Over the past few days, I had the chance to interview members of pastoralist Maasai communities near Amboseli National Park. We arrived here late last week for the second part of our current course, "Ecology and Conservation of African Landscapes" with Paula Kahumbu, and a group of us are currently working on a project related to women’s empowerment. Specifically, we are interested in how education efforts supported by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and Kenyan government have impacted local communities, and we will have a chance to speak to representatives of the KWS as well as the U.S. ambassador to Kenya later this week about our work here. It was a wonderful experience to learn about the communities and their culture. Up to this point, we’ve been exposed mostly to the ecology and biology of animals and vegetation, which has been very informative and has taught me important ways to structure my thinking and questions, but I love the feeling of working directly with a community to evaluate the effectiveness of certain programs and to think about how to address their needs.

It’s been extremely enlightening for me. Before our visit to the communities, I thought the greatest obstacle that prevented children from getting a good education in this area would be the cost. In some ways this was true, but there seemed to be a number of cultural considerations that affect the ability of certain children to attend school as well. In one community we visited, only 22 of the roughly 50 primary school children from 2013 went on to secondary school. Of the graduating class, only nine were girls and only two of those girls went on to attend secondary school. To me, it seems critical to explore and address the reasons for this disparity, and this is the sentiment we hope to inspire in those to whom we will present our work. 

I enjoyed this experience so much—it is the kind of thing that evokes passion in me, which makes me believe that it is possible to apply things I have learned and am learning in classes to effect some change in this world. I have always felt that an education should be more than simply rote memorization or competition for grades, and I am very grateful for the chance to experience education as something more tangible and rewarding than that. 

The week before last, I celebrated my 21st birthday. For me, a typical birthday celebration at Princeton usually looks something like this: After a day of classes, my closest friends organize a lovely dinner at a nearby restaurant and we call it a day. This year, my birthday looked something like this:

I woke up at 3:30 in the morning to climb to the summit of this mountain

By 6:30 a.m. I found myself here, on the summit of the second-tallest mountain in Kenya. Although it certainly wasn’t my typical birthday celebration, and although I never imagined I would spend my 21st birthday climbing a mountain, I certainly think it was a memorable way to spend it!

 

 

Day 4 continued: My team was closest to camp, so we could see the water creeping toward our tents, probably an inch every few seconds. We ran back just as the first few tents were inundated, and we began dragging the tents onto the highest ground possible.

The red-eye flight to Fort Lauderdale blinked by, and after stretching our legs and filling out the entry forms, the 16 of us piled into three charter planes bound for Andros International Airport, a glorified landing strip in The Bahamas.

The highlight of my last summer was studying abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France, with 27 other students from Princeton. The program was housed in a French language institute, and on alternate days we had local French teachers and Princeton professors. The classes were a mix of everything: reading Zola’s novels, interviewing local nonprofits, writing poetry, presenting on current events in EU, lots of local excursions to museums, castles, Paul Cezanne’s studio and even attending cooking atelier. The program was a legit Princeton course, and it condensed a semester’s worth of material into four weeks, so you can imagine how fast-paced it was.

That being said, the program was much more than just moving the classroom to France; it was living the French life. My host mom made exquisite four-course French cuisine almost every night: salad, main course, cheese platter and dessert. Her cooking was fabulous, and with the aid of lots of guessing and hand gestures, sometimes our dinner table conversation naturally flowed for two hours. The city of Aix was very pedestrian-friendly. Wandering around, my classmates and I would go to the open-air market to buy fresh-picked strawberries and boiled fish with aioli for lunch; spend a few hours reading, chatting, people-watching in street corner cafes just like the French would; or relaxing and watching little kids play with pigeons around the fountains (fun fact: Aix is known as the City of a Thousand Fountains). You may wonder how we juggled between studying and exploring the town, but hey, isn’t “work hard, play harder” Princeton’s unofficial motto?

PTL. Wherever I looked, that acronym seemed to be scribbled, from chalk on the sidewalk to Facebook status updates. According to UrbanDictionary.com, "Post-Thesis Life" (or PTL for short) is “the beautiful time when a college senior is finally finished with their senior thesis and can enjoy senior spring like a normal human being.” The Princeton Senior Thesis is a yearlong academic project, usually around 100 pages, required of all Princeton students (though engineers are given the option to pursue a semester-long independent project instead).

This semester, I’m studying abroad through the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, taking courses in ecology, animal behavior, and conservation.

On occasion, Princeton affords me an opportunity that seems nothing short of miraculous. People ask me how these experiences fall into my lap, and sometimes I have an explanation, but oftentimes I’ve just two words: Princeton magic. Over intersession, Princeton magic took me to Paris.

Hello from Japan!

I am writing my blog entries now from my dorm room at Keio University, sitting by my window that overlooks the glowing city of Tokyo. Though the sun is setting here, I know that my family and friends across the world are just waking up along America's East Coast.

This is my third time going abroad as a Princeton student, so I am used to this extreme space and time difference. The summers after freshmen and sophomore year, I studied in China and worked in India, respectively, gaining exposure to the international perspective. As someone whose primary academic interest is international relations, I love to travel and experience new cultures as often as I can.

Though I am back in Asia once again, this is my first time actually spending a semester as a study-abroad student, and I will consequently be spending my longest time away from home. Four other Princeton students and I are taking part of a brand new Comparative East Asian Studies program hosted through the Woodrow Wilson School. The program includes study and internship across Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong, extending over the summer and spanning in total six months.

A lot of my friends back on campus questioned why I would devote so much of my time with Princeton living and traveling abroad. But I simply can't turn down the wonderful Princeton study abroad opportunities, especially when they are subsidized by scholarships and financial aid. More important, many of my greatest college experiences have come outside of the Orange Bubble, and outside of the United States. In my opinion, many more students should gain international experience while in college (it's one of the easiest times to do so), and I hope more departments adopt an international experience requirement similar to that of the Woodrow Wilson School.

This semester, and this new adventure abroad, has just begun. Things I instantly love about Japan are the foods, the hospitality, and the pop-culture. Though I’ve only been here two weeks, I’ve already learned so much about Japanese language and culture from classes and my new friends (from the latter, I've mostly learned fun slang terms). I’m stoked to see what Korea and Hong Kong have to offer over the next few months. You’ll continue to hear from me on this blog during my program, both about campus life and life abroad. For now, Sayonara!

An awesome tree near Tokyo, Japan.[/caption]

 

 

Studying abroad in London the summer before my senior year was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life! I was inspired to visit London during my junior year, after taking an amazing Shakespeare course with English Professor Russ Leo (he’s fantastic). The class, which explored some of Shakespeare’s earlier works, was one of the best classes I have taken at Princeton.

My favorite lectures were about the theater culture in London during the late 1500s. I was particularly fascinated by the history of the Globe Theatre, where Shakespeare staged some of his productions. Immediately after taking this course, I researched summer programs that would give me the opportunity to finally visit the famous Globe. I decided to join The Duke in London-Drama program because it offered two courses taught by the lovely and brilliant theater Professor Sarah Beckwith.

Over the course of six weeks, I saw more than 30 professional shows in London including dramas, comedies, musicals, and an opera! One of my favorites was, of course, the Globe’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” production. I also had a lot of free time, which allowed me to explore many parts of the city. I checked out several museums, had a ton of tea, and took plenty of pictures. One of the best parts about being in London was meeting up with other Princetonians. One of my friends, Dinora ’12, currently lives in London, and when she found out I was there, we quickly made plans to meet. One sunny morning (yes, London can be sunny, and it was surprisingly warm while I was there...), I met her and a few of her Princeton friends over a delicious English breakfast. 

 

They met through the Princeton Association UK, which hosts social events for young Princeton alumni in London. They each had nothing but positive things to say about their experience with the Princeton network while abroad. They emphasized that being able to hang out with other Princetonians made their time in London even better. I found this to be true after meeting up with a couple other Princeton undergraduates who were also working or studying at London that summer. Knowing I have a Princeton family in the theater capital of the world makes me all the more eager to return!