My First Study Abroad Journey #HogsAbroad in Panama

Hi my name is Qirui Cui. I am a Bumpers College Honors Student who is majoring in Crop Science and minoring in Crop Biotechnology. This spring break, I participated in the Study Abroad Program: Panama Agriculture and Cultural Tour.

It is my first study aboard journey, and it is the first time I set my foot on Central America. I loved this trip. Panama is a beautiful country with diverse topography. People in Panama are very lovely and passionate. This trip is an eye-opening experience for me.

As a crop science major student, the tour of the pineapple farm was my favorite. I am so happy that I had a chance to visit the pineapple farm. It was the first time that I learned something about the tropical crops. Now, I know a bit more about these crops in a different aspect, from the crop management side, food processing side, to the economic side. I enjoyed hearing stories from the grower, such as how they processed their food, whom they sold their products to, and their view of the pineapple industry.

I am grateful that I had such a great opportunity to visit Panama! I experienced so many things that I never thought of before, and I learned a lot from all the tours we had in Panama. I will recommend my friends and classmates to attend this program if they have a chance in the future!



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Senior Crop Science major Qirui Cui spent the spring break 2019 in Panama with the U of A Faculty-Led: Panama Agricultural & Cultural Tour with the help of our Office of Study Abroad Scholarship.

Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/

Field Notes: Growing a Brighter Future #HogsAbroad

Honors horticulture student Olivia Caillouet traveled to Africa last summer to take part in Global Community Development in Mozambique. (Check out a video on the program.) 

This U of A faculty-led service learning program  focuses on New Horizons, a poultry farm on a mission to change lives. Food insecurity is a day-to-day, gnawing reality for many families in Nampula. 

New Horizons has encouraged workers who raise chicks to supplement their income – and diet – by planting vegetables as cash crops. 

Olivia’s project looked at total cost of input, yield, and market price to determine which crop is the best bet for area farmers. She’s presenting her findings at the International People Plant Symposium hosted by the International Society of Horticultural Science in Montevideo, Uruguay, Nov. 9-13, 2016.

1. This is the first carrot harvest of the season. This is a small carrot that says so much. A majority of the food consumed is corn and the ability to have other nutrients in the diet could improve the overall health of locals. Diversity is key to many issues regarding land, society, and economics.

Article courtesy of the Honors College blog. Continue reading →

Flanders and the United States-Some Thoughts Over the Last Few Months #HogsAbroad

With only a few days left in this beautiful place known as Flanders, the Flemish speaking portion of Belgium, I figured now was the best time to write this type of post.  While this has been the experience of a lifetime, it has not always been easy!  This post will mostly be bullet points of random things that I have thought of throughout my time here, whether its been about every day stuff or something you don’t notice for quite some time. Here it goes:

-ATM’s are rare and are not all over the place like the states! Even rarer is a local store that takes Visa since it is expensive for shops to take it.
-Your typical loaf of bread is baked in the grocery store. While the freshness shows in the taste, the lack of preservatives does not let it keep as well.
-Virtually everyone in Ghent speaks English, which is great for an American! The Dutch and the Flemish speak excellent English, whereas the French speaking Belgian’s English is not as good.

Evie, Josh, and I at the Paris Fan Zone during the Euro Cup

-Wifi is not at every storefront! Which has been great for Evie from Oxford, Josh from Plymouth, and I to get to know each other over the last few months.  It can be a pain for navigation, but an adventure is always better when you get lost along the way!
-There are two topics I get asked about the most from Belgians:
1. So what is the deal with the election and who are you for?
My answer: It is crazy and there are no good options between the two major parties.
2. What is going on with guns in America?
My answer: Depends on who you ask, but I have 3! (At the mention of me owning multiple guns, everyone so far has had their eyes wide open)

Two of the many border collies seen in Ghent, placed here for my parents!

-Belgian’s claim that they were the inventors of French fries, known as frites here.  Frite shops are everywhere in Ghent, and a small portion is bigger than a large at McDonalds.
-On a similar note, Europeans are not skinnier because the portion sizes are smaller, they are skinnier because they walk/bike everywhere!
Some notes on beer
-While Germany may be known as a big beer country in the states, the Belgian’s truly perfected the craft.
-In the United States, we are just recently seeing quality beer being produced. It is new, exciting, and beginning to become expected for most restaurants to have a decent craft beer menu. In Belgium, quality beer has been around for a long time, and is completely expected. But, in a sense, they do not recognize quality beer like an American would since they have always had it. It is not uncommon to see a homeless person drinking a beer that costs 6-10 bucks in the states.
-Beers I love here: Sours. Belgium is the king of sour beer, and it will be so missed when I come back to the US. While a case may cost 20 Euros at the local Bier Winkel, a case of the same may cost 70 bucks in the states.
-A few beers I miss: Ozark Beer Co. IPA and Onyx Coffee Stout, Marshall’s Atlas IPA and McNellie’s Pub Ale, Fossil Cove’s Hoppy Wheat.
Other things I miss:
-Wal-mart, and more specifically being able to read labels in grocery stores.
-Cain’s Chicken box combo and that delicious nectar known as Cain’s sauce
-Chili’s 2 for 20 (Queso and Salsa to start off, followed by pasta for Katherine and a sirloin for me!)
-The fiance mentioned above! Along with our soon to be combined families.
-My fraternity brothers and all the other great friends at the U of A

Saint Nicholas Cathedral

Something I have asked myself over the last few weeks has been, “Would you want to live in Ghent if it was an option?”
And to this question I would say that I would love to fully commit to this incredible city, but apart of me would be massively torn to live anywhere besides the United States permanently. I am the first to admit to curious Belgians that America has its share of problems, but I take pride in where I have grown up and lived.
Tomorrow Josh and I head to a small town called Lokeren to see the local club play Newcastle, one of our favorite English clubs, then I will finish off my time here with the ending of the Gentse Festeen (I will have a full post just for that). Should be exciting, cheers!
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Read more from Ben at http://beninbelgium.tumblr.com/
Learn more about studying or interning abroad as a Bumpers college student at: http://bumperscollege.uark.edu/programs/international-programs/index.php

When Study Abroad Ends, Day 19 in Greece #HogsAbroad

Tonight is very bittersweet as I sit here and write the last blog about our faculty-led tour. Over the last three weeks, we've learned together, laughed together, adventured together, and even cried together. I think everyone would agree when I say that we've all truly gained 7 new friends; there's already talk of having monthly get-togethers! I couldn't have asked for an easier going, more fun to be around group of people.
Today we had no program - we almost didn't know what to do with all of the free time. We took advantage of the rarity and slept in then met for lunch. Right around the corner from our hotel is a small restaurant with local cuisine so we enjoyed one last traditional Greek meal.

After lunch, with the help of a map and our hotel concierge, we took a walk to the Temple of Zeus. It was just about a twenty minute walk. We've grown accustomed to walking anywhere and everywhere the last 19 days. Even though only 16 of over one hundred columns are still standing at the temple, it was beautiful. I can only imagine what it looked like when it was all still standing.

On our way back from the temple, we passed a street vendor who was selling fabulous oil paintings. Sure that the prices would be way too expensive, we were just looking and glancing through them. Then he started making us deals we couldn't resist. All together we came out with 10-20 different pieces of art that were steals.

For the rest of the afternoon, we wondered around the crowded shopping streets. We all did the last of our souvenir shopping and then a few of us a girls took one more lap through Zara and H&M (two of our favorite European clothing stores!).

We finished the day with dinner at the Italian place from two days ago. We are definitely missing the variety of food that we have at home.

In only six and a half hours we will walk two blocks to the airport bus and then begin our trek back to the states. Hopefully all of our bags are underweight and we have no problems with customs. Stay tuned on Facebook for any travel updates!

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Read more from these students at http://bumpersingreece.weebly.com/

Find our more about the U of A Faculty-Led: Food, Agriculture and Sustainability in Greece program at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/aggreece

My Brief Stint as a Brewer in Belgium #HogsAbroad #TGIF

I have done a lot of traveling posts since I started this blog, so I figured I would get back to why I am in Belgium: beer and chocolate!  To start off, I met with my professor in charge, as well as another professor, and a lab tech, to brainstorm on what we wanted to do (I believe I covered this in an older post, but I will do a quick refresher).  The idea is simple- beer and chocolate are the two products Belgians are known for, and combining them into one product could lead to something great.  

 

While putting beer into chocolate is not a new idea, it can be relatively difficult. The examples in Belgium I have currently tried are horrendous (my opinion is shared with most of the Flemish community), so I was excited to dive into my task.

Speidl Braumeister 20l- an all in one brewing vessel

The main issue with beer implementation into chocolate is condensing the flavor. Beer is anywhere from 85-96% water, and means the amount of flavor compounds can easily be over-casted by the chocolate. The high amount of water also means high water activity. To put it simply, the higher the water activity, the lower the shelf life due to microorganism growth.

Water Activity Meter

One easy way to lower the water activity is to make beers with a high alcohol content. Since Belgian beers are already known for their high alcohol content, this made the Belgian style beers I made much easier to implement. In terms of flavor, I had to add higher amounts of specific malts and hops to makes sure the desired flavors would show up in the chocolate.  With all these obstacles in mind, I decided to brew a Belgian Dark Strong, a Belgian Golden, and an American IPA (India Pale Ale).

Original pralines made with a beer ganache filling. These were made with mass produced Belgian beers. While these samples tasted great, only one group showed significant beer flavor.

The brew days were long due to the Braumeister boil being humble and the necessity for the beers to be as concentrated as possible.  The efficiency, which measures the amount of sugar extracted from the malt compared to the hypothetical amount that should be extracted, was not the best, but it did produce highly fermentable sugars for the Belgian beers. This means high alcohol content (one of our necessities), and more fermentation means more Belgian yeast flavors being produced. These flavors are due to the fact that Belgian strains of yeast produce high levels of esters and phenols. Some flavor notes of Belgian yeasts include pears, apples, cloves and pepper.

For the IPA, my American hop selection was limited.  I figured this would create some issues, but the hops I chose did exactly what I hoped they’d do: allow the malty backbone of the beer to be noticeable in the chocolate, and produce complementing pine and tropical fruit flavors.

This week the fillings made with my beer will be put into pralines. I am beyond excited to taste the final products. I have had a certified chocolatier helping me with the chocolate side of things, because otherwise I would be completely lost.   As far as the fillings, all I will say for now is IPA caramel is pretty awesome.

While this internship has not been brewing intensive, it has created an impact on me in many different areas. Having to think on my feet in terms of recipe formulation, living in a completely different culture for 3 months, and having the pressure of producing an excellent product have, in my opinion, helped me prepare for a career in brewing.  I only have 14 days until I am back in the states, and I intend to finish my internship strong while soaking up every bit of this incredible country.

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Read more from Ben at http://beninbelgium.tumblr.com/
Learn more about studying or interning abroad as a Bumpers college student at: http://bumperscollege.uark.edu/programs/international-programs/index.php

NIke, Athena and the Olympics, Day 18 in Greece #HogsAbroad

-- Emily

Today was our first full day in Athens! For some of us it started with a run through the city and a visit to the Olympic stadium from the 1896 Olympic Games. We had a wonderful breakfast on the rooftop of our hotel overlooking the city of Athens.

After breakfast we met with our tour guide for the day Helen. Helen was awesome, much like all of our guides along the way have been. We winded our way through the city center to find the entrance to the Acropolis. Along the way we saw churches, small ruins, and Jerry even got a picture with some Greek police men.

The path up to the Acropolis is full of ruins from different eras and luckily Helen knew about them all. We saw the ruins of one of the first Greek theaters which our university used as a model for the Greek theater on our campus. There were ruins of a hospital and a Roman style music hall. On the top of the Acropolis we were met with a variety of temples.

The first we saw was the temple built for the goddess of victory, Nike. They say the temple was built and the wings of Nike's statue removed in an effort to win the war with Sparta. The goddess Nike is the inspiration for the name of the popular sporting goods company we know today. The logo of the swoosh is a symbol of Nike's wing. We saw of temple built to honor Poseidon, the God of the sea.

Then of course we saw the Parthenon built to honor the goddess for which the city is named, Athena. The Parthenon was a lot bigger than I imaged it would be. The construction and architecture of the building was incredible. We learned that it was built as if it was on a mound, meaning the sides get closer together as the structure rises and none of the columns are straight. They did all of these things to make the Parthenon look perfectly straight.

After all of our pictures were taken and we had fought through the hundreds of tourists we made it back down and took a break for lunch. We ate at a cute little restaurant and had really great food and plenty of water. Today was one of the hottest days we've experienced on our trip.

After lunch we got the opportunity to visit the archeological museum that was only opened six years ago. The museum was full of archeological finds from the Acropolis and the surrounding area. Helen came with us and made the experience even better with her stories and knowledge of Ancient Greece. We saw these jars that were used to store perfume and oil for Olympic athletes and then latter used to contain there sweat for sale.

Sports were a very important aspect of early Greek life. Each city had a gymnasium and stadium for the men to train at. Distance was measured in stadiums and time was measured in Olympiads. We also saw many statues from the 5th and 6th centuries and large pieces of the walls of the Parthenon. The top part of the museum was shaped like the Parthenon and had either pieces of the walls or replicas of the them in the places they actually were in the real Parthenon . When Greece was conquered a lot of the statues and art were taken from the Parthenon and are now located in the British Museum.

​After our great museum tour we wondered around and found some great souvenirs shops and then headed back for a much needed siesta. Refreshed and free of sweat we headed to a Mexican restaurant for dinner! I think all of us have missed Mexican food! We had a great time and got to celebrate Dr. Edgar's birthday with her!

She has been an awesome faculty leader and all of us are thankful that she got to come with us!!Tomorrow will be our last full day in Greece. We have all enjoyed every minute of our Greek adventure but are ready to see our family and friends again. Thanks for following and reading our blog!

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Read more from these students at http://bumpersingreece.weebly.com/
Find our more about the U of A Faculty-Led: Food, Agriculture and Sustainability in Greece program at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/aggreece

More Farm Tours and a Dance Lesson, Day 15 in Greece #HogsAbroad

- Karlee

Today was our last day at AFS in Thessaloniki. We began the day with a lecture about livestock production in Greece and we were floored at some of the things we learned. One was that the majority of their cattle are imported from the U.S. as calves; another interesting point was that 30 years ago, Greece was producing "too much" milk (according to the EU) and all member states were given a quota. However, now the quota is lifted and Greece is under-producing, importing most milk powder to create milk and cheese.

Next, we went to a wine tasting here at the farm. The winery produces 3,000-4,000 bottles per year, which is not enough to get it on the supermarket shelves. We were taught how to see, smell, and taste the wine. The first wine was described as "woody" and was not the crowd favorite. The second, a red, was full-bodied and had notes of plum and dried tomato. We learned about the different grape varieties the farm produces and how those go into the wine making process.

This afternoon we had a dancing lesson with a group of interns here for the summer. Although the room was sweltering (pretty sure it reached 90 degrees today), it was so much fun!

The teacher was sweet and told Kylee she has the feet of a Greek dancer, or something like that. It makes sense for her, as she has danced for nearly the whole 18 years of her life!

Finally, we ended the night visiting with the Dean, who is also married to the President of the American Farm School. She was incredibly intelligent, cultured, and kind. Also, American! She has lived in Greece for 30 years with her husband. She talked to us about the differences in cultures, and how there are weak and strong points within each one, and it's important to recognize our own strengths and weaknesses as Americans and global citizens.

Tomorrow morning we leave for Meteora, a monastery village where we will also stay tomorrow night. I have enjoyed getting to know some people from Greece and learning about their culture. Most of all I am so glad I have been able to spend time with some of the best and the brightest from the University of Arkansas. It was definitely a wonderful first international experience.

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Read more from these students at http://bumpersingreece.weebly.com/
Find our more about the U of A Faculty-Led: Food, Agriculture and Sustainability in Greece program at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/aggreece

Mules, Mountains and Razorbacks! Days 13 & 14 in Greece #HogsAbroad

The whole crew before starting up!

--Morgan

I am not sure whether we were excited or apprehensive about our excursion to hike Mount Olympus.

We got to our bus Saturday morning, where we also met our guides for the two-day hike. All of us from the U of A decided very quickly they were very chatty and enthusiastic people.

It was Maggie Jo's 24th birthday! We celebrated on the bus with all sorts of cakes and sweets from a confectionery down the road. It was a perfect breakfast for our trek up the mountain!

It was about a two-hour drive to where our drive dropped us off at the bottom of the trail. Karlee had been fighting a cold/allergies the past several days, and once we got there she decided the best thing was for her to go back to AFS. I think she made the right choice after hiking for about twenty minutes...

As we ascended the mountain, we took many breaks to catch our breath. I did not mind, and I don't think anyone else did either.

Interesting fact, the only way the refuge receives supplies is through mules packing it up the mountain. We were warned before ever departing for the hike to beware of the mules because they would not stop for people and could knock you over the edge of the mountain. I think we crossed paths with the mules three or four times, none of which were as horrible experiences as we were led to believe.

The mules (usually with a person leading the way, though sometimes the mules were on their own) carried supplies such as drinks, food, necessities up the mountain, but they also carried some trash down too. There is a helicopter pad near the refuge where we stayed, but it is only used for emergencies.

We could hear the mules coming from the bells around their necks. We had to get as far off of the path as possible because they did not go around us. Some of the mules looked more like horses...

We made it up to the refuge in approximately 4 hours and 20 minutes. We were all red-faced, sweaty, exhausted and ready for a cold drink and snacks. We had to wait until our entire group made it to the refuge, which was about an hour wait, before we could have access to our room.

When we reached the refuge!

We all had sweaty backs from our backpacks!

Once we were finally allowed into our room, I think we were all taken a little by surprise. We were met with bunk beds. But not just a room filled with bunk beds, the bunk beds were pushed together into one huge bed on top and bottom! We decided the girls from the U of A on the top bunks, and the rest could find their own space. Our whole crew stayed in the same room.

The weirdest part was the room joined to ours. There were more people staying in this conjoined room, but the only way they could access their room is by going through ours. So that was interesting...

The girls getting settled into their bunks and trying to stay warm.

The next morning, some of our group decided to venture to the top, while the rest of us waited at the refuge. Dr. Edgar, Jerry, and Kyre went on, while Maggie Jo, Morgan, Kylee, and Emily waited at the refuge with Pantelis from AFS.

Dr. Edgar and Jerry made it all the way to the summit!

Dr. Edgar with our guide, Costas

Once they returned, we waited about an hour for them to have lunch before continuing down the mountain! I personally could not believe I had made it all the way up in one day once we made it down! I think we were all ecstatic to see the trees give way to asphalt and only a short wait for our bus!

Final results:

Day 1

• about 5 miles
• 14,500 steps
• 300 flights of stairs
• 3,000 calories burned

Day 2 (for those who went to the summit)

• 28,722 steps
• 12.9 miles, and
• 171 flights of stairs up
• 4,069 calories burned
• 1,800 meters climbed in the past two days

We then went and had gyros and dessert in town to celebrate our feat! The warm shower to wash off two days worth of sweat and grime was probably the best shower I had ever taken.

Our morning view from the refuge.

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Read more from these students at http://bumpersingreece.weebly.com/

Find our more about the U of A Faculty-Led: Food, Agriculture and Sustainability in Greece program at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/aggreece

Milking Greece #HogsAbroad

Day 12 began with an in depth tour of the dairy facilities on campus. We were able to see the barns whenever we had our orientation on Monday, but this time the vet took us through and explained the entire process from start to finish. After looking down at our feet and sort of smirking at our Chacos and tennis shoes, he gave us some lovely plastic boots to wear through the barns.

We started the tour hearing about the breeding and genetic selection process at the dairy. Much like American diaries, the breeding is performed with artificial insemination and bulls are chosen to best suit each female. We then went past the calf barn. Here the heifers are fed out until they are ready to enter production. The bulls are also fed out; some of them are sold to local farmers but most of the bulls have no use on the farm and are sold for meat.

Then we entered the milking parlor which is a 10x1 herringbone style (one row that fits 10 cows at a time). Traditionally it would be a 10x2, but AFS has a single row so that people can watch from the viewing room. Last, we looked at the production room. The cows are milked twice a day at 3 a.m. and 3 p.m. It takes approximately 3 hours for all of the cows to go through and then the milk is taken straight to production. The milk is then taken to the market the same day. I actually purchased a bottle of the milk tonight at the supermarket and was pleasantly surprised -- it was AMAZING!

​After our tour of the dairy, we went back to the dorm and got ready for a beautiful day at the beach. Our driver took us to the same beach that we went to on Sunday, but this time we had nothing but clear sunny skies. The weather was absolutely perfect. We enjoyed lunch at a tavern across the road, and then grabbed some pillows and beach chairs right on the water. We spent the afternoon lounging around, relaxing seaside, and getting in and out of the refreshing water. It was definitely a relaxing break before our hike up Mount Olympus tomorrow.

On our way back to the college, we stopped at a supermarket and purchased snacks and food to take with us to the mountain. We are looking forward to the next two days as we try our hand at hiking once again.

--Kylee

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Read more from these students at http://bumpersingreece.weebly.com/
Find our more about the U of A Faculty-Led: Food, Agriculture and Sustainability in Greece program at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/aggreece

Exports and Economics in Greece, Day 11 #HogsAbroad

Group dinner in Thessaloniki.
We have a couple birthdays on the trip!

Today was a very light day for us and included a lot of free time. We started off the day with a great lecture that everyone really enjoyed. The lecture was over exports of the Greek agricultural sector led by the assistant dean of Perrotis College, Konstantinos Rotsios, and former student, Athanasios Bizmpiroulas.

The lecture was very interesting because was composed of various types of research regarding exports such as how Greek exports are perceived and how the quantity of exports has shifted since the crisis. The recent Mediterranean diet craze and promotion of Greek foods has kept Greek exports on the rise in recent years.

However, Greece is still in a depression and it appears it will last many years more. From speaking to our various tour guides and observing different areas our group can see many impacts of the crisis. Cheap prices and numerous vacant buildings are a few of the obvious effects, but many more cannot be seen to the eyes of tourists. For instance, we were told that it is common for the government to take sixty percent of incomes in taxes. This just after pay has been cut up to fifty percent.

Even among the depression Greeks continue to live the laid back, care free lives they have for many centuries. We all love experiencing this relaxed atmosphere when we go into the city and get to walk and shop (YAY!) or sit and drink coffee.

Today we walked around downtown for the first time without a guide which was a lot of fun! We shopped and adventured around for the afternoon and then met our favorite tour guide and professor Tryfon! He took us to this wonderful restaurant that had great seafood. He has not led us astray yet when it comes to food. It was tough to beat that wonderful pasta dinner we had last night, but the seafood was close. After dinner we experience some more of the terrific nightlife of Thessaloniki. We all love it here and are having a wonderful time experiencing and embracing the Greek culture!

Until next time,
Emily King

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Read more from these students at http://bumpersingreece.weebly.com/
Find our more about the U of A Faculty-Led: Food, Agriculture and Sustainability in Greece program at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/aggreece

Olives, Yogurt and Ships, Day 10 in Greece #HogsAbroad

The olive trees on AFS campus.

Jerry here again (for all you dads out there!), and what a day we had today. We started the day tasting olive oil, made traditional Greek yogurt, had a lecture over rural development and sustainability, took a boat cruise around the city, and walked around the city while trying many different treats at the local bakeries and shops.

The first activity of the day was olive tasting with the resident sommelier, and I think I speak for all of us when I say taking shots of the oil is very different from dipping our bread in it.

We learned a lot of interesting facts about olive oil, including that it is judged in competitions based on fruity, bitter and spicy attributes.

​After olive tasting we ventured to the dairy where we tried our hands at yogurt making.  About half of the group enjoyed the taste while the other half had a hard time getting past the “crust” of the yogurt. We had time to burn until the late lunch served here on campus, and this was followed by an interactive lecture with a professor who has degrees from Mississippi Sate and Texas Tech.

We discussed rural development mostly in regards to the current crisis here in Greece, as well as agricultural policy issues like subsidies. Our day ended with a trip into the city that consisted of a really relaxing and scenic (and free!) boat ride around the harbor, followed by a walk through the city to see some of the shopping areas they have to offer here in Thessaloniki. Thus concludes our activities for the day.

Jerry “Hamp” Maus, signing off.

View from the boat ride this afternoon.

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Read more from these students at http://bumpersingreece.weebly.com/
Find our more about the U of A Faculty-Led: Food, Agriculture and Sustainability in Greece program at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/aggreece

Food Safety and Flexibility in Greece, Day 9 #HogsAbroad

This morning we started the day with a lecture about food safety. We learned about how the refrigerators in Greece are much different than ours. Their fridges have a wide range of temperatures that are quite a bit warmer. The warmer temperatures allow for more growth of microorganisms that become pathogenic and cause food born illnesses. The problem in Greece is that many people are uneducated about how to care for their food and monitor the shelf life. There are regulations regarding shelf lives and open air markets, however there aren't enough authorities to enforce them. I also believe that is is so much a part of the culture regarding open air markets that it will be difficult to transition to safer handling processes.

Next we waited for over an hour and a half to go to the archeological museum. We are learning that Greeks are rarely on time, and we're struggling to become accustomed to the schedule changing often. This will be good for us in the long run to become more flexible.

Tryfon accompanied us to the museum, and walked us through explaining the significance of the different artifacts. Below is a skeleton that still has her hair (!!!) including eyebrows still attached to her skull.

This was rare to find in Greek artifacts because the hair was even still in a braid; the iron coffin was the reason her hair lasted so long. Most of us however got in trouble with the museum employees for standing too close or leaning on the walls.

Afterwards we headed for coffees in the park. We had a cooking lesson that transitioned into dinner. The sweetest old Greek grandmother, Soula, taught us how to make cheese and spinach pies, stuffed grape leaves, and tzatziki.
- Kyre

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Read more from these students at http://bumpersingreece.weebly.com/
Find our more about the U of A Faculty-Led: Food, Agriculture and Sustainability in Greece program at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/aggreece

Food Science from the King of the City, Day 8 in Greece #HogsAbroad

-Karlee​

Food seems to be a staple point of the Greek culture. In our lecture today, we learned from Tryfon Adamidis, a food scientist, about the Mediterranean diet. He showed us a pyramid consisting of the Greek diet highlighting the emphasis on fruits, vegetables and bread. There is much less emphasis on the consumption of meat, which is entirely opposite of the people in Arkansas. It was interesting to learn about a different type of food pyramid and comparing it to ours.

Tryfon is a man with much knowledge. He knows everything about the city of Thessaloniki. As we were starting our journey, another man came up to us informing us that Tryfon knew everything about the city. He said Tryfon was the king of the city!

The city is absolutely gorgeous and photos do not do it justice. We were able to see one of original towers and walls of the city. I'm a little sad because we were unable to go inside the structure, but it was still really beautiful. I hope that every person will be able to experience the beauty and history of this city.




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Read more from these students at http://bumpersingreece.weebly.com/

Find our more about the U of A Faculty-Led: Food, Agriculture and Sustainability in Greece program at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/aggreece

Checking Out the Culinary Appeal of Greece, Day 7 #HogsAbroad

Everybody say.....

-Morgan

The day started out cloudy again and was very chilly, but luckily with no rain. The breakfast at the American Farm School is not as good as the food at MAICh; we were spoiled in Crete it turns out.

Around 9 am (I say around because it turns out the Greek's run late and although they don't mind keeping us waiting, heaven forbid we make them wait) we left for the vineyard. It was about a 40 minute drive. Today we had a few extras to our group, three students interns from Arizona who are in Thessaloniki for the summer. We had to take two vehicles to fit everyone. I am still skeptical of all drivers in this country. They like to swerve around cars, potholes, and people while slamming on their breaks and doing a burn-out at almost every stop.

Once we arrived at the vineyard we had a little bit of time to kill so we ordered some coffee; the Greek's love their coffee. I ordered an espresso, which was a mistake on my part. MJ and I drank them like a shot to get it over with. Dr. Edgar ordered a hot chocolate. When it arrived, it had the most intricate foam design! As an added bonus, it was the most delicious hot chocolate I have ever tasted. Kyre's expression when she took a sip said it all.

After we finished our coffee and hot chocolate, we went on a tour of this family-owned, third generation vineyard. It was beautiful! It sat on approximately 62 hectacres and had a few different varieties of grapes grown there that the man who started the vineyard is renowned for growing. We saw the rooms where the tanks are that ferment the grapes for the wine. There were tanks upon tanks! We even saw the machine that is used to bottle and put corks on the wine. It is a very intricate process, this wine-making, so I won't go into anymore details for fear I may leave something out.

Besides walls of awards, this winery is known for its collection of corkscrews. I have never seen so many corkscrews and ancient wine containers! There were hundreds of corkscrews, dating back to some of the very first ones that were created by a priest (named the T corkscrew for its "T" shape).

Photo credit: Maggie Jo

After exploring and learning about the corkscrews of the past, we were able to sample a red and a white wine. Both were excellent and many of us bought a bottle (or two) afterwards to bring home to share with our family and friends.

Since the day was still quite dreary, we went to a cafe type place that was the Woman's Agricultural Co-op of Agio Antonios. It is one of the most well-known co-ops in Greece today. Besides its sweets and jams offered for sale, the ladies there make a special perek. We ordered a feta perek and ham and cheese perek. It tasted like a mixture of quesadilla and pizza, although that may not sound appetizing, it was delicious!

Photo credit: Morgan

After our "snack" we ventured to the beach! As soon as we arrived, the sun decided to come out and it ended up being a perfect afternoon to take a nap on the beach. Although the water was cold, the sun felt amazing after several days of rain. Soaking up the sun was nice, but by the time we made it back to the American Farm School we were ready for dinner again. Turns out, there are not many places available to eat in Greece on a Sunday. We ended up taking a taxi to town and told them to take us somewhere with food.

They dropped us off at a restaurant that ended up being closed, but it worked out because a few blocks away was a square with all sorts of food places. After a week of being away from home and living the "Mediterranean Diet", we were all ready for some American food and settled on pizza. Little did we know that in Greece, portion sizes, especially at dinner, are much larger than American. We ordered three large pizzas and a personal veggie pizza. They. Were. HUGE!!!!!! The large pizzas were 16 slices, and although they were narrow slices, it is still a lot! We figured it up and out of 56 slices of pizza, we ate 34. I think America would be proud!

Not our American pizza, but it'll do.

Just when we thought we were done and were going to roll out to a taxi, the waitress brought us two waffles with Nutella, two scoops of ice cream, syrup and one with bananas and one with strawberries. We finished it like champs! ​

Pure deliciousness.

Now we are ready for a day of studies tomorrow! ​
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Read more from these students at http://bumpersingreece.weebly.com/

Find our more about the U of A Faculty-Led: Food, Agriculture and Sustainability in Greece program at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/aggreece

A Walk Through History, Day 6 in Greece #HogsAbroad

Today we definitely saw a completely different side of Greece. Unlike the breezy, warm sunny skies of Chania, Thessaloniki (nestled in northern Greece) greeted us with cooler temperatures and nonstop rain. On our schedule of events, we planned to go downtown and tour some of the many monuments from Greece's ancient history. While we dreaded walking in the rain, the magnitude of the history was well worth the shivers and soaking wet clothes.

Our guide for the day was a professor from AFS, Dr. Tryfon Adamidis (tree-phone). He began by explaining that in perspective to the entire country, Thessaloniki is a relatively new city.  As soon as we exited the bus, we were greeted by a beautiful arch that remains from the ancient Roman Empire.  There are very few Roman remains within the city, most are Byzantine.  To put these monuments into perspective, the second picture you will see is the Rotunda which ages back to 300 AD.  Tryfon informed us that many monuments are closed because of the current economic crisis in Greece. They do not have funding to pay for security.

The Rotunda was originally built as a temple for Zeus. It was only a temple for a short time before Christianity prevailed. It became Greek Orthodox, which is how it remained for approximately 1000 years. Then as the Ottoman took over, it became a mosque for 500 years until Greece was freed from the Turks in 1912.

Next we toured the St. Demetrius catacombs. The church was absolutely stunning. From the stained glass, to the gold decor covered sanctuary, and the jeweled chambers that held the bones and skull of St. Demetrius, the church did not disappoint. What appears to be the basement, was actually the ground level in Roman times. Due to natural disasters such as earthquakes, the city has been built up around it over the years.

Thessaloniki seems to be much more developed than Chania. Luckily, it seems like that also means that the driving is much more our style. For the most part, people have actually stayed in the designated lanes. I was a little shocked, however, to see how much graffiti is within the city. From shop windows, to overpasses, and even on the gates of the Rotunda, graffiti covers the city almost like decoration.

To finish off the day, we enjoyed a barbecue with students from Indiana State University. While the local cuisine is nothing short of delicious, I'm pretty positive we all felt refreshed to see a food that we recognized on the menu for the evening.

All in all, we are enjoying Thessaloniki. Hopefully the weather will clear up for our excursion to Halkidiki to visit Marianna's Vine and enjoy a wine tasting at Gerovasiliou!

-Kylee
 
 

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Read more from these students at http://bumpersingreece.weebly.com/

Find our more about the U of A Faculty-Led: Food, Agriculture and Sustainability in Greece program at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/aggreece

Moving to Thessaloniki, Day 5 in Greece #HogsAbroad

Day 5 of our journey started bright and early! We departed the beautiful island of Crete and two short flights later found ourselves in Thessaloniki.

Upon arrival we noticed the landscape of Thessaloniki differs from the landscape of Crete. There is more farmland and a few less mountains in Thessaloniki. After leaving the airport we arrived at the American Farm School where we will stay until the end of the May. The school was founded in 1904 and serves primary, secondary, and post-secondary students.

We settled into our rooms and got connected to the ever important WiFi then got some much needed sleep and relaxation! A lot of us are sore from the hike down the gorge yesterday. In the evening we met up with some Farm School fellows from the United States and went into downtown Thessaloniki to eat dinner.

On our way downtown we also saw how much more of a city Thessaloniki is than Crete. The city is really cool because you can see an old church or ruins next to a shopping center or apartment building. We went to eat around 8:00 which is extremely late for many of us, but in Greece 8:00 is considered to early for dinner. The area in which we had dinner was very unique. There were so many open air restaurants that you could barley tell where one restaurant ended and the next started.

We enjoyed all types of Greek food from octopus to fried feta cheese and honey, and tried some local wine. After eating way too much food some of the group ventured out and experienced the night life of Thessaloniki. It was a great day of relaxation and fun, and we are now ready to gear up for a jammed pack day tomorrow.

Until next time,
Emily King

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Read more from these students at http://bumpersingreece.weebly.com/

Find our more about the U of A Faculty-Led: Food, Agriculture and Sustainability in Greece program at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/aggreece

Lille Goes Green-The Irish Takeover #HogsAbroad in Belgium

 After sorting out some internet issues, I can finally get around to doing another travel post.  Last Wednesday, I was fortunate enough to head to France for one of the group games of the Euro Cup.  One of my friends from the University of Arkansas was in Europe to go to all of the Ireland group games, and was able to get me a ticket for the Ireland v Italy match.
The moment I stepped out of the train station I saw an incredible sight-the entire city of Lille had been invaded by Irish fans. This was good news to me seeing as I would be one of those fans for the night!

To those of you who have not kept up with the tournament, the Irish have grown extremely famous for how great their fans are. They have been seen socializing with rival teams’ fans, cheering on the French police, and picking up trash.  I headed to my Airbnb, dropped off backpack, then headed back to the station to meet up with my friend, Owen.

I met up with Owen right by the train station, where I put on the Irish jersey he had gotten for me to give to my dad. We headed on into town to have a pint and explore the city.
(Some Irish fans came prepared for the high price of a beer in France- some carried 6 packs, 24 packs, and even 5 liter mini kegs wherever they went)

We saw the Grand Place (Town Square) of Lille filled to the brim with fans chanting and enjoying the weather.  Whenever a small herd of Italy fans would walk by, you could count on an Irish fan striking a friendly conversation.


After having a beer with some Irish gentlemen, we hopped on the tram, grabbed some dinner, and made our way to the Stade Pierre Mauroy.

When we headed into the stadium, it was comforting to see how good security was for the venue; there were multiple rounds of security that every fan went through before being allowed into the match. One Irish fan had come shirtless and was about to be denied entry- I quickly through him my extra shirt to get through, where he drunkenly thanked me a few hundred times.

(The national anthem of the Republic of Ireland was sung in Gaelic, so I didn't follow too well)

Once the match began, the chanting from thousands of Irish fans did not stop. A few favorites include:
“Your defense is terrified, Shane Long’s on fire”
“Come on you boys in green, come on you boys in green”
“Stand up for the boys in green”

Ireland had slight control of the match throughout, keeping the fans on their feet and hopeful for a goal.  Italy was highly favored to win the game, and thus eliminate the Irish from the tournament.  In the 85th minute, Ireland's dreams came true when Robbie Brady placed an incredible header in the back of the net.  The crowd was thunderous as strangers turned to the adjacent person in green and gave them a bear hug.


When the final whistle blew, the crowd continued their chanting and praise of the team for the next 20-30 minutes (I have a video but cannot figure out how to upload so it will be put on Facebook).
As I headed to my Airbnb for the night, I could not believe how great of an environment the Irish provided. In lieu of the violence caused by the Russian fans, Ireland showed what football should be about. Unfortunately, Ireland was knocked out of the Euro Cup in the next round by France, but I will never forget the Boys in Green that were supported by the best fans throughout their time in the tournament.
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Read more from Ben at http://beninbelgium.tumblr.com/
Learn more about studying or interning abroad as a Bumpers college student at: http://bumperscollege.uark.edu/programs/international-programs/index.php