In addition, to remember when all deadlines for the Berkeley study abroad program are due by, check out the infographic down below!

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It’s a scene I’ve passed by many times while living in a city where protesting is as normal as breathing — where sometimes the two are mutually exclusive. A palpable charge is in the air because a march is about to happen today, and what that inevitably means is tear gas and police skirmishes around the city.

Caught in the crossfire of such a scene, and maybe you’ll find yourself, as I did this past spring semester in Chile, staring down a military tank.

Most of the time, these Chilean protests are about better public education and lower prices — demands that are echoed halfway around the world at UC Berkeley. But unlike protests back home, these marches of hundreds of thousands quickly escalate to a breaking point.

“It was complete lawlessness in Santiago then,” recalled UC Berkeley senior Julia Villarruel, who studied abroad for three semesters before mine, including at the peak of the movement in 2011. “Things were on fire everywhere. Chaos on the streets … It just felt so dangerous.”

A protest junkie, Villarruel admitted she has been detained by the Chilean police on two occasions and has experienced tear gas numerous times.

“I have a tear gas mask,” she said with a chuckle. “I’ve had three of them.”

Each year, hundreds of university students go abroad to politically or socially unstable countries in the midst of riots, revolution and reform.

With tensions especially prominent in Middle Eastern countries such as Israel and Turkey, students who choose to pursue a semester overseas often have to consider the added risk of personal danger.

This year, the UC Education Abroad Program had 141 UC Berkeley students in England, the highest number among all program countries. In comparison, considerably fewer participants went to countries in the Middle East or Africa — just three UC Berkeley students went to Egypt, six went to Israel and a mere two went to Senegal, to name a few.

But given the hassle and the risks, the question on some potential applicants’ mind is if it’s even worth going at all? For some students, the answer is yes.

Students in sticky situations

UC Santa Barbara senior Ariel Brotman started her fall semester last year in Jerusalem, a place she had fallen in love with after going on a Birthright trip. Upon arrival, she soon faced the normal challenges of studying abroad and culture shock, such as making friends and navigating the city.

Toward the end of Brotman’s stay, rockets were fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip.

“The alarm went off, and you could hear it throughout the entire city,” she said. “I was at a friend’s house, and there was no bomb shelter nearby so we had to be in the staircase … I had never experienced something like this.”

For eight days in November 2012, Israel was under attack. The conflict, called Operation Pillar of Defense, involved firing more than a hundred rockets into Israeli territory.

“I think we were all pretty shaken up,” Brotman said, noting that two rockets had exploded close to Jerusalem. “No one knew what to think. We waited to hear what the university was going to say.”

When asked whether she was ever scared about her safety, Brotman laughed.

“Definitely,” she said. “I definitely thought I was going to die.”

Even so, Brotman did not opt to go home right away, despite her parents’ insistence that she could. By then, she had developed a deep connection to Israel and its people.

“The fact that this happened — I kind of feel like I went through it with (the Israelis),” she said. “It was kind of like, ‘wow I feel more of a bond with this country.’”

Brotman said her program was good with keeping students and parents in the loop about safety and security, always with her best interest in mind.

“We had known things in Israel were escalating by the time I left (the United States),” she explained. “I figured if something were to happen, (EAP) would send me home.”

Such was the case for participants in the fall 2013 program in Egypt, which was halted in July due to an “escalation in violence.” UCEAP also recently announced in a press release the suspension of the spring 2014 Egypt program at the University in Cairo.

Jean-Xavier Guinard, UCEAP’s associate vice provost and executive director, affirmed in an email that the programs abroad are committed to promoting a safe environment.

“Our around-the-clock risk assessment and crisis and incident response management allow us to monitor and react to world events,” Guinard said. “The protocols we have established include contingency planning and effective response to safety, security or health emergencies, which are all critical to the success of our programs and participants.”

The safety issue

Of course, the question of safety is undoubtedly an important one, but sometimes the risks are not always upfront.

“I didn’t expect it to be that bad,” said UC Merced senior Patrick Breen, who spent fall 2012 and spring 2013 in Ankara, Turkey. “The year prior, Syria wasn’t nearly as bad. There was no attacks against the U.S. embassy. I didn’t expect it to be as dangerous or crazy as it was.”

Double-majoring in economics and political science, Breen had chosen a study-abroad location relevant to his career goals in international security, with the Middle East region being an obvious choice.

“February 1, I remember I was moving from the dorms to off campus,” Breen recalled. “I had gotten an apartment a few blocks from the U.S. embassy. There was a suicide bomber at the embassy: Someone went in and blew himself up.”

For Breen, who was expecting to go to a party at the embassy later that evening, the bombing came out of nowhere and hit, literally, too close to home.

Like Brotman, Breen had never experienced anything so dangerous, so close. He too figured that UCEAP would shut down the program if the situation got too critical.

“All my friends were worried about security there (in Turkey),” Breen said. “More than anything, I was just excited.”

Of course, Breen said, his friends and family were worried each time news of the occurrences in Turkey reached U.S. media. But growing more accustomed to the city and its way of life, Breen took the incidents in stride and appreciated what his study abroad experience was turning out to be.

Later that spring, protests over planned development for Istanbul’s Taksim Gezi Park took an intensified turn all over the country. Whereas many around the world read about the news, Breen was there in person, bracing the tear gas and seeing the protests outside his apartment.

“The reason why I went there was to see this,” Breen said. “If anything, I was more glad that I got to experience this. You don’t otherwise get to witness the politics and history in the making firsthand.”

Coming home

“How was coming back?” I asked Villaruel at Cafe Durant in Berkeley over a round of tacos, as we reminisced about our respective Chile experience.

Without hesitation, she answered: “Horrible.”

Villaruel tells me she wants to go back to Chile someday, that she owes it to the country that changed her life. She said she wants to study the social movement in places around the world, to “taste their tear gas.”

I had left the country feeling like Villaruel did — like my study abroad experience was unusual but had pointed me in some clearer direction to fight the good fight, just as those Chilean students did that freezing July morning. Though, I could do without the tear gas.

“It all feels like a dream sometimes,” Villaruel said. “I question myself sometimes if this really happened.”

The sentiment, anecdotally, carries over to many UCEAP returnees.

Since her time abroad, Brotman has gone back to Israel, spending a month there this past summer. Moreover, she has decided to join the Israeli army after graduation, citing an intensified “passion for Israel.”

Breen, too, feels a compulsion to the country he once inhabited. If anything, he said, the challenges confirmed his career goals further.

During each application cycle, the EAP office is bombarded with study-abroad applications. Not all students who go overseas will know the sting of tear gas. Not all students who study abroad want that as their experience. Some students, however, will find themselves in that situation — love it or hate it.

The country we choose says a lot about what we want or at least what we’re expecting. Sometimes the answer isn’t clear until you’re there.

“I know France and Spain are interesting, but they’re not all that different from the U.S.,” Breen said. “I think you can learn more from a nontraditional location. Some will come with extra risks — but that’s all part of the experience.”

Whether they would repeat that experience? The answer was a unanimous yes from all sides.

“One hundred percent,” Brotman said.

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Jenny Sholar/Staff

In 2013, more than 1,000 UC Berkeley students went abroad to 37 countries all over the world as a part of the UC Education Abroad Program. Using data provided by the UCEAP office, The Daily Californian created a map detailing where students have been this year, color-coded in various shades to represent the density of students abroad. Unsurprisingly, European countries are some of the most popular destinations, but students have also selected countries as far as Botswana and Taiwan. While these countries across the sea are a long distance from Berkeley, we have tried to bring the experience closer to home by asking Daily Cal employees what they miss most about their study-abroad experiences. Read their answers below.

Siena, Italy

I wish that after class I could eat hazelnut gelato and walk on the old fortified city wall as I did in Tuscany. Go for the architecture, sunny afternoons and bike rides in the countryside. Plus, there are two historic horse races every summer that are free and open to the public. Siena is unreal!

—Josh Escobar

Josh Escobar/Staff

Lund, Sweden

After summer classes, everyone rides the bus to Dolby to swim in the lake. On weekends, there are music festivals and soccer games a train ride away in Malmo. Be sure to catch the train back at midnight — unless you want to party with Swedes in bars until 5 a.m.

—Josh Escobar

Netherlands

I have been back from the Netherlands for less than a month, and a huge piece of my heart remains across the ocean. I miss almost everything about that incredible country, but one thing I miss the most is the feel of the crisp air on my face as I swiftly darted through traffic or leisurely rolled alongside peaceful canals on my trusty, rusty old Dutch bicycle.

My bike was my constant companion, and it showed me some of the most memorable and meaningful experiences of my life as it carried me through narrow cobbled streets, across the low green countryside and beside the striking canals in the land that I will always consider a home.

—Taylor Brink

Bangkok

—Sarah Burke

Paris, France

Strangely, one of the things I miss the most about Paris is introspective time alone. In a city full of cramped studio apartments, I learned to appreciate the mental space granted to me by my few square meters of floor just as much as I came to disdain its impracticalities when hosting even the smallest of social gatherings. Not that I isolated myself completely while abroad — some of the best friends I’ve ever made were those I regularly sat with on the windowsills of buildings once inhabited by great writers, watching the sun set over the Seine as the city’s clouded skyline morphed from a bleak veil to a patchwork of dazzling, distorting hues.

—Damian Ortellado

Santiago, Chile

The quaint Chilean seaport village called Valparaiso, an hour away from the hectic capital of Santiago, brought forth into the country an amazing creation called the chorrillana — a giant plate of french fries layered with meat, onions and fried eggs. Meant for sharing alongside beer, the meal was the centerpiece of many dinners as my friends and I butchered the Spanish language with our new Chilean friends.

—Weiru Fang

Weiru Fang/Staff

Ireland

For the Irish, Sunday as the day of rest is no laughing matter, but it’s full of laughs. Adopted by an Irish friend for this weekly gathering, I experienced what a day of rest encompasses. Feasts of black sausage and baked beans, never without an Irish coffee — or three. In a culture with the uncanny ability to nourish the small joys in life, Sundays become a sanctuary for just that.

—Peggy Beim

Peggy Beim/Staff

Nairobi, Kenya

I remember this one night when I met a group of Kenyatta University students. We were at this bar called “Makuti,” and they were passing around a cigarette. I said, “Y’all are a chill group,” and Kevin said, “Yes, Audrey is chill.” I asked why. He said it was because she smoked, and not a lot of girls smoked. “Yes, Audrey is dope,” I agreed. “What about MJ?” The other guy turned and asked, “Oh, Michael Jackson? We love Michael Jackson out here!” Simple nights like these are what I miss about Kenya — reminders that a continent’s worth of distance and culture does not separate the universality of music, pop culture and straight chillin’.

—Lynn Yu

Lynn Yu/Staff

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Tucked between rowdy bars and located a few steps from Brussels’ Grand Place is a tiny, wood-walled pub. The place is easy to miss — there is no sign, and the windows are dark.

Inside, jazz played softly, and a white-haired man in thick-rimmed glasses plodded back and forth between groups seated around the room. He delivered them pints of Belgian beers and shots of Jenever and let out deep bellows of laughter as he moved.

As I approached the bar to order, I noticed lacy G-strings, tighty-whities, striped boxer shorts and other pieces of underpants hung along the walls, each one framed and signed. “This is a museum,” the white-haired man said, noticing my perplexed look. Musee du Slip, or Underwear Museum, was its name.

A woman at the bar asked whether I had ever heard of “The Sexual Life of the Belgians.” I hadn’t. She proceeded to tell me that this man I had just met was Jan Bucquoy, artist, filmmaker and provocateur — “I am the king’s No. 1 enemy,” he later told me. Others pitched in, offering stories about Jan and his accomplishments.

The longer I stayed, the more people I met — almost everyone at the bar knew Jan personally. Many were artists or musicians stopping by for a beer and a chat with Jan. I felt like Owen Wilson in “Midnight in Paris”; the bar was my 1920s Peugeot transporting me into Brussels’ underground. Underwear hung on a wall helped introduce me to Jan and his friends, but most importantly, it opened up a part of Brussels that would have otherwise been inaccessible. It was through art that I was able to experience and understand the city.

Brussels was the fifth city on my trip — a UC Berkeley Summer Abroad course through the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) called “History, Art and Identity in the Heart of Europe.” A few days before visiting Musee du Slip, I was at the famous Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, this time for class. The museum holds some of the most precious pieces from the Dutch Golden Age. Sumptuous still lifes, portraits and landscapes line the grand halls of the stately museum.

The art wasn’t as provocative as underwear hung on the walls, but as I wove among the tourists, I pushed myself to look closely at each piece and think about the people behind them — the artist, his contemporaries, his patrons and, especially, the people of the society in which he lived. They threw lush soirees with oysters and exotic fruits served on silver platters. They value a conservative lifestyle and warn against rampant debauchery. They have immense pride in their lowland landscape.

Art reflects its producers’ and consumers’ norms and values. Any art historian will tell you this, but to me, the connection between people and art goes far deeper. Art allows us to understand a culture beyond its facade. It lets us dig deep into the past, to trace its evolution to the present and into the future. What values and interests depicted in 17th-century art persist today? How does the art itself aid in sustaining those values and interests? And how can we, as outsiders, access these cultures through the art?

As one of the rawest forms of communication and expression, art allows people to traverse language and cultural boundaries. Art — whether in a museum or on the street — connected me with each city I visited.

Art revealed itself in unexpected contexts. In a small, run-down town Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium, we visited Grand-Hornu, an industrial-mining-complex-turned-contemporary-art-museum. The progressive exhibitions included experimental work by a sculptor, an architect and a graphic designer, Stefan Sagmeister, who has given several TED talks. The vitality of the art, housed inside the historical wreckage, expressed contrast between the town’s plainness and innovative spirit.

In Luxembourg, which boasts one of the highest GDP per capitas in the world and a cushy  lifestyle to match, I visited an exhibit called “Altars of Madness,” a collection of cold and distressing artwork inspired by grindcore and death-metal music. Although glitzy designer shops dot every corner of the city, the exhibit suggested the existence of a darker underbelly.

In Rotterdam, one of the world’s largest trade ports, a hub for East-West exchange, we saw an exhibit on anime. The medieval city of Ghent has an alleyway sprayed with layers of bright graffiti that we visited. Allowed by the government, it is among the city’s most celebrated sites.

Whether fulfilling part of the syllabus or not, I spent nearly every day at a museum, visiting a gallery or experiencing art on the street with Vermeer, Sagmeister and Bucquoy as my tour guides. They helped me navigate through the nuances of each place. They allowed me to synthesize my own experience into visual memories, and, collectively, they record these places for future visitors.

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U.S. student participation in study abroad programs has more than tripled in the past 20 years, according to a 2012 report by the Institute of International Education. This past summer, more UC Berkeley students went abroad than the year before, working and studying at countries across the globe. Many went through programs offered through the UC system, but others chose to go independently or through alternative study abroad programs not affiliated with the UC.

To learn more about the types of overseas experiences students can participate in, The Daily Californian sat down with Tucker Hutchinson, the co-founder and marketing director, of a Berkeley-based startup that is a Yelp-like resource for study, volunteering, internship and teaching experiences abroad. Hutchinson, along with Mitch Gordon, a Haas alum and entrepreneur-in-residence at UC Berkeley Skydeck, founded GoOverseas.com in 2010 as a site high school graduates and college students can use to find financial and logistical information for programs offered by various private, public and non-profit agencies as well as reviews by individuals with relevant experience.

The web company — housed at UC Berkeley’s startup accelerator, Skydeck, in Downtown Berkeley — also collaborates with programs to write articles about strategies to fund an overseas program, stay safe and learn about different cultural norms while abroad. In an interview, Hutchinson talked about the experience of living abroad and offered tips for students interested in living outside the United States.

On finding an overseas experience
Tucker Hutchinson: The best advice is to approach this opportunity like choosing the best college (for you). You’d really have to research independently about the college before committing to it. In the same way, you have the responsibility to find an (overseas) program that’s good for you. Know that the world out there with international programs is massive. There are good programs and really bad ones, some of which are really expensive with less accreditation and transparency than applying to schools. Have conversations with people in the programs you are considering. Ask to contact alumni of the program. Be wary of time and money.

On choosing a program:

TH: Ideally, you should read reviews and ratings from students who have gone abroad and feel connection to (what they are saying). For example, maybe you want to study abroad and work a little less hard than you do at Berkeley. You can kind of identify with a reviewer if they say they had a really fun time on this program. But, if you you are going to think this not something I want to identify with, then don’t use that program. Most of deciding which program to go on is intuitive and trusting your gut.

On where U.S. students choose to study, work and volunteer:

TH: We have noticed patterns there. Within volunteering, people tend to go to places in the developing world, to countries like Kenya or Thailand or Vietnam. Europe is by far the most popular (continent) to study abroad in for American undergraduates. Teaching abroad is also popular and the demand for it is increasing all the time. With the economic downturn, recent grads who are unemployed can make a lot of money teaching English (in other parts of the world).

On GoOverseas.com being used by international students in the United States:

TH: For the foreseeable future, we are going from English-speaking countries to anywhere else in the world. And there is a lot of work to do there. Eventually, we will entertain the idea to translate the website into different language and focus on building out U.S. based programs for international students and participants. But, the U.S. (travel abroad) market is complex enough. To think about what does a Chinese student consider when studying abroad (here) is a massive market in its own right.

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Fortunately, the UC Education Abroad Program provides many resources to those with international aspirations. The program’s website offers a convenient search feature that estimates the cost of a semester, summer or year abroad in the countries that host opportunities with the program. Estimates do not include the cost of recreational travel, entertainment and other personal expenses, but they provide a rough budget for a complete experience abroad.

The cost estimation is useful, but it could be jarring for a student at odds with how to afford it at all. UC Berkeley students receiving financial aid will be relieved to know their financial aid travels with them. Every UC student’s financial aid budget is adjusted to match his or her program’s student budget, according to the website, and the campus Financial Aid and Scholarships Office offers personalized assistance to students seeking fiscal guidance.

Those without financial aid also have abundant financing options within reach. In January, the program announced in a press release that it would double scholarship funding during the 2013-2014 academic year, doling out more than $1 million  in scholarships as a result of an ambitious $1 Million Scholarship Initiative and more than tripling the program’s funding for scholarship awards since 2011.

From summer 2013 through spring 2014, the program will offer more than 380 awards of $1,000 and $2,000 to students who are selected through the application process, which can be accessed through the program’s MyEap online hub. Additionally, students who receive scholarships are expected to complete a two-page report, which includes appropriate photos or video clips, within one month of the conclusion of their term of study.

With a little more than 1,000 UC Berkeley students studying abroad with the program this year, there are financial awards readily available to a significant percentage of the students eligible for them. But if those awards are not adequate, a surfeit of other nonprogram-related and privately sponsored scholarships are provided by the program on their website. Many are limited to certain countries, majors or other specifications, but they still provide a useful resource for those struggling to make studying abroad financially feasible.

UCEAP has made a concerted effort to make studying abroad more accessible to all students interested in making it a part of their experience at Cal. With ample opportunities available to finance what could be a life-changing experience, any student has the resources to make studying abroad not only a memorable experience but a financially simple one, too.

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Contact Seung Lee at slee@dailycal.org.

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Everyone has that morning. You wake up and realize all the alcohol from last night is half full and uncapped. No one wants to drink it anymore, but you don’t feel right just pouring it down the drain. Very few people understand the potential that alcohol beverages of all kinds have to enhance your cooking. From appetizers and desserts to main entrees, the possibilities are endless. Below you’ll find some of my absolute favorite ways to integrate alcohol into my cooking, which not only tastes amazing but definitely won’t break the bank.

The method I use most frequently is sauteing vegetables with wine or beer and a bit of olive oil or butter. Add the alcohol to the grilling vegetables and allow it to get hot, and then let it simmer for a while. After that, I usually pour most of the alcohol out and finish grilling the vegetables, but you also can keep it in there and eat it as is. Your finished vegetables should taste mildly of the nonalcoholic aspects of the drink, such as the hoppy flavors of beer or the slightly acidic accents in wine. Primarily, however, the wine or beer should help shape or strengthen the flavors in your dish, not create the main flavor.

The same basic concept applies for meat and other dishes you might want to try, and the only rule is that you should choose the alcohol based on the meal itself and your desired tastes. For example, you can add beer to a batter for fried fish to make it crisper with just a little oomph. You can also cook just about anything in wine to make the food’s flavors stronger and richer.

Another awesome way to incorporate alcohol into your cooking is to make your own pasta sauce. A friend recently told me about a white-wine pasta sauce that consists only of butter, olives, white wine and a few herbs. I used the $2 Cabernet Sauvignon from Trader Joe’s, but the sauce was surprisingly fresh and flavorful. Even liquor has its place in the kitchen. You can add vodka to a tomato cream sauce to make your own vodka pasta sauce.

The best thing about cooking is that it’s an art, not a science. You’ll be surprised at the things that taste good after you try them, and experimentation is the best way to discover a new passion or pastime. Over the years, I’ve learned to love cooking with others and sharing recipes and techniques, although I don’t like to cook for myself. Even better, cooking with alcohol is a great reason to open a bottle and share it with a good friend.

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Nestled in North Berkeley, Solano Avenue at first glance seems oddly familiar, featuring well-loved Berkeley staples such as Zachary’s Pizza, House of Curries and Sunnyside Cafe, located within walking distance of one another.

But the street is hardly a carbon copy of our familiar campus streets — the atmosphere here is far more quaint, with an old-town-community vibe that is epitomized by a central, vintage clock named after Jerome Blank, a long-term resident who the locals lovingly refer to as Mr. Albany.

Solano has a more mature and classy side as well. For an upscale, date-worthy night, check out Sushi 29 and Vanessa’s Bistro, both around Solano and Tulare Avenue. If things go well, consider following up a successful date with some wine-tasting at the Solano Wine Bar, an elegant store decorated top to bottom with Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and more.

“Solano Avenue exemplifies what Berkeleyans treasure about all their neighborhood shopping areas: a community commons with great restaurants and small, diverse independent businesses,” said Berkeley City Councilmember Laurie Capitelli.

Standouts include the Xocolate Bar, which focuses on artisanal chocolate, IScream, an organic ice cream store, and Zand’s, a specialty Persian store that sells homemade meals, tea and spices.

A definite must-try at Zand’s is the saffron with pistachio ice cream — the smooth richness of the creamy saffron exquisitely balances the crunchy texture of the pistachio, and at about $3.50 for a container equivalent to two scoops, the price is reasonable.

A culinary trip to Iran and the Mediterranean isn’t your cup of Sadaf cardamom tea? No worries: Walk a few blocks down, and you’re likely to run into La Bedaine, a French bakery at 1585 Solano Ave. This tiny gem is distinguished by the pleasantly overwhelming warmth and hominess, evident in the window displays of paintings created by the young daughters of head chef Alain Delangle. More paintings line a shelf in the back, with prices listed above them.

“Well, the price is negotiable,” Delangle says laughingly. “We’ve sold a few … You know, they pay for rent.”

Delangle has had extensive culinary experience working in Paris and Chagny prior to opening his own restaurant in San Francisco, Le Charm French Bistro — which was listed among the Chronicle’s Top 100 Restaurants in 1994 and also in the next three years. He sold the restaurant in 2008.

“Really, it was a choice between either family or the restaurant,” Delangle said. “In the restaurant business, you can’t have both. That’s why I opened La Bedaine (in 2009).”

Eager to involve the community, Delangle started hosting weekly baking classes that are free to the public. By signing up at the store and offering a $10 security deposit, you can spend an hour in Delangle’s friendly company and expertise. Those itching to learn the secrets behind the art of croissants and cream puffs, take note: These classes are hosted Sundays from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Family-motivated, family-run and community-driven, La Bedaine is a perfect example of the kind of heart and simplicity found in the businesses located on Solano. If you’re looking for a new food adventure on a slow Sunday afternoon, consider Solano Avenue the destination for some of Berkeley’s finest.

All photos were taken by Carli Baker.
Contact Kristie Chang at kchang@dailycal.org.

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