Advice

Parilla    I heard that there will be one hundred kids here in NYU Buenos Aires next semester which is more than double the current size. Therefore, my first piece of advice would be to get to know the administrators. When the administrators know you, they will be able to help you when you need it. When you need something from them and they do not know you, they will less likely work hard for your cause. I would live in a home-stay, because it forces you to practice your Spanish. Living with a family also forces you to learn about Argentinian culture. There are some cons to living in a home-stay as well. Some people were unlucky and got families who were not nice or gave them very small rooms. Despite these cons, I would still recommend the home-stay. Bring your home-stay money in cash and pay the whole thing in the beginning so that you do not have to deal with it throughout the semester. Buy a Guia-T as soon as you get here and familiarize yourself with how to use it. Bring as much American cash as possible so you do not have to pay ATM fees. Bring a portable DVD player if you have one, because the long bus rides you take in this country make it worth it. Bring a digital camera so you can record your trip. I would also bring a notebook, so you can keep a journal about your trip. I would bring a guide book if you have one, because they are useful when trying to get around the first couple of days. Don't get your yellow fever shot in New York because you can get it here for free. Bring a hiking backpack, because it will be useful when you carry. I heard bad things about Tango, and Art class so try and avoid those. Creative writing is a great Gallatin class if you have the chance to take it, then take it. There is no peanut butter and hot sauce in this country so if you like them bring them. You definitely need a coin purse or a wallet that has an extra zipper pocket because of the coin crisis in this country. Buses only take change and therefore it is very hard to get your hands on some. Last but not least, make sure to find a local parilla because it is the closest thing to fast food in this country.    

Not the Brandenburg Gate, the Brandenburgtor: Asking where it is in German makes a huge differenceI’d like to use this post to speak on the positive and exclusively positive aspects of my Study Abroad experience. Throughout the semester, I’ve found many uses for this blog. One of the most important uses I found is for venting, for cathartic expression, and for a place to post my feelings in isolation from the rest of the small group that is here. As a result, I may have come off as too negative or frustrated or whatever, but I’d like my final reflections to show that this actually was one of the best experiences of my life. The personal growth I’ve experienced while abroad is amazing, and I believe that I’ll return to New York a different person.

To speak on the rewarding aspects of the program in particular is probably the most daunting task of trying to write this entry. The concept of “rewards” calls to mind friends and acquaintances talking about travelling to a so-called “Third World” or “Developing” part of the globe and helping the people there. Through imposition of religion, education, or public health measures, the people of these impoverished areas are generally seen as “improved” or “developed,” and so the rewards come from feeling as if one’s improved the status of someone else’s life. I understand that my use of safety quotations might implicate my criticism of the practices I am discussing but that isn’t my central concern. My central focus is directed at is a question: What kind of rewards can a white, male, private-school attending (read: privileged) expect to receive from a study abroad trip that seems overwhelmingly selfish and unconcerned with the “bettering” of others? Well, I believe the answer might lie in the left-out others of the scenario. That is, I myself have reaped the rewards of this trip.

So how do I deal with these rewards, then? Well, I suppose it depends on the nature of the reward. If I were to write a book based on a 12-Step approach to stop being selfish, I might start with “Step 1: Admit your privilege,” which I have thusfar already done and dealt with on many other occasions. But, next, one must find where their privilege has unjustifiably rewarded them, and how these rewards might better others. I’ll enumerate what my perceived rewarding experiences from this trip are before moving forward into seeing what I can do with them: (1) US-European Travel, (2) Intra-European Travel, (3) Shopping and Material Consumption in Europe, (4) Going to Dining and Nightlife in Europe, (5) Visiting Museums and Galleries throughout Europe, (6) Living in a Turkish Neighborhood (Kreutzberg, Berlin or “Little Istanbul”), (7) Taking Classes in Europe, (8) Learning the German Language, (9) Making New American Friends, Acquaintances, and Contacts, (10) Making New European Friends, Acquaintances, and Contacts.

US-European travel, comfortable but expensive, has allowed me to peacefully and efficiently come abroad on more than one occasion. The reward of this is wedded to the privilege of it, as I am still alive and have just completed my third month abroad. I don’t know that there’s a way of making this “unselfish,” aside from sharing my advice and positions to other people who are in a similarly placed position to travel abroad. While I might say the same for Intra-European Travel, I might also say that the reward reaped from these ventures are more exciting stories that have led to my growth as a narrator or story-teller and have placed bonds between me and other travelers. This, too, may only be only a selfishly gained reward, but I know that my family and friends back home love to hear about how I’ve experienced new places outside of Berlin, especially when I travelled to Istanbul and was able to both academically and personally draw parallels between the actual city and the neighborhood I live in. I hope that one day I’ll be able to work to improve the conditions of immigrants given the experience I’ve gained.
As for 3 and 4 on my list, again, I shamefully find that these have only benefitted me while I have been abroad. These have been culturally fulfilling experiences and I wouldn’t change that I did them, but it’s important that I acknowledge that others will maybe never have the same opportunities. The only “paying forward” I might offer here is the list of reviews that I’ve been compiling and will post soon, but again, I know that these are only to the benefit of others in a socio-economic situation that will have allowed them the mobility and extra funding needed to experience these things.

Turning to 5, museums are amazing experiences that are built to culturally fulfill willing patrons. Exposing myself to these museums has been incredibly rewarding and I hope that, no matter where anyone is at any given point, they take a moment to see what the culture they’re surrounded in has produced and values. Even the small city that I grew up in has a museum of its own, and I thought it was really nice when I finally actually got around to visiting it at the age of 17. There is much I can offer here except to say: See museums and see galleries, whether traveling or stationary—and don’t just “see” them, but let yourself be affected by them and grow because of them.

Next, living in a Turkish neighborhood has really breathed humanity into an immigrant population that I had only before known through statistics, case studies, and ethnographies. I think that living with a really tight and very open community has allowed me to think outside of the terms provided by the Academy and its “research.” I decided against pursuing further academic research on the subject after being here, and instead have gained an ableness to see resistance on the ground and within the people, rather than from outside. This, of course, is not to say that I am now “within” the community, but I am trying my hardest to understand their experiences without putting myself directly outside their experiences, working with anthropology or sociology to superimpose what I already know onto a community who already knows themselves so well.

As for 7 and 8, 7 is primarily rewarding because of, like before, it’s tie to the privilege of studying abroad. I wouldn’t like to learn about the EU from anyone besides the daughter of a former EU Bureaucrat. I wouldn’t like to learn German History from someone who hadn’t done research on his own family’s terrible involvement with the holocaust. And, turning to 8, I wouldn’t have wanted to learn German from anyone besides my teacher, a native German speaker and active writer on Jewish Feminist thought. I think the MOST rewarding part about my study abroad trip was being able to carry on an entire conversation in German having only studied it for several months. I don’t think that this could have possibly happened anywhere else and it’s made me feel tremendously happy and accomplished. I really enjoy being able to interact more as German and less like a traveler, and feel that Berlin, a city of expats, really welcomes and opens more doors for people willing to learn the language.

What’s closely related, then, is the accumulation of European and American friends. This, too, has been such a rewarding and unique experience that I wish I could share with everyone, but it makes no sense to try and explain friendships. I just urge anyone who wants to and is willing to study abroad to also be willing to putting themselves out there because you really can’t expect to grow without the support and the happiness that is borne out of making new friends, especially in countries that you might have never thought it was possible to make friends.

A Park I Can't Pronounce in Prague

Hello all you future NYU abroaders....and Steve. =) So, I’m going to tell you the real skinny on the beautiful city of spires and cheap beer (and awkward and hilarious encounters with Czechs...don’t worry, they get friendlier as the semester goes on, I promise) known as Prague, here in the beautiful (and beautifully cheap!) Czech Republic. To begin with, I will be completely honest: I do have mixed feelings about Prague. Prague is a gorgeous city that looks like something out of a Disney fairy tale. A breathtaking castle, classical architecture and horses (yes, horses!) are more than enough to make you feel as if you’re having a strange dream where you are a royal out of a Disney film after watching the movie Enchanted right before bed. However beautiful Prague is though, I have to say that I didn’t care for the usually dreary and depressing weather and the not-really-all-that-friendly-to-foreign-people Czechs. The weather doesn’t really get half decent until the end of April here (if you would be studying abroad in the spring), and by then, you’re just irritated that it took so long to get nice outside! While this is bad, this is not a Prague bashing post at all. You see, while Prague has its cons, it is also the site I would recommend most for students looking to travel Europe.

Because Prague is smack-dab in the middle of Europe, it is relatively easy to travel almost anywhere, and the other great thing is that flights from Prague are usually relatively cheap when bought in advance, and bus lines such as Student Agency Bus make exploring eastern and central Europe a snap. This, added to the fact that Prague is rather inexpensive (though comparing almost anywhere to New York City would make it seem inexpensive by comparison) means you’ll have more money to save for your travels. An added bonus for those who choose to study abroad in Prague is that the program is one of NYU’s smallest programs, meaning there is a definite sense of community, which is rather difficult to find amongst NYU’s 40,000+ students back in New York. Words of advice to those studying in Prague: watch where you walk, as owners almost never curb their dogs, you will pay for water at restaurants (even for tap!), tipping is a modest 10% (except in the city center, where NYU is located, of course), most of the Czech population still doesn’t speak English, so please do pay attention during your intensive Czech lessons (this will come in more handy than you think!), and have brunch at least once at Radost FX, and you won’t need about 60% of the clothes you initially pack. Additionally, don’t be afraid to explore Prague! Most people never venture from the typical NYU haunts, and there are so many amazing places here! I also recommend taking classes that include excursions to places in Prague, such as Reporting the Arts and Czech Architecture. Lastly, if you want the “nicest” dorms, live in Osadni, which are rather out of the way, but the most spacious. However, if it’s a community you’re after, Czech out (oh yes, I went there) the Machova or Slezka residence halls, which resemble more traditional dorm-like setups. I hope this helps, and feel free to ask anything else!

If you're planning on studying abroad, you might find some helpful advice in these blog posts by students who were abroad in the fall—in Paris, Buenos Aires, Florence, and Ghana. You'll find some wardrobe tips and much more.

What Not To Wear: This is Pato. He is Argentine and in the middle of nowhere so he can get away with this little ensemble, but as a foreigner to Argentina i wouldn't go prancing around the city in this getup.

Some helpful hints for the South American Traveler:

Do not be fooled into buying the converters that are supposedly designed for South America. These to not fit into 90% of the outlets. Your best bet is to buy the ones designated for Australia. These are the ones with either 2 slanted prongs, or two round prongs. I would get one of each because some plugs do not accommodate both.
Exchange ALL your cash at the airport. I only exchanged a little bit when I arrived, and it is a real pain to go to the “casa de cambia” (exchange house) because that means you have to remember your passport and then walk around with it all day (which scares me, because I would hate to loose that).
Pack light and appropriately. I packed in August, assuming the weather would be just a little chillier than it was at home. I packed one light jacket and a few sweatshirts thinking I would rarely need them. Little did I know when I arrived that it was full-fledged winter down here, and wearing my college sweatshirt outside pegged me as a tourist. I had to resort to my one blazer for about a month and a half, under which I wore a t-shirt every day because I forgot to pack winter tops.