Out here in Chile killing the game and wearing lots of sunscreen.
I’m studying abroad in Cape Town, South Africa this semester and as it is in the southern hemisphere, I just returned from my spring break trip. I did an 9 day overland tour to Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Botswana. I saw Victoria Falls and and we did a game drive in Chobe National Park where we saw elephants, zebras, antelopes, giraffes, hippos, etc. It was absolutely incredible. Botswana is much more rural than South Africa, and once we had to stop on the highway for 3 minutes to let a herd of cows (!! Ruskies all the way) cross the 4 lane road.
A couple of weeks ago I went shark cage diving with a couple of friends, including Anthony Ryback from Davidson. There are 5 other Davidson people on this trip which is a lot of fun (Anthony, Logan Morris, Ben Dunbar, Hoke Carlton, and Tess Schaberg). Fun fact: Rusks are a type of biscotti in South Africa. I see them everywhere Hi readers :) I know I haven’t posted in a minute, but I have a trio of posts to hopefully make up for that. The first will be about the first half of my mid-semester break, when I spent some time in Adelaide and Kangaroo Island. For spring break I knew I wanted to explore a different side of Australia than the city, so I decided that Kangaroo Island would be a nice and removed enough place to stay for a few days. And I was right :) I suppose a nice place to start this story would be the night before, when I was too excited to sleep. I ended up facetiming my mentee/little and getting some good catching up in. Although I did miss out on some good sleep, I was happy I stayed up because I got a text at close to midnight from Jetstar letting me know my flight had been cancelled. A mini meltdown later, I called Jetstar and they said they could put me on a Qantas flight that planned to leave ten minutes later. Sounded good enough. I got to have some biscuits and watch some modern family on the flight over! Adelaide is such a beautiful city. Definitely livable and the public transport is so much more affordable and extensive than Melbourne’s. Could see myself living there in the future. I spent the arvo strolling through galleries and museums until I had to catch a bus to Cape Jervis. The drive was amazing. We went through the picturesque Fleurieu Valley and I had two hours of views that I couldn’t possibly capture with my phone but so glad to have the memories of. Rolling hills, vineyards, sheep, and the greenest greens I’ve ever seen. Arriving at Cape Jervis, I hopped on the most expensive ferry in the world (per kilometer) and had a 45 minute trip through the Backstairs Passage. My first time on a ferry and I was frozen for most of it. I couldn’t look back and see how far from land we were getting. I couldn’t look down and see and endless sea. So I just stared, frozen, at the sun. From when it was so bright I could only see it’s outline, until it was like a thin line of fire beneath the clouds and on the ocean, and until it disappeared into a lavender blur. The ferry ride was magical. At this point I was convinced this island would be magic. Kangaroo Island is Australia’s third largest island, not even 100 miles in length and 50 miles in width, and has a population in total of 4600 people. I checked in to my accommodation that evening and cooked a little dinner, and was invited by the lady who checked me into sit around the fire with some others that night. Her name was Sri Tan, and she came to Australia with a desire to do something more than stay in her home country and have a traditional marriage and job. I also met Paco and Pete around the fire. Paco was this French boy taking a break from uni, on a working holiday visa trying figuring out his life, and Pete was somewhat of a local who did construction around the island. The three hour conversation among us, made up of four distinct accents, a good bit of broken English, and years of diverse experiences was revitalizing. I had a “Remarkably Wild Day Tour” planned in the morning but I overslept and was relegated to the “Highlights of Kangaroo Island Day Tour” and had a decent enough time. I had a full day of hitting all the tourist attractions on the Island and being dazzled by God’s creations on this side of the world. I saw Remarkable Rocks, the Admirals Arch, walked with some seals on Seal Bay, had a nice lunch, talked to some kangaroos, and observed some koalas in their natural habitat. Returning to my accommodation, the four of us huddled around a bonfire again. Not for too long though, because Paco had promised to take me fishing at sunrise (I had an 8:30 ferry to catch back to the mainland and he had work at 7:30). So I woke up at 5:30 the next morning, with the help of the red and green parrots fighting and playing in the blossoming bottle brush (goupillon, as Paco calls it) tree right outside my window. Paco and I made the 3 minute walk to the jetty and I fished for the first time. The water was so clear we could see squid and crabs and fish and everything in the sea. I absolutely fell in love with the waiting game of fishing and actually got a little tug! I couldn’t reel the line back up in time before the fish swam off with my bait, but I got myself hooked on fishing! I left the island that day wishing I could stay longer but so pleased with my experience. Thanks for reading and stick around for part 2 :) Court Check out more from Courtney's travels here: courtinpz.tumblr.com As-salama alaykum from Jordan, My name is Adrienne Miller. I am a junior Ruskie majoring in Public Health through the center with an Arab Studies minor. I have had the great privilege of starting my study abroad trip in Jordan with a little pre-trip fun in Paris. I did 4 days in Paris and am now in Jordan studying modern standard Arabic for 9 weeks. I unlike many of you have never left the country. This has been my first excursion the big unknown a.k.a the rest of the world and I'll have to say that I have taken to heart on my traveling thus far the idea that: "There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign"- Robert Louis Stevenson. First up, Paris! Paris was a dream, and almost everything I had expected it to be. I lived in the real Paris, also known as the Latin Quartier, and it was spectacular! I was extremely happy to have taken French for 6 years and to actually be able to use it. I was rusty but it all came back. I realized there that
I also learned some great traveling lessons like
I also had the great "stupid american" moment of not being aware of how big Europe is on conservation, and so I spent a good hour dealing with my lights going in and out because I didn't leave the room key in the slot to keep the lights on. When I went to tell the concierge the lights in my room were broken and they explained to me how it worked, I felt like a doofus. The tourist sites are worth seeing Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre, etc, but be a Parisian for a day and just stare at people in cafes and definitely take the roads less travelled to see the authentic city. It's worth it. Remember, it is not a tourist attraction, but instead home for millions of people. Next up was Jordan, Paris and Jordan were very VERY different places. There were many shocks, let me roll off a list for you:
The most important piece of information I have had the chance to reflect upon is that people are human beings wherever you go. They laugh, smile, joke, care for one another, protect, teach, etc. You can find good people everywhere you go, and as my home stay has taught me, you always have room for more family. They may not speak your language or follow your same customs. I am fasting right now and am not even Muslim, but when push comes to shove they are people who look out for you. I have bonded so much with my Davidson friends in my home stay and with my home stay family. I am learning so many in an outs of the city and language by having them speak to me. We struggle to understand each other often but the right intentions are always there and patience is never in short supply. I am loving my experience and looking forward to more in the future. Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer. Ma'a Salama, Adrienne Miller Dear Reader,
Welcome to the inaugural post of “Ruskies in Foreign Pastures,” Rusk Eating House’s first-ever travel blog highlighting the international adventures of our members spending a summer or semester studying abroad outside the Davidson bubble, and outside of the USA. In the months to come, you will experience everything from the cultural hallmarks of France to eye-opening adventures in India to the (likely) comedic struggles of full Portuguese immersion in Brazil’s largest city. Smile, think, ask questions and enjoy our Insta-worthy photos while we report from all corners of the world. Though we claim that we are in “foreign pastures,” with people, traditions and food (!!!) different from what we know, it is part of the essence of being a Ruskie that we embrace these differences, seize the opportunity to have meaningful experiences and see the world from a new perspective. Thank you for joining the women of Rusk Eating House on their international adventures. We sincerely hope you get to know us better through our journeys, laugh at our best attempts at cultural assimilation and spark a little wanderlust within your own heart. Safe travels and happy reading! Rusk love ( or amor, amore, pyaar, hayram…), The International Women of Rusk Eating House |
Ruskies in Foreign PasturesHerd Around the World Archives
October 2017
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