Chelsea Cowley
Communication 301 Blog about Corsica
Title: “Hurry up to Wait”
This past week in Corsica was filled with mixed emotions ranging from cascading tears to contagious laughter involving each possible emotion in between. It all started at four o’clock in the morning on Tuesday, October 13, 2009. As my clock ticked slowly while I should have been sleeping, but was not, thoughts raced through my head about my expectations for the upcoming week. Unsure of what to expect, I knew that struggling would be involved. After I found out that I was not in the same hotel, group, or bus as my ALL of my friends, a sense of panic, confusion, and frustration came over me. I knew that communication would not be simple as we do not have cell phones and 50 cents per text message is expensive. After ‘googling’ the distance between our hotels, I soon realized that I either had to walk fairly long distances multiple times a day while complaining or I had to think positively and make the best of the situation. In my mind-I had two options. I could be upset and pessimistic all week long or, I could be positive and enjoy the amazing experience that was ahead.
Upon arriving in Corsica, exhausted from traveling for 24 hours via boat and bus, my mood quickly deteriorated. My ‘think positive’ outlook on life soon disappeared and the week seemingly took a turn for the worst. Pepperdine’s new mission statement: “Hurry up to wait” quickly became the theme of the week. While I realize that traveling with 70 rowdy American students is challenging to say the least, I feel that the majority of my week was spent waiting. Waiting can be defined anywhere from waiting for transportation, standing in the cold in the mountains of Corsica for no apparent reason, aimlessly wandering around museums to learn nothing, staring at the headrests on buses for hours upon hours, inhaling breakfast in a shocking amount of time to stand in the lobby, checking out of our hotels to stand in the rain for hours with no place to go, arriving at the airport four hours early with no dinner and no food options, and the list can go on and on. I may appear to be extremely negative; however, I feel that an unnecessary amount of time was wasted in Corsica waiting for people, buses, and instructions. The time we spent standing around could have been used to explore and to truly ‘educate’ ourselves about the Corsican culture and way of life. While hurrying up to wait copious times per day, I also did not see my friends more than five times the whole week to due the constant separation and the constant herding of college students. The entire week felt as though we were cattle being herded around from location to location with zero sleep, food, and water. I personally believe that I am able to keep track of myself, to be on time, and can be trusted to not run away in the streets of Corsica. In theory, the idea of keeping track of the students is a great idea but could have been accomplished in a much more fair, and efficient way.
However, despite my frustration about this past week, I definitely enjoyed myself and felt extremely blessed to be surrounded by such magnificent beauty and history. In tough times, I truly believe that suffering makes people more gracious and thankful. This week may have been challenging both physically and emotionally, but I was miraculously able to see the good in this week and appreciate the life that God has given me.
Perhaps I am guilty of using the cognitive dissonance theory to convince myself that I had a phenomenal time in Corsica because it would not make sense if I said I was miserable, angry and grumpy the whole time. Mentally, I would feel terrible for not enjoying myself while in Corsica because it truly was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will never forget. Regardless of the positive and negatives emotions that I experienced this past week, I am so thankful for the place I am at in my life and that I have opportunities that most people in the world would never even dream of having. Even if I continue for the rest of the year to ‘hurry up and wait’ I will count my blessings and appreciate my experiences.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Woooo Corsica
I’ll begin by saying I had a great time in Corsica. I got to experience a lot of great things, get to know more great people, and travel somewhere I will probably never get to see again in my life. Having said that, this is where the greatness begins:
I went into this trip having the mindset that this was going to be an amazing trip. I also knew that I had to make it an amazing trip because my Comm group and I were documenting it for our final presentation. This is where the ‘woo Corsica’ comes in, our theme for the week. We had to always be excited about the trip in order to get incoming Lausanne students learning about EFTs excited about their future year abroad. I don’t think I have ever been so annoyed by a phrase in my life and I am so sorry to all of you who had to listen to my group say it 20 times a day. So maybe my positive mood was a little forced, but it turns out forcing positivity made everything we did worthwhile. Don’t get me wrong, there were some rough spots. I woke up at 4:00AM on Tuesday morning not in the ‘woo Corsica’ mood. It was cold, I was tired, and I am not a morning person. But I soon cheered up when I realized that I would be on an island in the Mediterranean. Although my roommate and I were late to get on the bus (no surprise here) I happily sat down, ready to embark on the journey ahead. Six hours of no sleep later, we arrived in the windy city of Avignon. I ate the best Pepperdine meal ever, and took the most informative tour out of our entire EFT about the Pope’s palace. We then traveled to Marseille to board the ferry that took us to Corsica.
Highlight #1: the musical gypsies; probably the most interesting group of people I have seen abroad so far. We watched and danced as this seemingly random group of people played their instruments together, making up tunes and feeding off of each other as they played. Because of our Comm project, I got some great video of their performance, which they noticed. It turns out that it was two street bands playing together from Belgium and France who were traveling to Corsica to play at a boat show. They were very excited to give me their card so I could post the video on Youtube. Woo Corsica Wooo
Now back to the EFT. The entire trip was packed with sightseeing. The only part I can say that I truly did not like was the museum in Corte. I have no idea what was said or went on during that time period. Everything else was unreal. Yes, it was cold in the mountains in Corte, and sure the boat ride to the “city with only 18 people?” was a tad bumpy, but when are you ever going to get the chance see those places again. My memory will forever be engrained with the blueness of the water and breathtaking views from the mountains.
Highlight #2: Asia shots with an authentic Corsican. We went to Restaurant Asia on Friday night where we met this little old Corsican man. He quickly became our new friend and gave us a Corsican desert after our dinner and a free round of shots from his homemade stash of liquor. Sounds kind of suspicious but it was definitely a woo Corsica moment. That night gave me a little taste of what Corsican culture truly is.
Sadly the last day of our trip came where we headed to the airport and back to a much colder Lausanne (along with wifi in La Croisee).
Highlight #3: Bonding. I felt like I got to know a lot more people in the house. There were many of those in depth life conversations that everyone loves to have.
This week was basically a week off of school to enjoy and explore a new culture with your friends. Although titled an Education Field Trip, there was not too much educating that went on… Which I am sure everyone is happy about. I am very happy to have gotten the opportunity to go there. Like I said before, Corsica was a great time.
It all started with free time...
Before Corsica I was feeling pretty good about my progressing abilities to communicate with others despite the language barrier. However, one night I was once again humbled by my complete lack or French comprehension skills under pressure. You see, it all started with free time.
It was our first free night to grab dinner and entertain ourselves without a tour guide or an organized dinner so everyone was very excited.“Finally,” we thought, “the sweet taste of independence.” And just like those baby birds my friends and I eagerly leaped from the nest to spread our wings and fly free to experience all of our imaginations’ most exciting possibilities for a night out in Corsica.
Well after we exhausted out Panini option we were basically out of ideas so we wondered along the dock hoping to run into people who had better baby bird dreams than we did. Luckily we stumbled upon a group of Pepperdine students who seemed to be having a grand old time. My friends and I joined them and soon realized we had arrived just in time to watch two either very brave, very stupid, or very desperate for Euros, boys about to swim in their boxers to a buoy and back in the freezing cold Mediterranean ocean. As the boys dived in the growing Pepperdine crowd cheered and hollered loudly. It was then I noticed a disgruntled native in his boat to my right who was trying to get our attention. The crowd was too involved to notice and even as I tried to tell my neighbor discretely of my concern, my comments were lost by the excitement of the race. The man in his boat became so enraged that he approached us and because I was closest to him I met him and prepared myself for negotiations.
“LOUD, RAPID, UNINTELIGIBLE FRENCH” he yelled at me and all my French vocabulary flew out of my ears. “mumbles that I hope resemble innocence and understandable confusion” I say pathetically when he takes a breath so he can continue his, “EVEN LOUDER PROBIBLY PROFANE NEVERENDING VIOLENT GIBERISH!” As I struggled to remember the very basic words that usually help me in these kinds of situations- like “hello” or “I’m sorry” the man’s anger just continued to escalate until I was simply standing there letting him yell loudly at me with no way to help myself, my friends, or this man calm down. “JE COMPREND? JE COMPREND?!!?” the man kept asking me “si. I mean. Oui. Je comprend.” I say as assertively as I can back at him because im very sure the telephone motion he keeps making with his hand and the “policia” word means get the heck out of here I’v called the cops. So I finally remember how to say sorry as I turn to let the man continue to yell at me as I get everyone to leave.
Looking back it is not this man that frustrated me, it’s the fact that I have always prided myself as being someone who can resolve interpersonal conflicts, solve group dynamic problems, or even just put my emotions aside and understand someone better through their moments of anger and ugliness to others. I was so frustrated with myself because I always believed in Symbolic Interactionism where the words themselves are not what matters that it is the meaning we all agree to assign to words that matter. But if you do not know the words you cannot participate in the coordination of their meaning so we were both completely powerless to barter over how our interaction would play out. His words had no power except to frustrate me but that probably was not his only intention, and mine had no power because he did not know mine either. Although I knew this man was upset at us I have no idea why he was upset or even why he was so upset. I still do not think all the answers lie in the words themselves however as someone who has always used words like a puzzle to uncover what people are saying behind their words, it was disheartening to realize how far away I am from uncovered the truth about so many people. There are so many languages I do not speak and more then just not being able to have a conversation with them I will never know why they say the things they say, and therefore never know them at all.
4 AM.......Really?
I have delayed writing anything for this entry until the very last second. You may assume this was done merely out of procrastination, which, I admit, would not be too uncharacteristic of me. However, the real reason is because I simply struggled over what I could say. Then I found myself feeling guilty, because I was forced to admit that I considered the week to be simply mediocre or even inconvenient. When asked “what did you get out of Corsica?” My response would be the automated “Well, Napoleon was a fraud and everyone hates him.” I was sorely pessimistic before we even left. When Monday came around, I was scrambling to unpack from my previous trip. Moreover I realized I had procrastinated on doing laundry, which resulted in a great struggle to get it washed and dried before we left. This lasted until circa 1:00 in the morning. And, as any resident of La Croisee knows, actually ending up with dry clothes is always a tremendous challenge. So I crammed some damp clothes into my suitcase and settled down for a grand total of two and half hours of sleep. The morning, not surprisingly, was not so good. Granted, I am usually not the happiest person before I have access to coffee. However I had several negative thoughts running through my head, including our looming humanities paper, the timing of this trip is not the greatest, I wish I could be going somewhere I hadn’t already been, and I am so very bitter that I am even awake right now. Although this state of distress continued into our trip, it was eventually improved. It is funny, now that I think back, that every time I tried to be productive my plans were somehow frustrated. Firstly, the internet connection in our room was not ideal and thus took about 20 minutes to load each page. I accomplished basically nothing before my computer died on me. So I thought I’d plug in my charger. Bad move. Next thing I know, I’m sitting in the dark. I had heard rumors concerning the infamous reputation of the European electric system, and this was my first encounter of which they were proven true. And unfortunately, the receptionist spoke minimal English. When I tried to explain that there was no electricity due to a blown fuse, she simply thought I was a stupid American that didn’t know I was supposed to use my room key to access the lights. By the time I was able to ask Mary to translate for me, it was time to leave on another one of our group outings.
After that dramatic experience, I basically decided not to stress about school work anymore. As the week went on, my attitude improved quite a lot. I think we can all agree that the “educational” aspect of the EFT was pretty marginal. It really was more of a vacation. And even the museum visits, tours, boat ride, etc., I viewed more as a time to just be in community with each other. Let’s be honest, the Corsica Museum was probably the most monotonous thing we have experienced since our arrival in Europe. But we really did bond together by all being so incredibly bored together [excuse my sounding cliché]. We joked about the experience. We laughed at the ridiculous KKK costumes. And even though I have been living with the same people for the last few months, it was in times such as these that I got to know other students in the Lausanne program even better than before.
So no, nothing spectacular happened to me on this trip. Neither did anything incredibly dramatic take place [the blown fuse catastrophe wasn’t really so bad]. It was, as I said before, simply mediocre. But I believe that at the time, this was exactly what I needed - to just stop, relax, experience life with the people around me - be it in boring museum tours, lounging on the beach, eating dinner, or attempting not to get seasick while being tossed around on a three and a half hour boat ride. I also found time on the trip to stop and read my Bible, which had been previously disregarded for quite awhile. Moreover, I think this reflection of the trip has served as an important lesson to me. My life is exceedingly blessed. I’m well aware of this, and yet I so often get caught up in my own worry and forget to be grateful. So in inclusion, this is what I have taken away from our trip to Corsica – always remember to stop and thank God for the incredible things he does every does for us every single day.
After that dramatic experience, I basically decided not to stress about school work anymore. As the week went on, my attitude improved quite a lot. I think we can all agree that the “educational” aspect of the EFT was pretty marginal. It really was more of a vacation. And even the museum visits, tours, boat ride, etc., I viewed more as a time to just be in community with each other. Let’s be honest, the Corsica Museum was probably the most monotonous thing we have experienced since our arrival in Europe. But we really did bond together by all being so incredibly bored together [excuse my sounding cliché]. We joked about the experience. We laughed at the ridiculous KKK costumes. And even though I have been living with the same people for the last few months, it was in times such as these that I got to know other students in the Lausanne program even better than before.
So no, nothing spectacular happened to me on this trip. Neither did anything incredibly dramatic take place [the blown fuse catastrophe wasn’t really so bad]. It was, as I said before, simply mediocre. But I believe that at the time, this was exactly what I needed - to just stop, relax, experience life with the people around me - be it in boring museum tours, lounging on the beach, eating dinner, or attempting not to get seasick while being tossed around on a three and a half hour boat ride. I also found time on the trip to stop and read my Bible, which had been previously disregarded for quite awhile. Moreover, I think this reflection of the trip has served as an important lesson to me. My life is exceedingly blessed. I’m well aware of this, and yet I so often get caught up in my own worry and forget to be grateful. So in inclusion, this is what I have taken away from our trip to Corsica – always remember to stop and thank God for the incredible things he does every does for us every single day.
Party in Corsica!
Being back in freezing temperature in Switzerland, I can’t help but reflect back on the beautiful island of Corsica where the weather was warm and sunny. My favorite part of the trip was being able to swim in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time in my life. Having been raised on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, this is not an experience any of my friends can say they have had. I will never forget the color of the water or the refreshing feel of it. I have grown up with the beach my whole life and can honestly say that the Corsican beaches are magnificent! Being at the beach and basking in the sun was definitely the highlight of my trip. While majority of the people on this trip choose to complain about it, I am extremely thankful for having the experience to visit an island that not many people can say they have visited. I don’t think the WHOLE focus of the trip was dedicated to “scheduled’” education, which I happen to be extremely thankful for. What do you guys want… a couple more museums squeezed into each day? I highly doubt that. Part of the whole “educational field trip” is experiencing a new culture and environment on your own, which Pepperdine allocated plenty of time to do so.
The last night out, a group of us ate at a restaurant called Asia Restaurant. We were the only people in the restaurant being served by two Asian men. The owner was extremely friendly and helpful to point out what was good on the menu and what to order for dessert. For dessert, he put together a diverse dish of fried fruit and poured rum on top so that when he put a match to it a huge flame began to heat the special dish. We all watched in awe and excitement. We made conversation about his t-shirt, which happened to be an Elvis shirt. He told us his story of when he visited the states and met Elvis himself. He even had a picture of him and Elvis behind the counter! To top it off, he came out with a round of shots with his ‘special homemade’ liquor (on the house). When he poured the liquor in each of our shots he told us to look in each of our shot glasses. Surprisingly, we each found a nude man or woman in the shot glass that could only be seen when liquid was in the shot glass. Crazy right?! We all burst into laughter and immature “oh my god!” Made a cheer to our awesome trip in Corsica and drank the surprisingly smooth and tasty shot. He then gave us another round and we cheered to him. That right there was just one example of the Corsican hospitality and friendliness that I experienced while there. The people I met in Corsica were much more welcoming than the people I have encountered in Switzerland.
As for the whole Napolean education, the next time he is randomly put in a conversation I now can respond, “I bet you didn’t know he’s also disliked by the French?!” This is something I would have never known unless having gone to Corsica! I know that I can travel to well known and popular cities for the rest of my life quite easily. But, if it weren’t for Pepperdine University’s educational field trip to Corsica, I know I would have never experienced Corsican culture. Traveling to a place that is not commonly known and experiencing that culture is the most enriching experience someone could possible ask for.
Corsica Reflection: A Time for Delightful Bonding
Call it optimism, call it being oblivious, call it whatever you want but I found the Corsican field trip to be delightful. I’ll be honest, there were some bumps a long the way, but overall I enjoyed myself and saw past the immediate issues. There were several pointless times of wondering and many gruesome bus rides, but I found that with the right attitude and mindset these forced, meaningless tasks were actually pleasant.
The four am wake up call for the million-hour bus ride was initially a pain. I thought it to be near impossible to find a perky person at that ungodly hour of the morning, but low and behold I stand corrected. I came to the conclusion that it is at that hour of the morning that you truly see people’s personalities. While many were sitting, rather, moping, in corners I found many companions who were wholeheartedly excited to be awake. These people were easy to spot because they were not standing next to the coffee machine with pained looks upon their faces, but rather bopping around offering people food and acting as chatty as if it were a sorority social. I believe that it was fate for me to come into contact with these abnormal humans, because they instantly shifted my attitude from grumpy to grateful. The lesson I learned from the four am wakeup call: be grateful for the experience that you are about to have, and stop being a cranky spoiled baby.
Another painful experience turned lesson was the daylong bus ride from the faraway mountains to the even farther away seas. Now the thought of having to sit on a bus for over seven hours is enough to make my stomach churn and a sever case of ADD kick in, but after having slept for a substantial portion of it I found the company to be quite enjoyable. This bus ride was quality time maximized and I, personally, learned yet again to appreciate people, and good attitudes. Whether it was from the constant singing of Miley Cyrus or people screaming random ‘meows’ in order to get a laugh out of the crowd, it was actually fun to be locked away with my peers. I appreciate the fact that Simon Baker and Dylan Throwaldson feel so at ease in the current company that they can lie down in the aisle of the bus, sleep, and maybe even drool a little bit without having a nervous complex about it. The bus ride taught me good humor and to appreciate the time given with people because there is always the chance that you will never get the opportunity to befriend someone again.
Though there were many instances that involved waiting around for nothing, the most prevalent experience that comes to my mind was the tour of the random college city in the mountains. Now I am still unsure as to where we went, why we went, and why no one deemed it important to inform the student body that we would be entering into the arctic and hiking through tundra, but as always one must look beyond the sub-zero weather and find joy. So, I found joy. For me it was found in the group bonding activity of petting the colossal white polar bear dogs. I do not think that I have seen the students of Lausanne more excited about anything since I have been here, and it was pleasant to experience. The majority of the students greatly miss their own pets and being that you do not see miniature snowy bison leashed to the side of a Corsican wall very often, I can firmly say that everyone was very excited. So, what did I learn from petting the rare breed of mountain dog? I learned that I, in fact do have things in common with people that I have yet to learn the name of. There were at least twenty students hovering around the dogs like mosquitoes, and I can say with assurance that there was a group sense of similarity. At that moment everyone had something in common, and all it took was the discovery of the abominable snowman for it to be recognized.
The lessons I learned on this trip are somewhat comparable to specific communication theories, but not fully. Social Penetration theory is the first example that comes to mind simply because it discusses the progression of friendship and relationships in general from the surface level “hellos” to deep meaningful talks on the beach while watching the sunset. This theory obviously came into play because the entire group bonded; thusly there was a great amount of social penetration occurring. The second theory that I deemed applicable was the Relational dialects theory. This theory basically claims that good relationships are produced through good conversation. Its ideas are very similar to the themes of the Social Penetration theory and ultimately people conversed on this trip and therefore relationships were formed. Overall, the Corsican field trip was a time for bonding, discovering secrets, and the perfect place to observe how Communication theories affect daily life.
Corsica EFT Reflection
After having read about five or so blog posts it seems like I am the only one who really had any fun on this trip. It might just be that I am generally speaking pretty easy to please but I also think we have to cut the administrators some slack because planning trips for seventy college students is really hard, especially knowing some still carry wooden swords in their belts.
Our trip to Corsica met my expectations and reinforced my belief that college living allows for more honest communication through the countless hours we spend together and the space we share. As predicted, the Corsica trip balanced both the good and the bad that naturally occur when traveling. I liked the tour of Napoleon’s house and the island of Girolata but not the early morning wake up calls that accompanied them. I liked Avignon, Ajaccio and Girolata but not the neverending hours of traveling they entailed. And I loved sharing this trip with our group but not the time spent waiting for stragglers or taking head counts. One of the best experiences of the week was our free time on Girolata, during which a group of friends and myself found a path that led to the ocean. We hiked to a secluded cove facing the Mediterranean Sea and spent the hour swimming, taking in the unmatched view and relishing our secret spot. Despite the endless travel hours, “big group” travel, and morning oriented itinerary I had an amazing and eventful week. I also did not find the trip particularly educational and thought the planned events merely filled the day to get to our free time.
Our trip strengthened my belief that college allows for deeper communication simply by the fact that we spend countless hours together in confined and often awkward spaces. This is particularly true for Pepperdine international programs, given that our student population is so small and that we not only study and live together but also travel. College is a wake up call for many. On Facebook and by text message we all seem like perfect, level headed and “cool” individuals. But the college experience shows us that we are indeed human and thus flawed. We get angry, we feel insecure, fight, stress and cry. And in college, we can’t hide. There is no Facebook veneer or parents to vent to. The hours we spend together living in the same rooms, socializing, waiting for hours in airports and on boats, studying forces us to share in a way we would not given less communal circumstances. I spent about two late night hours sitting in the corridor of our ferry to Corsica sharing with friends about our lives before Pepperdine. Maybe this conversation occurred out of sheer boredom, but regardless I feel the structure of our program inherently encourages this intimate conversation. And so I find I approach communication in college much more honestly and without any tension. I have discussed political differences, religious views, deep personal problems and created inside jokes, all while waiting for the next flight or boat ride or even an afternoon on the beach.
I think I'll just stay in and read the Bible tonight. . .
Well, it is the beginning of my sixth week here in Lausanne. So far I have had a great time with a lot of highs and pretty much no lows at all. I am forming new friendships, I have traveled a bit, my studies are going well, my French is improving, and I am having a good time overall. In all honesty, there is very little to complain about (Our problems with internet connection being at the top of that list. . .but it is getting better, so I guess we can bump that down some places. . .). We are living in Switzerland, whoever complains should be publicly stoned by the rest of the group (By “stoned” I mean have small or medium sized rocks thrown at. . .Big stones make it too fast and less fun. . .).
Last week we went to Corsica for our “Educational Field Trip.” Due to a group project for Communications 301 I have a lot of video of my group and myself talking about Corsica and whatever we were doing at the time of the video. That allows for very little room to undergo any communication theory that would make me believe that I had a better or worse time than what I actually experienced. That being said, I had a good time. True, some of the things that we did were not that interesting. For example the museum in the city of Corte (which is in the middle of nowhere) was not good at all. It was a pretty big museum with nice architecture and a good setup inside, however, it lacked content. It provided little information about Corsica. The “Napoleon and Corsica” exhibition was slightly better. We also had a tour of the house where Napoleon was born. That was a little more interesting (We were told that Napoleon was born on the second floor of the house, which was owned by his mother. We were also told that the house had no stairways. The only way to get to the second floor was through a ladder outside the window and when Napoleon mother started to go into labor she was outside the house. This means she had to climb the stairs while little Napoleon was practically coming out). Napoleon was born on the second floor b but it lacked some historical substance. Granted that the man lied a lot and was the cause of a lot of deaths- he changed the course of history. Even after he had a major battle loss and was exiled, at the return of his exile he was able to round up another pretty big army. You would think they would mention a little more about the things Napoleon did regardless of whether they were good or bad. I have an interest in Napoleon because he was a small man from a little island. Yet somehow he got to be “Emperor of Europe.” I believe a lot of this is due to his communication and persuasion skills. Call Napoleon Bonaparte what you want, but in a way the man was a bit of a genius. I might encourage the study of Napoleon Bonaparte be mandatory beginning from kindergarten. Overall the trip was pleasant. I ate some good food, swam in the Mediterranean, and had some good evenings with my friends. . .
Besides the obvious issue of a language barrier between us and the locals there were other communication issues, thus making the trip more interesting. From the beginning of the trip we were divided into two groups, something that, seeing as we are 70 students and 4 staff members, makes sense. It is true that I was separated from some of the people that I wanted to spend time with, but I did get to better know some of the people in my group. This was something that was good because it expanded my circle of friends and came with all the benefits that making new friends brings. Also we had plenty of free time so meeting up some where with the people from the other group was completely possible. It is true that the hotels were fairly far away from each other and that the lack of cell phones or means of communication (i.e. internet, telegram, smoke signals, ESP, etc.) complicated things. However, it is not that hard to say, “hey, lets meet here at 7,” or something of the like.
This brings me to a point I would like to make. Since I got to Lausanne I have been without a cellphone-- both a gift and curse. It is a gift in the sense that it allows me to relax. Back home my cellphone is always a reach away from me or at the other side of the room, at most. I am constantly looking at it because of the constant text messaging our generation does. Here it’s completely different. The fact that we do not have cellphones makes it so the interaction with my friends is oral, something that makes friendships better. I mean, yes, text messaging does allow for immediate communication, but at the same time it has several cons like the inability of texts to express sarcasm, emotions, or true intentions. This is something that is very easily done in oral communication. For the moment, I am happy without my cellphone, even though it would make some things easier... I will say though, that I am excited to go back home and see how cellphones affect some of the friendships that were created without them.
For the Corsica field trip I decided to not take my laptop. Needless to say, when I got home I ran to my laptop. I felt so detached from the “real world” without it. It is through my computer that I get my news, stay in touch with my family, stimulate my brain and feed my short attention span. During the trip I felt fine without it, however, on the plane and bus ride back home I started to get a little anxious about my lack of connection to the rest of the world. I guess it is possible to compare me to a crackhead wanting crack, an alcoholic needing his booze, a smoker needing his fix, a fat kid wanting his cake, etc etc. It is slightly scary, yet at the same time understandable. I know I am not the only one that feels this way. My entire generation and future generations are and will feel like that too. I know was not the only one racing to my laptop when I entered La Croisee. . .
Well, I have pretty much gone all over the place with this blog. Needless to say I am trying to write the blog as true to as to the way I think. Based on how all over the place it is, I would call this one a success.
Last week we went to Corsica for our “Educational Field Trip.” Due to a group project for Communications 301 I have a lot of video of my group and myself talking about Corsica and whatever we were doing at the time of the video. That allows for very little room to undergo any communication theory that would make me believe that I had a better or worse time than what I actually experienced. That being said, I had a good time. True, some of the things that we did were not that interesting. For example the museum in the city of Corte (which is in the middle of nowhere) was not good at all. It was a pretty big museum with nice architecture and a good setup inside, however, it lacked content. It provided little information about Corsica. The “Napoleon and Corsica” exhibition was slightly better. We also had a tour of the house where Napoleon was born. That was a little more interesting (We were told that Napoleon was born on the second floor of the house, which was owned by his mother. We were also told that the house had no stairways. The only way to get to the second floor was through a ladder outside the window and when Napoleon mother started to go into labor she was outside the house. This means she had to climb the stairs while little Napoleon was practically coming out). Napoleon was born on the second floor b but it lacked some historical substance. Granted that the man lied a lot and was the cause of a lot of deaths- he changed the course of history. Even after he had a major battle loss and was exiled, at the return of his exile he was able to round up another pretty big army. You would think they would mention a little more about the things Napoleon did regardless of whether they were good or bad. I have an interest in Napoleon because he was a small man from a little island. Yet somehow he got to be “Emperor of Europe.” I believe a lot of this is due to his communication and persuasion skills. Call Napoleon Bonaparte what you want, but in a way the man was a bit of a genius. I might encourage the study of Napoleon Bonaparte be mandatory beginning from kindergarten. Overall the trip was pleasant. I ate some good food, swam in the Mediterranean, and had some good evenings with my friends. . .
Besides the obvious issue of a language barrier between us and the locals there were other communication issues, thus making the trip more interesting. From the beginning of the trip we were divided into two groups, something that, seeing as we are 70 students and 4 staff members, makes sense. It is true that I was separated from some of the people that I wanted to spend time with, but I did get to better know some of the people in my group. This was something that was good because it expanded my circle of friends and came with all the benefits that making new friends brings. Also we had plenty of free time so meeting up some where with the people from the other group was completely possible. It is true that the hotels were fairly far away from each other and that the lack of cell phones or means of communication (i.e. internet, telegram, smoke signals, ESP, etc.) complicated things. However, it is not that hard to say, “hey, lets meet here at 7,” or something of the like.
This brings me to a point I would like to make. Since I got to Lausanne I have been without a cellphone-- both a gift and curse. It is a gift in the sense that it allows me to relax. Back home my cellphone is always a reach away from me or at the other side of the room, at most. I am constantly looking at it because of the constant text messaging our generation does. Here it’s completely different. The fact that we do not have cellphones makes it so the interaction with my friends is oral, something that makes friendships better. I mean, yes, text messaging does allow for immediate communication, but at the same time it has several cons like the inability of texts to express sarcasm, emotions, or true intentions. This is something that is very easily done in oral communication. For the moment, I am happy without my cellphone, even though it would make some things easier... I will say though, that I am excited to go back home and see how cellphones affect some of the friendships that were created without them.
For the Corsica field trip I decided to not take my laptop. Needless to say, when I got home I ran to my laptop. I felt so detached from the “real world” without it. It is through my computer that I get my news, stay in touch with my family, stimulate my brain and feed my short attention span. During the trip I felt fine without it, however, on the plane and bus ride back home I started to get a little anxious about my lack of connection to the rest of the world. I guess it is possible to compare me to a crackhead wanting crack, an alcoholic needing his booze, a smoker needing his fix, a fat kid wanting his cake, etc etc. It is slightly scary, yet at the same time understandable. I know I am not the only one that feels this way. My entire generation and future generations are and will feel like that too. I know was not the only one racing to my laptop when I entered La Croisee. . .
Well, I have pretty much gone all over the place with this blog. Needless to say I am trying to write the blog as true to as to the way I think. Based on how all over the place it is, I would call this one a success.
Why even sleep?
There is nothing more annoying than having to wake up in the middle of the night with 70 other people making noise on the hallways while your alarm is shouting right by your year and your room-mate has all the lights turned on and drumming on his suitcase doing some last minute packing. No matter how positive you really are in your everyday life, this is going to get some cussing out of you, either if it’s out-loud or just under your covers.
That is how our Educational Field Trip started at 4 am on Tuesday, October 13th. In less than 10 minutes all those noisy 70 people where in the main lobby of La Croisee anxious to “get the show on the road”, but the excitement was soon to be killed by the Antarctic temperature that had hit Switzerland. Soon enough, people were running towards the two busses that had just pulled over next to La Croisee, one right next to the entrance, the other just down the street. Of course the buss I was suppose to be in was down the street, so I had to walk over there with my suitcase in the blistering weather.
Don’t remember much of the road to the French town we were going to, just an early morning stop to this random coffee-shop/newspaper stand where I could find nothing good to eat, except a few croissants and cup of coffee. I was actually happy about being able to complain some more and also happy about the fact that in my brilliant packing frenzy I also added a sandwich and an apple. If I couldn’t get food I though I might as well talk to some people, maybe make some small talk, try to find a complain buddy. As I was walking through that coffee-shop/newspaper stand I realized that my internal feelings were painted on the face of the entire group, and so I decided to smoke a cigarette by myself and try not to get killed for opening my mouth. The busses left and I went to sleep again.
Woke up in a tornado somewhere in France. The wind was blowing so hard that I didn’t get the name of the location until we went to visit the castle of Avignon. Aha, so we’re in Avignon right? Yes we were and to be honest, this is the place were Pepperdine made the best restaurant choice in the history of the university. Amazing meal and amazing location. This was probably the first time, the though, of this trip being a good idea, came to mind and seeing everybody all talkative made me think positive again, but I was kind of missing the complaining.
The next important stage of the trip was the boat ride to the actual island of Corsica. With no particular incidents, but the fact that you had to watch out for one of your three room-mates, to make sure you where not the one to go to sleep because there was only one key for the entire cabin. Great, lost all of my room-mates and knocked on my door for 15minutes to be let in. But I wasn’t the only one, which made me really happy. Partners in suffering are always comforting.
The morning was as unpleasant and rough as any other morning in Pepperdine La Croisee. It’s either waking up at seven to eat breakfast, or it’s for to get ready for the EFT or its six to get out of the boat. There is no time for sleeping, there is always much to do. Again herded around to and in the two busses, same groups and take to our hotel. Nope, hotels cause when we got there we realized that the separation will last for the entire trip. Fine, let’s check in! Nope, lets walk around the entire city of #@Q!3 &* somewhere in Corsica and see all these beautiful things like narrow streets and churches and the house of one of the most important people in the history of France, who by the way is hated by the entire French population, and all of this before you get a chance to shower, before you get a chance to eat, before you can even put your bags into your room. To stop my raging train of thoughts, I just looked around and saw that I was not alone and maybe they were right maybe there was not much time to see all the beautiful things Corsica had to offer. It was worth it.
Breakfast, the next day, was at eight in the morning of course, because we had to hurry up and be ready by 9:15, because we had to wait for the bus to come at 10. We enjoyed another great bus ride to the city of $%^&* a million kilometers away from Ajaccio ( that’s the name of the place where we stayed at). Two and a half hours on our way there, two and a half back. That’s five. We spent less than five hours there, and most of the time we spent in a “museum of forgotten-Corsican-important-art-things” where we saw some string, rocks and room dedicated to KKK. The rest of our time was walking around the 2 square feet CITY OF CORTE (that’s where we were) and having lunch at this restaurant where the house specialty was dog-food lasagna. But again the beloved Cognitive dissonance saved the day, while I was chewing on my lasagna, I looked over to Chelsea’s plate and I realized how lucky I was that I wasn’t a vegetarian. Thank you Leon Festinger.
Friday was a blast. We woke up again at 8 to have breakfast by 9 and leave by 9:15 to go to the port and wait till 10. I love rushing to places where I have to wait. Why enjoy a nice calm breakfast when you can sit around in the wind with a couple of friends complaining about everything. We took a boat to “the island with 18 inhabitants” and after being in the boat for two and a half hours, it was finally lunch time. Some lady handed us the biggest paper bag I have ever seen and said “food”. OMG, lunch, this much just for me? Opened the bag and found three sandwiches, a muffin and an apple. OMG, three? A muffin? Apple to? This had just turned into a happy day, but no. The content of the three sandwiches were enough to make one good sandwich. Cucumbers, carrots and lettuce inside a bread role? But I thought it wasn’t that bad because there were people willing to give up their good food(cheese and prosciuto) because the didn’t like that either. So it told myself I had a great meal and swam in the most beautiful gulf I’ve ever seen.
Saturday was incredible and made me decide that the morning greeting should be changed from “good morning” to “rough morning” for the rest of my stay here at Pepperdine. The schedule that we respect with such passion was change from having to check out at 11 to having to check out at 9. We found out about this insignificant change at 8:50 when sweet Clautilde called every single room. Walked around the whole day with no aim what so ever, went to the beach, came back, and went to the airport.
We rushed to leave at 5:30, got at the airport before 6. Our EasyJet plane was at 8.10.
I love cognitive dissonance, and I love the fact that it has a name cause it is easy to identify who I owe my life and others, because after a trip like this I think I am done traveling for a while.
Here's to the Man That No One Likes
I would like to make a toast to one of the greatest leaders France has ever known: Napoleon Bonaparte. Born in the doorway of a house in the middle of a sketch alley in Corsica, Napoleon became a key factor in France’s success as a nation. In fact, not content with the title “Emperor of France” that was given to him, he decided to bestow the title “Emperor of Europe” upon himself. He even decided that his army was so great that they could conquer Russia in the middle of winter. What a genius! Too bad he was defeated, otherwise he really would have been the greatest leader ever. France liked him so much after that, that they arrested him and sent him to an island where he eventually died of what is believed to be stomach poison, thus ending the life of one of Europe’s finest.
This past week on our educational field trip to Corsica, we visited Napoleon’s house, because let’s be honest, what else is there to do in Corsica? The entire tour of the house was a complete joke. Our tour guide was so sarcastic that I didn’t know whether I should believe anything he said. I even heard a rumor that the house we visited was not even the real house he was born in. Later that day, after talking with Dr. Landais about her feelings of the exhibit, I found out that just about no one in France or Corsica likes Napoleon. Was this guy really that bad that not even the place he was born could like him? When you think about it, even Hitler still has people that like him and he committed the biggest genocide in the history of the world.
This brings me to question why we went to Corsica to learn about someone who wasn’t even popular in the place that we visited. Granted, the trip itself was fun, but as far as learning anything about Napoleon or Corsica, I can’t say that I learned anything. Instead, I now think that Napoleon was a big fake and that everything I learned about in elementary school was all just to make him look better than who he really was. Now I’m starting to question why he was given such a big hype and why he has remained such a major part of European history. Even the tour guides have to pretend to like Napoleon because that is the only thing that attracts tourists to Corsica besides the beach. What a shame that someone who was such a popular topic in history can't even get credit from his own country.
So it’s to you Napoleon Bonaparte that we acknowledge your accomplishments as insignificant as they may be. We remember your legacy as if it should be forgotten. We hope your story is removed from European history classes worldwide and that people will realize the lies they were told about you. So raise your glasses of French wine high and drink to the man that no one likes.
Monday, October 19, 2009
DO NOT WANT BOAT
Ah, the wonders of the world. In relation to my own worldly experience, the world is a vast and unknown world, filled with terrifying weird people and languages that sound like intolerable noises. When traveling to new places I am commonly quoted saying, “Where the hell are we? Why are we here?” The fear that engrosses more than half of the world, mainly anything outside of the United States, has slowly and slowly turned to a curiosity for all things new.
While in Corsica, I tried to have an open, more accepting mind towards what I would experience in this beautiful island city. After finally surviving the wretched bus ride and arriving to the gorgeous Corsica ferries, I knew this trip might just turn out right. I kept telling myself that I was on a five star cruise since I have never stepped foot on a cruise. When dinner came around, I told myself, “This vegetable goo and burnt chicken melds perfectly with this coke zero.” When I jumped into my five foot nine inch bed, I said, “I love sleeping in the fetal position while rocking violently back and forth.” It was easy to say, I did not come equipped with my sea legs for this trip. Its quite easy to see the Cognitive Dissonance theory come into play as I tried to survive on the boat by my failed attempts to make the situation much better than it actually was. When we finally made it back onto land, I was ecstatic to rush to the beach as soon as possible. Escaping the cold air of Switzerland and lying in the beautiful sun by the Mediterranean Sea was a breathtaking experience. After a great day by the beach I went back to change, when I had noticed I had taken the notion of “pack lightly” way to seriously. This mishap in communication lead me to believe that: three pairs of underwear, a pair of jeans, and three t-shirts would be suffice for a weekend in paradise. Not only did I get closer to my “Survivorman” side but also I did learn to sometimes not take everything said to such extremes.
The next morning, after a delicious breakfast of something that looked like ham and cheese that smelled like the socks I was wearing, we headed off to see the famed house Napoleon Bonaparte spent most of his life in. While on our way there we met up with our (cute) travel guide whose name I do not remember. She was a short, knowledgeable woman who could have had any Corsican man kill me at the drop of a hat. While we were inside the Bonaparte house, I learned from the cute tour guide lady that Mr. Bonaparte was actually a huge liar and that he was greatly hated by the French and especially in Corsica. Bonaparte lied about many things, from his birth to his nobility, yet he still was able to have such a huge impact on the events that occurred in history. This showed me another part of the world of communication and how important it is to be able to persuade and use persuasion in order to aid your efforts. I noticed our tour guide had great scorn for the legacy of Bonaparte, which had inadvertently rubbed off on the information I was being provided. All stories about Napoleon were stories of failure, showing him as a cheat and a little man on a high horse. I found that the public sphere I was in was not being ethically portrayed. The tour guide we had showed such a skewed perspective of what was real and what was fake, I did not know whom to believe. Though she was cute, I chose to accept the information with a little bit of caution as to the way she tried to persuade me.
The next trip our group took off on was a nice, somber boat ride over to the town of _________. I had a great time on the top of the boat, shivering while trying to keep the six cups of coffee I had for breakfast inside my stomach. After an excruciating 4 hours on the boat ride from hell, we docked in ________, a quite town that had eighteen inhabitants. I was handed a lunch and I was so grateful to have a nice meal by the water. When I opened my lunch pail, I was ecstatic to find three sandwiches, in my world, three sandwiches in your lunch is a big deal. As I took my first big bite, I noticed something; every baguette only had one article of sandwich-like add-ins. I was outraged to find out the Pepperdine administration thought they could jip me into thinking, I would eat a baguette filled with carrots and cucumbers. Though, I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, I tried to make the best of the situation and combine all three sandwiches into one savory mega sandwich. Man, do I love the Cognitive Dissonance theory!
In all, I believe this trip was a major test to keep my cool and find the best in every situation, no matter how much I wanted to cry to my mom and fly home. I think that if all members participating in such an excursion used this same mindset that overall fun that is to be had would be overwhelming. I was able to be around the people I love and relax in a beautiful place some people would die to see. I got to experience the life of a true Corsican down at the prestigious Shamrock Pub. I was even able to eat the local fair of Panini’s and carbonara pizza at three in the morning each and every night as I walked the seven miles from hotel to hotel. Without true, ethically constructed communication there can never exist a true sphere where all humans can speak cohesively and create something more than an argument about how much Napoleon ruined France as a whole. Next time your hitting the road, have an open mind and most of all, be weary of cute little tourists and their evil ways of persuasion.
I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. - Philippians 4:11
Christine Broyhill
October 18, 2009
Just another Sunday afternoon back at La Croisée. The sun is shining brightly outside my window and the Alps are finally coming into view. Pretty soon, we will all be able to witness the frosted white peaks of the mountain range and Lake Geneva will transform into a glossy and delicate surface. The panorama of Lausanne is outside my window every day and is the first thing that greets me in the morning and the last thing that bids me adieu in the evening. The beauty of this place is remarkable and I take it for granted knowing that it will always be there.
The weather is getting cooler and the air is beginning to bite. Care packages of warm scarves and wool socks are being sent to students and the excitement of fall break and stress of midterms are just around the corner. All of these changes outside complement all of the changes that the students are going through. For me, I feel as if I have finally adjusted and arrived at a steady pace. We have just returned from our EFT in Corsica this past week. A secluded getaway famous for Napoleon Bonaparte and nothing to do with Neapolitan ice cream, the field trip to Corsica was a blessing in disguise for me. It was just what I was looking for after a very tough week and I was blown away by what I was able to witness. The beauty that God has created around us can be found in the smallest of places and I am so blessed to have traveled to Corsica with all of the great people that make up our program.
The week prior to our field trip, I had experienced many ups and downs as I went through an emotional rollercoaster. With travel plans on the mind and homework like a weight holding me down, I felt overwhelmed and triumphed by something that I could not conquer. Throughout my life, I have been a very goal oriented person. I’ve always believed that I can do anything as long as I put my mind to it and take it step by step. One of the greatest things that my mother has ever said to me is to balance your life. To allow equal time for academics, free time, and sleep. It always seemed like the easiest concept when she told me this, but I have realized that it’s not the easiest thing to follow when you have made a mental list of everything you want to accomplish before December 11th. I was trying to multitask my life so much that I could not even think straight. Of course, I did not see this, but everybody else did. I had so much that I wanted to accomplish before the semester ended that I could not even focus on the most important things in front of me. Learning to balance school and travel was a huge lesson for me. For one, taking 17 units was not a right path to choose, especially with the intentions of traveling every weekend. As the weeks went on and my time working on homework increased, the time I spent traveling and experiencing my time abroad decreased. I arranged all of my weekend trips to return by Saturday night or Sunday morning at the latest to get back and do homework and laundry. Looking back now, I feel like I was running a constant race to get back and check off my box of where I traveled and then focus on school. There was no time left to reflect on the wonderful places I had been. There was no time for myself where I could show my thanks for the beautiful world that God has created. Finally, the night came when I cracked and couldn’t take it anymore. I had never felt so overwhelmed or worn out. I was emotionally and physically exhausted. Trying to do what I was doing with very little sleep was slowly breaking me down. After a night of tears, hugs, wisdom, a very long Skype session, and an add/drop form, I felt that I could finally clear my mind.
Life is not a race to the finish line. I was stressing myself out over things that were not under my control, but under the Lord’s. I had lost focus of the most important thing in my life, which was seeking Him in my time of uncertainty. I had been attending Sunday night worship as another part of my schedule, another “thing to get done”. I had lost so much focus on the present and was looking way too far out in the future. After that long night, I felt that the fog was just beginning to clear. There is no set plan in life and the goals and path that I believed was the right one for me only delayed me from seeing the big picture. I am in the process of letting the Lord take over and show me what I need to do. To show me where I should focus my life.
I also made the choice to come home for the holidays during winter break. My initial plan before I got to Switzerland was to travel the entire time during the break and go to all of the places that I wanted to go to. I soon realized that even though it was just one Christmas or one New Year’s that I’d be sacrificing, that I was also sacrificing time for me to slow down and go home to spend time with my family. I am so pleased that I have decided to travel home for the holidays now. As the weeks go on and the weather gets colder, it reminds me so much of home and how refreshing it is to be in a space that is truly your own. A space to reflect and relax and to be with the people that love you most.
Other than finding the balance with school and travel, I have picked up on some differences that I absolutely love about being abroad. For one, I love the time we have at breakfast. Back home, I was always grabbing something and running out the door to work, and I love how here every morning I’m able to sit down and enjoy the food and talk with people. The food isn’t much different from the food back home, but for some reason the students here rave about the breakfast. It’s really the same things we have back home: yogurt, bread, cereal, oatmeal, eggs, etc. But what I’ve found that makes the breakfast so much more special and different is the way that we’ve been having our breakfast. The way we take our time in preparing our cereal. The way we fix our café au lait with just the right amount of milk. The yogurt tastes richer and fresher, thanks in part to those Swiss cows, and the Nutella allows us to have something sweeter to indulge into than we would back home. We have yogurt and eggs and toast back home, but what makes it different is the fact that we are able to sit down, enjoy every bite, and begin our day the right way.
Something that I have mixed feelings towards is the supermarket. Besides the different products and endless aisles of chocolate, I love the way people shop together. I have seen so many couples buying their food together, purchasing it, and then walking home to prepare it. It’s not a huge cultural difference, but it stands out to me because people are together and are taking their time. I dislike the fact that the stores and supermarkets are closed on Sundays, but I also love it. I love the fact that people have Sunday off. I’ve noticed that people in Europe take their lives step by step, allowing time to reflect and be with the people that mean the most to them in their lives. Back home, we are always rushing and going from one place to the next and here I see that people really balance their lives. They take longer lunches, close up the shops a bit earlier, and are always with friends and family. I love how conversation with friends and enjoying each other’s company through a meal are part of an everyday routine. It’s not a huge cultural difference, but it has stood out to me so much because I’ve been able to notice the little things like being together and walking through a park or just talking for hours after a meal with no rush to get anywhere that illustrate how important appreciating life is.
“I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content." (Philippians 4:11) I am learning to take my time abroad step by step. I am learning to appreciate the small things here and learn from every experience I have. Above all, I hope that I can develop a better relationship with God and to be thankful and content with the life that I have been given.
October 18, 2009
Just another Sunday afternoon back at La Croisée. The sun is shining brightly outside my window and the Alps are finally coming into view. Pretty soon, we will all be able to witness the frosted white peaks of the mountain range and Lake Geneva will transform into a glossy and delicate surface. The panorama of Lausanne is outside my window every day and is the first thing that greets me in the morning and the last thing that bids me adieu in the evening. The beauty of this place is remarkable and I take it for granted knowing that it will always be there.
The weather is getting cooler and the air is beginning to bite. Care packages of warm scarves and wool socks are being sent to students and the excitement of fall break and stress of midterms are just around the corner. All of these changes outside complement all of the changes that the students are going through. For me, I feel as if I have finally adjusted and arrived at a steady pace. We have just returned from our EFT in Corsica this past week. A secluded getaway famous for Napoleon Bonaparte and nothing to do with Neapolitan ice cream, the field trip to Corsica was a blessing in disguise for me. It was just what I was looking for after a very tough week and I was blown away by what I was able to witness. The beauty that God has created around us can be found in the smallest of places and I am so blessed to have traveled to Corsica with all of the great people that make up our program.
The week prior to our field trip, I had experienced many ups and downs as I went through an emotional rollercoaster. With travel plans on the mind and homework like a weight holding me down, I felt overwhelmed and triumphed by something that I could not conquer. Throughout my life, I have been a very goal oriented person. I’ve always believed that I can do anything as long as I put my mind to it and take it step by step. One of the greatest things that my mother has ever said to me is to balance your life. To allow equal time for academics, free time, and sleep. It always seemed like the easiest concept when she told me this, but I have realized that it’s not the easiest thing to follow when you have made a mental list of everything you want to accomplish before December 11th. I was trying to multitask my life so much that I could not even think straight. Of course, I did not see this, but everybody else did. I had so much that I wanted to accomplish before the semester ended that I could not even focus on the most important things in front of me. Learning to balance school and travel was a huge lesson for me. For one, taking 17 units was not a right path to choose, especially with the intentions of traveling every weekend. As the weeks went on and my time working on homework increased, the time I spent traveling and experiencing my time abroad decreased. I arranged all of my weekend trips to return by Saturday night or Sunday morning at the latest to get back and do homework and laundry. Looking back now, I feel like I was running a constant race to get back and check off my box of where I traveled and then focus on school. There was no time left to reflect on the wonderful places I had been. There was no time for myself where I could show my thanks for the beautiful world that God has created. Finally, the night came when I cracked and couldn’t take it anymore. I had never felt so overwhelmed or worn out. I was emotionally and physically exhausted. Trying to do what I was doing with very little sleep was slowly breaking me down. After a night of tears, hugs, wisdom, a very long Skype session, and an add/drop form, I felt that I could finally clear my mind.
Life is not a race to the finish line. I was stressing myself out over things that were not under my control, but under the Lord’s. I had lost focus of the most important thing in my life, which was seeking Him in my time of uncertainty. I had been attending Sunday night worship as another part of my schedule, another “thing to get done”. I had lost so much focus on the present and was looking way too far out in the future. After that long night, I felt that the fog was just beginning to clear. There is no set plan in life and the goals and path that I believed was the right one for me only delayed me from seeing the big picture. I am in the process of letting the Lord take over and show me what I need to do. To show me where I should focus my life.
I also made the choice to come home for the holidays during winter break. My initial plan before I got to Switzerland was to travel the entire time during the break and go to all of the places that I wanted to go to. I soon realized that even though it was just one Christmas or one New Year’s that I’d be sacrificing, that I was also sacrificing time for me to slow down and go home to spend time with my family. I am so pleased that I have decided to travel home for the holidays now. As the weeks go on and the weather gets colder, it reminds me so much of home and how refreshing it is to be in a space that is truly your own. A space to reflect and relax and to be with the people that love you most.
Other than finding the balance with school and travel, I have picked up on some differences that I absolutely love about being abroad. For one, I love the time we have at breakfast. Back home, I was always grabbing something and running out the door to work, and I love how here every morning I’m able to sit down and enjoy the food and talk with people. The food isn’t much different from the food back home, but for some reason the students here rave about the breakfast. It’s really the same things we have back home: yogurt, bread, cereal, oatmeal, eggs, etc. But what I’ve found that makes the breakfast so much more special and different is the way that we’ve been having our breakfast. The way we take our time in preparing our cereal. The way we fix our café au lait with just the right amount of milk. The yogurt tastes richer and fresher, thanks in part to those Swiss cows, and the Nutella allows us to have something sweeter to indulge into than we would back home. We have yogurt and eggs and toast back home, but what makes it different is the fact that we are able to sit down, enjoy every bite, and begin our day the right way.
Something that I have mixed feelings towards is the supermarket. Besides the different products and endless aisles of chocolate, I love the way people shop together. I have seen so many couples buying their food together, purchasing it, and then walking home to prepare it. It’s not a huge cultural difference, but it stands out to me because people are together and are taking their time. I dislike the fact that the stores and supermarkets are closed on Sundays, but I also love it. I love the fact that people have Sunday off. I’ve noticed that people in Europe take their lives step by step, allowing time to reflect and be with the people that mean the most to them in their lives. Back home, we are always rushing and going from one place to the next and here I see that people really balance their lives. They take longer lunches, close up the shops a bit earlier, and are always with friends and family. I love how conversation with friends and enjoying each other’s company through a meal are part of an everyday routine. It’s not a huge cultural difference, but it has stood out to me so much because I’ve been able to notice the little things like being together and walking through a park or just talking for hours after a meal with no rush to get anywhere that illustrate how important appreciating life is.
“I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content." (Philippians 4:11) I am learning to take my time abroad step by step. I am learning to appreciate the small things here and learn from every experience I have. Above all, I hope that I can develop a better relationship with God and to be thankful and content with the life that I have been given.
Adult Summer Camp
I can honestly say that in my younger years, summer camp was one of the highlights of each and every year. From meeting new people, playing fun games and doing group activities I always had an amazing time. However, after seventh or eighth grade I was virtually over the controlling counselors and planned outings that were ALWAYS mandatory and seemed to be never ending. I mean who really wants to be constantly controlled and accounted for over summer... or ever? Not me. So for obvious reasons I opted to stop attending summer camp and do my own thing with people I enjoyed spending my time with and not people who planned my every move.
Well, this past week I took a trip down memory lane back to "Summer Camp." Before arriving at said 'camp,' I could not have been more excited to go on (practically) a week long trip with my friends. After being ill-prepared and literally handed only three sheets of paper with what to expect I knew that an adventure was ahead of me.
After never going to sleep, I literally ran to the bus at 4 am Tuesday morning because it was so cold. Upon getting on my assigned bus I was already annoyed at the fact that I was about to be on a ten hour bus ride without any of my friends. Great. Expecting to be on the road by 4:30, I was extremely confused as to why there were about ten different people going up and down the small bus aisle counting us as if we had gotten up and left or something after the first time of being accounted for. I mean they already checked us off for having our passports, did they really think we were just not going to get on the bus or something after leaving the house? I will obviously give the 'adults' credit for taking 70 people on a trip but in all honesty I was extremely confused as to why they were already babying us.
Anyways, after being nearly blown away by the wind after getting off the bus in Avignon I was not surprised that we were eating a planned out meal prior to attending a museum of sorts. Again, I was in no shock when we had to split up into our groups to walk through the museum. It truly brought me back to being in your "cabin group" constantly at summer camp. I can honestly say that for the rest of the week I was an avid member in Group 5. Not once did I have the opportunity to experience life outside Group 5 (which I might add was just a smaller group within Group 'Hotel Napoleon').
Speaking of Hotel Napoleon, this was the same group that was on my bus. Did Pepperdine not want to give me the opportunity to see my friends at all? It was like I went to a summer camp that supported complete and utter segregation. Granted I can probably never fathom attempting to take this large of a group on a trip but as long as everyone is accounted for we are still all adults and we do have the ability to make our own groups with no conflict. I can understand the ultimate goal of wanting to make sure and not forget anyone but we are all nineteen and twenty years old. I like to give myself some credit for having a head on my shoulders at least.
Obviously communication is key when you are split up from all of your friends. But when your hotels are 20 minutes away from each other and nobody has a cell phone what do you do? This brought back memories when electronics were not allowed at camp and cell phones were especially forbidden so you had to just run into people between cabins, in the cafeteria or before skit practice. Let's be honest though, it is almost like electronics are not allowed in Europe unless you want a phone bill of $1,000. It makes sense to have two hotels but must they practically be in different cities? It was almost like our 70-person group was split into two separate 'camps.'
After having an amazing (partial) day of freedom on Wednesday, I was in no shock to find out that essentially there was no more free time until the day we left. Okay yes there were nights to go out, but there were also 7 am wake-up times... every day. I am not going to lie and say that I had no fun because I honestly did but I am also not going to lie and say that I really even felt like I learned anything that benefited me in any way. I more or less felt like a young camper. Let's just say I was surprised by the fact that we did not have a bed time.
Overall, after sounding rather pessimistic, I would like to say that I really did enjoy myself for the most part. I guess you could say that I am using some Cognitive Dissonance but let's be completely honest, I just went to Corsica for a week with no classes. Kind of sounds like an amazing experience to me. So I am just going to shut up now and be thankful.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Swiss Reflections
In September of 2009, 70 American college sophomores traveled to Lausanne, Switzerland, for a year of study. Through this blog, we'll post reflections on what we learn about this beautiful country and its multi-lingual culture, and about what it is like to live in a community of scholars. We're on an adventure. We hope you enjoy some of our reflections.
Ken Waters
Professor of Journalism
Pepperdine University, Lausanne
Ken Waters
Professor of Journalism
Pepperdine University, Lausanne
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