Taiwan | Discovering Taiwan

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By HAILEY MOTOOKA

I got off of the airplane having to pee badly. Like, very badly. I ran off the plane, through the gate, and into the nearest bathroom only to find out a) it was one of the squat toilets that basically resembles a hole in the ground and b) what the heck there was no toilet paper. If culture shock was a person, I had just been physically slapped in the face right then and there. So my first tip to any future travelers to Taiwan: buy your own toilet paper. Or, start practicing the “sit and shake” method because it really is a useful skill to have if you aren’t keen on carrying a roll in your bag.

The dreaded hole in the ground toilet

你好(Hi), my name is Hailey Motooka. I am a third year majoring in Biology and minoring in Asian Languages and I am currently attending the National University of Taiwan (NTU). I wanted to write this blog so that I may share my story with anyone who is interested in studying abroad in Taiwan, or anyone interested in studying abroad at all. I was born and raised in Hawai’i on the most fantastic little island, Oahu, and (in my unbiased opinion) it is one of the best places in the world. However, since it is a pretty isolated place in the smack dab middle of the Pacific Ocean, exposure to people from various cultures is rather limited. For this reason, I am more than ecstatic to be able to spend a semester here in Taiwan and immerse myself in this unique environment.

Before I left for Taiwan, however, I had to do a lot of preparation. I’m about to go into some logistical boring stuff so bear with me, folks, because I’m required to talk about this. Here are the main items:

  1. Passport—Now, this may seem obvious but for those of you that do not have a passport, or need to renew your passport like I did, the process can take up to eight weeks so prepare in advance.
  2. Health Forms—If you are traveling through the UCEAP program, they go over in extensive detail how to complete these. However, just a heads up that the NTU health clearance form requires a physical as well as a chest x-ray, both of which can be completed at the Ashe Center or with your local physician.
  3. Visitors Visa—The process to get a visitor’s visa doesn’t take nearly as long as a passport (around 1-2 weeks), but it does require the following items:
    1. Passport
    2. Acceptance letter from the University
    3. Travel itinerary—both departure AND return date
    4. Two recent passport sized photos
    5. Bank statement
    6. Visa application itself

Another thing I had to do before I left was sign up for my classes. This was probably the most stressful part for me because there wasn’t a lot of information on how the process worked, and all I remember thinking was “how am I supposed to physically fight people for my classes like I do here at UCLA when the other students are an entire ocean away?” Like, I couldn’t even bribe people to hold my spot in the classes I needed. Thankfully, getting classes at NTU isn’t nearly as competitive as getting classes at UCLA. Also, there’s an entire week after school starts that allows you to add and drop classes in case you don’t get the classes you need during the first and second registration periods. So don’t worry, there’s no need for violence or bribing of any sort! The orientation during the first week of school is also very informative and almost all questions will be answered during that time.

Orientation held for all International Students

Registration for UCEAP students

Once my classes were picked, however, everything else is very simple and UCEAP does a great job of making sure that you are prepared for the trip. The only thing that I was worried about was whether or not I would be able to make friends. I came to Taiwan not knowing a single person, which thinking back on it was probably the best parts about coming here. But don’t get me wrong, the idea of having no friends freaked me out at first, especially when I stepped on campus, had no idea how to get to my dorm with all my suitcases, and no one to call or ask for help. Thankfully, when I asked a student walking by if he could point me in the right direction, not only was he able to speak English but he also helped me carry one of my suitcases. Shout out to Gino, you’re probably never going to read this but dude, you’re the real MVP. It turns out that most Taiwanese people, despite their shy demeanor, are incredibly nice and helpful and very accommodating towards foreigners.

The dorms that I’m currently living in are the Guo Ching dorms. Now, I’m not going to complain about my living situation because I already did that for the first two days I was here, but the other dorms, the ShuiYuan Prince dorms, located on the complete opposite side of campus are more ideal (in my opinion). At first I didn’t like the idea of sharing a bathroom and shower with a whole floor of people as if I was reverting back to freshman year all over again. Not to mention the fact that there’s only one–THAT’S RIGHT ONLY ONE—toilet paper roll that runs out every Wednesday and gets refilled every Monday. So yeah, investing in toilet paper is key. On the bright side, the Guo Ching dorms do have a laundry room on every floor, a 7/11 right outside, as well as a restaurant and gym on the basement floor. It’s also significantly cheaper than the ShuiYuan Prince dorms if finances are a concern.

Interior of the GuoChing dorms

Some of the food served at the restaurant in the basement floor

Majority of international students are also assigned to the ShuiYuan dorms, so the atmosphere and dynamic between local and international students in the Guo Ching dorm is a bit different as well. It just means that you get to practice your Chinese more. But on the first day I moved in, the dorms were fairly empty so I decided to wander around the campus. Let me just tell you, the campus is absolutely stunning. One of the professors mentioned how she thought that National Taiwan University is one of the most beautiful universities in the world, and at the time, I remember thinking, “yikes, that’s bold you clearly have never been to UCLA”. However, as I meandered around the campus I stumbled upon beautiful ponds and greenhouses tucked away between buildings that are quite unlike any American university I have every been to before.

Eventually I got lost and ended up hopping onto a tour for international students. The tour was just ending so I didn’t really get an actual tour of the campus, per say, but it was here where I made my first friends. Most international students find themselves in the same boat in terms of not knowing anyone in Taiwan; so most people make an effort to put themselves out there. Like I said before, I was born and raised in Hawai’i so I was excited to travel and meet people from different places, but never in my life did I think I would become friends with people from Ghana, Croatia, Luxemburg, Australia, Spain, and so many other places that I am unable to point out on the globe mostly because my geography is lacking.

First day in Taiwan with the international tour group in front of the Main Library

People say all the time that they want their study abroad experience to be “life changing”, and of course I do too. I mean, who doesn’t want to come back from the study abroad travels feeling like a changed person? But realistically, I don’t think my life will be completely turned around, and I don’t think I will arrive at some epiphany that the world is somehow a better place now that I have lived somewhere other than America for six months. However, I do think that I will learn a lot and–in the words of one of the greats, Kylie Jenner—2017 will be the year of just, like, realizing stuff. And I hope I do realize a lot of…stuff, and I hope to try new things and meet new people and explore new places and most importantly I hope that you all keep on reading because I promise, it only gets better from here.

Hailey Motooka studied abroad in Taipei, Taiwan, in Spring 2017: http://eap.ucop.edu/OurPrograms/taiwan/Pages/national_taiwan_univ.aspx

Sweden | Eight Things to Know About Food in Lund, Sweden

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    By CHRISTINE PAHEL
  1.  Fika is a must.

Sweden is known for their love of fika. Fika is a break during the day when you enjoy a coffee, tea, or hot chocolate and a small pastry. Swedes have fika sometimes two to three times a day. Fika is usually offered at most club events, and even a lot of Swedish people take a break during the business day to enjoy a warm cup of coffee and dessert. I personally recommend a hot chocolate and a warm cinnamon bun. (Cinnamon buns are so popular that they even have a day—October 4th—dedicated to celebrating them!)

2. For Cheap Food, Go to The Nations

The nations are student organizations that run bars, clubs, sittnings (3 course meals), brunches, and lunches. These meals are open to all students who have joined a nation, which most students do within their first few weeks in Lund. There, you can get lunch starting at 30SEK, a brunch buffet starting at 40SEK, and a three course meal for about 120SEK. They have all sorts of food including: falafel, soup, Swedish desserts, waffles, burgers, and shakes. Practically every day, the nations have some event running where you can grab a bite to eat. You’re bound to find a nation that has food you love!

3. Swedish Cuisine Is Hard to Find

I have been in Sweden for about 3 weeks and have only seen one place that serves traditional Swedish food—Ikea. In Lund, I’ve seen American food, Italian food, Mediterranean food, Japanese food, and even Bulgarian food, but no Swedish food. So unless you want to travel to Malmö, don’t expect to be eating too much Swedish food, unless you want to make it yourself. While Swedish desserts are easy to find, actual Swedish meals are quite rare here.

4. Go To A Taste of Sweden

If you want to try Swedish food and don’t want to make it yourself or travel to Malmö, definitely go to A Taste of Sweden during orientation. You can try everything from caviar from a tube to sour milk to pickled herring. While not all the food may not be to your liking, you should definitely step out of your comfort zone and try all the dishes they offer at the event. Where else are you going to try reindeer meat cheese from a tube? The sweet potato mash and a ground beef dish resembling meatloaf with cabbage were two of my favorites. The sour milk, on the other hand, is definitely an acquired taste. It’s a small creamy side resembling yogurt, except its not sweet, so it’s like a blend between sour cream and yogurt. Even if you don’t think you’ll like a dish, I recommend trying it because you don’t know when you’ll have another chance.

5. You Don’t Look Far For Great Restaurants

Burgers, falafel, and pizza places are on every corner here in Lund. Often, you don’t even have to go to a separate restaurant to find these. There are shops that sell both falafel and burgers and pizza shops that serve pizza and burgers. It’s great for friends with different food preferences! I recommend trying Lundafalafel. They serve kebabs, falafel, and burgers, and they are open until 4am on the weekends. It’s a must have late night snack for people in Lund.

6. Not All Restaurants Have English Menus

While most people in Lund speak English, very few restaurants have English menus. It is not unusual to see menus entirely in Swedish. This leaves you with four options. One: learn Swedish, or at least basic Swedish food items. Two: ask the staff. The people working at the restaurant are usually more than happy to translate the menu for you, but I wouldn’t ask them to translate every item on the menu to you—that could get awkward. Three (my favorite!): use a translation app. These can usually translate the bulk of the words, but it isn’t perfect. There will still be some things that you have zero idea what they are—even Google can’t always save you. Four: be adventurous and just try something! All the food I’ve had at restaurants in Lund so far have been amazing. You can’t really go wrong with anything you choose!

7. American Food Is Easy to Find

If you are homesick—don’t worry—you can find American food here. Lund has a Burger King, a McDonalds, and lots of Subways. If you are craving some fried chicken, Malmö is home to a KFC. Malmö also has a Pizza Hut and Dominos. If your map app tells you that there is a Pizza Hut in Lund, don’t believe it. I walked across town while craving Pizza Hut, but there was no Pizza Hut there, just another pizzeria in its place. The pizza was absolutely amazing, but it was still disappointing not to have found Pizza Hut. Unfortunately, if you are missing Americanized Mexican food, you’re out of luck. There are no Taco Bells, Qdobas, Chipotles, or Del Taco, so fill up before you come. Even Mexican food ingredients are hard to find. It took days of searching to find black beans, and the Mexican cheese blends do not taste the same as back in the States.

8. Candy Stores Have An American Section

Missing Reese’s or Snapple Tea? You won’t have to go too far to find them in Lund. Most candy shops feature an American section that lets you find most of your favorites. Half of the display is usually devoted to different kinds of Reese’s products, which I am grateful for. The most entertaining thing of the America section is definitely some of the names. Want Cool Ranch Doritos? You won’t find them here—they are called “Cool American Flavour.” I highly recommend visiting the candy shops here whether it is to stock up on your favorite Swedish and American snacks or even if its just to see what Swedish people think of American junk food.

Christine Pahel studied abroad in Lund, Sweden, in Spring 2017: http://eap.ucop.edu/OurPrograms/sweden/Pages/lund_univ.aspx

Sweden | Orientation Weeks

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By CHRISTINE PAHEL

Beep! Beep! Beep! I heard my alarm energetically call to me. Battling jet lag, I was not as enthusiastic to get up early in the morning. However, it was Wednesday—time to meet the faculty. It was the second day of welcome week, where department coordinators introduced students to their departments, and students finished registering for classes. Do not skip these meetings—no matter how tempting sleep may be—because they are essential to finish formally enrolling in your classes. Each major department holds their own meeting, so if you are taking multiple disciplines while abroad, you’ll have to go to more than one meeting. Since I am taking Political Science and Psychology while here, I attended both the Faculty of Social Science’s registration meeting and the Department of Political Science’s meeting. Below is a picture of one of the buildings in Paradise (Paradis), which is where the majority of the social science buildings are located.

That night was the Welcome Reception in the University Main Building (Universitetshuset). Located in the center of town, the cream exterior of the building contrasted with the black night’s sky. The top of the building has two gargoyles with human faces on either side. A large fountain sits directly center of the front of the building. Even though it was turned off because of the chilling weather, it still had a commanding presence. Nearly every day, I pass this building during my journey through town, and every day I am stunned by how gorgeous it is. I cannot wait to finally see the fountain turned on in front of it, and the plants on either side of it blooming in the springtime weather. Below I attached a picture of it in the daylight. While it is gorgeous at night, it is difficult to make out the finer details of the building in a photograph.

The inside of the building was equally impressive. Chandeliers lined the main room from the entrance to the stage. If you looked up, you could see the artfully crafted ceiling, which was painted in a pattern of beige, tan, and blue. The night started with a selection of traditional songs from Lund University’s Male Choir (Lunds Studentsångförening). According to the conductor, this choir is the oldest in Sweden, and their talent certainly spoke to that honor. While it is difficult to understand the lyrics, since most of the songs were purely in Swedish, the choir’s tones melded together in a beautiful arrangement of music. After a great round of applause from the audience, the host, the Vice Chancellor, welcomed the exchange students to Lund University. A university, he stated, that was created after the conquest of Skåne from Denmark. Skåne, the county Lund resides in, was given a university in order to aid in making the newly acquired territory loyal to the Swedish Crown. After the Vice Chancellor’s speech, we retired into the grand entrance room for some small desserts, sparkling cider, and light beer. There, exchange students had a chance to mingle with each other. When it seemed like the evening was almost over, a student joke band burst in and entertained us, giving us one last taste of Swedish student life before heading back home.

SUSA, the introductory Swedish language class for exchange students, comprises most of orientation. It is divided into two classes, SUSA11 and SUSA12. SUSA11 is for students with little to no Swedish skills, whereas SUSA12 is for those who have been exposed to Swedish prior to coming to Lund University and have a general working knowledge. Most exchange students, who elect to take a SUSA course, choose to take SUSA11. While SUSA is optional for exchange students, UCEAP has it as a mandatory component of their program. The language program has six language lectures and one lecture on culture. Don’t let the few number of lectures fool you. This course does cover a lot of information in the limited amount of time granted towards it. Some of the topics covered in the class include the alphabet, telling time, verb tenses, basic phrases, numbers, school subjects, and a lot of general vocabulary. After the ten blocks are covered, students are tested on the material in a 50 question multiple choice and true/false exam. By the time of the exam, the teachers expect you to be able to comprehend a long dialogue and text that is completely in Swedish. If you are studying abroad during fall semester, this two-week language course will be completed before any of your actual courses start. However, if you are studying abroad for spring semester, like I am, the latter week of the language course will likely coincide with your other courses. I suggest familiarizing yourself with some basic Swedish in order to take some stress off your plate during your first weeks in Lund, especially if you are taking regular courses at the same time as the language course. Otherwise, the class can get quite overwhelming at times.

While the SUSA course, in my opinion, was difficult, I do not regret taking it. I have been able to navigate around town much easier after taking the course because I have been able to identify which school building is which (class buildings are often only referred to in writing their Swedish names). Also, it has aided me in identifying food items in the grocery store and at restaurants. Most restaurants do not have English menus, and most grocery products are Swedish. Don’t be too concerned if you forgot or do not know the word because staff is more than happy to help translate for you. While most people in Lund speak very good English because it is a college town, once you travel outside of Lund, finding English speakers becomes a lot more difficult. I recommend taking the SUSA course quite seriously because it will definitely help you when you explore around the country. Also, I recommend getting the Google Translate App and downloading the Swedish/English dictionary, so you can use it when you have no internet. This app has saved me more times than I can count!

Christine Pahel studied abroad in Lund, Sweden in Spring 2017: http://eap.ucop.edu/OurPrograms/sweden/Pages/lund_univ.aspx

Sweden | Arriving in Lund

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By CHRISTINE PAHEL

Passport and boarding passes in hand, I was ready to board my plane. While checking in my suitcase, the lady at the front desk informed me that the plane had been delayed 40 minutes. Okay, I had an hour and a half layover. It’d be close now, but I would make it. After going through TSA and waiting for my plane to be prepared, I finally boarded. Over the broadcast system, the pilot states that Air force 2 has decided to leave when we are scheduled to. Since the Vice President has priority over our flight, we are forced to wait, and my layover time becomes shorter. We finally take off, and I am preparing my boarding passes for the next flight because I know there won’t be much time to spare. To people planning on studying abroad, I’d recommend having at least a two hour connection because delays are bound to happen.

As we are about to land, the flight attendant calls off a list of flights that have missed their connections. Luckily, mine wasn’t one of them, but I’d have to sprint. Hurrying through immigration and running across the terminal, I made it just in time. The plane was almost done boarding. An hour and a half into the flight, a passenger fell ill with appendicitis, and the pilot was forced to turn the plane around in order to ensure his safety. The man was escorted off the plane in Montreal, and after the plane refueled, I was on my way to Copenhagen once again. The plane arrived safely; however, my fellow UCEAP travelers and I were late for the program. Luckily, Lund students were still stationed at the Copenhagen airport to guide us to the university. They assisted international students in buying train tickets, and after a short train ride, we were in Lund.

When I arrived in Lund, I was escorted onto the top floor of the train station. Because Lund University was expecting approximately 800 students that day and only had 7 vans, I had to wait in line for an hour before I could be taken to Arrival Day. At Arrival Day, I was able to check-in my luggage before exploring the booths. There, one could check into one’s apartment/corridor and receive one’s welcome package. The welcome package came with a Swedish SIM card that can be placed into unlocked cell phones. One of the booths lets you fill up your SIM card, so your phone can start working abroad. UCEAP highly recommends that all students studying abroad have a cell phone in case of emergency, so I suggest loading the SIM card with minutes while you’re at Arrival Day. Additionally, there was a booth that handed out Jo-Jo Cards. These cards function as bus passes around Skåne (the county Lund resides in). Because Lund is so spread out, I recommend loading money onto the Jo-Jo card as soon as you get a chance, especially in the winter. It started snowing on my second day here, and it’s much easier to take the bus instead of trekking for forty minutes in the snow.

At Arrival Day, the teachers sell textbooks for the SUSA course, which is an intensive language course that is required for all UCEAP students. Luckily, the textbook is only about $2.50 USD. Also, you have the opportunity to buy event tickets. Keep in mind that these tickets sell out fast. By the time I came, they were already sold out of some of the events, so I recommend visiting that booth first. This year, the events included a welcome party, a tour of the Malmö Museum, a trip to IKEA, a hiking excursion, a meal of traditional Swedish cuisine, and a tour of the Lund Cathedral. These tickets are not expensive; however, the tickets must be purchased in cash. I recommend converting some money into SEK (Swedish Krona/Crown) before leaving abroad to save yourself some time and to help ensure you get a ticket to all the events you want to attend. I highly recommend going to as many events that seem interesting to you. In later posts, I’ll describe some of the events I went to.

Because of how late some flights arrive, you might be worried about having bedding for the night. Frankly, for me, there was zero time to go shopping for things like towels, sheets, and pillows because of the delayed flight and Arrival Day. Luckily, at Arrival Day, there is a booth that sells bath towels, hand towels, pillows, bedding, and shower curtains, so I didn’t have to figure out how to get all of that stuff to fit into my luggage. The only problem is that they don’t sell toilet paper at Arrival Day. Most of the housing provided by LU Accommodations have private bathrooms, and they do not supply toilet paper. Unfortunately, most students don’t realize this until they are back at their rooms late at night. Luckily, I had a chance to stop by the store before it closed. Make sure to schedule time to run to the store on your first day or bring a few pieces in your luggage.

After Arrival Day, the university vans drove me and my luggage to my dorm in Klostergården Student House. But, I only had time to run in and drop off my luggage before heading right back out. UCEAP had a mandatory meeting in the middle of town that I had to find my way to. The city is gorgeous with its brick buildings. In the center of town, one can see a castle and a cathedral that is nearly one thousand years old. However beautiful the city may be, I was not good at navigating it, especially in the dark. After getting lost a few times and asking quite a few people for directions (luckily practically everyone here speaks fluent English), I made it to the meeting. Linus, the UCEAP coordinator, introduced himself to us and went over some paperwork that would help us during our time in Lund. The meeting ended with me completely drained. I found my way back to my room and collapsed. I was happy to be here— completely exhausted—but excited.

Christine Pahel studied abroad in Lund, Sweden, in Spring 2017: http://eap.ucop.edu/OurPrograms/sweden/Pages/lund_univ.aspx

Barbados | Eating Well

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By ANGELA HOWARD
A common joke about living on a Caribbean island is that you learn to be a gourmet chef with very limited ingredients and spices (anything more than salt and pepper is fancy to me!). Food prices can be rather expensive due to the fact that all the food has to be imported. That being said, fresh vegetables (not frozen veggies, only fresh ones!) and fish lean more on the affordable side if you prepare them yourself. Even if the reason is strictly financially based, I’ve been regularly eating delicious and nutritious balanced meals for the first time in my college career!


However, it does get challenging when I walk the 20 minute walk down to the grocery store, only to see they are out of stock of their veggies. This is not me being picky. When I say “out of stock” I mean, they literally have no fresh produce on the premises.

I have seen grocery markets at home be out of stock of a particular item, but not even around major holidays have I seen a grocery store simply not have any produce at all. Now whenever broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, onions, and potatoes are in stock, I buy three containers of each. Not only does it encourage me to eat more vegetables before they spoil, but it saves me an unnecessary and unsuccessful trip down to the grocery store.

Continuing with the theme of food, last Sunday I ate more calories in one day than I probably do during some weeks. The morning started by me desperately craving a breakfast burrito. I have been wanting one for the past several months, but unfortunately Ghana, South Africa, Germany, and Barbados all do not seem to make them. I had waited long enough. I was having a breakfast burrito. I haven’t seen any tortillas since arriving in Barbados, so I decided to make them myself. It was only a simple combination of flour, olive oil, and water, but I was very impressed with how delicious they tasted.

After I ate my delicious burritos, we were off to Harrison’s Cave in the Saint Thomas Parish as a part of the UCEAP program. (This was the only event of the day not focused around eating!) The caves are a popular tourist attraction in Barbados. My travel buddy, who happens to be an Earth Science major, loved learning about the formation of the cave. But it was also nice for those of us (like me!) who don’t happen to have any particular fascinations with rocks.  The caves are still actively transporting water. We received “Cave Showers” and were thoroughly soaked by the end of our 45 minute long tram tour simply from the drops of water falling from the ceiling. If you’re ever in Barbados and looking for something fun to do, defiantly check out the caves. While we did the tram tour, which was very relaxing (aside from getting soaked) and came with a very knowledgeable tour guide, I’d like to go back at some point to do the walking tour. (Sorry the photos appear so grainy, it was very dark inside the cave!)

  

Now, back to food. After the caves we all went to the Coconut Court Hotel to eat their delicious buffet.

In one meal I ate three types of meat (lamb, chicken, and beef) and a delicious slice of the Bajan specialty “macaroni pie.” For anyone who has ever had macaroni and cheese South African style, macaroni pie is similar to it, only better. (Hard to imagine, right?!) Macaroni pie is basically a baked version of macaroni and cheese; however, Barbados has these incredibly thick noodles that I have never seen anywhere else in the world. The noodles are really what make the dish for me.

During one of our first nights here, we went grocery shopping and the only spaghetti noodles we could find were these thick noodles. At the time we did not know we were supposed to cut them up into small pieces and they were both challenging and quite entertaining to try to eat. Now, however, we have realized they have their own unique purpose.

In the evening we went to the Super Bowl party. Even the Bajans know that a Super Bowl party would not be complete without wings, tacos, and nachos. This year we watched the Super Bowl on the beach surrounded by huge HD TVs all broadcasting the game. In order to reserve a table outside there was an extra charge, and seeing as we are college students, we have to save money somewhere! It ended up working out in our favor though because about halfway through the game it started pouring rain and everyone ran inside the restaurant. Due to the fact that we were already inside, we were one of the few lucky groups that had a table (and we didn’t even have to pay for it!).

In case you missed the game or didn’t hear, the Falcons lost to the Patriots in overtime. This was the first Super Bowl in history to go into overtime! And even though the Patriots are my least favorite team in the NFL, I had a blast watching the game.

On a final note, since meat is often expensive here, I eat fish to get my protein instead. There is a fish market in Paynes Bay open Monday – Saturday from noon – 7PM. The fish prices change daily due to what they catch, but they’re always both affordable and delicious. I can get a pound of tuna for $5 US, whereas in California one pound would cost around $30. Keep in mind when you read the prices sign that “dolphin” in Barbados is actually mahi-mahi. Bajans don’t go around eating sweet innocent dolphins!

Angela Howard studied abroad in Cave Hill, Barbados, in Spring 2017: http://eap.ucop.edu/OurPrograms/barbados/Pages/univ_west_indies.aspx

Barbados | Registration and Cruises at UWI

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By ANGELA HOWARD

Class registration at University of West Indies Cave Hill (UWI) was by far the easiest college registration experience of my life. At my junior college, everyone within a certain number of units could register at the same time (at 6AM no less!) on the same day which always made the system crash. At UCLA, students would cross their fingers that they had a good “first pass,” and sometimes that could determine someone’s entire quarter schedule depending on how impacted their classes were. At the University of Ghana (UG), the classes were not posted online. The students had to walk to each department, hope that the classes were posted on a bulletin board (some were not posted until after the first week of instruction had begun), hope the times did not conflict with other departments, and finally register in each individual department, as well as through the UCEAP study center. But not at UWI. UWI was easy. We went through the online schedule of classes (which was not available until five days before instruction began), chose classes that sounded interesting to us, and emailed the international students advisor with the course numbers. We did not have to wait for an enrollment time or walk to each individual department. We did not have to “cross our fingers” that the classes would still be available (I was even able to enroll in a class that was already over capacity). Plain and simple.

If your major falls under the “B.A. category” (or North Campus, as UCLA students say), you need to get prior approval to take classes in the College of Science and Technology. However, if you’re dead set on taking classes in that college, have no fear! As a North Campus major, I had no problem enrolling in three computer science courses and a math course for this semester. On that note, if you have always been interested in programming courses but never had time to enroll in them at UCLA, I would strongly recommend taking them here. The department is very welcoming to international students, and because UWI is on the semester system rather than the quarter system, the classes go a much a slower pace which really gives students the time to have the new material sink in.

But enough about registration. Let’s talk about the first week of classes. Courses at UWI are a lot more like UCLA (or “U.S.” teaching) than I had expected them to be. I think I expected them to be different because of my UCEAP experience in Ghana. In Ghana it was rare for my professors to use PowerPoint (due to the electricity being unreliable), professors would not show up to class until 45 minutes after the designated start time, and assignments would be extremely vague. At UWI, all my professors use PowerPoint, my lectures generally start right on time, and so far, all the assignments have been clear and manageable. After being on the quarter system at UCLA for so long, it’s refreshing to have a slower pace of class instruction.

The UWI campus is lovely. The best part about it is that I can walk across it in ten minutes. Sometimes at UCLA I could not even get from Powell Library to the Public Affairs Building (about .5 miles) in ten minutes. I am also pleasantly surprised with the food on campus. Recently I found a hidden smoothie shop very close to the gym, so sometimes after I work out I get a delicious protein shake. The shake costs $7 Bajan (or $3.5 U.S.) which is still cheaper than a smoothie at Juice Shack or Jamba Juice so I am happy with the price. There are also many traditional Ghanaian things on the UWI campus, that I never would have known where Ghanaian if I had not previously lived there. For example, on the entrance to the student’s affairs building there is the adinkra symbol meaning “with faith all things are possible.” Adinkra symbols were created by the Ashanti tribe (native to central Ghana, near Kumasi). They represent concepts and aphorisms and are frequently used in pottery and fabric.

Adinkra cloth made by UCEAP students in Ghana in Fall 2016

Gye Nyame” symbol on the student affair’s buiding at UWI

On the weekends (as well as during the week) there is always something happening! A company called Island Roots puts on events every weekend that are usually geared toward 18-24 year olds, though sometimes they attract an older crowd too. The events range in price from free to $140 Bajan ($70 U.S.) and are almost always cheaper if you buy your tickets in advance (such as from a R.A. in a residence hall or online), OR if you’re female. Sorry boys, the female cover charge here is almost always at least $10 Bajan cheaper than the boys cover, and ladies often get in free to events before a certain time.

Last weekend to celebrate the end of the first week of school, a large group of international students decided to go on an Island Roots sponsored cruise together. Like most things in Barbados, it was not punctual at all. According to the flyer, boarding started at 11 AM and we were to be setting sail at noon sharp. Naturally that meant we did not leave the dock until 1:30 P.M. But overall it was a lovely experience to sail around the western side of the island while simultaneously having a dance party with music so loud that it practically rocked the boat itself.

   

Last but certainly not least, Sunday is SUPER BOWL SUNDAY! Seeing as football is my favorite sport, I am very excited to announce that I have plans to go to a Super Bowl party on the beach. Food and drinks are included in the cover charge (and yes, it is cheaper because I’m female!) and I am quite excited to watch the Atlanta Falcons kick the New England Patriots’ butts! In 2012 when the New York Giants beat the Patriots I was living in Germany, so I will take it as a positive omen that when I’m living abroad the Pats will simply always lose the Super Bowl. (If you hadn’t noticed, the Patriots are my least favorite team in the NFL)I’m just grateful that the Super Bowl starts at 7:30 PM in my current time zone, and not midnight like it did in Germany! Go Falcons!

Angela Howard studied abroad in Cave Hill, Barbados, in Spring 2017: http://eap.ucop.edu/OurPrograms/barbados/Pages/univ_west_indies.aspx

Barbados | Arrival and Orientation

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BY ANGELA HOWARD

Before we arrived in Barbados, we found a duplex house (referred to as an “apartment” by the locals) to live in for the semester. The International Office at University of West Indies Cave Hill (UWI – pronounced [jʉi] in IPA or “yoou-ee”) was very helpful in providing phone numbers and email addresses for UWI off campus approved housing landlords. But more about housing selections later. After speaking several times with a landlord and seeing pictures of the “apartment” we decided to live in a furnished two bedroom “apartment” for a total of $1700 Barbadian (or $425 US per bedroom per month) for all utilities and amenities included. (Later, after we went house-hunting as part of orientation, we learned that the average rent per bedroom during peak season, January-May, ranges from $400 US to $450 US per month; however, electricity is not always included in the rent. Fortunately for us, it is.) Our landlord, who we later learned is a retired professor from UWI who founded the tourism major/department on campus, agreed to pick us up from the airport to take us to our new home. Although UCEAP offers to pick up students from the airport, we were arriving before January 11th (the first day where UCEAP was scheduling pick-ups), so we needed to find an alternative way to get to our new home. Here is the story of our arrival in Barbados:

From the moment we arrived in Barbados, we thought we might be in trouble. As we entered the immigration area surrounded by hundreds of German tourists, I saw a women standing at the front of the line holding a wooden sign. The sign read, “Ms. Angie Howard.” I nudged my travel buddy and said, “Look… my name is on a sign, did I do something wrong…?” As I approached the women and introduced myself, she immediately gestured for my friend and I to cut over 75 people in line. Now I really thought I was in trouble. In all my traveling, never before has anyone waited at the terminal gate with my name on a printed sign.

She brought us to the immigration booth, where our passports were stamped, and told me to find her after we collected our luggage. Not only did we have no idea about what was going on, but the luggage collection was particularly stressful because on our previous flight to Germany three weeks prior, my checked bag from Ghana did not arrive until three days after us.  Fortunately, our bags were the first ones off the carousel and everything arrived in one piece! We exchanged our Euros to Barbadian dollars (for an excellent exchange rate might I add) and found the woman who collected us at the terminal.

Barbados Tip: Almost everywhere accepts U.S. currency for a constant exchange rate of $1US to $2 Barbadian. (I’ve even paid with Barbadian dollars and received U.S. as change from grocery markets and restaurants!) That being said, if you plan on carrying around Barbadian dollars for the first couple of days (which I recommend), the airport exchange kiosk has the best exchange rate I’ve found thus far on the island if you’re exchanging $100 U.S. or less. The fee is $5 or 5%, whichever is more. All the banks we have tried have higher ATM fees than this.

As it turns out, because our landlord has connections in the tourism industry he asked the woman to wait with my name on the sign so that we could get out of the airport faster to get home. (We arrived in Barbados around 8PM, so after immigration and luggage it was getting late.) What we originally thought might be trouble turned out to be us being treated like royalty!

The night we arrived our landlord gave us a short tour of the island on our way to the apartment, driving us past places such as the ever so popular joint Oistins Fish Fry, UWI, and one of the main super markets. At first I simply thought we had the nicest landlord in the world, (and he is very nice) but later I learned it’s by no means uncommon for the UWI affiliated landlords to give the international students a short tour of the island. Barbadian (or Bajan –pronounced [bɛʃən] or ‘bashun’) hospitality is amazing.

After a couple days of wandering the island, it was time to go to orientation. My only experience with UCEAP orientations was very extensive. In Ghana, our orientation was 2.5 weeks long, and was so intense that we received four units of UC course credit for it in African studies. We took field trips, had mini-lectures, and learned the basic necessities of Ghanaian life, such as what we could eat, what to do when the water went out, and not to use our left hand for anything because the left is considered sinister in Ghanaian culture (not to mention it’s the hand everyone wipes with and many Ghanaian meals are eaten without utensils).

That’s why I was shocked when the informational part of the UCEAP Barbados orientation lasted less than two hours. We received an information packet that had fun activities to do in Barbados for the semester, a map of UWI, and a pamphlet of clubs we could join at the university. After some general FAQ and explanation of class enrollment, the orientation was over and we were free to do what we wanted to for the rest of the day. My travel buddy spent a UCEAP semester in Ireland and said that the orientation there was similar. I was so accustomed to all the necessary hand holding in Ghana in UCEAP that then my orientation was so short, I thought truly they must be not telling me something! As it turns out, they gave us all the pertinent information we needed to know and sent us on our way.

The second day of the orientation weekend consisted of the UWI International Student Orientation which basically was a reiteration of the information from the previous days orientation, only all of the international students where there (rather than just the UCEAP students). I was surprised to learn that aside from the UC students, there were only three other American students, and most of the other international students were Canadian or from Europe.

In the evening we all went out to Oistins Fish Fry, “the place to be” on Friday nights. While it is rather touristy, it makes for a fun evening. There are vendors selling knickknacks of all sorts, loud music, and plenty of delicious places to get your fish fix!

The third and final full day of the orientation weekend, UCEAP organized a house hunting afternoon for all of the students that did not yet have accommodation, but that will be for another post as it was a very long and informative afternoon.

At first we thought we simply unfortunately lived near a rooster that liked to crow at sunrise. As it turns out, they are all over the island. Here are the three that woke us up at orientation. On the bright side, getting up at literally the crack of dawn helps to start a productive day!

  

On a final note, I found the Bajan equivalent of Diddy Reese during orientation, and while nothing can compare to Diddy Reese, it sure is delicious!

Angela Howard studied abroad in Cave Hill, Barbados, in Spring 2017: http://eap.ucop.edu/OurPrograms/barbados/Pages/univ_west_indies.aspx