hayashi « OSU Abroad

– after having participated in an international program –

The 3rd annual Northwest Returnee Conference for education abroad students will be held on January 22, 2011, in Portland OR.

So you participated in a study abroad or international internship program, and now you’re back on campus. It may seem strange to be back in Corvallis, hanging out with your “old” friends and settling back into your normal student life at OSU, after spending a term, semester, or entire academic year abroad. Do you miss the friends you made abroad? Do you think about new favorite food and music you discovered while overseas? Are your friends and family tired of listening to your stories about India, South Africa, New Zealand, or Costa Rica? But you can’t help mentioning the country and culture that you now consider a part of you?

The Northwest Returnee Conference provides a place to meet other education abroad returnees from various institutions in the region and an opportunity to reflect and build on your overseas experience. The concurrent sessions will give participants the chance to learn about opportunities in academic and professional fields and how to utilize skills and knowledge gained through the participation in international programs. Here are brief descriptions of some of the sessions:

*International Career Panel: Meet professionals from different fields who have had various international experiences and are now applying the skills and knowledge they gained while abroad.

*Abroad Again: Learn more ways to return to where you studied/interned or to explore other parts of the world for additional academic and/or professional experiences.

*Graduate Schools & Programs: Considering continuing your education beyond OSU? There are plenty of graduate programs in which your international experience becomes the foundation of learning and research.

*International Resume Building: How can you articulate your international experience in your resume? Should a resume for overseas employers be prepared differently? Bring a copy of your own and learn how to make it stand out.

Any students who participated in international programs in the last few years, including recent graduates, are invited to the conference. Register today through the conference website.

Ashley Wood, a former soccer player at OSU, majored in Exercise & Sports Science, and interned abroad during the Winter term 2010 in Durban and Cape Town, South Africa, through IE3 Global Internships.

This last winter term I embarked on a journey to beautiful South Africa as a medical intern. I was able to immerse myself in an entirely new country and culture, and was able to grow both personally and professionally. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget.

The first five weeks I spent in Cape Town at a district hospital that intakes patients from the day clinics. I spent time rotating through the trauma, surgery, and orthopedics. I saw how understaffed hospitals were, and how overworked many doctors are. Many doctors are leaving the country for places that pay better, and have better lifestyles where they are not overworked. In South Africa, there are so few doctors that many day hospitals and clinics are run by nurses. Even though a lot of money is put into healthcare, I still noticed that supplies were short.

The next five weeks were spent in Durban, where I rotated around a number of medical facilities. I was able to go to a couple different day clinics, some in the rural areas just outside of Durban, as well as an orphanage, a hospice, a private hospital, and another district hospital. The focus of the Durban part of the internship was HIV/AIDS and its impact on the healthcare system in South Africa. Kwa-Zulu Natal is the province that Durban is in, and it has the highest HIV rates in the country, and one of the highest in the world. By being submerged into the medical system, I was able to see first hand how much impact HIV has on healthcare, such as resource allocation and care. There was even a huge political influence involved in the increase of HIV rates.

South Africa was an amazing country to live in. It is one of the most diverse countries in the world. No matter where I was, people were willing to help me out with questions I had, or give me suggestions on what to do. I have never experienced such amazing hospitality. I lived with host families in both cities, and loved them dearly. From day one they accepted me as their child, and cared for me. They tried to teach me their language, how to make different foods, and helped me understand the game of cricket.

Ashley Wood (L) & Kailey Poole (R) - IE3 medical internship in South Africa

Since I was an athlete, finding a time to go abroad was somewhat difficult, but also an experience I knew I couldn’t pass up. I learned way more by living with a family about the culture and customs that would be a little harder to pick up on as a vacationer.

Jenn Busick in Bolivia — Jen Busick in Bolivia, with her host grandson

When I was ten years old my grandpa and I went to Honduras to visit my aunt, who was serving in the Peace Corps. During the two weeks I was there I learned a few key phrases in Spanish, experienced a new culture, made new friends, learned how to make tortillas from scratch, and was awoken early each morning by a rooster. The experience made me look at the world from another perspective and made me appreciate many of the things I took for granted living in the United States, such as clean water, education, and paved roads. That trip was a pivotal moment in my life; I promised myself that I too would one day join the Peace Corps.

Realizing the Dream: In May 2006, my dream of serving in the Peace Corps came true when my husband and I departed the United States for Bolivia. We arrived in the city of Cochabamba, where we spent three months in training. Half the day we took Spanish classes and the other part we learned about Bolivian culture and gained more skills in our project areas. We were part of a group of 30 other volunteers. Each of us lived with a different Bolivian host family. After those three months of training we were then sent to our sites, where we would spend the next two years. My husband and I were placed in Huacareta, in the region of Chuquisaca, a rural village of about 1,000 people.

Working in a Bolivian Community: My main project was to work with the schools in and around Huacareta. I taught children and women’s groups the importance of sanitation, nutrition, dental hygiene, AIDS/HIV prevention, and computer skills. One of the most rewarding experiences was working with a women’s group to start a peanut butter-making business. The women learned about proper food handling, the nutritious benefits of peanut butter, accounting methods, and working together as a team with specific roles. I thoroughly enjoyed working with them; throughout the process the women and I shared many stories and laughter, and I was able to learn so much about them.

Start Your Own Life-Defining Experience: Joining the Peace Corps is one of the best experiences of my life. I got to be immersed in another culture, learn a new language, make new friends, and most of all, I got to learn much about myself. I encourage anyone who has thought about living in another country and wants to share their skills and experiences with others to look into serving in the Peace Corps. If you have any questions or concerns about the Peace Corps or the application process, please contact me, I would love to talk with you. The Peace Corps website is another great resource: peacecorps.gov

Jen Busick

OSU Peace Corps Campus Representative
peacecorps@oregonstate.edu
541-737-2003

By Laura McMahon: Oregon State University student and IE₃ Summer 2010 Scholarship Recipient interning with Sea Turtles 911 in China

I’m Laura McMahon, a senior in Fisheries and Wildlife Science at Oregon State University. I am interning with Sea Turtles 911, a non profit organization working to save sea turtles in the South China Sea around Hainan Island. I feel as if I have adapted to life in China quickly, even without knowing the language. I have gotten the chance to experience a way of life many never have the opportunity to experience. The floating village is filled with people practicing their traditional ways of life, while at the same time, there are some modern technologies that have been mixed in. It’s strange how two worlds can collide and yet seem to work perfectly. The other day a couple young boys used their traditional boat to row to our floating hospital for help changing a new cell phone’s language setting from English to Chinese.

Lately, we have been busy rehabbing 3 turtles we rescued from a fisherman who no longer had use for them. He couldn’t sell them because of their poor condition. We were called to visit this fisherman at his home in the floating village, where he let us take 6 of his turtles. We found these sick turtles either in dry buckets or floating in their enclosures, it was hard to see animals in that condition, but it also felt good to lend a hand. Our sea turtle hospital transformed into something that I imagine to be similar to a hectic army hospital. We administered fluids and cleaned them, all while hoping they would make it through the night. Sadly, by the end of the week, we were only able to save 3 of the six. During the first week, the turtles were not strong enough to lift their heads above water, which resulted in each turtle resting on a life jacket with a wet towel on their backs to keep them wet. It’s a sad sight to see sea turtles that are not strong enough to even pick their heads out of the water, but during their second week, they were able to float and lift their heads. Their recovery has been slow, but they have been making progress. Over the last couple weeks, they have progressed, so far! They can eat on their own and are capable of swimming! I can’t wait to one day be able to release them back into the wild where they belong.

For so long, I have dreamed of going on an adventure of a lifetime, and living in China has been just that. I can’t believe how lucky I’ve been; in five weeks, I have had the opportunity to do things I never thought I would get the chance to do. I have been able to rescue sea turtles, ride taxi boats and rickshaws, swim with whale sharks, meet locals, and teach others about sea turtle conservation. I am half way through my time here, and it has been great experience so far. I can’t wait to find out what the other half of my internship will include!

Visit the IE3 Blog to learn more about what other IE3 Global Internship students abroad are doing!

erin-davis-Bray — Erin Davis in Ireland, Summer 10

Dia Dhuit!
..or, Hello, if you happen to not speak Gaeilge. Only about one in five people in Ireland speak this traditional language, but it’s still an integral part of the culture, printed on the top of all traffic signs and spoken during certain hours on live television. This mixture of traditional and modern life is prevalent not only in the language but also in the architecture, the food and the live music escaping from Temple Bar pubs at almost any time of day or night. This is why I chose to spend my summer here, to experience the unique style that makes Dublin such a lovely place to be.

More specifically, I came to work in the fashion industry using my Merchandising Management degree. Most of my friends are completing summer internships in the Northwest but I wanted to do something different and have been interested in fashion for as long as I can remember. This, combined with my desire to travel, led me to choose an internship abroad with IE3 Global Internships. My internship is with Europe’s most successful regeneration project in Ballymun, which was created out of necessity during the 1960s, where high rises were built to house residents but virtually no jobs or malls were built to support the new population. This bad planning led to poverty and everything that comes with it.

Ballymun Regeneration Limited was created in 1997 to rebuild the area, and there are multiple schemes under it, including the Rediscovery Centre. Specifically, I am helping to open the Rediscovery Centre Eco Store, a boutique which incorporates multiple projects and will be selling recreated furniture, home goods and clothing and accessories made from completely recycled materials.

Currently I am completing a guidebook for running the store, including everything from a product list to emergency information. In the next seven weeks, I will be doing a bit of Public Relations and will probably work a few festivals, which are really popular in Ireland and the UK during the summer.

The overall atmosphere is very relaxed. Even though my work site is starting a huge project, there is virtually no stress, which I definitely prefer because I can think clearly and express my ideas more freely. I am surprised at how “at home” I feel here, like part of a little family in my internship, which is so much more than I could have asked for. I am excited to watch the store grow, as well as my experience and knowledge about Ireland during the next seven weeks.

Until then, Cheers!
Erin Davis
http://erindavisgobragh.blogspot.com/

Heather Hodnett graduated from OSU in Spring 2010 in Exercise and Sports Sciences. She went to India in Spring ’08 through the IE3 Global Internship Program, and spent ten weeks as a Child Family Health International intern, visiting various cities and villages in India to gain professional medical experiences.

Two years ago today, I was finishing the last week of my IE3 internship in northern India. I think about it often enough that it may have ended just two days ago.

I expected to reflect upon my IE3 experience directly after my return and for years to come, but my reflection has been deeper than I initially imagined. In fact, I chose to write my University Honors College (UHC) thesis based on my IE3 internship, and therefore, these past few months have been a time of sustained and obligatory – though welcome and insightful – reflection.

My days in India consisted mainly of observation in various types of medical clinics and public health facilities scattered throughout the northern region. I knew before I left Oregon that I would likely use some facet of my experience as the foundation for my thesis, so I took handwritten and mental notes each day and typed them into my computer journal each night. Despite my acute awareness of my daily observations and experiences, it still took me quite a bit of time after returning from India to actually figure out what aspect of my internship I wanted to focus on for my thesis.

I noticed countless differences between the healthcare system in India and the US; some ways which seemed safer and more sensible and some which seemed less. As expected, I also noticed how the greater Indian society influenced the practice of medicine and the health outcomes within the northern region. This became the basis for my thesis: The Medical Culture of Northern India: A Visitor’s Perspective.

My research for the thesis was two-fold: anecdotal research based on the things I saw and did during my days in India, and literature research to validate and enhance my observations. This literature research opened my eyes to so many facets of Indian life and the culture of healthcare that I did not even pick up on during my ten weeks living there. It is hard to imagine I missed so much of the daily happenings while I was living and working in the middle of them, but I never would have made this realization had I not done some exploration upon my return. My experience ignited a flame of interest and curiosity that I took the time and energy to really investigate. Having done so, I now understand so much more about what I saw and why things happened the ways they did.

If there is one thing I discovered by writing my thesis based on my IE3 internship, it is that my education about India and the country’s healthcare system did not stop when I got on the plane to leave. Nor should it have. My advice to past, current, and future IE3 interns is to keep up on happenings in the internship country, actively learn more about the country upon return, and apply the new information to memories of the actual internship.

Above all else, I learned through this process just how much more there is to learn. I urge IE3 interns not to let the experience and the education end just because the internship ends. The reflection process should be a lifelong one – after all, (I’m sure most IE3 interns agree) the IE3 experience is a life-changing one.

Iceland’s hydrogen economy and reliance on geothermal energy make it a model for sustainability. Tor Benson explores some of the sites that make this North Atlantic nation so unique. OSU students can see for themselves this summer on the study abroad program Iceland: Civilization and Sustainability.

Tor Benson exploring Iceland's waterfalls

My second weekend in Europe I received an invitation to go Arnar’s family’s summer house for the weekend which is about an hour out of Reykjavik. It is very common for an Icelandic family to have a “summer” house where they go and relax from after a busy work week. On our way to the summer house we stopped by a pumping station that provides hot water to the city which is used to heat their houses and shower. A favorite area to have a summer house is near the Golden Circle which is within an hour of Reykjavik. The Golden Circle is known for its geyser called Strukker, a waterfall called Gullfoss (The largest waterfall in Europe by volume), and the Althingi which is where the first Icelandic and arguably the first democracy in the world was established. The university has a tour at a reasonable price of around 25 dollars but the personal tour with Arnar’s family was a definite plus. On Sunday Arnar, his girlfriend and I went to the Althingi which is a very picturesque location overlooking a valley and lake.

With one in ten Icelanders writing a book, it is no surprise that we met an Icelander who is writing a book on day hikes around Reykjavik and charged us about 15 dollars a trip to go on a hike with wherever he was going on Saturdays and Sundays. On one such trip an Estonian friend of mine from my Icelandic Vocabulary course invited me to go along for the first time. On this trip we along with two girls from Spain, two guys one from Austria and one from Germany along with our Icelandic guide, Gunnlaugur or Gulli, and three Icelanders. We drove about two hour north of Reykjavik and hiked/climbed a 2800 ft mountain. On my second trip I invited my friends from my dorm and met up with four other international students. We went to a 2400 ft hill overlooking Reykjavik and went to a neighboring town and went swimming. There are twelve swimming pools in Reykjavik alone and cost about a dollar fifty to use the pool, hot tub, and sauna.

The Blue Lagoon is a favorite spot to relax near a major renewable energy source

When my father came to visit I decided it was time to spend the money and go to the Blue Lagoon which is about ten dollars for students going to the University of Iceland but around thirty-five for adults. It is something to see and well worth the money. It is a natural hot spot that was deepened but has a very characteristic blue color due to silica and sulfur present in the water along with algae. The boiling water is initially pumped out of the ground and used to drive turbines and then cooled to about 100 degrees and added to the lagoon. It is situated in an old lava field about a half hour out of Reykjavik making it a favorite stop off before the airport.

The first week of November four exchange students rented a car for a day trip to Snaefellsnes Peninsula to see Snaefellsjokull. Jokull in Icelandic simply means glacier, with Vatnajökull in southern Iceland being the largest glacier in Europe. I had been to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula a month before but the roads were just as clear and the weather was even better. When you have a full car of people it is relatively easy and cheap to rent a car. After the glacier we drove to a fishing village called Riv and found some Icelandic horses that were more than willing to accept a carrot. No horses have been imported to Iceland since the 1600’s making them very distinct in their low stature.

OSU Abroad

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Author Archives: hayashi

Welcome back…and now what?

OSU soccer player interns in the World Cup host country

Life is calling. How far will you go?

Ni hao from China

Discovering the Rediscovery Centre in Ireland

Reflection on the IE3 Medical Internship in India

Glacial Hikes and Geothermal Power

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