Photo Courtesy of Universes in Universe
One of our favorite programs at InterExchange Working Abroad is Au Pair Turkey. The families in Turkey are welcoming and many of the communities they live in are either on the coast or near Istanbul.
Turkey is one of those countries that thankfully hasn’t been overrun with tourists in the summer and you can take advantage of the relative calm to really experience the
Photo courtesy of sabanciuniv.edu
amazing culture of this East-meets-West country. The chance to experience the juxtaposition of the new and old in this country, not to mention that is spans both the European and Asian continents, is such an amazing opportunity. With amazing city-life, shopping galore, beaches and hiking and an interesting culture that is all it’s own, being an au pair in Turkey is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Lonely Planet has a great write-up of the attractions of Istanbul, complete with mouth-watering food descriptions and ways to orient yourself with the city and its waterways. Take a look at A Perfect Day in Istanbul and Navigating Istanbul by Night to get a taste of your time abroad in beautiful Turkey!
InterExchange Working Abroad Ambassador Sonia, Teach English, Spain
Time for another trip to Andalusia!
I left for Cordoba by bus on Friday evening from Caceres and reached Cordoba around 10 p.m. I hopped into a taxi which pulled up right into Plaza del Las Tendillas, where my hotel was located. The
Sonia at the Mezquita
plaza was in full fiesta mode because there was a flamenco dance festival going on! I watched the rest of the performances, including 2 cute performances by little girls and boys. Afterwards, I checked into my hotel and luckily ended up being on the top floor and thus avoiding a lot of noise. I then headed back out and bought some ice cream and walked around for a bit near the plaza. There were so many college students and everyone was dressed so stylishly! Around 12 a.m., I called it a night and headed back to the hotel.
The next morning, I woke up and the first thing I did was look out the window. The Weather Channel told me that it was going to rain all weekend, but I kept hoping it was wrong, but no, it was drizzling. I got ready and around 9:30 a.m., it was time to head out.
The first place I went to was the the Synagogue in the Jewish part of Cordoba (no longer strictly Jewish, the name is leftover from the Middle Ages). This synagogue was built in 1315 and is one of the best preserved synagogues in Spain. It was built collectively by Christian, Jewish and Muslim (Mudejar) craftsmen in an effort to promote religious tolerance. What is interesting is that among the flowered and geometric patterns on the wall, there are written lines which look Arabic, but are actually Bible verses in Hebrew! It is very interesting to see. Read More »
The New York Times interviewed author Ken Budd over the weekend on how to travel while volunteering at the same time. He recounts his first time taking a vacation specifically to volunteer in new
Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and how ever since, he has been searching for more experiences to experience a more humanistic side to traveling internationally.
Budd makes some good points about volunteering short-term being about small changes that may not save the world, but will definitely help small community projects. Click on over the the New York Times to read the rest of the article.
Have you volunteered abroad? If so, what was your favorite part? What did you do that felt like it was making the most impact?
InterExchange Working Abroad Ambassador Sonia, Teach English, Spain
Sevilla was the largest and richest city of Spain in the 17th century. It housed famous artists such as Murillo and Velazquez and Magellan sailed out from it’s harbor. Although it crashed with the stock
Sonia at Girladi Tower
market in 1929 and has never reclaimed it’s former glory, Sevilla is still called the Duende- or soul- of Spain and is known to have a certain ambiance.
The first place I wanted to visit was the Cathedral, which closed at six. I wanted to get there as quickly as possible so I took a cab directly to it. It is the biggest Gothic church in the world and the 3rd largest church in Europe. It used to be the site of a mosque, but it was torn down in 1401 and the new cathedral was built in its place. I may be biased, but again, I was blown away by the sheer size of it and the intricate carving and architecture.
With my handy dandy Rick Steves book at my side, I took a tour of the cathedral. I was quite upset to see that the main alter was undergoing renovations as it’s supposed to be the largest alter EVER built in the world. Even the sheet covering the alter and displaying a picture of it was overwhelming. But then I moved on and had the opportunity to see Christopher Columbus’ tomb, the most valuable crown in Spain, a piece of the cross and a spectacular view of Sevilla from top of the Giralda tower. There is also a very nice court of orange trees that was refreshing to rest in and one of the only remnants of the original mosque. The other is the tower, which made from Roman stones at the bottom for support, a Moor tower, and a Christian cap- accurately reflecting the history of the city. Read More »
InterExchange Working Abroad Ambassador Sonia, Teach English, Spain
Plaza Mayor at night
After a yummy breakfast of churros and chocolate, Jose drove me to the bus station. I was a bit nervous about using public transportation in Spain but the bus proved to be comfortable and uneventful. Spain is shaped like an upside down bowl, higher in altitude in the middle and down to sea level by the shores. Salamanca was a climb into higher altitude. I passed many rolling hills and mountains filled with snow (from a distance) and various animals. It was all very green and it seems as though Spain has a lot of open space.
It was obvious that Salamanca was a beautiful town even from afar. The famous cathedrals still dominate over the city and it almost looked like a postcard version of what you’d imagine Spain to look like. We reached the bus station and I started the walk to Plaza Mayor, the most famous Plaza in all of Spain. Usually a plaza is dedicated to a king or government, but this plaza is dedicated to the people. As I neared the city, I was overwhelmed by the sight of many historical buildings and churches. Salamanca is a University town, with a prestigious school and about 7000 foreign students each summer. Lucky for me, I was visiting during a relatively quiet time. I had booked a hotel room right next to Plaza Mayor, and after a bit of searching and asking, I was able to find it. I checked in, headed to my room (it was nice and decently priced, especially for the location).
Read More »
Are you going to Germany anytime soon with our Au Pair program? Or maybe you will just be visiting after completing another one of our programs in Europe. If you are,
Photo courtesy of the Telegraph
Lonely Planet has a list of Cultural Do’s and Don’ts that will help you along as you interact with the community you are staying in.
Learning cultural differences of a country before touching down is a great way to prepare yourself for traveling abroad. Every culture has customs and social guidelines that, even if we don’t agree with, are important to follow when we are visitors.
Do you have any insightful or funny stories about the ins-and-outs of learning about another culture’s customs while traveling? Let us know!
InterExchange Working Abroad Ambassador Sonia, Teach English, Spain
Hola de Espana!!!
Photo courtesy of Wayfaring Travel Guide.com
I’m finally here!! and what an exciting and almost unreal day it was! When I finally sat on the plane from Chicago to Madrid, I basically started hyperventilating. The lady sitting next to me, who, after watching me fidget for a few hours, asked me if it was my first visit to Spain. It turns out she moved to Spain from America when she was 25 after visiting once and has been living there for more than 20 years! She loves it and she did a lot to help me calm down. Nevertheless, I landed in Spain with only 2 hours of sleep and super wired on two cups of Spanish (read: strong strong) coffee.
I walked off the plane and frantically tried to connect to the internet so that I could tell my host family that I had landed. I sent a text and a picture of me from Chicago telling them that I was wearing (a black coat and white hat) so they could recognize me. Of course, I should never put faith in airport internet and I couldn’t catch a strong enough signal to iMessage them.
I started worrying a bit because our plane landed late and well, because I was alone in Espana. I went through immigration very quickly, retrieved my bags not so quickly, and walked out of the exit. A bunch of people were waiting with signs and I was hoping to spot my family. I didn’t see it and I decided to move to the side so that I could figure out where a pay phone was. Read More »
I am a big Nick Kristof fan and am a regular reader of his column. If you are interested in travel, international goings-on and humanitarian affairs, you should too.
Photo courtesy of the New York Times
Every year, Kristof holds a Win a Trip competition and picks two people to traipse around a continent with him and report on political and social issues with him.
One of this past year’s winners, a journalism teacher from New Jersey, posted a video on the New York Times Op-Ed video section about her time in the five East African countries. It is inspiring and insightful to watch one of our country’s educators experience have the firsthand experience of reporting with one of the world’s best international journalists. I can only imagine the inspiration and ideas she has brought back to her own classroom.
If you have 4 minutes (Ok, 4:21 minutes), take a look at this great little story and get inspired to go on one of InterExchange Working Abroad’s Volunteer programs!
![InterExchange [Logo]](http://www.interexchange.org/files/images/blog/logos/logo-interexchange.gif){kind=logo}