Augie Globalog

So I never got the chance to write a last blog entry while in Europe, but an entry the day after I get home is as good as anything, right?

This will be my last entry. I can tell you right now that I already feel different. It could be the jet-lag, or maybe just the lack of fatty substances in my digestive system, but home feels different than it used to feel. 36 hours ago I was staring up at the Fernsehturm in Berlin and now I am typing at my kitchen table. It’s surreal. Yesterday I was speaking nothing but German, and now when I accidentally throw a German word into a sentence, I get funny looks of incomprehension. For the last 2 and a half months, it has been exactly opposite. When talking to strangers, I immediately think in German first and then have to manually override to English (I said “danke schoen” more times than I care to admit in O’Hare airport). And when I explain the phenomena to my family or friends, they understandably think it odd.

When I got back last night and realized that I had stories and experiences to share. I had presents to give out. As I was giving them out, I realized that the little Hexe (witch) that I picked up in the Harz mountains for my sister and girlfriend meant absolutely nothing to them. I got a strange look from her, and it took me a second to realize why. She (nor anyone else in the room) had zero knowledge of the history or the culture from the place I got it. Then I realized that the Euros I had in my wallet were unlike any currency my family had ever seen. Then I realized that they had never seen the enormously large drinking glass called a Maß before. I hadn’t told them about the toilets that have two buttons in order to conserve water in flushes or how helpful and genuinely nice the Viennese are to travelers. I don’t think I had realized until last night exactly how unique my experience in Germany was.

Upon arrival in Germany everything was new and overwhelming. After a week I was still noticing differences. After about 5 weeks, I was used to the culture and felt comfortable and after 10 weeks, I did not think anything was unusual about Germany. After one day at home, I am again overwhelmed with the differences and just the sheer knowledge that I’ve gained from studying abroad. It feels as though all of these changes have been immediate, but I know my development has been slow and gradual (and sometimes painfully embarrassing).

In all honesty, I wish I could have stayed longer. My language development went from basic knowledge and an inability to understand a word my German uncle said on the phone to having a passionate discussion about family and life lessons on the last night of my stay in Germany. It’s simply unbelievable what eliminating a language barrier can do for a relationship, and Who knows what another 3 months could have done for me. The sad thing that has been pointed out to me (thanks Michelle) is that this is likely the high point of my life as a German speaker, and yet I feel like I have only taken my first steps. Language is a never ending puzzle, and yet you always feel like you are making progress. I’ll go back, but I have no idea when and I doubt it could possibly be for as long as this one.

My closing recommendations for anyone considering studying abroad (particularly to develop his/her foreign language ability):

1) Do it.

2) Stay with a host family if you can and learn everything that you can from them.

3) Travel alone or with someone you know will make the trip better. Anyone else can take away from the experience.

4) Don’t be apprehensive about speaking to people (specifically in Germany. They will help you).

5) Be open-minded, try everything, and revel in the idea that you could not see/taste/do those things anywhere else.

At the end, you’ll stand once again in your driveway, looking around at nothing in particular, and realize how naïve you once were and how great your experience really was, and then you will think two things: 1) Man, that Sean guy gave some really good advice, and 2) I need to start planning my trip back.

Posted on November 10th, 2009 by sean-austin
Filed under: Germany, Sean Austin | No Comments »

Change is unavoidable. It can be good, it can be bad, it can be both. The key to change is whether you resist it or welcome it.

I know I have welcomed changed on this trip, but how? I can do my best to answer now, but at this moment I don’t feel I can give a complete answer. Trying to figure out everything that’s different about me, I think, will take spending a while back at home and being reminded of what life was like before I left. It’s like when you walk away from a conversation and think of the perfect thing to say a couple hours later. That kind of realization comes from hindsight, but this blog doesn’t continue into the rest of this year. Therefore, I will do my best to try and delve into what I can see at this moment in time that has transformed within me.

Before coming to Latin America, I had never been out of the United States. I had never seen or climbed mountains. I had never spoken Spanish. I had never lived with a family that wasn’t my own. I had never experienced first-hand a different culture. I had never dreamed that I could actually go places I had only seen to do things I had only heard about. I had never eaten guinea pig. Check, Check, check… My bucket list will be significantly shorter after this.

All of these experiences, and so many more, have made me feel quite small, which doesn’t happen that often to a 5’11” female. However, it hasn’t been so much the places and activities that made me feel like this, but meeting the people. I had never put life into this perspective coming from my small farm town and going to a dominantly white private school in the Midwest. Because of all these people that I’ve met and gotten to know, the one thing that I already know has changed for me personally has been an increased sense of understanding…not just of other cultures, but of myself as well.

I knew little to nothing about Latin America or the culture before coming here, and now know a great deal, including how people here live. They place much less emphasis on materialistic goods and instead invest in relationships with families and communities. I’ve learned that this culture is extremely laid back and the people here live together as a community, not as individuals. I’ve also learned about myself and how to be patient, which is a big feat since I am naturally a very impatient person in most cases. I’ve learned that I really do like home despite how much I tend to complain about it sometimes.

I understand now not just how others live their lives, but why. It has made me start to question my own motives for how I live my life and whether they are rational or legitimate. Some of my decisions, I find, are rather empty of reason. This is my senior year of college, and I’m realizing because of this trip that I’ve been going through the motions up until this point. I understand that I started college without a purpose except that going to college is what was expected of me. I’ve been planning on going on to graduate school, but is that what I want? Meeting and learning about people in South America makes me see the bigger picture on what kinds of motives should fuel my choices. People here consider their friends, family, and what would make them happy, not necessarily what will make them the most successful in other’s eyes. This reminds me of my host brother Paúl from Ecuador, who would do anything for his family. I could tell that he was genuinely happy putting his family first and that he was going to college because he had a purpose and wanted to learn. He wanted to be successful for personal pride and to help his family, not to impress others.

The people I’ve met aren’t so caught up in the fast-paced U.S. culture, but instead take the time to smell the roses. After this, I don’t think I’ll be taking as much for granted when I get home. I see how the people here treat each other and it has affected me deeply. Now I have more initiative to go out and find what it is I want my own to life to mean to me and how I should live it without major societal influences telling me what to do. I haven’t necessarily figured out my place in the world yet, but being here is inspiring me to reevaluate where that place should be according to the bigger picture. I am fully welcoming this change within me, and it is a lesson I will carry with me the rest of my life.

Posted on November 2nd, 2009 by angela-baumgartner
Filed under: Angela Baumgartner, Latin America | No Comments »

By the beginning of October we’d been traveling around South America for over a month and so far everything had been vastly different from the United States. None of the major stores, products, restaurants, or fast food places have been spotted, except for the occasional McDonalds, Coca-cola, Doritos, and Oreos. Whenever we would see something familiar we would be surprised and excited since we’ve been away from the U.S. for so long. This got to the point where people were willing to pay over $2 for a Snickers candy bar when the local candy sitting next to it was 50 cents.

Then we came to Lima, Peru. It was so much like the U.S. it was weird. I was put off by the cities resemblance to southern California right on the Pacific Ocean.  It still had some of the characteristics of the South American cities that we had grown accustomed to, but it was so…Americanized. There was a mall near our hotel with Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, Chili’s, etc all lined up one right after another. The clothing stores looked exactly like stores back in the U.S. Our hotel had outlets with the correct voltage for our U.S. electronics and we were given menus in English. It felt like being home again, but it felt odd because I knew I wasn’t.

Why is it that culture of the U.S. has such a big influence on other nations? How did we become this big powerhouse of a nation where success and wealth meant being like us? We get these stereotypes of being snobbish, messy, and greedy by people in other countries, yet they sometimes wish to emulate us, like in Lima. It sort of has the feel of the stereotypical captain of the high school cheerleading team—you hated her but still wanted to be like her.

After spending some time in South America I am starting to see why perhaps these countries value being like us instead of wanting to retain their own culture (this seems to only apply to large cities). I’ve found in South America a greater importance in family and being happy where you are; here they just want to survive. In U.S. culture we have greater value placed upon having wealth, success, and power and are constantly trying to get ahead materialistically. The media outlets of the U.S. have grown so powerful that images of what it’s like to live here are spreading out to other countries, and they see how we live and they start to want that too. It’s the outside influence that the U.S. places on countries of South America that makes them think that perhaps they shouldn’t just be happy with family and happiness but need more money and material goods like us instead. They see that life can be different and naively think it must be better since our nation is so powerful economically, politically, and technologically. I witnessed this In Ecuador where it meant a higher social status if people wore clothing from the U.S. This was because clothing from the U.S. was much more expensive, so if you were able to afford it, you had more money.

Yet there are people in these countries that don’t like people from the U.S. I suspect that for the most part it is the older generations that tend to not like people from the U.S. while the younger generations try to be more like us.  I believe the older people in these countries see how materialistic we can be and don’t like it, while the younger folk are more impressionable and instead of disliking us want to be like us because of the media influence.  It is also the case that different people have had different experiences with people from the U.S., whether they are good or bad. I think when people of South America have bad experiences with those from the U.S. they generalize by what country they are from instead of other influential characteristics of that person.

I do, however, have hope for a better future not only for South America, but for a better relationship between South American countries and the U.S.

Posted on November 2nd, 2009 by angela-baumgartner
Filed under: Angela Baumgartner, Latin America | No Comments »

¡Hola from España!

Classes officially ended last week…and now we´ve got free time to travel. So…

Alex, Joe, and I thought it would be fun to go to yet another country where we don´t speak the language: SPAIN!

Barcelona is amazing. The weather is perhaps the best part. It has been about 70+ degrees each day we´ve been here and sunny. Coming from the frigid Wittenberg climate, we of course all packed the wrong clothes and have plenty of long-sleeves and pants to last us until next Winter…but not a single pair of shorts, or–perhaps worse–FLIP FLOPS!

Anyway…our flight landed in Barcelona at around noon on Friday. It took us  F O R E V E R to figure out the train and subway system here. We finally figured it out and what should have taken us about 40 minutes to get to the city and our hostel took about 2 1/2 hours. Alas, we arrived and are enjoying ourselves.

Our first night here, we went out to eat and enjoyed some Sangria (wine with fruit slices) and Paella. Traditional Spanish! It was really delicious, but a bit pricey; the three of us dropped €72 for this meal. Yikes! It was well worth it, though.

We´ve seen plenty here. Including the cathedral de la Sagrada Familia, which has been under construction since the late 1800s; Park Guell; and a castle in Park Montjuic. We´ve yet to be disappointed by anything so far. The highlight of today has to be the hour we spent on the beach. It´s November 1st and we were sitting on a beach in Spain and even getting our feet wet in the Mediterranean! Indescrible.

Well…I better get going now, we´re going to a Tapas bar for dinner and maybe a stroll through town.

hasta luego — Louie

Posted on November 1st, 2009 by louie-bertenshaw
Filed under: Germany, Louie Bertenshaw | 1 Comment »

It’s officially 12:05 am and I’m ready to celebrate the end of the Challenge by logging onto Facebook for the first time in a week (I kind of wanted a Big Mac, but it’s a little late right now… tomorrow?).  Before I go anywhere, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the past week.

In the last seven days, I’ve been to Mexico City, seen a Ballet performance and an Orchestra Concert, hung out in my new favorite cafe overlooking the Zocalo, eaten Tostadas, Tamales, Quesadillas, and lots of Tortillas, visted the artisan market and talked with my host-nietos and some high school teachers from Cuernavaca.

In the last seven days, I have not: Eaten at McDonalds (even though it was our bathroom break and you had to buy something to use the restroom), been on Facebook, Twitter, or any other American site (Save research for my history paper and email. It’s easy enough when Google only gives you Spanish results anyway), watched any American programming (novelas are way cooler), nor have I purchased OR consumed, any American snacks (ahem… Dr. Bertsche).

In the last seven days, I’ve learned a lot about myself and where I’ve come from. I’ve noticed a lot of the Mexican customs that are familiar to me, but a little odd for others. When we got to Ecuador, we were told to greet everyone with a kiss on the cheek and before you leave, say goodbye to everyone. A lot of people I know forget this and it’s sometimes funny to see their reactions when they’re suddenly greeted by a stranger. When I was having coffee with Gabi, Olga and Sara the other night, it was like a revolving door of their friends. It reminded me a lot of Christmas time and meeting the cousins and aunts I never knew I had, but I get up and kiss each of them on the cheek to say hello anyway.

In the last seven days I’ve found new and interesting ways to combat boredom, including, but not limited to: changing all of the settings on my laptop to look like Halloween, taking long walks to the Zocalo before class just to get coffee, watching the Mexican version of MTV(when MTV was still music videos), coloring Day of the Dead pictures with my host-nietos, playing with their pet-baby python (still unnamed), walking through the market in search of the tackiest pair of earrings I could find, and completely ripping on the sources I’ve found for my history paper (Dr. Todd would be proud at how critically I’m thinking about their origins and intent ).

In the last seven days, I’ve explored new places. I had no idea there was a market next to Burger King! I’ve also discovered three new ways to get to the Zocalo…. none of them are any faster than the original way I knew. I’ve also gotten to know the people at the taquilla at Teatro Ocampo where I saw the Ballet and the Orchestra Concert (I always got there a little late… whoops!).

Most importantly, in the last seven days I’ve pushed myself beyond my comfort zone and had some really cool experiences as a result. If I hadn’t bought those tickets to the ballet, I would have never met Gabi, Olga and Sara. If I hadn’t met them, I would have never learned to salsa and I would still be conjugating everything in the present tense and not venturing to flirt with the subjunctive.

I got beyond feeling awkward sitting alone at a table staring at people going by and noticed something special that I hadn’t before. It wasn’t until I watched girls my age (and older) walking hand in hand with their mothers going down the street, that I made the connection between private family life and public family life: There isn’t a difference. How many times have you put up with the embarrassing things your family does at home, and then not want to be seen with them in public? Maybe some of that goes on here too,  but never in the US have I seen families go out of their way to “be together” in public the way I have in Mexico.  Except here, they’re not going out of their way…They’re family and it’s completely natural.

It’s 12:55 am on the 8th day and I no longer feel like going on Facebook.

Posted on October 30th, 2009 by elizabeth-hinds
Filed under: Elizabeth Hinds, Latin America | No Comments »