Month: March 2014

U.S - Mexico Border: Contemporary Perspecti ves

When I think about Mexico…

>When I think about Mexico, I come up with ideas for sightseeing, warm, sunny, nice weather, and beach. My images of Mexico are something colorful like this picture. This is Esperanza building where we stay. It’s pretty, isn’t it? メキシコときいて何を思い浮かべますか？ きれいなビーチ、陽気な人々、テキーラ、ほとんどの人が旅行や観光、バカンスに関するイメージを持っていると思います。 日本でメキシコと聞くとカラフルな建物の写真を見る機会が多いなではないでしょうか。 (Where we lived) There are so many places that represent so-called Mexico, for sightseeing spots. Today we went to one of those places, … Continue reading When I think about Mexico…

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U.S - Mexico Border: Contemporary Perspecti ves

Reflections on Mexico….

Hello Everyone! We have been learning about US and Mexico border issue for three months in Professor Paul Milan’s U.S Mexico Border Relations class. We have been so excited to visit Mexico and now we have finally arrived in Tijuana. We are working with an organization called Esperanza. Esperanza is a non-profit organization in Tijuana that helps families with limited resources build homes. I was … Continue reading Reflections on Mexico….

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Non SU: SIT Madagascar

“Te-hitery omby aho, azafady” and other “emergency” phrases for village life

I have been thinking a lot about my paternal Grandmother while being here in Madagascar, her old stomping grounds, but during the homestay in a village near the town of Betafo, I have also been thinking a lot about my maternal Grandmother. She grew up on a farm in North Dakota and instructed me before my departure, as any good Norwegian would, to “work hard.” … Continue reading “Te-hitery omby aho, azafady” and other “emergency” phrases for village life

Kirsti3 Comments
SU Sponsored: Granada

International connections & the death of my stamina

The day I said goodbye to my family, I geared myself up to head down to the city of Cádiz for Carnaval, a holiday marking the beginning of Lent– naturally, a beach fiesta with drinks and costumes and outlandishness, so as to get every last drop of crazy out of your system before a more solemn 40 days. My day in Cádiz was just as I … Continue reading International connections & the death of my stamina

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SU-Granada

Here’s to breaking my idleness, hating idiots, and loving my fam

I want to believe that my month+ long absence from the blogosphere has to do with reasons like: “been too busy living it up”, or “sorry, can’t talk, gotta run back to my glamorous Spanish socialite lifestyle”, but I’d rather not lie to myself. Really, the excitement of being in a new country has faded away like a momentarily radiant red hair dye– I’ve simply … Continue reading Here’s to breaking my idleness, hating idiots, and loving my fam

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Non SU: SIT Madagascar

These are the days of miracles and wonder

As we drove through the highlands on the way to our weeklong village homestays, we listened to the Paul Simon album, “Graceland.” Listening to “The Boy in the Bubble” and looking out the window at our beautiful surroundings, thinking about what had transpired the day before, a line in the song really resonated with my experience: these are the days of miracles and wonder. Before … Continue reading These are the days of miracles and wonder

Kirsti1 Comment
Non SU: SIT Madagascar

Ny mandeha taxi-be dia mahafinaritra

I consider myself to be a fairly seasoned, competent bus-rider. Relying on public transportation in many situations to get from point A to B has caused me to frequent busses regularly enough in Washington to actually understand the unwritten protocol and social nuances of public transit life. Basically, I know what I’m doing. That is, I knew what I was doing until I got to … Continue reading Ny mandeha taxi-be dia mahafinaritra

Kirsti1 Comment