a year-long sabbatical. He worked on a project at CERN, the European Center for Nuclear Research and world-famous location of the Large Hadron Collider, a particle accelerator and a theoretical physicist’s dream laboratory. However, we kept in contact through e-mail, talking about bicycle lane projects on the UT Dallas campus he would eventually come back to and my progress as a physics major. He even wrote the main professor’s recommendation for my successful Udall Scholarship application, all the way from Europe. However, perhaps the most exciting message came approximately a week after I arrived for my ten-week internship in the Netherlands:
“Well, you’re not too far away now and staying the entire summer! Would you be interested in coming to visit us at Geneva for a weekend?”
Opportunity’s knock drummed in my ears as I immediately logged onto easyjet.com and searched for a flight between Amsterdam and Geneva. Ninety dollars. It was almost too good to believe, only $90 between me, and CERN, and Switzerland.
My trip? Absolutely fantastic. A lot of school tours visit CERN, and students can walk through halls of old particle accelerators and see the progress of modern computing before their eyes. Did you know that the CERN campus was the birthplace of the World Wide Web? Nowadays, they have a direct working relationship with Intel and often beta-test their newest computer technology before it hits the market. And the second day, the tiny environmentalist inside me was completely captivated by the sight of Mer de Glace, a glacier in the French Alps. I was even more excited when I got to climb down to the icy wonderland and walk and jump all over it, taking photos as evidence that will be mere memories in 30 years’ time.
There was a small issue with locating the glacier at first, since it’s been receding for the past few decades and the original “view point” when you first cross the mountain ridge doesn’t provide much of a view anymore:
[donde esta glacier? Photo]
But ultimately, we were successful and another “Whoosh” site was found, right next to a deep crevasse.
[Whoosh! Glacier photo]

But I really don’t want this article to focus too much on the small, sight-seeing details of this trip. Although it was entirely unrelated to my internship, it fit perfectly according to my interests as a physics student and climate change researcher. I could spend my whole summer—and beyond—exploring every last nook and cranny and hydroengineering feature in the Netherlands, but then I would have missed out on this incredible opportunity to visit CERN and Mer de Glace. What I’m trying to recommend is, don’t get bogged down in the big picture of planning your whole semester and summer down to the wire, so that your eyes are shut to small, but significant opportunities like these. Take a leap and see what you make of it! At the very least, I hope this encourages you to strike up a conversation with (or e-mail) your honors mechanics (or equivalent) professor, and see how they’re doing.

Argetina group thoughts

2011-06-27T16:45:00.002-05:00

Jessica H---
Meals have been one of my favorite parts of Argentina, and not just because my host mom is a great cook! Meals are always an interesting mix of Spanish and English (and sometimes even French, since I took it in high school) in order for me to accomplish basic communication. The first week, dinner took about 3 hours every night. We started around 9pm and finished close to 12am, when our host mom, Mama Catalina as she has us call her, finally shoos us out of the kitchen when we try to do the dishes yet again.

Mama Catalina, Jess, Prisha, and I have had some really fun nights. One of my favorite memories is the time I mixed up wedding and deer, and no one could stop laughing long enough to explain what had happened! I have learned so much about Argentine culture around our dinner table and I think that our family dinners will be memories I cherish the most when I leave here

Husain M --
The Buenos Aires experience so far has had a myriad of meaningful sights, sounds, and smells. A walk in the Plaza de Mayo has shown us the Casa Rosada, the Cathedral, and buildings of varying architecture. We saw the Madres de Mayo (mother's of victims of the Dirty War) in their weekly demonstrations as well. Visits to the Parque de la Memoria and the ESMA (a former detention center) have also helped us understand the dark details of the war.
A day trip to an estancia (a ranch for Argentine gauchos) has given us another view on the culture here. The environment was serene, with a vast blue sky and a wide expanse of flat, green land. Riding horses, eating asado (barbequed) beef, and talking with the gauchos made this a memorable day.
Other great places include the Buenos Aires Zoo, the Botanical Garden, and the Teatro Colon. Daily life on the streets has been fun with perusing through markets, eating pastries at confiterias/panaderias, and appreciating the ubiquitous street art.
A full weekend at Puerto Iguazu was incredible with viewing the waterfalls at the National Park. A raft ride through the falls got us all soaked, but we were able to dry off on the sun-exposed beach of Isla de San Martin. The next day we went to the Iguazu Forest to do rappelling and canopying. We were also able to visit Tres Frenteras, the point from which we could see Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina all at once!

Prisha G--
Although the thought of living with a complete stranger was initially daunting, I am very fortunate to have “Mama Catalina” as my host mother. With her kindness and generosity, she has made it possible for my roommates and I to feel right at home in her 10th floor apartment in the middle of Buenos Aires. Though we were strangers to her just three short weeks ago, Mama Catalina has embraced us with kindness and dotes on us all of the time.
While we are busy during the day and spend most of our time far from the house, all of us look forward to returning just in time for the nightly dinner and the hilarious conversations that ensue. Spending time with her and other families has enabled me to realize that this is the way of life in Argentina. Families are of the foremost importance, and the people here cherish spending hours at the dinner table sharing stories of misadventures and even day-to-day occurrences.
Through Spanish, English, and a little bit of gesturing, I have learned about the importance of family to the people of this country, and it’s a lesson I want to take back home with me.

Liz reflect on time in Brazil

2011-06-27T12:02:00.002-05:00

So it took me a long time to write this post. I spent the holidays back in the states, worked for a semester in D.C., and now have finally returned to campus in Dallas, and my experience in Brazil has clearly shaped the way I look at the world and my place in it. I suppose this blog has taken such a long time to complete because in many ways, I am still not done processing how my experience abroad has affected my life. I think I brought back a piece of Brazil with me, imbedded deep within my character and thoughts, and it continues to play a role in my development as a nearly-graduated college student/soon-to-be professional adult.
As a country, Brazil has been truly blessed with great natural beauty, both in terms of landscape and people. The geography varies greatly from region to region, but almost all the country is permeated with a sense of wonder and respect for the wealth of nature it possesses—be it beaches or forests or anything in between. The people in general are large-hearted, excited to be exposed to new people and ideas, and eager to share their culture and opinions and views on life.
The economy and the country as a whole are experiencing a period of newfound stability and prosperity that results in an almost tangible energy in the attitudes and outlooks of the people. They seem genuinely excited for what the future holds in store; I have certainly never been faced with such widespread optimism here in the U.S. during my life thus far—a time which has largely been characterized by terrorism, unending military conflicts, and economic troubles. There are lessons to be learned from that optimism, and I can only hope that my still-developing understanding of it will continue to guide me as I figure out how to contribute to a brighter future for the U.S. in an increasingly interconnected world.
All in all, my experiences in Brazil were extremely valuable on both a personal and professional level. I am much more aware of the forces of globalization and economic improvement, but also much more aware of how I fit into the equation and what I may be capable of achieving in the coming years. Thank you, Brazil and all those I met there, for reinvigorating and refining my earlier dreams of helping enact up-to-date and meaningful economic change in the U.S. and in the world.

Dionna Explores Europe

2011-06-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

Check out Dionna's adventures at her blog: dionnabudd.blogspot.com

"Salud!" says D'Souza

2011-06-22T16:30:00.000-05:00

Salud!
This past week we traveled 18 hours by bus to visit Iguazu Falls. Besides teaching me a lesson in patience on the bus, I cannot put into words the beauty of the waterfalls. The grandeur of such a massive natural wonder puts into perspective how big the world really is. And yet, I don’t feel small at all! I have become way more aware of the power I have to change the world and more aware of who I want am. These past two weeks we have been studying Argentinean history especially with respect to human rights and the abuses that occurred during the Dirty War from 1976—1983. I am now keenly aware of the role I play in preventing a crime against humanity by asking questions, seeking the truth, and never relying solely on others for my information. Truly that is what this trip has been about for me; though there is much to be learned through books and listening to others, being here and seeing the place and knowing the people teaches me in an entirely different way that is personal and thoroughly true because I have seen it for myself. I am also glad to share this trip with others who can share their perspectives with me! As a pre-health student, I can’t help but think about human rights and the standards of health in a developing country. Though this is a thought still evolving, I believe that though certain advances in medicine may be a luxury, health is a human right. That includes physical, psychological, and social health and furthermore indicates that a health student could be studying anything from the practices of a shaman in an indigenous settlement hundreds of years old to the economic and political stability that promote social ties and culture.

On a personal note, I have become much more independent because of navigating the subte and buses on my own and just by virtue of being across the world! Sometimes I’ll look out the window and think, wow! I´m really here in the middle of another continent. All of the fantastical dreams that seem unrealistic or ideological must be in reach if these places that I could only imagine stretch before my eyes for as far as I can see.
It´s a make or break decision because if I don´t use the map to find a bus or take a chance on playing field hockey with Argentineans practicing in the park or trying ziplining in the forest, no one else will do it for me! I am completely in charge of my life and now is the time to be aware of where I am, what I want to do, and who I want to be. Exploring the city and taking advantage of being in Buenos Aires is part of defining myself.
Jessica D´Souza

Weston's Argentine Update

2011-06-22T16:15:00.001-05:00

So here's a rundown on what's happened here in Argentina so far:

After arrival and orientation, when I first got to look around the city, I was confronted by the sheer familiarity of it. McDonalds billboards, gas stations, name brand shopping and other reminders of home were everywhere. Buenos Aires is just the same as any major American city, like Dallas, except that it is mostly in Spanish.

We jumped right into classes, and lots of them. I spend most of the day at school Monday through Thursday, which can make it difficult to visit the city's attractions as it is winter here and gets dark a bit after 18:00. This country has had a lot of history in a very short amount of time, as Dra. Demello has made clear.

My host family is great. The mother is a biologist, and the son a stereotypical 13 year old boy. They are very welcoming and the food is delicious, although the lack of spice is killing me. The upstairs neighbor is a chemistry professor who spent many years in the United States and Australia, and his English skills help make overcoming the language barrier easier.

The language is something worth mentioning. Español Rioplatense is what it is called, and it consists of a terrible accent, re-purposing a few letters, and using a different word (and conjugation) for "you" than the rest of the Spanish speaking world.

Overall, it's a lot of fun, and there's so much to learn that the month I am here is nowhere near long enough. According to some other exchange students I have met, 6 months doesn't quite cut it either.

Hasta Luego,
Weston

Photos are: host family, the way to do burger king right, and an artistic photo of an Argentine flag waving in the breeze.

Life in a Castle

2011-06-21T09:54:00.000-05:00

Anna Skydiving on one of her weekends!

This summer, I got the chance to live in a castle in themountains of northern Italy, of all places. I could not have imagined somewheremore magical or surreal to spend a month of my life. Named Schloss Brunnenburg,it is situated in Dorf Tirol, a small German-Italian town near the borderbetween Italy and Germany. Every morning, we would wake up to a magnificentview of mountains and valleys all around. When it got rainy, which it often didfor the first half of our stay, the clouds would descend and envelop the topsof the mountains, which was so beautiful in its own way. In addition to beingan architectural museum, the castle was home to a family that farmed, madewine, and ate delicious organic food. For the first time in my life, I got tosee what it was like to work for a day in the vineyard, feed and play withpiglets and goats, and eat an egg straight from the hen's nest.

However, it wasn't just the architecture of the castlethat enchanted me. I loved the people who lived there, too. In fact, they weredescendants of the late Ezra Pound, none of whom my friends seem to know byname, funnily enough. We got to have tea with Mary, Pound's daughter, in theafternoons, and that was a magical experience. She is such a cultured person,and I have a lot of respect for her. I also got to befriend Brigitte, herdaughter-in-law, and India, the girlfriend of one of Brigitte's sons. Theybrought me along on their daily chores and very kindly showed me the ropes. Bythe end of the month, it was hard for me to leave Schloss Brunnenburg, not justbecause of its surrounding beauty and serenity, but also because of the innerwarmth and peace that came with living there.

Schloss Brunnenburg Castle, Italy

2011-06-13T15:26:00.000-05:00

Dr. Tim Redman's UT Dallas study of Venetian culture, literature, architecture & art history (LIT 3381: Venetian Literature)
Ten McDermott Scholars are studying with Dr. Redman.

We all arrived safely to the castle on Sunday, June 5, 2011. Schloss Brunnenburg, the castle that belonged to the late Ezra Pound, has a beauty that cannot be described by words. Mountains surround the castle on all sides, and it overlooks the city of Merano.
We have called Dorf Tirol our home for over a week now, so we have officially settled into life in the castle. Each week day morning we have class with Dr. Redman from 10:00am to 12:00pm. So far we have analyzed a lot of Venice’s art and architecture, with a focus on its cultural significance. After class, we enjoy a meal together cooked by Brigitte, Ezra Pound’s granddaughter, who takes cooking to a new level. Every meal presents us with a new array of delicious dishes to try. In the afternoons, we travel up to the town, work on our reading, and hang out together. At 4:00pm, we take turns having tea with Mary, the daughter of Ezra Pound. For dinner, we usually cook together or go out to eat as a group.
Last weekend, Jon and Sachin went to Florence, Anna traveled to Switzerland, and the rest of us explored the castle and the neighboring cities of Merano and Bolzano. This coming week, Jon, Matthew, Lauren, Sachin, Josh, Ben, and I will be exploring Rome, and Anna is traveling to Vienna. The weekend after that, we are all traveling to Venice together.
That’s all from Italy! We are having a blast!

Horseback riding in Argentina!

2011-06-12T09:44:00.000-05:00

Horseback riding at the gaucho ranch was possibly one ofthe most frightening/amazing experiences of my life! I thought that with thehorses, my language barrier would be non-existent. I was wrong. Apparently,horses in Argentina only know Spanish. And, despite my desperate pleas for thehorse to slow, he wasn't listening to one word of it. Finally, one of thegauchos (Argentine cowboy) took pity on me, rode alongside me, and took thereins. My hero!

In addition to my equestrian adventurism, I had a newculinary adventure today as well. I tried blood sausage...one word, gross.Luckily, the rest of the meat the gauchos served was very delicious. All inall, today was lots of adventure!