Month: February 2016

On Tuesday, February 9th I attended a musical performance/lecture in Kaufman room 210 as part of the College of Arts and Sciences “Focus on Arts” week. Three faculty members of the Spanish Language Department -Christina Audas, Armando Rivera, and Chris Kneifl- preformed songs from different Latin American traditions for a small group of students and faculty. Different regions represented were Brazil, Peru, and Argentina. The different rhythms and musical instruments were unique and told stories about the cultures from which the songs originated.

The performance was lively, intimate, and informative. In between discussing the cultural significance of different songs and instruments, Ms. Audas would sweet everyone away to another time and place with the melody of her songs, some of which she even wrote herself. Mr. Rivera was amazing on different percussion instruments. He played the bongo with such skill that it appeared an extension of his body. One of my favorite things said was, “come and experience the soul”. I thought this was apt because music is the soul of a culture, and by listening to the songs of a people, we got to experience the soul.

Today I went to an international event. Well, kind of. It was put on by the Student Association of Bangladesh. However, the speaker primarily focused on his journey to becoming a chemical engineer, not necessarily international things. The talk was held at Meacham in the Union and served with free pizza. My friend Sakee, who I had gotten to know last year with my participation in Bangladesh culture night, introduced the speaker. His name was Dr. M Sam Mannam. He was currently a big guy at Atm and his presentation was called ‘ A serendipitous Journey for a Chemical Engineer’. Being foreign, he undoubtably ran into obstacles but overcame them in his pursuit of one of the most demanding feilds out there.

The words that stuck out to me most were that when you run into something you can either see it as 1) a problem. 2) a Challenge. and 3) an oppurtunity. It got me thinking of how a different mindset totally changes the approach to addressing a situation. Dr. Mannam took advantage of what he saw as oppurtunities, instead of problems. This allowed him to excel greatly. Overall the talk was inspirational and a reminder to always see things in a light that will end in improvement or something beneficial.

Before I went abroad last summer, I had grand visions of what traveling would be like. I thought that I could live similarly to how I lived in the US, I would just be in a different country. Besides, Europe isn’t that different from the Americas, right? Well, kind of, in comparison with Asian and African countries perhaps, but the differences that do exist are large. Below are some aspects of my life that have never really been the same when I’m abroad.

• Food: I’m vegetarian, so there isn’t as much variety in the food as what a meat-eater would find, maybe, but the differences I’ve experienced are quite big! I try to eat healthfully, with a lot of fresh fruits and mostly whole grains, but while some aspects of American cuisine have found global popularity, such as french fries, others really have not. What I eat largely depends on where I am, but I’ve found that I really don’t have a problem with that.
• Exercise: I make a very sincere effort to go to the gym at least 3 times a week, but never when I’ve lived abroad have I been able to replicate this. There simply have not been gyms nearby, and sometimes I choose instead to go on runs outside, but even this is so variable based on the weather (running out in the heat is no fun and I will not do it no matter how good it is for me).
• How often I talk to non-local friends and family: Let’s face it, when we go abroad, basically everyone that is not there with us is non-local, and it takes extra effort to communicate with them. I usually talk to my parents on the phone every other day, or every three days, but when I’m abroad, I’ll often go two weeks without talking to them at all, save text messages assuring them I’m alive. Friends are even worse. I won’t talk to anyone on the phone, preferring instead loooooong emails that serve kind of as diary entries that I recount the events of the day in. I don’t text my friends at all when I’m not in the US! I send fewer snapchats and respond to fewer GroupMe-s. You’d think that it would be the opposite, and that I would want to share more with them about my adventures, but the truth is, I’m so preoccupied with absorbing it myself that I don’t think to share.

I don’t think that it’s a bad thing that my life isn’t the same abroad as when I’m in the United States, quite the opposite in fact. Changing my life gives me more insight into who I am as a person, and I love that it gives the opportunity for growth.

Feb 18, 2016
KCC finally started back up with lessons (well, kind of) this week. Everyone that attended this week’s meeting took a placement test to see what level their Korean was. Based on the scores of the tests, we are to be divided into 2 groups: beginner and intermediate. I did pretty well on the placement test, so I think I’ll be in the intermediate group. But, I’ll find out at the next meeting where I’ll go!

There were a lot of new faces at this week’s meeting, including a fellow GEF! I have known Sara since first semester but never really got the chance to hang out with her, and so it was a good surprise to see her. She went to South Korea in the summer on the same program that I am applying to this year. Hopefully I can hear some of her stories or tips for going aboard.

Speaking of studying aboard, I have finished my applications! Now, I have to wait patiently to hear back (hopefully good news!) I have also started to look into other scholarships I can apply to. I have applied for the PITF offered by OU and the Gilman Scholarship, which is a national scholarship. I am also looking into the Freeman-ASIA scholarship, but there isn’t much about it online. Applications for the academic year hasn’t opened yet, but I will definitely apply when it does.