2012 EIL Applications are available!

Are you interested in traveling abroad and learning about new cultures? If so, you are invited to apply to the Experiment in International Living (EIL).

EIL is a challenging yet rewarding, three-five week summer abroad program that combines a cross-cultural orientation and homestay with a focus on cultural immersion and thematic exploration. The program immerses students into a new culture where they have an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of how to communicate across cultural, national, racial and linguistic borders while also engaging in day-to-day activities with a host family.

 Themes that EIL programs explore include: language training, ecology, community service, regional issues, theater, the arts, cooking, sustainable development/fair trade and/or photography.

If you are interested in applying to EIL this year, please contact Mr. Cotton for an application.

My visit to China as part of the Experiment in International Living - Eriel Holloway

 The Experiment in International Living (EIL) really had a big impact on me. I took a trip to China for four weeks and it was so amazing! When I first got to Los Angeles, I was a little scared to meet my group because they were all from different states and I was worried that I would not get along with the other students. My prediction was way off because my group got along very well and there weren't any problems.

When I first met my group, it was weird talking to them because they all said that I sounded like I was from the South because I had a southern accent (which I had never heard before!). Before we went off to live with our host families, I got to know my group a little more and I learned that we all had something unique about us.

 My first day in China was a lot of fun because I got to climb the Great Wall of China, something that I never thought I would do in a million years. The steps were so steep and it was scary going up and coming down. I was worried that I would not like the food in China but the food was not that bad. It was different but it was good to me.

One thing that stuck out to me was the long train ride from city to city. The first train ride was 16 hours and all of that time on the train brought the group even closer together, which was a wonderful thing.

After the train ride from Beijing to Xian, we went our separate ways and lived with our urban host families for six days. It turned out to be a great experience because I got to share my family with another student in my group. We each had our own rooms and our sisters were very nice to us.

The first day spending time with my sister was interesting because I was helping her with her English and she was helping me with my Chinese. While spending time with my sister, I learned that I have to work on my patience, especially when it came to helping my sister with her English. I had to keep reminding myself that while my sister spoke English, she was not fluent at it so I had to take my time when we talked.

My host mother was great cook and she always asked what we wanted to eat and my sister always made sure that I had enough food to eat. I had a great time with my host family and I was a little sad to leave them.

When we arrived to our rural home stay, there were fire crackers going off and the people were so excited to see us! I loved the rural home stay because our group became close to one another. We saw each other every day and spent time over each others houses.

One of the last activities that we did before we went home was to go swimming in a cave with mud in it. It was so much fun because I was not used to swimming in mud it was so cold and thick. After swimming in mud, we rinsed off and got in a hot spring that was in the cave – 

talk about relaxing!

When the last day in China finally came and we went back to America, I was a little sad because I had such a great time in China. But, I also missed my family and friends back in DC and couldn’t wait to tell them about my trip. China was a lot of fun and I would definitely come back to visit!

Spain - Roberta Sinclair

 

This summer I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Spain as part of the Experiment in International Living (EIL) program. The experience is something that I will never forget. In the beginning of the trip, I was kind of homesick and I felt like I was the only one who wasn’t really fluent in Spanish. However, after the first couple of days I started to just relax and enjoy the experience.

I learned several new things, including that the sun doesn’t set until 9pm and that there is a 6 hour time difference between Spain and Washington, DC. In Spain, they have a -1 and -2 floor – something that you will never see in the United States. Their bathrooms and the style of their toilets were different as well. It took a while to get used to but it was kind of cool. One of the first things that we did when we arrived in Madrid was to visit the Plaza Mayor, take pictures and participate in a mini scavenger hunt.

We tasted a lot of new foods and surprisingly, I enjoyed most of them. I’m proud of myself for not just looking but being willing to try something new. We went to tapas bars and visited Toledo which was very beautiful. Before we went off to Valencia to stay with our host families, we visited the Real Madrid’s soccer stadium. The stadium was very nice and I wish we were able to actually see them play.

One of the most exciting moments was meeting our host families. I had two host sisters who were very nice and they also helped me with some of my Spanish. We went on group trips and the best trips in my opinion were the Arts and Science museum and the aquarium.

Those trips stuck out to me the most and I would recommend these places to anyone who goes to Valencia. I also liked the trip when we went to taste Horchata. I wasn’t a big fan of Horchata but it was still a good experience and I tried something new. Barcelona was great and I wish we could have spent more time there.

Overall, my trip to Spain was amazing! I am grateful for this experience and hope to try something like this again very soon.

My Experiment in Mexico Cooking 2011 - Chris Jones

 

The Experiment in International Living's Mexico cooking program was amazing! It exceeded every one of my expectations and the trip was truly a life changing experience. The best parts of my Mexico cooking experience were my group members, group leader and the intense schedule.

My Mexico cooking experience was great. I took a one week cooking course at the University of Puebla. My cooking Instructor was Chef Genarado. He did not take us step-by-step through cooking any meals; he simply handed us a packet of recipes and explained to us in Spanish and English what we were going to be cooking that day.

 Me and my group really relied on each other and our cooking skills grew as group. After I graduated my cooking class in Puebla, we went to Hidalgo where we stayed on a ranch and prepared our own lunch and dinner. On our last day on the ranch, we had an intense Iron Chef competition where we were split into two groups. Of course my group won! Overall the food was great but I also had to be open-minded to some things that didn't look or sound too appetizing - like fried worms and fried crickets. I still have recipe books and plan to continue preparing Mexican dishes at home.

 One of the best parts of my Mexico cooking experience was my group. My group was the best! We were all optimists except one person but eventually, he came around. All of us put forth our best effort to get to know one another. Most of us were way out of our comfort zone, including one girl who came from a predominately white town in Vermont and was the only Caucasian in our group. I could tell that she was a great person but was still adjusting to being out of her comfort zone. I made a point to talk with her and by the end of the program, we ended up being very close. In fact, I grew very close to every one of my group members and by the end of the program, we were a family.

Another part of my Mexico cooking experience that I really enjoyed was my group leader. I believe that we had the best group leader in the world. Matt Gordon made every boring church visit manageable, at least for me. I know religion is a big part of the Mexican culture but once I saw ten churches I grew bored of the church visits. Matt was not too strict on us and once we gained his trust he gave us even more freedom. Matt also kept the group together. 

After the home stay, we stayed at Universidad de las Americas Puebla (UDLAP) and the boys stayed in one dorm and the girls stayed in another dorm. The girls grew very close and the boys grew very close. After a while the boys got annoyed with the girls and vice versa. Just when we were ready to snap each others necks, Matt reminded us of how close we were with each other and that we were beginning to pick each other apart. He told us whenever we get irritated with one another to just look at the good in each other. This is when we truly became a family.

The intense schedule was another one of my favorite parts of the Mexico cooking experience. Since I don’t know when I will go back to Mexico, I’m glad that we productively used every minute of every day of the experiment. We started in Mexico City and went south to Oaxaca, to Puebla, to Hidalgo, to Veracruz and then back to Mexico City. I was mad and glad that the home stay was only one week. I was mad because I loved my host family and the town of Oaxaca but I was glad because we got to visit so many other places in Mexico.

I really think that the Mexico cooking experiment should be a five week program and the extra week should go towards the home stay. Every day of my Mexico experiment was worth remembering and that is why I wrote in a journal. I encourage all future experimenters to also write in a journal during their experience.

The best parts of my Mexico cooking experience were definitely my group members, group leader and the intense schedule. What started as a group of kids thrown together grew into a family. The person responsible for my amazing, life-changing experience in Mexico is my group leader, Matt. The Mexico Cooking program exceeded all of my expectations in every way. While Mexico was not one of my top selections, my group members and I had a wonderful time!

2011 EIL applications are available!

 Are you interested in traveling abroad and learning about new cultures? If so, you are invited to apply to the Experiment in International Living (EIL) (www.experimentinternational.org/).

EIL is a challenging, three-five week summer abroad program that combines a cross-cultural orientation and homestay with a focus on cultural immersion and thematic exploration. The program immerses students into a new culture where they have an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of how to communicate across cultural, national, racial and linguistic borders while also engaging in day-to-day activities with a host family.

 Themes that EIL programs explore include: language training, ecology, community service, regional issues, theatre, the arts, cooking, sustainable development/fair trade, and/or photography.

If you are interested in applying to EIL this year, contact Mr. Cotton for an application. Please note: complete applications are due to Mr. Cotton by Wednesday, March 9.