A thought on "On Violence"

"The new undeniable glorification of violence by the student movement has a curious peculiarity. While the rhetoric of the new militants is clearly inspired by Fanon, their theoretical arguments contain usually nothing but a hodgepodge of all kinds of Marxist leftovers." Arendt, 19-20

The quote is from the book On Violence by Hannah Arendt. We are reading it as a part of one of my Global Studies courses, and I'm finding it very interesting. A quick thought I have here.

The preceding quote seems especially true today; we have so many student "activist" and "social justice" movements that are springing up every year - Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, even Whose Diversity here on campus. They all claim to be fighting injustices, usually those perpetuated at the hands of the authorities, and vow to bring attention to the issue. With Occupy Wall Street, the most common videos circulated were those of tense and often-violent confrontations with the police, and where almost always a couple of students were dragged away by heavily armed police in riot gear; some felt they got what they deserved (as they were often breaking the law), while some others felt the police response was too heavy-handed.

With Black Lives Matter, the issue of police killings was so big this year that we still are feeling the effects. Massive protests, Twitter hashtags and trends, "die-ins", and many more ways of protesting were utilized, but when BLM was most in the media was when there were riots - namely, Ferguson. When the protests are peaceful and relatively uneventful, we all shake our collective heads at the movement and move on. Disrupting the state fair, light rail service, and a marathon are really inconvenient and piss a lot of people off, but the lack of violence doesn’t draw the attention, and people quickly lose interest.

Lastly, here on campus, Whose Diversity pulled their little stunt in Kaler's office, causing a ruckus among student and local opinion. But post that - who has heard from them? Their Facebook page hasn't even been updated for months! They pretty much had two months of publicity, a few "events", and then they dissipated. Without the videos circulating on Facebook and Twitter of tense situations with the authorities, not everyone really bothers to watch, and those that do usually already have their mind made up about the issue. Our lack of sensitivity to violence in everyday life has truly made us addicted to the point where ever-increasing acts of violence are being perpetuated, each one seemingly more violent than the last, to feed our crippling addiction to violence.

Regardless on how you feel on the issues, it should be a little concerning that one has to shoot someone (or many), issue terroristic threats, or unnecessarily act like an ass in front of authorities to get us, the moderate middle, to pay attention. No matter how asinine their cause (I'm looking at you, Occupy Wallstreet), everyone should be able to have their voice/platform heard. Then, after we've all heard it, we can either collectively ignore them into oblivion, or, if we find it worthy, elevate their cause to a new level and actually work for productive, peaceful, meaningful change.

Manly Men

Quick! I'm going to flash some images really quickly and I want you to say the first thing that comes to mind when you see them:

Ready? The answers are as follows:
1) Manly
2) Manly
3) Manly
4) Manly
5) Manly ('murica and freedom would also have been accepted)
6) Manly (Mother Russia would have been accepted)
7) Manly (what a playa and wine-o would have been accepted)

Don't lie; you thought that for the last one.

Okay, I won't fault you if you don't think that. However, since a majority of us can't ride bears, have no desire to look like the Terminator, and don't feel the need to spray patriotism at a rate of 100 rounds a minute, the last one is probably the most realistic for most of us - going abroad.

The company I studied abroad with and currently work with, CEA, informed me at our latest meeting that there is a huge deficiency of college-aged men studying abroad. I can vouch for this - in my Granada program, there were seven guys and about forty girls.

Guys....guys....c'mon. Look at those odds.

This isn't a CEA-exclusive phenomenon, either. The university we attended, Universidad de Granada - Centro de Lenguas Modernas was mainly for American study abroad students who were there to learn the language. I'd reckon a good few hundred are there every semester.
And guys...seriously...I'm not joking when I say at least 80% of them are females.

Maybe you're not really on the market right now - that's okay! To be honest, of all the reasons to go abroad, looking for a lady should be really low on that list because you're far in a foreign city where you'll meet all these people, only to probably never see them again because the distance between you two is so large!

Do as I say, not as I do, internet.

Ahem, yes, I know - I broke that rule. And it turned out okay for me; girlfriend is still with me a year+ later. :)

The National Association of International Educators - NAFSA - released a study a year ago showing that a mere 1% of all US college students study abroad!!!!!

ONE PERCENT! GUYS - SPECIFICALLY GUYS - WE ARE THE MINORITY OF THE MINORITY. I DON'T GO INTO ALL-CAPS RAGE OFTEN, BUT SERIOUSLY, THIS IS OUR OPPORTUNITY. STUDY ABROAD AND SEIZE THIS CHANCE!!!!

Why so few students in general do it, I do not know. That in of itself is probably worthy of a later blog post. However, the world is critically low on well-traveled, cultural, understanding men. Studying abroad opens up so much of the world to you and so much of you to the world, you never come back the same. In the interconnected world we live in, understanding and respecting our cultural differences is all the more important and crossing these borders - while difficult - can prevent so many of the problems we face in the world today, not to mention you will earn more money because you are far more versatile and useful to any serious company nowadays.

Men, I'm going to list of just a few of the main reasons you need to study abroad in college or soon thereafter:

1. It's like a college party, but for six months. I could go on and on about all the stuff that goes on abroad, but I know my mom reads this (hi mom), and I like somethings being a secret. Depending on where you go, there is a lot more to do, and more frequently, than good old conservative America. Even if you don't particularly enjoy monster hangovers and rushing to catch your bus in the morning - you're probably a better person - the pure atmosphere of going abroad is of a fiesta itself. Few worries, new adventures, new people and friends, and memories that you'll always be bringing up that will force some friends to get annoyed with you later on. Regardless of inebriating activities, a semester abroad is a six month party for your inner being that, unlike actual parties, strengthens you in more ways than just your alcohol tolerance.



The people at CEA, probably...(via imgur)

2. You get to do college without actually doing college. I was seriously surprised on this one. With participation so low in America, most respectable colleges that I know throw money at students who consider studying abroad. Yes, there's a lot of paperwork, deadlines, and research to go through, but when has anything great ever been easy? While there, you get to take easier, yet still interesting courses that leave you with enough time to learn things and still experience the local area where, to be honest, you learn so much more than a classroom can ever. Plus, did I mention that many times it's actually cheaper than your university at home? Lucky for you, CEA has plenty of money to give away too, including extra money on top of scholarship money. It's like money on top of money.
3. You're much more marketable and will make more money. While German tops the list because of it's business-oriented culture, any language will really make you more money than only English. This is only in financial terms - the number of employers who want multi-lingual people is only growing (heck, even I got a job because of it!) and these travel and language abilities let you be so much more versatile as a person throughout your entire life - once you've flown RyanAir, not the most cramped and late bus will ever make you cringe again!
4. You come back inspired and changed. This obviously varies across the board, depending on how you are and what you did. But it's undeniable that you cannot be the same pre-you as you are post-you. Once you see all the history of a different country, the world from their perspective, and the people in person - not words on a news report - you think differently, act differently, and find priorities have changed. I picked up a third language - Portuguese. I never would have imagined I could speak and understand two, much less three languages. When you're back at your home university, it's not that things magically happen, it's that you realize things that you didn't before. Try it! and finally...
5. You get to be exotic for a bit. This seems silly, I know, but America is a big, powerful, and influential country, for better or worse. Many people in the world have never really interacted with an American, and the news they see does not exactly highlight the good parts of our society and interactions with the world. We need to change that. We have an awesome culture with awesome people, and so much of the misunderstanding comes from a lack on interaction. In learning about new cultures, they in turn learn about you. You become much more aware of what you like and don't like in your culture and you alter it - you really do. Plus, in some countries, you actually stand out - like, physically stand out (I'm six foot three soooooo.....). That's kind of cool - and awkward - when not everyone looks like you. Putting yourself out of your comfort zone is necessary for growth, and what better than forced growth than putting you in situations you've never encountered before? 

That's studying abroad, guys, and that's why you need to do it now.

Spokane, otherwise known as Spokamton

The last week of winter break, I decided it was time I visit my girlfriend in Spokane, Washington, where she attends college. Excited not only because I love her and hadn't seen her in three months but also because it's the year anniversary of our travels and meeting in Granada, Spain, I see me traveling to see her not only worth it but also as a vital part of our relationship. Travel - if it wasn't for it, we wouldn't have even met. Why not continue the tradition and keep exploring?

To the tune of Drake: Started from Granada now we're here.

Travel doesn't need to be international to be exciting and new. Certainly, those who live in the United States can understand that, as we live in such a vast, diverse, and exciting nation that most of us have not fully visited. And while I would prefer a one-way ticket to Granada over eastern Washington most days, I have to appreciate the travel and the experiences that come with it. Every lugar (place) and viaje (trip) brings with it its own unique experiences and challenges that force you to adapt and learn.
Examples: In Europe, I learned that they switch the month and date, leading me to buy the wrong airline ticket and postpone my trip to Germany. However, out of that error came my incredible weekend trip to Carnaval in Cadiz, something I am so glad I experienced.
Here in Spokane, I had a layover in Phoenix, Arizona. Yet upon my arrival in Spokane, it turned out that my luggage had decided to visit Denver instead. After a day with one pair of underwear, socks, and jeans, my luggage arrived, having visited Idaho before even I had! But it's in these experiences that you get to learn to adapt and ultimately have the best stories to tell later.

So, Spokane, or as the natives have called it, Spokamton. I haven't taken a lot of pictures, though I'll change that because I'm blogging again. It's super blue collar, that's evident. It's downtown is a mix of old factories, a huge railroad junction, and modern parking ramps and office buildings sprinkled within. It really is odd, because I can't, as an outsider, see where the nightlife heads to (my girlfriend insists there is some).

Pictures from the downtown river district.

 After visiting what I would consider the most hipster coffee shop I've ever been to (titled Atticus), we explored downtown and its sights a little. As mentioned before, it's a mix town, and we didn't visit any of the middle class suburbs. However the city was a lot larger than I realized and also appeared to have a lot of history due to its former status as a trade post in 19th century America.

That being said, despite it's visible poverty (there's A LOT of homeless people here) and more run-down old factory town feel, it's very pretty. Shoveled in between the mountains of Idaho and the vast forests of the Evergreen state, it's never-ending green scenery and rolling hills will make for pleasant hikes this week as well as hopefully a trip to Idaho. The Spokane River, while apparently very polluted, has some interesting falls in the middle of town that I can only imagine look like St. Anthony's Falls looked like back home before humans got to them.
I'm seeking to update this as I see more of the city, but overall, it's a city I'd like to visit, but not live in, and from those I've talked to here, most of the city feels the same way. Haha.

Jacob

reMAKE

Hello, all.

It's been far too long since I've posted. That is, unfortunately, due to the fact that I no longer have Spanish adventure to report on.
However, I am still engaged in plenty of smaller, daily adventures of my own.
Throughout the month, I'm going to try to blog semi-daily about my happenings. Some of them are actual trips - Chicago, Seattle, etc. - and maybe, just maybe, I'll have a big announcement sometime down the road.

Thanks to everyone for reading this blog for the past year. It truly means a lot.

To a great future!

Jacob

The End

Well, it's here. I never thought it actually would come, but it has. The end of my adventure in Spain. I sit here typing this blog post at my relatives house in Sweden, but my study abroad adventure is all but nearly done now. Of course, I'm excited to see home and the people I left behind, but let's be honest how me and 90% of my program friends are feeling/thinking right now.

This sucks.

Spain was, undoubtedly, the best experience of my life thus far. It has changed my life in so many ways, from my current views on topics and life to my future plans, and many details in between, that I can't even begin to express how much I appreciate the opportunity to go abroad like I did. I earnestly hope and pray every other student has the chance to do what I did these past five months - experience a whole other world and live your life to the absolute max (do I sound inspirational, or what?!) in this short time frame of college.

The people I've met here will undoubtedly be some of my best friends for the remainder of my life. Don't worry, friends back home, we're still tight, but when you are thrust into a foreign country that speaks a different language, operates on a different time frame with different laws, you fuse together really quickly.

Back home, I'm already going over what I will do differently. Language, actions, how I treat others, being able to relate...and then some! Reverse culture shock might kill me, though.

Examples. Let's review the experience.

A trip down memory lane; the first week in Granada. I looked so young.

Our first night out. These two girls would end up being some of my best friends.

And of course, old friends are also present. Kelly, it was awesome getting to share Spain with you! Best buds for life!

Sometimes, you just had to get to the highest point in town and take it in...and then take a selfie.

Best birthday ever. 21st, you're gonna have to try really hard to beat this one.

Festivals that you'll never find on our continent. Carnaval in Cadiz, one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

Oh, the people you meet...

Nights out in Spain are undoubtedly the best.

Yet, you learn to appreciate the things you left behind, such as your parents. I love you mom and dad!

Beach days were never more than a quick bus ride away.

And travel was so accessible. Here, one of our first trips, Seville. 

Sometimes, you just have to jump into probably-ill-advised water with friends! (Pretty much a metaphor for my life abroad.)

The locals you meet will stick in your memory forever..

Honestly, I debated for a good hour on what to put in this (not final) blog post. I'm gonna say what I have to say to everyone back home when they ask me the very broad question "How was Spain?".
It is indescribable. I couldn't write down everything because I simply wouldn't have time. More will come in convo, and perhaps some memory blogs I make later, but in the meantime, I'll close with this.

Spain, I'll be back. Don't you worry.

Thank you God for everything!

Jacob

I found Paradise, guys. It was in Portugal!

Hello all,

I'm back from a weekend of sun, fun, and friends in Portugal, and I loved every minute of it! I'd even argue it was one of the best vacations of my life, and that's saying something, because I've been on a lot of awesome vacations! Where oh where do I begin?

Well, we can start at five in the morning on May 2nd, 2014. I had to double and triple check my backpack that I had everything I'd need for the next three days, because my bus left at six thirty in the morning. I realized at this moment that I'm in serious trouble, because waking up this morning was extraordinarily difficult, even though I was about to embark on an awesome adventure! I guess we'll deal with work at 6 AM when we arrive at that bridge, no?
We double checked that all 200ish of us were there (they were) and headed off to Lagos, Portugal, located near the southwestern corner of the country.

We arrived and, well, it was hot. The first thing on the agenda was a Sangria Boat Cruise among the beautiful coastline of Lagos. Stupidly, I had forgotten back in Granada to take out money for it, so I immediately rushed to the nearest ATM. Here is where I began to create a list of things that annoy me in the Mediterranean area, and topping the list at this moment was/is the lack of ability to use card. I spent a good twenty minutes walking in what I discovered later to be the wrong direction in an attempt to find the ATM that was so vaguely described for me. Walking back, getting directions for a third time, and going and finally finding it, I finally acquired the money. Heading back to the hotel, we boarded the bus to the port, where we would begin our boat "cruise" adventure.

It was a cruise, technically. You could call it that. It also was every American college student's dream: a big sailboat in beautiful waters, sailing the sea with friends, girls, and free alcohol. Yes, quite literally that was it. It was awesome. Every half hour or so as well, a smaller boat would arrive and take us on a mini tour of the grottos in the area. They were quite gorgeous, if I do say so myself!

Behold, the party boat!

While the others were on the boat, we were downing our free sangria by the "boatful" (get it?!). The crew had a really good summer playlist going as well, and the water was just warm enough to jump in (but not stay in). I would go as so far to say this was the highlight of my study abroad experience thus far. Beautiful people, scenery, friends, and relaxation. It really doesn't get better than this.

Out on the grotto.

 

After about two hours, we disembarked from the boat onto land, although, for some of us, the boat feeling followed us (a bit much sangria for some). We headed back to the hotel to freshen up/hardcore power nap before dinner. Our group, Discover Excursions, had everything set up for us, including discount meals and drinks at the nightclubs. The first night, some of my friends and I headed out to a local bar that served a hodge-podge of pretty much anything. I had ribs. Dare I say, I devoured them, and I had/have no regrets (There's still nothing quite like American meat...). Then, it was off to the club for most of us; some decided they weren't ready to turn up and headed back to sleep.
For some reason, we were taken to a seemingly-obscure bar out of the way and left there by our guide. Immediately, we were persuaded by the not-so-subtle bartenders to take some shots and buy some beer. Now these bartenders were very, very good at their jobs; wearing nothing buy a sports bra, ripped jean shorts, and a shirt bearing a bit more than usual cleavage, they squeezed at least five euros out of us that we didn't intend to. At least they made good conversation while they were robbing us...
Then we were off to the club. Entering, it was immediately different than the others we had experienced. It was pretty much full of Americans, other people from our program/group, but fun nonetheless. The free drinks didn't hurt either.
After dancing our hearts out, we wandered around the warm, old streets of Lagos back to our hotel and passed out. A good, full day indeed, and we still had two more ahead of us.

Day 2. It would be hard to beat the first day. We enjoyed a free breakfast, one we took full advantage of, as it was the only free meal on the trip (breakfast, that is). Stuffing ourselves to the max, we waddled back over to the buses again to head off to the beach. Here they had the option to go sea kayaking, but given my [lack of] money situation, I opted to stay on the beach. On this beach, which spanned a good length of the city, we drank more free sangria, rented some paddle boats and proceeded to get them stuck out in the water, and body surf for a good hour. I'm not a huge fan of salt water, but I'll tell ya, the ability to body surf is awesome and definitely makes up for the salt.

After recovering from the beach, we set out to one of the coolest destinations I've ever been to; the "end of the world" in Portugal. It's the most western point on the European continent, and we went there to watch the sunset. I'll just leave some pictures up, because words don't adequately describe it.

Somewhere wayyy over there is America.

That night, we headed out again to a place called Joe's Garage, where we were given free drinks (you sense a pattern here?) and fun! Somehow, one of the bartenders that we had met the night before was working at this bar/club as well, so we met up with her again and...surprise...ended up buying drinks from her. *sighs* We are hopeless.

Day 3: Waking up after a good balcony talk with some friends after the club, we proceeded to enjoy our final free breakfast, and headed out to yet another beach. This time we were on our own; our bus would pick us up at around four thirty, so we had to make sure just to be there on time (though, I wouldn't have necessarily minded being left behind there.).
Some people (aka those most sunburnt) weren't necessarily feeling another day at the beach. So, after doing some incredible exploring over the rocks at the first beach, some females and I packed up and headed to another.

Finally, maybe now my father will love me!

The beach was awesome, though a bit cold, and it was nice to just chill and talk before heading back to Granada.

The bus ride back was quiet, because we were all so dead. We got back at 1:30 AM Monday morning, so I ended up missing class the next day (my 8:30 one, at least). Regardless, it was totally worth the experience, and I'd recommend it in a heartbeat to anyone.


Next post: Germany and Semana Santa.

Jacob

Lost in the Mountains

Late night blog post. I'm currently debating on whether I should even go to bed tonight, since I have to get up at 5 AM tomorrow (the 2nd of May) to catch a bus to Portugal. Decisions, decisions. In the meantime, enjoy my misfortunes in the mountains of Granada today!

I've been living in Granada, Spain for nearly four months now (wow, time flies!), yet not once have I managed to get to the Sierra Nevada mountains that are but a few miles away (I know they use kilometers here, but miles are clearly superior, right?!). Well, after a night out we decided to shotgun a trip to Los Cahorros, a series of trails up near the base of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. First. we had to catch a bus to the base town of Monachil, except we caught a bus that decided it didn't want to go the whole way, so it dropped us off a good mile away and we had to walk. No biggie, right? We're young, strapping, handsome (I'd even argue gorgeous) Americans on a Spanish adventure; walking is no biggie. Well, it was only the beginning.

We made it! Well, erm, to the almost-beginning.

The town was completely shut down due to the Spanish Día del Trabajador (Labor Day). (I actually find it kinda ironic they have a labor day, since it seems like they have a holiday/party every week anyway, but hey, when in Spain...). Following some dirt roads up, and up, and up.........and up..........and up, until we reached the entrance of the national park.
Yay. We've already seemingly hiked miles, and our adventure has just begun.

Here we go!

If you've ever been to Zion National Park in Utah, that's the closest place I can relate it to that I know of. They're both beautiful. To start, we had to cross a pretty long swaying bridge (after waiting in line for about half an hour, of course, because who said nature doesn't have lines?), only 4 at a time are allowed to cross.

See ya on the other side!

Once on the other side, we were mesmerized by some waterfalls and rock climbers - there were a lot of the latter - as we hiked, crawled, and hanged (yes, literally) our way across the path. The hiking "trail" is a human-placed cement block that hugs some of the rocks, meaning at certain points we had to hang on to the provided hooks, get on our knees and crawl, or my personal favorite, jump into the parallel river and just avoid it all! The water was a bit nippy, but it felt good on such a hot day.
Then we emerged onto the other side. Incredible.

On the other side, we spent more time walking in between the beautiful mountains, streams, and even waterfalls. Eventually, we reached a big gathering point for groups by the stream. Dozens of people were lounging around, eating lunch, and generally just relaxing. It was a great atmosphere. After finishing our makeshift lunches and recharging a bit, we decided to keep going and find the other way out. Consulting some locals, we headed out.
Moving on over nature and at one time literally through a waterfall, the trail started to disappear. It was still evidently a man-made trail, but we found ourselves at quite literally a dead end (still beautiful, but it didn't get us out of the park).

Just follow me into my cave; I swear it's okay...

I suddenly found my climbing skills...

Like I said, quite literally through this waterfall.
Credit Brianne Burie

Frustrated, tired, and running out of water, we finally decided to turn around, something I like to avoid because I want to keep exploring. Backtracking a good half hour, we found more people and asked them how to get out of this beautiful, yet entrapping Eden. The man we asked directed us back in the direction we came from, a good hour's walk, assuming we didn't stop.
We stopped. A lot.
Murphy's Law states that "if something can go wrong, it will.". Well, I'd like to amend it to "if there are two paths to choose from, you're going to choose the wrong one first 100% of the time". Again, it was beautiful and I'm glad we could see these new angles, but we were all starting to tucker out now, and we still had to walk back to town once we left the park. Uf-dah.
Finally, after dragging some of the slower folk with us, we made it. We had escaped the national park. Walking back to town, we caught the bus back to town and quite literally passed out on the half hour ride back. All I remember of this part is that it was uncomfortably hot...darn that mass transit! Hungry, tired, sore, and very much desiring to just sit and reflect, we all headed home to shower up and rest.

Thus, here I am, finishing this. En fin, the hike was awesome and possibly one of the best uses of my day! (cheap, as well!) Now, we're heading off to Lagos, Portugal for a weekend retreat with a bunch of other students. Now that will be an interesting blog post.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment!

Jacob

PS. Yes, Semana Santa will happen...