Author: Kasimir Bogielski

A Beautiful Ride

Nothing truly prepares you for the end of a journey.  Several noteworthy events materialize along the way: friends are won, learning moments are shared, tears are shed.  And somehow, the all encompassing feeling of those experiences can be felt in a single step, the step of a voyage complete.  But not all is lost.  We take with us the memory of the times we had, all those individual discoveries as well as shared stories, hilarious, frightening, exhilarating all.  We take back with us too the bonds we made with those extraordinary individuals by our side, those we could not fathom the beauty they held inside just a week prior.  This is a unique journey to be sure, one that if one is lucky will have at least once in their lifetime.  Men and women, young, curious, full of life and a drive, transverse as individuals across a sea to a place unknown, and come back with a deeper and shared understanding of the wonderful world they inhibit.  Santiago is a city whose people, streets, buildings, cooking, dogs, and everything else in between I will never forget for the rest of my life.  The spirit of those friends who saw all of those glorious features by my side will always be with me.  At the end of it all, as I step into a new phase of my life, all I can say is, it has truly been a beautiful ride.

Frank and I on top of the world

One of my favorite sketches of the trip

Veggie squad at our favorite restaurant

My Santiago crew

Valparaiso, A City of Chaotic Beauty

Someone once told me that the irony in his major of study, was that as a planner, his favorite cities in the world were actually unplanned.  I felt this observation in the steps I took and the meandering change of elevations I made along the streets of the seaside Chilean town Valparaiso.  The artistically and visually rich city was interesting from top to bottom, every wall displaying a unique piece of art.  This colorfulness of the city’s walls and buildings was matched also by its inhabitants, and namely one of its more famous, Pablo Neruda.  The Neruda house, La Sebastiana, was filled to the brim with visually stunning objects, and a visually stunning view of the sea as well.  Each object had a story, but my favorite was a map all the way at the top of Pablo’s house in his study.  Reading 1698 at the top, I knew that as a lover of history (and maps) I would be spending at least fifteen additional minutes pouring over the ancient artifact to learn the many secrets it held.  Valparaiso was beautiful in many ways.  It’s chaotic beauty in the realization of its city-scape is apparent, matched by the rolling Pacific Ocean to its west and ever-present Andes to the east.  Having experienced every facet of the topography of Chile’s capital region (save climbing a mountain) has helped me understand Valparaiso and Santiago better than a map or a book ever will.

One colorful street in Valparaíso. One of many, each with its own set art and architecture.

Kaz’s Park and Recreation

From its lush water garden and adjacent world-class restaurant, to the many centers of play sprouting spontaneous bouts of fun, Bicentenario Park is a fantastic and massive space that is an absolute gem within the city of Santiago.  After an utterly delicious meal, I was able to explore this space with great delight and a spring in my step, first starting with the water garden.  The vegetation drew me to what I would find to be the most beautiful part of the park, complete with flora and fauna both familiar and novel to me.  Being a child of a “birding” family, and having a general affinity for wildlife, it was joy to see a sundry of new types of birds utilizing the space together.  I would spend a good amount of time here taking pictures of the jumbo koi fish and every feathered friend I could spot on the water.  Safe to say, I was updated by my family to which species I had seen after relaying the images back to Cleveland.  The water garden felt both planned yet in a way to create moments of spontaneity, those like the areas where you can feed swans or flamingos, or anyone looking for a bite really.  These types of moments would fill my time spent in the rest of the park, one occupied by beauty, calmness, and spontaneous fun for people of Santiago and for anyone who has the pleasure to visit as well.

Residents of the park, the black-necked swan, commonly referred to by their scientific names: “honkers”. Complete with jumbo koi

Flora, fauna, and Radic’s Mestizo: a recipe for a perfect day in the park (if you can afford it)

Art From The Before-It-Was-Cool Times

This is most likely a representation of a belt worn by a ball court player. You didn’t want to lose these games, trust me.

Having recently had the pleasure to study a history oft untouched by the general public, Mesoamerican and Andean art history, never did I suppose I would have the opportunity to apply that recently acquired knowledge in a tangible way.  Within the hustle and bustle about the day, I had forgotten the full itinerary.  It is safe to say that when I walked into the door of the Pre-Columbian Museum, backed by two friendly native perros, I was pleasantly surprised.  In fact, by the time I had reached the Chile Before Chile section, I was in “full geek out mode.”  But, I knew the fun was just beginning, and I made my way up to the second floor, past the absolutely stellar infographics of the Pre-Columbian cultures geographies and timelines.  This floor would hold objects that I was keenly familiar with, ones I had my former professor give me personal recommendations to search for about the complex.  I was like a kid in a candy store (this often happens with art museums) hunting for Nazca head pots, Taíno stone semis, and an incense burner from Teotihuacan.  Along the way too, I noticed how well the museum was laid out, shifting from one culture to the other without disrupting the flow of the space, and how natural light was successfully utilized throughout the building, even in the basement.  When the dust had settled, I had walked away with over 50 pictures of artifacts, and a memory of a field experience like no other!

Before the Journey- Kaz

As part of my final act of my time at The Ohio State University, I have the honor and privilege to travel to a part of the world I have never yet seen.  I am beyond excited to give the study abroad trip one last go, knowing full well I will have soon have experiences I will look back on fondly for years to come.  I have learned quite a few things in my time abroad, and the most important is the ability to balance expectations.  Having a plan is well and good, but so is the flexibility of meeting the unknown with the candor spirit and open attitude.  My best experiences abroad have been ones where little expectations were made prior.  I have become one with that scary space, between the known and unknown, the expected and unexpected, knowing well I can bounce off and reflect the passion and the energy of my peers in an unfamiliar place.  I am ever comfortable in the shoes of the stranger in a strange land, knowing well the opportunities to adapt, learn, and explore are endless.  I take with me this philosophy as I step on the airplane which take me across the country and closer to my final destination, Santiago!

Hello! It’s Kasimir Bogielski, aka Kaz. I am a Public Affairs student in my fourth year here at The Ohio State University.  Being the academic junkie I am, I decided to minor in four areas,  International Relations and Diplomacy, Film Studies, Slavic Studies, and Art History, any of which I am more than happy mull over with you.  When I’m not studying my sundry of domestic pursuits, I’m studying abroad, of which I have done thrice before.  I cannot stress enough the importance of these field experiences, and again and again return to these memories I’ve made in conversations daily. I have explored to London, Budapest, Warsaw, Copenhagen and Rotterdam with my fellow Buckeyes to name a few, and I cannot wait to delve into the Southern Hemisphere for the first time with all of you!

Open book here. Have a question? Just ask!

Kaz’s Selfie

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“Thunderbolt and lightning, very very frightening me”

-Galileo

Two Truths, One Lie

In just under 2 years, I have sampled over 500 unique beers, both imported and domestic.

I spent 24 hours in line to purchase Tenacious D tickets.

I have been a vegetarian my whole life.