I have had several special experiences in Costa Rica thus far, but I would like to talk about my volunteer experience in San Gabriel, a small rural community in the southern part of the country. I stayed with a host family for three days and grew very close to my two younger host sisters during my time there.
Coming to Costa Rica to study for the semester was something completely new for me, as it would be for most of us. The thing that has impacted me the most since I have been here is the volunteer program I am a part of. For one weekend each month, I have had the opportunity to go to different rural communities to volunteer my time.
I’m a first-year here at Nebraska Wesleyan University. When I first started here, I thought that I wouldn’t get involved with activities for at least the first semester so that I could learn to manage my time and ease into college without too many commitments.
When my friend told me I owed him thirty-six crowns for my half of the case of pop we had just bought, it didn’t seem right. Granted, it’s always difficult to convert Swedish crowns to U.S. dollars in your head, but once I divided the total price by two, and then dived that by two, and then multiplied it by one point five, and then accounted for the falling Euro while keeping in mind the rising dollar, and then doubled it by the square root of pi to the seventh power, it still seemed like too much.
For many, being far from home can be difficult, but how about being in another country? Imanol Ibarrola is an international student at NWU. Coming to NWU this semester from Spain, he plans to finish his elementary education degree in May. One of his favorite things to do here is to meet people in the cafeteria and have a conversation after lunch or dinner.
Do you know where that pop-tart or bowl of cereal you had for breakfast came from? Many would say it simply came from the Kelloggs manufacturing plant, but to look to the basics of what we eat tells a very different story. The importance of agriculture and the ag community are often overlooked, even in a state like Nebraska where as close to 98% of every worker has ties to agriculture-making it an integral part of the Midwestern economy.
When you wake up in the morning and you want to look cute, do you stress about getting your jewelry to match your attractive attire? As we all know, it can be very frustrating to find affordable jewelry that can go with any outfit. Ashleigh Casement had this problem at one point in her life, but she has discovered a creative solution that benefits her and others.
Before my arrival in Pamplona, I had learned my share about Spanish culture. Beginning in my 8th Grade “Intro to Spanish” class, we learned about the historic bullfights, the ancient conflict between the Spanish and the Moors and the daily afternoon nap known as the siesta.
She sits, minimal movement, hunched over, a cord creating a trail leading up to where her gaze is lifted toward the television. This picture may seem unremarkable, and it became so when I lived with Sara Suganuma. But watching her now that I am not so privileged as to share quarters with her, I recognize the familiar identity of this Nebraska Wesleyan University student.
I recall over a month and a half ago when I was “completely ready” to go to a foreign country to study abroad. Laughably, I was sorely mistaken. When I first arrived in Granada Spain, I could not have been more of a guiri (foreigner). I stuck out like a 6’5 red-haired man in Japan.
It’s hard for me to believe I have been on a different continent for nearly a month and a half. To say I was ready to travel, had any idea of what to expect or really knew what I was doing would be a series of complete falsehoods. I had hardly traveled around American cities on my own, so this directionally challenged individual was terrified half to death at the thought of navigating various international airports and learning public transportation systems.
It soon becomes evident that many cultural values of the United States differ from those of Sweden. When I logged onto the computers in the library of my new university in Sweden for the first time, I was taken aback by the agreement I was required to accept.
During admissions, colleges and universities tout their connections, and the benefits those contacts reap for enrolled students. For two Nebraska Wesleyan University students, an internship offered exclusively at NWU provided exactly that. Award-winning author Brenda Bence selected Senior Kelsey Steinmeyer and Junior Maggie Stanton for an opportunity that would provide them not only with valuable work experience, but would take them more than 8,500 miles from Lincoln.
How many times have ordinary citizens complained that they have no say on the affairs of the government? Or that Washington seems so aloof and elitist that the common man has no chance of acceptance or understanding among the ivory pillars and storied history of the nation’s capital and the esoteric traditions that permeate its government? That idea no longer holds true for NWU students, who, for eight years, have had the chance to go to Washington D.
Elizabeth Ogg: What are some of the service trips that you have been on with Global Service Learning? Meera Bhardwaj: I’ve done a lot of local service and I went to Malawi. [When we serve people] we try not to impose our own ideals. The community tells us what they need us to do for them.
Lesley Dudden, a junior at Nebraska Wesleyan University, is spending her fall semester in a place where few Americans study abroad: Turkey. Dudden applied and was accepted into the Critical Language Scholarship Program, a scholarship funded by the United States Department of State for undergraduates to study rarely-taught, but important foreign languages.
We think international sabbatical is like a study abroad experience for professors. Just like student study abroad, the international sabbatical gives professors an opportunity to see new things, see old things in a new light, meet new people and explore new opportunities, all with the goal of returning to campus with fresh ideas and renewed energy that will benefit the entire university community.
Brianna's Tale
In a strange turn of events, four Nebraska Wesleyan University students traveling abroad this fall semester all landed in the same city-- Montevideo, Uruguay. Now, Nate Leonard, Zac Woodward, Kelly Gowen and Brianna Christoffersen all share some of the experiences
they’ve encountered while trying to acclimate themselves to a new culture.
Nate's Experience
In a strange turn of events, four Nebraska Wesleyan University students traveling abroad this fall semester all landed in the same city-- Montevideo, Uruguay. Now, Nate Leonard, Zac Woodward, Kelly Gowen and Brianna Christoffersen all share some of the experiences
they’ve encountered while trying to acclimate themselves to a new culture.
Zac's Story
In a strange turn of events, four Nebraska Wesleyan University students traveling abroad this fall semester all landed in the same city-- Montevideo, Uruguay. Now, Nate Leonard, Zac Woodward, Kelly Gowen and Brianna Christoffersen all share some of the experiences
they’ve encountered while trying to acclimate themselves to a new culture.
Kelly's Time Abroad
I have less than two months left and I am more afraid than when my plane landed in Uruguay. I feel I am running out of time. I came to Uruguay with the expectation that I would leave speaking Spanish fluently. I spent my first two months here afraid of the looks and snickers I would receive when I spoke with my notable and apparently very “Nebraskan,” accent.
“Didn’t you graduate?” Lauren Williams did indeed graduate from Nebraska Wesleyan University in May 2009, with a Bachelor’s degree in Music and a minor in Journalism. Yet those who have seen her on campus this fall are not delusional – Williams has traded in her role as a student for one as an AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America coordinator) and can be found working in Service Learning at NWU.
Two recent additions to the English department were made this year in the forms of Dr. Brad Tice and Mr. Ben Gotschall. While Tice’s area of focus is creative writing, Gotchall’s emphasis is poetry. For Dr. Tice, this is his first encounter with Nebraska Wesleyan University, but Gotschall is already well acquainted with the university, having graduated from NWU in 2003.
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