I landed in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve, only a few hours after the time struck 12. I was tired, but ready to start the year off completely anew. After a night in LA, I started day one of 2013 flying to Loreto, Mexico. I made a list on that flight; goals for this year. One of them, was to try many new things.

            In winter break, I wanted to do something different. I decided to take a National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) course, and finally learn to sail. It would be a one-month expedition in the backcountry of Baja to learn sailing and leadership skills. Going in, I knew little of what was going to happen in this short month of my life.

            Upon landing in Loreto, my course mates and I quickly spotted each other among the other passengers in the tiny airport and together, we left for the hotel. The bus was full of conversation; we talked about our hometowns, school life, and expectations for the trip. The whole two days were a very good “getting to know each other” period. My first impressions of everyone comforted me; it was refreshing to be around a completely new group of people. We all had one thing in common – the desire to do a NOLS course. Amidst college, work and general life, not many take this leap to leave the real world for a month and try something different. This brought us closer quickly, even though we didn’t know it.

             The first day, we were able to explore the little town of Loreto. It was strange, and we quickly began to notice how deserted the town appeared. We walked the empty streets as tied dogs barked at us from behind wire fences.

Still, the place had a kind of charm. We wandered into an old church in the center of town. It was almost as if no time had passed since the church had been built. A stone courtyard and palm trees lined around the edges gave it a colonial

The church’s bell tower, Loreto

appearance. The rooms at the hotel were small, nothing like any hotel I’d ever stayed in. The view made up for it though. That night, I called my boyfriend to tell him I was having fun, and had yet to be kidnapped. “How’s the hotel?” he asked. “Is it nice?” I wasn’t sure how to describe it. We had one more day to explore before heading off on our adventure. As we walked the streets, I couldn’t help but wonder the unimaginable: what would it be like to live here? I could never say. One thing I can say, I’m glad I know Spanish.

            Not many kids in the group spoke Spanish, and even though most locals spoke English, it was definitely handy to know. The people seemed to appreciate Spanish, even if I wasn’t exactly sure what to say. I was just glad to have the practice. I really never knew I could hold an entire conversation with minimal effort with a Spanish speaker, but that was the case in Loreto.

            If my parents had only seen Loreto, they would never have been worried about me going on this trip. Convinced (as any loving parents would be) that I was going to get kidnapped, they initially said no. However, I never felt unsafe at atny point during the trip. I asked a local what his favorite thing  about Loreto was. He replied, “You could be a super hot, 20 year old woman walking home alone at two in the morning, and no one would bother you.”

 We left the next morning in a van to the NOLS Mexico branch, located near Mulege. We were almost halfway there, when we had to stop. We had reached a military checkpoint, and everything had to be searched. Considering that it was in the middle of the desert, it was a nice spot. We were up in the mountains, surrounded by red dotted hills. Men stood around us, all in uniform, all holding guns. Strangely, I didn’t feel threatened. They were friendly, and seemed to know our driver well. They searched each of our bags and asked some questions, and then we were on our way.

            As we drove closer, the ride got better and better. We came upon beautiful bays of turquoise water, little islands sitting in white sand as we rode along the cliffs. It was nothing like I’d pictured Mexico to be. We turned in to the branch, and were greeted by the supervisor and the instructors as we got off the van, looking around with wide eyes. We were surrounded by white buildings, and the guides gave us a tour of the branch. What a place to live. Years ago, the land had been sold to the founders of NOLS by a Mexican ranch owner when they wanted to start a NOLS course in Baja. Now, that rancher’s daughter and other family members still work there as staff. We felt the sense of community immediately; a mix of Mexicans and “gringos” living together on this amazing beach. We spent the day getting to work, preparing food and gear for our departure. We had a meeting, going over the general route, the plans and  expectations for the trip. The instructors had warned us earlier that day about the sting rays in the water, and continued to mention the jellyfish, scorpions, coyotes, and many others. I was beginning to understand the intensity of the environment that was to become my home.

            The excitement was building inside me. I saw the horizon, and I wanted it. The water was beautiful, the people were exciting, and the boats were calling me. I hardly slept that night. The next day, we set off. We had our last taste of yogurt and milk and civilization and packed up the boats. It was a slow process, we had no idea what we were doing. I was already impressed with the instructors’ patience.  Our crew split up, each group boarding the three boats in La Tigresa, Liberdade, and Caper. These three, 22-foot drascombs would become our lives in the next month. Me, Colby and Mady boarded La Tigresa, ready to learn. Miles, our instructor, taught us how to get the boat ready. We hadn’t even gotten out of the bay when the wind started to pick up to white caps. In the next month, I would learn about this wind. We put on our fowl weather gear and sailed out of the bay, waving goodbye to the branch. I waved, but I didn’t look back. My eyes were fixed on the other side of the water.

The fisherman’s marina, Loreto

“This was my first trip out here, too” said Miles once we got going. “I sailed out onto the Sea of Cortez and never looked back.”

 I could see why. It was colder than I expected, and I could already feel the sun on my pale face. But it was beautiful. And, as I knew I would, I already started to love sailing.

                     Camping on the beach sounds incredibly romantic, and in reality, there’s a lot more to it than you would imagine. First of all, I had never seen stars like the ones I saw in the Baja sky. If you’ve never been to the backcountry, where there’s no light pollution, you probably haven’t either. It was amazing. You could see clearly in the night because of how bright they were. Later in the trip, we did an astronomy class where I learned many different constellations. The first few nights, I couldn’t close my eyes because all I wanted to do was look at those stars.

            Maybe I was just tired, but there’s nothing that can sing you to sleep like the sound of crashing waves. The slow lull of the water’s ebb and flow sounded like one of those expensive sleep-sound machines you buy at Brookstone. It was surreal.

            Perhaps the best part about sleeping on the beach was the sunrise. Every morning I awoke to a blaze of color across the sky. One morning, I could see every color of the rainbow reflected on the clouds and the calm water. The sun would peek out from behind a mountain, or rise above the water and spread beautiful reds, oranges and yellows all the way to the other side of the horizon. If I could wake up like that every morning, I would have much less trouble getting to class on time.

            Don’t start thinking this was some dream vacation where I got to kick back on the beach all day and sail around. This was a NOLS course. And thus, there were many challenges.

            First of all, learning to sail is like learning a whole new language. Halyard, boomkin, mizzen, clew, tack, gybe, lazarette, and the list goes on. At first, it seemed impossible for me to learn all these terms and be able to use them without even thinking. However, I soon found myself talking like a proper sailor. I think hearing the terms so much made me really internalize them, as well as the fact that I just looked at the terminology as a new language. I’d been meaning to take another language…

            Another challenge I personally faced was cooking. On the first day, we were divided into cook groups. Each group had a stove, some cooking supplies, and a week’s ration of food. Each day we had to make breakfast and dinner. Even in the front country, I’m not a cook. If you asked my friends, they’d say I could burn water. But when I got to NOLS, it was either I learn to cook, or risk having very angry group mates. So I learned to cook. This was no easy feat, and I could never have done it alone. The first meal I cooked for my group was a mixture of overcooked rice, salsa and chopped carrots. But I got better. Through observing other course mates and instructors, I learned to make a few things. Pasta (don’t laugh), Tortilla pie, peanut sauce ramen, home fries, and eggs. Believe it or not, those were some of my proudest accomplishments throughout the trip.

            Sailing was now ridden of the first-time challenges. I was very impressed with the drive and the skill of the entire group. We were ten students, and all of us seemed to be getting it within a few days. We had very patient, competent instructors to thank for that. And then there was the whole slew of backcountry challenges, that is, sleeping on the ground, forgetting to wear sunscreen, dealing with dread-locked hair… But this was all good. These types of incidents are always good for you. To be surrounded by beauty, to be humbled by large mountains, to forget comfort, and to remember how little you need, was enough . To learn that you can rise to any challenge was enough.

            For example, the second beach we sailed to was called Beatrice. It was another rocky shore, met swiftly by the desert. We tucked the boats up under the protection of the point and prepared for the night.

            After unloading the boats, my group set up our tarp. We didn’t have tents, so that was our protection from any weather conditions in case we needed it. My group, shirking off the task with “It’s not even going to rain” and “the sun is already down,” threw our tarp together so it was barely standing.

            As we finished up dinner, we noticed some clouds gathering above us. I wasn’t even concerned, convinced that it couldn’t possibly rain. I continued to deny this as drops of water began to hit my face. It finally got the point of no return. We packed up our kitchens and ran for our tarps. Throwing my things under the poorly-set tarp, I helped my group stabilize it with rocks and gear for it to hold. We had to completely barricade the north side to avoid getting completely soaked. In a few minutes, however, that didn’t matter. I ran down the beach to “use the ladies room” quickly before I was trapped in for the night, but when I returned I noticed two things missing under the tarp. My group members, and my sleeping mat. While they soon returned, carrying more rocks, I ran down the beach looking for my mat. My instructor Jess, hearing me call out, ran down to the beach. In a few seconds, she spotted my mat. It was safely floating about 10 yards out at sea. I stood for a moment, staring at it. Knowing the LNT (leave no trace) principles and my need for something to sleep on, I knew what must be done. As everyone gathered, I took off most of my layers and handed them to Alex. I started to wade out, Jess keeping her headlamp on the mat.

            “Are you wearing shoes?” called Miles.

            “No…” I said, remembering their warnings about sting rays.

            “Start swimming.”

            I dove in. Luckily, my swimmer instincts kicked in and I was in and out pretty quickly. That part was cake.

            I ran back to the tarp, trying to dry myself in the rain. I put some layers back on and got into my already rain-soaked sleeping bag. The wind continued to blow rain onto me as I tried to sleep. It was a great night to bond with my course mates, staying up to play games and telling stories as we waited out the storm. I just wished I was a little warmer…

            The next day, our instructor Pablo read us a story about a man who can “sleep through a storm.” The moral was to do everything right the first time, so that should a storm come, you can easily sleep right through it. I got the message. Always set up a good tarp.

            I don’t mean to complain, and although that night was the coldest, it was also one of the best nights of the trip. There were many highlights, one of them simply being the beauty of Mexico. Baja is the most rugged place I’ve ever visited. The winds howl without stopping, the waves topple over each other as they rush to the rocky shores, the cactuses and thorny bushes stick up above the dusty desert floor, and the mountains sweep the horizon like the backdrop of an old western. The animals there are just as prickly as the plants: Sting rays, puffer fish, scorpions, and rattle snakes. To inhabit this place is to try your luck against the harshest of climates. When you imagine Mexico, you may picture the harsh desert, or perhaps the sandy beaches. But you almost never picture the two sitting side by side. It’s odd to stand on a bluff and see barren desert to your left, flat lands of cactuses sweeping back to big red mountains, and white sand beaches with clear-blue water to your right. It was amazing. It was also amazing what natural beauty can do to a person. It was hard not to get used to look at the stars instead of a bedroom ceiling,  to sit on the boats instead of a couch. I reminded myself that I was lucky.

            After the first few days, the instructors assigned student skippers to be the first mates on the boats the next day. This included passage planning, overseeing navigation, taking care of the boat and the crew, and making sure the day went as scheduled. It seemed like a lot of responsibility at first, especially since I was in the first group. But, as I always try to do, I took on the challenge with positivity. It was actually one of my best days. There were plenty of mistakes, but it was definitely one of my favorite memories of the trip. Without being put into that situation, I never would have known how much I knew, and exactly what I didn’t know. Miles, my instructor that day, relaxed and let me learn from my decisions. It was this kind of learning that really taught me a lot.

            Obviously, another highlight was the actual sailing. As I knew I would, I loved it and I took to it quickly. Being on a vessel whose only method of transportation was nature itself is pretty awesome. Learning to move through the vast ocean, powered by the wind and the waves was exhilarating. We could be moving 5 knots, under just one sail, and everyone on the boat had to be on their job. It was fun, and feeling that kind of power from the wind on such a small boat was crazy. It was also relaxing, sitting for a while on one point of sail, barely having to move. This was an easy time to slip into conversations with your crew, or ask more about concepts you didn’t understand. Once, on a quiet day, our instructor Pablo taught my boat a sea chantey on our way in to anchor. That was something we all enjoyed, as we were in a sort of silent competition to see who could be more “salty” (or experienced in seamanship). Our boat now had the advantage.

            The wildlife wasn’t all mean and prickly. On our second day sailing, we were joined by a huge pod of dolphins. As we were sailing along, the pod just came racing alongside each boat, jumping in and out of the water as they raced us and danced along the hull. We were all taken aback, trying to get pictures while sailing. Personally, I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face.

            There was a kayaking course going on at the same time as our course, so sometimes we ended up across the beach from the kayakers. One night, to celebrate the birthdays of three of our instructors (Jess, Miles, and a kayak instructor named Andrew all born within the same 24 hours), we had a big campfire and invited the kayakers over to our beach. They arrived just as the fire was starting, mingling into our circle and sitting down in the light. The instructors picked up their instruments, a quartet of strings, and played in the background. Around the fire was a buzz of hometowns, schools, other travels and backcountry secrets. Looking around the circle, there were smiles on every face. For many of us, this kind of company was rare; we all had the same differences, and the same urge to travel and go beyond the normal adolescent comfort zone. It was a nice night, almost a party for us. New people, a big fire, and song after song until bedtime. Ten o’clock was a late night for us.

            One of the last nights, I realized, I had gone almost the whole trip without sleeping on one of the boats. I had slept on a boat before, but I felt it was something I had to do on this trip. I waded out to La Tigresa and prepared for the night. I wrote,

 “Laying on my back, looking up from the floorboards, I see nothing but stars and half a moon, and two tall masts sticking up into the sky. The moon lights the deck in a white glow as La         Tigresa slowly rocks me to sleep. I can hear the creaking of the anchor through the chalks as we sway back and forth. No one but me and La Tigresa in the Sea of Cortez as I drift off into a sailor’s dreams.”

            In the middle of the trip, we got winded in at one beach called Medano Blanco for five nights because of the strong north winds. On one of the days, we had the opportunity to have solo time for a few hours. We hiked along the coast, and people would stop along the way and pick a spot to spend their time. We came upon a large arroyo, and I knew where I wanted to be. A big, stony beach spread from the arroyo, opening up to huge, light-blue waves crashing on the shore. I wrote, “I sit with my back against a rock, just blocking the wind. In front of me, sharp mountains dotted with dry shrubs and cactuses. Behind me, giant waves crash upon a rocky shore. A cliff juts out to my left, clouded by sea-spray glistening in the January sun. After ten days, I feel as one of the desert’s harsh creatures. With dry hands and a marked face, I was covered in dust and forever squinting beneath the sun. Now I feel that sense of place. Being alone in such an open area is a rare and amazing gift. Laying by the sea, singing to the mountains and allowing my mind to wander to places it scarcely has the space to go. Travel. Nature. Solitude. Is there a problem this couldn’t solve?”

            During those few days at Medano Blanco, we decided to take a costal hike to San Lino to get some more potable water. We weren’t really low, but we weren’t sure if we would be able to make our next re-ration because of the winds. We hiked a few miles along the coast, carrying dromedaries to fill with water. When we got to the town, it was one of the sandiest, most beautiful beaches we’d seen. We asked a fisherman down by the water where we could get some drinking water, and he directed us up the hill to a man called Jesus. We walked to the top of their little town to his house, a larger stone building topped with a roof of palm leaves. I noticed a pink tricycle sitting in the yard by a truck.

Loreto

The family came out of the house: a man, his wife and daughter, and his father. The little girl, about three years old, was called Yasmina. She had big brown eyes and looked curiously at us from her mother’s arms as we stood on her patio. I noticed what must have been her club house, a small standing square room in the yard above some whale bones. They were friendly and glad to speak to us in either Spanish or English. And what a view they had from their back yard! They let us fill up all our vessels and we chatted before our hike back.

            Perhaps one of the best parts of the trip happened on the last sailing day, when we arrived at San Bruno. We got to the beach early to prepare for pickup the next day, and started to unload and roll boats onto land before lunchtime. I quickly noticed a small, quite adorable stray dog on the beach. Upon approaching him, he was obviously a very friendly puppy who needed something to eat. He was a lap-size dog , but his big paws indicated that he might get bigger. He had mostly white fur, with black spots and large black circles around his eyes. Everyone fell in love with him. He was playful and completely human-friendly, willingly cuddling and kissing everyone. We started feeding him, giving him water, and petting him as we finished setting up camp. We sort of accepted the fact that he was “our” dog, and began to brainstorm names. Among many, the name Bruno (after the beach) stuck. By dinner time we were all calling him Bruno and sharing our food with him. At some point in the afternoon, a military truck came through the beach to check up on us. We asked if Bruno belonged to any of the fisherman. They said no, and that he had been there for a few weeks by himself. Later, I saw him hunt down a cricket. This dog couldn’t last long in this environment. Someone, I can’t remember who was first, mentioned that we should take him with us. That was it. Jess and I were talking about him, and she mentioned how she’d been meaning to get a dog. It was perfect. If she hadn’t, I would have taken him myself. The next day, when the branch picked us up, we secured Bruno into the cockpit of Caper once on the trailer, and he was ready to come home with us. I couldn’t describe my happiness, knowing that Bruno would now be in the best of care.

            There are so many little highlights with everyone on the trip. The morning we all confirmed the “dream bluff” myth of having crazy dreams while sleeping on the bluff. The many campfires at which the instructors would play their instruments and we could all reflect on the day. The beautiful sunrises and amazing stars, speaking spanish to the locals, the funny stories that everyone shared, and all the meaningful conversations we had. The countless times that we had to roll boats onto shore to keep them safe (so much so that we started calling ourselves BCR for Baja Coastal Rolling instead of BCS for Sailing), feeling small beneath the mountains, enriched by the company and falling back in love with the ocean. And of course, all the things I learned.

            Sitting in class on a beach in Mexico is a lot easier than sitting in class in a classroom (even with a view of the bay). We learned a lot on this trip, about sailing, the environment, the ecosystem that we were a part of. I found it easy to sit down and take notes with such a view. I learned a lot about Baja, and how to help the environment, even up to the amount of land that I personally require to live. Learning on the boats was even better. With these boats, if you do something wrong, the boat responds. You can feel when your boat de-powers or isn’t sailing well. On top of that, our instructors were amazing. They were patient, funny and amazing teachers. I always felt safe on the boats, but I always felt like they were giving us the opportunity to learn from our own experiences. This made for the ideal learning environment. I learned more in that month than I have in a whole semester of school.

            However, the curriculum is not all that I learned. Being in a group of such amazing individuals really helped me to have the amazing trip I was hoping for. I will never forget when Mady woke me up in the middle of the night to inform me that there were coyotes in our kitchen bags (there were no coyotes in our kitchen bags). Or the time that Joe and I tried to make slurry (a cake mix dessert) and used milk powder instead, which resulted in the most disgusting chunky milk mixture I’d ever seen. I will always remember the times that Julie coached me while I was trying to cook, and when Colby would enthusiastically share quotes from her book and get us all to think about them. I will never ever forget Eric’s bedtime stories about his adventures in Texas, or the way Joel was always the first to dive out to the boats when we needed him. I will never forget when Alex and I actually made a dance to the sting ray shuffle, or when Laura would yell in her southern accent to ask what everyone was doing. I will never forget the bracelets that Lauren made for us all, mine still hanging around my wrist. I will never forget when Pablo told us the story of the orphanage on one of the points we sailed past, or the time Jess mooned a bunch of fisherman. And I will certainly never forget the time I asked Miles why he would possibly be digging into his trail mix on the first day of the ration, and him replying, “I’m not afraid to be happy.”

            I learned how to sail. I learned about my ecological footprint. I learned about the environment of Baja California.

            I also learned that I can rise to amazing challenges. I learned that you should always set a good tarp. I learned to take time to help other people with anything. I learned how to be part of a great expedition. I learned that there is no room for misery, and to never be afraid to be happy.

 On our last morning in the field, I opened my eyes to the dark inside of a sleeping bag, confused at the sound I was hearing. A soft tune of guitar brought me out of my sleeping bag, and I sat up to see Miles standing in the middle of us all, playing under a still starry sky. I listened and smiled as the horizon started to awaken with orange and red that spilled onto the scattered white clouds over sea. He finished, and left us to get ready to end our journey. I don’t think any of us were ready.

            We spent the last day cleaning gear and boats, enjoying our final hours together. I took what was possibly the best shower of my life, and enjoyed some wonderful food prepared by the branch before they sent us off the next morning. I was no longer thinking about restaurant food, my bed, real showers and having my phone, as I had been during the last few days. My mind was still on the beaches of Baja.

            On one of the last days, our instructor Jess shared with us a quote given to her by a friend. “And the day came when the risk to remain a tight bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom,” Anais Nin.

            Finally, I took the risk.

            On the plane ride out of Loreto, I wrote, “I may forget the beautiful sunrise at San Basilio, its colors more brilliant than any sky I’d ever seen. I may forget what it is like to be truly dirty, and to crave front country food so badly that I would dream about it. I may forget the feeling of being rocked to sleep by the boat, or the image of the starriest of skies. I may forget the two-bit bowline or the degree of east error on the compass heading. I may forget the way the waves would sometimes glow with phosphorescence in the night, as if electricity charged through them as they crashed on shore. I may someday forget all twelve names, and the stories behind them. I may even forget how lucky I was to have lived on the beaches of Baja for a month, in such company. But if I am to take anything with me as we go our separate ways, it would be some of the many things I have learned from these people, and the things they have helped me to learn of myself.”

            This expedition was about much more than sailing. The realization of a lifelong dream, and all the unexpected things along the way. For everything that I have learned, experienced, and seen on this trip, I am grateful. Thank you, more please.

Blog 1 December 21st 

We all have a passion that has been in our lives since a young age. A sport, a hobby, even a specific place. For me, my passion was water. I was always the first one in the pool, or the lake, or the ocean, and the last one out. I imagined that someday, when I left my woodsy Connecticut small town, I could someday live where I could fall asleep to the sound of crashing waves. The ocean called to me, and though I didn’t know where to start, I figured a college on the bay was a pretty good place.

I’ve taken the sailing course here at Roger Williams, and I’ve spent a lot of time on the nearby beaches. But I wasn’t quite there, something missing. I knew that my dreams of setting sail on a blue horizon couldn’t be far. But where to start? I’d been wanting to do a course with the National Outdoor Leadership School(NOLS) for years now. The idea of a college focused on outdoor adventure was right up my alley, and when I discovered they had a January sailing course in Mexico, I was sold. Any opportunity to travel makes me jump. I applied first, and asked my parents later. With some applications and some parental negotiations, I was set. I was on my way to fulfilling one of my lifelong dreams: to learn how to sail the ocean.

Now, all that’s left is to get there and take on the challenge. I will be flying into LAX, then Loreto, Mexico the next day. After that I head to the NOLS base and begin my journey. I will spend a month learning to sail, while camping on the beaches of Baja with a group of people around my age.

While I will have neither a phone nor a computer, I plan to journal while on the entire trip. I want to write about the natural beauty I am told I will encounter, as well as the skills I will learn. While we at Roger Williams know our ocean, I think this will be different. I want to uncover the Mexico that I will see, and write about the entire experience as something that I encourage people to try. I hope I can capture the experience and the location that I will be immersed in for this winter break.

Blog 7

January 28^th 2013

Well I am now back in the United States. One thing I am definitely missing from Panama is the warmth! When we got back to Providence it was about 10 degrees which was about an 80 degree difference from what we had been used to. I have now been back for about a week and transitioning back into classes has left me missing our tropical paradise more than ever. I am really happy that I decided to go on this trip and have the experiences I did. I know that some of the things I did and the places I went were truly once in a lifetime experiences that I will never have again. I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone who is interested in it especially marine biology majors. In general I would recommend everyone to study abroad at least once during your college career because going somewhere with an institution can give you very unique experiences that may not be available to the public. In addition to having a lot of fun and making new friends I can truly say that I learned a lot on this trip not only about the marine environments we visited, but also about Panama itself and its culture. Going to a different country was definitely a good experience for me and I hope to travel again soon! Sometime during the spring semester the rest of the students who went on the trip and I will be hosting one of the MNS weekly seminars to talk about some of the things we did and saw in Panama, so I would suggest that anyone who has questions about the program to come. Thanks for reading my blog I hope to be writing another one about going to a different country sometime in the near future!

Blog 6

January 18^th 2013

Been super busy the last few days! We traveled to a place called Coiba Island, which is another island in the Pacific. Coiba Island and the waters surrounding it is a marine protected area. This means that commercial fishing, and hunting are not permitted in this area, so we were able to see a lot of different species. We did a hike there one day and we saw a monkey! I believe it was a white-faced Capuchin. The island also used to be a prison, so we got a tour of that, which was really cool. The other day we went snorkeling in the waters surrounding Coiba. We saw a few whitetip reef sharks, which are small and harmless, some spotted eagle rays, an eel, and many open water fish species. The coolest thing I saw was a sea turtle. As you can see from the picture it allowed us to get pretty close and we all got a chance to touch its shell. We only have a few more days left in Panama, but I don’t want to leave!

Blog 5

January 17^th 2013

After two long days of travel and one night in Panama City we have arrived in the Pacific! We are staying at a place called the Liquid Jungle Lab, which is literally a lab in the middle of the jungle. It is located on a small island in the Pacific Ocean and there is nothing on the island except the lab. There is a lot of wildlife on the island itself. So far we have seen toucans, some big insects, an iguana, a possum, and a type of mammal that we have nicknamed the “jungle hamster”. We have been warned that there are both poisonous scorpions and snakes on the island, which would be cool to see just not too close! We have also heard howler monkeys all over the island, but have yet to see one because their howls can travel very long distances. Snorkeling in the Pacific is much different from the Caribbean. There are much less coral reef structures, and there are a lot deeper areas where you can find open water fish species. Instead of coral reef structure, the Pacific has a lot of rock structure. You can see some this structure in the picture shown. I liked this picture because it showed what the Pacific environment looked like, and also showed many of the common fish species we saw. The smaller yellow fish with the black stripes are called sergeant major, the bigger dark blue fish towards the bottom are called the giant damselfish, and if you look closely towards the middle of the picture you can see two butterfly fish that are small and yellow. More snorkeling in the Pacific later!

Snorkeling in the Pacific!

Blog  4

January 15^th 2013

Today we visited two very different snorkeling sites. First we went to a mangrove habitat. Mangroves are trees that grow right at the intertidal zone in tropical and subtropical areas. They have extensive root systems to allow them to live in such a harsh environment. Many organisms take refuge in the mangroves or grow on the roots. Mangroves provide an important nursery habitat for many juvenile fish. The picture shown above is a brittle star that one of my professors found and put in my hand. It was cool to feel the suction cup-like feet of the starfish moving on my hand. The next snorkeling site we visited was another coral reef community. The water was very clear and there were many reef fish around. At this snorkeling site I spotted an octopus! At first I didn’t realize it was there because it was so well camouflaged. I was looking at a school of fish when all of a sudden I saw it move. I got to see it change colors as we scared it off. Unfortunately I didn’t get any good pictures of it, but it was amazing to see. Only a few more days in the Caribbean and then off to the Pacific side!

                                                                                                                                          “Brittle Star in the Mangroves“

Blog  3

January 14^th 2013

Been doing a lot of snorkeling lately! So far we have seen a lot of reef fish and interesting coral reef structures. This afternoon however we saw something really cool. It was a nurse shark! Above is a picture I took of the shark just resting on the sand between some coral. It was awesome to see a shark in the wild and we were able to get pretty close to it to take some pictures. Life on the island is still really nice we actually got to break open a coconut and drink the juice and eat the fruit. There are tons of palm trees growing on the beaches. Looking forward to checking out more snorkeling sights the nex

                                                                                                                                               “First Shark Sighting!!”

Blog 2

January 13^th 2013

Ok so I am officially in Panama! We spent a day in Panama City, which was really nice, and then traveled to the San Blas Islands, which are on the Atlantic or Caribbean side of the Panamanian Isthmus. The island we are staying on is called Río Tigre. We are staying in huts made out of palm trees right on the water, the picture above shows the hut I’m staying in. The people who live on the San Blas Islands are a native people called the Kuna. They live very traditionally and the women usually dress in traditional clothing. The Kuna have a special tradition called a puberty ceremony, which they have when a young girl attains the age of puberty. These ceremonies include a lot of dancing, singing, drinking, and smoking. The ceremonies usually last for a few days. Luckily a puberty ceremony was going on today, and tonight we were able to attend it for a while. Everyone was in good spirits and a few of the people tried to talk to us even though it was a bit difficult with the language barrier. As guests at the ceremony we were honored to try a soup that they make for every ceremony. It is made of rice, fish and bananas. At first I was hesitant to try this strange mixture, but it was actually pretty good. It really was a once in a lifetime chance to be able to view such a unique culture, and one of their most important traditions. Going snorkeling tomorrow, so more on that later!

Blog 1 December 28th

Hi! My name is Jamie Wandzilak and I will be studying abroad in Panama for ten days during this winter intersession. I am a sophomore at RWU and I’m studying Marine Biology and Spanish. The class I am taking in Panama is Neotropical Marine Biology, and involves studying the marine environments around the Panama Canal. I have never been out of the country before, so I am excited to experience a new country. I have just received my snorkel equipment and an underwater camera, which means I will be posting tons of beautiful underwater photographs, so stay tuned! I am also eager to practice my Spanish speaking skills with native speakers in Panama, including two students from the University of Panama who will be joining us. I can honestly say that I’m not nervous because right now the only thing I am feeling is excitement! Check back for more posts!

Blog 1 

I’m sitting in the car on the way to the airport trying to grasp the fact that in approximately five hours I’ll be taking off and traveling across the Atlantic ocean for the first time in my life. I’m going to be traveling with 10 other students and 2 professors. We will be landing in Madrid around 10 am, December 28. Frankly, from there, I’m not entirely sure what the rest of the trip looks like. I believe the schedule is a week in Madrid visiting surrounding areas then a week in Torremolinos visiting surrounding areas and then two weeks or so moving from place to place in Morocco. During a pre-departure meeting we were told to pack relatively lightly (or at least in smaller bags) because we would be getting from place to place by van. There are 13 of us and the largest passenger vans available seat 15 passengers. That doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for luggage. This alone got me really excited because my senior year of high school I had the opportunity to travel across the country with 7 other students and 2 teachers in an 11 passenger van (a normally 12 passenger van but the front passenger seat had been removed for whatever reason). That experience was truly one of the greatest experiences of my life and many of my fondest memories were in that van and so being told I was going to be traveling not just nationally or even internationally but inter-continentally via a packed van seemed like a dream come true. Apparently I don’t have huge dreams and aspirations…

This isn’t just a vacation 11 students and 2 professors are conveniently taking together; there are classes involved and we will be learning. We’re going to be discovering the Moorish influence on Spanish culture and on Spanish political culture. As an international relations major focusing  on Middle Eastern and North African affairs, this is a great starting point for me. High school and even intro college courses trend to focus much of their world history around European history, maybe briefly discussing the Crusades and acknowledging some of the rest of the world then. Supplied with this background, beginning my more concentrated focus with Spain and Morocco and the Berbers and the Maghreb is the perfect starting point.

I’m about an hour away from the airport and it’s finally starting to sink in that this is the beginning of what I hope to be a longstanding relationship with traveling, specifically to the MENA region. I’m excited to leave my comfort zone and experience things entirely new and different to me, even if it is only for a short visit this time.

Here is a preview of what will be on display during the forum as a selection of students highlight their favorite experiences.

-Exclusive to TheInternationalist at Hawk

WARNING: reading this might cause rushes of jealousy and uncontrollable urge to pack a suitcase and head to the airport. We hope.

Name: Maggie Blinn

Where: Florence, Italy

Favorite Food: Gnocchi, which is a potato pasta.

Favorite Spot:  Piazzale Michelangelo. This spot was my favorite because it was the most gorgeous spot in all over florence. It is a plaza at the top of the hill in florence that looks out over all of the city, where you can watch the sunset and drink wine of the steps while listening to live music.

Fondest Memory:  When my friends and I rented segways for an hour and segwayed all through the streets of Florence.

What I learnt About myself: What I learned from my study abroad experience was my ability to grow up for once. I was placed in a whole new world, with whole new people and a whole new language. I was not only able to survive, but I had the time of my life and created the most amazing memories that will forever stay with me.

Why I would recommend studying Abroad in Italy: Italian is the national Language of Italy. I had never spoken Italian before, so the language barrier was a whole new world to me. However trying to communicate made it fun and exciting as well as constantly challenged me.

Name:  Nicole Sabatino

Where: London, UK

Favourite Food:  English black tea with scones. The scones had raisins in them and were topped with jam and sometimes clotted cream and unlike anything you can get here.

Favourite Spot:Leicester Square. It was always so busy and filled with things to see and do- whether or not you’re a tourist.

Fondest Memory:  My fondest memory was seeing Big Ben and Buckingham Palace for the first time. I thought it wouldn’t be a big deal until they were right in front of me and just as beautiful as they had been in photos.

What you learnt about yourself:  I can handle tough situations whenever they come my way and I’m a lot more independent than I thought I could be.

Why you would recommend studying abroad in your host country:  There’s no language barrier, but enough of a culture change that you know you’re not in America. In addition, it’s close enough to other European countries that you can travel easily and cheaply.

Name: Sofia Giovannello

Where: London, England

Favourite Food: Fish n’ Chips with a tall glass of Magners cider

Favourite Spot: Big Ben, the most beautiful landmark I have ever seen in my life. I loved going to Westminster Bridge at night and watching Big Ben light up the water.

Best Memory: Waking up knowing that every day would be a new adventure. I was always seeing new sights, trying new foods, and meeting new people. It was one of the best feelings in my life.

What I learned about myself: I found out that I could handle literally any situation. I feel completely comfortable acting spontaneously, hopping on a train somewhere, and figuring out my way around when I arrive.

Why I would recommend studying abroad in London: It’s such a happening place- there’s always something going on. It’s a city that feels so alive, always moving, always buzzing, forever exhilarating. The people are incredibly sweet and their accents are a plus, of course!

Name: Michelle Lee

Where: Limerick, Ireland

Favourite Food: Beef stew or Guinness stew…I probably had the best there.

Favourite Spot:  The Cliffs of Moher because every time I visited they were still breath taking.

Best Memory:  I think one of my fondest memories was just meeting so many new people from around the world. We had the best times together and I loved sharing the experience with all of them. We all still keep in touch to this day.

What I learnt about myself: I definitely learned how to be more independent. Going abroad without anyone I was really close to was an adjustment but a good one. I loved that by the end of the trip I could successfully travel to another country alone and  feel so confident in doing so.

Why I would recommend studying Abroad in Ireland:   I’m very biased and love Ireland so I would have to say because it’s the greatest country. The people there are so friendly and welcoming that it’s hard not to love the country. Everyone has a carefree, love life attitude that I admire. And who doesn’t want to listen to an Irish accent every day?

Name:  Matt Eckel

Where:  Florence, Italy.

Favourite Food: My favorite food from Italy was definitely suppli which is an Italian snack consisting of a ball of rice with tomato sauce, a raw egg, mozzarella cheese, ground beef, coated in bread crumbs and then fried. Suppli was easily my favorite food from Italy because they were cheap, easy to make, and amazing!

Favourite Spot : My favorite spot in Italy were the mountains of Palermo because even though it was difficult to get on top of the mountains, once we did the view was breathtaking, looking down at all of Palermo while the sun was setting.

Fondest Memory: My fondest memory in my host country was when my four friends and I decided to rent a car and take a road trip to seven different cities of Italy in less than three days.

 What I learnt about myself: From my experience in Italy I learned that I am a lot more outgoing than I thought I was.

 Why I would recommend Italy:  I would recommend studying in Italy especially Florence because there are so many fun and interesting things to do there, the Italians treat us no differently, and it is an experience you will never forget.

Name: Samantha McGilvray

Where: Paris, France

Favourite Food: France has some amazing food—from the fresh bread and the hundreds of cheeses, to escargot (which was actually really good), and other delicacies!  My favorite was definitely the pain au chocolat (chocolate bread); fresh from a boulangerie, it was the perfect treat.

Favourite Spot: While I was in Paris, I loved sitting along the Seine River with my journal.  It was relaxing and it was a great place to people watch.  There was always a great number of tourists, but also a lot of native Parisians, so it was fascinating for me to see the juxtaposition of the two groups.

 Fondest Memory : My 21^st birthday; I met a group of French people that night, and they sang happy birthday to me in 5 different languages.  Despite the fact that turning 21 isn’t anything special in France, they understood that as an American, it was a really important milestone for me.

What I learnt about myself: I learned so much about myself from studying abroad; I had my fair share of difficulties (my computer broke and I got pneumonia), but each time I overcame a challenge, I felt more confident that I could take care of myself.  Calling a computer technician and talking to doctors in French was not easy, but now it is easier to do all those things in English.

Why I would recommend France: I would absolutely recommend studying in France to anyone who is committed to learning the language and culture.  Paris can be a difficult city to live in, but whenever I was having a rough day, I would go outside and since I could see the Eiffel Tower as I walked out of my apartment, I always immediately felt better.  Paris is an incredible city in an amazing country, and for any Francophiles out there, France is a perfect place to study!

Name: Amanda O’Malley

Where: Florence

Favourite Food: In Florence my favorite food was a croissant filled with Nutella!

Favourite Food: My favorite place to be in Florence was Piazza Santa Croce, I loved this piazza because my favorite cappuccino bar was on the corner, where I could get a warm cappuccino, a Nutella croissant and I could observe the locals. The piazza filled with sunlight throughout the day and I loved to sit on Santa Croce church steps sitting in the sun.

Fondest Memory: My fondest memory of studying in Italy was seeing Michaelangelo’s David. The David is larger than life and the realism of the statue is amazing. I was in awe of the scale and detail and enjoyed seeing a sculpture I had studied up close.

What I learnt about myself: In studying in Italy I learned about the difference in European and Italian culture versus the American culture. These differences socially were so intriguing and refreshing to experience.

Why I would recommend studying in Italy: I recommend studying abroad in Italy because it is a hub for art, architecture, food, music, fashion and much more! In Florence you are surrounded by Renaissance art and architecture and throughout the country valuable history. Travel throughout Italy is simple giving you the opportunity to travel so many major cities throughout the country.

Name: Dev Lewis

Where: Shanghai, China

Favourite Food: (very tough choice, but) Hot Pot. A cuisine native to Sichuan province, a boiling pot of soup built into your table, you pick & choose different meats and cook them in the pot. My recommendation- try Brain. You wont regret it, if anything at least you will leave a little smarter.

Favourite Spot: The street behind my university. Walking in you are transformed into a street food hub, with activity almost 24/7. Cheap tasty Chinese street noodles, dumplings, BBQ & beer. There is constant activity, from vendors selling 1000s of iphone cases to a drag races every now and then.

Fondest Memory: Backpacking with 2 friends through Yunnan, a province in the South of China. An amazing treck through the stunning Tiger Leaping Gorge , and nights spend with backpackers from various parts of the world, bonding and becoming friends over Baijiu.

What I learnt about myself: I could transform myself and go absolutely native.

Why I would recommend Shanghai: An international city, Delicious food, great night life, business capital of China capable of opening your career to a plethora of opportunities; China is also home to some amazing travel destinations & beautiful women . Studying in Shanghai will broaden your mind like no other place and at 1/5th the cost of living in Europe.

Name: Cameron Muir

Where: Scotland

Favourite Food: Shortbread

Favourite Spot:  The Isle of Skye.  It was one of the most breathtaking and awe-inspiring places that I have ever been, and just being there was transformative.

Fondest Memory:   On the last night at Uni, several of us international students climbed the nearby mountain and lit a bonfire.  From there we could see the entire city below us, sprawled out in waves.  Standing there, taking in the moment, we all fully understood what an incredible privilege and experience studying abroad was.  We had all become so close, and that moment encapsulated my entire time in Europe.

What I learnt about myself: I learned to fully trust myself;  Study Abroad throws every problem and challenge at you, and you need to trust yourself to know that you will somehow, in one way or another, figure out how to solve them, and even more, that you will grow from them.  This is something that you must experience to achieve, and Study Abroad was that opportunity for me.

Why I would recommend Scotland:  Scotland is rich in every way; culture, sights, possibilities, and anything else you could want.  It is diverse and interesting enough to capture your full attention, but close enough to the rest of Europe that you can explore wherever you wish.  It is such a comforting place that you can feel safe, after any sort of travel, to call it “home”.  No other place that I have experienced was more welcoming or inviting, and I encourage everyone to explore Britain and specifically Scotland at some point in their European adventures.

Name: Meaghan Gallagher

Where: Paris, France

Favourite Food: Baguettes and cheese were the perfect lunch. It was not only cheap and easy, but the bread and cheese in France was amazing. Being back in the United States, I have become somewhat of a cheese snob; the cheese here just is not the same.

Favourite Spot: We frequently visited the Latin Quarter near the cathedral Notre Dame. There, we found a variety of different foods, but what was the best was the cheese fondue restaurant. An old, mustached man pleasantly greeted us at the door each time we went entered the restaurant. Those nights always gave us a good time. The food was great and the servers were very friendly despite the fact that some of us did not have perfect accents.

Fondest Memory: I would have to say that my favorite memory of Paris was my friend’s 21^st birthday celebration. Up until that point, we had not really ventured into the nightlife. Not only did we meet actual French people and start friendships with them for the rest of the semester, but we also became closer with each other.

What I learnt about myself: Through this experience, I learned a lot about myself, especially due to the fact that I had never left the United States before this semester. I started off very shy and timid about the whole situation. I was not sure that I would be able to get over the culture shock. By the end of the semester, I had not only improved my language skills in French, but I had also become more outgoing with a whole new sense of self confidence.

Why I would recommend Paris:  I would definitely recommend studying abroad in Paris. This experience submerges you right in the middle of the culture. The home stay experience gives you a taste of exactly how Parisians live. While it may seem scary at first, it is definitely worth it in the end.

——–

Whether you are considering studying abroad yourself or a lover of the world, Come to CAS 157 on Monday November 12th between 5-7pm and watch these students present on their experiences.

Additionally, Check out the Blogging Around the World and Photos from Around the World Sections for photos and travel write ups of students who studied abroad in the Spring of 2012.

All to often, we do not appreciate the international nature of the world I’m which we live. We begin our morning with a cup of Colombian coffee and British newspapers, dress ourselves with shirts woven in Mauritius, drive our German cars powered by Saudi Arabian fuel to school or work and write with mass produced Indonesian pens on paper invented in China.

The reality is that the world is getting increasingly smaller. Instant communication is possible across seas, mountains, and continents. The question is, why do we remain fearful of that which is different?

All of humanity is the same in that we are all human. We should focus less on what separates us and instead concentrate on our shared human experience.   Whether from Bombay or Bristol,  north or south of the equator, as  this new academic year begins, keep the words of E.M Forester to mind: “Only connect! That was the whole of her sermon. Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted, and human love will be seen at its height. Live in fragments no longer. Only connect, and the beast and the monk, robbed of the isolation that is life to either, will die.”

Pick up a newspaper. Brush up on a language. Travel outside the US.

Broaden your horizons.

And only connect. On a basic human level, connect.

Tom Sojka,

Editor-in-Chief

Hezbollah’s Balance of Terror theory wouldn’t hold, following the Hezbollah attack on the Israeli Defense Forces, the might of the Israeli power came pounding on Lebanon and Hezbollah. Unsurprisingly, Israel’s airstrikes focused mostly against Lebanon’s infrastructure, destroying key bridges, bombing the Beirut International Airport runway, rendering it inaccessible and targeting the Southern Suburb of Beirut, Hezbollah’s stronghold.  The manner, by which Israel retaliated, Hezbollah members would later confess, was unexpected. Hezbollah’s calculations were badly off, hundreds of thousands of Internally Displaced People, billions of dollars of destruction and most importantly the death of around 1,300 Lebanese civilians. Beirut had never felt emptier, streets and highways leading into the city were mostly free of traffic as many had escaped the city in fear of Israeli bombardment and taken refuge in the Mountains. Indeed it was widely understood and rumored that the Israeli had no intentions in targeting Christian Areas as The Israeli war was with Hezbollah and their supporter.

I still recall being told that the Metn region was the safest place to be during the war, although none, including myself, were worry free as we lived in proximity to Satellite and Radar Stations, in addition to the Jal el Dib power station. The mountains, nonetheless, became a place of refuge, with businesses and stores moving temporarily from the city into the mountains. The Lebanese joie-de-vivre would not be hindered, as the nightclubs and pubs moved from Beirut and opened up locations in the mountains. I still recall the transformation of my hometown of Broummana into a hub of life and refugees, but those were not your average refugees, but your middle to upper class population who’ve fled their houses and apartments in the city seeking a return of the normal life they knew prior to July 12, they hadn’t chosen to start this war and they sure as hell wouldn’t fight or participate in it, these were not fighters, they had seen what the civil war had done in Lebanon and never again wanted to live it again, Their only wish was to Live and Enjoy life, as many proclaimed during the Cedar Revolution a year ago, the vast majority, including myself, wanted peace and would forge forward with a peace treaty with Israel, after all, we had paid the price for the Palestinian cause more than anyone else (excluding the Palestinians).  However, there was something disturbing about this war, the way the nation was divided and the way many had viewed and lived the war differently. Many comedians joked that the Lebanese dug tunnels to lead them to the Night-life of Monot or Gemayzeh; but they were not off from reality. I can still recall how normal life seemed in some areas of Beirut, I recall making my way with my mother to Ras Beirut on numerous occasions, I recall life in Ashrafieh to look normal, with people going to coffee shops and restaurants, dining and living; this wasn’t their war, but most importantly they were relatively safe, Israel wasn’t after them. From the hills of my hometown I recall the many nights I’ve spent with my friends playing cards; in the background was clearly visible the bombardment in the Southern Suburb of Beirut, as orange-like lights appeared behind the hills soon to be followed by a rumbling noise. In the sky above the ever presence of Israeli UAVs was initially impossible to ignore, an annoying sound of a small plane constantly circulating the sky above, and on many occasions visible to the naked eye soon became part  of everyday life. Life appeared, and for all intent and purposes was, normal up in the mountains, I’d even say some areas benefited immensely due to the influx of people. Spending the days by the pool, roaming the woods and organizing sports tournament for the community, I filled my days with my closest friends and travelling to Beirut to see my Grandparents.

As the conflict entered its second and third week and with no sign of a cease-fire or end of conflict in sight, many fled the country; evacuated by foreign embassies and shipped off to Cyprus from there they flew to Europe and the U.S. I can still remember my biggest anger during the war was my inability to go to the South of France to see my family and cousins, be on a vacation as had been the norm for the past few years. Looking back at it now, I feel a sense of gratitude of the experience I’ve gone through in the 2006 war, it wasn’t the first nor the last time I would witness a conflict in this nation, but it was certainly the first that I vividly remember, a war which shaped me and led to my interest in International relations and diplomacy. I recall perfectly the many nights I’ve stayed up watching and following the news of a potential solution being brokered at the U.N. the many sleepless nights  spent viewing CNN, BBC and other international networks to learn and see what the world was saying and how they were viewing the on-going war.  As I watched the United Nations Security Council session on August 11^th 2006 voting on the Resolution 1701, there was a sense that the war hadn’t ended, it was simply put on hold. Israeli official have, over the course of the past 6 years, warned that the next war would be different, that the Israeli Army and Air force would not hesitate in targeting areas that had been “preserved”. Hezbollah, bullish that the Israeli offensive hadn’t managed to get rid, or neutralize, the group, declared victory, a divine one that is.

The 2006 Summer War was all but divine, and it was all but a victory, the war highlighted the weaknesses of the Lebanese state, its institutions and the democratic principles by which this nation came to life in 1943.  Overnight Hezbollah took Lebanon from a nation that throughout the ages, from the time of the Phoenicians to 2006, had never taken offensive action against any nation,  and turned it into an aggressor, providing Legitimacy, if I dare say, to Israel’s response, although perhaps not to the disproportionality by which they have retaliated.

 What Hassan Nasrallah called divine was taking a nation hostage, destroying its infrastructure, public image, killing its civilians, terrorizing it and forcing tens of thousands to flee the nation and emigrate, if those were glorious victories bestowed by God upon us I wonder what Satan would have had in mind.  There was nothing divine about the intentions of Hezbollah either, nothing noble or to be respected or admired, the intentions were clear, restore Hezbollah’s grab on Lebanon, fulfilling a political agenda driven by a Tyrant in Iran and a Criminal in Syria.

 So, since the meals are such a big deal, heres how they’ve played out. The food has been really good, and I’ve been sort of following a “dont ask because it’s just going to lead to confusion” policy, because nothing is off the table, if you know what I mean. It’s all been generally very tasty, and very Sichuan, with lots of la(spice), though not nearly as much as I had been warned off. But, what really sets the experience apart has been the drinking.

 So if you read my first blog post you might have seen that I mentioned Sichuan folk enjoy their beer and baijiu( grain alcohol). With each meal, all the men on the table, especially the older, all have a glass full of some of this potent alcohol. As the guest and foreigner I’ve been treated like royalty which means the moment I sit down I have a full glass poured and handed to me. Secretly they’re probably thinking, let’s see what this guy can do. Well aware, I smile like I was born drinking this, feigning absolute confidence since I’m also aware that to them I was representing my culture and my country. Once everyone had taken their seats, we were ready and so it began.  With a group “cheers”, one man has quick 5 second toast, and its drink time. First sip, I’m alright, I think i’ve actually had worse. But I didn’t have too much time to think about it, because in quick succession I had about 5 of the old men individually lean forward and tap my glass to cheers me.  This all happened so quick I barely had time to put my glass down. This was their way of welcoming me. I definitely felt it. I attacked the food to combat that awfulness of the baijiue. Soon enough, the beers were out, and it was more of the same, but this time “lai lai gamblei…gambei…gambei” ( come, come, Bottoms up). Since none of them could speak mandarin, my conversations were very limited, and this was the only way we could talk to each other. After about and hour and a half later, when we were all to full to eat anymore, we all got up and ended our festivities, I’m guessing they went for a nap. I wanted one. I think I did well, and had some fun; my college education came in handy.

So about my other experiences in Long Chang so far. I am the only foreigner living in this town and probably for many, many kilometers outside. Everybody speaks only Sichuan Hua, a few understand mandarin and will speak it if required, so I’ve spent my last few days very quiet.  Kind of like turning the clock back on my mandarin, back when i first landed in Shanghai when I didn’t understand what was being said. Only then I was surrounded by foreigners like me who spoke english. Here, I havnt conversed in English in 6 days. Also, nny public appearance always involves stares and I’ve turned more heads in the last few days than I have my whole life. Stares of shock, stares of disbelief, bewilderment to curiosity. I’ve had them all. In Long Chang, I’m a celebrity by virtue of my very existence in this part of China.

I spent the weekend visiting a friend from ECNU, who is from a town called WeiYuan in Sichuan, a couple of hours from where I am.  His house is in the country, and from the town we needed to take a short bus ride, followed by a bike ride and then a short climb up a mountain to reach his place.  Here I got to experience the Chinese countryside, as his family who have farmed the land for many decades, grow crops like corn, potato, beans, among others.  Stepping inside the house, I was transported back decades, and far from imagining what a Chinese farmhouse in the mid 20^th century, I was in it.  At times I was reminded of a small house in the village of Alibaug outside Bombay in India, or even a tiny hill farmhouse I once visited one a trip to Mukteshwar, at the foothills of the Himalayas. As a storm brewed outside, with frequent bolts of lightening lighting up the valley, his grandfather showed by pictures from his past, tracing back his ancestry about 300 years.  I was given the honor of writing my name  in his book, one he’s kept with him for decade, and I smoked a personally hand rolled cigar.  For a night I was at peace in the simple life of the Sichuan hillside, punctuated only by the deafening thunder that sounded like the Japanese were coming back.

I’ve had a week of welcome in Sichuan, and I’m starting warm up to the place. Without the comforts of Shanghai or prevalence of Mandarin, it hasn’t been easy getting adjusted to life here in Long Chang.  But I’m starting to make some friends, and a bike, so I’m more mobile and I can into the town and check out the talent. Also, I’m going to start teaching, but more on that later……

Well from the heading you already know I’m going to be doing some form of teaching. In so many words, a friend opened up a small English learning center in his home town (long Chang) and he’s been looking for foreigners to come teach the locals the world’s language. The school is essentially a start up, having only opened 6 months ago, therefore getting foreigners to journey to this small town in Sichuan is not easy- funds,rural area being some of the reasons. However, With all my essentials taken care of: housing, transport, food and modest pay; I’ve been promised a month high on adventure and I’m enthusiastic. Currently writing this while waiting for my flight to take off, I don’t know much of what to expect work wise, but I’m going with the flow on that one. If I can help some young Chinese kids learn some English, a skill that will be crucial to their future success, then I will be more than happy.

After a very successful month working for the Chunqiu institute in Shanghai, a position I will retain doing my writing remotely;and having a great time in the city in general, I’m really excited to see what’s going on in this part of the country. While the worlds eyes have been on China’s eastern seaboard, there have been major urbanization projects in the western parts of the country, many are currently in motion. Large areas of rural farmland being converted in a matter of months into urban jungles full with skyscrapers et all that compete in size with the worlds best. By population, cities like Chengdu (capital of Sichuan ) and Chongqing , are bigger than Mega cities like New York, London and Paris. However, human development including education and social institutions are from from even being considered in the same league as above mentioned global cities. The rapid development means there has been a lot of change in a very short period of time, and it will be really educational to live and travel around the area, getting a feel of the changes taking place. After all, who knows, nondescript cities today could be on the global map very soon. Look at Chong Qing, construction on a transport route to Brussels in Europe is already on the way, could the legendary silk Route ( Xi’an to Europe and parts of India) be coming back to life in the 21st century?

Also taking bloom in this land are much of China’s creative minds- artists, designers, painters, musicians etc. Chong Qing is home to be the new home to many of China’s new generation of artists, likewise in Chengdu there is a growing rock scene. There have been major investments made by the local governments to encourage this as they try and add character the the planned growth. Government trying to “plan” creativity sounds a bit ironic to me, and it’ll be interesting to see what’s happening on the ground.

So lots to see and do for my roving eye during the next month, which suddenly seems like no time at all. I’m interested and slightly nervous to put my Chinese to test in these parts where native dialects take precedent over mandarin. My already severely compromised comfort zone is sure to take a beating over the course of the month, I hope I’m ready. I’ll be doing a lot more writing , since I expect to have a lot more to write about than recent months, so watch this spot, bookmark this page or like the Facebook page (or follow me on Weibo) to be in on the updates.

以后见！

No matter where you go in shanghai, one thing you will find in abundance is food. Shanghai is a global city, and you can find just about any cuisine that you may desire. But for me, what sets this city apart is its street food. Tasty, flavorful, unending and so cheap you cannot get enough of it. You can find “street food” all over  the city, but  my favorite spot has been the street right behind my University. Chinese food is quite popular in the U.S, and over the years has developed into its own cuisine.  The food there bares very little resemblance to authentic Chinese food, hence I thought i’d introduce it to those who have not been to China.

One requirement to enjoy the food is an open mind ( expect the unexpected). Oh and my fellow Indian and American friends, do not expect to see Manchurian chicken & General Tsao’s.

Street Snacks

Eat

First on the Menu-

Zi shushao kao 子树烧烤 or self-service roast 

If you’ve travelled around South-East Asia you will be no stranger to the guy with his make shift griller, BBQing an assortment of meats. This is pretty much staple to this side of the continent, and the smell of the cooking meats draws you in like a shark to blood. The choice of meat at this vendor ranges from your usual chicken, pork, beef to Cow heart (personal favorite), lamb, frog legs (actually delicious) eel, octopus, sting ray, a wide range of fish. In terms veggies you have mushrooms( a wide variety), corn, been sprouts.  It’s a perfect evening , or post-night out snack, because you can usually find them grilling till the wee hours of the morning as the Shao khao culture is built around eating as a group, especially after some drinks or KTV. I’ve seen people rack up bills of 300 or 400 kuay at these places.

Each one usually costs about 2  kuay ( $0.3), chicken wings or large ones are around 4-6.  Place the ones you fancy in a metal tray or plastic one like you see above and then let the chef do the rest.  You have the option of adding a spicy seasoning to it, & trust me you want it on there. Eating this is like a trip down memory lane to our ancestors who caught and cooked their meat over a fire.

Next Up

Chao Mian 炒面 Fried Noodles

This is the staple street diet. Fried noodles ( or rice), soy sauce, spices, lots of oil cooked on a make shift flame. You usually choose how much “la” or spice you want. I’ve tried them all. After getting burns from trying Fechang la(extremely spicy) I think medium (zhong) la is the best, the perfect balance. Its weird but every chao mian stall i’ve eaten at, across the city, it seems like 6 kuay ($1) is the given price, the free market at its best.

Lao bing 老兵 or Breakfast Burrito

This is something i came across by accident when I was starving, and its probably the best discovery i’ve made(yet!). A very simple, tasty street snack.  Its mad by frying a naan like bread on a “tawa” with egg added as batter and then you could eat it plain or add ham, bacon with a choice of a spicy sauce and mayo. On cooking it looks like a wrap and its soooo good. The Mayo and Spicy sauce are perfectly contrasting, and the ham and egg gives you that breakfast feeling.  This one if from a lady who makes a really good one about 8 minute walk from my place.

This one cost me about 2.5 kuay ($.4), some can be about 4 or 5 kuay based on where you buy it and how much meat you put on. Perfect street breakfast, or just about anytime you get hungry. Stalls like this are fairly common.

Bao Zi or stuffed bread buns

So this is staple shanghai on-the go food, think hot dog or a sandwich. Its quite simple really. Soft bread buns stuffed with either pork, beef, chicken on veggies. You can pick them up at almost any street corner  where they hand it out fresh from the steamers, or visit you local family mart( 7/11) found every 5 and a half steps. My advice-  the street places usually sell  them for about 1 to 2 kuay (30 cents) and they are much better and tastier than their more expensive family mart (5 kuay) counter parts.

Whenever i’m on the walk to class or work, its a nice breakfast, otherwise if i’m feeling a bit hungry with no patience for a full meal, a Bao zi will always do.

Drink

Gei wo yi ping Tsingdao. Repeat that and someone will hand you a bottle of Tsingdao beer, which goes perfectly with all of the above, any time of the day or night. The beer is of the light kind, as most Chinese beers are, and at 3% they won’t leave you with much after, but with your meal its perfect complement to the spicy noodles.

3.5 Kuay (50 cents). Not bad eh?

This is the best shanghai stable street food menu, inexpensive and tasty. After living in Shanghai for 4 months I can confidently  say, the street behind my University is probably the best spot on the City.  If you come to Shanghai just tell the taxi driver, Huashida de Houmen- back gate of ECNU.

During my travels across China i’ve discovered that many cities have their own street food Te Se ( speciality) quite different from Shanghai. Below are some of my favorites.

平遥面条 Pingyao Miantiao

These noodles are a speciality of an ancient town of Ping Yao in Shanxi province.  I found these while biking through the ancient town and they are hands town the best noodles i’ve had in China.  Cooked in Soy and vinegar, with sesame some greens thrown in.  The noodles themselves are of the flat kind with a cylindrical shape, that seemed to be the perfect base for the taste of the cooking to really reveal itself. One of the reasons I really want to go back to the wonderful ancient town of Pingyao.

肉夹馍 Rou Jia Mo

A Xian Delicacy, this is a must have if you go to this city, the capital of Shaanxi province.  Rou Jia Mo, which means meat sandwich is a product of Xian’s amazing history. Capital of the Tang dynasty, Xian was the Eastern end of the silk route that connected China to places as distant as Rome, Turkey and some parts of Northern India.  Therefore, the city of Xian was one of the most international cities in the world at the time with large populations of muslims living in the city.  The Rou Jia Mo itself is a bi-product of this fusion of culture, as apparently the Han Chinese claim credit to creating the sandwich but the muslim population duly switched the pork with lamb, which is what Rou Jia Mo is today.  If you make it to Xian, home to the famous Terracotta Warriors, then after your days excersions head to the Muslim Quarter and feast on this for 6 kuay.

Eggs

On the left is something I found while wandering the muslim quarter in Shanghai.The eggs cook in a mould as your can see in the picture on the left and then coated in a little batter.  You eat it on a stick. Tasty.

On the right i found in Nanjing. This resembled a hash brown except on the inside you found egg instead. Again, another tasty snack I havnt found outside Nanjing.

These are my favorite finds on the the streets of China.  Just like India, areas of China not only have their own cuisine but a distinct street cuisine as well.  Click on the hyperlinks above to read the story behind the places.  You have not visited China if you havnt tried the street food.

China is the 3^rd largest country in the world, and has neighbors on all sides of its borders, therefore bringing the country in contact with a variety of culture. In the south of China, particularly the province of Yunan, China shares a border with Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar. Tibet is in very close proximity, along to the west, and the north-east of India and Nepal is not too far either. Therefore it is no surprise that Yunnan has the second highest ethnic minority province in China, with over 56 ethnic minorities spread across the province.  The most prominent is the Naxi community spread along the western parts of Yunan, while the Dai and Bai culture is spread across the Laos and Vietnam borders in the south of Yunan. Although now no longer an economic hub, historically, trade flourished in the region.  During World War 2 a so called “Hump route” was established beginning in India, through (formerly) Burma, the city of Dali(大理) and ending in the capital of Yunan, Kunming(昆明）. Located in the tropics, much of Yunan is mountainous and is home to the jagged Gaoligong mountain range, tremendous mountains that are distance cousins of the mighty Himalayas. Yunan is blessed with a beautiful landscape and is home to the most bio-diversity per square meter in the world. I began my journey with two friends of mine in Kunming, following which I would travel to Lijiang, Dali and then cross provincial lines and head to Yangshou in Guangxi province (see my plotted journey).

 First stop was Kūnmìng the capital, fondly regarded as the eternal spring city, it is situated almost 2,000 meters above the sea level. Unlike most of the cities I have visited in China, there is an abundance of greenery through out. I made a friend, Laura Zhang she called herself, from Suzhou, on my way to there; and on my first night there we did some late night Kunming exploring, getting lost is a great way to see the city.  I made full use of my time, making sure I checked out the bar scene, before taking an overnight train to the town of Lijiang. Stepping off the train in the wee hours of the morning, I couldn’t help feel awestruck by the valley the town of Lijiang was situated in, in particular the snow capped dragon mountains home to the Tiger Gorge where I would be trekking two days later.  The ancient town of Lijiang is a strikingly beautiful with cobbled stones and tiny rivers flowing through.  It is very much of a tourist hot spot, and along with endless restaurants and cafes, the streets were adorned with shops selling the local garments, accessories including a lot of leather products. Lijiang is the base to start the Tiger Gorge trek.  Through the day I met a lot of people who had recently been there, and so it built a lot expectation in my mind.  However, the next morning by the time I was on the bus drive to the base of the trek I already realized that despite all the anticipation, I was already blown away by the beauty.

The walk through the gorge is inspiring. I was surrounded by the sun basked valley to my west and the snow peaks high to the east on the mountain range opposite me, kept apart only by the gorge created by the river that that snaked its path in between.  The path through the tiger gorge is more of a meander cutting across the edge of mountains, gradually ascending to get closer and closer until you find yourself parallel with the snow tips across the gorge. Along the trek the typical features of mountain life consistency made itself known, from grazing mountain goats fulfilling their raison d’être, horse traffic up and down the mountain, and locals bravely trekking up the mountain with baskets of daily supplies strapped to their shoulders, putting us trekkers to shame. Along the way you will find “mountain ladies” as I called them, selling a variety of goodies that made all of us very happy. The mountain is home the Naxi population and they the trek is best done over two days, with a night spent at the half way house hostel in one of the Naxi villages, about a 7-hour trek from the base.  Let me tell you now, I am not a skilled enough writer to do justice explaining how beautiful and peaceful the Tiger Leaping Gorge is- but I am compelled to try. The next morning I woke up awe struck to the staggering back drop of the rugged hue coloured stone mountains whose snow covered peaks seemed permanently shrouded in the mystery of clouds. They appear to stretch into infinity, and as they travel east they eventually become one with their Himalayan cousins. To be sitting cradled so close to them it was surreal yet, here I was. They were so large, they seemed faked, as though NatGeo themselves had dropped a giant billboard. Perhaps my picture posted can help you visualize the beauty. Aside from the location, the best part of staying in the Half Way house was the chance to meet other travelers and backpackers. At the half way house I met some Australians, Swedes, Brazilians and of course Chinese. We were all from different parts of the world, yet here we were one as travelers and as the sun went down we shared our stories and inspired each other. I ended up befriending a motley crew of travelers- 3 Chinese girls, 2 Swedish guys, a Thai and an Australian and we had a great couple of nights at the gorge drinking Baijiu to the backdrop of the Tiger Gorge.  Despite originally only planning on one night in the gorge, my two friends Macky and Nat were equally in love with the gorge and made the easy decision to spend the second night at another hostel at the end of the trail.

Old Town, Lijiang                                                      View from the Half Way house at the Gorge

Trek up the Gorge

After two nights at the gorge, we made our way to Dali, taking a 3-hour bus first to Lijiang and then a 5-hour bus that would take us to Dali. Like Lijiang, Dali was situated at the bottom of the hills creating a very picturesque setting for the town, with a similar feel through the cobbled stone pathways and quaint cafés, bars and restaurants.  However, after spending two days in the town, what set Dali apart from every place I had been to in China is the type of people I met and saw. In Dali I saw a type of Chinese I had never seen before- progressive, and creative. You could see this in the way they dressed and carried themselves. (It almost sounds silly to say, but) creative and different hairstyles: long hair, dreadlocks etc, they were musicians, artists or just travelers like myself.  Nowhere in china, not even in Shanghai, had I seen Chinese like this. Proof to me that for the first time there are young Chinese who think and act different, very much not inline with the norms that most others follow in almost robot like fashion. Along with such Chinese were a fairly large about of foreigners of all ages, many journeying through China like myself, and many who came sometime ago, loved it, and decided to stay- opening up tiny bars or hostels and merely living. Dali had the best energy intellectually speaking, bringing a creative edge to the place that I really enjoyed.  Besides the Gorge, which I liked for the natural beauty, I can see myself coming back to Dali and spend a significant amount of time here.

Thursday was a day of travel. In order to get to Yangshou we had to get From the Dali ancient town to the bus stop, and then take a 5-hour bus to Kunming for a 4pm flight to Guilin in Guangxi, from where we had to find our way to the town of Yangshou. Travelling the rural parts of China, you really cant plan too much. A lot of times getting to your destination involves asking around looking for a mysterious van that shows up offering you to go where you need to go. That’s how we found our way a lot of the way, and by this time I already had some confidence in the system. We were up by 6am and out of the door not to long after and managed get to the station in time to catch a 7:30am bus to Kunming. Exhausted from just 4 hours of sleep from the previous night I slept the entire 4-hour drive to Kunming.  The ability to sleep anywhere and at anytime is an ideal travelers skill, one that I’m not shy to say I’m blessed with in abundance. Another side note, one strange thing about Chinese cities and towns is they all seem to have multitude of bus stations, which makes it rather confusing at times. I completely understand why a big city- like shanghai for example- would feel the need to. However, Lijiang had about 4, I was told Dali had a couple, and now in Kunming we landed at some random bus station. However you can always count on is having everybody within a 100 metres of the station offering to take you wherever you need to go. Anyway, we took off at around 4pm and landed in Guillen airport two hours later, from where we had to take an hour taxi to the city and then a 2 hour bus to Yangshou.  It was only at around 8:30 at night that we finally got to our hostel in Yangshou- 14 hours since setting for Dali bus station.

The 特色(tise; specialty )of Yang Shou and the area around Guillen is the lime stone projections that are spread all over many as large as small hills, making the landscape very beautiful. Getting to Yangshou after dark, the place didn’t feel anything particularly special. It was only until my first morning when I walked up to the rooftop of my hostel to behold the beauty of Yangshou, with the famed lime stone projections that were covered in a thick green foliage and Li river flowing past the town, one of two rivers that flow in this area.  It so happened that our hostel was on an incline, and with no man made structure reaching higher than us, we did infact have the best roof top view of Yang Shou. We made full use of this, drinking a lot of Tsingdaos on the rooftop on our last night.

The town of Yangshou is rather crowded and chaotic with tourists and people alike, and some parts of the town are rather dusty and far from spectacular.  That’s why its best to rent a bike for the day and bike out of the town on the mud trails that take your through rice paddy fields and villages, and cross the river on bamboo rafts.  I had an amazing, amazing meal at a tiny home run restaurant I found while biking- a spiced pork dish, a cooked egg dish with rice that grew just about 10 meters from my plate. While were on the subject of food, I should also say I found a great place to eat claypot( rice with a wide variety of meats and veggies of your choice cooked, ofcourse, in a claypot, delicious and under 15 kuay. Needless to say, Yangshou is a great place to hangout, and is known to have some of the best rock climbing in the world. My major regret was not getting a chance of trying my hand at some of the surfaces- I used to do a lot of rock climbing through school. Definitely a reason to come back- since Yangshou is also a hot spot for teaching English I might be back this summer.

So after 10 days of bag packing that saw me skirt the borders of Laos and Myanmar while seeing some of the most beautiful places in the world and China, I returned to Shanghai exhausted but refreshed. For me the Tiger Leaping Gorge was the highlight, for its stunning landscapes and my experiences there. Yunan is my favorite province in China- the fusion of cultures with the rest of South East Asia and the natural beauty sets it apart from all the other parts I’ve journeyed to in China.  On a side note my phone was pick pocketed in Lijiang, so I lost some of the numbers of people that I met, so Laura Zhang on the off chance you’re reading this, that’s why I didn’t call you after Kunming- comment bellow or email me at lewis.mu@gmail.com. I’m back in Shanghai for some time now, last few weeks of my semester at university and then work plans that should keep me in China until August, so its safe to say I will be back to Yunan, hopefully sooner rather than later.  If you were looking for travel destinations for this summer, Yunan has more than my stamp of approval- let me know, because I might just join you.