Month: October 2016

This weekend I travelled to Granada, an historic city in the South of Spain. It is best known for its Moorish fortress/palace, La Alhambra. Even though we planned the trip 3 weeks ahead of time, most tickets to the Alhambra were already sold out because they limit the visit to 6000 people daily. That sounds like a lot but really it’s not apparently, so if you do plan a visit here make sure to buy your tickets to La Alhambra well ahead of time.

We took a bus from Madrid to Granada to get here. Honestly it was so pleasant and so cheap. I would definitely recommend it. The buses have wifi and movies so you hardly even notice the 5 hour drive, plus the scenery is full of Olive farms, mountains, and windmills.

We stayed at a hostel here, again, would recommend. It was cheap and quiet and functional.

My favorite thing we did was seeing La Alhambra and el Generalife, the accompanying gardens. The gardens, architecture, and views were all great. My least favorite thing we did was eat dinner up in the hills near the caves. The whole area had a very “alternative” vibe which, for all its merits, isn’t really my thing. It was hectic and the food was just average.

The funniest/most random memory I have is the bus ride from the hostel to the bus station to come home. First, we got a little lost getting to the bus stop (even though we had directions… oops). Then we had to wait 12 minutes only for the bus to show up and when it finally did it was almost completely full. There was about 5 square feet for 8 of us with bags to squeeze into- that was fun. We flew through all the stops, the bus driver letting people off as needed but ignoring pleas from those waiting to open the front door and let them in, chuckling a bit each time. It was so hectic and squished I was glad it only took like 15 minutes, but we made it and got on our bus and here I am. Hopefully the people he left behind weren’t too inconvenienced??

If I were to plan the trip over again, I’d fit two cities into one weekend, adding either Córdoba or Sevilla. Granada was great, but one day-albeit jam packed- would be enough.

Now, back to Madrid and back to classes, though only a three day week!

When I first was accepted to the Global Engagement Fellowship, I knew that it would mean that I would be traveling abroad, away from my family and friends, but I just brushed the thought away since it was still far off. I do not plan to travel abroad until the summer after my Sophomore year, so I still have a while, but now I am seriously looking at where I want to travel to and at times it can be quite frightening.

The thing that has been scaring me the most is becoming sick while being half way across the world from my family. I am very independent and know how to take care of myself and get the necessary medical attention, however it is still a little bit scary. I know that I will have resources such as people to contact within my program if an issue arises, so I know that it will be okay.

In regards to being globally engaged, I am worried about adjusting and not sticking out as a tourist. I do not want to be that person that sticks out like a sore thumb when I am living and studying in another country. To help prevent this from occurring, I will do research beforehand about cultural norms and the do’s and do not’s of the country to where I am traveling. In addition, once I arrive to my country of study, I will make an effort to reach out to someone local and ask for advice of what to do to best become engaged in the culture of that country.

Earlier this week, we watched a TED Talk from a man named Peter Singer. In this speech, he emphasizes the impact of effective altruism. We have a big debate in class about what can be classified as effective altruism. I think that Peter Singer is accurate in his statements to a certain extent. I think that any kind of altruism can be effective because, at the end of the day, you are helping those who are in need of help. I don’t feel completely obligated to help those in need because I also have to take care of myself. With that being said, I think that everybody should take the time to go volunteering and helping those in need. I wish I had the time to volunteer more as a college student, and I plan on committing more time to volunteerism over the next three and a half years of college. I think that seeing the impact that you can have on someone’s life through something as simple as volunteerism is something that cannot be understated. It’s such a heartwarming feeling that I don’t see how anyone could not enjoy volunteering. As a member of a Greek fraternity on campus, I plan on representing the fraternity through volunteering opportunities. In addition, I am hoping to join a student organization on campus that goes out on volunteering events. Though the time commitment might be a problem, I think that the benefit that I can gain from volunteering easily outweighs the costs.

This semester I joined OU Cousins to fulfill my international group requirement. OU Cousins was truly a great way for me to get involved and played an instrumental role in my happiness and success at OU my first semester. Through OU Cousins I was matched with Eva, a Greek student who attended a university in Germany, and had decided to study abroad for the semester at OU. I loved spending time with Eva and getting to know her throughout the 4 month she was here. We attended plays, had numerous dinners, went shopping, and shared our favorite movies. I loved seeing the excitement she had about things I tend to overlook being an American. She was amazed at the immense popularity of football, that a Victoria’s Secret was in every mall, and discovered her love of frappuccinos through Starbucks. It was truly special for me to be able to show her the “American way of life,” and it was equally special for her to teach me about Germany and Greece. Through OU Cousins I was able to gain a better understanding of the Greek culture, Greece itself, and Germany. The cultural differences that were major in my opinion were how amiable Eva was even to strangers. Eva explained to me that in Greece its custom and very common to greet all people you encounter. I loved this ideal and hope to be more willing to be friendly and greet strangers that I encounter in the future. Another major cultural difference that is common across the board for most Europeans is how open they are. Eva and her friends were so open about everything they thought and had no filter it seemed. While Americans view a “filter” as necessary in order to maintain relationships and avoid stepping on toes, I enjoyed being around people who were not afraid to speak their mind, because I believe it helps build better, stronger, more honest relationships. OU Cousins is indeed a great organization to be apart of. In Eva I gained a great friend that I know I will keep in touch with over the years.

The Second Wind meeting last week (we had two this semester!) was over study abroad experiences to Latin America. It started off a bit rocky where I thought I had gotten the day wrong again and the first people didn’t know if they were in the right spot, but we eventually settled in fine. There were 4 or 5 people who had stories to tell, but lots of people had questions so discussion went smoothly. There were so many people that after a little while the table split into around 3 sub-groups with their own individual conversations. One of the most interesting differences discussed was emphasis on accent. People were talking about not going to countries because the Spanish accent there was not to their liking. I’m sure my outlook was colored by my choice of language. For Japanese,  there is one small country that speaks the language so if I don’t like the dialect/accent, tough. It seemed an embarrassment of riches to get to mark off entire countries for something that I consider such a small detail. Anyways, I am glad that Jaci is continuing to setting up these Second Wind meetings; they are probably my favorite GEF event.