William Hall: Argentina

First Impressions:  

Flying out of Nashville on July 8th, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from my trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. I was both excited about living with Salvador Moncayo von Hase, whom I had hosted twice at MBA, and nervous about the prospect of living in a foreign country in the native language for the first time, alone. Fortunately, I was able to brush up on my Spanish on the plane from Houston to Buenos Aires, where I sat next to an older woman, Aquel. She first spoke to me in English, but after hearing her accent, I responded nervously in Spanish. We continued talking for about the first hour of the flight, and she gave me some great suggestions on things to do in the city. She finished the conversation with a piece of advice; “I fear that many young students come to visit the country and only eat fast food and play on their cell phones. You must take every opportunity to immerse yourself in the culture of the country, the food, and the people.”

  I was enthusiastically greeted by Salvador and his mother, Elcha, upon my arrival in the airport. In the car on the way to the house, I had a bit of a hard time understanding the rapid speech and Argentinian accent, but I gradually caught on. At the house, I met Salvi’s three younger sisters, Julia, Camila, and Fransisca. We had english tea and ‘media lunas’ (small crescents) from the local bakery. Later in the afternoon, we had “Lomo”, a braised beef tenderloin in a sauce. The fabled “red meat of Argentina” had lived up to its reputation.  

School

I attended the Goethe Schule with Salvi and his sisters the next day. The Goethe is a co-ed, German school in San Isidro, only a few blocks from their house. (Salvador and his family are completely bi-lingual at home, speaking Spanish and German equally due to the German heritage in the family. During my stay, however, they only spoke Spanish.) The Goethe is academically rigorous. Students in Salvi’s grade take 14 subjects during the week on a block schedule. Some are duplicate subjects, taught in both Spanish and German, and a few in English. All of the students are tri-lingual. I was blown away by their language ability. I was also surprised by how casual the classroom environment was in some cases. Girls are allowed to knit during class, and all students are very open about disagreeing with their teachers. After school, I was able to go with Salvi to “La Villa” (the slum). Salvi and I changed clothes into baggy jeans and sweatshirts and removed our watches so that we did not draw attention to ourselves in the slum. We tutored unprivileged, impoverished children in math, reading, and writing skills. For me it was an incredible experience being able to teach in a second language.

The Goethe School 

      

La quinceañera 

    Salvi’s winter break began, and the next weeks were spent showing me around the city and familiarizing me with his way of life. I was able to meet much of his extended family at various birthdays, dinners, and celebrations. I spent a lot of time speaking to his grandparents and relatives about life in the U.S. and my impressions of Argentina. I was also a part of Julia’s quinciñera, which is the 15th birthday celebration for girls in Argentina and represents the passage from girl to woman. I helped set the table and prepare a few classic dishes (like “choripan”) for the family lunch. The Parrilla or grill is a huge part of cooking. All meat is grilled outside in the parilla, typically by the men of the family. Properly cooking meat is considered an art form of sorts.

I was surprised by the prevalence of American music. Originally, I expected to hear local music in Spanish, but at every party or in the car, there was always American pop music playing.

The grill for Julia's quinceañera

Me with Salvi's family and relatives. I enjoyed getting to know them throughout the trip

Some of the incredible food that was prepared for Julia's quinceañera

In the City:

We spent the next few days in the city with Salvi’s good friend Theo and his two exchange students from Brazil and Germany. We felt like the United Nations as we walked through the city because at any given moment, one could hear Portuguese, Spanish, German, or English being spoken amongst us. The irony was that we did not all share a common language. I was able to learn a lot about their ways of life, but also their perceptions of Americans. I had many eye opening discussions, to say the least.

In La Plaza de Mayo, we visited the Casa Rosada where Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the president works, but does not live. This was the main square in Buenos Aires where we also saw the obelisk, National Bank, and other government buildings. There was a rich sense of history in the plaza, which has been around since the early 19th century. I had my first “Milanesa” which is a thinly sliced piece of beef that is fried and is served with a variety of toppings. Later, we visited La Recoleta Cemetery, where notable Argentinians are buried. The cemetery consists of above ground stone/marble tombs in which entire families are laid to rest together. We saw the tomb of Eva Peron here, as well. Later in the week, we saw a Tango show, the traditional dance in Argentina, as well as the MALBA museum of modern art, La Facultad de Derecho (Historic Law School of Buenos Aires), La Flor (A steel flower sculpture that opens during the day and closes at night), and El Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, which contains significant works Argentinean and French art. We also visited the botanical garden, which was very diverse.

La Casa Rosada 

Milanesa (one of my favorites)

La Flor 

Tango show with Salvi's friends

The Cemetery
                                                                                               

At this point in my trip, we were scheduled to ride horses on a farm in the west of Argentina in the mountains. Unfortunately, there was a bad storm in that area and the Gauchos were not comfortable making the trip. 
We then went to the Evita Museum. Eva Peron was a well known and loved politician in the late 1940’s. Salvador was extremely familiar with her history and was able to give me some great information along the way, not sparing any of his own political opinions. She is still a very controversial figure today for her socialist views. At night, a mural of Evita is lit with the colors of the Argentinian flag in 9 de Julio avenue.

One of the exhibits in the museum

On my trip, politics actually played a significant role. A controversial presidential election was approaching. The streets were filled with flyers and propaganda, and I witnessed many heated political debates at the dinner table. One thing that Salvador mentioned was the casual nature of the candidates and their dressing in street clothes instead of business suits. For the general population, the most “common” candidate is appealing. Right now, there are some serious issues in Argentina like inflation, the restrictions of import/export goods, and other economic concerns. I personally experienced some of the economic problems first hand. Legally, 1USD=9.5 Pesos, however, on the street certain vendors would give 14-16 pesos for every one of my US dollars. Stable currency was in high demand.

One day, I went with Salvador’s father, Martin, to vote for the governor. Voting was much more antiquated. Just two weeks before I arrived, any political voting was done by paper ballot. I witnessed Martin’s first electronic voting in his life! During that week we also visited La Feria de San Telmo in the oldest part of the city of Buenos Aires.
For me personally, I was able to sense the political tension one evening on a bus. On our hour long journey home from the city, a woman sat next to me on the bus. She heard my accent in spanish, and proceeded to chide me for being American. She raised her voice, blamed the United States for local economic issues, called me a few names that got the attention of other bus riders, and proceeded to scold me for coming to Argentina to “take advantage of our rich resources and use us as a business interest.” Although I was frightened in the moment, it really struck me later how Americans are perceived around the world. However uncomfortable this experience was, I think it was an integral part of my trip.

 We spent some of the last days of my trip in Puerto Madero, the main port for the city. We visited the Museo de Inmigracion which gave the history of immigration in Buenos Aires. In the same museum, we saw an incredible exhibit by Brazilian artist Vik Muniz. Our last stop on the trip was La Boca, which is known as the birthplace of the tango. I had seen pictures of La Boca, but they didn’t do it justice. It was such a unique place! The buildings are painted bright colors and the streets are lined with cafes and tango stages. It was in La Boca that I first felt that I had really bonded with all of Salvador’s great friends. I knew that I was going to miss them.

Vik Muniz. Notice the materials used to make the image (garbage)

La Boca

Salvador's friends and I in Puerto Madero

Overall Experience

I was sad that my time in Argentina had come to a close. What I had thought would be a trip full of “learning more Spanish” enriched me in ways that I had never imagined. My Spanish undoubtedly improved, but my appreciation for another culture grew the most. What made my experience unique were the people. I had the blessing of being able to live with an incredible family the entire time who treated as if I were one of their own. I met and bonded with so many Argentinian students of my age, but also students from around the world; Germany, France, and Brazil; many of whom I still contact. During my entire stay, I did not speak to a single American. I was completely immersed in the culture, the people, the food, and the lifestyle without having the comfort of an English speaking friend. I had to constantly adjust and I loved every second of it.  I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have experienced life in another country. I had read about the bustling streets of the city, the fabled grilled meat, the social openness of the people and their hospitality, the obsession with soccer, and the passion of the tango, but until I had the blessing of witnessing these things with my own eyes, they were just pages in my textbook. The grant brought those pages to life and wrung every last drop of meaning from them. I would like to sincerely thank the Wilson family for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime. I am a better student, a more diverse person, and more globally aware American because of it. I would like to thank Sr. Kamm and Sr. Paolicchi for their unwavering support, passion, and guidance throughout my time as a Spanish student. They have given me invaluable skills and a love for language that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Once again, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Wilson family for such an incredible opportunity.

John Morphett:France

Amaury and I

Mr. Trotter was very kind to allow me to arrive in France a couple of days late because I had the state individual tennis tournament. Upon my arrival in Paris, Mr. Trotter met me in the Paris airport, and, together, we took a train direct from Paris to Bordeaux. Since I arrived on a Wednesday, I immediately went to the boarding school and not my host family’s house. I was greeted by my French brother, Amaury Hugues, when I arrived at Le Lycée de la Sauque.

Each day during the week, Monday through Friday, was very well planned out by Mr. Trotter and Madame Begley, the French teacher from St. Cecilia. Each morning the students would wake up at 7:00 a.m. and breakfast ran from 7:30 to 8:00. Then sometime between 9:00 and 10:00, the MBA students and the St. Cecilia students, plus some of the students from the French school occasionally, would leave the campus to go on some type of excursion. These trips included tours of churches and chateaux, a trip to the beach, Canoeing, and a trip to a winery (but no one tasted any wine). My favorite one of these trips was our excursion to the beach, La plage d’Arcachon. It was nice to have a day to relax on the sand and swim in the ocean. But adding to this, we also went to a ginormous dune, the Dune of Pilat, which was my favorite part of the beach trip. The hike up the dune was extremely difficult, but it was worth it once I had made it to the top. The view over the ocean was just spectacular! Also, running down the dune was extremely fun. It felt like I was flying while running down.

At the Beach

Another great day that I experienced at the school was the sports Olympic games. The first thing I noticed is that French people are awful at American sports, haha. The sports that I am referring to right now are basketball and baseball. Playing baseball was one of the funniest experiences of the trip. For some reason, the French play baseball with eight bases, a plastic bat, and a tennis ball. The sports Olympics day was great because I got to socialize with many of the French students. There were about six different teams, and each team wanted the Americans on their team. It was extremely fun to be able to contribute to a team.

Each weekend I would go to my host family’s house, and many of my favorite moments were spent there. Amaury always has a smile on his face and he is extremely nice. I didn’t get too spend much time with his father because of work, but I spent a great deal of time with Amaury’s mother. She is one of the nicest ladies I have ever met, and she loved to spend time with me as I loved to spend time with her. Amaury and I loved to play soccer together and then go swimming. When we weren’t doing this, we would be having fun out in the city of Périgueux.

Everyone at The Hugues’ House

The Hugues were nice enough to have all of the other MBA students and their host brothers as well as Mr. Trotter and Mr. Massenet, a teacher at La Sauque, over to their home for a night. It was a great bonding moment with everyone. As a group, we took a tour of the city, went swimming, played soccer, and finally ended the night with a movie and Xbox. This was a very eventful day and one of my favorite days of the whole trip.

It is very difficult for me to make any comparison between MBA and Le Lycée de la Sauque. To start off, since I arrived late, I did not get to go to any of the classes. Secondly, by the time we arrived at the school as a group, the school year was pretty much over. The student were just taking exams, or they were already done. But one similarity I did notice was the strictness of the teachers. They enforced the rules quite well.

At the top of the Eiffel Tower

This wonderful trip ended with five days in Paris. If I’m being honest, Paris is not a city that I like very much. I personally do not like to tour a lot of museums and other events like that. My personal opinion is that Paris is a kind of dirty city with too many tourists. But it wasn’t bad. We ate some great food while there, and the Eiffel Tower was spectacular.

My ability to speak the French language improved an immeasurable amount, and I learned a great deal about the history of France. Last but not least, I would like to thank the Wilson Family for giving me this great, life-changing opportunity.

Jay Shackleford: Germany

            

           This summer I was blessed with the opportunity to travel to Wiesbaden Germany to participate in a 4 week exchange with the Humboldt School of Wiesbaden.  After traveling for over twenty hours, we arrived in Frankfurt and were introduced to our hosts.  We spent three weeks in the city if Wiesbaden and the last week traveling to multiple cities in Bavaria with our teacher Herr Dougherty.

First Three Weeks

             The first three weeks were both the hardest but also the most impactful.  We stayed with our host families from Sunday June 21 until Saturday July 11, going to school during the week and taking small trips on the weekends.  While this time was some of the most fun I’ve ever had, it was also very difficult.  Jumping straight into a new culture was one of the hardest challenges I’ve ever face, but I can confidently say I came out of it a much stronger student.  I learned that overcoming these challenges is the best way to both adapt to the culture and to learn the language.  Getting through a tough situation where I may not have had all of the necessary vocabulary made all of the new words I learned stick with me much better than had I spent twice as much time studying a list of words.  We also experienced the culture to an extent that isn’t possible without living in it for an extended period of time.  As soon as the second day we were riding the bus pretty much everywhere we went, which was significantly different from Nashville where we drive pretty much exclusively.  

              School was also a big change after experiencing three different language classes in the same day with two sciences and a math class.  Unlike at MBA, students at the Humboldt School have a different schedule every day with some classes only being held one or two days a week.  During our three weeks in school we were able to go on multiple class excursions to various cities around Germany, seeing both historical wonders such at the Catholic Cathedral in Cologne and also modern sights such as art museums or universities.  These three weeks we some of the most insightful and exciting weeks of my entire life, leaving a huge impact on both my proficiency in the German language and also my understanding of daily German culture

            Examples of typical activities would would experience daily are after-school soccer, trips to ice cream shops in the city, walking around the old part of Wiesbaden, riding the train to a nearby city to see a museum or government building, or going to a local festival with friends from the Humboldt School.

The Last Week

            We started off our last week saying goodbye to our host families and traveling south to Bayern Munich.  When we arrived we checked in to our Hostel and started walking down the street in search of dinner.  After about a mile and a half we found a small Turkish Döner and Kebab shop.  Döners were another discovery from our trip to Germany.  They look and taste similar to a Greek Gyro but much better.  Afterwards we walked back to our Hostel to get a good nights rest before our big week ahead of us.  Averaging two or three museums a day with an occasional castle or soccer stadium  thrown in, we were in for a lot of bus and subway rides along with close to 15 kilometers of walking each day.  My personal favorite attractions from Munich include the Allianz Arena where FC Bayern Munich plays, Neuschwanstein a fairy tale castle built by a crazy king, and the BMW museum.  

             After spending three days in Munich we traveled to Nuremberg and checked into the next Hostel we stayed at.  In Nuremberg we visited the Nazi document center which had been turned into a museum about WWII and the Nazi regime, the Nuremberg Castle, and the "Alter Stadt" or older part of the city.  Traveling different cities around Bavaria gave us a much wider perspective of the German culture based on many different views.  By walking from place to place inside the cities we visited we were able to see much more of each city than had we driven everywhere like we do here in Nashville.  On our return trip back to Frankfurt, we stopped along the way to see the historic city of Würzberg.  There we saw many of the same sights Herr Dougherty also saw when he was traveling for college on a trip much like ours.  

           Our last day was spent in Frankfurt as we ended our trip in the city it began, checking into our last hostel of the trip.  Each city we traveled to had its own personal feel and from each we learned valuable lessons about German culture.  In Munich we rode the subways and learned how to navigate a large German city.  Nuremberg gave us a unique look at the events of WWII by allowing us to personally visit many sites where such events occurred, such as the Zeppelin Field where most of the major rallies occurred.  And as Germany's largest economic center, Frankfurt am Main showed us a close up view of Germany's bustling economy.  The last week gave us a broad view of many aspects of Germany culture and allowed us to better understand the inner workings of German life.

          I'd like to thank the Wilson Family for the amazing chance to experience a new culture.  This trip had a profound effect on both my proficiency with the German Language and my understanding of German and European Culture.  I'd also like to thank Herr Dougherty for taking us around Bavaria and putting up with us.  Special thanks to the Humboldt School for hosting us and taking us on multiple class trips, and finally my sincerest thanks to the Bell family for hosting me and making my time in Germany so special.

Alvin Zhang, Chinese, 2015

Alvin Zhang: China

Touring Beijing

My time in China was amazing. After sitting in a cramped plane seat for over twelve hours, I finally landed into Beijing.  I was very excited to be able to visit Beijing for the first time, but I was also very nervous as well. When I landed, we first toured around the scenic areas near Beijing #4. I felt the liveliness of the city. Soon after this brief introduction to the city, I went back to my host family's house.  

Beijing Life

The Forbidden City

The Great Wall of China

For the next week or so, I toured around Beijing #4 with my host. The schools in China are so much different than the ones in the US. One big difference is that the students don't have to move from the classrooms to go to class. Rather, the teachers come to the respective classrooms. Another big thing was that I felt was different was the amount of people that each classroom had. Each classroom had at least thirty or more students. That's more than double the amount of student in each classroom at MBA. I also felt that the school work was a lot more than the amount we have in the US. The schedules at Beijing #4 was also different than the ones we have at MBA. Many students stayed after school until ten for night study at school. Besides going to Beijing #4, I also toured around Beijing. I went to many places that were famous in Beijing, such as Tienanmen Square, the Forbidden City, and of course the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall was so much bigger than I had imagined. Many areas had steps so steep that it was like climbing a wall. I also had the pleasure to visit the Olympic park in Beijing as well as the National Museum of China.  

Beihai Park: right around the corner from Beijing #4

Beijing Roast Duck

Tienanmen Square

Bird Nest in the Olympic Park

Shanghai Life:

Downtown Shanghai

Soon after a week in Beijing, I boarded a bullet train and was in Shanghai after five hours. My host student in Shanghai was in the final week of finals. The student lived about an hour away from his school so we decided to stay in the dorms. The dorms, though small, was pretty cozy. The morning after I arrived, however, the streets were completely flooded. The water was at least about six inches deep, with some some areas reaching up to my knees. It was pretty amusing to see the reactions of several students. While I was in Shanghai, I was able to go into the Shanghai country side. I was also able to visit downtown during my stay. Shortly after, I had to leave for Beijing to return to America. We all said our goodbyes and with that our trip to China ended.

Thoughts and Thanks:

I had a great time in China this summer. This experience helped me fully realize the depth of Chinese culture and allowed me to be fully immersed in it. I most definitely feel that this experience has improved my Chinese a lot. I would like to especially thank the Wilson family. Without the Wilson family, none of this would have been possible. I would also like to thank Mrs. Zhang for coordinating this wonderful trip. This is one trip that I will never forget.

Clarke Allen Peru

My First Weekend (Friday arrival - Sunday) 

At first, I was nervous about traveling to Peru all by myself, but I quickly grew to love my opportunity. In most programs, the first thing the students do is meet their host families, but in Peru we did not see them until 3 days after our arrival. When I arrived in Cusco, Peru; all of the students spent the first two days or so resting because it is difficult to adjust to the altitude in Cusco. In Nashville we are about 500 ft above sea level, but in Cusco, we were at 11,000. All of the students spent the first weekend together in the Sacred Valley, where we began to admire the Peruvian landscape for the first time. In the Sacred Valley, we visited llama farms and some ruins in the town of Ollantaytambo. I vividly remember the face in the side of the mountain, which the Incas worshiped. On our way home, we also got to stop by the ruins at Moray. Moray was unlike anything I had ever seen before because today the ruins are still used for research. My first weekend was just the beginning of the fun and experiences I was about to have.

Moray

Ruins in Ollantaytambo

First Week (late Sunday to Friday)

Sacsayhuaman

After my first weekend, I went home to meet my new family and move into my new home. My family included a host mom and my 5 year old host little brother. They greeted me with big hugs and a kiss on each cheek, which is customary in Peruvian culture. I remember watching Spanish spider man shows with my new little brother my first night. When the new week began, so did my Spanish classes. Each day I would go to school in the morning, go home for lunch, and come back for my afternoon activities. In the first week, we were able to visit a couple of really cool places in the afternoon. After one morning of classes, we visited the old temples at Sacsayhuaman right in Cusco, where I admired the skilled architecture of the Incan people. I also learned a lot about the history of Cusco and the civilization the Inca people built. The next day, in the afternoon, the head of the program took all the students out to eat in the main plaza (Plaza de Armas). We went to a restaurant with live dancing and music, and one band even chose me, out of all students, to go up and dance on stage. The first week enabled me to learn more about Cusco and where I was staying.

Plaza de Armas


Second Weekend: Machu Picchu

When most people think about Peru, the first thing that comes to mind are the famous ruins/town of Machu Picchu.​ My fellow peers in the program and I got to spend an entire weekend in the famous mountains. We took a long bus ride, and then a train up to the town of Machu Picchu, where we spent the first day at the hot springs watching the championship of the Copa de America. We had to get rest because the next morning we were waking up early to take a bus to the actual ruins. The second I arrived at the ruins, I was blown away by the beauty and history of Machu Picchu. For the first couple of hours we just walked around with a tour guide, but we went on two hikes in the afternoon. My friends and I all walked to the sun-gate, which is the highest point on the Inca trail. It was really scary to be up so high but amazing to think about how the Incas built it in the first place. Machu Picchu is a place that I will keep with me for the rest of my life. There is nothing in the world quite like it.

Machu Picchu

Second Week - Departure

After I got back from Machu Picchu, I went back to my daily routine of class in the morning and afternoon activities. One afternoon I went to the local cathedral in Cusco and learned about the mixture of Incan and Catholic religion in Peru. The church was filled with ancient relics and paintings from the early Peruvian days. Another afternoon, my friends and I took salsa classes with local students. I already knew how to salsa, therefore I was able to show the rest of my class up. Lastly, the day before I left, we all went to Maras where we saw the famous pools of salt. It was really interesting because the locals still rely on the pools for their salt. The second week really flew by but ended with a big-going home dinner that all my friends planned for me. I ate some of the local flavor, which included guinea pig and alpaca. It was hard saying goodbye to all my new friends and family.

Maras

Last night in Cusco

Conclusion

The two and a half weeks I spent in Peru changed me in a way I could have never expected. I got to live in a unique and interesting culture different than mine. Not only did my knowledge of the Spanish world increase but my abilities to speak Spanish did as well. When I lived in a Spanish environment, I had to speak Spanish to the locals in order to get around. I saw places and met people that I probably will remember for the rest of my life thanks to my great opportunity. I am truly grateful for the Wilson family and the ability they gave me to improve my Spanish and my cultural understanding. Studying abroad enabled me to mature as a person and as a Spanish student. I will never forget my great times in Peru.