Bonjour! I am a sophomore in Gallatin studying abroad in Paris for the semester. My concentration, while not solidly formed yet, will be centered on writing and travel, which is why I chose this class as it fits perfectly with my plan of study. What I'm really interested in is art and media as expressions of cultural identity, and how that differs as you travel from place to place around the world. I hope to learn, through history classes, media classes, observation, and travel the nuances of different cultures around the world, what makes each people different than another, what makes up their daily life philosophy, what supports their art and media, and write it, hoping to someday be able to create an assemblage of all these cultural identities to form a global identity, a global artistic point of view, a global media, to show we are all a lot closer to each other than we think we are.

While here, I took three classes in addition to this blogging course. The first, Acting French, consisted of a small group of students rehearsing the entire semester to put on a play to celebrate the 40th anniversary of NYU in Paris. The play, mainly in French, also honored Eugene Ionesco, recently passed and a great contributor to the program in Paris. At the end of the semester we performed twice, once in the private quarters of the ambassador in front of an audience of administrative heads and, flown in from New York, John Sexton. The second time we performed in a bigger room in front of our peers, teachers, colleagues and friends. Both performances went far better than expected, and I was very proud to be in the course. Another course I took was Advanced Composition, also in French. As I am so interested in writing, I thought it might be wise to try and perfect my french writing skills (grammar, syntax, etc.) so if I ever travel write abroad, I can travel write in French. My third class, European Cinema and Society, entailed us watching a dozen or so European films (from Spain, Germany, Hungary, Italy, France, of course, and others) whose storyline or creation was directly influenced by the specific history of that country. This course also applied directly to my concentration as I came to learn of so many different countries' histories and how they were reflected through art and media to teach the public about their own cultural identity.

I'm from a tiny town in New England, where I lived all my life before moving to New York, so I've always felt I have the best of both worlds. I have a country home and a city home, two different cultural experiences. And now, I have a European home, in Paris. And I feel even luckier.

night time scene, la Avenida de Santa FeHello fellow bloggers. In an attempt to fully acclimate myself to Argentine culture I have arrived in this course perfectly on Porteño time, three weeks into my own classes and half way through the NYU semester. Discúlpeme. Lets get to know each other. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, but have never associated myself much with the city (if it’s at all possible to deny the place we come from). My concentration at Gallatin is human rights journalism & documentary film, which played some part in my choice to come to Buenos Aires, obviously a place with a rich history in human rights violations and massive uprisings. And while I certainly came to Argentina to witness the legacy of political action, and to learn the language, I really came here for other reasons. I had a realization at some point that even though I considered myself an independent person, and had actually achieved a lot on my own, my personal relationships had made me reliant on others, and I wasn’t really free. I chose to come to Buenos Aires primarily in an attempt to sever myself from those dependencies; the sheer hemispherical distance was alluring enough. Wanting something and achieving it are obviously two separate things, however. I’ve been here for nearly three weeks and have not yet been able to kick my nasty little skype-ing habit. And while I’ve made some really great friends in the program and in the city, I have spent most of the time here feeling really lonely. I’m not used to spending so much time to myself. Forget culture shock, me amo la vida de Argentina, this feeling is what has been shocking. But even from this point looking back to those first moments here, I feel like I’m okay. I’m starting to think that maybe being a little loneliness is good once and a while. I always find it difficult to enter a situation without expectations, and this city is certainly not what I expected, but I’m realizing that there are things that could not have been anticipated all around. I spent the day with the most handsome Porteño (whom I had expressed interest in, just last week, until it became clear that he was gay) and his two wonderful brothers, lunching, listening to music, drinking mate, and shopping of course. I know it’s a good thing to appreciate this place for its high days like these, and other more lonely ones.

I am a sophomore in Gallatin. I’m sorry I did not know that this class started before my others though in retrospect I should have checked things out before. I’m submitting this apology to show (maybe) how I d not often think ahead to guess what is coming my way. I am in Buenos Aires right now and in the curious position of trying to explain why I chose to study here having arrived already. If I were to have written this post before I left I would have said that I came here to improve my Spanish and see a different culture, maybe learn tango and travel into the Interior—everything in Argentina besides Buenos Aires. Now that I’m here I want to try every kind of empanada, fly a plane down the coast, get to know kids from NYU (almost none of whom I have ever seen let alone met before), go crazy at a soccer game, and yes, learn to tango.

There are a lot of juniors on this trip. This only means that everyone has a major or—in a few cases a concentration—most of which are focused on romance language, politics, journalism, history and economics. I am still trying to think of how to make my concentration doable in four years as opposed to forty but for now I’ll call it a hopeful mixture of sociology, anthropology, urban design, architecture, economics and maybe a little material science worked in there. Think I can do it? Neither do I but Buenos Aires is a great place to think about it and try to conceive of how human beings interact with the structures—both material and ideological—which operate within their city. I hope to find some of what I’m looking for here and to have a great time while doing it.

Now for the standard introduction; I have lived in Newton, a suburb of Boston for almost my entire life. I enjoyed going to school there and as a sophomore went on my first trip (a two week-long art history tour of Italy) with a group of kids my own age. We went to Venice first where I bought a soon-broken chrome lighter with a canal engraved on it to commemorate my feeling at the time that Venice was nice to look at but very different to be in; namely it was sinking slowly and smelled like sewage in many places. Now I guess that what the place must have smelled like when St. Marcos was being built and have a newfound reverence for those architects and builders who could make such beautiful human creations while other, more humdrum man-made “products” made the city reek on windless days.

In my junior year I traveled to Nicaragua with classmates to do volunteer work during the day and drink and party at night. I stayed in a medium sized town called San Juan Del Sur where tourism had recently taken root. Since the Sandinistas had fallen out of power a large resort had been built onto the hills above the town. My group got full reign the place because it was affiliated with a member, and because we were light-skinned enough to pass the guards. There were infinity pools, fat tanned men with cigars and an old spindly woman with a spider monkey on a leash among the sea of retirees. Not only was it sad that the town was becoming a tourist destination but I was taking part in its transformation, its translation.

These travel experiences and others are informing how I see and will see Buenos Aires where I will live for longer than I have lived in any other country outside the U.S. I will always be an outsider here but hope that with the time I have I will be able to feel more connected to the culture here as well as learn a mean tango.

dorm view

Dobryden! My name is Andrew and I am a junior in Gallatin studying business and entertainment. I grew up in the north suburbs of Chicago (first Evanston, now Winnetka) and have been in Prague for about a month now. Prague is quite a unique city. It was under a communist regime until 1989 and the people seem to still have this gloom about them (though they are more often than not, friendly). During my welcome week orientation, I went on a tour of old town square. Some of the buildings are over 500 years old and in one church, the arm of a 15th century thief hangs from the ceiling. Apparently, the thief was taking some valuable from the church when a guard caught him early in the morning and so his punishment was having the arm that held the valuable chopped off. Looks like I won't be stealing from that church anytime soon. 

The architecture is really unlike anything I have ever seen. The closest comparison I can come up with is the opening to any recent Disney movie where the shooting star flies over this beautiful castle. Each building is incredibly unique and noticeably distinct from the next. The layout of Prague (in addition to most interiors of the buildings) is quite a labyrinth. New York is simple because it's a grid system. Here, every road twists and turns into another. I made the mistake of taking a night run two weeks ago and it took me two hours to find my way home. The TV tower (the highest tower in Prague which supplies broadcasting to the city of Prague) was my landmark for home. I refer to it as "the black baby tower" because the architect decided to put large black babies climbing up this giant TV tower. While I’m abroad, I really hope to get to know Prague and to travel as much as possible. I’m also keeping a travel journal to document my adventures as well as taking tons of pictures.

It's a bit late...But here's my introduction-

I've been here at Prague for only three weeks, but already it seems like i've been here for months.

Maybe its because the city is so small and we've been walking all over the place, but either way, I like that I feel comfortable and at home .

Because this is an "Introduction" I suppose I could talk about myself and why I'm studying here at Prague.

I'm a junior at N.Y.U studying History and Politics. I don't really like N.Y.U.,but I love the city. Go figure. Either way, im planning on graduating a semester early so I can study for my LSATs. I chose to study here because I wanted to go to a place that would be very different from New York. Initially I'd like to have gone to Ghana, but i'm thinking i'd go there next semester. We'll see. Other than that, i'm pretty much like any other student. I'm taking some interesting classes, but it's a bit frustrating because I have absolutely NO knowledge about the Czech Republic or even about eastern european history. All in all, its been interesting to see and experience a different culture. Living in New York and all over the U.S., its interesting to see the Czechs so different from Americans. One thing that comes to mind is the size of drinks. From coffee to juices, everything is so small and in smaller quantities. No wonder people across the world think that Americans are a bit....fat. Another striking difference is the manner of how Czechs socialize. Or even lack there of. Meaning, in America- or atleast New York, one could strike up a conversation with just about anyone. However at Prague, everyone seems distant or just...indifferent(?) Not sure what the proper expression would be. Nonetheless, my point is that its harder than America to come across a friendly smile. I'm not complaining though, I could really care less if someone smiles at me or doesnt smile at me. I simply find it interesting. However I can say of one thing that irks me. Prague is cold and dark. I understand that it's the winter and all...but it gets dark before 5 pm and that freaks me out a bit. Though, i'm getting used to this weather.

All in all, I'm greatful and excited to be studying here.

And oh yes, my two readings will be Open Letters: Selected writings by Vaclav Havel and Prague Pictures: A portrait of the City by Benjamin Black.

Cheers!

I’m staring at the itinerary Continental emailed me today, but it still feels as fake as ever. In three days I’ll be on a plane. Four hours in one chair followed by fifteen hours in another somehow gets you to the other side of the world or Buenos Aires.

My name is Liz. I am a junior in Gallatin studying Social Justice. Buenos Aires as a study abroad location is the result of a series of narrowing criteria. My own lack of time, likely from a lack of motivation, narrowed the entire world down to eleven cities; by the time I decided I needed to study abroad the only due dates I had not missed were for the NYU abroad programs. Then my own stubborn need to feel like the past year and a half of Spanish classes have not been in vain, eleven became two, Madrid and Buenos Aires. In the end, I checked the Buenos Aires box because, although I have never visited either city, Buenos Aires somehow feels less accessible, I guess. It seems there are more opportunities to visit Europe, get to know that continent, than South America. Buenos Aires fits the criteria, but in the end it did come to down to a choice.

But honestly, I’m trying to keep my expectations low. I know it will be different. There will be a lot of Spanish speakers with funny accents all in one place. It will be hot. And I leave it at that. If you are sensing apathy, I promise it’s a front. I’m actually terrified, and my reaction is to think about it as little as possible. I don’t know if four months is enough to get to a know a place so foreign as anything other than that. I doubt I will be seen as or feel like anything but a tourist. I guess that’s ok, but terrifying.

My entire 21 years have been spent in San Francisco and New York. I have memories of only ever living in one house. The only time I have spent abroad was a failed attempt at a family vacation to France in sixth grade. In a few days I’m going to be about as foreign as I’ve ever been in my life. I have no idea what to expect. About all the research I’ve done is Wikipedia Buenos Aires once, and even then I was too lazy to read through the whole thing. Well, too late now.

Germany!My apologies to everyone, not least of all Steve for these posts coming so late! I took Steve’s pre-departure class, as it were, last semester and was under the impression that this class was much less dependent on posting dates than that one. Sadly I was mistaken, and now I am trying to catch up on everyone’s posts and hopefully people can catch up on mine. Last semester we met twice a week for the final 7 weeks of the semester in order for us to talk amongst each other about our mutual travel fears, anxieties, and of course, joyful discoveries. This semester, I thought, was entirely independent and solely relied on our own experiences abroad. Certainly I expected to read others’ blogs and have mine read as well, but I didn’t think there would be an introduction post nor specific due dates, as I am not even abroad yet!! But enough with my late excuses. I’ll stop short of asking my mom to sign a note for me or something to that extent.

I’m going to Berlin and I’d like to explain the reasons behind this nerve-racking decision. Last summer, while the presidential campaigns were well into full-swing and with an ominously (or rather, poorly) balanced national and international economy looming, I decided it would be best for me to leave the country and perhaps consider another place to call my home. I had traveled to Berlin after high school and really enjoyed the atmosphere or perhaps I mean the aura. It’s the feeling I had for the place that made me want to return, and not nearly something as describable as an “atmosphere.” It just seemed beautiful.
That said, I’m working in Gallatin on a concentration in deviant identities and identity politics and as Steve put so succinctly last semester, “there’s no better place than Berlin to study deviance.” But, I think there’s more to the story than the crazy street-walkers, the “electroheads,” the death-metal Goths, and a reputation as the queer capital of Europe. There are ways, still, that Germany has failed to be so welcoming in their national imagination. Specifically, Turkish immigrants suffer daily through practiced social codes and reinforced policies that are meant to undermine the legitimacy of their communities, of their status as immigrants, of their bi-culture and newly formed racial identity within the nation, one with a needn’t-be-explained world memory of genocide.

I worked tirelessly last semester to undermine this memory, to have it questioned, to have Germany understood as something more substantial and respectable, something more meaningful than simply post-Holocaust. I think my work in dealing with this issues on a personal and interpersonal level paid off, however, towards the end of last semester and following through Winter break, a presence of neonazis (or Neonazis or Neo-Nazis or neo-nazis or….) in Berlin made themselves known. Demanding an end to immigration, a ridding of non-Aryans, public money to be used for nationalist citizens only, they rioted. Quelled and quelled again, their political party is now considered a threat to the nation and there are attempts to make their party illegal, especially after the stabbing of the police chief on his own front porch. I’m glad I’ll be there for this but I hope that my deviant identities (American, foreigner using German resources, Jewish heritage, queer) don’t place me at a risk, but I try to remind myself that I’ll only be young once and after having witnessed President Obama’s inauguration just a week ago, maybe it’ll be good for me as a writer and as an aspiring academic to continue to keep exposing myself to history.

Allo

Bonjour, tout le monde! Je m’appele Elizabeth Daniels, mais ya’ll can jus call me Eli. I hail from Baton Rouge Lousiana and I am a junior at Gallatin studying (wait for it) The Law of Humanity through Christ and the Camera. This glorious title (note the sarcasm) is a combination of International Law/Human Rights, Christian/Judaic Studies, and Film. (Please if you would like to discuss anything or give me any advice don’t hesitate to message me). I am studying in Paris this Spring. I chose Paris because not only did I grow up in a French dominant culture, my mother’s family happens to be Louisiana Creole, so my hope is to become fluent enough to throw some words back at my family, since I was raised without either French or Creole. Also, since French is one of the main languages of International Law it is very important to me to learn the language in hopes of having more job opportunities.

This semester I will be taking:

Independent Study: Rationale Tutoring

Composition and Conversation

Protest Movements in France

Preliminary Language Course (which ended yesterday Praise the Lord!)

European Cinema (but only as a backup in case we can't go to the University of Paris because of the strikes- I’m hoping to take Literary Texts Adapted to the Silver Screen at the Sorbonne)

and..... (drum roll please)

The Art of Travel avec Steve et vous!!!!

So my goal for the semester is to become at least conversational but my ultimate hope is to become fluent (in 5 months yea, but anything is possible). One thing that I have learned in Paris, that probably happens all the time around the world is how the people can just tell you’re American. I mean I know its obvious, but when you visit the Eiffel Tower and these guys keep trying to speak English and sell you mini-towers it gets annoying. Like you’re foreign , therefore you must be stupid. Or the gypsy lady at Notre Dame who slaps you in the face for walking away while she speaks English to you (yes, true story!) Its just not fun being placed in the category of the tourist. I still consider myself a traveller. Finally I have not picked out my books yet but I am thinking Sarah’s Key. It tells a little of Jewish history in France and I’m hoping to read a book in French also. I just don’t know which one yet. Umm, so yea check out my Delicious page (I am veteran from the Abroad at Home class) Have fun wherever your are. Never say never and take that jump just don’t get arrested. Throw salt over your shoulder and fall in love as often as you can (yea, I stole that one). That’s pretty much all the advice I can think of right now…A Bientôt!!

Hello, My name is Valentina Figueroa and I am a junior in Gallatin. I am concentrating in the cosmology and the use of jewels and gems in ancient civilizations. Up until I was eleven I attended a Swiss school in Colombia and learned French before I learned English. My mother received a call threatening to kidnap me given the guerilla war in Colombia that has been going on for the past 50 years or so. Consequently, the two of us had to leave in a period of 2 days with no previous notice. That was the first time I moved to another country and experienced the feeling that has become a part of me. It is the feeling of leaving and starting a new chapter somewhere else and always having nothing but my own self to count on. That does not mean that my family was not there; on the contrary, since then we have learned to appreciate each other more.  At the time, my sister lived in England and my father stayed in Colombia. I did not know where I was going or what was going to happen, but I knew that it was the next thing to do and I had the clarity that I needed to create my own happiness and take out the best of that situation.

            In a couple of months I had learned some English and had a couple of friends who would, some of them, last until now. Since then, I have had, as I say, my heart in several places. My home is still Colombia but I have lived in Washington, New York, Paris, and have spent a great amount of time in London. I can say that it is always somehow heart breaking to leave, but that feeling has taught me about the inconstancy of situations. I have learned to live each moment to the fullest and move on when it is time to do so.  Nowadays when I go to Colombia people ask me where I am from and I have realized that I am a collection of my experiences and all of the places that I have experienced. 

Silence
I had finished my shrimp cocktail on Lufthansa Flight 1480 and still the woman next to me was rattling on about her sister’s best friend’s boyfriend who she had seen in the airport and just had to talk to. I nodded and smiled, tried to laugh in the right places, but eventually excused myself for the bathroom, a mere 2 rows away to find a bit of solitude, and then slipped on my headphones before she had realized I returned.
One week later, I’m in Prague, and the silence of this place suits me. The often overwhelming pressure to talk constantly and tell-all delightfully disappears outside of the confines of my dorm room in Machova. Just yesterday, I bought my groceries, said thank you and left, an almost impossible feat compared to the fast pace and titter of New York and a conversation with my mother.
This is not to say that I am an introvert; in fact, this last week has been an unbelievable experience in the power of self-expression, as I fight my way through the barrage of questions and feel the adrenaline of finding things in common with people whose faces are becoming familiar. And it is this great contrast, between the lively chatter with students, to the calming pallor of Prague, that has left me disoriented but content.
Already, I am experiencing life in a way that I’m not used to—unplanned and precarious. I’m far away from the list making and structure that has followed me through my life, and I find it strangely liberating. The Vodaphone store has remained unvisited, and I spend my nights drinking wine from the box and pouring over travel books, my appetite increasingly voracious to see the world. It’s a journalist’s dream, to be a stone’s throw away from twenty different countries, and I don’t want to think about the reality of a credit card bill four months down the line.
I’ve always been what you may call an over-achiever; that attitude is what led me to transfer from American university to NYU for the opportunity to experience the media culture and give myself a chance in the industry. As a journalism major, I push myself to constantly succeed and this semester, thousands of miles from home, is not much different. I’m challenging myself academically, studying Kafka and learning about foreign attitudes on gender. I will be writing more than I ever have before; my international reporting and travel writing classes forcing me to document everything, and it’s opening a doorway to a culture that I so desperately want to be accepted by.
And if I am not, then I will have at least seen it through a lens colored a different shade than they once were, and I will taste it with an appetite increasingly sustained by gravy and starch, and I will smell it with a nose that is becoming immune to cigarette smoke.
I wonder if four months down the line, I will step away from the silence of Prague craving more noise, if I will be the one blabbering away on my flight back. I think by then, I might have found a different voice, one laced with the breath of this intoxicating city, a voice that has a story that I can’t wait to tell.