June 4, 2018

Tenzin Yangchen

Italian Politics in Siena, Italy

Global Studies (International Affairs)

Arrival:

The UMBC study abroad group met in Rome, where we experienced the city through the cultural trip exploring the Roman Forum, the Colosseum, and Italian political palaces. We headed to our program location on the third day in a bus journey of about three hrs. The program I chose to study is Italian politics in Siena, Italy. Siena is a lovely medieval city that is distinguished by its medieval brick buildings. Located in the Tuscany region, the city has 17 contradas, or districts; each representing with a flag of their own, especially during their annual horse race or the Palio di Siena. The student group from my study abroad program is separated in groups of three, and assigned to various different contradas. My apartment is just off of the main square of Piazza Del Campo, the town square. The housing looks medieval and has a rustic touch to it. I am accompanied by my two program classmates and an Italian RA who is a twenty four year old university student herself. Our classes are held for about two hours Monday through Friday, with mixed schedule of guided tour alongside free weekends.

My favorite things about my host location so far is definitely the number of designated stores for wine, pizza, and gelato that the place has to offer. I have two roomates where one is obsessed with gelatos, while the other with wine as she admiringly promises that she is not an alcoholic, but explains how it is simply a part of the European culture.

Siena is famous for its magnificent art and architecture that are reminders of the renaissance period. So naturally, we had a couple guided tours of cathedrals around the town. One of the best schools in the country, University of Sienna, is also located here and luckily, our program allows us access the library and cafeteria amongst other Italian students.

The location of the town square had an uncanny resemblance to my hometown of Boudha, which is an UNESCO heritage site itself. Similar to the town I grew up in, Piazza Del Campo was said to be formed through the passing of trade routes like many medieval towns.

I must admit that I experienced (or am experiencing) a mild version of culture shock where there are ups and downs for excitement and joy. The downer mostly being the difference in daily lifestyle which I was used to back home, but on the bright side, it makes a perfect circumstance to push one out of their comfort zone and experience growth.

Tenzin Yangchen

Italian Politics in Siena, Italy

Global Studies (International Affairs)

Pre-Departure:

I like traveling, in fact I love it so much that I tend to be on the move whenever I can because not experiencing adventure, or even new places makes my thoughts and perspective annnd life in general to stagnate. This is the second time that I will be prioritizing travel over buying a car (like many millennials these days), and I have zero regrets because I see traveling as an investment. Broadening my perspective on life, meeting new people, and experiencing new cultures and languages are only a handful of the rewards of traveling.

The first time I traveled alone was at the age of 19. It was a  liberating and an empowering experience. I flew across to the west coast to meet my friends in San Francisco. The following year, I traveled to India to study yoga, and also meanwhile summoning up the courage to explore London during my short layover.

            Italy will be my first european country as I will be traveling there for study abroad instead of a short layover. I am as anxious as I am excited, but does that mean I will be wasting my time panicking? Absolutely not - I will be journaling away my thoughts and emotions for the most part. And if this method does not work entirely, I will remind myself of my destination where one has access to all the mouthwatering gelatos in the world, alongside authentic italian pastas and pizzas! Oh and not to forget the authenticity of the country that is so rich in art and history! 

#UMBCAbroad #UMBCInternational #tintintravels #tintintraveldiaries #liddlemissasian @liddlemissasain 

The Japan-America Society of Washington DC (JASWDC) is pleased to announce the opening of the Tanaka and Green Academic Scholarship Program for the 2018-2019 academic year. Applications will be accepted from June 1-July 31.

The Tanaka and Green Academic Scholarship was established to support short-term academic study (one semester or one academic year) at colleges and universities in Japan. JASWDC intends to award scholarships of up to $4,000 (one semester) or $5,000 (one academic year) for the 2018-2019 academic year. The scholarship may be used for any combination of tuition and other academic fees, room and board, travel and transportation (including internal Japan travel), and other approved expenses.

Please find application requirements and application procedure on our website: http://www.jaswdc.org/tanaka-green-scholarship/

The application deadline for the 2018-2019 academic year is July 31, 2018, 11:59pm EST.

Please note that any questions regarding these scholarships should be sent in writing to the following email address: scholarships@jaswdc.org for response by the Scholarship Committee.