Notes from Abroad

Students studying abroad through the Padnos International Center blog about their experiences for the Grand Valley Lanthorn.

First impressions of Taipei 0 comments | FEB 6

We have been in Taipei, Taiwan for a little over two weeks now. Living here is completely different from my life back home with my husband. It is all very strange and exciting too.

The proposal 0 comments | JAN 29

Aunt Mary was a large woman. She was the biggest Ghanaian I had seen and truly dwarfed the sewing machine that she sat behind. I approached and greeted her and the other women with my best Fante (the local dialect): “Memoachee.”

Beyond a hop, a skip, and a jump: American suburb to Moroccan Medina 0 comments | JAN 23

My guess is, once I’m a few days or weeks into the swing of things over there, something will click and I will drop my spoonful of couscous and mouth the words: “Holy God. I’m in Morocco.”

Stonehenge overrun by tourists, but worth the wait 0 comments | JAN 16

When I had first decided to go to England, seeing Stonehenge was
the first thing I put on my list of things to see. Some want to see where Kate Middleton
went shopping or Emma Watson lived but me – I wanted to see thousands of years of
history, no matter how unsure of it people were.

Preparing to be second-home sick 0 comments | DEC 4

It has now been just a few short months since I left the States, and my impending return to the Mid-West is beginning to hit home. In just a matter of weeks, it has been amazing to see the niche you can carve for yourself in a community. Though Sevilla boasts a population of around 1 million, I see familiar faces on my morning walk to school each day, the cashiers at our local SuperSol supermarket know me by name, and I’ve developed strong preferences regarding which Spanish TV shows I will sit through or not. (“Frank de la Jungla,”, essentially the Spanish crocodile hunter- Awesome. “Barco,” more or less a rip-off of “Lost,” but takes place on a boat- Even worse than “Lost.”) Heading for Spain in September, I at least knew I would eventually see my “niche” in Michigan again. Now, saying goodbye to Sevilla will certainly leave a bittersweet taste

Spending lots of money on ice cream and talking to the president 0 comments | NOV 7

I’ve been living in Oslo for a few months now and I have gotten to

Big Ben never took a bad photo 0 comments | NOV 2

We have seen London in the movies, read about it in the books, and know that all the cute sexy men with accents come from there, but seeing it in person is completely different. The smells, the atmosphere, the tastes… it’s not something that can be easily explained. One thing I know for sure: Everything is NOT within walking distance!

The Danube at night 0 comments | OCT 12

I have long since decided that the most beautiful part of this city is the area adjacent to the river. In fact, I have lived here four weeks now and made this decision on approximately day three, and it has stood quite firm. There is a huge relief in stepping out of the dingy, concrete streets between densely packed four-story buildings and into the open air of the river, with space to breathe and beautiful architecture lining the banks. The rest of the city has its sights — the Opera House, the railway stations — but this is where the postcard photos are made.