Krystina Lindsey is a junior from Horse Branch, Kentucky, majoring in English with an emphasis in Literature. She is spending the Spring 2012 Semester in Austria and is sending updates to KWConnect about her adventures. If you missed previous entries, you can catch up here.

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Spring Break, how do I love thee, let me count the ways. Okay, so it was more of a love/hate relationship. It started out spectacularly and then ended on a rather sour note.

We left on March 30 for Budapest, Hungary. It was beautiful there!! BEAUTIFUL, I tell you. The history was all rather fascinating. The group I travelled with went to the Terror Museum. Don’t get any ideas, friends. I’m still terrified of scary movies; this museum was about the reign of terror in post-WWII Hungary. Needless to say, most Hungarians probably hate Russia. (Well, most of Eastern Europe probably hates Russia.)

Budapest

After Budapest, we flew to Brussels, and immediately went to Paris. Probably the first and last time I will be on a first class car on a train. It was wonderful: free WiFi, free food and super comfy seats. In Paris, I’m pretty positive that I hyperextended my right arm. (In fact, today is April 26 and my arms are still kind of numb. That can’t be good, can it?)

And I pretty much dislike Paris. I’m not big into French (finally figured out it is because their language doesn’t sound angry. I like my angry sounding languages: German, Russian, etc.) and I also wasn’t completely stunned by things like the Eiffel Tower. It was pretty, and it was tall. I was more fascinated with Montmartre and the Moulin Rouge.

Unfortunately, there are no pictures of me with a cancan dancer, because Moulin Rouge tickets were like €100, so that was super out of my budget. I did enjoy quite a few crepes, but I didn’t try any escargot.

The palace of Versailles, near Paris.

After Paris, we went to Brussels, and stayed for two days. SO MANY FRIES AND WAFFLES!! (Side note: French fries are not, in fact, French, but Belgian.) It was nice, but by this time, I wasn’t happy with the people I travelled with and was ready to apparate to America (or even back to Salzburg).

Amsterdam. I want to go back to Amsterdam. We only spent a day there, and it was a cold and gross day, so for a city that the author John Green seems to adore, I either can’t see it, or wasn’t there long enough to absorb the awesome that resides there. I tried to go to the Anne Frank house, but the line literally wrapped around the building … way too much of a wait. Plus, as I mentioned, I was freezing.

On Easter Sunday, we flew from Amsterdam to Rome, where the city proceeded to mess with us for the entire trip. We were tired and exhausted of traveling, plus it got down into the high 30s, low 40s, and we were staying in camping villa. That’s right, friends, I went camping. Sort of.

I still saw all the classic sights: Roman Forum, the Coliseum, Trevi Fountain, etc. I was super excited to see the Vestal Virgins (which, if you’ve read Maureen Johnson’s 13 Little Blue Envelopes, you’d understand). AND THERE WAS SO MUCH GELATO!!

The Coliseum

The last day of Rome, we were going to take a train to Florence. I have been in love with Tuscany ever since watching Under the Tuscan Sun when I was like…12. Unfortunately, Rome just did not want me to fully enjoy Tuscany. We missed the first train we could take to Florence; the second train was missed because a Gypsy stole the phone of the one of the girls I was traveling with, and finally, we got to go to Florence. We enjoyed maybe three or four hours of sunlight, but never fear, it was GORGEOUS! I really want to go back!

New friends!

Next time … back to Salzburg, plus Prague!

Krystina Lindsey is a junior from Horse Branch, Kentucky, majoring in English with an emphasis in Literature. She is spending the Spring 2012 Semester in Austria and is sending updates to KWConnect about her adventures. If you missed previous entries, you can catch up here.

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Well, I’m officially 21, but before you freak out, People At School, I had a test at 8:30 the morning after my birthday, so not a lot actually happened. I finally figured out what I’m doing for Spring Break, so be prepared for some EPIC pictures!

Now, as of my last blog post, I said I was going to discuss my travel plans, but I don’t want you all getting too jealous, okay? (This means you, Joey.)

First off, we have a two-week Spring Break (or Easter Break as it’s called here) and it officially starts on April 2, but a lot of us are actually leaving on March 30, when four friends and I will travel to Budapest, Hungary. From there, we have a flight to Brussels (Belgium), and we’ll take a train from there to Paris. PARIS!! I’m so excited about going to the Moulin Rouge!!

On April 3, we’ll go back to Brussels to hang there for a day or so until we head by train to Amsterdam, where we’ll wait until our flight to Rome on April 8. As of right now, details are still iffy, but we’re kind of crazy for flying into Rome on Easter Sunday. Okay, I believe crazy may be an understatement.

We’ll  be in Rome for a few days, then go to Florence before we finishing our week in Italy in Verona, on our way back to Salzburg. (Just FYI, I’m planning on going to Venice this weekend – March 24.)

I’m starting to really miss home, but I’m also becoming more comfortable using the train system. This happens when you have to travel to Munich by yourself. (But really, it’s no big deal. Two hours on a train is do-able). My birthday was really hard because I got a package from my mom that included a card that sang “In My Daughter’s Eyes” by Martina McBride, and I won’t lie when I say that I started crying hardcore. At least I was in my room, right?

But regardless, I’m SUPER excited about my break, and I can’t wait to have gelato in Italy!! (Really, I mean, YoLo, you’re good and everything, but you aren’t Italy.)

If I’ve managed to walk off quite a few pounds, I feel like I’ll put them all back on in Italy.

Here are a couple photos from recent adventures:

Krystina and friends at the opera in Vienna.

Krystina in front of the Schoenbrunn Palace.

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Krystina Lindsey is a junior from Horse Branch, Kentucky, majoring in English with an emphasis in Literature. She is spending the Spring 2012 Semester in Austria and is sending updates to KWConnect about her adventures. If you missed previous entries, you can catch up here.

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I’ve also been traveling. My roommate Rebekah and I went on this tour with Andreas (our cultural coordinator/director/person/thing) and five more of our fellow program attendees to Berchtesgarden and the Lake District (Salzkammergut). Berchtesgarden is near where Hitler’s second base was located (after Berlin, of course), and his main area, the Eagle’s Nest, is still there. It was kind of cool, but I would like to go back and actually see the Eagle’s Nest. Right now there is just too much snow for anyone to trek up the mountain to see it.

Because we went to Berchtesgarden, we had to journey into Germany. You’d think that driving into another country would be a big deal, but it was no bigger than driving across the Ohio River into Evansville.

The Von Trapp family villa.

I can’t wait to go places. Salzburg is beautiful, surrounded by mountains, but I didn’t come here just to be in Salzburg! I want to travel! Verona, Italy, (the location of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet) is only a few hours away by train. (Okay, so more like 6-7, but still. That’s a weekend trip, right there).

A bunch of people have already started planning their Spring Break trips, but I haven’t the foggiest idea where to go. I’m tempted to pack my backpack full of clothes, buy a train ticket to the first place I see (and can afford) and just go. Backpack around Europe for a week or so, and then come back and ‘recover.’ But nothing is set in stone.

Oh! Fasching! Fasching is what the Germans celebrate instead of Mardi Gras; it’s been described to me as the German Halloween (because it wasn’t until about 10-12 years ago that the German-speaking people even began celebrating Halloween). I dressed up as a zombie, and my friend Allison dressed up as a “pretty pretty princess” (her words, not mine) and we went out. It was a lot of fun, plus I met Gandalf, as well as some very interesting characters.

Kinda fuzzy, but this is Krystina and her friend Allison with a group of Italians they met at Fasching.

It’s beginning to be difficult to be away from home. It feels like I’ve been gone for at least a month, and I’ve only just started my third week here. By the time May rolls around, who knows how long it’ll feel like I’ve been here.

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A Fall 2012 KWC class, entitled Justice and Revolution in Cuba, gave a group from Kentucky Wesleyan a rare chance to study the history of the Cuban Revolution and the status of the current legal system in Cuba. The group travelled throughout the country, and met with Cuban government officials, law professors from the University of Havana, and veterans of the Cuban Revolution, as well as local Cuban citizens. 

Students Jonathan Bell and Dustin Staves kept a journal of their activities while in Cuba. This is the fourth post in the series. If you missed the others, you can read their account from the beginning. You can also see a full photo gallery of the trip on KWC’s Flickr account.

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Day 3

Today, we started by touring Ernest Hemingway’s hotel room in Old Havana, Cuba. We got to see his belongings, including his typewriter, where many of his famous stories came to life. We continued the day by travelling to the other side of the harbor to see a gigantic statue of Jesus, which greeted the sailors as they came to port. The designer, a woman, wanted the statue to be larger than the one in Brazil; however, the statue had to be completely blocked by the hillside to prevent damage from annual hurricanes.

From here, we travelled to another bay, where Ernest Hemingway wrote “The Old Man, and the Sea.” Here we ate an interesting lunch, while surrounded by pictures of the man many believe is the inspiration for the old man in the novel.

Our next stop was the revolution museum. This building was originally the presidential palace, for Batista. There were many remnants of the Cuban Revolution, including many bullet holes, when Batista was overthrown. We saw the presidential desk, and a secret passageway where Batista managed to escape.

Revolution Museum

Dinner was on our own tonight, and the group decided to travel to Havana’s Chinatown. We travelled by taxi, an interesting adventure in itself. The Chinatown was much like what you would see anywhere, however, it was much smaller. The restaurants only extended down a few blocks on the same street. After dinner, we took the taxis back to the hotel, for much-needed down time.

Because Americans cannot travel to Cuba as tourists, we maintained an Academic status, thus our days had to be completely filled with activities. So as you can imagine, most of us were worn out by the day’s end.

A pickup soccer game ...

Next time: Voting in Cuba and the best sandwich you’ve ever had …

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A Fall 2012 KWC class, entitled Justice and Revolution in Cuba, gave a group from Kentucky Wesleyan a rare chance to study the history of the Cuban Revolution, and the status of the current legal system in Cuba. The group travelled throughout the country, and met with Cuban government officials, law professors from the University of Havana, and veterans of the Cuban Revolution, as well as local Cuban citizens.

Students Jonathan Bell and Dustin Staves kept a journal of their activities while in Cuba. This is the second post in the series. If you missed the first post, you can read their account from the beginning. You can also see a full photo gallery of the trip on KWC’s Flickr account.

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Day 1 — Part 2

Saran-Wrapped Luggage

Waiting at the Havana Airport. Check out the wrapped-up lugagge.

This was the first time anyone from our group had been in Cuba and we were all anxious, as the next step was Cuban customs. We stood in a single file line, being called to speak with a Cuban customs officer, one at a time. If we were cleared, a buzzer sounded and the door opened to the other side where baggage claim was. Fortunately, everyone cleared customs, and was granted access to Cuba.

We all waited for our baggage to come around on the conveyor belt, just as we would in the United States. Baggage began to come out, and after an hour of not receiving ours, we all became concerned. Everyone’s luggage was coming out, except ours, but it was saran-wrapped. Did the Cubans know something we didn’t? Hour two passed, and still no luggage. After hour three, we found someone who spoke English and Spanish and they happily informed us what the PA system had been announcing since we arrived: Our luggage was on a second plane that had just left Miami.

During hour four of our wait we learned why our luggage was on the second plane. During President George W. Bush’s administration, the Cuban-Americans were strictly regulated as to how many times they could visit Cuba, and what they could bring. During Obama’s administration, the Cuban-Americans had less restriction, and were allowed to bring whatever they wanted within the limits of the airlines.

Apparently, every Cuban-American on our flight brought the maximum allowable luggage along, which was what had been saran-wrapped. They brought everything from food, to clothing, to medicine, and even several flat-screen TVs. So much luggage had been checked, that a second plane was sent from Miami to Cuba with nothing but extra luggage. Four hours, two planes, and hundreds of saran-wrapped packages later, we finally retrieved our luggage.

Hotel Presidente
We left the airport terminal and made our way through an emotional crowd of Cubans at the entrance to the airport. Many of the Cubans were emotional because, for most of them, it was the first time they were being reunited with their family after many years apart. We made it to our permanent tour bus for the trip, and met our assigned guide, Jesus (pronounced Hay-Zeus). He said we could pronounce it like the Christian version if we felt he was that great.

We travelled via bus to our hotel, the “Hotel Presidente,” where we would spend the next four nights. We were greeted by the hotel manager, who welcomed us to Cuba, and then proceeded to exchange our money. We were told that we could not exchange U.S. dollars in Cuba. Our money was exchanged in Miami to the Euro, and our Euros were exchanged at the hotel for Cuban pesos (aka CUCs).

Our luggage was taken to our rooms, and we travelled via bus to Old Havana, for a quick night-time tour, and dinner at “La Imprenta,” an old printing company, turned restaurant. After a dinner of Banana Cream and Garlic Soup, and Jambalaya with mashed plantains and rice, we returned to our hotel and called it a night.

Next time: Revolutionary Square, the City of the Dead, and hand-rolled cigars …

This semester, a group from Kentucky Wesleyan College had an opportunity to travel to Cuba as participants in a joint academic program with Eastern Kentucky University. Jonathan Bell and Dustin Staves are students in the Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Law program at Kentucky Wesleyan College and were the students in the group that travelled from KWC, alongside their professor, Dr. Ken Ayers, who is the director of the Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Law program, and trustee Jack Wells and his wife Gina.

The class, entitled Justice and Revolution in Cuba, gave the group a unique account of the history of the Cuban Revolution, and the status of the current legal system in Cuba. The group travelled throughout the country, and met with Cuban government officials, law professors from the University of Havana, and veterans of the Cuban Revolution, as well as local Cuban citizens.

Jonathan and Dustin kept a journal of their activities while in Cuba, and this is their first-hand account of their journey. This is the first post in the series. You can also see a photo gallery of the trip on KWC’s Flickr account.
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Day 1

Landing at the Havana airport for the beginning of the adventure.

We arrived in Cuba today after a short, one-hour plane ride from Miami, Florida, to Havana, Cuba. When the plane touched down in Cuba, all of the Cubans on board began to cheer and applaud. We could all tell they were excited to be here. Dustin had an interesting discussion during the flight with a Cuban-American who was seated next to him. Here is Dustin’s account:

Carlos’ Story
As we boarded the flight, I found my seat in the middle, next to a very large man. My first thought was, ‘This is going to be uncomfortable.’ The plane took off, and due to the heat of Miami, everyone was anxious to get the air flowing. Each seat had its own air vent, so I positioned mine to flow air in my direction. About five minutes later, the man sitting next to me grabbed my vent and moved it to his direction. I was on a chartered plane full of Cubans and didn’t know how the man would react if I grabbed it back, so I simply sat there.

Roughly ten minutes passed and I decided to move my air vent back, which I did, cautiously. Minutes went by, and neither I, nor the man moved or made any comments. Eventually, I decided to lighten the mood, and said, “Hot airplane, huh?” Much to my surprise, the man laughed, and in a Cuban accent, speaking in English, introduced himself as Carlos.

Carlos and I spoke the rest of the flight to Cuba. Based on my uneducated assumptions about Cuba, I was hesitant to ask the man any questions. But he asked where I was from, and the conversation, and my abundance of questions began.

I learned that Carlos had made three attempts to flee Cuba to the United States, for reasons he described as being suppressed. On his second attempt he was caught by the U.S. Coast Guard and sent to Guantanamo Bay for 17 months. Upon being released, Carlos tried again, and succeeded. He spent five days at sea in a raft with other Cubans. Some did not survive.

Now Carlos is an American citizen and has his own company in the real estate business. Carlos was coming back to Cuba to visit his son, who is in medical school at the University of Havana. I asked Carlos if it was worth the risk, to which he replied, “Absolutely.” Carlos said he would do it all over again if he had to, and he loves the United States.

Carlos also gave me some advice for my trip. He told me that most Cubans would speak openly about Cuba, including about the government, but not to pressure them into it. He also relieved my worries by telling me that Cubans are very open and welcoming to Americans, as they aspire to be Americans, or to travel to America.

When the plane landed, Carlos told me to take back my stories of Cuba, and to spread the word about the Cuban people to Americans, who may not be aware of what being a Cuban is like. With this advice, I stepped out of the airplane onto Cuban grounds for the first time, and was eager to begin my travels.

Next time: Saran-wrapped luggage and the Hotel Presidente …

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January 3 – 19, 2012, could be epic for Kentucky Wesleyan College students.

For three short weeks, you get to take the college classes you’ll remember for a lifetime, the classes that aren’t requirements for your major, the classes that you’ll write home about (literally), the classes that are the reason you came to college. And you get to do it all at half the normal tuition rate.

We created Winter Term to let professors and students get out of their traditional class routines and have an adventure or two. Classes change every year — in 2012, try Leadership Through Sailing (in the Virgin Islands, on a working sailboat) or The Tudors (including 10 days of touring in England) or jump into another culture with a international studies trip to Costa Rica.

If international travel isn’t your thing, we’ve got other options right here in Owensboro. Physics and the Arts (the math is easy), Ye Gods and Goddesss (classical mythology) or Musical Theatre (if you’ve always wanted to sing and dance) all promise to be great.

The point? You can have fun and earn credit all at the same time with a winter term class at KWC. Plus, the price is half off. Seriously.

So if you need an extra class to graduate on time or if you want credits at a reduced rate or if you just want to broaden your horizons and have some fun, check out KWC Winter Term 2012 for a world of possibilities.

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Travel classes:

The Tudors (England)
Leadership Through Sailing (Virgin Islands)
Costa Rica

For a full list of other classes available, visit www.kwc.edu/winterterm.

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Details: 

For more info about how to register, when classes meet, tuition costs, etc., visit www.kwc.edu/winterterm. Registration for new students opens November 7 — sign up today!

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KWC 2011 grad Shanna Markwell is working in marketing in Chesterfield, England. She will be sending updates on her time in England to KWConnect. This is her second post — you can read her first post below.
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Hello all! 

I’ve been very busy lately. The magazine that I work for is free. These types of magazines are really popular in England. They’ve been given the title “freemium,” which sounds really cool if you ever get the chance to say to someone “I work for one of the largest freemium magazines in the county.” You should try it.

Since the magazine is free, they make money from the advertisements sold. My job title is/was the New Media Executive, which basically means that when a sales executive makes a sale or goes to a consultation or when a photographer goes to shoot pictures for the adverts, I tag along and pitch for web marketing and social media marketing. It can even get as abstract as a scratch-and-sniff print add (think restaurant, not plumber).

I’ve been to a few formal events. To be honest, I am kind of shocked and very honored (or honoured as the English would spell it) that the magazine would send someone as new as me to these events. I’ve been to grand openings of hotels where I, get this, get PAID to dress up, drink champagne, and chat with the millionaires that own the hotels. No big deal. Work isn’t necessarily always work. 

It’s moments like these that make me glad that I went to school. Being a young, American female can work for me and work against me. People are always interested that I’m from America. They want to know where I went to school, what I studied, what I plan on doing, etc.

But because I’m young, I think a lot of people (I’m speaking globally, not just the English) find it easy to assume that I don’t know what I’m doing or what I’m talking about. Youth is unfortunately interchangeable with inexperienced. I think that is why the magazine sends me out to these events. One it gives me experience in business matters and social events, and two, other people can see that the magazine hires people from all places and backgrounds. Young people aren’t always naive. And of course the third reason I go to events is to market new media because that’s my job!

But I’m glad that I went to school. Moments like these give me the opportunity to continue learning, but also to prove that I actually DO know some stuff about business. I love the look on people’s faces when I understand the meaning of B2B transactions, the bottom line, margins, turnovers and venture capital. (Don’t know the meaning of these terms? Try taking a few Kentucky Wesleyan business classes!)

Also, another great benefit of being a recent graduate is that I am used to working under the pressure of impending deadlines. Magazines revolve around deadlines. Procrastinating for a few weeks, then working like crazy for the last two weeks is something that college has groomed me for.

Earlier I said that my job title is/was the New Media Executive. What I meant by “was” is that a colleague and I have decided to expand our services into a new project – a sister company, if you will. I really don’t want to go into too much detail yet, because a part of me doesn’t want to jinx the whole thing. I’ll fill you in when I can.

- Shanna

KWC 2011 grad Shanna Markwell is working in marketing in Chesterfield, England. She will be sending updates on her time in England to KWConnect. Her first entry is below.
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Hello all!  Life is great in England. I’m working hard and playing harder. I couldn’t ask for more. I feel obligated to provide a back-story as to how I came to working in England. So here it goes:

Upon graduating in December, I decided that I needed some freedom (because living away from home for four years – well, three and a half – and then graduating early wasn’t enough). I booked a three week trip to England.

Why England? The pound is a bit weaker than the euro (take Financial Management and International Business, you’ll learn these things) so I wouldn’t deplete my bank account that I worked so hard to build. I didn’t want working at the mall long nights, early mornings, and dealing with kids during the Christmas season to be for nothing.

Also, there isn’t a language barrier. I’m bold enough to travel to another country for three weeks alone, but I am NOT brave enough to do it in a country where I can’t understand anything!

Before I left, I made sure to book in a few places that I definitely wanted to see. London was of course one of them. But, I’m from a small town in Kentucky. I’m not bred for places like London. So I called up a few marketing-oriented businesses all over England. I had a marketing degree, and I wanted to use it.

Luckily, I found a publications office (who I won’t name just in case there are legal issues – I’m sure they wouldn’t mind, but it’s just easier to avoid situations like that before they even begin) who was between employees at the time. They didn’t want to fully train someone new, but they run a magazine, so one thing is important: Deadlines! Deadlines! Deadlines! I was immediately accepted in the short term.

All of this was arranged pretty close to my departure; therefore I didn’t have enough time to fill out a work visa. So I worked as a freelancer, which is the polite way of saying I was paid under the table (See! I knew there was a reason not to name the business I work for!!)

After the three weeks was up, I returned home.

Something they don’t tell you is that it’s HARD to find a job. Well, maybe not. But for someone like me, I just didn’t know where to look. Something else they don’t tell you is be wary if you use careerbuilder.com. It’s full of very few real, decent jobs and completely saturated with crappy jobs that they spin and word it to make you feel like you’re moving into the right direction, even when you’re not.

I finished my resume (with the help of the Career Development Office at KWC – thanks for that, by the way) and posted it online. After a few interviews for jobs that I was sure I didn’t want, I felt pretty low. I even went crawling back to working at the mall a few days a week. I’m very thankful they had me back, but it’s just not something you want to be doing especially after graduating college.

In March, I got a Skype call from England. Word to the wise – get Skype immediately. You can call anywhere for a few cents a minute. Also, if you have a phone, you can buy a local Skype number for less than $20 for three months! My family can call me for free, and I’ve already paid for the three months, so it’s nothing extra. If you’re traveling internationally, Skype is a MUST! OK, I’m done with the commercial …

The publishers I worked for in January were calling. They asked if I was interested in returning for a few months. It would be a similar deal as in January, but for an extended amount of time. I said “YES!! I’ll pack my things.”

I did ask for one favor. Since I signed up for the Spring Break trip to NYC (another fun adventure provided by KWC), I wouldn’t be able to travel in March. And then my graduation ceremony was in May. I thought “Well, I’ve waited this long to work, might as well wait some more.” Plus, you only get to walk in your graduation once, unless you are ambitious and get more degrees. So I asked if I could stay until graduation.

The rest is pretty obvious. I made it to the UK, started working and now I’m writing this!

If I anyone takes anything from my blogs it should be this: don’t be afraid to throw yourself into an adventure. Sometimes it’s hard to know what you want to do in life, so until then, just do everything.

- Shanna

Dr. Connor (far left) and his students at PITTCON

 Dr. Henry Connor, Professor of Chemistry at KWC, recently took four KWC chemistry majors to PITTCON (the Pittsburgh Conference), held in Orlando, Florida.

PITTCON is an analytical chemistry meeting that includes the largest exposition of scientific equipment in the world. About 20,000 people attend. The first conference was in Pittsburgh but it soon outgrew the facilities in Pitt.  It now moves annually between Chicago, New Orleans, Atlanta and Orlando.

The KWC contingent (Dr. Connor, plus Ben Wilson, Alycia Lynch, Stacy Webb and Ashley Humphrey) left Owensboro on Friday, Feb. 26. After more than a dozen hours of driving, they arrived the next day in Orlando. 

The group went to the beach the next morning before launching full-speed into the conference that afternoon (Feb. 28) and returning home on March 3.

 This is the tenth time Dr. Connor has taken students to PITTCON. In 2008 they went to New Orleans — next year’s conference is in Atlanta.

A few photos from the trip:

At Coco Beach

Students with PITTCON info

Sales rep demonstrating a product

Students with NASA Rover

Click here to find out more about opportunities through KWC’s Chemistry Department.

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