AFS Student Exchange Blog: May 2010 Archives

How to Wear a Sari

By AFS on May 25, 2010 9:31 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Getting into a sari can be very difficult, especially by yourself. You start by tucking in the end of the sari into the front of the petticoat (make sure you're tucking in the right end. The palu is the end that hangs off your shoulder and has all the embroidery while the end has nothing at all. From there you wrap the sari around you once, tucking it into the petticoat all the way. This is when it gets hard.

AFS offers year programs to India

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My Bike Ride to School in Japan

By AFS on May 19, 2010 8:04 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

See more photos of Carolyn's Spring Year Program in Japan.

AFS offers year, semester and summer programs to Japan.

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Celebrating Norwegian National Day

By AFS on May 17, 2010 1:40 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

May 17th was the Norwegian National day (grunnlovsdagen)! :) Today, 196 years ago, was the Norwegian Constitution signed declaring it an independent nation from Sweden!

It was interesting seeing everyone so patriotic about Norway. There were many Norwegian flags up around Førde and a lot of people were walking around in the Norwegian national dress! I just have to say that both the women's and the men's national dresses are BEAUTIFUL. In Norwegian their called a "". The woman's example is a dress (very classic, rustic, and old-fashioned--see pictures below!) Read more.

AFS offers year programs to Norway.

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Doing Laundry in India

By AFS on May 14, 2010 12:47 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Oh the dhobi ghat! I've been here twice and it's amazing. Dhobi means washerman (dhona: to wash) and here is where people from all over Mumbai send their laundry every week to be washed, dried and ironed. Read more.

AFS offers year programs to India.

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In Photos: Traditional Clothing in Panama

By AFS on May 13, 2010 10:27 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

See more of Kendra's photos during her Spring Semester in Panama.

AFS offers year, semester and summer programs to Panama.

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Time to Grub! Food in Paraguay

By AFS on May 11, 2010 2:53 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

The eating schedule is really different here than in America. Most people don't eat breakfast, but if they do they have chipa or cocido. Then there's mediamañana at around 11, which is a salty midmorning snack. This is usually a sandwich or empanada. Next is lunch at around 1 or 1:30, which is the biggest meal of the day (dinner and lunch are the opposite of how we eat in the US). Read more.

AFS offers year, semester and summer programs to Paraguay.

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Spring Festivals in Italy

By AFS on May 10, 2010 10:06 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

This weekend, in the town where I go to school, Maglie, they had their Patron Saint's festival (San Nicola). Last night I was at the festival with my friends from school and I was expecting to see something typical Italian, but it turned out that it was almost exactly like the Marshfield Fair.... with rides and everything!

There was the thing that spins really fast and all those types of fair rides. I went on the Tagada (the spinning one) and the Frisbee, which was like a thing that swings back and forth and spins at the same time (like the Freak Out at the Marshfield Fair). It was lots of fun! Read more.

AFS offers year, semester and summer programs to Italy.

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Frankie's Farm in Brazil

By AFS on May 7, 2010 11:30 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

This past weekend I went to another farm, but this time the farm of my host family. It was a four hour drive, and the country side is so beautiful. I saw four hours of farms and ranches and tons of horses and cows. Sadly though two of the hours were on dirt road :/ We all got really really car sick.

It was such a relief when we got to the house! The first thing Aomsin and I did was take a bunch of photos of the beautiful views and the surroundings. At the farm we did all kind of fun things. Read more.

AFS offers year, semester programs to Brazil.

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Run, Turkey, Run!

By AFS on May 6, 2010 11:11 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

This past Thursday I went on a real run (outside! at my own pace!) for the first time since I've been in Turkey. I had been going to a gym for the past three months, but I had gotten a bit bored of doing the same activities everyday, and in a dark basement, when the weather outside had blossomed into a beautiful spring.

As I began my first run this past Thursday, I quickly realized that although I had been using the elliptical machine at my gym, it is not the same thing at all as being out in the open air, treading on pavement and dirt and rocks, and actually seeing something beyond my sweaty self in the opposing mirror. The evening weather was perfect. Read more.

AFS offers year and summer programs to Turkey.

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Visiting other AFSers around Ghana

By AFS on May 5, 2010 9:11 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

So, I visited my American friend, Amy, and her host family for the past couple of days in her village. Village life is very different than cosmopolitan Accra life. In the village, the days are longer, the food is spicier, and the activities are limited. But the weather is cooler, at a mere 95-100 degrees F., and is relatively cheaper than Accra. I even pounded fufu for the first time in Ghana! Read more.

AFS offers year, semester and summer programs to Ghana.

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May 2010 Archives