Monthly Reports
Un invierno granaíno: Harvey Moon, Granada – January 2020
Un invierno granaíno Una vez más este mes ha sido otro muy ocupado con muchas celebraciones y nuevas tradiciones que he podido experimentar. Empezamos el mes con una alegría festiva en diciembre y desafortunadamente lo terminamos con la pesadumbre de los exámenes de enero. Sin embargo, he podido hacer muchas cosas emocionantes durante las pausas…
Read MoreMy final days in Chile: Eileen Maguire, Chile – January 2020
My final days in Chile When contemplating my last few days in Chile and faced with the thought of my time there coming to an end, I became overwhelmed trying to decide how to make the most of the time remaining. In my 6 months here, I have seen some of the more spectacular sights…
Read MoreAarun Ilyas – Lorca's Granada – January 2020
English: During my time in Granada it is clear to see the legacy Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca has left behind in his home city. The poet, playwright and theatre director made a great social impact during his short 38 year long life which can be seen through the numerous things named…
Read MoreChristmas in Medellin: Mia Marchant – Colombia, January 2020
I was fortunate enough to be able to spend the holiday period in Colombia. I had been told previously that Colombia was a great place to be during christmas. As soon as halloween was over, the decorations for christmas were put up. I was surprised to see that even the huge apartment building had been…
Read MoreLorenzo Webster: Christmas churros and new year revision resolutions: Sevilla – January 2020
As the Christmas celebrations got underway, I was joined in Sevilla by my family who flew down from London. They were immediately taken aback by the astonishingly warm weather. With the bright sun accompanying consistent temperatures of 20 degrees, there was certainly a different feel to the festivities. On Christmas day itself we had lunch…
Read MoreRhoda Yaa Assah Manu: The Beginning of the End, Reunion Island – December 2019
Bright red balls of sweetness have started growing from the thick branches. Everywhere you go there are fruits everyone is munching on. It’s lychees! Its summer and Lychees are in season! The first time I tasted a lychee was at the university, my friend just casually had it as a snack and asked if I…
Read MoreCharlotte Grundy: Paris, December 2019
Pour vivre à Paris pendant le mois de Décembre a été très difficile, c’est le moins qu’on puisse dire ! Le 5 décembre, la RATP et la SNCF, qui gèrent tous les transports en commun à Paris, ont entamé une période de « grèves illimitées », au sujet des pensions et l’âge de la retraite. …
Read More去河南穷游 – Travelling Henan on a shoestring: Jonathan Ferguson, December 2019
上个周末，我和一个朋友一起去洛阳，少林寺和开封穷游了。经过在北京忙碌的星期之后，我非常激动摆脱首都，探索我从来没去过的一些地方。下课以后，我们到车站上所谓的‘快车’（实际上最慢的火车) 去了河南。 在中国火车上，服务员卖各种各样的商品。从内蒙古奶贝 （我个人认为液态奶更好）到火车纪念品，服务员应有尽有。那一天的特色是新疆蜜饯水果。一个旅客买了一些，给我们尝一尝，其实很不错。我们跟旅客聊了一会儿，然后决定去睡觉因为要很早起床。 我们第一个目的地就是远近驰名，有着悠久历史的少林寺。少林寺是中国佛教禅宗祖庭和功夫的发源地。我从小时候起对武术感兴趣，所以能够去少林寺真是梦想成真！少林寺最有名的部分很可能是那里的塔林。有唐朝，宋朝，金朝，元朝，明朝，清朝和现代砖石墓塔。最难忘的体验就是看少林僧人的功夫表演。他们请了观众中的一些人上舞台上，模仿僧人的运动。她们当然没有成功模仿僧人的运动，可是大家都支持他们，为他们呐喊助威。第二天，我们去开封观光旅游了。我听说过开封有很多的美食。我最喜欢的是那里的小笼包，一想到那家饭馆的美食，我就直流口水。 第三天，我们去了洛阳郊外举世闻名的龙门石窟。洛阳有着4000多年城市史，是丝绸之路的东方起点。在中国，洛阳被归为一个中等规模的城市 – 人口只有7.1百万！龙门石窟是由一系列的洞穴组成的。在洞穴里，有石刻的佛像。根据专家所说的，龙门石窟是石窟寺，也就是说信任去龙门石窟祈祷，崇拜大佛了。龙门石窟给了我留下很深刻的印象因为亲眼看到的石窟比我想象中的壮观得多。 我超爱穷游。当我在欧洲的时候，我喜欢跟朋友去穷游。有一次，我们买了到瑞典的2英镑的往返机票, 真不可思议！但除了更便宜，穷游也有其他好处，其中最重要的是它给我们更多跟当地人交流的机会。当作语言学生，这些偶遇是很有价值的机会，因为每一次偶遇提供提高语言水平，练习说汉语的机会。这很重要因为只有我们不断地练习，才能把一种语言学好。毕竟熟能生巧。 Last weekend, I travelled to Luoyang, Shaolin Temple and Kaifeng on a shoestring. After a busy week in Beijing, I was very excited to escape the Capital and explore some places I had never been to before. After finishing class, we went to the station…
Read MoreCharlotte Grundy: Paris, November 2019
La fin de mon temps á Paris se rapproche et je pense des choses que j’ai fait et je n’ai pas encore fait dans la ville. Alors j’ai essayé de passer mes temps ce mois en faisant des choses ! J’ai maintenant rendu compte qu’il aurait été une meilleure idée de faire toutes des choses á…
Read MoreJoshua Binfor, Lisbon, Portugal – December 2019
How could I visit the north of Portugal without visiting the south? That was my reasoning before planning to visit the Algarve. This month I had the opportunity to visit the Algarve which is in the south of Portugal and is famous for its beaches. Did I go to the beach in December? Yes, I…
Read More十一月: Sandy Perkins – Beijing December 2019
十一月初我跟我女朋友去了上海玩儿了三天。我们是坐高铁的，高铁是 中国的最快的一种火车。从北京到上海只花费了我们的五个小时！跟北京比起来上海的天气很暖和，让我们觉得很舒服。我们在上海去看了一些名胜古迹，包括上海老城街、豫园和上海滩。我们也去了一个我特别喜欢的地方，叫田子坊。在这里的街上有很多石库门，一种有一个大石门的上海老房子。现在田子坊的石库门都是小商店，有各种各样的小商品，比如说，服装店、小吃店、艺术品店。在田子坊也可以买很多种小笼包，也有可以喝汤的包子，叫蟹黄包。那些包子都很好吃。我们在田子坊逛一逛一半天，然后找到了一些小酒吧喝了啤酒和金汤力。 回来北京以后我继续拼命地学习中文。十一月底我参加了一个配音比赛。在这个比赛中我需要录我自己配一个中国电影场面的音。我选择了《英雄》，一个关于中国秦朝的秦始皇的电影。通过这个比赛我学到了一些很老的中文词和历史。我觉得参加这场比赛很好玩儿，也对我的汉语很有用，因为除了学习生词以外，我也仔细的学习了演员说中文的节奏。通过这样的学习，我希望我的中文能说得更自然。 At the start of November my girlfriend and I went to Shanghai for a short break. We took the high-speed train, China’s fastest type of train. It only took 5 hours to travel from Beijing to Shanghai. Compared to Beijing, Shanghai’s weather was very warm, which made a nice change. In Shanghai…
Read MoreAarun Ilyas – Winter in Granada – December 2019
Español: No hay duda que este mes pasado he experimentado de cultura en Granada como resultado de la estación festiva. Con la llegada de diciembre, los mercados de navidad han seguido y ahora el centro de la ciudad es siempre es lleno con gente quien está aprovechando de la música en viva, los luces brillantes…
Read MoreAndalucia: George Illingworth, Spain – December 2019
Viaje a Andalucía En cuatro días visitamos las 4 principales ciudades de Andalucía con autobús.Dado que teníamos poco tiempo ,significó que viajamos mucho del tiempo, en pie o con autobús y que sacrificamos sueño para darnos tiempo visitar y ver todo. ¡Sin embargo,valió la pena! Cada dia era así: desayunabamos y después recorríamos por la…
Read MoreFeministas chilenas inspiran al mundo: Eileen Maguire, Chile – December 2019
The 60 days of protests that I have witnessed in Chile have brought their fair share of intense emotions. I have consistently been amazed by the determination and energy of the protesters, who congregate at the Plaza de la Dignidad (ex. Plaza Italia) and face police repression day in and day out. The commitment and…
Read More« L’Opéra » : Phoebe Gittins – Paris, France, December 2019
Bonjour ! Au début de mon année à Paris, j’ai acheté mon Pass’ Jeunes Opéra / Comédie-Française qui me permet de réserver des places à tarif préférentiel sur une sélection de spectacles pour toute la saison 2019 – 2020. J’adore le théâtre et l’opéra, et en plus, pendant les opéras, le sous-titrage est toujours en…
Read MoreCrossing paths with Greta Thunberg in Madrid: Lorenzo Webster, December 2019
Crossing paths with Greta Thunberg in Madrid – My third month November and early December is a time when everything begins to change in Sevilla. The orange trees bear fruit, the evenings get colder and the Christmas lights are mounted. At University there is a late scramble to hand in projects and presentations as the…
Read MoreRhoda Yaa Assah Manu: Reunion Island – November 2019
Réunion lé la! Réunion is here! For those who are unaware that was Réunionais Creole. Apart from French, Réunion Island also has another language spoken throughout the Island which one calls Creole. Creole has a proximity to French, and one can find different versions of Creole spoken in the Antilles, Mauritius and other French Overseas…
Read MoreEl equilibrio entre el trabajo y el juego: Harvey Moon, Granada – December 2019
Este mes ha estado tan ocupado como siempre. Estuvo lleno de viajes, estudios e investigaciones sobre lo que me depara el futuro como estudiante de idiomas. Visité la bella ciudad de Sevilla, capital de Andalucía, y también fui a las Alpujarras, una región de pueblos de montaña al borde de Sierra Nevada. Sin embargo, no…
Read MoreDecember Travels / Viajes de diciembre: Olivia Pettitt, Spain – December 2019
Este mes, las fiestas empezaron en Madrid y mis amigos y yo fuimos a ver cómo se encendían las luces de Navidad, junto con lo que parecía ser la mitad de Madrid. Madrid está mucho más ocupada y entrar en el centro ahora, sobre todo los fines de semana, es un caos total. Para escapar…
Read MoreMia Marchant: Spain – November 2019
Este último mes he tenido algunos visitantes del Reino Unido. Pude inspirar a mis amigos a probar y aprender un nuevo idioma, ya que vieron la diferencia al saber que un idioma puede hacer. Vieron cómo se ampliaron mis opciones de películas, así como programas de televisión, música y libros, y cómo pude reírme de…
Read MoreHermanos Sin Fronteras: Patrick Longmate, Colombia – December 2019
Hermanos Sin Fronteras Es difícil comprender que este es mi ultimo reportaje y que ya se acabó mi semestre aquí en Colombia. Hay muchos temas que me gustaría abordar en este reporte pero me parece importante hablar de un grupo de voluntariado universitario que ha sido integral a lo largo de mi intercambio. El grupo…
Read More那达慕 Nadam Festival: Sandy Perkins – Beijing, November 2019
Recently I attended a Nadam celebration in Beijing. Nadam is one of the most important Mongolian festivals. Beijing’s Nadam celebration was held in the Central Minzu University of China (“Minzu” translates to ethnic minority). At this event I experienced many aspects of traditional Mongolian culture. The festival began with the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony…
Read MoreJoshua Binfor, Lisbon, Portugal – November 2019
This month I went to Porto. Porto is the second biggest city in Portugal, and it has the most famous Portuguese wine, Port wine. The city is also nicknamed Invicta because during the civil war the Portuguese city withstood a siege of over a year. It was my first time in Porto, and despite all…
Read MoreRéunion lé la ! Réunion is Here!
Réunion lé la! Réunion is here! For those who are unaware that was Réunionais Creole. Apart from French, Réunion Island also has another language spoken throughout the Island which one calls Creole. Creole has a proximity to French, and one can find different versions of Creole spoken in the Antilles, Mauritius and other French Overseas…
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