Morocco in January: An International Horticulture Trip

January 4, 2015

We have arrived in Marrakech, Morocco’s marketing capital. The sky is different here; it is unhindered and vast and terribly clear, with no towers or skyscrapers keeping its edges neatly tucked within the horizon. The kind of sky you could touch if you stretched enough. Nearly trimmed trees line the streets—bright orange spheres within deep green spheres—but we quickly learn they are not for eating. Rather, they are bitter oranges, and their flowers are harvested in early spring in order to produce the delicately fragrant rose water used in so many Moroccan meals. Similarly, everything seems to have a purpose distinct from its own in the United States. The streets are not for driving, but for haphazardly maneuvering at your own discretion—be it on a horse, a cart selling fruit, or on your own two feet. The sidewalks and walls are not merely paved cement, but murals: opportunities to display the brightness and color and intricacy of Moroccan architecture. Nevertheless, we soon find out, Marrakech has all the makings of a big city. Meandering through Jamaa el-Fnaa Square, where the bulk of Morocco’s famous markets are set up, we are at once overwhelmed and enchanted by the breadth of artistry, the bustling crowds, the sheer internationality of the sellers and buyers. The crowd is muted, if only in my mind, as the sun gently sets behind the mosque tower.

January 5, 2015

The very first day of our agricultural education abroad, today was spent visiting various small locales. One of our first stops was a countryside market, in which we purchased a bagful of oranges—most of which were to be devoured on the succeeding bus ride—and observed some of the typical produce, including apples and bananas. Since no modern refrigeration exists throughout this area, all produce on display was relatively “in season”. The next stop was a small olive oil press. It was locally run using one of two methods: either one would have their own olives pressed for a fee, or they would sell their olives to the facility, which would later profit from the oil it produced—the typical output being about 5 tons a day. The “cold press” process consisted of crushing the ripened black olives to a pulp, placing them in canvas disks, and manually rotating the press until the oil ran down into a bunker. The oil then sat until the sediment was separated gravitationally, and was later skimmed off the top and finally funneled into larger barrels, making for a process that was tiring, but enticing.

Later on, we witnessed some olive harvesting—your standard shaking and picking of branches—before trekking down a trail to the Ozoude Cascade, a waterfall named so because of the hydropower used to grind wheat in the area. This breathtaking cascade was a sight to see not only because of its venerable power, but because of its contribution to the lives of the people around it; it was beautiful and vital all at once.

This isn’t all! Read more about this trip here.

Cape Town, South Africa

When I first landed in Cape Town after a flight that lasted almost 24 hours, I could hardly believe how wonderful the weather was that night compared to the bitter cold in the Midwest. It felt like a dream until I woke up the next morning and realized the weather was here to stay for another three weeks… wonderful! The first week and a half in Cape Town taught me a lot, even though it was full of a lot of tourism, I learned lessons about myself. Which is just as valuable as learning about the culture in South Africa.

One of the events that had an impact on me was when my study tour group went on a tour of the townships in Cape Town. It opened my eyes about how even though it may come as a shock at first as to how the people in the townships live, every culture has areas swallowed in poverty. Chicago has poverty, New York has poverty, even Champaign has poverty, but we notice it in places that are foreign to us because we are not used to that environment. Understanding this made me become more aware that we can help just as many people at home as we can in another country.

In addition to all the site seeing we have already done, the study group has begun volunteer work at individual work sites based on our career goals. I have been placed at an Occupational Therapy center called Woodside with another girl in my group. The first few days here has challenged me beyond what I expected, but I love a challenge and I know this was great exposure in my field of study. Even as I shadow an OT at the site, watching her perform assessments on residents at Woodside showed me it can be hard to work with residents and it takes a lot of time and patience to help them find some sort of relief. However, at the same time you realize how rewarding it is once you have made an impact on their lives to help them live a little easier than before.

I am very excited to see what the next week and a half has in store for me and the rest of us!

#ILLINOISabroad #ACESabroad #imagineACES

-Agnieszka Chrzanowska

Our Guides in Botswana

With the exception of Professor Schooley, nobody in our group has been to Africa before, let alone Botswana, so we didn’t know what to expect. Before we even arrived at our final destination, we already had an interesting journey. Long story short:

• 7 students + 1 professor
• 1 check-in incident at O’Hare
• 2 layovers, one of them 12 hours
• 1 de-icing delay in Frankfurt
• 1 missed flight + 1 almost-missing sleeping bag = 1 night in Johannesburg
• 20-some hours in the air

They say getting there is half the fun, and we still had to meet who we were working with.

When we finally landed in sunny Kasane, Botswana, we found two smiling, khaki-clad characters already there waiting for us. Wearing sunglasses like a couple of cool cats, they introduced themselves as Simon and Robyn. Working for the South Africa based Wildlife Act, they were in Botswana monitoring biodiversity and studying human-wildlife conflicts around the Okavango Delta. They seemed nice enough: they pointed out the nearest water fountain and helped with our luggage. But who were they really?

We were divvied up into two vehicles and we headed off toward our first camp in Chobe. I was in Simon’s car, AKA the one with air conditioning. Robyn’s car, which was our main vehicle later, had benches in the open back, making was easier to observe wildlife, as well as lose your hat. I think that’s how Simon gets his hats.

The first days were a bit awkward, as first days tend to be. We, mere college students, left most of the talking to the adults. Conversations started off pretty one-sided:

Adult: “That’s an Acacia.”

Us: “Cool.”

Eventually we got comfortable enough to engage in actual conversations. We learned about their education, research topics, and most importantly: if they were cat or dog people. We believed everything they said, but things like “localized rain” (spray from windshield wipers) or “the only 2 elephants in Chobe” (we definitely saw more than 2 elephants later) drew skepticism. Just to be clear, Simon’s sense of humor was refreshing, but it kept us on our toes. We even got around to talking about things like sports, pop culture, and accents. I don’t think even Simon or Robyn knew how cricket was played, and what we thought was either a British or Australian accent was, according to Robyn, a “South African-Zimbabwe” accent. Our feeble attempts at imitating her speech were met with her own, equally hilarious attempt at an American southern accent: “Uh wohnt woahn.” (“I want one,” when asking for a drink) At a certain point, being able to mock each other without hard feelings is a sign of friendship, at least I hope it is.

We also learned to share our things with them, and they shared their stuff with us; we “borrowed” lots of sunblock, and they used my multi-tool to fix flat tires. Binoculars, field guides, biscuits, pink wigs, and witty remarks were frequently exchanged, because sharing is caring.

Even though it was only for two weeks, we had gotten used to Simon and Robyn waking us up before 6AM for breakfast, driving us around, preparing meals, and just being great people to live with. And who could forget tea time? Outside class time, we were pretty much equals, where we could talk about American life, and they talked about African life. They even got in the water by our camp to show us there weren’t crocodiles and that the leeches were nothing to worry about if you didn’t disturb the sediment.

I’ll never forget that short-but-sweet two weeks in Botswana. I hope I have the opportunity to visit again, and maybe be able to collaborate on future projects as another researcher instead of a student. For anyone thinking about study abroad, do it. The experiences you gain and the people you meet are more than worth it.

Marc Solano

Junior in NRES – Fish and Wildlife Conservation

The trip of a lifetime– Botswana 2015

I was completely captured by the amount of wildlife we saw in Botswana. It was so different seeing such breathtaking species in their natural habitat as opposed to seeing them on the television or in a zoo. Knowing that you were observing species that could easily kill you if they chose to do so was a humbling feeling. Often I hear people talk about being at the top of the food chain. However, in reality without weapons accompanying us, we are practically defenseless. Rather than dominate nature as mankind often tries to do, there was a mutual respect between us and the wildlife. As we drove and encountered different species it quickly became apparent what distance was threatening to them and what distance was not. The elephants particularly come to my mind as they made it very clear what distance they were comfortable with us being. As long as we acknowledged the messages they were giving us through varying body language, they also realized that we were there just to watch them and meant no harm.
I was unaware until a couple of days into the trip that the president of Botswana had issued a hunting ban about a year ago within the country. Initially, I thought this was a positive change for the country. It also made sense why we were able to see and drive so closely to the animal species. I quickly learned how detrimental this was for the people of Botswana and also was harmful to the ecosystem. Much like many other African countries, Botswana gets most of their revenue through tourism. Before the hunting ban, most of the money that was collected was paid by wealthy men from other countries visiting for big-game expeditions. These men would pay large amounts of money for the experience to hunt big game and to have the head mounted as a type of “trophy.” The village that the hunting lodge was within would in return get a portion of the money the tourist had paid, along with all the meat from the animal. This meat especially that of an elephant, would not only feed the villagers but could also be sold if there were excess so that nothing went to waste.
The ecosystem also benefitted from the hunting by keeping the wildlife species in balance. Although African elephants are a threatened species throughout Africa, they are also overpopulated in Botswana due to the hunting ban. Elephants are not the only species of wildlife that are increasing in population size in Botswana. However because of their massive size and strength, an ecosystem with the elephant species overpopulated is much more detrimental than many other species such as impala, zebra, or giraffe. Dr. Rutina took us on a drive one morning and had shown us the damage the elephants had done to the native species of acacia trees near the Chobe River. Elephants will debark a tree, which not only strips a tree of its nutrients but also will kill the tree. The debarking has an adverse effect on the tree species along with other herbivores that have a diet similar to the elephants.
In efforts to maintain food availability for the people of Botswana, farmers grow crops and also raise cattle. The elephants also have had negative impacts on the farmers’ abilities to grow crops and raise enough cattle needed for food. The Botswana government have seemed to put little effort into helping the farmers by putting up an electric fence around some areas of farmland. Unfortunately, the elephants can walk right through these fences making them useless. The government has agreed to send compensation to farmers that experience crop damage from the elephants. I learned that this, however, has also created problems with the farmers experiencing crop damage and blaming it on the elephants even if they did not cause it. Farmers will dispute that the compensation sent by the government is not enough to make up for the damage, labor, and time spent fixing the damage.
As we drove through various villages and areas of Botswana, I was astonished by how different the lifestyle and agriculture was than what I am used to in America. Many houses were made out of branches of a tree or were huts made of mud. Rarely was there ever a paved road anywhere we drove. The “roads” were so bumpy at times that it was a struggle to stay in our seats in the back of the truck. There also was rarely a fence often leaving the livestock roaming. Although this allows the farm animals to be more susceptible to predation, it gives them a better quality of life in my opinion than many farm animals in America.

This trip truly was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Although the cost can detour students from studying abroad, I would strongly encourage others that are interested not to miss out on this opportunity of a lifetime.

First Week of Classes in Copenhagen

This is a snip-it from my own study abroad blog, TheBackpack.TheBike.&TheBeer. I enjoyed sharing stories and updates of my travels with family and friends throughout my semester away from home. Here is a post that recaps my first week of classes at the University of Copenhagen (Københavns Universitet)!

Starting off my senior year of college in Copenhagen was a pretty cool feeling. Although I am missing out on my last fall semester at U of I, an exciting time of new students, new classes, and changing colors, I know I will return to Champaign soon enough! Shoutout to my NRES family Jamie, Luke, Carly, Mitchell, Brandon, Peter, & Haley – Leah & I are missing you!

September 1st was my first day of class and I was, of course, a bundle of nerves! I had no idea what to expect my class, teacher, and fellow students to be like. The Danish school structure is very different than in the States, but I have really come to enjoy it’s laid-back structure. The semester is split up into two nine-week blocks and in each block you can take one to two classes based on how many credits and what level they each are. I am only in one class right now called Urban Forestry and Urban Greening and it is the epitome of my dream course, despite the 9 hour structure on Wednesdays and Thursdays (it’s really not that bad!). I am in class Monday through Thursday, with Fridays off to complete group work.

The first week of class was packed with getting to know our classmates, introductory work, guest lectures, and lunch in the horticulture gardens. It is a Master’s course, so there is a mix of young and old students, but unlike my Danish Language course over the summer, the majority of my classmates are from Denmark! I am one of three non-europeans (including my teacher from Seattle and a girl from China), with the rest from Romania, Holland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Portugal to name a few!

Last week, we had two course excursions to learn about Copenhagen’s urban greening efforts. On Wednesday, we visited Bybi (“city bee”), an urban bee farm tucked away in a gated Amager community. Historically, the buildings within this community were facilitated by a women and children refugee hospital, homeless shelter, and rehab clinic for alcoholic and addicted homeless. The buildings have been renovated to serve the same purposes, since this area still has a large homeless population, but several community-uplifting projects have also started within it’s walls. Bybi’s honey production and manufacturing facility hire those in the area looking for a healthier way to occupy their time. The founder of Bybi has such a great message and focus towards bettering both the community’s members and natural environment. The project also has 17 rooftop hives scattered around the city where hotels and businesses invest, receive, and sell the on-site honey. As students, we received a factory tour, tasted half a dozen honeys, and even suited up to get a closer look at the hives! More about the honey – they collect, bottle, and sell honeys from 28 different locations in Copenhagen, each with their very own distinct color and flavor (due to the diversity of flowers visited by the bees!). Hmm…I wonder why my favorite was from Valby? #HomeSWEETHome

On Thursday, we visited ØsterGRO, a rooftop garden collective located in the Østerbro neighborhood (clever branding, huh?). It was hard to believe the project started only a year ago in August because the roof just flourished with fresh vegetables, herbs, and flowers! There was also a greenhouse, bee hives, and a fancy chicken coop. I’m telling you, those hens are living the Copenhagen high life! The project hopes to expand to other neighborhoods in the future as well as educate and inspire other green roof conversions. Urban farming is such an important practice that city-dwellers and businesses alike need to involve themselves in. It is the future of food production that we will all inevitably have to depend on, not to mention it is healthier for ourselves and the environment! 🙂

Needless to say, I am in LOVE with this course. Don’t get me wrong, I love my major and have learned so much from my classes at the University of Illinois, but there is something different about this one. I get giddy going to class each day to learn about a field I have truly found as a passion. Managing and establishing green spaces of our world’s cities have a tremendous effect on society and the natural environment and is something I am inspired to get involved in in the future. As I prepare to start the third week of class, I am looking forward to another excursion to Naturpark Amager, the site of our group project work! Stay tuned on that…

 

The five and a half months that I spent living and studying in the 2014 European Green Capitol were incredible, but I am very excited to be back on the U of I campus for my final semester as an undergraduate!

Cheers,

Molly Roche

NRES

The first days in Botswana

Even before landing into Botswana, Dr. Schooley (our trip instructor) had already sighted elephants. The immense amount of wildlife seen from the very start of our trip was exhilarating! Our first outing in the bush consisted of setting up camera traps in various areas of the Chobe National Park. Camera traps enable us to be able to closely monitor the species in the area. After breakfast, we learned about the GPS tracking unit used to record where the location of the camera trap were placed and how to find the location for future uses.

The second day consisted of different aspects of elephant ecology and their impacts in Chobe. Many of us sat in the back of the truck during the ride to the Chobe River. On the way to our destination, we saw several villages that raised cattle and goats for the locals. The cattle and goat farming were both primarily free-range, and many farmers did not have any fencing whatsoever. Once we reached the Chobe River, we observed an area that has a dense elephant population and these elephants were a leading cause of damaged to Acacia trees. The elephants in the area were damaging the trees by debarking and pushing them over. By doing so, the elephants were stripping the bark of its nutrients and also allowing for easier access to browse the foliage.

The next day we left our first campsite and drove to the next destination. Along the way to Savute, we were able to see an extensive amount of wildlife including: elephants, giraffe, impala, zebra, and several unique species of birds. I was very excited for what was to come within the next several days!

Animal Conservation, African Culture, and Safari Adventures

The movies and television can not grasp how great the African scenery really is and that scenery was the first thing that made me fall in love with Botswana. Among the beautiful African scenery lurked many exotic and colorful animals, and our group was going to be able to spend the next two weeks researching and studying these fascinating creatures. Upon our arrival in Botswana we were instantly immersed in the “deep bush” seeing an abundance of wildlife consisting of monkeys, giraffes, and beautiful birds; however, the prized sights to be seen would be the elephant, leopard, and lion.

After our long drive we arrived at our first camp where we spent the next few days filled with safari drives and lectures held back at camp. Also during the day we would search for large mammals, learn about their habitat, and the ecosystem all while we camped under the star filled night. As far as notable sightings, we managed to see a hippopotamus, more giraffes, gazelle, and impala but there was no sign of elephants (just skeletons and dung), lions, or leopards. Even though we didn’t get to see any of the rare animals, we saw a lot and learned a lot, and we were only at the first camp.

Our second camp was even more adventurous. Along the way we finally managed to see elephants. It was amazing to see how many there were and how close we got within the distance of two cars. I always thought that elephants were so rare but in northern Botswana (where they have the highest concentration of elephant in Africa) they could not be missed. Another sight that we got to behold was being in the presence of an African wild dog. These animals are extremely rare to find in the wild and not only did we see them but we saw the chase and hunt a pack of impala. Unfortunately for the dogs they came up empty handed but after their chase one came up right next to our vehicle. The next day was even better when we saw a leopard and not only that we saw it take down a stork. This was extremely rare to see because first off it is rare to see a leopard take down prey, but a bird is unheard of.

Just when I thought it could not be better we arrived at our first camp in within the next day we had lions stray across our camp. It was so amazing to see the lion as it just lurked through the tall grasses looking for prey. We even got to follow them for quite some time to see if they could manage to catch an impala. After getting used to the routine of waking up at sun up we got to experience something new, night drives. Essentially it was the same type of safari drive but it was at night. During our night drive we drove right in front of a male lion (we did not see a male yet) and followed him around for quite some time. We also got to see a leopard again.

At the end of this trip I feel like I have came away with a lot. Yes, we learned a lot by looking for animals but we actually got to see them and understand what is going on with them and their habitat. We also learned about how different the culture is in Botswana than it is back in the United States. I am so glad that I reached out of my comfort zone because I pulled back an experience I will never forget.

Costa Rica VIDA Pre-Vet Trip

This study abroad experience was mainly a service trip. That being said, we also got to do some really great activities when we were not participating in work days. Everywhere we stayed was absolutely gorgeous and it was so lovely to be spending time in 70 and 80 degree weather when everyone at home was experiencing negative temperatures. On our first activity day we went canyoneering with a group of wonderful guides. We were placed in harnesses and then rappelled down 4 waterfalls, did 3 ziplines, and 1 suspended rope bridge. It was beautiful and exhilarating! I was so glad that we got to do something involving nature while we were in Costa Rica. We saw a sloth in the trees while we were waiting in line for the zipline. We also got to go to the beach on our last day. The beach was wonderful and the day was perfect. We signed up to go snorkeling and were taken to a rocky area by boat. We were able to swim around and look at all of the marine life below us. There were also guides who would find really cool things for us to see like eels, starfish, and puffer fish. The snorkeling was probably one of my favorite activities that we did. I always felt really comfortable and we could always opt out of participating in any of those things if they made us feel uncomfortable.

Costa Rica VIDA Pre-Vet Trip

Over winter break I spent 12 days in Costa Rica working with a non-profit organization called VIDA. They do a few different kinds of volunteer trips, but this one focused on animals. We were involved in 2 spay and neuter clinics in small communities in Costa Rica. We were picked up by our VIDA leader who went everywhere with us on the trip. We worked with 8 veterinarians and 1 vet tech. The experience was unlike any other I have ever had. It was so obvious how much we were helping these communities. They genuinely appreciated what we were doing for them. In Costa Rica the pets are not looked at in the same way they are in the US. They do not live in the house with the families. They are fed by these people and claimed by them but they are not as integral in the family as our pets are in the US. Most of the people do not spay or neuter their pets, unless given an opportunity like the one we provided. I got so much hands on experience and it exceeded all of my expectations. I had seen all of the things we were doing before, but I had never done a lot of them myself. I was able to give medications, injections, place catheters, place endotracheal tubes, and assist in surgery. It was the kind of experience I had always wanted and now I can confidently say that I am in the right major and pursuing the right career. I loved the service aspect of the trip and learning about the cultures. I was so happy with how friendly the veterinarians were and how great they were at teaching all of us.

Mi-Étude: LaSalle Beauvais

Today officially marks my 19th day of this semester-long journey! It’s been a hectic two weeks! Aside from starting class (I’m already on my third one–CRAZY!) and getting settled in my new town, I’ve made some new friends and had some fun!

Each grade here is called a promotion, and they have events for each promotion throughout the year. Last Friday, the 3rd year promotion held a dance/party in the campus gymnasium and the theme was stereotypical French. Everyone was dressed in stripes, berets, mustaches, scarves, etc. We were served dinner with fun entertainment of displays from different dance groups, cheerleaders, games, and skits from the group organizing the event. It was super fun!

The next day, the Association Générale des Étudiants (AGE) organized a “team building” event for our class. We went to a local place called Speed Park, where we went bowling, played laser tag, and went karting! Bowling was fun, but no one really scored above 100… 🙂 Also, trying to convert your shoe size is a bit difficult in bowling shoes! After our games were over, we split up into groups. One group went to play laser tag, and my group went to go karting! I had never been before, and it was so exciting! We got to go around for about ten minutes before switching with the other half of the group.

After we were done with our exhilarating activities, we headed back to campus for food and games in our main building, the Agora. These games were older, wooden games like Chinese checkers, a fun balance game, and some others. The other AGE students arranged for us to have some candy and juice before our appetizer meal was served. That candy was gone in no time! We were all so hungry! Our resident director, who helped with the whole day as well, gave us little squares of paper to gambling and bet with, and the person at the end of the evening with the most papers got a special prize (Ahrianna, also from UI, won!). We then had a meal comprised of classic French foods: bread (of course!), different cheeses, sausages, patés, grapes, pastries, cookies, wine, beer, juice, pickles, etc. Eventually there was frozen pizza, too–definitely different than what we have in the states! Super delicious and casual! We mingled and chatted, going back for more yummy snacks as the night went on. Our resident director had also been taking pictures and videos throughout the day, and while we were eating, he put together a slideshow of all of the stuff, which was awesome! The night ended quietly as most of us were really tired from the night before and the day we had had.

Safe to say adjusting is going just fine! LaSalle has been so welcoming to all of us!

#ILLINOISabroad #ACESabroad

A bientôt!

Margaret Dahl

Balance game we played as part of our mixer!

My fun new friend Rachel!

Bowling as part of team bonding!