Hello all! Once again, I’m terribly late with posts.. ごめんなさい！ But these past two weeks, I’ve totally had a reason! Yes, Final Exams are upon us here at Kansai Gaidai, and I won’t be done with them until at least Thursday. But while I was writing some of my papers, I figured I should drop in with a silly video I made while trying to procrastinate 
Hope you enjoy my silliness ~
Leave me your thoughts in the comments below! I promise I have many many more posts yet to make, so stay tuned!
Tags: Japan - Spring 2013, melanie king
Fashion:
Everyone in Florence dresses fashionably and looks really well put together. Many of the brands that they wear are the same as the types of brands that we wear in Florida. A large component of Italian fashion is modesty, for both and man and women. While in Florida, it is rather common to see people in more revealing outfits, such as shorts and flip-flops, that help them with cope with hot weather. Often Floridians sacrifice fashion so that they can be comfortable.
Service:
Part of American Culture is tipping one’s waiter or waitress for good service; tips are usually expected even if the servic
e is below average. In Italy, waiters, waitresses, and bartenders do not work for a commission, so the quality of service they provide is not the same as one may expect in the United States. Although they are not rude, they are not as attentive and one should no expect them to just refill your water when half is gone. In addition, in Italy the glasses for non-alcoholic beverage are small and one must pay for extra refills.
Pace of Life:
As Floridians, we tend to be a lot more relaxed than our neighbors from up north. In perspective, Florentines have similar ideologies as Floridians. They like to savor their meals and drinks as well as talk and laugh with their company. Florentines stay longer than Floridians after they finish eating their meal, however, one has to ask their server for their check when they are ready. Otherwise, servers in Florence will not bring your check to you. You will be sitting at your table for a very long time! I know this from experience!!!
Tags: Italy - Summer 2013
I finally set foot on China and it still hasn’t hit me that I am actually in China, thousands and thousands of miles away from home in Florida. Maybe because I was born in China and part of me says, “I am home.” I was traveling with 3 of my classmates and I am thankful because they made my trip a lot easier and fun.
Once we stepped outside of the Qingdao Airport, we were deciding on getting a cab to our hotel and was approached by a shady older man. He offered to take us to our hotel and we knew better than to take the offer of a supposed taxi driver. My Chinese wasn’t that terrible so we can’t be fooled! Once we got to our hotel, it was smaller than anticipated but the price was super good for 2 nights. Though, once we checked into our rooms, it was so small! We struggled with getting internet and the teapot to brew hot water was smelling like vinegar.
We arrived during the day, we wanted to get our phones set up but a nap turned into a full on sleep, it is now 2 am and we are wide awake and hungry. XD
Tags: China - Summer 2013
Here’s another quick post that’s mostly pictures. I wish I had taken more pictures of my meals in India but I think this is a good overview.
Momo མོག་མོག་
Homemade momos མོག་མོག་
Momos (མོག་མོག་) are a traditional Tibetan dumpling that can be found at just about every restaurant in Dharamsala. The first set of pictures is all veggie momos from restaurants in Dharamsala and Manju Ka Tilla (the Tibetan colony in Delhi). The second set of pictures is mutton momos that I made with my homestay family. I never figured out how to fold them properly so my homestay dad commented that he could tell which ones were “Made in America!”
Thukpa & Shabalay
This is two more traditional Tibetan foods, both veggie (at least in this picture): Thukpa (noodle soup) and Shabalay (I call them Tibetan empanadas).
Thali: Basically a sampler of Indian food
Dhaba meals
Dhabas are small, roadside restaurants (usually) that have only a few selections.
Drinks from left to right, top to bottom: I think the first one speaks for itself; iced mint lemon tea; iced tea
Small chai places in McLeod
Surprisingly, McLeod has a lot of cafes with good coffee
All of those cafes have great desserts
Desserts from left to right: ice cream brownie sundae; homemade mango strawberry ice cream; variety of ice cream desserts
Breakfasts
Homesick foods from left to right: apple pie and coke; spinach and fruit salad at my favorite restaurant; coke float
More homesick food from left to right, top to bottom: pizza; tacos; Chinese hotpot
Dustin & Kalimpong Restaurant
The last picture has a monkey (we named him Dustin) at our guesthouse who somehow knew every time my roommate made a sandwich (he spent a lot of time outside our window) and the Kalimpong Restaurant (I never got around to trying this place but I like the picture).
Tags: India - Spring 2013
Outside the Nechung Oracle's Temple
Our class had the oportunity to attend Nechung Monastery and see the Nechung Oracle, the State Oracle of Tibet. Unlike Lamas who are reborn, the Nechung Oracle is present through a medium (currently Venerable Thupten Ngodrup). Since the time of the 5th Dalai Lama, the Nechung Oracle has held an important position as the protector of Tibet and it’s government. This Oracle has When the Dalai Lama was planning his escape from Tibet in 1959, the Nechung Oracle predicted a safe route to avoid being detected by the Chinese authorities. Like many important Tibetan monasteries, Nechung Monastery has been rebuilt in exile and is now located in Dharamsala, near the Tibetan government-in-exile.
Inside the Nechung Oracle's Temple
Tags: India - Spring 2013
My flight was long and tedious but it was well worth it. When I finally arrived at the Florence Airport, the Palazzi staff was there to greet us and give us our cell phones (I recommend everyone to get one). They took us to our new apartment in Piazza Santo Spirito.
View from our Apt
What stood out the most to me during my travels?
Some airports do not have free Wi-Fi. Even the Chicago airport, which is supposed to be one of the busiest in the USA, did not have free Wi-Fi. This becomes very inconvenient.
What I forgot to bring and wish I brought…
I definitely should have brought more clothes. At this time of year, Florence is still pretty chilly. In the morning, it is very cold. All of the local Italians were dressed in appropriate attire for the cool weather. Women are wearing boots and scarf, which I didn’t bring. I unfortunately only brought cardigans.
What is my advice so far?
Do not immediately use an adaptor with your laptop. Do some research!!! If your laptop was built 5 years ago or less, you most likely will only need to use a coveter. I made this mistake and burned my adaptor. Smoke was literary coming from the contraception. Thankfully, I unplugged it in time and my laptop is safe.
Also, I highly recommend that you learn at least a few common phases in Italian. The locals really appreciate it and if you get lost, as I already have done many times, it would make your life a lot easier.
Xoxo,
Rita
Tags: Italy - Summer 2013
Hi Everyone,
My name is Grace Strattan. I am a junior BFA Studio Art major with a concentration in painting. I am studying abroad in Paris this summer with the School of Art and Art history. I chose this program for obvious reasons–I am an art major and I wanted to study abroad with a program that would value the arts and with people who understand what my goals are in traveling abroad.
While abroad I will be keeping two different blogs for two different obligations this one for the USF World Overseas Compass Scholarship and a co-written blog, on which I will post, at http://www.tumblr.com/blog/researchinartsscholarshipusf for the Office of Undergraduate Research, Research in the Arts Scholarship.
I hope to update this blog with photos of my sketchbook, museums, architecture, landscape, and people in Paris and I will also write down events and my thoughts about things that I see. I plan to update often but the frequency will depend on connectivity once I arrive in Paris, since I do not plan to bring a computer.
I am extremely excited for my trip and hope that you all will enjoy my blog when I arrive June 1st.
-Grace
Tags: France - Summer 2013
Sat Sri Akal,
I recently received a letter of rejection from the Yale School of Management Pre-MBA Global Leadership Program. When I applied I knew it would be a long-shot just like every other scholarship that I apply for. The main reason I didn’t believe I was going to get this particular scholarship was because the program seeks minorities. Although I am not African America, Hispanic, Native America, or Asian, I am a woman and women are underrepresented in MBA programs in the US and around the world. Maybe I should not have even applied in the first place, but I did anyways. To my surprise, I was asked for an interview. Unfortunately, every bad thing possible in the universe seemed to occur simultaneously during the days leading up to my interview. Anyways, I blew the interview and received a rejection letter shortly after. Overall, I feel awful. I have lost many scholarships in the past but this rejection has left me feeling exceptionally low.
Although rejection hurts, the benefits associated with applying for scholarships far outweigh the costs. I believe that every mistake I make and every time I fail, I am one step closer to succeeding. I know that the Yale School of Management (SOM) Pre-MBA program would have been a great opportunity, but I learned a lot even though I got rejected. What I am trying to say is that even being rejected will have a great impact on me and my future. For example, prior to this interview I thought I was a decent public speaker. After my interview I realized that I need to improve my ability to express myself clearly and concisely. Learning these types of lesson early on will help me when I run for President or when I conquer the world, or become a CEO of a Fortune 500 Company, etc. In addition, the process of applying for scholarships is always a positive experience no matter the outcome because it gives me a moment to reflect. The essay questions for the Yale SOM Pre-MBA application included, “Who is your role model and why?” and “What do you hope to learn from the Yale SOM Pre-MBA Program?” These questions made me consider the possibility of getting an MBA which I had never considered before, which leads me to next benefit of applying for scholarships – exposure. Without a doubt, exposure to different environments, cultures, languages, histories, people, governments, food, etc., is what life is all about (at least while you’re young). Overall, I don’t regret anything. I plan on shaking off the rejection blues and moving on to my next scholarship. Well, actually this time it is an essay contest, the Frasier Institute Essay Contest.
To clarify, the Yale scholarship aforementioned was for a two week summer program sponsored by Goldman Sachs. I still intend on moving to France in the fall to complete my Masters in Economics from the Toulouse School of Economics.
Regarding my research work, my paper on women’s empowerment and Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in Punjab has been accepted by a conference at Stanford during July 12-15. The conference is being hosted by the International Association for Feminist Economists (IAFFE). Although I am not a feminist, I have to take every opportunity I can get. If you are wondering what happened to my paper on farmer suicide and debt in Punjab, I will tell you. I wrote that paper. The paper turned out to be horrible, boring, and overall uninformative. Basically, the paper was based off of my study of ten villages in Punjab. Unfortunately, most Punjabi people do not want to share information regarding how much debt they owe, especially with a foreigner! Overall, I don’t blame them. If I tried to do the same study in the US, it probably would have been a failure too. When I look back on the study, it wasn’t a complete failure because I learned so much about how to collect data and about Punjab in general.
About two months ago, I started researching SHGs and I noticed that a lot of papers on the topic assumed that SHGs and microfinance in general lead to women’s empowerment. However, not many papers confirmed an association between the two exists. The object of my current paper is to compare the development of empowerment amongst three different groups of women in Punjab. The groups include women receiving financial services from self-help groups (SHGs), women receiving financial services from banks, and a control group receiving no financial services. The variables used to measure the increase in empowerment include the respondent’s ability to make decisions, employment status, ownership of assets and land, position toward their daughters, and self-esteem levels. I plan on using an analysis of variance to compare the means of the different groups on those variables. I am still working out the details.
Regarding mini-vacations, I recently went on a five day trip to the Maldives with another Fulbright student, Tiffany Taylor. Here are some photos from the trip.
Regarding the True of False section of my last blog update, here are the much awaited answers:
(F)- Shah Jahan cut off the hands of the artisans who worked on the Taj Mahal so that no other future building could compare with the Taj’s beauty.
(T)- After the Mutiny of 1857, when several Indians revolted against the British in Agra, the British took revenge by chiseling out the precious stones inlayed in the marble walls of the Taj.
(F) – Due to erosion from the Yamuna River’s decreasing water level, the Taj Mahal’s structural foundation is weakening and the entire structure is expected to collapse within five years.
(T) – The air in Agra, India, was so polluted that the white marble exterior of the Taj Mahal became discolored provoking the government to inact the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ), a 4,000 sq mi area around the monument where strict emissions standards are in place.
Tags: India - Summer 2013
Hello all
I figured it would be best to begin this blog with the topic that is probably at the forefront of most study abroad students’ minds – budgeting. Before anyone can even begin to select programs and such, they of course have to consider how they will pay for it.
In all honesty, I have to tell you that even with scholarships you must be prepared to somehow pay for the entire cost of the program. Why is this? Three words – financial aid disbursement. This doesn’t happen until after the first couple weeks of school, as everyone knows. The rule does not change for study abroad. Most grants and scholarships award through the university to ensure the money is being spent in the way it was meant. So…find a family member/friend to help, get a loan at a credit union, or put it on a card.
Of course, this is a gamble. Everyone knows this going in. If you don’t have a good “set of cards” then I would advise carefully considering if you should play the game. If your gpa is low, you don’t have a unique situation, your parents are living and help pay your expenses, and you don’t work…then I would say you are facing an uphill battle. This is not to say that someone with these attributes do not receive aid. Of course they don’t. The point is that they have more hoops to jump through.
That said, the thing that helped me the most was creating undergraduate independent research projects that fit into my program’s free time. This will help me academically and professionally in the future, but it shows a seriousness to the committees awarding the scholarships that sets you apart from other applicants.
Also, for the sake of being genuine, let me tell you that I am also a first generation, high gpa double major college student who is dirt poor, and who lost both of her parents before the age of 17. Obviously, these factors were considered and weighed heavily. It also helped that I (not to sound cheeky or presumptuous, but…) write well and had my essays reviewed by several different people several different times.
Anywho, I received a $750 travel grant from the USF Office of Undergraduate Research. The application process was pretty painless. I highly recommend going down this avenue for your funding needs. Consider what you would like to research, how you would like to do it (quantitatively vs. qualitatively), make an appointment with your academic advisor to discuss possible research mentors in your department, and make it happen. The full details can be found here:http://lib.usf.edu/undergraduate-research/travel-funding/
Okay, let’s talk about the Gilman. This is the “big fish.” Only those receiving pell grants may apply, and it awards up to $5,000. I received $3,000.
First off … begin EARLY. I cannot stress this enough! There is a 7,000 character limit for each essay, which amounts to about 1 1/2-2 pages of single font text. Now, that’s not a huge amount, to be sure. However, you want to allow yourself ample time for revisions and peer/advisor reading. Take advantage of your education abroad/scholarship offices if you have them!!! People are being employed for the sole purpose of helping you! Use these resources. If there aren’t any such offices on your campus, look to your university library for writing center help, or ask friends (who write well, haha) to read your essays. I consider myself to be well-written, but even so…when you go through 10-15 revisions those words all start to blur together. Fresh eyes are definitely needed after about the 4th revision. There are two essays you need to write: a statement of purpose, and a follow-on service project.
While both are weighed about the same, I’d say the statement holds slightly more sway. This is because it is a platform for connection with the scholarship committee. While you certainly want to include relevant information about your study abroad program, financial aid (or in my case, lack thereof), and other necessaries, you also want to be a little more personal than you would in academic papers.
Make connections between your academic/career goals and the abroad program. Talk about your current studies, future goals, and the program all in one bundle, and make your case as eloquently as possible. You might mention challenges you face in going abroad (for instance: it’s been hard for me to fit in study abroad b/c I’ve been super busy with two majors and a full-time job).
Introduce your major, career goal, and program right away. DON’T be tempted to write a cutesy story! The readers at Gilman have thousands of essays to get through, so be kind and put the most relevant information first. Don’t waste their time with cheap anecdotes.
Tell them why you chose your program, and be extremely specific! Why this program? Whythis country? Will you get college credit during your trip? Where are you staying? Any excursions? Additional challenges? If you are studying a language, can you find total language immersion readily in your area? Difficult study abroad programs for your major? Have you ever known anyone who studied abroad? First generation college student? Significant financial difficulties? This is as much a “get to know you” essay as it is informative. Find the balance between the two. Also, if you face a lot of difficulties…do try to express them in a positive light, as something that you will overcome through hard work, academic merit, etc. Don’t beg! Writing a sob story is going to seem cheap. Nobody likes a beggar 
Tags: Russia - Summer 2013
Wednesday was my last day in Nicaragua. We spent the day in the community visiting with families and planning the first meeting of the advisory board for the new clinic we are starting in Cedro. I got to eat lunch with an older lady who shared about her experiences growing up in Cedro and her concerns for the state of healthcare in the area. While we walked house to house visiting with people I’ve gotten to know over the last week, I couldn’t help feeling a little choked up. The great warmth and hospitality we received made me feel at home with these people I had only known for such a short amount of time. At the end of the day, I ran into the family that hosted me. Even though we spent less than a day together, they were all so welcoming and were eager to hear about my travels since I last saw them. When the youngest asked if I would be back, I couldn’t say no. After such an amazing experience, I absolutely will return to Nicaragua. I cannot wait to see how much has changed in Cedro and I look forward to the day I can volunteer in clinic to serve the medical needs of the community.
Tags: Nicaragua - Summer 2013