Traveling Trials: Part II

Traveling

Trials

Part II

design by: Lucy Greaney

Last issue, our three study abroad writers covered what it was like to live abroad during a pandemic. This issue, they dove into the specific cultural challenges they’ve encountered and how they overcame them. They also recounted their travels to different regions and countries in their corners of the world.

Uruguay by: Anna Mollenbeck

When I read my first “Traveling Trials” article over again, I breathed a sigh of relief. So much has changed since writing about my first few weeks abroad.

I came to Uruguay with impossible expectations both for myself and for the experience I wanted to have here. I felt alone, nervous and terrified out of my mind when I realized everything wouldn’t go according to plan. I was having an amazing time exploring and learning everything about Uruguay, but I let tiny language and cultural differences damper my spirits indefinitely. I see how much I’ve grown since my first article — both in my language skills and with my confidence navigating life as a young adult abroad.

We’ve made it to the halfway point of my time in Montevideo, Uruguay. My main goal while studying abroad has always been to develop my Spanish, and it’s easy to tell that my skills have improved incredibly in these past two months. Immersing yourself in this way certainly doesn’t come without its challenges or odd experiences. However, the challenges and odd experiences I’ve encountered have only improved my confidence and the skills themselves.

I’ve always thought that fluency would just come to me one day. I’d be in the middle of a conversation, speaking Spanish, and everything would click. A switch would be turned on in my brain. From that point on, Spanish would come as easily as English. While I’ve learned that achieving fluency in a language is a lifelong process and doesn’t work like how I imagined, I’ve certainly made immense progress in my speaking and comprehension skills. The other day, however, I conquered a hurdle I didn’t know I needed to overcome — I finally lost my fear.

This fear was conquered in one small but important interaction I had at 9 a.m. on my way to my friend’s apartment. My transition from a country girl to a city woman has included becoming a master of Montevideo’s public bus system.

The other day, I went to a local kiosk to put more money on my

bus card. A young man helped me at the counter where I told him how many pesos I wanted to put on my card. Everything was going fine until he told me to tap my card on a little machine in order to refill it. At least, that’s what I thought he said. I kept tapping my card when he kept talking to me. Finally, I understood that he was saying that I needed to keep my card on the machine. I laughed and apologized for the misunderstanding. The worker turned to his coworker and while shaking his head in disgust, said to him “los estadounidenses” (Americans).

If this would have happened to me during my first month here, my confidence would have dropped dramatically. It probably would have ruined my day. But after he said that, I just laughed. It was a breakthrough. My biggest fear when speaking Spanish is that someone will laugh at me, make fun of me or act coldly toward me when they realize it’s not my native tongue. That’s exactly what happened with the woman at church from the last issue. My “worst fear” came true in this kiosk, but it didn’t bother me in any way. Instead, I laughed at the misunderstanding, learned the word for “to leave/abandon”, and moved on. Without this fear, I’m free to have new experiences and conversations with strangers without hindrance.

The best way to practice Spanish, and the most enjoyable, is actually using it. Even with the pandemic going on, I’ve been fortunate to meet some incredible Uruguayans who I’m excited to have as friends. One weekend in March, my two American friends and I went to one of my Uruguayan friends’ beach house in La Paloma for a weekend with his two friends. It was a whole weekend of speaking only Spanish. While it was intimidating, because my Spanish skills were probably the worst out of the three Americans, I had an amazing time.

The six of us went to the beach, relaxed and even had our own asado (Uruguay’s version of a barbeque). I even taught the whole group how to play Kerkook, a game one of my friends from Iowa made up when we were in high school. I never thought I would be capable of abandoning my first language for a whole weekend, but it allowed me to have one of the best weekends of my life.

One of the hardest things I’ve faced in my fluency journey is having conversations with strangers on the street. The slang, other noises, and, at times, the uncomfortableness certainly contributes to my struggles comprehending the speech of strangers. However, you never know the strange and amazing conversations you’ll find yourself in.

I was walking the streets of Montevideo one Sunday morning when a motorcycle pulled over, leaving traffic, and stopped right next to me. An old man got off and approached me, asking where I was from. We talked for about five minutes about my time in Uruguay, his life and my life in the United States. While it might have been one of the strangest occurrences in my life, I ended up making a new connection to a person who invited me and my friends to his restaurant for a free meal!

Buying my ticket home last week was a gentle nudge that I need to keep working hard and creating experiences like these for myself every day. With the state of the world currently, no one knows what the future of international travel will hold. I want to make every minute count. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to live in a Spanishspeaking country next, so I can’t wait to take advantage of these next 45 days in one of the greatest places in the world.

South Korea by: Britt Graves

Since first coming to Korea and writing about my initial experiences, I’ve noticed my confidence has grown significantly. I used to be afraid of meeting new people, but now it’s all I want to do. Last issue, I said I wanted to speak with more Korean students and, recently, I finally gained the courage to speak to a student I had never met before.

I’ve noticed that there aren’t many Linguistics majors here at Korea University, so when I saw Linguistics written on the back of one student’s varsity jacket, I knew I had to say something. I was in one of my favorite traditional Korean restaurants waiting for my 순두부찌개 (tofu stew) to cool down when a student walked in. I happened to look up while his back was turned and noticed the college major written on his jacket.

Immediately, I felt my stomach flip inside out. This was my chance. I finally found someone studying in the same field as me. Excitement and nerves wormed their way through my gut as I quickly put my mask on, food completely forgotten. I argued with myself for five minutes, trying to work up the courage to say something, and almost

For her advanced conversation class, Anna Moellenbeck (second from right) went on a field trip with her professor, Trilce (far left) and her classmates Chloe (second from left), Claudia (middle) and Zeke (far right). The class visited a neighborhood in Montevideo called Punta Carretas.

Britt Graves (left) had a fun photoshoot with her friends Sinait Sarfino (middle) and Yessi Pardosi (right) on Korea University’s campus. Britt and Sinait are both Miami students studying at the university, and Yessi traveled from Indonesia to study in South Korea.

missing my opportunity when he turned to leave. Interestingly, he stopped at the door as if checking for something, giving me one last chance to get his attention.

A small “저기요” (excuse me) escaped me. He turned around, seemingly just as shy as me. I asked him in Korean if he was in the Linguistics major, to which he said yes. I mentioned I was also studying this, which led to us introducing ourselves. I found out he was a freshman from China completing his degree at Korea University. He was also finding it difficult to make Korean friends because of COVID. Eventually, we exchanged Kakao ID’s (a popular messaging app like WhatsApp) and are now planning to meet for lunch.

Starting a conversation with a person I’ve never met is something I would’ve never done in the past. Just the thought of it would terrify me. However, I’ve learned that putting myself out there in situations like that may feel uncomfortable at first, but there may be something great that can result from it. It’s one way to make friends during a pandemic that seems to be never ending.

Admittedly, I believe some of the friendships I’ve made here have also contributed to my confidence growth. I’m surrounded by people who are fully confident in themselves and the things they do. They’re always encouraging me to put myself out there and be self-assured in who I am. I’ve received quite a few compliments, which is something that didn’t occur too often in the United States.

There was a moment where I was out with my friends in Hongdae (the party area of Seoul where there are many bars, stores, restaurants and cafes), looking around an art store. I wasn’t paying attention to what was going on around me, but one of my friends who was standing next to me was watching. She told me a young Korean woman and her boyfriend were walking behind me, and when the girl looked over at my hair, her eyes grew wide and she whispered “oh 예뻐” (pretty), to which her boyfriend nodded. When my friend told me this I remember feeling my heart grow a few inches. I had never expected people in Korea to like my hair since natural curls aren’t a typical occurrence in this country. This experience, while small, did help me to feel more confident in myself.

While there have been many positive experiences, there have also been some negative aspects as well. The amount of staring I receive as a mixed woman whenever I walk around is immense. To some degree I’m used to it, but at times it can be irritating. It’s as if I’m an exotic creature that nobody has ever seen before. At first I thought, “Wow, this is interesting,” but now it’s gotten old, and I wouldn’t mind if it tapered off. I definitely don’t feel unwelcome in Korea, yet the staring can be somewhat overwhelming.

I remember a group of friends and I were leaving a store in Dongmyo (an area of Korea that appears to be full of older people), and we were dressed quite nicely. We passed by two older men, one of which said “ohhh” when he saw us, while the other said something trashy in Korean. I wasn’t able to catch what he said exactly, but I almost told him to screw off. I didn’t care if he was older than me. It was rude, and both of those men knew better. As women, we shouldn’t need to be concerned about what we’re wearing. I’ve noticed this is an issue in Korea that still needs to be addressed.

That same day in Dongmyo, there was also a man who stopped to talk to my friends and I, but his English wasn’t very strong. To this day, I’m still not sure what he was trying to say, but he looked at me and said “Oh, Mariah Carey!” I froze for a second with a confused expression, trying to figure out what he was getting at. I have a feeling he brought her up because we’re both mixed. Even still, it wasn’t necessary to bring up, and it made me confused. I was so shocked I wasn’t sure how to feel in the moment and still haven’t to this day. I wasn’t offended, but I didn’t know what to do with his remark.

I have a while before my trip is over, but I’m hoping by the end I will be more fluent in Korean than I currently am. My goal is to make more friends from my major before the semester ends as well. Hopefully my confidence will continue to grow even when I return home.

I’ve been enjoying my time in Korea so much that I’m considering pursuing graduate studies here. It’s been such an amazing experience with new relationships and occurrences each day. You never know what’s going to happen when you step out of your comfort zone, yet this is part of the fun. Embarrassment is just part of the experience. It adds to the fun stories you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life. I feel

as if I’ve matured so much since arriving, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the rest of the semester.

Luxembourg By: Maya Stoffer

Since writing for the last issue, I have been on day trips to Trier, Germany and Born, Luxembourg. I wanted to travel further away from Luxembourg, since three day weekends became available for me with the end of my Friday classes. However, many countries were closing in anticipation of people trying to travel for Easter weekend.

While this was an effective measure for preventing people from traveling far before Easter, I was afraid the largely celebrated holiday in Europe would cause COVID-19 cases to rise again and cause more countries to remain closed for tourists. So, when I had the opportunity to get out of Luxembourg, I jumped on it by visiting Stockholm the weekend before Easter, then Mallorca for Easter weekend, and Barcelona the weekend after.

When I think about my trip to Stockholm, what mainly comes to mind is the food and lack of masks. With COVID restrictions being a lot less strict compared to Luxembourg, including no mask mandate, indoor dining being open, and curfew being at 11 p.m., there were many more opportunities to eat at restaurants.

Sweden is known for its meatballs and cinnamon buns, so of course I had both during my three day stay. The cinnamon buns in Stockholm had sugar granules on the top versus icing that I am used to, along with the dough having herbs in it to make it more savory. The meatballs were smaller and more delicious than ones I am used to in the United States. It was also paired nicely with mashed potatoes and lingonberries, a fruit well-known in Sweden. I also got to enjoy some delicious chai tea lattes — five to be exact. Vegan oatmeal, a cheese board, a turkey sandwich, and spaghetti carbonara were also all great meals in Stockholm. Looking back now, Stockholm had the best variety of food both for me and the friends I was traveling with, one who is vegetarian and another who is gluten free. Although I traveled to Sweden on a four day weekend, the flights lined up in a way so I only had three days in Stockholm. There was plenty to do there for those three days. On Friday, two of my friends and I went to an ice bar, the world’s first permanent one. It was attached to a little gift shop so it was smaller than I imagined. However, we saw all sorts of Swedish inventions, such as the zipper, pacemaker, oat milk, and adjustable wrench, described within the 40 tons of natural ice walls. I had never been to something like it before, so it was really cool to get our drinks in these neat solid ice glasses and listen to music while we drank. I think it will be the closest I get to feeling like I’m in Antarctica, though, because it was so cold in there with a temperature of -5 degree Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit,) even with the ponchos and gloves they provided.

On Saturday, my group had plans for an archipelago boat tour, where we got to learn more about Stockholm and Sweden in general. The fogginess and high 40s temperature caused our photos to have this weird aura around them, where items in the background were grey and murky. However, this made photos of the bright red houses on the water stand out even more and really provide me with this feeling of being in a completely different world than tall-colorful-city-building Luxembourg.

The next weekend I went to Mallorca, Spain, for five days, because students studying in Luxembourg got the Monday and Tuesday after Easter Sunday off from school. Mallorca was almost completely the opposite of Stockholm.

The rush of exploring Stockholm in two full days greatly contrasted with the meandering I spent on the island of Mallorca. Because my two friends and I were staying longer, we got a beach day every other day we were there. Despite the high for the week being in the mid-60s, since we were laying out for so long, we all got a bit tan (and even minorly burnt). It was forecast to rain the whole time we were there, but luckily this was not the case. It ended up being warm, but not stifling, the whole time. The two days we had planned to lie on the beach and go on a boat tour, the weather was perfect.

One thing this weekend taught me was adaptability. We got there earlier than we had expected, so we spent the rest of the evening just sitting on the beach. Then, we scheduled a boat tour for Sunday. However, on Saturday morning, one of the boat staff members called saying they had to cancel the boat tour the next day because of the forecasted strong winds. They provided us the option to go the day of, if we could get to the meet up location at noon. With it being 10:30 a.m. when we received this call, and us being 15 minutes from our hotel where we would have to get a taxi to drive us literally across the island to where the boat tour was, all three of us were doubtful that it would happen.

Nonetheless, we made it to the meeting location on time, and it ended up being my favorite day of the whole trip. We got to see wild mountain goats, dive into the freezing cold water to explore a hidden cave with flashlights, and hike around part of the island to see the glistening, clear blue water from an amazing vantage point. The trip back to the mainland was 30 minutes long; 30 minutes of just sitting on the boat

Maya Stoffer took advantage of her five-day weekend due to the Easter holiday and traveled to Mallorca, a gorgeous island off the coast of Spain. She loved being able to spend time on the beach, hike the island and explore hidden caves.

with the wind drying my ocean-soaked hair; 30 minutes of feeling the boat go over ocean waves; 30 minutes of soaking up the warm sun. Even now, I can close my eyes and be transported back to one of the most tranquil moments of my time studying abroad.

I fell in love with Spain’s weather, and because I have a better grasp of the language spoken there compared to previous visits to other countries, I went back on the Friday of the same week that I had returned from Mallorca. This time, we visited Barcelona.

I decided to fly to have more time exploring the city, while my two travel companions went with the cheaper option of the train. Because of our different modes of transportation, we spent one day trying to cram in as much as we could in Barcelona. My feet had blisters on the bottom of them, my socks were worn thin, and my back ached at the end because we walked 22 miles to see Barcelona in one day. However, I would do it all over again to see La Sagrada Familia, Placa de Catalunya, Camp Nou, Park Güell, St. Josep La Boqueria, Barcelona Beach, and Montjuïc Park in one day. The architecture and artwork in Barcelona is absolutely gorgeous, and despite walking all around, I felt that I was still able to take in the beauty and uniqueness of the city.

As I write this, I only have 27 days left in Europe before heading back to the United States. This translates to only two more weekends for travel because of the upcoming weekend and week being MUDEC’s study tour, where students will be traveling to Croatia to combine their learning from the semester with sightseeing. My time here is dwindling. I feel like I am just getting used to living in Luxembourg and within reach of my goals.

As of now, it does not look like Switzerland or Italy will be open for travelers before I leave for the States. While I did not visit Malta, Mallorca was basically the same experience, with spectacular views of the clear water, warm weather, and nice sandy beaches. For my second-to-last weekend here, I plan to travel out of Luxembourg and for the very last weekend with finals the week following, I want to travel somewhere new in Luxembourg for a day trip.

Though I have still been wearing my fall coat here, I am hopeful that the last few weeks we have in Luxembourg will be warm enough to do work and hang out with friends outside. I also think any extreme sport activities, like paragliding, are out of the question with COVID-19 still being a large concern. Although, swimming in freezing water with waterproof flashlights to reach a cave is pretty hardcore, in my opinion. In terms of travel and activities, I don’t know what to expect for these following weeks. I am currently preparing for our week-long study tour before thinking about plans afterwards. Additionally, I am on the lookout for souvenirs to bring back home for friends and family. It’s hard to believe that the end of my study abroad is quickly approaching with so many of my goals still waiting to be fulfilled.

Maya Stoffer enjoyed her time in Spain so much that she came back the next weekend, this time to Barcelona. Though she spent most of her time walking around the city to take in the incredible architecture and visit famous sites, she still found time to see the beach too.