1. Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project.

Over the summer 2018 term, I studied abroad at Korea University through International Studies Abroad, a third-party provider. In addition to taking classes, I also has the opportunity to explore Seoul and take part in cultural immersion activities offered by the university, such as Taekwondo classes, Korean cooking classes, volunteer teaching, and seeing a nanta performance live. I also took excursions to Busan, Donghae, and the Boryeong Mud Festival.

2. What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project?

My summer in Korea was an extremely transformative experience for me in any ways. First, I had the chance to study and practice my Korean language skills daily, which improved both my ability and my confidence in speaking. I also learned that I would not be judged as harshly on my appearance or my language ability as I had thought that I would be. The many people that I came across, when hiking mountains, exploring the city, and eating in restaurants, were happy to speak to me and seemed impressed by my willingness to learn Korean. I learned to be more confident, more independant, and was able to open up to many new experiences.

3. What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you?

Being in South Korea, especially outside of the tourist districts of Seoul, I was quickly forced to be comfortable speaking in Korean. I have always had major insecurities surrounding speaking in a foreign language for fear of being wrong or embarrassing. However, when I went out with some of my friends from the program, I had the highest Korean language ability of the group, so I was often in charge of communication for taxis, restaurants, shops, and entertainment. It soon became very comfortable to speak to the locals that I met because I could see that while I was not always grammatically correct, they were appreciative that I was trying. My Korean language class also helped me with this. The class was accelerated because of the short summer term, and it was extremely challenging. However, I learned a lot about new concepts and vocabulary as well as more native ways of saying phrases that I already knew.

Most importantly, I was exposed to so many aspects of Korean culture that I would not have had the chance to experience otherwise. For example, I was able to participate in Taekwondo Classes, nanta live performance, and volunteer teaching an english class at a rural middle school in Taebaek. Living in Seoul gave me the opportunity to experience Korean food and drinking culture as well. I tried as much Korean food as possible, trying to be more adventurous than I am at home. I ate from street vendors, restaurant, and specialty shops with foods like squid ink ice cream (really made with squid ink).

Living abroad also gave me many new friends from all around the world. Because my roommate at Korea University was Guatemalan, I had to the opportunity to speak to her in Spanish as well as Korean, and learn more about her culture. I also made friends with people from China, Singapore, Cambodia and Japan. We have been exchanging videos of  our home countries and universities since being home, and we plan to keep in touch and visit each other if possible.

4. Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life?

First, my time studying at Korea University and living in Seoul made me decide to pursue attending graduate school in Seoul. The cultural experiences, language immersion, and amazing professors that I met during the summer program convinced me that the added value of living in South Korea would add a competitive edge to my resume when applying for jobs in international relations. Especially wanting to pursue a job working in the public sector, experience living abroad is a highly valued skill. And Korean is a critical language, which adds to the importance of living in South Korea. Additionally, I am now considering applying for jobs in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the State Department, specifically for the embassy in Seoul or the consulate in Busan.

I also blogged about my experience at http://www.thebahm.com/  Check it out!

Jenna Ebersbacher

STEP Reflection

1. Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project.

This summer I spent five weeks studying abroad in Valencia, Spain through the College of Arts and Sciences for credit towards my Spanish major. I took Spanish Culture and Spanish Film through the University of Valencia and lived with a host family.

2. What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project?

During this trip, my view on the United States completely changed. I never fully comprehended how young of a country we were until I visited Europe. It was life-changing to see the beautiful architecture of the Gothic and Classic time periods, buildings and art don’t really exist like this here. I also was surprised by how many people did not speak English in Valencia. It is the third largest city in Spain, and I assumed similar to Madrid or Barcelona that most people would speak English. I would be lucky if I was lost and could find a person in a store or on a street that could speak English or at least understand my Spanish, I ended up loving this because it really helped me practice my Spanish.                                                                                                                                       Something else I really enjoyed about Spain is that they are not constantly stressed out. Valencia felt very relaxed and happy. People are not always rushing around to get to work or school like we do here, at times this was frustrating because I am used to being on a tight schedule, but once I accepted it, I realized it is actually quite enjoyable to actually live in the present and not constantly be worrying. When you take a step back and slow down you start to enjoy life more, this is how I felt in Spain, and I think it is a lot healthier lifestyle. Heart disease is the number one killer in the U.S. which is often times brought on by stress. Why are we doing this to ourselves when life is meant to be enjoyed, not worried about.

3. What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you?

One of the best parts of my trip was living with my host family. We lived across from the beautiful Puenta de las flores with an amazing view from our terrace. I had five host siblings and host parents, none of whom spoke English. Eating dinner with them each night was a fun experience because not only was I able to immensely practice my Spanish, we also sat and talked for about one to two hours each night about our cultures. I learned so much from my host parents, they were both teachers making them very kind and patient and easy to understand, I also felt like I was able to teach them a lot about our culture in the U.S. because they were always asking me so many questions. I really think they shaped my experience in Valencia, I wouldn’t have felt as comfortable as I did if I didn’t have them.

I also was able to learn a lot from my peers. I was in a small group of only seven people which I was very concerned about at first especially because it their Spanish was definitely at a higher level than mine. Once I became friends with them and felt comfortable, I was able to let them help me practice my Spanish. I always felt slightly out of my comfort zone but this was really good for me because it allowed me to grow a lot in this short time period. Because of our size, we were able to have a lot of exciting, intimate experiences. During my trip we traveled to Madrid, Barcelona, Toledo, Peñiscola, Mallorca, Ibiza, Sevilla, Córdoba, and Granada. Some of my favorite experiences included traveling to a farm in Valencia to cook original Paella, visiting Parque Güell in Barcelona, participating in water sports at Gandia Beach on my 22^ndbirthday, viewing Roman ruins in every city, climbing to the top of the castle where Game of Thrones was filmed in Peñiscola, attending a Flamenco show in Sevilla, and touring La Alhmabra in Granada.

While this trip may sound like a vacation, I did spend most of my time in class. I had class for four hours each day except Fridays. I really enjoyed my classes, especially the film class, because we learned so much about the history of Spain. I never studied the Spanish Civil War in depth and it was a very interesting yet sad topic. In this class we would discuss different time periods in the history of Spain then watch a movie that accurately portrayed the time period, then we would write a paper analyzing the movie. I felt this was a very effective way to learn because sometimes it is easier to relate to movies. My favorite was La Lengua de las Mariposas because it told a touching story about a teacher that cared so much for his students but was murdered by Franco for being an atheist. This class really made me think and allowed me to practice conveying my thoughts and opinions in Spanish.

4. Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life?

This trip was extremely valuable for so many reasons. Firstly, it helped me determine which track I want to take in my Spanish major. Before my trip I was really lost as to which track I should take and chose Linguistics blindly. After this trip, I declared an Iberian track and I am very excited about it especially since I feel like I know so much more about it now. Secondly, I am also an International Business major and have always wondered if I could live abroad in the future, this trip definitely gave me a taste what it would be like including the highs and lows, culture shock, and communication barriers. At first I was very intimidated and homesick but I realized that once I overcame these drawbacks I felt very happy and comfortable. Lastly, it gave me a greater appreciation of home. While traveling the world is an amazing experience and I would like to live abroad someday, there is no place like home. Being with my host family made me realize how much I miss my own family. Cleveland, Ohio might now be a cool as Valencia, Spain but I feel like once I do settle down, it will be somewhere close to my family.

William Erickson

Education Abroad

In July and August 2018, I travelled to Europe to take part in Ohio State’s study abroad course, “The Heart of Europe”.  This study abroad come in the form of a performance tour of a chamber wind ensemble made up of Ohio State students from the School of Music.  We met in Columbus in late July and began rehearsals on W.A Mozart’s “Serenade in c minor” and Gordon Jacobs’ “Old Wine in New Bottles”. We travelled to Austria and Italy to take part in performances in Salzburg, Austria (as well as seeing the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra rehearse Gustav Mahler’s second symphony) and then to a small town in northeast Italy where we served as an ensemble-in-residence for the Corzi Internazionale di Perfezionamento Musicale in Cividale del Friuli, Italy.  

Since Salzburg, Austria is birthplace of Wolfgang Mozart, it was very fitting that we should closely study one of his finest works for winds in a place that knows Mozart better than anywhere else in the world.  I was taken aback by how supportive of the arts, and especially music, the people of Salzburg were. The Salzburger Festspiele takes place each year, drawing large crowds to some of the finest classical ensembles in the world.  Tickets are sold out an entire year in advance for many shows, and the people of Salzburg treat musicians like celebrities. In America, it is no secret that classical music is a dying art. Our audiences are growing older, and classical music is seeming more and more out of touch with the popular culture of today.  I found this to be completely false in Europe, though. Random passersby were very intrigued and impressed when we would tell them we were musicians. Seeing this excitement and enthusiasm for classical music being displayed in the mainstream of European culture was not only refreshing, but it changed my view on the future of classical music and gave me hope that this vital part of human history will not be lost anytime soon.  

The entire trip culminated in our biggest concert as an Ohio State ensemble, in the Chiesa di San Francesco in Cividale.  Originally, we were supposed to perform outside in the courtyard of the ancient lombard monastery, which was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011.  Unfortunately, a heavy storm forced us to move the concert into another one of the 34 massive stone cathedrals they had in this town with a population of 11,000 people.  Despite their low population, our concert was incredibly popular. The local people braved the storm and packed into this church in order to hear us play, which was incredibly humbling for all of us involved.  I couldn’t imagine the same happening for an italian ensemble in America.

Since we were actively participating in the festival as part of being the ensemble-in-residence, we had the opportunity to make friends with other italian musicians who were attending the festival as normal.  It was a very rich experience to make good friends with people who come from such different backgrounds as I do. The american and italian clarinetists would always hang out after the masterclasses were done, and we’d often be out at restaurants until late, or out exploring Cividale late into the night.  I found during my time that learning about something and experiencing it are two very different things. I knew in my head that the italians were much more laid back than the americans, or that you often drank wine with lunch in Italy, but being there and seeing it first hand made a real impression on me.
The festival in Cividale was also incredibly rich musically.  There were concerts by some of the finest musicians in the world almost every night.  I got to have chamber coachings with Vladimir Mendelssohn (an actual descendant of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy!)  I got to study with Nicola Bulfone, who is a fantastic clarinetist, as well as receive more attention from my clarinet professor from Ohio State, Caroline Hartig.  I saw major in myself both musically and personally over the course of this festival and study abroad program.

The changes I outlined above were important because art requires experience.  Music, as an art, is informed totally by the life experiences of the musician.  Every measure of music we make is incredibly personal and vulnerable, and nobody can make music based on life experiences they haven’t had.  Attending this festival and exploring Europe through making music was one of the most enriching and foreign life experiences I have ever had.  The people I met and the things I learned (both musically and culturally) will inform my music making for the rest of my life.

STEP Project
1 September 2018

The London Theatre Program is an OIA affiliated study abroad trip in which students view and analyze dozens of theatre productions. We kept extensive journals and presented on many different productions that forced us to investigate art, British culture, and intense social topics.

Going into this project I knew that it would have an affect on my artistic ambitions and my ability to dialogue about theatre, but this project accomplished this and more; This project helped me to realize a new depth of my independence. During the month spent in London I viewed and analyzed nearly thirty works of theatre. In the process, I discovered certain artistic aesthetics that I would not have discovered under other circumstances. These artistic discoveries made me realize what kinds of theatre and art in general that I want to make and support. Furthermore, the act of viewing so much theatre has made me so hungry to get back and create more theatre of my own. I now have a clearer vision of what I want to create and how I want to go about creating my theatre. These changes have truly made me feel like a new artist.
The more personal changes that I have undergone occurred due to the immersive nature of the program. Being in another country allowed me to explore my independence like never before. The success and mistakes that I made abroad helped me understand my strengths and weaknesses as a person. Together these personal and artistic changes that I experienced made me feel like a new person ready to attack my dreams, goals, and aspirations with newfound zeal.

The three most instrumental changes caused by this program occurred to me at the very beginning and end of my stay in London. The first one occurred on the third or fourth day when we watched our first production in London, Flesh and Bone in Soho Theatre. This was a small production about the lower-class citizens of London. It was produced by people not too much older than my friends and I. This was so inspirational, as it made me feel like the prospect of creating theatre was so much more plausible than before. To see people my age make meaningful work was just what I needed, as I am striving to create my own art within the next year.

The second amazing experience to happen while in London occurred in two parts. The first part began with a guest speaker name Sifiso Mazibuko, a graduate of Ohio State and current cast members of the legendary Hamilton. He was a truly inspiration speaker. Aside from his humility and down-to-earth advice, it was an overall uplifting experience to see a young-black man with a family thriving in the theatre world. The second part of this experience occurred the next week when I went to see Hamilton and witnessed the most iconic modern musical for myself. To see such a stellar, diverse production gave me something to push toward. I think for the first time I wanted to be a part of a musical in future. I actually felt like I could do it because there were people who looked like me on stage. Furthermore, this experience reinforced my desire to advocate for diverse representation on the stage.

The last major transformative experience I had related more toward the culture of London. I was able to meet with one of my mom’s friends and his coworkers for lunch near the end of my experience in London. During this conversation my friends and I were able to talk about certain global issues and how we can make change with issues using our own talents, knowledge, and gifts. These experiences together helped make this STEP project a truly transformative project.

My newfound independence and desire to produce my own art is very important to me, as I plan to make my art my career. My dream is to be able to reach a point where I can sustain the life I want to live on my art alone. To accomplish this goal, I must pursue my art with great passion and constancy. My independence and passion will help me take initiative in creating my own art and promoting myself. I have learned in the arts you must look at yourself like a personal-small business. You have to teach yourself, find your way, and make informed decisions. The changes that this project has caused with in me will help me reach out for help and give help when needed; thus, allowing me to pursue my career more efficiently.