January 2012

January 2012

Whilst I am in Spain for the next few months, I have decided to see as much of the country as I possibly can, in order to make the most of my time here! I live in the region of Castile and León, so I hope to visit the cities in this area first, as they can mainly be done as day trips. My first trip will be to Ávila to see the castle walls and fortress surrounding this ancient city!

 

Other interesting things that have happened in January was that it snowed, and also that 2 friends and I signed up for a new course at one of the Official Language Schools in Spain. We have our entrance test on the 1^st of February! Wish us luck!

Catch up: September to December 2011

September to December

Sorry I have been a bit lapse with my travel blog, I have had quite a busy few months though. I have moved back to Salamanca and am working as a teacher for children and adults. I am still learning Spanish although at home with a self-study course and not back at the university. Despite that, I am still living in the same residencia “Pinzones”, with my friends.

This is a typical lesson plan and lesson for me.

As most people presume, there are lots of fiestas in Spain and the end of the year was not short of them. A few of the best, in my residencia, included a ‘back to school’ fiesta and of course, a Halloween party!

During November, my friends Holly, Pippa, Mercedes and I all went for a day trip to Madrid, we saw the plaza mayor and took the subway but I have to confess the real reason we went was to shop!

I was also lucky enough during November for my lovely Calafornia girl Jeanette (JD) that I met in Cambridge, to come and visit me! We had a lovely weekend together, with lots of tapas and fun.

 

Towards the end of November my best friend in Spain amazingly got married! The bachelorette/hen party was angelic and the wedding was even better! Holly also bought a terrapin called Timmy Pepe Juan Diego or Mr.T for short. He’s super cute!

  

 

During December, the sad time arrived again to say goodbye to lots of people, who’s term was coming to an end. Two of my lovely friends Elena and Yasmin threw a Christmas dinner party for us all as a chance to say goodbye to all our girl friends. We did a secret Santa and it was a great night.

At the end of December, it is a Salamanca tradition for all the students to have a mock New Year (as most of the students will not be together for actual new year). This was an incredible night with over 40,000 students celebrating. The plaza mayor and most of the streets off it were packed full of people but luckily my friends and I secured a spot right in the middle for the countdown at midnight and the fireworks and music. At midnight on actual new year it is a Spanish custom to eat 12 grapes in the 12 seconds of the countdown, but because Nochevieja isn’t real New Year, grapes are substituted for sweets!

Noche Vieja Video!

2011 was a really great year and I hope that 2012, the year of the dragon will be really fabulous for everyone too!

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

Leaving Cambridge...

Living in at Gonville and Caius and getting a taste of student life at Cambridge was an amazing experience. It allowed me to meet very special people, including my resident tutors, and to be taught by a number of inspiring lecturers and leaders. It also vastly expanded my knowledge on a number of topics from viewpoints that I would not have considered otherwise. 

Whilst my own course, 'International Politics in a Global Age' covered a range of fascinating topics, there was also a set of plenary lectures around the theme of 'understanding'. My politics lectures varied largely, including 'female education in China and Africa', 'nuclear proliferation and climate change', 'the European Union financial meltdown', 'Humanitarian War' and also very current topics such as 'the Arab spring', 'Russia', 'the rise of China in Africa' and the debatable meaning of 'democracy'.  

In contrast, the morning and evening plenary lectures covered a much wider range of topics, these included 'understanding...;' 'British Secret Intelligence'; 'evolution'; linguistics; 'the Cold war'; 'building bombs' and many more fascinating topics. 

In order to understand 'Understanding', we were shown an image by Hanabusa Itcho (1652–1724) called "Blind monks examining an elephant", this is based on a parable which can be seen throughout many religious traditions and is part of Jain, Buddhist, Sufi and Hindu lore.

The story is generally about a group of blind men who touch an elephant to learn what it is like. Each man feels a different part of the elephant, such as the trunk, ear or tail. They then compare what they have felt and completely disagree with one another. This story varies in regards to how violent the conflict then becomes and whether it is resolved. However, according to the Buddhist story, the King and the Buddha are consulted. Here, the story ends with the Buddha comparing the blind men to preachers and scholars, who's realities are different but may only preach one single viewpoint, to the point of conflict.

I found this an amazing story against ignorance and intolerance. Whilst each party (in either the parable, or in the wider world of politics) may wholeheartedly believe in their 'truth', they may still be ignorant of another party or person's beliefs or 'truth'. 

Whilst I was in Cambridge, I was lucky enough to also see an open aired Shakespeare play (even though it rained!) in King's college garden. I watched a string quartet performance and I also managed to attend three formal dinners, including my leaving dinner, where I received my graduating certificate.

Global Warming

Here are two interesting images that I came across during my global warming lectures; a pollution map and a flag map!

Bipolar World

Thursday 14th July, 2011

Kagan, R. (2003) Paradise and Power – America and Europe in the New World order. 

For my first class in ‘International Politics in a Global Age’ Dr. Philip Towle taught us. The subject for this class was ‘The new world order in 1945 and 1991’ and ‘The bipolar world’. Dr. Towle is the longest serving member of staff at the Cambridge Centre for International Relations. He has previously worked for Reuters and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He is extremely British!

One of the books on our reading list was ‘Paradise and Power – America and Europe in the New World order’.  I found some of the ideas in this book very interesting.

This book explains that the UN Security Council was designed by the United States to give the five “great powers” of the post war era sole authority to decide what was and was not legitimate action in the international arena.

At the time that this book was written, the Security Council contained only one “great power”, the United States. Today, China is obviously also a great power, however this book was discussing the current cynical view in American strategic circles that the Europeans have simply enjoyed the “free ride” they have gotten under the American security umbrella over the past six decades.

The book also goes on the claim that Europeans today have moved away from their ambition for power, particularly military power, which they obviously had in their colonial days, but goes on to say that over the past half-century, Europeans have developed a different perspective on the role of power in international relations, (a perspective that springs directly from their unique historical experience since the end of WW1). Kagan claims that they have rejected the power politics that have brought them so much misery over the past century and more, and that this is a perspective that Americans do not and cannot share…

…This book also argues that Europeans speak with great confidence of the superiority of their global understanding, (as Americans have for two centuries) of the wisdom they have to offer other nations about conflict resolution. An interesting argument within the book can be seen through this tongue in cheek quote:

 ‘Given America’s willingness to spend so much money protecting them, Europeans would rather spend their own money on social welfare programs, long vacations and shorter workweeks. ‘

The whole book generally highlights that America's preeminent global position has thrust it into a dangerous world of terrorist threats and made it more willing to use force, whereas Europe seeks peace through law and diplomacy. It uses an insightful metaphor: If you have a hammer, you are more likely to see every threat as a nail.

There is also another quote that I found interesting about the current world order, which suggests that life is not so fun at the top.

“Americans are “cowboys” Europeans love to say. And there is truth in this. The United States does act as an international sheriff, self-appointed perhaps but widely welcomed nevertheless, trying to enforce some peace and justice in what Americans see as a lawless world where outlaws need to be deterred or destroyed, often though the muzzle of a gun. Europe, by this Wild West analogy, is more like the saloonkeeper. Outlaws shoot sheriffs, not saloonkeepers. In fact, from the saloonkeeper’s point of view, the sheriff trying to impose order by force can sometimes be more threatening than the outlaws, who, at least for the time being, may just want a drink.”

The Structure of my Days

 Tuesday 12 July, 2011

The Structure of my Days

From 7.45am: Breakfast in Gonville and Caius Dining Room

9.00 – 10.15am: International Politics in a Global Age (A01)

10.30 – 11.30am: Plenary Lectures. (The theme this year is UNDERSTANDING. So there is going to be lectures varying from Understanding Language; Russia; Macbeth,  the Plague! As well as many others!)

11.45-1.00pm: International Politics in a Global Age (B01)

Lunch

2.00 – 3.15pm: International Politics in a Global Age (C01)

6.30pm: – Dinner in the Gonville and Caius Dining Room

8.00 – 9.00pm: Evening Plenary Lecture

 For the next 4 weeks…! :) 

CAMBRIDGE!

Monday 11 July 2011 

CAMBRIDGE!

 

Today I started the international summer school at Cambridge University. My trip down here from Manchester was not too bad and luckily, when I had to change stations, the platform attendant helped me carry my two cases and made the train wait for me, which was great, otherwise I would have missed the train!

When I first arrived at Gonville and Caius, I got acquainted with the porters, at the porters lodge who gave me my initial information, my keys and passes to get in and out of everywhere as well as a student card. He told me to put it around my neck immediately so as to not lose it, which amused me.

I went over to St. Mikes, which is across a quaint little road named Rose Crescent and climbed a spiral stone staircase. Two builders carried my cases, which was so kind as it would have taken me an age otherwise! When I got to the top, I couldn’t figure out the code for the door, so the cleaner let me in and showed me how to do it, we ended up chatting for ages, which was lovely. She showed me up to my room and informed me that I was so lucky because I had the only en-suite in the whole building!

My room is on the third floor and when you first open the door, there is a lounge area with what must have been a big fireplace, but is now a radiator! There is a bathroom with a toilet and a shower beyond the lounge as well as two bedrooms. One overlooks Gonville and Caius’ Courtyard and the other overlooks the high street. I chose the latter. Whilst I was unpacking, the cleaners knocked on my door to have another chat and a bit of a nosy to see if anyone else was in the other room yet. They showed me where I could hang things up because there was no wardrobe in my bedroom and said they would bring me any hangers if there were any left in the other rooms!

About half an hour later, my new room mate arrived; Andrew. He is from South Carolina and is doing the Literature Summer Course. He is focusing on Elizabithan love poetry and ‘Off with their heads’ which is a course that spans literature from Shakespeare to Alice in Wonderland, which sounds wonderful.

After we had both unpacked and realized that we could “borrow” Internet from a café over the road, we both walked to the registration site, which was over in ‘Lady Mitchell Hall’. On the way, we passed the newer Gonville and Caius halls,  which was named after  Steven Hawking, as he is also a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, it also contains his office! So we might even see him around!

 

After registration,  Andrew and I returned to our college, which involves a 15 minute walk through either Kings College, which is stunning or St. Clares which is equally beautiful. Both involve crossing the river, so you get to see the punts, which reminds me of Oxford. However they punt stood in a different place on the boat over here!

(A punt is a flat-bottomed boat, Punting refers to boating in a punt. The punter generally propels the punt by pushing against the river-bed with a pole. A punt should not be confused with a gondola, which is propelled by an oar rather than a pole.) 

At 6.30pm we had our first dinner in the Gonville and Caius Dining Hall. There are three long wooden tables and beautiful portraits of academics on the wall. There is also one of the academic celebrity Steven Hawking – however there are NO women! We were served a three course meal here by a completely Spanish crew of serving staff. When one of the waitresses dropped something, she cursed in Spanish and a number of students around the table either laughed or frowned, but now I know the people who speak Spanish, which is great! 

At dinner, we also met one of our live in tutor/student reps. These are current undergraduate students at the university who live inside the colleges during the summer schools to help organize everything and help students.

After dinner, we all went back to Lady Mitchell Hall, which is on the Sedgewick site and had our ‘Welcome and Practical Orientation Session’. The summer schools at Cambridge have been taking place since 1923 and this year, there are more than 34 nationalities represented! We were told that we should aim to meet the other 33 before we leave! I look forward to it!