My Humanitarian Adventure on the Other Side of the World

I meant to post this blog on June 6th, but I didn’t get to finish it until today. Well, here it goes: One year ago on June 6th, I was on my way to the airport to fulfill one of my childhood dreams. With months of planning, a set notion that I will never spend a summer in Gainesville, and a year of trying to figure out how I will maximize my summer to its best potential elsewhere, I decided to embark on another voyage. Yes my friends, another voyage abroad. This one involved not only crossing the Atlantic Ocean but crossing half the world. Let’s see if you can guess: It is the second most populated country of the world; it is rich with culture and religion: from Hinduism and Buddhism to Christianity and Islam; it is famous for its colorful 50+ dancers in “Bollywood” movies; and it is where SlumDog Millionaire was filmed. Ok ok these were pretty easy facts, I’ll challenge you with harder ones in the future. So where in the world was Jeannette Paulino off to? To the majestic land of India!

My motive in India was quite different from the one in Belgium. Summer 2009 stood out as the commencement of my professional search for internships in my field of study. After several applications later and inconvenient internship tenure dates, I decided to take matters into my own hands. And so I came across an organization, called ProWorld Service Corps, a mini-version of the Peace Corps, which allows an individual to choose the number of weeks they desire to intern for and the type of internship they would like to be doing. I partnered up with my dear Katy, the very good friend I made in my Brussels study abroad group and we both applied for the social and economic development field. Proworld then found a project that catered to our interests that were stated in the application. And that was the beginning of one of the most remarkable experiences I have ever had…

Between 23 hours of total plane ride, a crazy 4-hour you-think-you’re-going-to-die drive from Bangalore Airport to our home in Mysore at night, stopping for some typical Chai tea at a street vendor, and realizing that my toilet for a month would be a hole in the floor, that first night in India was quite the shocker to suck it all in that Katiuska and I ended up in incessant laughter that minutes later led us to knock out on our super thin mattress-on wood-supported-by-bricks- bed from the jet lag.

India was everything I could imagine and more. The south of India was surprisingly very similar to the tropical climate, palm trees, messed up roads scenery, and wood-burning smells of Dominican Republic. I almost felt at home. Keyword: ALMOST. After 4 days of eating Indian food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I was endowed with the honorable Traveler’s Diarrhea. I say honorable, because you haven’t lived in a foreign land and haven’t had a real experience if you have not endure the bad as well. After two days of rest, vomiting, and well let me not distraught you from reading onwards with unpleasant images, the other interns and I were in need of some delicious home-sweet-home pizza. We went to a nearby Dominos and Pizza Hut until our stomachs acquired to the taste of Indian Cuisine. But from that day forward, after the sickness, one becomes in love with the native food. At least that’s what happened with me and the other interns…of course I still remained very selective in the level of spiciness I could handle in each bite of curry and masala dishes.

Our mission in India involved teaching English and Social Studies to underprivileged preteens in an alternative school, entitled Kaliyuva Mane, or “Home for Learning,” assisting in the construction of a classroom, and organizing the school’s limited library. Kaliyuva Mane was located about 40 mins from our house in Mysore, in the rural outskirts. Picture: lots of grass, cows, men wearing blankets as skirts, children running and playing cricket, dirt roads, and very little access to electricity and water. And yet, even without the luxury of electricity and water, coming from poor backgrounds, seeing these children greet us with smiles and so much affection was so astonishing that each day at this school, my heart was consistently touched. Knowing that they took a genuine interest in me by asking me how many siblings I have back home and whether I have a big house in the United States, and asking me to show them how to dance, brought such exalting delight to my day. I showed them how to dance Merengue and the Macarena. That was their favorite activity of the day. I can still hear their excited calls “Akka Akka dance!” (Akka meaning elder sister in their dialect of Kannada) Surprisingly enough, these Indian kids knew how to move their hips with flavor! I was very impressed. They became professional Latin dancers in my eyes :) I even taught them how to say hi and goodbye in Spanish, and every morning they greeted me with a “Hola” and every afternoon they said goodbye with an “Adios.”

It was so magically wonderful how I became part of these children’s lives for about a month during my stay in India. But it is even more wonderful how these children became a part of me for my whole life. They gave me so much. They gave me their curiosity, their laughs, their smiles, their time to learn, and most importantly, their love. They showed me their world and accepted me as a foreigner, as their friend. It is the innocence of the young ones and the intelligence and the great potential of the older kids that gives me more certitude of what I want to do in my future. It is because of these children, the children in disadvantaged conditions that I am pursuing a career in Political Science and International Relations. I want to be able to provide them with the opportunities of development that they deserve. My internship with the children is indescribable to what it did to my self-development.

India, the land that I always dreamed of visiting as a child when I would dance in front of late-night Bollywood videos on TV. Something about this country always caught my attention. The unique culture, the amazing music, the vibrant colors! I am so grateful to have finally experienced it in person. I even bought myself a Sari :D And my last week in India, Katy and I ventured on our own for some traveling to the North of India to New Delhi and Agra. Two girls alone in Northern India, it was quite exciting for we did not know what awaited us! Safety was always on our mind, but we were ready for any unexpected encounters ;)

When we traveled for five hours in a car from New Delhi to Agra with a driver we paid for (the best option instead of any bus or train, and IT’S relatively cheap if you’re ever thinking of visiting the Taj Mahal), at one point we stopped in the middle of the road. We were approached by insistent men selling handmade jewelry, men with monkeys on a leash showing tourists the tricks it could do, and other money beggars. We were told to not look at them and keep the windows widely shut although it is quite tempting to observe the almost-circus like scenery.

When Katy and I finally got to the gates of the Taj Mahal, passing Indian children who surprisingly spoke Italian apart from English, Hindi, Spanish to sell books of photographs, goose bumps were crawling up my skin. My heart was loudly beating.

As we entered, I saw the beautiful marbled-symmetrical monument at a distance. There it was. My eyes began to water. It was almost surreal, yet so real. I couldn’t believe I was facing one of the 7 wonders of the world. I couldn’t believe I was in front of the most well-known sacred symbol of love. This added the cherry on top of my stay in India. My voyage across the world was now fully fulfilled. I got the best of many worlds: the rural outskirts, the tropical town of Mysore, the city of New Delhi. Did I mention, one weekend I was also able to touch the Arabian Sea when we traveled to the beach in Kerala and the Gandhi Memorial in New Delhi. I also saw elephants on the side of the road and monkeys in my backyard. Talk about shouting WOW! A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Each city and each experience with its own wonder. India is engraved in my heart as one of the best decisions I ever made. I know I’ll go back one day. It is written!

If you would like more details on my experience with Proworld and the children, I have another blog recounting more deeply at: http://myproworld.goabroad.net/journal.php. In the Search Engine on the right, choose India and I should be the most recent post :)

A Must-Do in College!

The opportunity to study abroad is one that EVERY single college student should invest in seizing. There is no better way than to broaden your mind, to become more cultured, to become more educated than being taken out of your comfort zone and embracing a different culture and a different style of life. Almost every person that I have spoken to that has studied abroad has returned with unforgettable memories, priceless stories to share, new friendships, and the immense desire to return one day when given another chance.

Money should not be an excuse to deprive yourself of such a fantastic experience. Money exists everywhere and many generous people are willing to donate it for a good and meaningful cause. If educating yourself with a valuable and educational experience is important to you then persistence and courage are two traits I recommend adopting before venturing in this process. Scholarships, financial aid, loans, savings, fundraising engagements…the means to making this voyage possible are endless. If you have not done so already, I suggest you find a class of interest (a general elective, a language, a class for a major or minor, etc) you would like to study in a foreign country (whether it’s in Asia, South America, Europe, the US for non-Americans, or Australia), find a program that caters to that interest, and begin initiating the steps to achieving the fulfillment of this amazing opportunity.

Let’s face it, while many of us aspire to “travel the world” once we graduate, we must first save a ton of money before embarking on such a costly trip. And if we start stepping into the real world of marriage, kids, a full-time job, payment of bills, when will we find the time to make this dream a reality? Upon graduation, it is a lot harder to become qualified for scholarships and impossible to receive government grants. And as fun and exciting as sightseeing and visiting landmarks is, no experience is comparable to the one in which you have to take a class in a foreign university and remain immerse in the country and the culture for more than 4 weeks.

Studying abroad is not only an educational experience but it is also a self-discovering personal one. Meeting people with a different point of view, learning to adapt to any situation, and trying new things are all essential skills that I guarantee will be useful for a lifetime. This experience makes life that much more valuable.

In the words of Nike Corporations, Just Do it. You won’t be disappointed. If you have any fears of flying, of entering a country that is not America or your home, of being unsafe, put those fears aside. And take a risk. Believe me, the gains WILL outweigh the costs. If you have no time, make time. If you can’t during undergrad, then try in graduate school. This world offers so many chances to explore its wonders, but it’s up to us to take the initiative and discover them. Don’t allow yourself to wish you had taken this chance and regret it when you’re too old sitting in a rocking chair with grandchildren on your side. Regret damages the heart. Do it while you can because believe it or not, time does run out. And if you’re young and healthy, take that energy abroad. You’ll see what fascinating adventures and encounters await you.

Belgium-Home of the Original Frites!

A day like this one two years ago, I was boarding Continental Airlines at 5am in the morning to catch a connecting flight in Newark, New Jersey with the final destination of Brussels, Belgium. It was my first time flying so far. Then, I had only crossed a sea to Dominican Republic and territorial states to New Jersey or Miami. On May 24th, 2008 I crossed the Atlantic Ocean. And while I thought the 8-hour plane ride was going to seem like forever I kept myself entertained with writing in my journal, watching Step Up 2 and episodes of Friends, and catching some much-needed sleep on the plane.

Upon arrival to the francophone- and Flemish- speaking country, I did not know what to expect. Yet, excitement overrode the fact that I could not read any of the signs and thankfully, I flew with some of my fellow study “abroaders” and we guided each other to our baggage and a taxi. As soon as we left the airport, I grabbed my camera out of my purse and began to capture La belle ville di Bruxelles. But what I could not grasp with the lens of my camera, I grasped in memory, in awe, and in gratification.

Instead of giving you a long day-by-day synopsis of the time that I spent in Brussels, I will keep it short and sweet, highlighting only the most heart-touching details of my 7-week expedition.

Living in a European-style apartment with three other fabulous girls brings me a smile every time I reminisce. It is amazing how in such a short time period the bond that formed between us four was so strong and so deep. Going to school together Monday through Thursday, sharing one shower, and taking trips to other European countries on the weekends, being 100 of miles away from home, it was inevitable for us to become inseparable almost like sisters. Plus the fact that we were four girls with problems, boy issues, and the need to be listened to, we depended on each other for comfort, for advice, for laughs, for support, for love. And yes, we all cried at some point, at different points, but you can assure we were always there for each other. It was the night we watched Titanic in our living room with French and Flemish subtitles that I realized how important these three individuals in my life were, how much I had learned from each one of them, and how grateful I was to have met them and undergo this experience with them.

Ok, enough sappiness for now. On to the scandalous part of the trip that college students look mostly forward to studying abroad: the nightlife and alcohol! Five simple words: Beer capital of the world! Our most visited spot of our trip was Delirium- a bar that carries over 2,000 beers from Belgium and all over the world!! My personal favorite: Chimay Beer <3 face="trebuchet ms">
-Amsterdam- Tempted to buy crocs, I refrained and instead enjoyed the sites of the multicolored apartments, smelled the fish from the nearby ocean, and paid my respect to Anne Frank in her former house.
-Paris- In La Ville-Lumière" ("The City of Light"), I played the role of a typical tourist: I visited the Louvre, ate a mouthwatering nutella filled Crepe, road a boat on the beautiful River Seine, and embraced my religious side inside the Notre Dame.
-Versailles- I endeavored in a roadtrip with one of my roommates and two friends we made in Belgium and had a marvelous weekend visiting the Palace of Versailles, feeling like the monarch family when the Palace played 15th century royal music, and drank wine in the backyard of an antiquated horse carriage home.

Oh Europe, this continent is something else! So much history, rich in a diversity of cultures, and so much to see and do! Seven weeks was definitely not enough.

And Belgium…with its rain, its sporadic sunlight and warmth, its warm frites (fun fact: French fries were actually invented by Belgians not the French; and apparently the Belgians love to eat with an excess amount of mayonnaise...yuck...fattening), its unfamiliar-to-me 10pm sundown, cheap Turkish durums, my group’s newly discovered love for andalouse sauce, dripping chocolate Belgium waffles, its scenic Grand Place, was my lovely home for 7 weeks. I learned so much about myself. Studying abroad unraveled my curiosity to further expose myself to foreign situations and learn French. It further confirmed my passion in International Relations. I made such great friends.

Till this day, two years later, time has not been an impairment to the friendships I built. Although we are in different parts of the world, the connection we have built is too special and valuable to simply serve as a memory. We all dream about one day when we are all rich and well-off of reuniting in the Grand Place at a table in Delirium just like the good old times :)

~Dedicated to my Venezuelan partner-in-crime otherwise known as French Fries, to the hot blond that taught me the value of relationships, the lovely Frenchie roommate that provided me with her smile and shoulder when I cried, to the sexy Indian that joined me in the AM hours of dancing, to the the crazy Jewish sorority girl that made us all laugh, to the smart Art lover, to the European lawyer-loving fashionista, to the labor unity Socialist follower, to the sexy European Wannabe with his bright colored shirts, to the intelligent Wikipedia and Marlins #1 fan, to the Italian Jew that held every girl’s arm at some point,

And to the rest of our friends in Belgium… I miss you all.

And I can't forget, to my mother. She encouraged me to embark on this journey from the very beginning. Thank YOU!

And so it begins...

In this new age of finding everything online, I could not help but endeavor in the world of blogging. I wish I had created a blog account in the beginning of college so that I could have recorded my adventures studying abroad in Belgium and my personal views on different issues. But without relying too much on the phrase, “it’s better late than never” this first entry will serve as the grand opening into the world of Jeannette in virtual writing form. I hope to share stories of my adventures abroad, to offer my perspective on significant international issues, and to communicate my thoughts and reflections on life. Simply enjoy :)