A Visit to ILEA, not to be Confused with IKEA.

ILEA classroom building; part of the campus!

After a series of field studies lectures in the old Corvinus building, the program coordinators took a leap of faith and let JSBP out of our cage—this Wednesday, we went to Buda to visit the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA).  I didn’t know what to expect from this excursion, and was pleasantly surprised by the experience.

Our visit started bizarrely.  Without any sort of introduction, context, or explanation of where we were and why we were there, we were on a tour of the ILEA campus.  It felt like taking a tour of a college campus.  We saw their café, billiards room, tactical annex, and exercise areas before ending up in a lecture hall.  Finally, the relevance to this trip was revealed to us. 

ILEA is what it sounds like—further law enforcement training for international officers.  ILEA is a sixteen year old academy that conducts eight week law enforcement development programs throughout the year in addition to seminars for about 250 students annually.  There are four ILEAs across the globe, with locations in Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia.  ILEA is funded by the U.S. State Department as a way to forge relationships with international law enforcement, and trains officers using American techniques—which we found out are uncommon in Europe.  American agents from the FBI, CIA, IRS, and other agencies often come in and out of ILEA to offer their expertise, and all classes are taught in English although sixteen languages are recognized and used on the campus. 

I think that the whole ILEA initiative is an innovative idea.  It’s important to build international relationships across the board.  ILEA graduates have acted as points of contact for American agencies with foreign cases and investigations, and all parties benefit from the manifested relationships of the program.  We had the opportunity to speak with Deputy Director Thomas Stocking, and the Director John Terpinas, who are both on three-year assignments at ILEA.  They are both Americans overseeing the success of the academy and had a lot of good things to say about the benefits of ILEA.  Being important staff for ILEA, they may have been biased, but in a quickly globalizing world, their arguments to maintain and fund this program seemed pragmatic to me.

I really like this graphic.  It shows the output of ILEA students through 2008.  Without the "Other" countries, there are 29 participating nations along with the 27 member states of the EU.  It's interesting to see how law enforcement agents from all these different nations participate in ILEA.

They addressed the criticism that an American might have about the State Department funding the training of foreign police in saying that the money spent on ILEA is well-spent, as opposed to other government expenditures. The example that they used was that the military has more musicians than the State Department has diplomats.  What have our priorities become?  I think more Americans ought to know that little piece of information, as it definitely brings up relevant government expenditure issues.  I believe that more money needs to be pumped into programs like these that create better relationships with other nations.  The world is only getting smaller and the United States will always play controversial roles abroad, as the arms of our government reach far into the depths of foreign affairs—why don’t we spend more money on creating good relationships and solidify our potential for a stable future.

ILEA Budapest Logo!

I have mixed feelings about our discussion with Stocking and Terpinas.  After information regarding the duties of the “locally engaged staff,” our talk veered into a discussion about working for the State Department.  Both men have had successful careers—Stocking in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, and Terpinas in the FBI.  It was fascinating to hear about a life within the State Department—a reiteration of the things that we’d learned from Jay Truesdale.  It was interesting to hear the dialogue between Terpinas and Nellie, due to her interest of a career in the FBI.  His experiences, along with Stocking, painted a clear picture of what to expect, as her potential future becomes a more real possibility.    

To their credit, both Stocking and Terpinas were optimistic about our futures, and gave us some really good advice regarding life after college.  Terpinas really emphasized the fact that we should not limit our options, something that I think more of us need to realize.  But I was more discomforted by the discussion about how social media will come back to bite us, and the underlying message of “have as much fun as you want, and do what you want, but don’t get caught.”  It puts a bad taste in my mouth, and I think it is somewhat off-putting at times.  As college students who are all willing to work for our success, it can be frustrating to hear that engaging in typical young adult behavior or having a Facebook will indeed limit our options.  It left me somewhat disillusioned of the system—something I don’t want to be at this age with so much to offer the world.

Another thing about this excursion:
we walked away with souvenirs!
Information pamphlet, Thomas Stocking's
business card, a pin with the ILEA logo, and
an ILEA pen!  Free things!

Overall, this was a very insightful trip to the great ILEA, and a great discussion with two important ILEA officials.  As always, I’m grateful for the opportunity to sit with these busy men and learn about programs and agencies that I’d never heard about or considered.  It seems to have become a theme in my blog, but I think my experience abroad is consistently being defined by the career opportunities that exist for us that not too many college students know about or are exposed to.  Whether on my travels or on the field excursions, it’s been really something to feel like I’m really getting something out of this: whether it be new options to consider or a sense of optimism for my future, I’m definitely wiser for this whole experience.  With only a month left in Budapest, I will definitely try to soak up everything around me. 

For those of you who are following my travels, I’ll be travelling to Krakow, Poland tomorrow and visiting Auschwitz this weekend.

Live and Learn.

Athens: Land of Raki, Beards, Souvlaki, Islands, Krystal, and Olympian Gods

In exploring this great continent, it’s no surprise that this past Friday I landed in Athens, Greece with my roommates Sarah and Courtney.  This was a trip that I needed some encouragement to join them for.  For whatever reason, I had decided that Greece was not a place I needed to see right now.  I’ll forever be grateful that they changed my mind, as Athens was exactly what I needed for a perfect weekend of travel.

I’ll be honest, beyond the ancient ruins and the nicer areas of the city, the scenery of Athens does not appeal to me.  I much prefer the coziness of Dublin to the arid city of Athens, but after some initial disappointment—the outer areas of Athens (where we were staying), and its port Piraeus have striking similarity to some areas of Florida—I found beauty in this place. 

Our CouchSurfing host! The amazing Kostas!
(bad pic, but it's all I got)

This trip marked my first attempt at diving into CouchSurfing.  The whole premise of CSing is that you contact a local who lives in the city you are looking to travel to, and stay in their apartment (free of charge!).  To anyone who reads that description blindly, it might sound sketchy, but there are online profiles where you can look at someone’s pictures, their references and reviews, learn about them and their experience—it’s not completely random!  Obviously, as a broke college student, I am completely drawn to the idea of a free place to stay, but I like the idea of CouchSurfing down to the core values that it promotes.  CouchSurfing connects (somewhat likeminded) people from all over the world, allows us to share ideas and culture, and allows travelers to see a place through the eyes of a local.  

What’s not to love? 

Street market:
crazy, loud, fresh!

We had trouble getting in contact with our host, Kostas (my fault, not his—problem solved with Sarah’s smart phone!), but after this initial trouble, the weekend proceeded to go perfectly!  After settling in and meeting his roommate Thanases, we all went out to a local and cheap souvlaki place for some great Greek street food.  That night we were introduced to a traditional alcohol called raki.  It is very strong, and extremely pure compared to all other spirits; I liked it best when Kostas served it hot with honey!  It was amazing!  That night, we went out with Kostas, Thanases, and their friends to a really fun bar called Transistor where we sat outside on a small street right off Monastiraki Square (a central point in Athens).  We had great conversation while we were out, learning about Kostas’ travels to Nepal, his 22 years of experience in motocross, and the past six years that he’s explored contemporary dance, as well as Thanases’ crazy MMA training experiences in China!  We were really lucky to be hosted by such great guys, who gave us blankets and mattresses to put on the floor, and trusted us enough to give us free reign of keys to their apartment for the weekend. 

Me, Sarah, and the view from halfway up!

On Saturday, we were recommended by Kostas’ outgoing couch surfer (a girl named Keren from Israel, Kostas has hosted over 20 groups of people this past summer) to take a walk through a park, up to Likavittos Hill, which she said had the best view of Athens.  She made this journey sound like a casual stroll, so after getting some food at the local street market, we set off for the park.  To our surprise, this walk suddenly became a hike.  After struggling for who knows how long, our sweat paid off!  We were surprised by the gorgeous views that surrounded us, and the chapel of St. George, which was equally as beautiful.  We cooled off in the nice breeze, and ventured downwards, stopping on the way to carve out initials into a cactus plant, as many before us had done. 

All the way at the top of Likavittos Hill!

cacti carvings!

Greek Salad in Greece! 

View of the Acropolis from Mars Hill

After this adventure, we made our way to the port of Piraeus for a great lunch—authentic Greek salad for me!  Before going back towards Monastiraki to look for souvenirs.  We decided to walk around, and we found ourselves in yet another park that we eagerly entered, following dirt paths until suddenly we were on top of a hill.  We later found out that this is known as Areopagus, or Mars Hill.  From Mars Hill we could see the Acropolis.  All lit up at night, the Acropolis is absolutely amazing.  We had a gorgeous view of both Athens and the Acropolis, and were very happy about this, but hunger pains set in after a long and exhausting day of exploration, so we went back to the apartment to shower and make dinner.  Another great thing about CouchSurfing: you save money on food and get to cook delicious meals!  We made bowtie pasta with zucchini, tomatoes, onion, and feta—a dish I definitely need to recreate some day soon!

Grub

Court and Sarah
causing major ruckus
on the boat! 

 After dinner, Thanases came home from work, and we spent the night happily hanging out in the apartment and relaxing before passing out: we had big plans for Sunday.  It felt like we woke with the sun on Sunday as we left the apartment super early to make a trip to the small Greek island of Agistri.  Kostas recommended this island to us, saying that it was his favorite (and the most beautiful) local island.  After hearing about how great the island life is, we were so excited to see it with our own eyes.  The island greeted us with the cliché white-wall and blue-roof church that must be required for all Greek islands.  It was breathtaking, and set the bar for the rest of the scenery.  All of my expectations were surpassed by this trip. 

First view of Agistri! Woah.

Ghost town!

Agistri was a ghost town in the best way.  It’s easy to imagine the hustle and bustle of the villages during the 5-month tourist season, but we saw an empty and closed-down town with many stray cats and dogs, the occasional person on a scooter, and a couple other locals.  We were lucky to have visited the island on such a perfect beach day, as it felt like summer.  It was so warm and beautiful that had we brought our bathing suits, we would have swam in the impossibly blue waters of the Aegean Sea.  We put our feet in and stayed on the beach for a while before finding one of two open restaurants on the beach!  We sat on the beach, and had an incredible meal before feeding our scraps to some of the strays.  All of this was so relaxing that I swear my heart was barely beating.  I have not felt that way in a long time, it was incredible! 

Quick dip in the water...

Da Church

The clearest water I ever did see! 

Doing our thing on the beach! 

Krystal and Mama

"Don't leave me here!"

By this time, it was time for us to head back to the port—a good 30-minute walk, to make sure that we could catch the last boat back.  On the way, a tiny kitten turned the corner and it was love at first sight.  I coaxed the kitten towards me, and picked her up.  She was so gentle and loving, and her eyes were crystal blue—prompting me to name her Krystal.  After 10 minutes of obsession and cuddling, Courtney and Sarah had to pull me away.  I would have brought her back to Budapest if I could.  She did not want me to leave (I didn’t want to either) and tried to follow me down the street.  I’m not a cat person (making this all the more surprising)—but it hurt me to hear her meows.  

Walking to the port! 

Little port

Arriving back in Athens, we reminisced about the day for a while before meeting up with Kostas for dinner.  He drove us to a pizza shop and we got pizza and drinks to go.  From there, Kostas drove us up a mountain on the edge of the city.  We ate our food and stood there in awe of the beautiful nightscape before driving back to his apartment where we hung out with Thanases and some of their other friends before going to bed.

View from A for Athens

Our Monday started even earlier than Sunday.  After an early buffet-style breakfast on the top floor of a hotel with an amazing view called A for Athens, we hiked up to the Acropolis for a tour of the ancient ruins.  The best part of this grueling walk was being accompanied by a dog we named bRuno all the way into the gate of the Acropolis: he actually followed us for the entire twenty minutes.  We started at the top of the hill, touring the Propylaia (impressive main gate), looking down on the Theater of Herod Atticus, the Parthenon, and the Temple of Nike.  

Theater of Herod Atticus

Parthenon Chillin'

Restoration

It was both disappointing and amazing to see all of the restoration they were doing—I think it’s so important to do this work, but as an obnoxious tourist, I didn’t like that it took away from the view! After spending so much of my life studying Latin, this was a crazy and meaningful experience for me.  We also got to see, and sit in the Theatre of Dionysus before going to the Temple of Zeus.  The Temple of Zeus was HUGE, and there aren’t too many pillars left, but it is awesome to let your imagination go wild thinking about what it was like in its heyday. 

Sitting with everyone at the Theater of Dionysus

Temple of Zeus! Huge!

In the Ancient Agora,
looking at the
Temple of Hephaistos

We ended this excursion with a walk around the Ancient and Roman Agoras – the commercial centers of the city during the different periods.  Some areas of the ruins are much more intact than others, but all of it was amazing.  In some of the areas of the Agora, you can see from a temple, through the marketplace, to the theater and up the Acropolis to the Parthenon…it’s not hard to understand how the city worked and what it may have looked like.  

View from steps of the Temple of Hephaistos

All of it was unreal.  From the islands, to the ruins, to Kostas and Thanases, the souvlaki, and of course, Krystal, this weekend was magical and definitely put me in a good state of mind to prepare for the midterm and my upcoming trip to Krakow, Poland.

Live and Learn. 

(ζουν και μαθαίνουν)

Playing on the Beach! 

Andras Baneth Enlights the JSBP Crew on All Things EU...100% More Interesting Than You'll Guess

The 27 member states.

Everywhere I turn, there are small reminders that my time in Hungary is winding down.  Yesterday’s field excursion featured another guest speaker—our last guest speaker!  The series of lectures definitely ended on a high note due to our discussion with Andras Baneth.  Baneth has 10 years of experience in European Union institutions and policy-making and is a former Member of Cabinet for the European Commission.  He is the author of “The Ultimate EU Test Book.”  He is without a doubt an expert in all things EU. 

Most of the people we have had the opportunity to meet with have discussed overlapping subjects; while always interesting, our talks have become somewhat redundant.  I was surprised yesterday by how engaging, personable, witty, intelligent, and knowledgeable Baneth was (the above adjectives are necessary).  He kept the background information short and sweet in regards to the EU—what he called a unique and “interesting animal.” 

The member states must work together to get things done! 

It’s hard to understand the problems of the EU without understanding the relationship between the member states and the EU.  The EU is an international economic and political organization between 27 coordinating and cooperating European nations.  It is not the “United States of Europe,” which means that the member states prioritize keeping their independence and cultural sovereignty.  This is the nature of many problems within the EU… there is no equivalent of a “federal system” like we have in the US that allows for supreme and overriding decisions.  The history of Europe is largely a history of war, and the goal of the EU is to provide an arena for member states to make decisions on a table, not the battlefield.  Issues arise when nations are forced to decide how/what areas of sovereignty to give up. 

The interdependence of the member states was a major focal point of the discussion.  I really liked that Baneth kept his talk so relevant in discussing major current events in focusing in on the Greek crisis (use this great website to learn more: here).  We discussed the EU’s role, the euro zone and the worth of the euro, and Germany’s role.  For his part, Baneth was totally candid and honest, again and again saying that the future seems “gloomy.”  I like the idea of the euro zone, but in times like this, things get extremely complicated.  What is the best solution?  

Eurozone: a ticking time bomb?

Even the world’s best thinkers struggle to find an answer to this question.  The net-payers (rich and developed countries; i.e. Germany) are being asked to funnel money into Greek banks in order to save the euro, but should they have to?  It seems that they have no choice, but herein we find the predicament of the EU itself.  Interdependence forces everyone to sink or swim together.  Are the benefits of membership to the EU worth it?  In our discussion, we didn’t just skim the surface.  We got to the very core of these issues and it was a really complex subject, but it was well addressed. 

In other (ironic) news…I am going to Athens tomorrow.  Should be interesting?  Don’t worry about me, though.  I’m sure that I am about to have the time of my life—it will be my first CouchSurfing experience!

Looking forward to lots of this! 

  Live and Learn.

And for your musical enjoyment...

 "Real Love" (John Lennon cover) - Regina Spektor

&&&

...another amazing female singer...

"Secret" - Missy Higgins

All About Change.

The great thing about people is that we can change.

We are not static.

Our identities change, the ways in which we perceive ourselves changes, and the ways in which we present ourselves to the world changes.

To what extent would you go to prove to yourself that you are not now what you once were--especially if it was radically different?

I'm inspired by this story.  It's about a man, Bryon Widner, who was in his youth (and through 2006) a leader of the white power movement.  During his time in the group, he covered his body with ugly tattoos promoting his racist beliefs.  In marrying his wife and having children, his life and views have radically changed.  At one point, Widner was willing to pour acid on his face to get rid of this tattoos.  He sought the help of several nonprofit organizations, moved to Tennessee and was under the protection of local police and the FBI while he endured 25 excruciating surgeries in 16 months--all paid for by a private sponsor.  The sponsor agreed to paying the $35,000 surgery cost with that guarantee that she would remain anonymous, Widner would get his GED, get counseling, and pursue a college education or join a trade.  All changes that he was more than willing to make.

It is incredible to me that a man who was once so full of hate would so avidly pursue a new life.
It gives me hope in the human race.
The human race is full of surprises.

Live and Learn.

I Left My Heart in Dublin.

Irish babies reunited in Dublin!! So happy!!

FAMILY!

I think these friendly reminders
saved my life! Very confusing.

There are times in my life when everything just feels right.  The three days that I spent in Ireland this weekend were three of the happiest days of my life.  Not only did I have the chance to catch up with one of my oldest and best friends, Nancy, but also I finally had the chance to see the country where most of my family is from.  This trip meant the most to me of all the trips I have planned for my duration of time abroad.  I’ve long heard about how amazing Dublin is, how green the grass is, and how friendly the Irish are, but seeing it for myself would give meaning to all of this. 

Everything I've dreamed of.  

Dublin City Centre - O'Connell St.

I arrived late on Thursday night, but even on the bus ride to Nancy’s dorm on the UCD campus, I was electrified with a passion for the city that I had seen in passing.  The good vibes only led to good times.  Nancy and I stayed up for hours talking about our experience abroad and catching up on both our lives.  Nancy is one of the best people I've ever met, she will forever be one of my favorite people to hang out and de-stress with.   

Doors of Dublin = beautiful

Full Irish Breakfast

We woke up on Friday pretty early.  We wanted to go outside of the city to see a castle, or the coast, or those famous rolling hills.  Before venturing, Nancy took me to a restaurant called Bewely’s, which is famous for it’s traditional full Irish Breakfast.  I was hesitant to try all of the food on my plate, but I was pleasantly surprised to how delicious it was.  Another reason that travelling is great—I’ve learned that often, when you try something new, it usually pays off in a great way.  After eating the potato farl, toast, sausage, bacon, white and black pudding (never thought I’d eat blood!), mushroom, tomato, poached egg, relish, and coffee, I was definitely ready to start the day.  We had planned to go to a small town called Bray, but due to some crazy flooding earlier in the week, that trip would have been difficult to make, so we asked the teller if she could recommend us a day trip.  This adventure took us to Malahide, a small town on the coast about 30 minutes from Dublin. 

Malahide definitely exceeded my expectations.  Walking out of the Dart train station, we saw signs for a castle, and followed them into a secluded path.  This path was absolutely beautiful.  We were enclosed in trees and grass far off of the street.  Finally we saw the castle.  Malahide castle isn’t the biggest or most grand castle in Ireland, but it’s the only one I’ve seen and I sure loved it.  It sits on 250 acres of the greenest grass I’ve ever seen.  All that rain really does wonders I guess.  We walked the castle grounds, found a secret (enchanted fairy) garden, and just enjoyed the scenery.  We went inside the castle, but for whatever reason—we think the workers were on lunch break—we weren’t able to tour the entire castle. Which was fine, I could not have been happier to be there. 

At the Castle! 

We walked back into the town, which was extremely quaint.  And I fell for Ireland even harder…there were kids everywhere walking around in their Halloween costumes coming home from school.  I loved listening to their accents and their excitement for the upcoming holiday.  We found a great pub in the town called Gibney’s, and I ordered the famous cider, Bulmers, and had a great soup and sandwich.  We lollygagged around for a while, and ended up finding the breathtaking coast and a small harbor before hopping back on the train into Dublin.  Overall, Malahide was extremely refreshing and fun.  For the rest of the day, Nancy led me around the city as we went in and out of shops and roamed around.  We didn’t really do anything touristy, but I liked this even more because it meant that I was even more so mistaken for a local (haha)!

Harbor

Nancy looking fabulous on the coast

After making a divine dinner, we hit the town hard at night, and found ourselves at a club called DTwo.  There were so many people in costumes, but even though we didn’t have costumes, we looked fabulous and had a great night talking to a ton of people and having great conversation.  I really liked the nightlife in Dublin.  The guys are much more respectful of boundaries than some of the other places I have been.  On the dance floor, they keep a distance until you decide to let them dance with you, and the dancing is fun…I was twirled around the dance floor a lot!  The conversations that I had were with all kinds of people who’ve had all kinds of experiences…I spoke with someone about how disgusting the Red Light district is, I talked about environmental law and practicing law in Ireland, about someone’s travels to Cambodia.  I was captivated by these conversations…the night went by so fast that by the time we got home it was about 5:30! 

Peace and Love - Mary/Nancy!

Needless to say, we had a slow start to the day on Saturday.  Walking in Donneybrook, we had a great surprise in stumbling upon a rugby match.  We walked in, and I was captivated by the sport.  I’ve never seen it played before, and it was a bit confusing, but I was extremely impressed by the aggressiveness and skill of the sport.

Music by The Riptide on Grafton St.

From there, we went to the city center, where I was introduced to new areas of Dublin, including O’Connell St., Grafton St., and St. Stephen’s Green.  The walking streets were amazing, and every 50 meters, we would walk into a street performance or talented musician playing amazing music that I couldn’t help but listen to for a few minutes.  I love street music and street art, I constantly find myself drawn to it—regardless of what it is.  St. Stephen’s green was also amazing…like a Central park, but in Ireland.  I always love city parks, and this was no exception.  We stopped at a tart shop and got some pastries and coffee before going to a pub to listen to traditional music and get some dinner.  I love pubs, I love pub food, and I love Irish music.  More reasons to move to Dublin.  We were having so much fun, but we were exhausted.  We went back to Nancy’s apartment, put on a movie, and passed out!

Shamrock on my Guinnes

9,000-year lease signed by Arthur Guinness

We didn’t have too much time to explore on Sunday, but we made it work.  We woke up early and were determined to get to the Guinness Storehouse.  It took us a lot longer to get there than we had estimated, but the journey was worth it.  It was amazing to see the brewing process and learn about the history of Guinness.  I learned two crazy things there: Guinness has a 9,000-year lease on their beer, and Arthur Guinness is a hero in Ireland.  My goodness, my Guinness!  After we moved through the whole tour, we were standing at the top of the building, drinking a pint of Guinness (poured perfectly, with a Shamrock in the foam)—with a 360-degree view of Dublin.  It was incredible to say the least.  Not something you get to do everyday.  We didn’t have too much time to savor the experience, as my flight was rapidly approaching we were in a race against time to get back to Nancy’s dorm and get to the bus stop in time.  Luckily, after sprinting around Dublin for the day, everything panned out. 

Cute little street.

It might all sound like just another trip, but there was something about Dublin that inspired me.  My internal compass now points to Dublin, or Ireland.  I know that I will live there in the future, and I can’t wait for the adventure. 

Until we meet again, I'l be missing life on the Liffey.

Until then,

Live and Learn.      

P.S. The Occupy Wall St. movement has landed in Ireland: Occupy Dame St.

Surprising amount of people camped out.