UNL Education Abroad, Ethiopia 2015

Fran Benne Author

10/29/2015 Added

201 Plays

Description

Have you ever wanted to learn about other cultures and experience another country while learning in your field of study? There are many opportunities through University of Nebraska-Lincoln Education Abroad.

Searchable Transcript

Search:

[00:00:02.469](traditional Ethiopian music)
[00:00:11.892]Have you ever wanted to learn
[00:00:13.187]about different cultures and study abroad?
[00:00:15.505]Well there's lots of opportunities
[00:00:16.967]through the University of Nebraska Lincoln's
[00:00:19.849]Education Abroad Office.
[00:00:22.632]Hi, I'm Melissa Allen,
[00:00:24.343]and I'm a junior Geography
[00:00:25.877]and Global Studies major,
[00:00:27.512]at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
[00:00:29.585]And I'm from Lincoln, Nebraska.
[00:00:32.814]Hi, I'm Jacob Manyang.
[00:00:34.319]I'm Agronomy senior at UNL
[00:00:37.224]and I'm from South Sudan.
[00:00:39.825]This summer we have a great experience
[00:00:41.897]in the study abroad in Ethiopia
[00:00:44.091]learning from traditional farmers, and modern farmers.
[00:00:47.660]We visited a lot of great places
[00:00:50.137]that can be only found in Ethiopia.
[00:00:52.550]And we enjoyed amazing traditional dance and foods.
[00:00:56.235]I spent five weeks with five other students,
[00:00:58.440]with two faculty members and their families.
[00:01:01.518]We stayed in two primary locations,
[00:01:03.549]South Welo and Harerge.
[00:01:05.726]Are primary focus was to study the effects
[00:01:07.857]of food security, health and nutrition
[00:01:09.842]of these two locations.
[00:01:11.727]We were an interdisciplinary team,
[00:01:13.759]so each student had a different concentration.
[00:01:16.136]I chose to study soil health
[00:01:18.401]and the perceptions of soil health by local farmers.
[00:01:22.062]Jacob and I visited with local farmers
[00:01:24.202]and took soil samples,
[00:01:25.736]to measure pH balance, the electrical conductivity
[00:01:29.210]and bulk density of the soils.
[00:01:31.867]We asked farmers the same basic questions.
[00:01:35.214]What did the perceive good indicators
[00:01:37.227]to be for soil quality?
[00:01:39.186]What are the regular problems
[00:01:40.571]they came across in crop production?
[00:01:43.087]What are some of the pesticides
[00:01:44.591]and fertilizers they use?
[00:01:46.626]From our conversations with farmers
[00:01:48.602]and observations of crop production,
[00:01:51.240]the soil was not reaching its productive potential.
[00:01:54.745]Crops were overcrowded on plots
[00:01:56.306]leading to depletion and competition
[00:01:58.611]for nutrients in the soil.
[00:02:00.828]Pests, like caterpillars and jart,
[00:02:03.206]which are a type of rodent,
[00:02:04.804]unpredictable rain patterns
[00:02:06.535]and lack of technology and education
[00:02:09.257]were serious factors in poor land management.
[00:02:12.499]However the soil testing proved that, except for one site,
[00:02:15.798]the soils health fell into normal ranges.
[00:02:18.919]We also saw indicators for soil erosion,
[00:02:21.897]especially in South Welo, in the Highlands.
[00:02:24.770]Here in the steep hills,
[00:02:25.898]exposed soils sitting at the tops of hills
[00:02:28.234]were being swept up and eroded by winds.
[00:02:31.084]When we visited the Blue Nile Falls,
[00:02:33.365]later during the program,
[00:02:34.806]the water was a rusty brown color
[00:02:37.041]due to soil runoff from the rainy seasons.
[00:02:39.493]We drove to many Highland in Ethiopia.
[00:02:42.343]The view of the Highland made the long day feel short,
[00:02:46.956]and as we drove we would stop
[00:02:50.408]for pictures and enjoy nature.
[00:02:53.358]The farmers grow many different type of crops.
[00:02:57.063]Mostly corns, chards, and sorghum.
[00:03:00.592]Most kind crops they grow are potatoes, onions and cabbage.
[00:03:06.388]Some of the great historical places we visited in Ethiopia,
[00:03:10.307]were Lalibela, the National Museum of Ethiopia,
[00:03:13.781]and the Blue Nile Fall.
[00:03:16.917]Ethiopia, while it boasts a culture uniquely Ethiopian,
[00:03:20.588]also houses an abundance of subcultures and ethnic groups.
[00:03:24.560]Rural market places are hubs
[00:03:26.226]of intermixing groups, languages and cultures.
[00:03:29.569]Churches and mosques are beacons built on top of hills
[00:03:32.768]and the roads, no matter where you are,
[00:03:34.804]are lined with people and their livestock.
[00:03:37.272]The study abroad through our University of Nebraska
[00:03:39.771]is a great way to apply
[00:03:41.376]what you learn in the class into the real world.
[00:03:44.383]I'd say it was one of the most life changing experiences
[00:03:47.380]I've ever done.
[00:03:48.805]You know, besides making connections with the people,
[00:03:50.773]it was a really big learning experience.
[00:03:53.238]Getting my hands in the soil
[00:03:55.046]and learning about the farmers that we worked with.
[00:03:57.481]I'd really recommend studying abroad for anyone.
[00:04:00.548]Studying abroad is not just a vacation.
[00:04:02.698]Learn a lot, it's long days, but at the end of the day,
[00:04:06.170]it's the most rewarding experience,
[00:04:08.408]and it helps you grow a lot as a person.
[00:04:10.091](traditional Ethiopian music)

The screen size you are trying to search captions on is too small!

You can always jump over to MediaHub and check it out there.

Comments

0 Comments

UNL Education Abroad, Ethiopia 2015

Description

Searchable Transcript

Comments icon comment

Related Channels

Comments