Wittenberg University

My apologies for not blogging in, oh about 3 months!  Sometimes I get so distracted by all that I have going on that I forget to keep you all updated with things going on here back at Witt.

Since my last blog, I was still in Spain (sniff, sniff), and now am back at the wonderful Wittenberg!  I can say I am very happy to be back into the routine of being a regular student and seeing all my friends everyday, instead of just through a little screen on skype.  I do miss being abroad about everyday, but rather than making me sad, I am so happy everyday that I made that decision around this time last year to make that journey.  Like I always say, and I believe with all my heart, it is such a great opportunity and one that I think any student that can should take advantage of here at Wittenberg.  I’m going to throw in another quick plug about study abroad and then I swear I’m done with the subject!

I know I was very gung-ho to study abroad alone and try a program not affiliated with Wittenberg, but I know quite a few students to whom that is not in the least bit appealing.  Well good news for those people because Wittenberg offers a bunch of great study abroad programs through the school, with Wittenberg professors and students.  Right now I know there are students in Wittenberg, Germany, and there are trips to Lesotho, the Bahamas, Paris and Hong Kong this summer.  So if any of that sounds interesting, make sure to check out the study abroad pages ☺

Back to Witt— it’s finally good to feel at home again.  I love being able to see friends whenever I walk to class or go to the gym, and actually knowing what my professors are saying in all my classes.  It’s finally starting to feel like spring again here and I cannot hide my excitement.  Although it’s midterm week and I have more work than I know what to do with, I can’t help thoughts of after spring break and the start of springtime at Witt.  As soon as students get back from spring break, there seems to be a shift in students attitudes, that’s more laid-back, time to have fun and enjoy being outside.

Time to stop my rambling and get back to studying.  Back home to Minnesota for spring break and a quick few days in Arizona and I get to drive back (12 hours!) to Witt, my first time having my car here!

And as they say in Spain… Hasta luego!

Ashley

Hello Witt!

Almost another month has flown by abroad, I cannot believe that I will be returning in four short weeks. After my weekend in Barcelona, I returned to Alicante for a short week of classes and then was off to Seville in the most Southern part of Spain with CIEE, my study abroad program.  I had a lot of fun touring the city and seeing the Plaza de Espana, the cathedral and being a tourist.  The next weekend I traveled to Milan, Italy with a friend from my classes here to stay with one of her friends, from Santa Clara University.  I had such a great weekend, going out to apertivos (best invention ever – all you can eat authentic Italian food for only 9 euros!), walking the city, marveling at the Via Montenapoleone street where Ferrari’s were the norm to be parked next to Gucci and Versace store fronts.  After a very close encounter with almost not getting home (basically we thought the flight left an hour later than it actually did, and miraculously made it on the plane after the gate had closed and the
plane was to take off in 15 minutes) I returned to Alicante for midterms.  After a short midterm week I was off to the city of fashion and love – Paris, France.  I, like most people, fell in love with that city.  Although I can’t say the same for the French, I had an amazing time touring the city and experiencing a short weekend as a Parisian.

Now I am back in Alicante for a while, a few more short trips, and then back to home!  Now that it is getting closer and closer to my departure date, I keep reminding myself of the amazing experience and opportunity I have had here to study, learn and experience living in a different country.  As current or prospective students I HIGHLY encourage you to look at Witt’s study abroad courses, even if just for a few weeks or an entire year, it doesn’t only just enhance your education but as well your life.

Off to watch the Real Madrid soccer game and enjoy the Spanish nightlife!

Hasta Luego

Ashley

Yet another weekend traveling, this time I ventured up the coast to
Barcelona for Halloween weekend with about 15 other students from myprogram. We left early on Friday morning since we don’t have classes and stayed through early Monday morning. It was a fun trip to have so many people going, and all experience an American holiday abroad.

Throughout the weekend I did the typical tourist activities, sightseeing, walking, shopping. However Barcelona is such a beautifully designed city, thanks to Gaudi, that it didn’t seem typical. Seeing Park Guell and the Sagrada Familia in person is so much different in person, and it was amazing to see an artists’ architectural designs play out in real life. Took a trip to the Picasso museum, which was cool to see all of the paintings that are in our text books and replicated all over the world.

For Halloween all of us dressed up and went out for the night, which
was definitely different than being at home, but also a great experience. Walking down ‘Las Ramblas’ which is one of the most
visited and crowded streets in Barcelona, dressed up in costume was a
sight to see. Unless they were foreign or the exception, most
Spaniards do not celebrate Halloween, so we had lots of strangers
trying to take pictures of the strange kids (which was us) walking
down the street.

A lot of kids from Santa Clara, in California, were in Barcelona,
either studying or visiting and we met up with them before going out
to the discotheque since we had a few Santa Clara students as well.
It was fun to meet other students studying abroad but it also reminded me of how much I miss all my own friends back at Witt. Had to do some facebook stalking when I got home of all the fun that people had back home, and the creative costumes. I am glad that I still have my senior year left to spend all the fun festivities one last time.

Another exciting week ahead, with only two days of class left, and one
being a presentation in colloquial language (which is really funny to
talk about in class!) and then off to Sevilla with our program for the
weekend. Cannot believe that it is already November! I am getting
pretty attached to this place and it’s going to be hard to leave so
soon in December. Es todo para ahora!

Hasta Luego Tios!

So it has been a while since I have checked in from over here in Spain, I cannot believe how busy I have been!  During our fall break, October 9th to 16th, I went on a class trip so to say, on the Camino de Santiago.  This is a famous pilgrimage across northern Spain, called in English “The way of St. James”.  I am currently taking a class on this pilgrimage, learning about the traditions, culture of the area, and long history of Christianity in Spain.  Part of this class was actually making the pilgrimage!

We left on a Saturday to travel to northwestern Spain, a region called Galicia by bus, a long 12-hour ride.  Our journey was 5 days by foot, a total of 110 kilometers, averaging 25 a day.  At first, all of us were energized and sprinted along the path, but as each day wore on, our bodies felt the 13 plus miles a day carrying a large backpack. However, we kept each other in high spirits by sharing stories and talking about life.  Some of the friends I made along the Camino are sure to be life long friends.

Waking up at 7 every day, we left for our destination around 8 after a light breakfast, and walked from 6 to 8 hours everyday.  We really lucked out on the weather as it was sunny almost everyday, and didn’t rain once, which is typical in the Galician region.  Once we reached the small village we were staying at, we would eat lunch, take a siesta and then eat dinner later in the night.  It began to seem routine by the end of the trip!

When we finally reached our destination, Santiago de Compostella, after 5 days of backpacking, I could not have been more relieved.  Our professors led us into the plaza where the church faced, and made us all turn around to see the church at once.  What a beautiful and awe-inspiring moment it was to see the building that for over a thousand years people have been traveling to see.  Since it was a holy year, Ano Xacobeo, we were allowed to enter the Puerta Santa or the Saints door, and see the apostol Santiago’s tomb and hug his relic in the altar.

Unfortunately the Pope will be visiting the cathedral in a month, so most of the church was under scaffolding to be in top shape for his visit.  It was still a gorgeous, and spiritual experience however to be able to visit such an important and historical place.

After our trip, I spent a week in Alicante, attending class and hanging out with friends.  I visited Elche, a neighboring town, which is the palm tree capital of the world and attended a medieval market—an interesting experience.

Midterms are this week! So I have been in little cafes with friends for the past few days, as I am right now, studying and reviewing. After my last exam on Thursday, I get to prepare to go to Barcelona for Halloween weekend! It will be interesting celebrating such an American holiday abroad, but of course I’m still going to celebrate and dress up.  I will defiantly miss being at Witt though this weekend.  It’s always such a fun time of the year, dressing up in costumes and seeing everyone out at night.

Time to get back to studying, wish me luck!

Ashley

Last Friday the 1st of October, myself and 5 other kids from my study abroad program left Alicante, Spain at 8am for Italy.  We flew into Bologna since it was cheaper and arrived around 10 am.  Our train down to Florence left at 1:20 pm so we had a few hours to explore the city before we needed to be at the train station.  All of us were very excited to have our first piece of Italian pizza and look at the markets that the city had to offer.  We hopped on our train around 1 and found our seats; it was kind of like a harry-potter ride with a separate cabin for 6 people, a cool experience.  It only took an hour to get there and we departed our train at the station.  However, we happened to get off one stop early in the suburbs of Florence, and had to walk about anhour to make our way in to the city center! My feet were not too happy with me after that.  Our hostel was right in the center of everything, and was actually very nice with 2 private bathrooms/showers and our own room for all us girls.  Fortunately one

of the girls on the trip, Meaghan, has a friend studying in Florence so we met up with her and she acted as our tour guide for the rest of the day, which was very helpful as she was able to show us how not to get lost and all the cool places to see.  We visited the Duomo (I paid the extra fee to climb to the top and it was well worth it- such a great view), the baptistery, Santa Maria novella church, and many other museum and old architecture.  Aftersome time we decided we had to try gelato, and it was such a treat! I could eat it every day (I tried many flavorsover the weekend such as honey, blueberry, dark chocolate, hazelnut and black cherry).  Around 8 or 9 we found a small restaurant to get dinner at and all shared our different pasta selections so we could try them all, I could eat authentic Italian everyday, it was so delicious.

The next morning was our planned trip to Cinque Terre, or 5 towns, which is about two and a half hours from Florence by train on the northern coast of Italy.  Our train departed at 6:30 am and our plan was to get up at 5:30 to make it there on time.  Unfortunately things did not go as planned and I woke up at 6:20 realizing we had to leave! Myself and the two other girls literally ran in 3 minutes to the train station and miraculously made it there on time.  Upon arrival, we started from the northern-most town and hiked south, what a breathtaking walk!  I took so many pictures to share with friends and family but those can hardly compared to the actual view.  We got back that night at 8:30 and had a late dinner, which was amazing yet

again, and passed out by 11.

(Vernaza – Italy, On top of the Duomo, Pesto pizza and Sunrise over the river)

Our final day in Italy I wanted to get up early so I could see the Uffizi museum, which holds many famous and important renaissance and 17th – 18th century art, and ancient statues.  Since I got there so early, I took a stroll along the river and the streets, one of the only people up, and saw the sun rise along the river.  It was such a peaceful and relaxing morning, one of the best I have had.  I was one of the first in the museum for the day so I got to see the exhibits mainly by myself, which was quite the experience, I could have spent hours looking!  I met up with the rest of the group later and we just browsed the stores and markets for the rest of the day enjoyingbeing in Italy.

Our train was delayed 35 minutes heading back to bologna to catch our flight, and we almost missed it! Fortunately luck was on our side and we just make boarding.  Overall it was a great weekend and I am very excited at all the trips I have planned for the coming weekends.

This weekend I have fall break and I embark on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in northern Spain with my class, it should be quite the experience.  At the end of the month I am traveling to Barcelona, then a weekend trip with my class to Seville, then Milan, Italy with a friend, and the next weekend to Paris!  So many exciting things to come; and I am so happy to be living abroad and thank myself every day that I chose to challenge myself and come here. It is such a rewarding experience every day.

I will admit that after my visit to Italy and seeing the leaves changing and the cooler weather, I miss campus and how beautiful it is in the fall.  And to top it off it is homecoming week!  It is one of my most favorite times of the year when alumni return to campus and there is so much to do, it’s always hard to focus on school work as everyone wants to hang out with friends and visit.

Time to get some studying and homework done…hasta luego!

Ashley

It seems like just yesterday that I was arriving in Spain, and looking at the calendar today I realized it’s already been an entire month!  So far it has been one crazy, fun, challenging adventure that I am so happy I choose to partake in.  This past week I had my first week of class, yes the end of September, I love it!  Iam taking 2 classes solely on the Spanish language, and my other two are Spanish cinema and Camino de Santiago, which are also in Spanish but about history, art and culture.  It really is a different experience getting to have new professors, students and classes, but what I enjoy the most is how the Spanish culture effects the way the classroom is run as well.  Most of the time our classes don’t really begin on time, okay make that never, and our professors are more about lecturing than discussion based classes.  However since I am taking classes through my study abroad program, they have adapted some aspects to a more ‘American’ styled learningenvironment with more discussion, which is also to help our Spanish as well.  I have my language class for two hours every day, Monday through Thursday, and my elective classes on Monday and Wednesday.  Which gives me a great schedule considering my weekend starts at 11am on Thursday!

Although I came here to ‘study’ abroad—which consists of classes, books and professors—I have found that most of my studying comes from outside of the classroom.  All of the places that I visit during my day, interacting with my host family and the Spanish locals, and meeting new friends have helped me learn more so far than theactual classes (although they certainly do help). No book is going to tell you how to communicate in a foreign language to the man driving your bus that you are lost and need to get home (yes this did happen to me!) or how to make jokes and be sarcastic in a new culture.  All of this comes from the experience.  And one of the things I have learned from being here for a month is that the best way to get by when you have no idea what is going on—smile.  Fortunately at Witt this is something that I know every student knows how to do very well, so I have not had any problem with trying my best just to be friendly and smile when something is happening that I don’t understand.  It really is an international symbol of understanding, and I’m so glad that I learned this quickly.

It’s almost comida and siesta time for me (which means lunch and nap) and afterwards the beach, so I will wrap things up for now.  This weekend I am off to Florence, Italy with some friends from my program, and I cannot be more excited!  Ill make sure to take pictures to post to my next entry, and of course eat some pasta and gelato.
Hasta Luego!

Ashley

Watersports and Enjoying the beach in Alicante

First off, I have to apologize for not posting an entry for the past few weeks.  I have been getting accustomed to life here in Spain, and I rarely have time to check my e-mail! (but of course there is always time for facebook).

What a change it is to be living in a different country. And I thought moving to Witt was an adjustment! Every part of my daily life here has changed, from the customs, culture, food, housing and school.  Let me first explain what my days here look like.  During the last two and a half weeks I have had an intensive language course through my abroad program, CIEE, at the University here in Alicante.  My classes are all in Spanish and are a review of the important Spanish tenses and vocabulary.  Monday to Thursday I have class 9 to 11 and 12 to 2 and then I’m done for the day.  I have to take the bus to school, and is only about a 15 minute ride, and the same heading home.

I choose to live in a home stay during my time here, so whenever I return home, it is to the neighborhood of ‘la florida’ in an apartment building right next to a park. I’m living with a retired couple, however they have 4 children with their own families that come over frequently for lunch.  That is yet another thing to get used to here, the eating schedule! Breakfast is very small and I eat before I head to class.  My host mom packs me some juice, a piece of fruit and a small sandwich everyday and then when I get home we have the biggest meal of the day, la comida, or lunch.  Stores and businesses close from 2 to 4 or 5 for lunch everyday and is an important time for families to get together, eat and enjoy each others company.  After lunch I sometimes take a siesta if I was out late the night before, or head into town to go to the beach or to study.  Dinner is usually around 9:30, or earlier if I have plans and then I have free time until I feel the need to sleep!

Life here is so much more relaxed than at home, and at first it was a stretch for me as I love always being on the go at home.  However I have gotten used to, and starting to really enjoy a relaxed lifestyle where the importance is more on socializing and enjoying life than being stressed and always doing something.

There is so much more that I will talk about, like my biggest obstacle everyday, the language, as well as the activities I have been doing and every once in a while some stories and information about Witt.

Hasta Luego/Until next time..

Ashley

CIEE Language and Culture Fall 2010

(group of students from the U.S. that I am studying here with!)

Well, its finally here! I’m at the Minneapolis airport, with way too much luggage and drinking a large coffee to help my anxiousness.  From here I fly to Philadelphia and then across the pond to Madrid, and then a short flight to Alicante where I will be living for the next four months. Until today, it hasn’t seemed real that I am actually going to be studying abroad for the semester, and it is so exciting!  I am so grateful that Wittenberg has such great options of study abroad and that I am able to do what I am doing.

While I am flying to Spain, a few of my other friends will be traveling abroad as well.  Kylie and Brad to London, and Jim to Ireland, and another has been in Australia for a month already (and is loving it).  I really am looking forward to experiencing a new culture and getting to attend school in a new environment, even though I will miss being at Witt too.  My mind is all over the place, so I’m going to have to keep this a short post, but I’ll be writing much more when I arrive and have settled into my new home.

And just to get into the Spanish mindset…
Es todo para ahora, tiene un buen dia!

ashley

One week from today I will be sitting in the Minneapolis international airport waiting for my flight to Spain.  Never in my life did I think that this would actually be happening.  Actually, I have dreamed of doing this for my entire life, and I am so happy that it is finally coming true.

When I looked on the front page of the Witt website today, I saw the new class of 2014’s new student day pictures of “what will you do at wittenberg?” and of course I had to check out all the pictures.  Its amazing to think that just 2 years ago I was in their shoes and thinking the same things.  Reading all the amazing things these freshman want to accomplish, I know now that it all is possible at Wittenberg.  It is astonishing what resources are available to students here and what you can do if you put your mind to it.  That’s one of the thing I love about being a student at Wittenberg, all of the opportunities and experiences that are here just waiting for students to take.

As I sit here in a little coffee shop at my cabin in Webster, Wisconsin, I am thinking of all that these new students have to look forward to, and all the fun they are going to have.  I also am really missing all my friends back in Ohio, getting ready for the first day of class tomorrow (haha! I don’t have class until end of September ☺ ).  So I leave with this:

“Carpe diem! Rejoice while you are alive; enjoy the day; live life to the fullest; make the most of what you have. It is later than you think.” – Horace