Motivation Letter for Masters Application

        I would be thrilled to attend NMBU’s program in International Environmental Studies in order to explore an interdisciplinary approach to questions that have motivated my formal and informal education for the past decade. My goal is to continue on to a PhD or begin working as a researcher or policy analyst concerned with the intersection of international studies and environmental sustainability.
        During my time at university I focused my studies on music, anthropology and neuroscience, combining these seemingly disparate topics into a cohesive study of the way music and different musical practices interact with the brain and other social phenomena. This culminated in an independent research project I carried out while studying in Ecuador on the role of music in indigenous ceremonies with a focus on the social and environmental impacts of economic development in the region.
        While completing my research in Ecuador I gained experience conducting interviews and archival research in a different culture and language, and then had the opportunity to present my findings to peers and academic supervisors. In addition, I used my study abroad as an opportunity to further my language skills, graduating from the advanced level Spanish language course at PUCE University.
        The following summer I visited a coal mine in the Guajira region of northern Colombia with a Witness for Peace delegation. In this rural arid region the mine is forcing communities of subsistence farmers and herders from their land and restricting their usufruct rights to water and grazing areas. In this manner, the mine accumulated water rights, land rights, and the rights to pollute, while the indigenous community was dispossessed of their home and means of production. Governmental policies acting in accordance with international business interests are prioritizing economic growth, and costs to the environment and local communities are often overlooked. I was subsequently able to host a union organizer from the Colombian mine at my school in California to raise awareness about these important issues.
        In Green Illusions, Ozzie Zehner argues that climate change cannot be remedied merely by increasing the availability of alternative energy, but instead require a fundamental restructuring of society to reconcile economic development and environmental sustainability. My interest in this approach led me to enroll in a course entitled The Physics of Energy Policy, where I had the opportunity to lead a class focusing on this decoupling of corporate monetary incentives from what is best for society and the planet, drawing on case studies from the US, Europe, and Latin America.
       While working with exchange students at my university I was inspired to apply for a Fulbright grant to serve as a Cultural Ambassador and English Teaching Assistant in South Korea. Teaching at a public school gave me the opportunity to design my own classes, which allowed me to grow as an educator, developing skills in lesson planning and presenting on a variety of topics. Living on Jeju Island I was inspired by organizations protesting the construction of a new military base, which was ousting local communities and destroying natural heritage sites.
         Last October I began a Masters program at the Autonomous University of Barcelona studying Political Ecology, Degrowth, and Environmental Justice. Here we are examining many of the subjects discussed above, and also delving into the theory that permeates the majority of the academic literature in this field. A grounding in these subjects will be beneficial while I continue on to pursue a degree in International Environmental Studies. During the summer months I plan to conduct my fieldwork and thesis on issues related to hydroelectric dams in the Sikkim region of Northern India, working with Joan Martínez-Alier to contribute to the Environmental Justice Atlas.
          In a diverse variety of contexts across the globe, structural policies promoting economic development are having disastrous effects on both the environment and local communities. However it can also be argued that this development is vitally important to improve the quality of life for millions of people living in poverty. This dichotomy leads me back to questions which I began to explore during my time researching in Ecuador: “Can developing countries achieve prosperity and well-being while avoiding environmental and social harm? How can the global north contribute to this effort in order to mitigate the damage already caused through the burning of these finite resources for our own development?”
         I believe that my wealth of intercultural explorations, combined with my researching and teaching experience make me an excellent candidate for the International Environmental Studies program. In particular, the socio-ecological focus of the program, taking into account the roles of governments, international organizations and the market with the goal of promoting human well-being in conjunction with sustainability for the planet directly align with my own study interests. I look forward to pursuing this unique opportunity to deepen my theoretical knowledge and practical experience by studying at NMBU.

About Me

Hello! My name is Alaitz Aritza. I know weird name right? It’s Basque, which is a region that occupies parts of northern Spain and southern France where my father hails from. If you read much of this blog you’ll find that almost everything about me is equally weird, but that’s what makes me so interesting! I grew up in Salem, MA (yes where the witch trials happened), but moved to Claremont California to attend Pitzer College after finishing at Marblehead High School.

While studying there I designed my own major, which I called “Music, Culture and Cognition”. My major encompasses three separate semi-overlapping fields (can you guess which?): music, anthropology and neuroscience. I almost called it psychomusicology, but decided it sounded too much like a rare brain disease. Want to hear more about how these seemingly disparate interests come together? Check out some of my college essays!!

When I tell people what I majored in I am invariably met with one of two responses: “wow that’s so cool tell me more about it!!!” Or “so what kind of job can you get with that major?” If I had to choose another field to throw in there it would probably be environmental science, I’m pretty concerned with what we as a species, particularly us first worlders, are doing to the planet. When I wasn’t in class you could most likely find me playing sports, hiking, making music or chilling with friends.

I love to travel, learn about new places, cultures, food etc which was probably sparked in part by trips to visit family in Mexico and Spain when I was younger, and a semester abroad I spent in Ecuador during my junior year of college. Since graduating last May I’ve been roaming around a bit, spending some time in Colombia and Thailand before settling (temporarily) in South Korea to teach English at a middle school on Jeju Island through the Fulbright Program.

I have always loved to write, and though most of what you will find here is academic or travel based, I have started to delve a bit into creative writing with journaling, fiction and even some poetry. I also play guitar and sing, if you like acoustic stuff check out some of the songs I've recorded on my sound cloud, linked in the upper right hand corner. Feel free to explore at your leisure and/or shoot me an email with questions or comments.

Korean Culture

I think my Korean experience has encompassed two of the most extreme forms of Korean culture. From a rural town on a naturally beautiful island or Jeju to the culturally rich densely packed urban metropolis of Seoul, there is no one Korean culture. Obviously Seoul has experienced far more western influence, and Jeju is much more traditional in terms of gender roles, age based hierarchy and so on. So for all the experiences I discuss you can assume they are more extreme in Jeju, but certainly occur, as I have personally witnessed, in Seoul as well.

 First and foremost Korea you have to respect your elders. This often means that even if someone if just a few years older than you you’re friendship can never be one of equals. One person will occupy the older brother/sister role, and the other the younger brother/sister role. They will even generally call each other by the Korean word for younger/older sibling.

The idea of ageism is so ingrained into Korean culture that there exists no one word for brother or sister as there does in English, where sibling is considered the most important part of the relationship and one can add a modifier to express the difference in age if they like. In Korean there exist four words, older brother, older sister, younger brother and younger sister. You have no choice but to denote which of you has circumnavigated the sun a greater number of times when discussing your relationship. Along with this, in a mixed age “friendship” the older person is generally responsible for covering the tab at a restaurant, and the younger one must always be careful to show the proper respect to his or her elder. 

Gender roles are also equally pronounced and adhered to. My host father works, my host mother cooks and cleans. This extends to the practice where by my mom cooks us dinner but doesn’t sit down to eat until were finished, at which time she will pick at the scraps her sons leave behind as if she is the weaker animal in a pack of dogs. And that’s how it is with most families, even in Seoul. I think things are starting to change in the younger generation, but most of them don’t have families of their own yet so it’s not really visible.

All these things are related to “manners”, a concept which is extremely important to Korean culture. I find this notion particularly interesting because different cultures have very different opinions about what good manners are. In the US we do not slurp our food or we do not push each other out of the way to get where we are going. We also don’t bring food to people we don’t know, or strike up conversations with foreigners to practice their language and tell them “America is number one country”.

People often tell me Koreans are rude, and I don’t blame them. But I do ask them to revise their opinions slightly, and see the cultural differences present in society as just that, not polite or rude, just different. It is true however that Koreans are more adherent to their cultural norms than Americans. This is probably because the US has such a variety of cultures that these rules had to become more flexible, as we are witnessing today in Seoul. When people tell me that Koreans are rude I tell them a few stories that show that it is a bit more nuanced than rude or polite, good or bad.

In Korea you will never be robbed. They say you’re more likely to see someone running after you holding your wallet than running away from you holding your wallet, and as far as I can tell, they’re right. It is also customary to eat food while you drink alcohol[1]. So I’m often sitting with other English teachers drinking, and some nice man will come up and hand us a plate of fruit or chicken, and either carry on his way or talk with us briefly. Koreans often invite us to sit with them and buy us food and drinks.

One time I was traveling along and spending the night at a national park when it began to rain. I was eating dinner at a restaurant, and within a few minutes I was approached by some kind Korean hikers. They asked where I was from and soon invited to eat with them. They paid for my meal and drinks, and then asked me where I planned to spend the night. When I told them I had no plan, maybe I would seek refuge in a nearby hostel or if I couldn’t find one head back to the city, they immediately assured me it was no problem; they had an extra tent and blanket, and were more than welcome to stay with them. I had an amazing night staying up drinking and conversing with my new friends, and in the morning they cooked me breakfast and asked me to spend the day with them. Unfortunately I was looking forward to a challenging hike that they were too hung over to accompany me on, but you get the idea.

How could anyone consider these generous seouls (sorry about that) rude? Well not all Korean manners are considered kind by westerners. Koreans are notorious pushers. As far as I know there exists no word in Korean for excuse me. It is all too common rough push in the back or the side while standing on the subway or walking through the street and their on their way. This is particularly common if their older than you. They also “eat deliciously” and spit voraciously. This means making as much noise as possible, especially when downing noodles or soups or when they walk up to the urinal next to you and huck a loogy that would make a 13 year old bully cringe with nausea. I have had many Koreans inform me that these things are actually considered bad manners, but as far as I can tell, from Seoul to Jeju, the vast majority of Koreans engage in these practices.

Along with this they have no concept of small talk. I will often walk out of my room in the morning or come home in the afternoon and my host mom will not say a single word to me until she calls me for dinner. For a while I would try to make conversation, using the little Korean I know to ask about her day or how she slept, but I was met with little encouragement. Eventually another teacher at my school informed me that it makes Koreans feel awkward to be asked a simple question like “how are you”. They would rather just walk by in silence unless there’s something meaningful to say. To a westerner this seems counterintuitive, by making small talk we progress to significant conversation. My family hardly even talks to each other except for when the parents (generally the mother) yell at the kids to do their homework or stop fighting, and the boys are often downright rude, staring at the TV or phone as their mom tells them to come eat their dinner.

I had an experience today that drove home these dichotomous behaviors. After saying farewell to my friend in Seoul, I sat waiting for a subway heading for the airport to return to Jeju after a month abroad. As I was reaching for my iPod, a man approached me. He was very kind and genuine, interested in practicing his English and learning about me. As we sat on the subway conversing quietly, a woman sitting across the aisle screamed out something in Korean at us. The man looked embarrassed and whispered to me, “she said to shut the mouth”. Having lived in Korea for 6 months I wasn’t the slightest bit offended, but highly amusing. We kept quite after that, even though the lady sitting adjacent to us smiled and told us she did not think we were speaking too loudly. As we came to my stop I waved merrily at the rude old lady and carried on my day.

Anyway I guess what we can draw from this is that some Koreans are really kind, and some are not, some like foreigners, and some don’t. Pretty much like anywhere else right? So maybe the only difference is that in Korea they are more obvious about it, they’ll bring you food or push you out of the way, where in the US well probably just glare or smile. Who says people in the east are more introverted? I kid of course, in many ways they are, but at the same time I think that’s way too general a statement to make about any culture. In some ways, like the ones I've just described, they are far more open, especially if they are older than you are. One thing's for sure, the older you are, the more you can get away with, but you’ll also probably be paying the bill at the end of the day. I guess when you put it like that it doesn't sound so different from the US J

---

[1] I think this stems from the fact that Koreans drink a lot but their bodies aren’t particularly good at metabolizing alcohol, hence the Asian glow, so food helps with that. Studies also show that eating helps reduce a hangover and other bad things that go along with excessive drinking

Three Cities in Thailand

 Bangkok and Khoa San Road – City size, big – dorm 150-300 baht[1], nice two person room, 350 baht (no hot shower) – cheap meal, 70 baht – average temp 70 (night)-95 (day)

Thailand is truly a country with many faces. If you’re arriving by air, you will more than likely fly into Bangkok and head directly to the Thanon Khao San area, the main backpackers drag. Here you will be offered everything you can imagine, from a taxi to a ping pong show (don’t ask), a coconut to a scorpion, a kebab to a tattoo, a beer to laughing gas, Pad Thai to burgers and fries…the list goes on. You will likely hear the sound of croaking frogs and turn around to find a lady with crazy hats stroking a wooden frog with a mallet to attract your attention long enough to sell you something.

The music is pretty much exclusively 90s-current pop/dance music–all those songs you’ve heard somewhere but were too drunk to remember and could never enjoy sober anyways but kind of remind you of your time in college and high school since for some unknown reason they are played so ubiquitously at all dance parties. The music is too loud to hear yourself think, let alone talk, and you’ll often have to fight through a crowd to get anywhere, especially as you approach the center of the street. 

Not sounding like your cup of tea? Try one road over at Rambutri road, where it is less crowded, less noisy, and the vibe is a healthy dose of live, often acoustic music (scorpions and frog ladies still abound). In just a few steps you’ve left the frat house[2] behind and entered a far more relaxed atmosphere. If this is a step in the right direction your next stop after Bangkok should probably be Chiang Mai, otherwise head south to the islands.

In my experience the further north and the more rural you get you can expect the Thailand to become cheaper, chiller, and colder. For people over 30 reading this, chiller means nicer locals and tourists, more available weed, better food, a more relaxed atmosphere, as well as better live music. Further south things are usually more expensive, and there is more of a raucous party vibe, with less live music and less friendly locals. Certain places are exceptions of course, like the rock climbers haven of Ton Sai.

Day trip ideas – Floating markets, Ayutthaya ruins

Chiang Mai and the Pae Gate – City size, medium – dorm 150-250 baht (not sketchy), nice two person room 300 baht (yes hot shower) – cheap meal 60 baht – average temp 60-90

Like Bangkok, Chiang Mai is a large city, so it is quite multifaceted, but to get a quick idea of the place from what we know already; Chiang Mai is to Rambutri as Rambutri is to Khoa San. The Pae Gate is the most touristy area, diminishing radial outwards as in turns into backpackers bars, wats (temples) and further still real live Thai people who have no relationships with tourists and tourism (Chiang Mai heavily populated by college students). Pro tip, just across the river to the east of Pae Gate you can find an area with a mainly Thai rather than western crowd, accompanied by some stellar live musical performances (for more on this see my section on tourism in Thailand).

Just to the north west are the main backpackers bars where you can hear live reggae or ska or more crappy dance music, and to the east before the river you go through what one might call hooker alley, where Thai girls and lady boys call farangs (foreigners) into bars to try to get them to buy drinks and lord knows what else[3]. Also on this street is a Moi Tai ring surrounded with bars where you can see free practice fights most nights, and if you continue down along it will lead you to a vibrant night market selling everything imaginable. The food in Chiang Mai is pretty sensational, and it just keeps getting better...

 Day trip ideas – doi suthep national park and wat phrathat, Wiang Kum kam ruins

Pai – City  size, small –Dorm 100-200 baht, nice two person room 250 – cheap meal 50 baht (best food in Thailand, and that’s saying something) – average temp 50-85

In keeping with the comparisons, Rambutri Road is to Chiang Mai as Chiang Mai is to Pai. It is also the first stop on a wondrous motorcycle loop around northern Thailand, This first leg of which takes you on a whirlwind tour including nearly 300 turns winding through mountain vistas with turn offs for multiple hot springs, national parks, and waterfalls.

Pai is a multicultural hippy mecca and you may end up staying longer than anticipated, especially if you’re a musician. There is at least one open mic every night rotating through the majority of the towns bars, and other joints will happily higher traveling or local musicians for 300 baht an hour and up per performer. You can also engage in trekking or rafting, and many of these day and multiday trips are superior to those offered in Chiang Mai, since big cities are often build where it’s easier to build them, and most of the impressive nature and more authentic hill tribes reside in more rural regions.

A warning: nights are actually cold here! You can see your breathe at times so make sure you get a good blanket. Only one place that I stayed failed to provide a suitable one, the backpacker’s haven called the circus. This place also only had three or four bathrooms and one hot shower for the some 100 youngsters that flocked there every night, and charged you to use one of their towels!

They did however have a really chill vibe, complete with hammocks, shady areas, a swimming pool, billiards, couches, lounging areas, a guitar, a fire pit, a large grass area to sunbathe or practice yoga, juggling, hoola-hooping or any other crazy hippy thing you can imagine, and were located just a ten minute walk from downtown. They have a policy that to use their area without spending the night you must pay 100 baht, but fortunately this seems to be unenforced, and you can find a place down by the river that’s closer to town, cheaper, with way better accommodations and just head up to the circus to relax the day away.

Recommended day trips – pai canyon, white Buddha

---

[1] Cheaper ones are a bit sketchy, for example no lockers.

[2] No offense to any frat bros reading this, you apparently like to read or you would have never see this to begin with, so you’re evidently not the type of frat bro I’m referring to.

[3] The main area where I experience this type of nightlife, mainly catering to older white males, most prominently on display was in a town to the west of Bangkok called Katchanaburi. However this area is also famous for its natural beauty (impressive caves and waterfalls) as well as historical significance (the death railroad, museums and cemeteries).

My Type

Let me cut your hair they say, you know the girls will surely love it

Let me dress you up they say, those old rags will never do

But can’t you see girl, I don’t care what you wear

Can’t you see baby, I like you for you

I don’t want a girl, who likes me for my haircut

I don’t want a girl, who marvels at my clothes

There are more important things, than pants that match the outfit

So much more important, that the shine of your shoes

It’s the glimmer of your smile, the sparkle in your eyes

Your smell and your touch, I’m not talking about perfume 

Your kindness and your humor, that’s what really matters

The way we care for one another, and teach each other too.

So please, oh please love, don’t put on the make-up

Don’t you know mascara, only hides the real you?

I love the way you look when you wake up in the morning

Roll out of bed and throw on those running shoes

I want a girl, who cares about the planet

The people, the animals, and global warming too

Some may think it’s strange that I’ve never cared for styles

Passing fads and fancies, I only care for you

Take me Home to Baños

Take me home to bñaos, through the paseo entre los montes

Take me home to where I belong,

Where the plants grow wild and the rushing rapids carry water to the masses

I may not have been born here but I’ve lived here all along

A land where bars are run by cats

Coming is easy but leaving takes a toll on the soul

The food will warm you, the baths will feed you

The hostels will house you but I’m afraid you’ll have to cloth yourself

The days are clear while the nights bring cloudbursts to feed the land

The plants and the waterfalls grow vast and sturdy

Under the watchful eye and loving care of the medio ambiente

And the tourists bring money to complete the cycle

Pennies for the adventures of a lifetime

If you’re lucky you might catch a glimpse of the snowcapped volcano

Pila de la ciudad, it’s peak

Peeking through the cover of clouds

Heading off to Somewhere

Heading off to somewhere

Going places unknown

Getting lost and restless

Tryna find my home

Walking through an alley

Just tryna keep chill

Bumped into a mayan

Stuck on some pyramid deal

Flying on a jet plane

Tryna get my fix

Hopeless young and trustless

Singing songs for tricks

Searching for a spell caster

Who will share with me his secrets

I must be running from something

Or could it be from someone

Looking for verdant pastures

Where the grass is greenest

on my way to nowhere

Just beyond that next peak