Author: wwuedabroad

Israel: Mid-Program: “A Day in the Life” by Maytal Abramson

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April 7, 2017

 

A day in the life of my Israel routine. The day usually begins with waking up to the Muslim call to prayer, known as Adhan, at 5 in the morning. It may sound irritating but it’s actually a very calming sound; it also lets me know that I have 2 more restful hours of sleep. For those of you that did the math, great job; I get up at 7am every morning however my schedule changes everyday. Some days I have a Hebrew class and a communications class, other days it’s a mix of Hebrew and dance classes and some days it’s just dance all day long. I really like the fact that I’m not stuck doing the same thing everyday and it also allows me to try new things in Jerusalem (mostly food). 

 

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England: Mid Program: “A Day in The Life” by Mikayla Lawrence

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A DAY IN THE LIFE

3/31/2017

I knew I was going to love London, but the one thing I didn’t expect from studying abroad was how nice my neighborhood was going to be, and how little I would want to leave it every day. Don’t get me wrong: Westminster Abbey, Piccadilly Circus and all the other tourist spots are amazing, and I love just exploring random parts of the city. But when you live in an area so wonderful that locals ask if you’re a millionaire for being able to afford it, you can understand the appeal (p.s. I’m not a millionaire — I think I just got lucky with dorm assignments).

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A Guide to Housing: Navigating your Housing Situation Before & After you Study Abroad

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Are you excited about study abroad, but stressed about navigating your housing situation – before you leave, while you are away, or when you return to WWU?

We are here to tell you that it IS possible to work out housing during the school year and that you are NOT limited to only summer programs. Education Abroad, University Residences & Off Campus Living are here to help you navigate your housing situation with resources and tips!

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Tanzania: Mid Program: “A Day in the Life” by Tara Quattrone

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A Day in the Life

Every morning for the last month and a half I have woken up in my mosquito net bunk bed to the sounds of birds as the African sun rise makes the sky around me orange. The sun rises and sets much faster on the equator, also creating a much more dramatic coloration for this short time period. Most mornings I take a daily jog up to the Moyo hill (meaning heart in Swahili). This might be one of my favorite activities in this study abroad experience. I am alone which is rare here, and as I get to the top I get to see the Rhotia village below me along with the surrounding villages and mountains. I also get the view of the Manyara lake and conservation area where I got to see my first large African mammals. This open view makes me feel free and reminds me how special it is to be where I am at in that moment.

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South Korea: Arrival: “It’s a New Week!” by Allison Ogle

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http://boldnewadventures.weebly.com/

 

It’s a New Week!

3/7/2017

Things here at my school are going really well! I’ve co-taught one English lesson so far and I have taught a lesson about my hometown(s). Because I am in a public Korean elementary school, a lot of the instruction during the day is in Korean. This means that it is really hard for me to be a regular classroom teacher. Instead, I am what the teachers call a “subject teacher” my job is essentially to provide English instruction as a native speaker of English as well as to share lessons about my home culture. I am planning on teaching a 10 week (one lesson per week) unit on America and American culture. The scary thing is I will be teaching these lessons to all of the grades in the school. First grade through sixth grade. That is kind of scary but I’m really excited to take on this role of being a bit of an EFL (English as a foreign language) specialist which is extremely similar to my endorsement that would allow for me to teach ELLs (English language learners) back home. I will essentially be teaching the same lesson to every class but it will be tailored to meet the language and developmental abilities of each grade. I’m supposed to start with some fourth and fifth grade classes on Thursday so I hope it goes well!

Last night, we as a school went out to dinner! It was really great! We ate a lot of traditional Korean foods and we also went out for coffee afterwards. I posted pictures of this in the pictures page here. (Click it, it will take you to the picture page 🙂 ). I had a lovely night and tried several new foods like stingray/skate. It had a good taste but the texture was very different from how it looked.

I had a lovely time after school today with several of the teachers. Every Tuesday, the teachers get together to play badminton and have a good time. I really enjoyed badminton all throughout school but I never really had the opportunity to play it recreationally so it was really nice to be able to go play a fun sport with several of the teachers from the school (even the vice principal!). It was a great time! I really enjoyed how we could all play a sport together and not really need to use our language. We were all simply having fun! I am now glad that I was forced to take some of those PE classes in school 🙂 knowing some of the rules to badminton came in handy!

I know this post was a lot of different things smashed together but a lot has happened in just a few days! Please go look at the pictures page if you want to see some of the pictures that I have taken while I’ve been here! It’s a bit more interesting than just reading all of this :).

South Korea: Arrival: “Personal Space” by Allison Ogle

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http://boldnewadventures.weebly.com/

 

Personal Space

3/11/2017

So, I’m learning a bit about personal space in Korean public spaces.

I had read online before I came to Korea that because Korea is such a small country and there are so many people, it is common for people to bump into other people and not really worry about it. People wouldn’t say sorry or excuse me because it was so common and normal. I’m really seeing this now. It’s really weird for me!

When I was walking around and shopping in Myeongdong, I was often in a tight spot with a lot of people around me. I was bumped into several times and I even bumped into other people a few times. It really wasn’t a big deal and even when I said “excuse me” to pardon myself, people didn’t really care. It was an interesting feeling. The same thing happened on my subway ride home. On the last leg of my subway journey, there were so many of us in the car that I couldn’t move. People weren’t being rude or pushing and shoving. It was very civilized and everyone was very chill about it. Again, it was weird for me but I think I could get used to it.

South Korea: Arrival: “It’s Been Two Weeks!” by Allison Ogle

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http://boldnewadventures.weebly.com/

 

It’s Been Two Weeks!

3/12/2017

It has been two weeks since I arrived in Seoul. Now that I’m here, I’m really enjoying a lot of things about Seoul! Everything is really close and convenient. I have two convenience stores within 1-5 minutes of walking distance. These convenience stores have EVERYTHING! There is packaged and processed food and there is fresh food like eggs, meat, vegetables, and fruit. There are also household items and cleaning supplies among many other things. I’m also very close to the subway station. This means that I can go basically anywhere quickly for quite cheap. I’m also really close to the school where I’m student teaching. It makes my mornings really easy! There are so many things that I really like about Seoul, it’s hard to name them all!

There are a few things that are challenging. Culturally, Korea stays up very late. Though I like staying up late, I think it’s a bit tough for me to stay up late on a school night. I’m also having to learn a lot about speaking Korean. I wish that I would have studied a bit more Korean but I’m getting by. I can say a few things and get my point across as well as understand the point of the person with whom I’m speaking but it’s still a challenge. There’s also a difference in personal space! Overall, Seoul is living up to my expectations and very often exceeding my expectations which is great!

2017 Video Contest Winner: Jacqui Silva, Mexico 2016

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Jacqui Silva – WWU EdAbroad Video Contest – Winner 2017

This video is a short documentation of our time in the Tropical Marine Biological Research class, which took place in La Paz, Mexico. For one month over the summer, we traveled around the Baja California Peninsula along-side students from a local university and learned about ocean processes, native organisms, and the relationships between them and the environment. We snorkeled mass amounts of coastlines, scaled hilltops, and combed beaches, taking copious amounts of notes and observations along the way. Aside from learning about scientific field techniques, we built relationships among our cohorts and instructors and learned what it took to be a team member in a scientific research setting. In our free time, we were able to explore the city with our new international friends and immerse ourselves in the Mexican culture and cuisine. This was my first experience in a tropical water setting and it was exciting to see the similarities and differences compared to the Puget Sound ecosystem. I can’t speak for my classmates, but this educational endeavor was among the best that I have had so far, allowing me to make professional connections and some life-long friendships. I am incredibly thankful to have had the opportunity to be a part of this class with the amazing students and instructors of WWU.

2017 Video Contest Entry: Jhomarie Sadang, Central & Eastern Europe

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https://youtu.be/pgVOBjJDu64

The video contains a few clips of my trip to Central and Eastern Europe with a group of Western Students. We visited Prague, Vienna, Bratislava, and Ljubljana. I also included my weekend trip to Berlin in the video as well. This expereince was significant to me because I never thought I would every visit these places and the group I went with was amazing. We created a bond that can’t be created anywhere else. It really opened my eyes to other cultures and made me want to experience other cultures.

2017 Video Contest Entry: Madison Moore: Mongolia, 2016

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRPwsdsu7FU

In the summer of 2016, a group of WWU students and faculty went to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to conduct research on women leaders in the culture. Our days were packed to the brim of different interviews, research, and more, and we rarely got a chance to sleep or explore. However, in those moments where we did have a breath of fresh air and got the chance to drink in the culture, we had a lot of great laughs with the close friends we found there. While the trip was full of positive and negative experiences, we all learned a little more about who we are as leaders, who we are as human beings, and who we are as global citizens. While a lot of time has passed since the trip, I recently found the GoPro I used to capture some of the moments in the Mongolian countryside.I had forgotten about these special moments, and before I even knew there was a contest, I had already made this video to commemorate the times that make me laugh and smile. I included some of the spectacular landscape views, but the people that joined me on this adventure meant just as much to me and bring back happy memories of the adventure. I wanted to not only remember the sunsets and views, but the smiles and laughter of the people I was with. They were just as impactful as the history and customs of the culture. While this experience was a hard and difficult one, I know that because of it I learned so much about myself and others. I walk away with new perspectives and experiences, and while some of those moments may be negative, I know I’ve changed for the better. The song is also of significance to me- we would play that song over and over on the trip, and it slowly became the soundtrack of our adventure. Listening to it, I remember drives through the rugged terrain of the Hustai National Park, I remember climbing rocks and discovering abandoned eagle nests, I remember exploring ancient and uninhabited stone fortresses standing alone in a landscape, I remember marveling at the history of Ghengis Kham. But I also remember laughing in our bunk beds early in the morning, walking through crowded supermarkets trying to find an ice pack, playing card games late into the night because the WiFi was frustratingly spotty, and gripping the seats of taxi cabs as we weave through hectic traffic. These seemingly mundane daily activities were made into lifelong memories thanks to the amazing people I traveled alongside. There were lots of tears, lots of laughter, lots of pain, lots of curiosity, and lots of adventure thanks to this beautiful country.

2017 Video Contest Entry: Sarah Berglin, Mexico, 2016

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https://youtu.be/cEQkFpFwgzQ

https://youtu.be/cEQkFpFwgzQ

Although our study abroad trip was only one week, this was an incredible experience. A special thanks to Gigi Beraldi, our professor on this trip, who arranged a beautiful and educational experience for all of us. As my first time out of the country, this experience really opened my eyes to the culture that many of my friends are from. I absolutely fell in love with the desert, the pyramids, the churches, the handmade tortillas, the language, and of course, the culture. We biked dirt trails, hiked botanical gardens, explored the city, and ate more food than we could handle…and we loved every second of it. Thank you Gigi and Western Washington University and everyone else that made this trip possible – it was unforgettable.

2017 Video Contest Winner: Shelby Payne: “Together with Others” Kenya, 2016

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Check out my Video!

“Together, with others”. This was a common phrase among our wise friends in Kochia, Kenya; a rural village in western Kenya that sat alongside Lake Victoria. “Together, With Others” speaks on the idea that we must go through life, hand in hand. That we must work together, and work with others. During our unforgettable International Service Learning trip in Kochia, our team of 11 students from Western continued to learn the power of working together to create lasting friendships filled with joy, laughter, and purpose. This video reflects just that. It reflects the hands we held, the friendships we fostered, and the laughter we shared. Our team was consistently immersed in the fantastic, welcoming, and heart warming culture of Kenya as we continued to build upon friendships with Abba Integrated School of Excellence and Ombogo Girls Academy, both previous education partners of Western Washington University.

South Korea: Pre-Departure: “Thoughts Before I Go” by Allison Ogle

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http://boldnewadventures.weebly.com/

 

Tanzania: Pre-Departure: by Tara Quattrone

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Pre-Departure

In two days I leave for Tanzania, Africa where I will be studying abroad for the next four months. One of my biggest draws to participate in this study abroad is my desire to travel. I want to see the world, and Africa is somewhere I have never been. In this country in particular I feel the culture is so beautiful different that it appealed to me over other places. I feel like traveling gives you more ability to learn what the world is really about. Sometimes we get too stuck in our own little worlds we forget how many other little worlds are going on around us. Also how different these other little worlds can be. I want to show myself these new places, and ideas and see how I can grow and truly become who I want to be.

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England: Arrival: “London, She has Arrived” by Mikayla Lawrence

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Day 13. Loving London. Loving life.

After some of the hardest days of my entire life, I’m finally settling into my new home. But, of course, everything that could have gone wrong on my first day did, and the sadness, homesickness and subsequent crankiness amplified every frustrating moment. But, in typical me nature, I overreacted under jetlag and everything worked out the way it was supposed to in the end. Let’s break it down.

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