Month: September 2016

Hey everyone! This past week I had a pretty bad cold, so I didn’t get to do too many exciting things, because I was sleeping a lot. My host mom thinks I got it because the season (and therefore temperature) is changing. There are a ton of people in class that were sick as well.  However, in the true spirit of being abroad, I did manage to power through and enjoy some cool events.

On Saturday I went with three of my friends to a clothing market in a neighborhood on the outside of Granada. They had a lot of name-brand clothing for 2 or 3 euros in a flea-market type of setting! It was interesting and fun to get a taste of the local everyday life in Spain.

On Sunday, there was a parade for the Virgin of Angustia, a patron saint of Granada. The parade was very formal and religious, and about 30 men carried a giant Virgin of Angustia (which is super, super old) through all the main parts of Granada. There were so many people it was hard to move through the streets. My friends and I enjoyed taking part in such an old tradition! Also, there is la torta de la Virgen, a bread with lots of sugar and chocolate that my host mom got for me to try. It was delicious!

I’m finishing up the last few days of my intensive Spanish class. I take my final on Thursday! I can’t wait to have a mini three-day weekend. My friends and I will be headed to Portugal to relax on the beach…so come back next week to find out how it goes (and if I make the bus…it’s at 7 am).

Missing you all a lot! The erg might be in Spain, but it’ll never be better than being on the water in Lewisburg with my teammates! Also, huge shout-out to Kim for posting my blog for me every week, you da real MVP.

Bix

Hej!

This week, I celebrated the one month anniversary of me travelling abroad.  When I say that time flies, I am not kidding.  Streets that used to be unfamiliar, train rides that used to intimidate me, lifestyles that used to feel unusual have all since become normal and a part of my everyday life.  It feels good to feel like Copenhagen has finally become my true new home.

There was not many exciting things going on for me this week.  I did get to spend an afterno
on exploring Copenhagen on my own, taking time to see parts of the city that I have not yet ventured to.  My favorite new spot is Nyhavn.  Here, colorful buildings line the street with a harbor in the middle.  Not only is it picturesque, it is super hygge (a Danish word that roughly translates to “cozy”).  The buildings are home to many cafes and restaurants, all overlooking the harbor.  I stopped at one cafe for a snack, and ended up getting a plate of chocolate that I devoured in probably two minutes.  It had chocolate brownies/cake, chocolate mousse, and chocolate ice cream.  It was beautiful.  The chocolate, plus the warm sun and the view, made for a perfect afternoon in Nyhavn.

My weekends have been spent mostly at home, relaxing with my host family.  This weekend, I finally got to meet my host mom’s twin daughters, who live in a city on the central island of Denmark.  They are both super sweet and kind, and both are going for their master’s in American Studies. I know, right?! It was fun to talk to them about America, giving them my perspective on things that they study in class.  Like they literally study Americans.  It was a fun weekend, especially hanging out with them.  On Saturday night, we stayed home, ordered pizza, and binge watched six hours of How to Get Away with Murder.  If you ask me, it was the perfect weekend.

Med venlig hilsen,

Bethany

Last time I posted, it was the day before I went to the Great Wall of China. That was a week ago and it sure does feel as though time is flying by. We went to a place 2 hours outside of Beijing to see the wall. It was a really neat place, we took a chair lift up the mountain and an alpine slide down. It was incredibly lucky how great the weather was. Usually it is rather overcast or hazy from the pollution, but we lucked out with a crystal clear blue sky which made for some magnificent pictures.

I returned back to Kunming and had to give a presentation on a topic I choose to study while in Beijing. I decided to study the gentrification of traditional Beijing hutongs. Hutongs are neighborhoods consisting of traditional courtyard style houses dating back to the 13^th century. The project involved speaking to residents, young and old, in order to determine how the process of gentrification was effecting daily life. Gentrification is the buying and renovation of houses in urban neighborhoods by upper- or middle-income individuals, which in return raises property values but often displaces low-income families and small businesses. It was really neat to use my limited Chinese skills to converse with a wide range of people.

Today, I moved in with my host family. I have a younger sister who is 11 and she is the most incredible piano player I think I have ever heard. I also have a mother and a father who is the director of Kunming University. They live on the 12^th floor of a building that is a two minute walk from my gym. I couldn’t believe, Kunming has over 9 million people and I somehow lucked out living with a family right next to the gym I have been training at! I am hoping my Chinese will improve significantly!

Until next time,

Elizabeth