October 2023 – Journals from Abroad

October 26, 2023

Let’s Go Back…

Grüß Gott readers! The Linfield gang and I (we have affectionately and comedically titled ourselves Mozart’s children, after, well, Mozart) have been in Austria for a little while now, it’s been a heck of a time. Although there has been a fair amount of laughter, happiness and amazement, and even though I have traveled before, nothing prepared me for the toll traveling took on me physically, emotionally, and spiritually. However, over the past month, I have had such a great time learning about Vienna.

I want to sincerely apologize for not publishing any blog posts recently. Something I have learned about myself is that writing is not the first thing to come to mind when I need to vent; it is usually listening to music or watching comedies on Netflix. However, now that I am settled in, I want to sit down, go back in time, and tell you readers about what I find as the most important characteristics during traveling.

Flexibility and adaptability. Nothing, in my opinion, is more important while traveling. Sage and I traveled from Portland to Vienna together and overall, it was a 30+ hours travel day. We were absolutely exhausted, hungry, dehydrated, and annoyed by the time we arrived at the Vienna airport. Then, after all that, I found out my checked luggage did not make it with me to Vienna. Although I was very frustrated by this, I was basically just done with the whole day, so I tried to not let it get to me. Everyone was so surprised that I wasn’t freaking out more, but I reminded myself that this often happens during travel and focused on figuring out my next steps.

This situation spanned the course of 6 days until my luggage was delivered to me. I had to adjust my expectations . Everyone (maybe naively) thinks that traveling is super easy and people are able to do it with so much grace. In reality, traveling is hard. Being so exhausted and losing my luggage, then having to navigate a big dinner the night of arrival with professors from our school and our host families was very overwhelming. Trying to listen to conversations around the dinner table and trying to enjoy my first Wiener Schnitzel was marred by the fact that I just wanted a shower to wash off the endless hours of travel and frustration.

Although the first week being in Austria could be personally characterized as pretty rough, I really tried my best to adapt to each day I was given. I realized how lucky I was to even be in Austria, even though I was so frustrated and tired. To get away from our travel troubles and lots of jetlag, we spent a week relaxing at the spa, going on hikes, eating delicious Austrian food, and generally just getting to know each other better in the small alpine town of Dorfgastein. Two of our professors from the Institute and a young man who worked at the Institute came along with us and they helped introduce us to this new culture.

It was such an exciting time! Every day, we did something fun and ate the most delicious food. I realized how scrumptious Wiener Schnitzel and traditional soups are. We were also constantly outside or surrounded by nature, which infinitely boosted my mood. As a group, we did many walks and learned about the environment around us. Even though I was upset by my luggage situation, I could count on both nature and the group to cheer me up. After a while, I was less stressed about what was going on and I could enjoy the beauty and newly-found friends around me.

Austria has been great so far, even with all the twists and turns. I can’t wait to write to you next time about the cultural differences I have noticed between the U.S. and Austria.

Auf Wiedersehen for now!
Lizzie

Wait! Wait!!! Before we part, let’s look at some fun photos from this time!

From left to right; Andrew, Rachel, Sage, and Lizzie beam at the camera after arriving in Vienna after their over 24 hour travel day

An assortment of Austrian chocolates the director of the Institute gave us as a welcome treat. — A quick snap of an assortment of Austrian chocolates from the village of the Institute’s director, given to us as a welcome treat at our welcome dinner.

A picture of Lizzie's first Wiener Schnitzel- a traditional Austrian dish — A picture of Lizzie’s first Wiener Schnitzel- a traditional Austrian dish

Lizzie's bedroom in Austria — Lizzie’s bedroom in Vienna

Walking into the Institute for the first time and seeing this poster welcoming us!

Lizzie smiling for the camera in Dorfgastein wearing clothes bought from TKMaxx after her luggage didn't show up! — Lizzie smiling for the camera in Dorfgastein wearing clothes bought from TKMaxx after her luggage didn’t show up!

From left to right; Sage, Rachel, Lizzie, and Andrew smile for the camera in front of a museum/exhibition dedicated to learning more about the environment and Austria's national parks. — From left to right; Sage, Rachel, Lizzie, and Andrew smile for the camera in front of a museum/exhibition dedicated to learning more about the environment and Austria’s national parks.

From left to right; Sage, Andrew, Rachel, and Lizzie smile in the pouring rain in front of a beautiful waterfall on a hike.

From left to right; Ingrid (Director of the Institute) and Lizzie take a selfie on a walk back to their BnB after a traditional Austrian dinner in Dorfgastein.

The Linfield gang, professors Ingrid and Elisabeth, friend and coworker Moritz, and farmworkers pose for a picture with freshly made sausage and schnapps after taking a tour of an organic farm about an hour hike outside of Dorfgastein.

October 23, 2023

Exploring and Adjusting

Hi and welcome to the first blog about me actually living in Nottingham! We have lots to discuss…

This blog post will cover two larger experiences I have had and a couple of smaller updates

The day after writing the last post, I ended up going to something called the Goose Fair with a few friends, Aki, Chloe, and Abhita. The Goose Fair is a big traveling fair that comes to Nottingham every fall and it’s the biggest fair in the UK. Needless to say, there were a lot of rides and a lot of people. I (along with a mix of the friends that joined me depending on the ride), went on 3 rides: a Ferris wheel, a giant rotating swing, and something called the Xtreme which is very hard to explain but made me very dizzy and feel like i was flying sideways in an airplane. This was a very fun event and it allowed for a few of my friends that didn’t know each other to meet as well.

Clara, Aki, Chloe, and Abhita sitting in a circular Ferris Wheel car high above the lights of the Goose Fair shining at night below — From left to right, Clara, Aki, Chloe, and Abhita, all sitting in a Ferris Wheel car at the top of the wheel.

Ferris wheel on the left and in the background, Swing (looks like a tower with pointed petals sticking straight out from the top of it), lighted, on the right and in the foreground — Ferris wheel and swing rides

The other big event was my day trip to Cambridge! I joined a travel society here and they arrange day trips for us to cities around England. And by arrange, I mean they get us all together on a couple coaches and take us to and from, but once we are there, what we do is almost completely up to us. I went with two friends, Elizabeth and Angela, pictured below,, and we went to everything we possibly could despite the complete downpour of rain while we were there. We started the day with a trip to a cafe that Elizabeth found and got brunch, then we went to the Great St. Mary’s church and climbed the tower. We then tried to get on a boat tour on the river Cam, but unfortunately, because of the rain, they weren’t running the tours. Angela wanted to go see a poem inscribed on a stone in King’s College, so we walked around and started by going into the chapel there. It was beautiful and everyone there was so kind (we were all seeking shelter from the rain so we all felt a sense of kinship).

After that, we went to see this poem. Angela, having studied the poem extensively in her home country of Taiwan, translated the poem, written in traditional Chinese, for Elizabeth and I, and told us what the poem was about. The poet had studied in Cambridge and the poem was essentially his goodbye letter to the city.

After we had seen everything there was to see at King’s College, we walked around some shopping centers and vintage stores before going to get dinner at a traditional Neapolitan pizza restaurant. Once we were done with dinner we hopped back on the coach and came back to the university. I had an amazing trip with Elizabeth and Angela and I look forward to more trips with them in the future.

Two sandwiches sitting on two plates in the foreground, one iced latte with a spiral colored paper straw and two hot chocolates sitting on a tray in the background on a polka dotted table — Breakfast sandwiches and morning coffee/cocoa to start the day

A short but majestic looking apple tree growing in a grassy patch in front of an old English style building at King’s college — Isaac Newton’s gravity tree

Angela, Clara and Elizabeth standing in an archway that look out onto an old historical building — From left to right, Angela, Clara, and Elizabeth standing in an archway near King’s College in Cambridge

King’s College chapel with beautiful intersecting arches carved into the ceiling that make intricate patterns. Stained glass windows cover the walls and shine a little bit of light through — King’s College Chapel

In the left bottom corner you can see a bit of the river that runs through king’s college. Then there is a big open field and behind that you can see some of the historic buildings like the chapel and tower on the king’s college campus — View from the bridge inside King’s College

A poem written in traditional chinese characters inscribed on a light colored stone sitting in an alcove next to a patch of grass — Traditional Chinese poem

3 Neapolitan pizzas sitting on top of a red and white checkered table — Our dinner of traditional Neapolitan pizza

Some other updates on my life so far:

Classes have still been going great. I feel like I am adjusting to the structure of English university well and even though the lectures are rather big, we get to engage a lot with the course material in seminars.

I also haven’t completely lost touch with Linfield or my friends/family. I still talk to people from home quite a bit and I have started planning the courses I want to take in the spring semester. It’s definitely a weird feeling doing that from halfway across the world, but I am excited about what lies ahead for me at Linfield after I return.

Some of my Swift-ness friends will be happy to know that I can now say I have seen the Taylor Swift Eras Tour movie! One of my friends here, Keesha, is a big Taylor Swift fan, and I went to see it with her. It was a great movie and a wonderful performance, and it was so fun to be surrounded by a group of people who you could just tell were having the time of their lives watching a concert performed by someone they all love.

Keesha and Clara sitting in a movie theater waiting for the Taylor Swift movie to start — Keesha and Clara at the Eras Tour movie

That’s my update for now! Next weekend I’ll be going to York, and in 2 weeks I’ll be splitting my time between Italy and Paris for a week, so look out for the blog post that breaks those down coming soon. Until then, I have some lectures to attend and some more memories to make.

Cheers!

-Clara

October 9, 2023

Planes, Coaches, and Automobiles

Hello from Nottingham, everyone! While I have already been here for a few weeks, I thought it would be fun to reflect a little bit about my journey getting over here and share a some of my thoughts on the initial cultural differences I have found, as well as friends who I have made.

My journey started at 6:00AM on Friday, September 22nd, when I packed all of my suitcases into my family’s car and headed to the Portland International Airport. I checked all of my bags and was able to get to my gate with the help of a great gate assistant.

Selfie of Clara, curly blonde hair, on a plane with a bright airplane window to the right of her face — Portland>San Francisco

I had successfully made it to the San Francisco airport and to my next gate with plenty of time to get a good lunch in, as well as call and catch up with some friends and family while waiting to board my next plane.

Clara, slightly less zoomed in, on her second plane. Behind her, 3 empty plane seats and a closed airplane window before others boarded the flight — San Francisco>Heathrow

Once on my second plane, I was strapped in for a 10.5 hour flight to London Heathrow. I had my headphones on and was ready to attempt to sleep on the plane, however the cramped environment and a crying baby, coupled with the fact that I don’t sleep very well on planes, meant that I collectively got about 1-2 hours of sleep. But I was running on adrenaline and ready for the next stage of my journey. After a very quick stop through customs and baggage claim, I was assisted to the area where people board coaches. It took some trial and error (yes, I may have almost gotten on the wrong coach to start with, pictured here), but eventually I made it onto the right coach and sat for about a 4-hour long ride.

One big black roller suitcase, a smaller duffel bag, and a backpack style bag in the foreground. Behind it are barricades, and beyond the barricades is a large coach style bus — The incorrect coach I almost boarded, as well as all my luggage

The coach pulled into Broad Marsh Bus Station, and I only had about 3 miles left of my journey! A student ambassador from University of Nottingham was there to greet me and kind enough to help me with ordering an Uber to the University. My Uber ride was quiet and peaceful as we drove past some very cool architecture in a part of town called Old Lenton.

Looking out the window from an Uber to an old brick building with a set of old wood double doors, the right one of which has the number 4 in the upper middle. A sign to the right of the doors reads 10 pound entry — Night Club entrance near the Nottingham City Centre

The driver let me off a block or two away from my hall, and you know how everyone says the last bit of the journey is the hardest? Well, that was proven true as I had to get 3 bags down some stairs and across a lawn. Luckily, some very kind students saw me trying to hold everything and offered to help/direct me to the right hall.

At 6:45PM on September 23rd, after 24 hours of nonstop travel and only 1-2 hours of bad airplane sleep… I made it! Granted, I was about 10 minutes late to the dining hall and it had closed, so I had to get some instant noodles from an RA and realized too late that I had no silverware to eat them with, but I was at least in the right place and had all of my belongings with me

There were definitely some cultural differences that hit me right away. For instance, every announcement at the Heathrow airport was made by someone with a British accent, and I didn’t think that the driving on the wrong side of the road would be as weird to me as it was. But, since my seat on the coach was directly behind the driver, I had an uninhibited view of the road and noticed that almost instantly. As well, the next morning after I had arrived, while waiting in line for a dining hall brunch, I was asked by a student in front of me “is it weird for you to be the one with the accent now?”

I was able to make some friends right off the bat, which I am extremely grateful for. One of them had reached out to me after seeing my name in an international student group chat for UoN and we ended up going shopping for some room necessities. I also found a friend through my hall, Keesha, who is a full time UoN student, and we have gone to club meetings, out shopping, and are planning on going to the Taylor Swift Eras Tour movie next weekend.

Clara, on the left, hear up and a rain jacket on. Keesha, on the right, hair down. Both smiling with the doors to a tram behind them on their way to Beeston, shopping centre — Clara & Keesha on a tram on their way to Beeston to go shopping

I’ve also finished my first week of classes. The format is very different to the Linfield classes that I am used to, but they all seem very interesting and I am very interested in learning about the material they cover: from how the media shapes our self identity, to the role of people such as cinematographers and costume designers in film and television.

It has been an adjustment, but I have been very open to all of the cultural differences I have experienced and feel very blessed that I am able to have this opportunity to live in a country different from my own for 4 months. I will no doubt be learning new things every day, not just in my modules, but through other everyday experiences and larger travel excursions that I plan on doing. I am very much looking forward to these next few months, and I know that they will teach me a lot.

Cheers,
Clara

October 6, 2023

New Beginnings

Hello everyone!

My name is Cindy, I am a senior at Linfield majoring in International Relations with a minor in Japanese. I am currently studying abroad in Yokohama, Japan at the Kanazawa-Hakkei campus of Kanto Gakuin University. I have been in Japan for a bit over a month now, and it has been quite an experience. I was feeling very anxious over the summer, especially because I was the only Linfield student going abroad to KGU for this semester. In late July I was notified that I was actually the only student from the United States that would be participating in the program, which only made me more anxious. The only thing that I was feeling confident about at that point was being able to navigate the actual traveling by myself. I have had quite a bit of experience traveling internationally, and even though this was my first time doing it alone, it was an easy process for me.

I left Oregon on August 28th in the early morning but arrived in Japan on August 29th. The travel was very long and exhausting and I didn’t get to my dorm until around 7 pm. I was a bit surprised because I noticed that the dorms look pretty much exactly as they do on the website. The room is pretty small, but it is comfortable. I had one week to get adjusted and rest before my classes started, though it was actually quite a busy week for me. The day after I arrived, I had orientation. The orientation consisted of reading through a welcome packet going over the guidelines and plans for the program, as well as some procedures and information about transportation. I also had to go to the local immigration office to get some paperwork done regarding pension and health insurance.

The next day I met my host family for the first time. They are a family of three who own three dogs. I was only able to meet my host mother and my host sister; I believe that my host father was most likely working. They seem like a very nice family, though I was a bit sad to find out that my host sister will be gone during my homestay. She is now studying abroad in Switzerland. The day after meeting my host family, I had a free day, so my host sister took me to explore Shibuya. I experienced the Shibuya Scramble Crossing for myself, which was pretty cool. We visited some stores, got some bubble tea from Gong Cha (apparently a very popular boba shop), and ended the day by going to Kura Sushi for dinner.

Tall and bright buildings in the background, in the foreground there are people walking while there are some crowds waiting to cross. To the left there are signs directing to Shibuya train station. — Shibuya Scramble Crossing

The same day that I met my host family I met a group of KGU students that gave me a tour of campus. I think that KGU is smaller in size than Linfield, or at least the area of campus that I was given a tour of was smaller. There is a 7/11 on campus, but it was not going to be open until September. After the tour and lunch, I was asked to choose between Kamakura and Yokohama for a mini tour, I ended deciding on Kamakura. Kamakura is known for having lots of temples and shrines and one of the most popular tourist attractions is a huge statue of the Great Buddha. We went to a popular Shinto Shrine named Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, which was really close to the bus stop that we got off at. After that, we went to Komachi Street, it is a popular shopping street that has apparently been featured in TV shows. I tried some sweet soy sauce dango, which was really good but almost too sweet for my taste. Lastly, we took a train to Enoshima. There was a very nice beach and apparently the location is famous because it resembles an opening scene in the anime Slam Dunk, so there were lots of people taking photos and waiting for the train to pass.

A road, there is a sign on the left side and a pole on the sidewalk near the center. On the right there is a red torii gate, which indicates the entrance to a Shinto Shrine — Hachimangu Torii

Steps going up towards the entrance of the Shrine, there are many people on the steps, some taking photos. — Steps towards entrance

The entrance of the Shrine, it is red with a few teal accents and gold decorations. There are statues enclosed in glass on either side of the entrance. — Hachimangu Shrine Entrance

In the center reads a red sign that says "Komachi St." Along the sides there are many signs for different businesses. There are people walking down the street. — Komachi St.

The ocean can be seen in the background. A green train is passing by as cars drive by in the background. A young woman stands in front of the tracks after posing for a picture — Enoshima

Frame from the anime "Slam Dunk", some students are waiting as the train passes, the ocean glimmering in the background. — Opening scene from “Slam Dunk” anime

I did experience a few culture shocks during my first week. Though it’s not necessarily a culture shock, the first thing that I noticed was that the weather was much hotter than I had expected. The humidity is no joke and makes the heat uncomfortable. It made me realize that I didn’t pack enough summer clothes. Though I knew that most people use public transportation, I was not expecting to see so many people riding bikes. Japan is known for being clean, but one of the things that surprised me were the cars. All the cars I saw were spotless and looked brand new, I have only seen one car with a small dent. This surprised me because in the US, or at least in Oregon, most cars have at least some kind of scratch or dent (including mine).

Besides the culture shock, I was also a bit homesick. After all, this is the first time I am away from home and family for an extended period of time, in a foreign country whose language I am not fluent in, and as the only student from the US. That’s it for my first (and very busy) week in Japan, next time I’ll talk about some of my adventures during September!

Cindy

October 3, 2023

Tabarca a fantasy island

It was a sunny Saturday on the last day of September when we went to the closest island in Alicante. Island Tabarca is full of sun and good food. We woke up around 8am to start heading over to the meeting point to depart from the deck to the island. Is about a 45 minute ride if the sea waves are calm. We arrived around 11am to the island and we explored the small streets of the island. They were so unreal and beautiful, the different colors made the streets look like Greece. The group called it a small Greece because the similarities were really close.

As we walked down the streets we saw different restaurants with typical Spanish dishes and drinks. People enjoy drinks and buy souvenirs. After walking in the small town of Tabarba we headed to the main beach where the view was extremely beautiful, the sun was out and hot and the water was crystal clear, it looked like a pool. The water was cold at first but once you were deep enough the water felt warm and comfortable to swim in. After spending two hours on the main beach we hiked to the other side of the island. We found a small island where people were jumping off a cliff. On this side of the island, the water was blue and green – the color mix was unreal. It felt like a fantasy movie. At the end of the day, we headed back to Alicante around 7pm on the last ferry. Watching the sunset from the ferry was absolutely a moment I will never forget. The colors of the sky were perfect and it matched all the good times we had at the island. Here are some pictures to illustrate the trip

A pelican standing on top of a rock fence.