Andrews thoughts of Argentina

I can not believe how efficient I was this trip. When I arrived and was still learning how to use the colectivos or buses in Buenos Aires I was almost positive that my entire study abroad would be composed of waking up, running to get class, spending my time inside the classroom, and returning back home to eat dinner and sleep. While I did end up spending a significant portion of my time doing those things, I also made sure to travel on the weekends and to visit as many museums and try as many new things in Buenos Aires as possible. By the fourth week I had traversed the country. I had spent a weekend in Northern Argentina near the border with Brazil and Paraguay where I went to see Iguazu falls. I had also traveled to the southern tip of the country in Patagonia where I went with Anna and Saskia to see the glaciers in Calafate. In Buenos Aires, I had visited the Museum of Latin American Art, the Xul Solar Museum, The Barolo Palace, the Plaza de Mayo, Congress, and the Eva Duarte Museum. Through the culture and identity class taught by Dr. Demello, I had the opportunity to study Argentine society. I attended lectures from human rights professors and anthropologists and researched and afterwards wrote four essays on topics such as the Dirty War, the art of Xul Solar, and the differences between the urban immigrant population and the rural indigenous and criollo populations in the country. I hope that other students take this trip in the future. I was a little hesitant at the beginning because while other students were participating in internships or taking classes, I was hard pressed to show how the trip related to my future career interests or educational goals. But looking back, I realized how immature my thinking was. This trip was one of personal growth and discovery. It still amazes me how much I learned about Buenos Aires and Argentine society when I was down there. And although the program lasted only one month, I feel that there were so many resources and opportunities available to students that wanted to experience as much as possible while they were in Argentina.

¡Pura Vida! says Alice!

Some education takes long hours of study and sleepless nights before an exam, another kind feels as easy as breathing. Learning Spanish in Costa Rica is most certainly the latter. My classes teach me the mechanics and vocabulary of Spanish, but living, traveling, and socializing with Ticos (Costa Ricans) allows my brain to breath in Spanish.

The majority of my time is spent in San Jose where I study at Veritas University (the exact opposite of UTD: art, language, and architecture are this school's strengths and it is common to see classes painting outside). I also live with a wonderful host family a short, though hilly walk from the university. Like any big city, San Jose is crowded with people and traffic and most Costa Ricans don't really like it. I enjoy calling San Jose my home base because there are buses to every part of the country. Since the entire country of Costa Rica can fit within Texas seven times, most beaches and volcanoes are within a five hour bus ride.

For my first three weekends the program I am in arranged excursions to Tamarindo, Arenal, and Manuel Antonio. These two beaches on the Pacific, Tamarindo and Manuel Antonio, are beautiful and have nearby national parks that protect some of the abundant wildlife of the country. Volcano Arenal is the most active volcano in Costa Rica and I was able to hike as close as people are allowed in order to take a Woosh picture. The clouds cover most of the volcano, but you can make out a faint outline. By the way the country is on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and I felt my first earth tremor during my first week abroad. The area around Arenal has spectacular waterfalls and hot springs that were quite enjoyable.

After my first month of Spanish classes came to a close I traveled around the country for a week making a slingshot route from the Caribbean Sea to the mountains of Monteverde to the Pacific of Playa Sámara.

On the Caribbean coast the language Patwa, a Creole English-based language, is widely spoken. One vendor in Puerto Viejo explained how some of the words are formed from a mix of English words. It is really fun to listen to, but is incomprehensible even to an English speaker.

Making my way back through the volcanoes outside of San Jose, I enjoyed a tour of a coffee company called Cafe Britt. Much of the monetary system of Costa Rica was formed from coffee trade, and after independence the government directly subsidized farmers to grow the college students' fuel. Illegal drugs may be smuggled through Costa Rica, but there is plenty of caffeine here to supply my legal addiction. The high altitude and volcanic minerals make this coffee delicious.

Traveling to the mountains of Monteverde and hiking the cloud forest of Santa Elena and then catching some waves (yes, this Texan has learned the basics of surfing!) in the most tranquil beach town of Playa Sámara was super fun because I could travel on the public buses and get away from the gringos of the group in the officially planned excursions.

Now that I am comfortable with traveling around the country (which was much easier to learn than in Ghana) I am excited about my upcoming month of continuing Spanish at Veritas University and then taking my knowledge on the road to some other beautiful places in Costa Rica.

Hola from the Amazon Basin! ~ Emily

I just got back from five days of exploring the amazon rainforest in the northern part of Peru around the city of Iquitos. I had an absolutely amazing time and learned tons about the culture of the indigenous people in the rainforest and the habitat itself. I saw a bunch of different animals, including five different species of monkeys, a sloth, a tarantula, a huge bull frog, parrots, and gray and pink dolphins. The natives are scared of the pink dolphins because they think that if you swim alone with them the dolphins will take you and turn you into a dolphin. They also have an ancient legend about the pink dolphins which involves the dolphins turning into men at night and impregnating all of the virgin women. One of my favorite activities that I participated in while in the jungle is parana fishing. I caught two paranas and then cooked them and ate them with dinner. While fishing we also found an anaconda and with the guide´s help we were able to hold it!

Erich gains insights into self discovery!

So far so good. That was the prevailing mentality that I had during my three week long travels in Europe as it was usually one of the first thoughts to enter my head. It was not that I was convinced that something terrible was going to befall me, but I was definitely concerned with the possibility. Fortunately nothing bad would occur and the entire trip was the experience of a lifetime. During my eight country journey I have been fortunate enough to walk where giants have, witnessed the view from what used to be the top of the world, and even seen the most famous woman that has ever graced this planet. Also I have witnessed the less appealing aspects of history that include the remains of our own destructive bombs, an entire camp entirely devoted to torture and death, and a wall that once divided not only a nation, but a world.

However, even with the enormous amount of new experiences I was having, I still was learning as much about myself as the outside world. Just like learning new things about other people, it is exciting learning aspects about yourself that you did not know, but at the same time it is disturbing to realize how little you know about someone you have spent every second of your entire life with. It may be funny to learn something about myself such as the fact that I have trouble sleeping with other people snoring even though I snore extremely loud myself. Other things, such as my discomfort with spending time with only myself for company, are a little more revealing about the shallow depth in which I have explored my own person. So while my physical journey has now ended as I have arrived in Salamanca, I will continue to explore the beautiful and foreign culture all around me, as well as the one within me. I may not be far, but so far so good.

Jake goes to Europe!

Check out Jake's Travels at his blog!