Part 2 - By Beth Klemick

In the story of the nativity the three kings; Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar travel Bethlehem bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus. As we find Santa Claus in every mall and public place imaginable in the United States, the Three Kings or Three Wise Men are very present in Spain. They can be seen visiting apartment buildings, hospitals, orphanages, and Christmas markets throughout Spain.

Most of us are familiar with the twelve days of Christmas, instead of a partridge in a pear tree; Spanish children are treated to gifts and goodies by the Three Kings when they place their shoes on the doorstep (usually filled with hay to properly receive them) on the eve of the Epiphany. And when they awake on the Epiphany, January 6th find their shoes filled with presents and celebrate the day with parades.

Part 1 - By Beth Klemick

Feliz Navidad!

In many ways Christmas traditions in Spain closely resemble those celebrated and cherished in the United States. Many families take part in the usual festivities of decorating the Christmas tree and signing carols, but there are some traditions that are different and unique during this holiday season in Spain.

A different, and certainly mentionable tradition in Spain to celebrate the winter solstice is fire jumping. Spaniards will jump over fires in hope that this will protect them from illness, these bonfires (Hogueras) can been seen mainly in the cities of Granada and Jaen.

In the United States and many other parts of the world, Santa Claus, otherwise known as: Father Christmas (England), Pere Noel (France) and Shengdan Laoren (China) is the bearer of gifts and good cheer. But in Spain it is the Three Kings (Los Reyes Magos) who come bearing gifts on January 6th as the Spanish Christmas, which continues on way after December 25th.

To be continued...

By Jamie McAllen - Guest blogger traveling in Paris

Of course, besides history one also should take in contemporary France. I am doing that by following the Tour de France, the cycling race that goes all through France (and usually a couple of neighboring countries) over a period of 23 days. I have to say I don't care two bits about cycling, but I do love to watch the Tour ('Le Tour' with capitals of course) because of the great landscapes. Therefore, the days in the Alps are my favourites! Le Tour is a pretty major event here, and there are spectators all along the route, and the actual cyclists are preceded by a large caravan of promotional vehicles giving out freebies. So whenever I want to take a break (from shopping, sightseeing or sometimes even studying) I sit down at a cafe to have a "cafe" and I can practice my French by asking the Garson how L'etappe is going. Yes, there are scandals going on involving alleged use of doping, but for the moment we collectively try to ignore that and enjoy this traditional event. I just wish the French cyclists were performing a bit better...

By Jamie McAllen - Guest blogger traveling in Paris

I don't know if that French professor will be proven right in the end but my French is definitely coming back quicker than I expected. It's amazing how much passive knowledge I still had of this language! That said, I think I would be doing much better in my classes if I would actually take the time and revise and study in the evenings. But that is just, well I don't want to say impossible, so let's just call it 'not at the top of my priority list right now'.... There's too much to see and do!

Paris is magical and soooo fun! There are very distinct neighborhoods to wander through, side-walk cafe's, shops, museums, expositions, and lots of breathtaking architecture. I love to be wandering aimlessly through the streets, turn a corner, and then realize I'm staring at the back of the Pantheon. My favorite museum is the 'Musee d'Orsay' by the way. It's and old railway station dedicated mainly to the Impressionists. It's big enough to contain a large quality of master pieces but not too big that you get overwhelmed and get the feeling you should be running through to see everything, and then not taking the time to take in the beauty of the paintings.

By Jamie McAllen - Guest blogger traveling in Paris

I have been here in Paris for about 10 days now, and I'm thoroughly enjoying 'la bonne vie' in the City of Lights! Luckily it's fantastic weather, very lucky indeed as it's always hit or miss in Northern Europe (and more miss than hit if you ask me). I call 30 degrees (90 F) fantastic but many are complaining that it's too hot and sticky. Ah well, I rather have this than dull grey skies, rain and 18 degrees (that's a very disappointing 65 F.).

I am here to try to get back the French I once knew. I studied French in High School and knew enough to have a decent conversation. I even had to work my way through a novel or two. Unfortunately, if you don't use a language long enough, you start forgetting it. Then, a year or two ago I had a chance encounter with a French teacher who swore to me that 2-3 weeks of total immersion French would get me right back to the level where I was at so many years ago. I thought that was impossible but he was quite convinced (was he really or is that the charming French attitude?) or better said convincing, and I kept thinking about it. And now then, finally, I have the chance to see if 'it' can really be done.

By Patrick - Guest blogger traveling in Japan. Continuing from "Studying in Japan"

As I learned from Linda, Osaka is essentially Japan's cultural and historic capital, and is becoming quite international but still holds true to their traditions. She experienced first hand the Japanese bath tradition with her host mother and daughters. An experience she said was bit uncomfortable and one she will never try again. Although most Japanese homes have their own bathrooms, natural Hot Springs (onsen) and bathhouses (ofuroya) are still very popular in Japan. There are rules and guidelines to taking a Japanese bath here's the shortened version:

Step one: get undressed. Then you walk naked, Linda likes to put stress on the word "naked", to the bathroom with your washcloth and shower essentials (shampoo, conditions, shower gel, etc) with everyone, again there is lots of stress on the work "everyone".

Step two: wash. The washing part takes place in the actual bathroom before getting in to the bathtub. You sit on a low stool in front of taps and showers set in the wall of the washing area. This is an essential part of the ritual.

Last step: is getting into the bath of very deep hot water.

More to come....

By Patrick - Guest blogger traveling in Japan.

To be honest my desire to travel and study in Japan, most especially Tokyo was inspired by the movie, "Lost in Translation" not by a study abroad office. While my good friend Linda was convinced it was better to study in Osaka and live with a family, I opted for this mega city. In my opinion nothing compares to the awesome lighted billboards and giant TV's of the city, like Times Square NYC but a thousand times better. It is cool to live and interact with futuristic technology I feel like I am living in a Jetson's cartoon.
This city is unbelievable like the Japanese girls in short skirts and the highest heels possible singing Britney Spears everywhere, baseball games at the Tokyo Dome what a surreal, amazing experience I am having.

My Japanese language skills are not progressing as fast as Linda who is studying and living with a family in Osaka. I recently took the high-speed Shinkansen system of bullet trains to pay her a visit for a long weekend. Osaka is a great city and takes the lead role in the overall cultural development of the nation of Japan. Over the next few days we spent hours exchanging tales about our experiences in Japan so far, Linda had a interesting cultural story of her own to share with me.

To be continued.

By Anne-Marie Dingemans - Part 4
Lawrence couldn't bear the thought of sending the children home, and decided to run the project herself for the remainder of the school year! We found her some volunteers who were willing to help, and they ran the project by themselves: teaching 40 Guatemalan kids, organizing games and activities and preparing a mid-day meal for all of them. They found sponsors in their home countries that helped contribute towards meal costs and learning material, they negotiated food donations from local restaurants, they brushed teeth, taught math, cuddled the toddlers, made tortillas and a whole range of other tasks. They kept the home-away-from-home open for these underprivileged children. And even better; thanks to their continued efforts back in their home countries, the project received more donations and could re-open again for the next school year. I can only deeply admire Lawrence for the resolve, courage and strength that it took to undertake a challenge like this in a strange country, culture and language.

By Anne-Marie Dingemans - Part 3
The project has a great cause, but it's also very disorganized. There were no learning materials, children ages 2-14 were taught in just 3 groups (as there were just 3 teachers), their concentration span was virtually non-existent and there was no such a thing as a lesson plan. Lawrence had many difficulties working at this project, and even thought about giving up at some point. Luckily she stuck with it and after a couple of weeks managed to find her place, and having earned the confidence and respect of the staff, made a few suggestions to bring a bit of structure in the program. Things were going well for everyone involved, but as the end of the school year neared, a disaster happened. As little funding the school received, half of it was pulled as a big sponsor backed out! With more than a month to go to finish the school year, there was no money left for the 3 teachers' salaries nor for food. And here is where the wonder started.

By Anne-Marie Dingemans - Part 2
Lawrence, a 30-something old professional on a career break , came to Antigua Guatemala a couple of years ago to do volunteer work for about 3 months. She went to volunteer at one of my most favorite placements; an alternative day school. Public education in Guatemala is free, but students do have to wear a uniform and buy books and learning materials. The poorest in Guatemala can't afford this. So there are entire families where the multiple children are left to their own devices all day while both parents work from day break to dark to try and bring some food on the table (not always successfully). A few Guatemalan volunteers set up a small school for these children, with some donations from foreign governments and private donations. They were taught regular classes in the morning, and in the afternoon they would learn a craft and sell their products on the market and to tourists, so they could learn and help with the families' economy at the same time. This project always tried to serve a meal at mid-day, so they could be assured that these children would have at least 1 proper meal every day.

By Anne-Marie Dingemans - Part 1
I want to share the most beautiful volunteer story with you. Volunteering is a difficult job, but a rewarding one. The help a foreign volunteer can offer to a small, local community service organization is invaluable. These projects are always under funded, and partly because of that, understaffed as well. For the volunteer, the language is always a barrier, and there are cultural differences to overcome. For us Westerners, projects feel disorganized, there is a lack of planning and order, and it can feel like there is not much to do for a volunteer. This is largely just our perception, as the extremely polite Latin American will not quickly give orders or put the volunteer to work. But the presence of a couple extra helping hands can mean the difference between having to try to control a group of 40 screaming kids, having to deal with just 20. Apart from the staff member staying a bit more sane, it has nice effects (understatement of the month) for the amount of individual attention a child receives. If a volunteer stays longer at a project, they will get more comfortable with the language, customs and routine and grows to be a valuable member of the team, often organizing special projects and activities on their own. But there was one lady who took volunteering one step further.

Katie W. returns with her thoughts on the weather in Scotland:

"Edinburgh, Scotland is the coldest place I have ever been in the summer. Ok, I was only there for one weekend, but I seriously underestimated the weather. It hadn't been that warm in London, so I brought clothes for weather slightly colder than that: a thin wool sweater. I didn't think the five hour train ride (straight north) would mean severe drops in temperature. It was July, and I could see my breath as it drizzled and was about 40 degrees out. What almost makes up for this is that, because we were so far north in the summer, we were still awake hanging out when the sun set at 11:30 p.m… and when it rose at 3:30 a.m."

Katie W., a law student at Washington University in St. Louis, has written in with some of her travel stories. Here is her first story:

"As a native (and exclusive) English-speaker, I was ever so appreciative of the advice "Everyone in Europe speaks English". This had held pretty much true in Paris, Barcelona, Rome, and train stops along the way. So I hadn't needed much forethought thus far in my journeys, meeting people and finding hostels along the way. But then I got adventurous and decided to go with a girl Kristen I met in Rome to Sardinia and Corsica, islands in the Mediterranean off the coast of Italy and France. With no reservations, no maps (and Let's Go didn't really cover these areas), huge bags, and no ability to speak the localized French-Italian dialects, we were stuck. We hadn't realized (because we were overcome with European summer adventurousness) that these were big hotspots for rich tourists from Paris, and uh, other places in Europe. Hotels were either full or US $400 a night, and we weren't in walking distance of anything. Somehow we rented a car, with Kristen's license (mine was expired) and my credit card, which we then slept in that night. The next day, in Corsica, I spoke terrible French to a nice rich French lady who picked us up and led us to the beach. It didn't matter; her English was better. Later Kristen and got in a fight about something - she slept in the doorway of a store; I slept at the edge of a cliff. We made up the next day and decided to leave the island for Nice...but by the time we got our stuff (which she had stashed behind a shed, through some thorn bushes off the side of the road) the earliest boat out was the next morning. That night, we slept behind a boathouse with our bags as pillows and towels as blankets. Long story short, by the time we got to Amsterdam two days later, it was the first time either of us had slept in a bed in a week. I have no regrets about the experience, but with a little forethought it could have been much more comfortable."