Monthly Reports
Paris sous confinement : Phoebe Gittins, Paris, France, April 2020
Nul ne peut nier que mon expérience d’une année à l’étranger a eu des défis. On pensait que la crise des Gilets jaunes et le mouvement de grève contre la réforme des retraites en décembre 2019 marqueraient l’histoire et notre année à Paris… personne n’aurait pu imaginer qu’on vivrait quelques mois plus tard en confinement,…
Read MoreViver no Rio durante uma epidemia: Mia Marchant – Colombia, April 2020
Viver no Rio durante uma epidemia O Brasil como país é um dos lugares menos afetados pelo coronavírus, no entanto, o número de casos e a morte são mais altos aqui no Rio de Janeiro e em São Paulo. Estou morando em Copacabana, que tem a maior taxa de mortalidade devido ao vírus em todo…
Read More我看过的中文小说: Sandy Perkins, China – April 2020
鉴于最近因为疫情的缘故我大部分的时候待在家里，在这个月的博客我要来介绍一下我看过的一些中文小说。 我现在最喜欢看的中国作家叫余华。我来中国以前已经看过他最有名的一本小说，《活着》。最近我也把《许三观卖血纪》和《兄弟》都看完。我喜欢余华的小说因为余华的笔凤很幽默，而且通过看他写的小说可以来更深理解新中国的历史。《活着》和《许三观卖血记》这两个故事都大概在六十年代和七十年代发生。这两个故事关于老百姓在这个多事的年头的经验，尤其是关于新中国的成立以及大革命对人民的影响。《兄弟》这个故事有两个部分。第一个部分也关于六十年代和七十年代的生活。跟其他的两本小说不同，《兄弟》的第二部分是在最近经济发展得很快的中国发生的。 三月份我也看了曹文轩的《草房子》。《草房子》是中国的一个非常有名的儿童小说。我听说大多数的中国孩子在学校学习这本小说。故事是关于在农村长大的一些孩子。即使《草房子》是个儿童小说，我也觉得这本小说的中文比余华的小说复杂一些，因为余华的笔凤比曹文轩直接。 除了上述介绍的经典小说以外，我也这年也看了一侦探小说，《圣女的救济》，作家东野圭吾。原来，这本小说是个日本的，但是在中国他的小说超级流行，所以他的小说也有中文版。我觉得这本小说很容易看，而且故事抓了我的注意力。因此我又买了作家东野圭吾的一本小说，而快要开始看。 Seeing as recently due to Covid-19 I’ve been spending most of my time at home, for this month’s blog entry I will introduce the Chinese language novels I have read (without giving away the plotlines). Currently, my favourite Chinese author is called Yu Hua. Before I arrived in China, I’d…
Read MoreCase Study: Aarun Ilyas – Granada, Spain 2019-20
English: Moving to Spain to start my first job has been the most challenging experience of my life so far however it has also been the most rewarding. Since starting university almost three years ago now, my degree has been building up to this point. Being awarded a scholarship by the John Speak Language Trust…
Read MoreSam in Tajikistan – ХАРИДАНИ АРӮС – BUYING THE BRIDE – March 2020
Тӯйҳои тоҷикӣ бахшҳои зиёду гуногун доранд, аммо ҳар марҳила хӯрдани бисёр ошро дар бар мегирад! Ҳафтаи гузашта ман дар Душанбе ‘ҷӯраи домод’ барои тӯйи дӯстам будам. Анъанаҳои арӯсӣ дар вилоятҳову минтақаҳои гуногуни Тоҷикистон хеле фарқ мекунанд, бинобар ин ман таҷрибаи худамро ба шумо баён мекунам. 1. Хостгорӣ. Берозигии ҳама хешу табори ҳар ду оила тӯй…
Read MoreUn petit tour de la Normandie: Phoebe Gittins, Paris, France – March 2020
Il y a quelques semaines, on est partis de Paris pour faire un petit tour de la Normandie, une région côtière magnifique du nord de la France, à seulement quelques heures par bus de Paris. On était un groupe d’une quarantaine d’étudiants et tout le monde pensait que c’était l’une des plus belles régions de…
Read MoreLorenzo Webster: Enjoying Spain before lock down – March 2020
Enjoying Spain before the lock down – My sixth month in Sevilla Having not seen the sea for a considerable amount of time, I signed up for an ESN (Erasmus Student Network) trip to Malaga at the end of February. The image I had of Malaga from my visit over 3 years ago was one…
Read MoreSandy Perkins: China during the coronavirus epidemic, China – March 2020
我的疫情经历 最近几个月在中国的生活方式发生了很多变化。因为新型冠状肺炎病毒疫情的全国扩散，所以中国的政府在进行很严格的打赢疫情政策。在这里打赢疫情政策的最关键方面是呼吁大家尽量不出门。因此，除了超市以及一些必须继续营业的公司以外，在北京大部分的公司和商店都要么在关门，要么在进行在家办公方针。所有的饭馆也都在关门或只支持外带。进出各类场所都有体温检测。至于我的大学学习，我们现在在网上上课。我很欣赏我的老师们的努力适应他们的新的教课方法。 即使这次疫情把我所有的旅游计划打乱了，而且打赢疫情的政策在限制我跟中国人交流的机会，这次疫情也给了我很多时间看中国小说以及在家里努力学习中文。中文有一个成语，塞翁失马焉知非福，意思是一个坏事情可能有些好处，这个成语很适合形容现在的情形。我觉得通过在家里学习中文的这一段时间，我的中文语法和词汇都有了明显的进步。 最近在中国的疫情情况好多了。鉴于疫情情况好转了，周末的时候我趁着人少去了一些名胜古迹参观。上个星期我去了香山。香山是个很漂亮的公园，位于北京西边的一个山脉。在这里我爬山爬了半天才到达峰顶。在峰顶能看到很漂亮的风景和北京市的庞大规模。昨天我还到鸟巢和奥林匹克森林公园去了。在那里游览让我回忆起来十二年前看的中国主办的二零零八年奥林匹克运动会。鸟巢、水立方、玲珑塔和奥林匹克森林公园建设的都很宏伟壮观，我在鸟巢前驻足留了影。 希望这次疫情能够快点结束，一切都回到正常的样子。中国加油！全世界加油！ ENGLISH: Over last two months life in China changed in many ways. Because of the spread of the coronavirus epidemic across the whole country, the government implemented very strict measures to control the virus. At the core of these measures is to encourage everybody to leave their homes as little…
Read More一个比较严肃的题目 – A More Serious Topic – Jonathan Ferguson, Beijing – March 2020
本月的博客题目比以前的严肃得多，可是作为住在中国，学习中文的学生，我认为我应该提取最近几个月的疫情。幸运的是，中国疫情愈来愈好但是欧洲的疫情每况愈下。 This month’s blog topic is much more serious than normal, but as a student living in China and learning Chinese, I thought I ought to raise the issue of the recent coronavirus situation. Luckily, the situation in China is ever improving but in Europe the situation is getting worse and worse. 当新型冠状疾病爆发的时候，没有人知道这个病毒如何严峻。不过，不久英国外交和联邦事务部发布警告说，他们推荐英国公民不去中国大陆并推荐已经在大陆的公民及早离开。我们的学校，北大，禁止了学生提前回北京，也延期了学期的开始时间。届时我们需要立刻离开大陆，没有告别朋友的机会。我的手提电脑，书，大多数的衣服和其他东西还在北京，我无法将它们带回来。我的中国朋友说很多人因为害怕被感染而一直足不出户，这令有些人觉得闷闷不乐。我们的英国学校决定我们应该因为北大的学期被延期了而搬到台北上课。现在我很想念北京 – 我想念我们的学校和我的公寓，让我口水流下的饭馆和去旅行的机会可是毫无疑问，我最想念的是友善的北京人和我在那里交的朋友。…
Read MoreStarting my second placement: Mia Marchant – March 2020
This month I have been settling in to my new placement and getting to know more about the education system and the issues faced by children in the favelas. Many children are forced to repeat grades at school due to the police operations in the favelas causing classes to be cancelled. Their are often bullet…
Read MoreOlivia Pettitt: Madrid en el encierro/Madrid in lockdown – March 2020
Estas últimas semanas Madrid, conocía como la “ciudad que nunca duerme” europea, se ha visto obligada a hibernar. Hemos visto desde nuestros balcones como las terrazas se despejan y la gente en las calles desaparece. Las persianas de las tiendas se bajaron, para no volver a abrirlas al día siguiente, y la atmósfera cambió completamente.…
Read MoreViaje a Viñales: la otra cara de Cuba : Noah Merrin, Cuba – March 2020
Spanish A lo largo de mi primer mes en la Habana, los habaneros iban diciéndome que la ciudad no es una buena representación de Cuba como un país. Decían que para experimentar la ‘Cuba real’, yo necesitaba ir al campo; allá, donde los bueyes siguen siendo más populares como herramientas agriculturas que los tractores, vería…
Read MoreAarun Ilyas: Last Month in Granada, Spain – March 2020
March marks the end of my internship and my last month in Granada. I have left Spain having completed my year abroad but many others have not been as lucky as me. The COVID-19 pandemic being so prevalent right now has reminded of the similarities and differences Spanish society has with the UK. From personal…
Read MoreGabrielle McKenna: Церкви и прочие красоты! – Churches and other beauties!, Russia – March 2020
Этот месяц был одним из самых насыщенных: я осмеливалась посещать церкви, музеи и ранее неизвестные уголки Санкт-Петербурга. В первый же выходные я посетила ‘большую тройку”: Исаакиевский собор, Храм Спасителя пролитой крови и Эрмитаж. Я приехала в Санкт-Петербург с семьей в 2016 году, однако теперь, когда я могу понимать и читать по-русски, это был совершенно другой…
Read MoreSam Styan in Tajikistan – БИСЁР КАЛИМАҲО БАРОИ СИПОСГУЗОРӢ – SO MANY WORDS FOR THANK YOU – February 2020
Хостам фикрамро дар бораи фарқият байни форсии эронӣ, афғонию тоҷикӣ баён кунам, чунки ҳозир як баҳс вуҷуд дорад, ки агар форсию тоҷикӣ ду лаҳҷаи стандартӣ аз як забон (муқоиса кунед: англисии бритониёию англисии амрикоӣ) ё ду забон ки иртиботи наздик доранд аммо фарқкунандаанд (муқоиса кунед: шведию норвегӣ). Бо истифода аз ду хатти тамоман гуногун чизҳо…
Read More« Les conférences à Sciences Po » : Phoebe Gittins, Paris, France, February 2020
Comme si avoir la possibilité d’étudier à Sciences Po Paris ne suffisait pas, on a aussi la possibilité de fréquenter des débats pertinents avec des intellectuels et des personnes extraordinaires. Surtout, les deux événements qui m’ont le plus frappée était la conférence donnée par Bruno Patino sur l’actualité française et le débat entre le Président…
Read MoreGirl in Gwada! (Guadaloupe) : Rhoda Yaa Assah Manu, Guadaloupe – February 2020
The journey to Guadeloupe was LONG. It was weird because in terms of hours travelling to Reunion took longer but I felt so TIRED during that whole voyage. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I had to catch a flight from Luton Airport at 7am and then take a coach from…
Read MoreAu Revoir La Reunion: Rhoda Yaa Assah Manu, Reunion Island – January 2020
Remember how excited I was for Fete Kaf in the last entry? Well, I was not let down in the slightest! It was incredible. I feel like I’ve over-used the words “incredible”, “amazing”, “breath-taking” in these blog entries but they are the only words that have the ability to capture and convey the magic and…
Read MoreLorenzo Webster: Sevilla, February 2020
The history behind the city’s walls – my 5th month in Sevilla As 2020 got underway it was time to pick my new modules for the next semester. As a politics student in London I searched out for any modules with political aspects and what I found was an interesting mix of early and contemporary…
Read More'¡Socialismo o muerte!': José Martí's Birthday in Havana – Noah Merrin, Cuba, February 2020
Spanish Llegué a La Habana, Cuba, el 25 de enero. La ciudad no tardó mucho en sorprenderme con una festividad muy particular. Solo dos días después de mi llegada, por la noche del 27 de enero, la ciudad empezó las celebraciones para el cumpleaños de José Martí. Nacido en el 28 de enero 1853, Martí…
Read MoreMia Marchant – Medellin: Never missing opportunities – February 2020
This is the year for new experiences and trying new things. Because of that, I have been saying yes more often and being more open to new ideas. So far this has already resorted in me doing my first paraglide and waterfall repelling. Paragliding above the Andes was a great experience and my pilot was…
Read MoreMás allá de lo superficial: Harvey Moon, Granada – February 2020
Más allá de lo superficial Habiendo estado en Granada durante casi 6 meses, estoy empezando a darme cuenta y a notar ciertos aspectos de la ciudad que están por debajo de la superficie. Por supuesto, vivir aquí como un lugareño tiene su belleza y me ha proporcionado un lado nuevo e integral de mi identidad…
Read MoreLa Albufera: George Illingworth – Valencia, February 2020
La Albufera refiere a una gran reserva natural en Valencia. Hace poco menos de 2 millones de años se formó, durante el pleistoceno. Se formó por el cierre del golfo existente entre Valencia y la actual población de Cullera, más o menos unos 30 kilómetros de distancia de norte a sur, con los sedimentos del…
Read MoreOlivia Pettitt: Un viaje al pais vasco – A trip to the Basque Country, February 2020
Este mes, fui a San Sebastián y Bilbao, dos ciudades en el País Vasco. Como no he viajado muchos lugares en el norte, y me intrigó ver los contrastes entre el norte y el sud de España, especialmente en el país vasco, que es una región autónoma que se enorgullece de su cultura distinta. En…
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