Interview: Anna Holland
Anna HollandIt was my great privilege to get an interview with Anna Holland - friend, colleague, writer, and Kennesaw State University Integrative Studies major concentrating in Communications and International Affairs - while she's studying abroad.
K: Please explain your program - the objectives, the locations, the logistics, the other fun stuff y'all do on your own, all the deets.
A: Our program is called “Around the World in 80 Days”. A small group of students (26 was the maximum number allowed, only 12 signed up) visit four countries (Italy, Morocco, Australia, and Cuba) in 84 days. That’s 21 days per country, and only three weeks to complete a 3-hour credit course. The classes are general education or “common core” classes, ranging from science to economics. The goal of the program is to expose Kennesaw State students to the world on a much larger scale. When American college students study abroad, they only travel to one country (for the most part). That expands their view of the world, but only by one other environment. We see developed and undeveloped countries with vastly different cultures and political affiliations.
Within each country we study in different locations like libraries, universities, restaurants, castles, and museums. Also, we travel each country while we visit. In Italy, we stayed in a town called Montepulciano but we visited Rome, Florence, and Venice. In Morocco, we stayed in Ifrane, Tangier, and Casablanca, but we also visited Azrou, Zaouit, Merguza, Rabat, and Chefchoane, and we also took a day trip to Spain one day. We’ll explore Australia and Cuba similarly.
K: What's it been like so far? What's been your fave thing?
A: Hanging out with everyone in the group has been great. We’ve been extremely lucky in that our whole group gets along. We all latched onto each other immediately, probably our survival instincts kicking in, and even with our small fights and every day annoyances we work well together. When we first arrived in Italy, there was this huge festival happening in the town called the Bravio delle Boti, the wine barrel festival. There was a party on every street corner. Our whole group went out together and, while walking around, we stumbled upon this huge brass band playing on the steps of a church. We danced and drank with them for hours in the streets of Italy with the stars above and the cobblestones below. After that night, we were family. We made dinner together in our apartments and planned extra trips to outlying cities. That’s a great memory. Another awesome moment was riding camels in the Sahara and watching the sunrise. I listened to a Senegalese artist, Baaba Maal, and it was magical.
But its also really hard. We’re always, ALWAYS, travelling, whether its taxi, bus, train, or plane. In Morocco alone we’ve spent over forty hours on a bus, and we’ve only been in this country for eighteen days. It’s multiple readings, essays and assignments for homework while you’re still expected to see as much of each city and culture as possible.
K: What are you most excited for? What do you think the most rewarding part is?
A: I’m most excited for salsa dancing in Cuba to be honest. It just recently opened its gates to the outside world, and I’ll get to see it before technology and “progress” takes hold and turns Havana into another Cancun. The most rewarding parts are the lessons learned. Not science or economics, but the realizations connected to people, culture, and location. For example, while in Casablanca I learned much more about Islam. When explaining the original purpose of the Hajj, a guest lecturer said that the journey, “serves to detach people from their bodies and egos.” I feel like I’m on my own version of a Hajj, because that detachment is exactly what I feel. More than anything though, what’s most rewarding is realizing how similar we all are no matter our location, culture, language, religion, etc.
Thank you, Anna, for letting me take up a moment of your time on this glorious adventure. Have fun and be safe.
You can follow Anna's international exploits on her website.
A condensed form of this interview can also be found on my Instagram.
-Kylie