Souvenirs

Madison is My Abroad

i wrote a piece for Souvenirs on my experience as an international student in Madison, Wisconsin

by Kim Asseily
May 2019

Like most high school students, my senior year was spent being anxious about college applications, excited about school being over for good and looking forward to an endless, stress-free summer. I was ecstatic when I got my acceptance letter from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Madison was where I wanted to spend the next four years learning and growing; I’d been visiting family there since I was 9 years old. Unlike most UW students, my enrollment meant I had to travel exactly 6,086.13 miles across the world to attend UW. You see, I come from Beirut, Lebanon, and Madison is my abroad. 

With over 50 percent of the student body hailing from in-state, many UW students don’t realize the distinctive qualities of Wisconsin culture that us 15 percent from outside of the U.S. see when we arrive. So, what’s it like living in Madison as a Lebanese student? 

Greetings 

I found out the hard way that people either greet each other with a simple handshake or a wave. In the spring of my freshman year, I was walking on University Avenue when I ran into a friend whom I hadn’t seen since before winter break. I instinctively went in for a hug, which got completely ignored, turning a cute reunion into an awkward encounter. I concluded that there is no room for the Lebanese three kisses on the cheek and a half-hug to which I was accustomed. Instead, if you meet someone in Wisconsin and go in for a hug, you must excitedly lead with the phrase, “Excuse me, I’m a hugger!” with a big smile plastered on your face.

Food

Sharing food is a custom in Lebanon. The majority of the time, especially in Lebanese restaurants, no one orders their own dish, and everyone shares everything. We call it a regular meal; apparently, that’s what people here would refer to as a “potluck.” To this day, the word “potluck” cracks me up. And to all of my fellow international students, no, it is not a lucky pot of gold at the end of a rainbow (not like I thought that’s what it was or anything…). 

Weather

What people don’t tell you when you say you’re moving to the Midwest is how unpredictable the weather is. You’re told winters are freezing (which is an understatement for 2019’s polar vortex winter), summers are warm, and fall and spring are pleasant. However, you’re not told how on some days it feels like you’re living in Antarctica and others in Bali within the same week… Oh, and that Madison has one season – construction season! 

All in all, Madison is a pretty great city – especially in the non-winter months, an ideal time to spend an evening at Memorial Union and sip on refreshing beverages while watching the sunset and listening to live music. Or studying for exams on Bascom Hill while soaking up the sun you missed out on in winter. 

Source: UW-Madison Office of the Registrar

Deutschland im Sommer

i worked in Germany for a couple of months so i wrote about it

by Kim Asseily
December 2019

It was a Tuesday morning in June when I received the email offering me an internship in Germany. I was to start on Monday. I booked my flight, packed my bags and headed to the airport within the hour. I was absolutely ecstatic at the prospect of spending two months in one of my favorite countries in the world. After all, who wouldn’t be excited to spend a full summer in Europe? You might be surprised to hear that working abroad may not be as glamorous as it is made out to be. 

You see, people often tell you that their time abroad was an absolute blast. Traveling every weekend to a different city? Check! Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do when abroad? Take the time to visit as many places as you possibly can? No one is going to tell you they didn’t have the time of their life, or that they struggled with day to day life in a foreign country where they barely spoke the language. So here I am, to tell you a little something about moving to a small city, Ingolstadt, located about 50 minutes north of Munich, Germany. 

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!… Do you hear that? It’s time to wake up. No?! You see, this isn’t my alarm going off. These are the sounds of church bells ringing at ungodly hours. Every single day. Monday through Sunday. Ding!!!! It’s 6 a.m. My alarm is set for 7:30 a.m. No use going back to sleep. Ingolstadt is asleep, quiet except for the sound of bells. Only bakeries are open. I let the smell of freshly baked Brezeln waft through the open window of the bedroom. Time to head to work. I can’t miss the 8:28 a.m. bus. It is the only one headed towards my place of work before 9 a.m. 

We often assume the public transportation system in European countries is close to flawless. It is not. Final destinations for each bus change depending on what time you take it, they don’t always come more than once or twice within the hour and they stop running after midnight, unless you’re coming from the train station. 

Heat. Sweat. In the air. On my clothes. My skin. The stranger walking across the street wipes his face with his shirt. It’s 45°C today. It’s been three weeks already. The air is heavy. I’ve been walking for a while. Parched. My throat is dry. The sun is still bright even though it’s 8:00 p.m. I finally make it home. It’s been a long day. There is no relief here. It is still too hot. I turn on the radio. They are warning everyone, especially children and the elderly, not to go outside. To stay out of the sun. To hydrate. It’s still too hot in here. I open my window. No relief there either. Trapped. 

Most German apartments, hotels and public spaces are not equipped with ACs. In years past, Germany had never experienced such extreme heat waves. In the last couple of years, those heat waves have arrived earlier in the summer, and become harsher and more frequent.

It’s been a few weeks. I should have my schedule down to a science. Yet, I missed the bus. The next one leaves at 6:33 p.m. I don’t make it to the grocery store until 7:15 p.m. Everything’s been picked over and the store closes in 45 minutes. Just like everything else. What to do? It’s too hot for a walk. I guess I’ll go home then. 

It can be lonely at times, living in a city you barely know. Where everything closes early,  and where the city is asleep on Sundays. Where the only people you know, you just met. 

Don’t get me wrong, my time in Ingolstadt was rewarding, fun and challenging. Waking up at the crack of dawn with the sound of church bells ringing became part of my daily routine-part of the charm of the city. The morning silence and crisp morning air were therapeutic. I craved them. I loved going to work. Walking in to hear  “Morgen Kim! Wie geht’s dir heute?” every day. I met some incredible people. German people don’t all meet the stereotype. They are welcoming, friendly, open and curious. They do want to get to know you, and make you feel like you are part of their community. You just have to find that. A community. I was challenged to speak German everyday by my colleagues. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but they helped me through it without judgement. I was challenged in my work; I was listened to.  

Despite the heat wave, messy public transportation system, loud church bells, and lonely, early nights, my time in Ingolstadt remains one of my favorite experiences. An emotional challenge. A period of growth. 

Vielen Dank Deutschland und bis bald! 

Class Projects

This collage came about in my art class in which the professor challenged us to create a collage that brought in elements of the past and the future. I chose these women because they represent both feminity and strength through their choice of clothing. Stylistically, I opted for a faded polaroid look to emphasize the passing of time. The layers of different images bring in an element of modernity to an otherwise older looking image.

I have a slight obsession with Audrey Hepburn, so when I was asked by my professor to create a modern yet retro collage, I jumped at the opportunity to use Hepburn as my muse. I chose this inverted color scheme because it reminded me of typical retro images. The repetition of Hepburn’s photo hints at modern and abstract art.