Stevens Admissions: Laura

Watching the Election from Another World

The election has been everywhere over the past few weeks. Every day I wake up to dozens of Facebook statuses discussing the newest scandal and a online news pages full of polling data. Everyone seems exhausted of the election, and I can't blame them: the 24 hour news cycle has worn everyone down.

 

Part of a monument in Portugal, dedicated to sea travel and the discovery of the new world. Christopher Columbus launched from Portugal to catch the trade winds.

 

 

Except for the Spanish, it seems. My host family loves to talk politics. Whether it be the Spanish economy or parties or the American system, we discuss politics nearly every day. Yesterday I had to try to explain the concept of "swing states" to my little sister, while my host father and I discussed Ohio (conversation made more difficult due to it all being in Spanish). There are two things in particular that strike me about the Spanish in regards to politics: they are well informed, and they are blunt. I am constantly amazed by how much my family knows about the American political system. They are informed on the candidates, and have opinions on the issues and how the election relates to their country. Before coming to Spain, I knew virtually nothing about the Spanish political system, and their knowledge is truly astounding in comparison.

However, it isn't just Spain. I find that I am often asked my political opinion when traveling, or simply when it is found out that I am American - I've also discussed politics with people from Portugal, France, Brazil, Germany, Morocco, Libia, Saudi Arabia, and other regions of the world. However, no matter where I go, or who I talk to, people are informed, curious, open and happy to talk about politics. I suppose this is why I'm not yet tired of the election - instead of being worn down by the constant news cycle, I am uplifted by people who are excited to discuss not only my culture and politics, but theirs as well. There is no animosity that comes with disagreement; simply a recognition that the world is a large and diverse place.

The people here also tend to be very blunt, particularly in regards to politics. However, this does not cause disagreements. Instead, it seems to open a room up to discussion. They are happy to listen to your opinion, but you need to be able to back it up. You support Obama? You support Romney? Great. Why?

All in all, Madrid has so far been my favorite place to watch an election from. As sad as I am that I did not get to vote in person for my first presidental election, it has been wonderful to be able to view the election from the outside, and to see the different prespectives and perceptions of the rest of the world.

As the presidental election comes to a close this evening, I beg you: be a little Spanish. Whether your favorite candidate wins or loses, please listen to everyone's opinion, leave discussions open and friendly, and remember that the world is a large and wonderfully diverse place. Buena suerte, America. The world is watching you tonight.

This Too Shall Pass

If there’s one thing I’ve realized throughout my travels and time at school, it’s that being sick and far from home is one of the worst feelings there is. It doesn’t seem to matter if I’m lying in a hammock in rural Ecuador or blogging from my top story apartment in Hoboken: when I’m sick my basic instincts kick in, and I call my mom. It doesn’t seem to matter how old I get or how far I go. My response is the same every time.

When we are sick we are at our most vulnerable, which is why we instinctively reach out. But here’s the thing: our base instincts don’t always cover all the bases. In Spain the most I had was the ability to email my mom, and in Ecuador I was hours from internet or a telephone.

So while I can’t always reach my mother, I do always try to remember her words of wisdom. My mother’s favorite saying was “This too shall pass,” and this is what I like to keep with me. It doesn’t matter if I’m near or far, I know that if I am patient, things will be better in the morning.

My wonderful mother and I shortly before I left for Spain.

The Stevens Schedule

This is the week that Stevens students must make our schedules for next year, and as hard as we try to prepare, it is always stressful. There isn’t much that can be done to help this, and Stevens has tried. We have an online scheduling system (so we engineers don’t even have to draw out our own schedules any more) that blocks out class times and shows potential conflicts.

Even after planning out my schedule for four years, things still go wrong. Stevens has an interesting but rigorous schedule: miss a class one semester and the conflicts could become prohibitive the next. Next year I will be a 5/5 coop student taking thermodynamics (which I should have taken in my third year), simply because there was no place in my schedule for it until this point.

There are two things that scheduling make me think about: two wonderful reasons why I am happy to be at Stevens. First: no matter how messed up, convoluted or confusing my schedule became, I have always been able to rely on professors, my advisor, and the deans to work with me to figure out what classes I need to take. Second: Stevens is unique in being an engineering school that allows you to do so many incredible things. I have been able to do research abroad, have studied abroad, and have had both coop and internship experiences. Stevens works with students to encourage the best college experience possible. What more can you ask of a university?

Getting Caught Trying

One of the most incredible parts of my visit to the United Nations was meeting you Adora Svitak and her mother Joyce. Adora is an incredible young woman: she is sixteen years old, has written three books, and travels around the world talking about her experiences, knowledge, and the power there is in stories. Adora was one of the speakers at the conference, and to be able to meet her was amazing. Also inspiring was her mother, who encouraged me and my friend Caitlin to spread our own stories, and to work to encourage and inspire more young women to get into the fields of science and technology.

This is the wonderful thing about conferences and experiences like this. Talking to Joyce made me feel not only like what I am doing is important, but that the steps that I must take to go where I want to are not so big. I left inspired and confident in moving forward in my goals. It is so easy to get bogged down in the negatives and in what is difficult. What is difficult is to break free of this anxiety and take the first step, and to feel confident that what you are doing is important and is correct. If I can pass on anything from this conference, I would like it to be this: get caught trying. It is better than doing nothing, and when you try, you may just end up with something incredible.

Meeting Adora and Joyce at the conference

Inspired: UN Youth Conference

Although I usually write about my adventures studying abroad, I wanted to take some time today to talk about the amazing resources that Stevens can provide in terms of location and global connections. Today I attended a youth conference at the United Nations in Manhattan to talk about women and technology. Although I went into the morning feeling already exhausted, the conference was easily one of the most phenomenal experiences that I have had at Stevens.

Being at the UN is an experience in itself. The campus of buildings stretches six New York City blocks along the East River, and it is incredible. Take out the international influence and raw innovation running through the hallways: the artwork is beautiful and the view is lovely (though I may be biased - it's finally starting to feel like spring here and I'm happy to thaw out a little). If you're coming to Hoboken and have some free time, go take a tour.

 

Waiting for the conference to begin!

The conference was divided into three sections. We first discussed women in science and technology fields, and shared perspectives about why more women do not go into these fields and what else we could do to inspire greater participation. The second section focused on youth and entrepreneurship, and the in the third we talked about the power of social media. In each section we heard professionals from around the world speak about their experience, and then held a brief discussion. There is so much raw power and inspiration running through conferences like this, and this is one of the best things that I think Stevens has to offer. We are not just "The Innovation University" because of our design program or engineering courses: we are the Innovation University because we provide our students with wonderful opportunities like this; to come to the United Nations, make contacts from around the world, and get inspired.

Wordy, Volume Three

One of the words that I found to be most interesting during my travels in Spain was the word “esperar.” Esperar has different meanings depending on the context in which it is used, and can translate to “to wait,” “to hope,” or “to wish.”  To me, there is something magical about esperar, and I think it says something wonderful about waiting. Waiting is never just waiting for something in the sense that we typically think of it: it is also hoping that something will happen, and wishing for the best outcome. Esperar captures all facets of “to wait,” even the little read subtext.

On the other hand, there is also something defining about hope when you use the word esperar. For me, hope became more than hope: it is strong and definite; you are not just wishing for something, but you are waiting for it.

As an outsider to the Spanish language, I truly enjoyed the nuances I saw in esperar. It is a way that I am unable to perceive my own native language. If you’re learning a new language, please find these little words you love.

Standing on the top of a mountain in Picos de Europa.

Learning to Listen

After being back in the States for two months, I have noticed a great difference in the way that people communicate. It struck me today while walking across campus, when I saw two friends walking with each other, chatting. As they came closer, however, it became evident that they were in fact each chatting on their phones to other people. However, I do not believe that this is a Stevens phenomenon, nor is it one of solely the New York area: it is an American phenomenon (and one that even my friends and I have ascribed to). As a people and a culture, we are phenomenally busy. There is always someone or something else we need to attend to: another meeting, another class, another early morning and another late night. We don’t stop.

Communicating in Spain was more difficult. There were no long phone conversations because it was expensive to make calls, no texting, and no television. We made plans when we saw our friends, decided where and when we would meet, and met when we agreed to. If someone was late, we called to make sure they were okay, and hung up quickly. Real communication was done face to face: hanging out at school between classes, chatting in whispers at museums, or relaxing on couches while cooking late night dinners or up-all-night breakfasts. Communication had a different feel and a different nature.

And here’s the thing: with this communication style, I learned more. I learned about different cultures, and had long conversations about everything from music to world politics. Moreover, I found myself listening more, and this is what I hope to take with me and keep in the States. Let’s try this! Let’s please put down our cell phones, turn off the TV, and listen for a little bit. We may just learn something.

Great friends and great discussions on a camping trip in Spain.

Wordy, Volume Two

One of the words that I found most important during my travels, both in Spain and abroad, was "pasteleria." The closest word in English would be to say "bakery," but the pastry shops in Spain and Europe in general seem like so much more. Families in Spain (at least in Madrid) do not bake. My host mother's oven was used as a necessary storage space in our small Madrileño kitchen.

There are really two types of bakeries in Spain. There are pastelrias, or pastry stores, and panarias, or bread stores. These can overlap, of course, but if you are looking for a pastelria, you are generally looking for something sweet and delicious, and that is what you will find.

During our travels, my friend Eva and I made it a point to learn how to say "pastelria" in every language we came across, and to find the local store and try the recommended delicacies. Pastries are not merely cookies abroad: they are soft, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth goodies that open up people’s hearts and make friends despite language barriers. When learning the important words of a language, make sure “pastry store” is among them. You won’t regret it.

A "selva negra" - my favorite Spanish pastry.

Wordy, Volume One

I wanted to write about some of my favorite words and phrases that I learned while abroad, and none is more fitting for how I feel about Spain than my phrase for today: “te hecho de menos.” The best translation to English would be “I miss you,” but to me, this phrase means much more than this. “Te hecho de menos” implies that there is something missing: that you are less without the person you are thinking of.

I don’t mean to say that you are literally less without another person, of course. To me, this phrase means that your days may not be quite as bright, or that your heart is just a little heavier without someone. It is a passionate and beautiful way to say that you miss someone: that you are less without them.

Studying in Retiro Park, one of my favorite places in Madrid.

Te hecho de menos, España.

The Importance of Service

When I came to Stevens, I didn’t expect to volunteer much. I wanted to focus on my work and become active on campus through the clubs and groups at school. However, service has a way of finding me – before the year was out I had joined several groups that ask service of their members, including a service fraternity entirely dedicated to the idea of giving back to the nation, community, campus, and the group itself.

When I came to Spain, I did not intend to volunteer. As much as I enjoy service, it wasn’t my first priority while abroad, particularly when compared with the allure of travel. However, service had other ideas. One of my teachers assigned us 15 hours of community service, so I jumped into volunteering with a program called “Bokatas” once a week. Every Tuesday at eight o’clock, I bundled up and dragged myself into the elements to hand out sandwiches to people on the streets. I never imagined what a wonderful experience this would be.

Service is wonderful for so many reasons. First, service builds friendships. I made new friends from my university and with the people in my group on Tuesday nights. I brought my friends from university to help, and I even got to know the people who we saw on our route every week. I began to learn the stories of the homeless people we visited. I learned about their childhoods, their families, and how they came to live on the streets.  Forming a bond with these people taught me a great deal about myself, and about how much good a simple conversation can do for a person. Service also spreads culture: I learned Spanish from my friends, as well as Spanish traditions and cultural isms. Most importantly, service allowed me to give back. I fell in love with Spain, the people, the language, and the culture, and to be able to do a little good there was phenomenal. Every week I left my house tired, rushed, and hungry (sometimes in the rain, and often in the cold), but as soon as I began walking the Bokatas route, nothing else mattered.

Rain or shine we were out volunteering. View North of Madrid from the school's balcony.

Whether here at Stevens, at home, or abroad, give back. I am so lucky to have had such a wonderful experience in Spain, and lucky to have a great university and campus here in the States. Let’s pass on the luck. Every little bit counts, and together we have the power to truly make a difference.

Let Them Look

When I first arrived in Spain and met my host mother, she looked at me and laughed. “You are not Spanish,“ she explained, shaking her head and smiling. “You will need to be careful.”

She was right – I stuck out in Spain. I am blonde with blue eyes, each of which is a rarity in Madrid. As soon as people looked at me, they knew that I didn’t belong. Long story short, people stared at me. Everywhere that I went, I could feel people’s eyes on me. However, I wasn’t the only one who received glances. To stare in Spain is not considered impolite or offensive, and after a few weeks, I adjusted. No one was being rude by looking at me. They were simply looking at me because I appeared unusual.

My first experience where I thought of my host mother’s words was while I was traveling for the weekend in Portugal. A young man walked up to me, told me that I had beautiful eyes, kissed my forehead, and walked away. I went home at the end of the weekend and laughingly told my host mother the story, explaining that I was very careful.

Laughing on top of the world in Sintra, Portugal.

 

“Ah, but that is not what I meant, guapa. You will draw attention. You need to be careful of pickpockets.” Looking foreign not only gave people a reason to look at me, but made me a greater potential target.

Here’s the thing: while abroad, I was never pickpocketed, and I never felt in danger while traveling or out in the city. On the other hand, my roommate, who looked Spanish and spoke the language fluently, had her wallet taken one night while she was out. The experience taught me that it is not as much about how a person looks as the attention that they draw to themselves. This lesson gave me pause: it can apply to so much more than studying abroad; it is about the way that you present yourself to the world. More than the clothes you wear or what you look like, it is how you act and treat others that is important. As long as you are doing good, it doesn’t seem to matter who is looking.