Elizabeth Ehly (Mexico)

The controversial election of a recent Mexican president may baffle some students, but social policy major Elizabeth Ehly has a pretty good handle on what’s going on. She’s been studying the Mexican political process firsthand since mid-June through Northwestern’s Mexico in Transition summer program. Ehly frequently volunteers, either at the Evanston YMCA, in Roger’s Park, or at Rotaract, the Rotary-sponsored club at NU. At the end of the summer, Ehly and the other 15 NU students in this program will receive four credits for their work.

Summer Northwestern: What have you been doing down there?

Elizabeth Ehly: I’ve been attending a lot of guest lectures and am researching the role of the Left in Mexico and Latin America as a whole. I hope to draw some conclusions between the incredible poverty that is present in Mexico and the Left’s role in ameliorating this situation. Comparing and contrasting the three main parties in Mexico and their previous achievements and failures in dealing with the enormous disparities in wealth, living conditions and opportunities will hopefully shed light on what has worked for Mexico and what type of programs might work in the future.

SN: How did you find out about the Mexico program?

EE: I learned about the program through the study abroad Web site. I have studied Spanish for a number of years and always been fascinated by Mexican culture and history. I hoped that a firsthand learning experience would help me better understand this amazing culture as well as the many difficulties facing such a large portion of its population. My interest in the relationship between people and their government, as well as the government’s role in providing social programs and opportunities for the less fortunate, also drew me to this program.

SN: What has been the most rewarding thing about what you are doing?

EE: I haven’t been here that long, but I believe that getting to understand another perspective and way of life has been very interesting and helped me look at my own culture in a very different light.

SN: What is one thing you miss about America?

EE: Sometimes I miss home, but I enjoy the challenge. The thing I miss the most, however, would have to be my friends and family and the income from a summer job.

SN: What is life outside the program like? What do you do for fun?

EE: Exploring Mexico City is amazing. There is always something new to do or see. Traveling outside the city is also very easy and cheap. Weekend trips to Cuernavaca and Xochimilco are fun, but so is finding exciting to places to dine within the city.

SN: What do you hope to accomplish through this program? Is this something you would like to do in life?

EE: I hope some day to work, through the government or the UN, with a Spanish speaking country so I hope to gain a better understanding of the Hispanic culture through this program. Also I hope to learn of the many assets available to these people within their own country so as to one day successfully help them achieve their own goals.

SN: What was the biggest culture shock when you arrived?

EE: The way women are treated here, although I knew it would be different, was a shock when I arrived. I was not used to being looked up and down everywhere I go or being yelled at as I walked down the street. It is very frustrating to see women have to change their lifestyles just to avoid harassment from men.

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Kara Downey (China)

China is only the first stop for rising senior Kara Downey. After completing the Public Health program at the Tsinghua University, she will return home for two weeks and then spend Fall Quarter in Uganda. Downey is no stranger to a lot of work. Beside working on a double major in theater and political science with a minor in global health, she has also been involved in student theater, JTE Storytellers, NU Radio Drama and Lambda Pi Eta, the communication honor roll society. Before going to Africa, though, she needs to survive eight weeks in China.

Summer Northwestern: What’s an example of a typical day?

Kara Downey: We have Chinese class every weekday morning from 9 a.m. until noon. It’s definitely challenging – especially because the class is taught in Mandarin, so if your mind wanders for a moment, it’s easy to get lost – but on the other hand, I want to learn as much as possible while I’m here, and the teachers are very friendly. Having to constantly speak Chinese outside of class just to get around Beijing helps a lot, too. After Chinese class, the entire program goes out for a group lunch at one of the restaurants on campus. After lunch, the history/economics students go their class on the Tsinghua campus, and the public health students usually take a bus over to Capital University of Medical Sciences. For the first half of the program we get lectures (in English, thankfully) from different Chinese professors on a variety of topics: China’s aging population, the history of public health in China, China’s health insurance policy, etc. Sometimes we go other places for class. Last week we visited two community health centers outside of Beijing, today we’re getting a lecture on HIV/AIDS at Peking Union Medical College, and later in the program we’re visiting more hospitals and the Beijing Center for Disease Control. During the second half of the program we’ll be studying traditional Chinese medicine.On Saturdays, the entire NU group goes out to visit famous places in and around Beijing; so far we’ve been to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Yuanmingyuan and the Great Wall. So we definitely stay busy, but it’s a lot of fun.

SN: How did you become interested in the program?

KD: Right after I declared my global health minor I went to a conference NU was hosting about HIV/AIDS in China and India. Some representatives from China talked about the often-strained relationship between non-government organizations and the government, and that was the beginning of my interest in health policy in China. I wanted to come on this trip both to learn more about public health – especially because seeing things in person and actually talking to the people involved is very different than simply reading a book or article about it – and to improve my Mandarin, and get some experience living in China.

SN: What has been the most rewarding thing about what you are doing?

KD: Probably when I manage to have a successful conversation with someone in Mandarin. I know it doesn’t seem like much to get excited about, but every time I go to, say, the dining hall and manage to order what I intended to order, I want to run back to my room and e-mail all my friends in triumph. Even better are conversations with the Tsinghua students – a lot of them speak some English and are eager to practice, and we want to practice Chinese, so it works out well. We’ve managed to have some very interesting conversations despite the language barriers.

SN: What is one thing you miss about America?

KD: Cheese! Nobody here eats cheese outside of Western restaurants. I never really thought of cheese as high on my list of favorite foods, but now that it’s gone, I miss it.

SN: What is life outside the program like? What do you do for fun?

KD: I’ve never been to Beijing before, so right now I spend most of my free time exploring the city with other people on the program. It’s huge, tons of restaurants, shops, etc. The markets where you can bargain are a lot of fun. There are also basketball courts and soccer fields near our dorms at Tsinghua, so lots of us get games going, frequently with other Tsinghua students.

SN: What do you hope to accomplish through this program? Is this something you would like to do in life?

KD: I’m very interested in international relations in general and health and human rights policy is particular, so I’m glad to get both the experience abroad and the chance to study health systems in China first-hand. I definitely think it will be useful in the future.

SN: What was the biggest culture shock when you got there?

KD: I know this is a bit of a foreign-travel clich