Welcome again. I'm so excited to have you all on board. I'm hoping we can use this blog in the next few months both to handle some of logistics we'll have to handle as well as to get to know each other a little bit before we meet in Budapest. I welcome you all to make posts about whatever you want-to solicit packing advice, to coordinate travel plans for after the program, to share strategies for how to quell your parents anxieties. If we find we enjoy this blog, we might even continue using it throughout the summer to keep each other and our families up to date on our abroad experiences.
To break this blog in, here's what I think we should do. Rather than introduce ourselves on the blog, lets introduce each other. I have paired you all off with another C/R volunteer. In the next week or so, set up a time to chat with your partner. After your chat, you can each write a post introducing that person. Here's what you'll want to investigate.
- The basics-Name, school, major, hometown, etc.
- Why did you partner decide to do this program?
- What is your partner most excited about and worried about with regards to the program?
- Of the village-stay, camp, and youth center options, how would your partner prefer to spend each session? (I will be using your answers here to place you. Know that we won't be able to meet everyone's wishes.)
I acknowledge that this activity is a bit childish and corny in design, but I see it as a useful way of doing introductions. Just be appreciative that I'm not including any "If you could have dinner with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?" questions. I will email you all your pairings now. Stay excited!
9 comments:
Hey all,
So, I just chatted with Vanessa. She's originally from Providence, RI. She goes to NYU and is equally as frustrated as I am about the weather in NYC. She's a freshman and, naturally, is not sure what to major in, but she's considering English and is interested in Psychology. She's getting involved with LE in part to explore education and teaching. Vanessa is excited to travel out of the country, and she is especially excited to be on the other side of the teacher/student relationship. She's looking forward to getting creative about her lessons plans, but she is also nervous about her untested teaching abilities. Vanessa hopes that she can be in the village homestay setting this summer. Having limited travel experience, she is craving a rich and immersive cultural experience, and she thinks that the family household situation would suit her best.
Vanessa seems pretty chill. If I can get my act together we will probably meet up in New York and she can tell me what I got wrong about her.
-Amanda
I think you all should know, first and foremost, that Amanda plays the piano and the ukulele in a band. This fact alone made my rainy day.
Amanda is from the Manchester area of New Hampshire and she attends Barnard College in NYC. You can find her under the "highlights" section on the Barnard website (she didn't tell me this but I was trying to figure out if Barnard was technically a college or university and found her). She is currently a junior majoring in English and Education.
Amanda wanted a deep, cultural experience as well this summer, and after researching a variety of programs like LE, she decided LE's Croatia/Romania program fit for her. She grew up in an area where many refuges from the Eastern European region came to live after the Cold War, and has always held a interest in Eastern European culture from the daily interactions in her hometown.
Amanda is excited about traveling to Croatia/Romania and the whole experience of the program as well. The thing that most worries her is forming a lesson plan and maybe buying the best plane ticket.
She is most interested in splitting her time between a village stay and camp counselor work. She hopes to get the most diversity of experiences and viewpoints possible. She would like to get to know people her own age from Romania/Croatia as well, and be able to trade experiences with them.
In conclusion, Amanda is a pretty amazing person and hopefully we will be plane-buddies.
Hi Everyone,
I was able to have a chat with Lily who is originally from Massachusetts. She is currently finishing sophomore year (which I have reliably been informed from wikipedia is second year) at Northwestern University in Chicago, here she is studying social policy
Lily was attracted to the LE programme as she did not only want to travel Europe but is looking for the opportunity to become immersed in the culture. This is building on her already pretty extensive travelling including previously visiting England. Additionally this programme builds on her previous teaching experience. Following the programme this summer Lily also hopes to have the opportunity to visit several other countries throughout Europe.
A further reason Lily is looking forward to this summer is the opportunities for new experiences and adventures while importantly being able to meet new people. With her only slight reservations being the language barrier and adapting fully into village life. However she hopes to overcome any such worries by spending half her time at the Croatian camp where she especially looks forward to meeting Croatian camp workers of similar age and then finally spend the remaining weeks within a Romanian village.
Finally Lily is one of the most privileged people on this planet as on her previous globetrotting she really randomly was able to visit my hometown Chesterfield!! (A.K.A Ches-vegas). Overall she seems perfectly suited for this summer experience and needn't worry about language barriers, if during her brief visit she was able to understand anybody with a Chesterfield accent!
Christian is originally from Chesterfield, England and is currently studying in his third year at Leeds University. He is studying geography and management and is currently doing a placement (aka an internship).
Christian decided to apply to the LE program because he wants to learn more about eastern Europe and wanted a new experience. As eastern Europe doesn't typically fall into a normal tourist route, Christian wants to explore an area he probably wouldn't see otherwise. This trip will also build upon previous teaching experience and he has led various lower school excursions.
Christian is most excited about seeing new countries and meeting both people in the LE program and in the villages. However, while he is excited about the village stay, he is also nervous about staying with a new family and the language barrier.
Christian is most interested in doing the camp in Croatia, because of being able to participate in a variety of activities, and staying in a village in either Croatia or Romania.
Everyone,
I would like to introduce Martha. Let me start by saying, Martha wrestles Moose in her spare time (no easy feat). Born in Anchorage, Alaska Martha also knows how to build a fantastic looking igloo (I actually don’t know this for a fact). Despite a strong desire to stay in the frozen north she and her family moved to San Diego, Ca where they presently reside.
Martha is currently a sophomore at Stanford pursuing a combined major in History, Literature, and the Arts as well as a minor in Italian. She’s thoroughly enjoyed the strong community and friendships formed thus far and looking forward to engaging in further community service projects in the local area.
Her second love has to be kids (the first being moose) and specifically volunteering her time in a way that benefits underprivileged children. This aspect of our summer most excites her and furthermore is looking forward to being able to utilize the European aspect to her major. Despite the excitement in meeting new people, eating new and delicious food, she is slightly worried about being out of her comfort zone, describing it as a ‘double-edged sword.’
She has a slight preference for Croatia in terms of a possible village stay and would love the opportunity to work with kids as a counselor at the summer camp. Let’s be honest, Martha is very cool.
Hello,
I am introducing Stephanie. She is currently a sophomore at Washington University (where our dearest Jon also attends). She is studying Anthropology, which I immediately thought was really cool. She is interested in international humanitarian issues and seems to want to gravitate towards something in the nonprofit sector after school. Although she is originally from New Jersey, Stephanie spent last summer in the Republic of Georgia where she got a "taste of cultural exchange". This experience spurred her desire to go abroad once again. She has always wanted to teach English abroad although she is some what hesitant because she hears it is pretty challenging (nah...) She is most excited about living with a host family because she has never done that before and she thinks there is no better way to be fully immersed in a culture. Steph would prefer to split her time between Romania and Croatia, perhaps doing her village stay in Romania and working at the day camp in Croatia. I think you should all be excited to meet Steph, she seems outgoing and fun and is going to add a great element to our group.
Hey everyone,
I got a chance to speak with Betsy this morning. I'm so excited she's part of our group and can't wait for all of us to meet!
Betsy is originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan. She graduated from Aquinas College, a small liberal arts college also in Michigan, last May with a double major in Communications and Spanish. Since then, she has done some really awesome work teaching ESL to migrant workers from Mexico and coordinating a nonprofit program taking inner-city children on snowboarding retreats!
Betsy decided to join LE because she loves working with kids and also wanted to have a different cultural experience by venturing abroad in Eastern Europe. From her past work teaching english, she knows it is a very fun and unique experience! I am very glad to hear this! While Betsy is especially excited to experience a new culture and meet new people through LE, she is worried about the finances for the trip - such as the flight prices. She would most like to do a village stay in Croatia as well as work at the Sunny Village Camp.
Now, having saved the best for last, it is my pleasure to offer a window into the life of Brian...
Originally raised outside of Chicago, Brian left Illinois for Calvin College in Michigan. As a psych major (who doesn’t want to be a psychologist), we bonded over the un-marketability of our majors. Well, that is until I found out he also is a premed and a business minor. Brian will be graduating this spring. With the real world looming, Brian plans on being a chiropractor, which has been a dream of his ever since intense involvement in athletics introduced him to sports medicine in high school.
Brian had been looking into abroad programs for after graduation but most of them were missions or had a program fee. Ideally, he wanted a chance to work with both kids and adults in an intimate setting in a place he had never been before. After countless hours of researching, he stumbled across LE which was a perfect match.
Although Brian is looking forward to the challenge is a little worried about being isolated, so far out of his comfort zone, without a support system. Besides those fears, he is most excited for the new foods, markets, clothes, cities--basically everything that encapsulates these different cultures.
As for logistics Brian would like to do the village stay, but has no preference where (he’s flexible like that). Also he’d like to spend one session in the camp or youth center.
If you haven't already noticed by his wit and creative license, Brian is a pretty awesome guy.
Post a Comment