Jackson Owen- Spain

The Flight

On June 28th, I left by myself from the Nashville airport to meet up with my EIL group at the JFK airport. There I met the 15 other students from across the United States who were also in my group. We did not know it yet but we would grow to become very close friends. From there we left for Madrid, Spain, an eight hour flight which landed at 10:00 am. This was the beginning of a four week long adventure with a brand new group of people in a country completely foreign to me.

Madrid

My first day in Spain proved to be rough, I had hardly slept on the plane ride and landing at 10 am I had to fight my fatigue and continue the day, resisting the urge to sleep. With its interesting architecture and friendly people, Madrid proved to be one of the most interesting cities of the trip. As my group and I grew on one another we began to come out of our shells and had some great memories in the capital of Spain. Since the theme of our program was contemporary and historical culture and diversity, we started every city off with a scavenger hunt to get to know the city and the history more. In a city filled with history we made many sight-seeing escapades. With these scavenger hunts we were able to learn what was most dear to the people of Madrid and the history behind many of the buildings and statues. We stayed in Madrid for five days before it was time to move on to the next town, Toledo.

Statue of Don Quixote in Madrid

Toledo

Toledo was the oldest and most historically rich city that we visited over our four week stay in Spain. It contained one of the biggest and most important cathedrals in all of Spain and was a very religious city. We were luckily able to go inside the ‘Catedral de Toledo’ and witness the incredible architecture on the inside of the building. The Cathedral started construction in 1226 and construction did not finish until nearly 270 years later in 1493. We met many unique individuals and had a great time in our short stay of 3 days in Toledo. We took a bus to our next destination: Bilbao, where we had our stay with a local family.

Bilbao

I was definitely nervous going into my homestay. I was living with a family that I’d never met speaking a language that I had only studied for two years. Luckily I had Sr. Kamm as my teacher so my spanish was just fine. My host father, whom I called ‘Aita,’ which is the word for Dad in the Basque language, picked me up from the bus station in downtown Bilbao and drove me to their house and the smaller, suburban city of Umbe. It was there that I met my wonderful host family of Aita, Ama (the Basque word for Mom), Julen, Xabier, and Nerea. Julen was 17 years old so I spent most of my free time hanging out with him and his friends when the family didn’t have something planned. My family however, had a lot of stuff planned and I kept very busy. I went to a music festival, the San Fermin Bull Run, the beach and many other places as well as eating delicious food throughout my 11 days. I made very close relationships with my host parents and brother and I will never forget the kindness and love they showed to me. We still keep in contact and they are urging me to return to Spain this next summer. I was nervous going in, but I was sad to leave as Bilbao was easily the most fun portion of the trip and of my whole summer.

With my host family at the San Fermin
Bull Run Festival

Estella and Barcelona

Next up on the list was a 5 day stay in the small town of Estella. We spent most of our time doing community service work and teaching a class of young children english through games. Estella was a town rich of culture and it may not have been on of the more fun cities that we went to, it was exciting to see how close the town was together and I learned a lot. Finally, we had a 3 day stay in the popular tourist city, Barcelona. This begun my favorite part of the trip. We went, to the beach, visited La Sagrada Familia and stayed up all night with my group in the apartments we had rented. We celebrated my birthday at dinner and took trips down the famous street La Rambla. Overall it was a fantastic journey and I am so glad that I was given this opportunity.

With members of my group in Park Guell in Barcelona

Thank You

Firstly I want to thank the Wilson Family and Mr. Gioia for making this trip possible. Thank you Sr. Kamm for everything you taught me the two years that I was in your class. Thank you Sra. Victoria and Sr. Paolicchi for making sure everything with the grant and trip went well. Thank you to my gracious host family the Prieto's for providing me with a great family and awesome experiences along the way. And finally thank you to the leaders and everyone else in my group for making the trip everything I could've dreamed and more.

Daniel Lee, Latin, 2016

Latin in Rome: Daniel Lee

This summer I was given a Wilson grant to study Latin in Rome at a school called St. Stephen's. Coming to the program, I didn't know what to expect but in the end the trip was worth it. St. Stephen's campus was located in downtown Rome and was about a 15-minute walk from the Colosseum and a 5 minute walk to the Circus Maximus. When I arrived in Rome it rained for about 10 minutes but from then on out it was clear skies.

Each day would begin with breakfast at the school and from there I went to my first class, Roman topography. After that, would be lunch and then Latin class.  Latin class would then be followed by creative writing and the day would be finished with dinner and a night activity.

Trajan's Column

Topography class was basically a four hour walking tour of Rome every morning, and we could go anywhere with a small trip on the metro. My favorite site had to be the Triumphal arch of Constantine which was located right next to the Colosseum. One cool thing is that at the Colosseum I saw an MBA graduate who recognized me through my MBA all sports camp t-shirt. Another of my favorite places was the ruins of the old Roman forum and being able to see the Curia (Roman Senate house) and the various temples. It was amazing to be able to witness the structures that I had seen in textbooks. We also saw the Pantheon, which was amazing since it was at one point the world's largest unsupported dome. Inside the Pantheon, I saw the tomb of the Renaissance artist, Raphael. Apart from seeing ruins, my class would also visit museums. In just one of these museums, I was able to see a pot owned by Mithridates and the original statue of the She-Wolf. In another museum I saw a huge bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius on horseback. What's amazing was that this was all just the first part of my day.

Painting of the Famous Tale of the Horatii and Curiatii

Temple of Jupiter

An Image of a Roman Charioteer

Statue of Marcus Aurelius

In creative writing class, we would either write short stories or poems. In order to get some inspiration we visited the Protestant Cemetery in which John Keats is buried, which also happens to be a cat sanctuary. At the end of the grant, our class had composed a small anthology. Latin was also interesting because on the first day I was moved to the Italian class since it was only a beginners Latin course. Here, I was able to study Italian grammar and give short presentations of dialogues.

"Roman" Pyramid Near the Protestant Cemetery  

My favorite part the day was the nightly activity. I remember one night where we watched the Italian national soccer team face off against Spain on a projector in the dining hall. One night we went to see a ballet where the stage was set up among the ruins of the Baths of Caracalla, and another night we went to see a light show at the Forum of Augustus. Here, images of what the ruins would of looked like were projected. However, my favorite nights were Friday's since we would walk down to the Tiber and walk around a small festival where they were stands and vendors. It was like a weekly MBA carnival along the Tiber.

A Statue of Caesar near the Forum of Augustus

View of Sorrento

On the weekend between the first and second week, we went on a trip to Sorrento and Pompeii. At Pompeii, we saw the ruins of the Roman city and the gruesome remains of Roman people. It was fascinating to see a Roman city so well preserved. In Pompeii, we also saw a Roman villa with its wall frescoes still intact in full color. Then in Sorrento, we stayed at a hotel that was right near the beach. We were also able to walk the streets at night and luckily there was a cultural festival going on.

Tiles of House in Pompeii

In the final few days, we visited Vatican City. It was fascinating to see how large the Vatican was. The ceiling frescos and sculptures what's even more interesting is that I met another MBA graduate who knew me through my older brother. It just comes to show the global influence of MBA.

Ginger the Cat

Overall, having the opportunity to journey to Italy and see everything that I have studied for three years was overwhelming. In addition to touring Rome, I was able to meet some amazing people and an nice cat named Ginger. I would like to again thank the Wilson family for giving me the chance to travel to Italy and allowing me to discover that I wish to study Latin or Italian in college.

Our Group in Italy

Brian Lu: Experiencing Ancient Rome

Learning at St. Stephen's

I came to Italy and St. Stephen's with my classmate and friend, Daniel Lee. We were both excited to visit Italy and finally come face to face with the places, people, and objects that we had learned about in class. We came, expecting to absorb even more knowledge of Latin and ancient Rome. However, it seemed that St. Stephen's only offered a Beginner's Latin Course. Quickly realizing that we would not learn much in that class, we switched to Italian. However, this setback proved not to be extremely detrimental. Through the Ancient Roman Topography Class, which essentially was a course dedicated to exploring and examining Ancient Roman ruins and relics, that Daniel and I both took, we had the opportunity to analyze and roughly translate many Latin inscriptions. Both of us learned an astonishing amount about these Roman artifacts since our teacher was so exceptional. Unsurprisingly, he seemed to know almost everything about the ruins and places we visited such as the Forum, Colosseum, Capitoline Hill, etc. We could also apply our Latin language skills to learning Italian, since Italian is a Romance Language.


Exploring the City- Ancient Roman Topography

On the first few days, we ventured to the Roman Forum and the Capitoline Hill Museum. The instructor gave us an extremely good understanding of the events that led up to the construction of the sites we visited and recounted each building or relic's story. We examined the art portrayed on many of the columns, walls, and ancient ruins. The instructor was fabulous throughout the rest of the course as well, taking us to the Colosseum, Trajan's Column, Pompeii, Ostia, and many other historical sites. At each of these, we discovered something that we had not known before. Because of this course, I have a deeper and more profound appreciation for Roman history that might not have developed had I not gone to St. Stephen's.

Daily Life in Rome

Every morning, we woke up to a delicious breakfast from the staff at St. Stephen's. The provided us with a different assortment of pastries everyday with fresh fruits and other tasty treats. We would then explore the historical sites of Rome until lunch, where usually we ate at St. Stephen's again. We would then study Italian with a brilliant teacher who has improved my Italian greatly since forgetting most of it at the Concordia camp. After the language class, we would be greeted by an elective class, including Creative Writing, Studio Art, and music. After the electives, we would have a study hall to relax and take a break from the abundance of knowledge that we had absorbed that day. Then we would have dinner, sometimes in the Cafeteria and many times out in Rome itself. We then would do an evening activity ranging from watching the Euro Cup for Soccer to watching a Ballet at the Baths of Caracalla. Each night there was a new surprise and an exciting activity to experience.

Ostia, Pompeii, and Sorrento

For me, the highlights of all the amazing locations we visited were Ostia, Pompeii, and Sorrento. In Ostia, we were able to have fun at the amazing beach that was covered in black sand. Visiting the beach was a great way to relax during the weekends which I greatly appreciated. In Sorrento, we visited the beach, but we also visited several of the shops in the lively town. We got to eat at several pizzarias which were absolutely astounding. In Pompeii, we finally got to see with our own eyes, the devastation that Mt. Vesuvius had caused to thousands of Romans. We were able to see the bodies preserved in stone and ash. We saw firsthand, the elements of a Roman town and many of its basic characteristics. We saw several villas and houses from people of varying social classes. We saw the fortifications that Roman soldiers patrolled. We saw the Roman theaters that entertained the masses. It felt as if we were experiencing Pompeii as it had been 2000 years ago.

Appreciation

Thank you to all of the staff that supported and helped us at our stay in St. Stephen's. I would first like to thank my RA, Big Bro Mike, who was really friendly and chill to all of us campers. I would also like to thank Kabir, David, Nilasha, Giulia, and Maggio for helping me get through the transition from living in the US to living in Rome extremely quickly. At first, Daniel and I didn't even know how to use the washer but thanks to these amazing people, we eventually figured out how to live regularly at St. Stephen's. Thank you to my fellow campers for being friendly and kind to us even though we were strangers to them. Thank you to Ms. Ellery for finding this amazing program for us even though our original program was cancelled from low participation. I appreciate the work she put into finding a different camp very much since it allowed us to have the opportunity to finally visit Italy. Thank you to the Wilson family for giving us so much money for the chance to go on this trip to Rome. I truly appreciate all the people who helped us make this trip as fulfilling and as amazing as it was. Thank you.

Jack Anderson Colombia Exchange

When I arrived in Bogota at about 8 p.m, I was all welcomed by, as I would soon find out, the nicest people I have ever met. I was greeted by my host brother, Santiago, and his parents, Sandra and Alejandro, with a firm hug or hardy handshake. Because Santiago’s parents are divorced, I had two different families while in Colombia,opening up a variety of incredible opportunities to see Colombia through both of his parents’ views. The next day was a Monday during the school year, however, we did not have school since it was one of the many holidays we had during the trip. So, that next day, Santi and I had the time to go bowling with Mack and his host, Alejo. While bowling is the same as it is in the United States, it was a great opportunity to get to know our hosts better.

The group upon arrival in Colombia.

The next day was my first day of classes at the Colegio Claustro Moderno. I got up first in my household, eager to get to school and meet many new people. However, and what I did not realize, breakfast is an important meal eaten everyday. Typically, I don’t eat breakfast at home, so eating breakfast was a major adjustment. My not eating breakfast eventually became a running gag in our household. At school, we were all welcomed warmly by all of the students, faculty, and staff. In between classes and during breaks, the group would play either basketball, volleyball, or soccer. I knew going in that school would be very different. When I walked into class the first day, I immediately noticed how much more relaxed classes were. Our first week of classes was exam week, so I got to take tests in Spanish. I was most excited for the English exam, but, unfortunately, I was unable to take it. Also, during classes, the group would go on school sponsored trips. These trips helped us see the incredible monuments and tourist attractions that we would not have been able to see other wise. For our first adventure, we went to the Salt Cathedral with our hosts and an English teacher. We traveled about 200 m below ground level into a salt mine in order to visit an incredible church carved completely out of the salt the miners were mining for. This trip provided for a very fun way to see the culture of Colombia. 

The cross in the Salt Cathedral.

While I was in Colombia, the Copa America, a soccer tournament for all American national soccer teams. was taking place. Fortunately for us, the first friday we were in Bogota, the Colombian national soccer team and the United States national soccer played each other. The whole group of hosts and exchange students was able to come over to our apartment and watch the soccer game together. We had a lot of fun, however the United States lost 2-0. Also through the school, we went to places such as Monseratte, a cathedral on top of a mountain 3000 km high overlooking all of Bogota, and El Museo de Oro, a museum showcasing gold from thousands of years ago left by the indigenous people. At the Monseratte, we saw an incredible panoramic view of all of Bogota, the biggest city I have ever seen. It was breathtaking.

A picture of me, Mack, and Patrick with a llama at the base of Monseratte.

My host mother's boyfriend owned property outside the city in the Andes Mountain Range. One Saturday, my family, including my host's brother who is an ecology major, went up to the Andes to see the incredible sights offered. We didn't see many animals, as it was about noon, but walking through the forest with an ecology major allowed for a very cool, once-in-a-lifetime, experience. He pointed out many little plants, animals, bugs, and insects that I never would have noticed or appreciated without him.

                                                            A panoramic view of the Andes Mountain Range. 

At the end of our trip, the group played a series of pickup basketball games against our hosts and their friends. This series was a ton of fun, and the whole grade got out of class to watch. In the end, unlike the United States in soccer, we won. Our final days were bittersweet. I had grown to really like everyone I met in Bogota, so saying goodbye was no fun. Saying goodbye to my host family was the hardest. I was so thankful for everything they had done for me, and they had done such a great job making me feel at home in a foreign country.

In the end, I would like to thank everybody that made this trip possible, including Mr. Berry, for going on the trip with us, Sr. Paolicchi, for helping us coordinate the trip, and the Wilson family, for allowing us all to go and have an experience of a lifetime while learning a lot of new Spanish.

Centre King: Wiesbaden, Germany

On Sunday, June 18th, I arrived at the Frankfurt airport and was greeted by the family I would get to know over the next three weeks. That very first day my host brother, Leander, took me to get doener, a favorite food of the german people. It didn't take me long to figure out how much I liked the german food, but as I experienced more I liked other things about germany and my experience even more. The next day I went to school for the first time in a month, but I enjoyed it. I quickly made lots of friends some of whom I still keep in touch with now. Of course I talked with them almost all in German. That first week of school was marked with several field trips. We went into Wiesbaden on Monday and Tuesday. The next day we went to Heidelberg, a very beautiful city marked at the top with a large castle. After that we went to Mainz, the sister city of Wiesbaden. When we were in school, we would go to german class in the morning, and join the real German students in the rest of their classes for the day. The length of the school day varied from 1:30-4.This is the view from the vineyards looking over Wiesbaden. The city was were all the german kids went when they wanted to get together, we walked through it countless times.

This city is  Heidelberg. The image on the right is of the castle I referred to earlier. We hiked through the city and up a huge hill to get the the entrance. But as you can see on the left, it was definitely worth it. It was one of if not the most beautiful German city I was able to see.
 This is one of several very beautiful churches we visited in Mainz. This one in particular was built over a thousand years ago. While in Mainz we also visited a museum.
The Next Two Weeks: Much of what my German family, friends, and I did was limited during the week due to school, but on the weekends especially we were really able to experience what it was like being a German our age. All of his friends and the MBA exchange students did countless things together from playing soccer in the park, to going to the pool or out to eat.We even celebrated fourth of July together at the German American friendship festival. However, my favorite thing we all did was going to public viewings for soccer. We were extremely fortunate to be there during the Euro soccer tournament. I had heard about the love of soccer in Europe, but did not actually realize how intense it was until I experienced it myself. I'll never forget sitting with several hundred people holding their breath for the Germany vs. Italy game which went into a very close penalty shootout. When Germany finally won, the place erupted. Actually the whole city erupted. Cars were honking their horns and people were out on the streets for the rest of the night. During these two weeks, I also did many things with just my host family.

They took me all over the country side. We went to different castles and eventually ended up at the Rhein, one of the main rivers in Germany. My host family also took me to Frankfurt for a day. The father worked there. Leander and I wandered for hours before the father came and took us up into what is one of the tallest buildings in Europe.
Travel Week: All of us said goodbye at the train station as the MBA students left with Herr Dougherty for Munich. The first night we arrived we ate at the iconic Hofbrauhaus. We were then exposed to our first Hostel. It had no air conditioning and we were all in one room, but it was so much fun.

The next day we toured several places, one of which being the BMW museum on the right. We also went the the Olympic park where the Olympics were once held. It was made to resemble the Alps. While we were there, there was a bike race, and we followed the path up to the top of a hill, where we saw a spectacular view of the whole city. Later that day and the next day we went to the English Gardens even with thousands of people sunbathing there, was still beautiful. The other exchange students and I swam in the river that runs through it. We also visited Dachau, a nazi labor camp. It was a very moving tour which exposed to us the way some people treated during the WWII era. The next day we departed to Wien.

In my opinion Vienna was the most beautiful city we visited. It was once a main city in the world and still is. I have countless pictures of buildings just like these, but I simply cannot fit them all. The first day we walked around the inner circle that surrounded the city.
The next day we toured countless museums together including where Franz Joseph lived. We ended the day going to a restaurant that served traditional Wiener Schnitzel. It was very good, but then again, almost everything that I ate in Austria and Germany was. The next day I had to leave, because I was meeting my family in London.

I would like to thank the Wilson family so much for giving me this opportunity. I made so many relationships that will stay with me as long as I live. I talk to Leander every day. My German has also improved tremendously. None of it would be possible without you.

John Whitaker: German Exchange

On June 18th, I, along with four others, left Nashville on our long-awaited exchange. After arriving in Frankfurt on an early Sunday morning, I was greeted by Til and Frau Hagendorn holding a "Willkommen, John" sign. I was asked immediately, if I wished to speak partly German or only German. I chose the latter; then, I received multiple indiscernible questions, which Til understood went over my head. Although I had been learning German for three years and found much success in the language, I hadn't learned in a German setting, that slightly increased the intensity and reality of each confrontation. Instead of a light-hearted conversation in another language, my German vanity suddenly became tested by the mundane interactions between my expectations and myself. After absorbing the Germans rays and reviewing verbs, Til took me to Eltville and the gardens, there. It was like a European Cheekwood set against rolling hills of vineyards beside the Rhein. It was an enjoyable way to get acclimated to Germany.

That Monday was my first normal school day. Except for several days, I would follow the same schedule for the following three weeks. I woke up around 7 am, eat a light breakfast of Muesli or cold cuts, and rode to school with Til and his neighbor. At school for three periods to start the day, we had German, which helped to readjust to the language everyday. Then, I would shadow Til in any other class similar to ones at MBA. In the middle of the day we had lunch followed by more classes. They don't have organized athletics after school, so we would have PE once a week. Til, however, remained very active, so we went to the gym or played soccer a lot afterwards.

We went to Heidelberg that Wednesday and saw the castle, there overlooking the city.

The next day we went to Mainz and saw the Gutenberg Museum, where the original printing press is, and we saw the Mainzer Dom, a huge cathedral built in the Dark Ages.

On the first Saturday, Til took me to Frankfurt. We walked around the city and saw the remains of the traditional area being encroached by the new commercialism and business capital of Germany.

The next Wednesday, Til and I were back with his art class to see the art museum. There were works by Picasso and Rembrandt as well as a Warhol piece of Goethe, the Frankfurter philosopher and poet.

The next two weeks were unique. I don't know, if I'll be able to live with students like me and converse with them ever again. I forged great friendships and still keep in touch. I miss the students and the Hagendorn family. Even though they're thousands of miles away and live in a separated culture, we share the same understanding of each other's differences and appreciate them. Through this common bond, I've realized we're not all too different. In these same moments, I've learned more about myself and what it means to be American as well as German.

After Wiesbaden, our next adventure began in Munich. We saw the BMW Museum, Olympic Park, English Garden, and Dachau. Dachau was trip in itself into the horror of the concentration camps and Nazi Germany. To consider that this happened only 70 years ago is chilling yet preposterous. What happened to the Jews was literal hell. However, the Germany now is another universe compared to their recent past. This dark history has likely given their country nightmares, which they're still quietly trying to forget. The growing youth and death of the wartime generation has helped them stray from this cursed image, though. Witnessing the current Germany made me to realize, that it's a misunderstood place.

BMW World

Munich Olympic Park

Isar River

Dochau

Jewish Memorial

We arrived in Vienna by train on July 12th. For the next couple of days we saw many of the churches, government buildings, and monuments in Vienna. We visited the Parliament building, Prater fairgrounds, Danube River, and a park to play soccer all in one day, before eating traditional Wiener Schnitzel. We saw the Schönbrunn castle, where Franz Josef lived. We climbed up the Stefansdom tower, once the largest building in Vienna and went to the famous Leopold art museum. Vienna was a very regal city. There were countless museums and historical buildings, for they have been a center of cultural importance for centuries.

1st Article of the Rights of the People

Vienna

Schönbrunn

I want to thank Mr. Paolicchi for organizing our exchange. I'm also grateful for Herr Dougherty. For three years now, he's continued to teach me about the German language and culture, while furthering my passion and aptitude for it. However, if it were not for the Wilson family, I wouldn't have had the opportunity for such an experience. I'll carry this memory and gratitude forever.