My weekend in DC

When I woke up to the groan of my alarm I was instantly in a good mood because despite being 5.15 on a Saturday morning  I was bound for Washington DC with my best friends here at Penn State. 

Okay let me put some content in this.  This weekend was a canning weekend at Penn State where most of the students in university clubs head out of town to raise money for THON (a dance marathon in March for children with cancer). At the same time many of the students who aren’t canning take it as an opportunity to go home for the weekend.  As a result the university organized a small day trip for those of us who can’t go home to Washington DC !

 Groggy eyed and disheveled we boarded the bus at campus and promptly fell asleep on each other. After three and a half hours our bus entered Washington DC and we pulled up next to the Hirshhorn museum. The first thing we did was go in search of food, which theoretically should be simple in a large city, but no one told us how utterly dead the centre of DC is on a Saturday morning ! As we trudged along near empty streets I gazed around wide eyed as we walked past the Federal Reserve, Fords Theatre ( where Lincoln was shot ) and the Department of Agriculture. Finally we stumbled upon a Pret a Manger – much to the delight of my London friends !

After curing our hunger with coffee and sandwiches we made our first tourist stop – the White House.  There was something surreal about standing outside one of the most famous buildings in the world, although when I mean ‘outside’  this should be loosely interpreted as ‘ hundreds of metres away under the watchful eye of machine gun toting guards’.  The White House itself was much smaller than I expected, but we did bump into a BIG star outside – Kaka the famous Brazilian football player ! Although I’m not really a follower of football, the boys we were with absolutely lost it at this point and joined the hoards of fans chasing after him for a photo. 

We tried to wave to Obama

After the Whitehouse we visited the Lincoln Memorial.  The Lincoln Memorial more than made up for the disappointing size of the White House. Not only is the building itself enormous but it also includes a seated sculpture of Lincoln of giant proportions and wall to ceiling quotes from his second inaugural  and  Gettysburg address.  The memorial also had incredible views towards Capital Hill, the reflecting pool and the Washington Monument. Unfortunately the sky remained grey all day, but on a sky blue day I imagine they would be jaw dropping.  

Washington Monument and reflecting pool

Lincoln Monument

Fellow exchangees

After a delicious lunch of falafel and salad from a road-side stall to fuel our aching legs (the founders didn’t think about potential tourists when designing their capital) we headed to the Earth and Space Museum. I have to admit I was not particularly excited by the prospect of attending a Space Museum, but I can say my expectations were blown away.  The museum made space and science ‘cool’ for someone like me who generally dislikes these subjects.  We attended the film ‘ Journey to Space’ whilst reclining on flat seats in the planetarium, learnt about space food and clothing and planes in WWII.

Space shuttles in the Earth and Space Museum

Although I have to admit, because I remain an eight year old at heart the best part of the museum was riding the space simulator in a mini space shuttle.  I was the pilot and drove my fellow gunner ( and exchangee Sukriti) crazy by constantly spinning our ‘shuttle’ upside down.  I’m sure the entire room could have heard the screaming and the hysterical laughing.  We then went crazy in the gift shop, where the boys managed to find orange spacesuits and very nearly got us kicked out for trying them on. 

By this point we were all starving and in search of good food. We stumbled across a pizza bar called &Pizza and I’m so glad we did because the pizza had to be one of the best things I’ve eaten so far in America !  We paid $9 for the choice of as many toppings as we liked, including vegan cheese and vegan beef, which for the record tasted just like the ‘real’ thing after the pizza had been cooked. We made a few last minute Trump and Hillary themed purchases at a gift shop before stumbling back to bus, utterly exhausted after a whole day of walking.

The best vegan pizza

I want to note that one day was definitely not enough to see everything that DC has to offer. I would definitely recommend taking a couple of days to get to see all the museums, monuments and eateries DC has to offer.  Hopefully this won’t be the last time I get to see the capital. 

An evening at the circus

Of the many things that happen here at Penn State University there is always many cultural performances for students to attend.  Throughout the year university alumni and staff members sponsor a range of touring cultural groups.  Not only does this mean these groups come and perform in State College but also that students can get discounted tickets to world-class performances. 

It was thanks to this sponsorship that last Wednesday we took the night off revising for exams to watch Cique Eloize perform their new show ‘Saloon’.

We watched the show at the Eisenhower Auditorium on campus (a huge theatre easily rivaling the size of many in Wellington) and marveled at the sheer skill of the acrobats.  The show was set in Mid-West America with all the performances dressed as cow girls and boys, swinging off a set made to resemble a mid-west saloon. My favourite part was the ‘seesaw’ performance in which three of the actors performed jaw-dropping somersaults by launching themselves off a seesaw.  There were certainly a few hairy moments with the audience braced on the edge of their seats as the acrobats made their landings on the moving seesaw in the nick of time. Even more worryingly was the uncertainty as to whether these quick exchanges were planned or not …

Other highlights included some incredible partner acrobatic work, two girls contorting around a Catherine Wheel suspended above the stage and live country music. 

Although I feel this description has not done the performance justice unfortunately we were unable to take any photos so I have no photographic proof of just how incredible the show was . Once again Penn State astounds me by the sheer range of activities and opportunities it provides … if Cirque Eloize should pass by you I would certainly recommend it !

One Month Abroad

Most of the time when I write these blogs I talk about what I'm doing, not how I'm feeling. You see a picture of me dancing on a truck at a tailgate and you think, you know that I must be having fun. But Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, photos in general are deceiving. I can make you think you know something about me when you couldn't be further from it. So let's start with the honest truth - how does it feel to be 18,000 miles from home, one month in ?

Well you could look at this graph and let maths answer the question.

But then again I've never really felt maths was very good at displaying emotion. Maths at school certainly didn't understand my emotions, like when I sweated and cried profusely over my statistics exam only to get an achieved ( a C for those American people) ! This graph doesn't represent my emotions - my own blue line would sink dramatically - my first day, the heat, the showers that looked like the set of Orange is the New Black ...  But then it would rise again, and keep on going up and up.

I haven't had the little blip of homesickness on this chart because I haven't had time to give home a moments thought ! My life is a rush of classes, socialising, partying, classes and sleep.  I've hardly even opened a textbook or watched TV -  my days have taken on a fast paced, no breaks rhythm leaving me gushing for air in the moments I do have alone.

The maths got one thing right though - culture shock. My handy little "Study Abroad Survival Guide" says culture shock is " the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life".  Disorientation is not the right word to use when a freshman walks past you in the street wearing just a bra or when your housemates do shot after shot of vodka.  It also doesn't explain how you feel when you're forced to use your accent and your femininity to get into a frat party. If there's one thing Americans know how to do better than New Zealand it's not eating or entrepreneurship but drinking.  I've never seen people drink so much and so quickly than I have at Penn State.  I've also never been so aware of the power of my oen body than standing on the doorsteps of frat houses asking the 18 years pledge to let me in. In this situation your body is your currency - frat boys only want girls in their house and they're not afraid to say it.  I feel like you can't really get into the mood of a party when your too busy having a feminist argument in your head. Even when you feel like you've just landed on the set of Bad Neighbours.

Another minor blip in the blue line has been friends. But wait you say, Caitriona you clearly have friends ? I do !  I have the most outrageously funny and caring group of fellow exchangees. They are the best, and no exclamation point, bold or underline can emphasize this point enough.  Making American friends though is not as easy.  Connection and shared experiences are so important in a friendship but when you know nothing about the States, the culture, football or even politics it's so much more difficult to keep a conversation going. It's especially difficult when you decide to take a class in State Politics, only having to admit on the first day that you didn't realise each state in America has their own government ! It's amazing, this little fact honestly blew my mind ! Coincidently it also blew the mind of my professor who gave me an all knowing - how the hell did they let you in here - kind of look when I mentioned this on our first day.  But you know what, I'm going to keep going and try to be charming, outgoing and continue to embarrass myself at any available opportunity ! 

One month in and I'm having the time of my life. I could not have asked for a better way to begin my ten months abroad.  Don't dispair though I will keep you up to date with the mathematical accuracy of my little graph which is predicting a deepening in the relationship for this month. I can't wait ! 

Day at the US Open

Last Wednesday my friends and I skipped class and took a road trip to New York to watch the quarterfinals of the US open. 

The opportunity to go to the US Open was a dream come true as anyone at home knows I am a tennis fanatic, especially when it comes to the Grand Slams.  I cannot emphasize how incredible the day was and how grateful I am to have had such an opportunity !

The day got off to an early start at 4.40 am when my friends picked me up from my house and we drove to another friends to collect the rest of our group.  By 5.40am we were on the highway bound for New York and four and half hours and many many Disney theme songs later we crossed the Washington Bridge into New York City ! I literally jumped in my seat as we  got our first glance at Manhatten and the New York skyline.  Although unfortunately we didn’t get see any of the sites in New York I felt like I had made a small accomplishment of the many things to do on the East Coast in doing so.

The US open takes place in Queens, New York .We had pre-booked a parking spot but unfortunately made a wrong turn resulting in a long circle around the block and trying to maneuver through some aggressive New York traffic. This all meant we were very worried about missing the beginning of the first match on Ashe at 12 o’clock and as soon as the car was parked we raced through Queens towards the stadium.  However, we needn’t have worried arriving in the enourmous Arthur Ashe stadium before the players had entered for the warm-up. 

The first match was the women’s quarter final between Pliskova and Konjuh.  It was obvious Konjuh, an unseeded player was very nervous playing in her first quarterfinal and never really managed to get into the match in which Pliskova dominated 6-2 6-2.  Next up, was the game we came for Andy Murray vs. Kei Nishikori and both players didn’t fail to disappoint.

 At first it appeared that Murray was going to cruise through to the semi’s but Nishikori came back fighting strong and we had a five set thriller on our hands ! I can testify that I have watched a lot of tennis on TV but nothing is better than watching a nail biting match live – everyone was on the edge of their seats, yelling, cheering and completely absorbed in the game.  Disappointingly  Murary was unable to pull himself together and win the final set. However no one could doubt the brilliance of Nishikori’s playing and he thoroughly deserved to make the semi-finals. 

Sunrise on the road in PA

Beautiful river in PA

Outside Arthur Ashe stadium

Arthur Ashe stadium

Murray vs Nishikori in action

After all this excitement we had to race back to the car ( again ) and hit the road in order to get the rental car back at State College by 11.30 pm.

I want to mention how incredibly lucky we were to be able to go to the US Open and even more so to watch a thrilling match between some of the best tennis players in the entire world.  I cannot thank my friends Abbey, Andrew and Anna enough for organizing the trip and doing the long, perilous drive through New York traffic all on the ‘wrong’ side of the road. 

Now that I’ve had a taste of Grand Slam tennis I’m looking forward to the next opportunity to watch some, but even more so I can’t wait to head back to New York sometime soon and see the city in its entirety!

First American Football Game

Nothing is more quintessentially American than a football game. No, not that football, American football. The advertisers game.  The Greatest Game Ever Played.

Penn State lives, breathes, sweats and cries Football. State College grows from a secluded student town to having a population rivalling the size of some of Pennsylvania's largest cities during a football weekend. Everyone arrives - parents, alumni, children, old people, people who just like football for the sake of it.  RV's are parked, beer cans popped and nothing, nothing but football is mentioned for the next 48 hours.  

The day of my first football game had arrived.  Docked in Penn State gear I set out to enjoy the most of this American college experience.  Which meant drinking alcohol, and a lot of it. This alcohol was consumed at a "tailgate" - where someone literally parks their ute or car in a carpark and you drink, listen to music and of course talk about football !  Now, this may sound seriously weird but it's a lot of fun ! Crammed into a carpark with thousands of other students and singing Penn State chants (yes I've got involved in school spirit).  

The thing about tailgating, or any social gathering really is that you must be invited to one to actually attend one.  Slight problem given that I had been at Penn State two weeks and mostly only know international students.  So to any future exchange students ask people you know in advance what they're doing - you're bound to be invited to one, just don't turn up in the parking lot expecting to be able to join in.  

Also, be prepared to drink, a lot. My American friends began drinking mimosa's at breakfast, swapping it for vodka shots shortly afterwards. You have to stomach this until 3 o'clock. It's something of a marathon in itself.  

Go team ! Go tailgating

Tailgating on top of a truck

So Caitriona, I can hear my parents say, you've spent four paragraphs talking about drinking. Wasn't this post supposed to be about a football game ?

Yes Mum you're right. You see we needed to talk about alcohol for four paragraphs because you need to have enough of it in your system to last a football game. Or I do anyway because it turns out football is not actually that interesting. Like I actually think cricket would be better. There I said it. It took four hours for Penn State to beat Kent State (a university from Ohio) but they only spent 60 minutes actually playing stopping and starting every minute or so for a team huddle or a drink.

I'm not white-washing the Greatest Game Ever Played only suggesting it's not all it's cracked up to be.  The best part about the football game was the fans and the stadium itself. Beaver Stadium can hold 110,000 fans - double the size of Eden park and Napier ! To say the atmosphere was electric is an understatement - there were cheerleaders, a real marching band and lots and lots of Penn State chanting and singing.

After four hours Penn State finally won, beating Kent State 33-13 !

All in all, although I still have no clue about American Football, all the festivities that went along with it was a lot of fun. Watching Penn State win at home was incredible and I experienced another quintessential part of American culture !

 

Beaver Stadium

Press boxes at Beaver Stadium

We are ... Penn State !