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The Top 10 Things I Didn’t Know About British Culture

September 2, 2013 / / 5 Comments

I’d like to preface this particular blog post by saying that some of the things I’m about to say come from personal experience while other things have been told to our class by our History professor. All of these things, however, were rather shocking to me. I suppose I thought that because the U.S. and England shared both a history and a language that many of the customs and day-to-day life things would be the same. I was definitely wrong in that regard. It’s just familiar enough to lull you into a sense of security, and then BAM! something weird happens and you’re so wrong-footed you don’t know how to handle it. I say ‘weird,’ of course, meaning ‘not what I’m used to.’ So, here we go.

10. Cars. Cars in general. I mean, I knew that here they drive on the left side of the road, which was strange enough to conceive of, let alone deal with. But I was kind of expecting that weirdness. What I wasn’t expecting is the fact that pedestrians do NOT have the right of way here. If you accidentally step onto the street and a car happens to be coming at you, they probably aren’t going to stop. You can’t cheat a little bit at the crosswalks and leisurely make your way across to the other sidewalk–if you think you’re not gonna make it while the little green man is telling you it’s safe to go, you gotta RUN before the cars start moving. So not only to I have to re-train myself to look for cars before crossing the street, I’ve also got to learn to not trust the drivers to stop for me if I screw it up.

9. Anti-wastefulness. There are more recycle bins in the house than there are trash bins, and double the amount of recycling bins to take to the curb on Friday mornings than there are trash bins. Apparently, all plastic, glass, paper, and cardboard is to be recycled. Which is cool, actually, but it takes some getting used to. In this same vein, the grocery stores charge you extra if you want to use their paper or plastic bags. Most people have those cloth bags that are reusable, and that is encouraged by the extra bag fee. Finally, the toilets are different in a couple different ways. I first noticed it in the house… the water level in the toilet, the part to stop the bathroom from smelling really bad, is much lower here than it is back home. Sensible, I thought, cutting down on water costs because apparently water is way more expensive here (as a side note, hour-long showers are unheard of. Our professor says most people are in and out in less than 15 minutes). But public toilets are even more anti-wastefulness. Sometimes you have to pay to go to the bathroom, like in the musical Urinetown. Even if you do get into the restroom, they tend to have pre-portioned out toilet paper, like it’s coming out of a Kleenex box. Presumably, this is to cut down on paper usage.

–small side note on this: there are very few trashcans in public places, especially in London. This has nothing to do with wastefulness, according to our professor. Trashcans were being used as bomb drops, so they stopped having so many in the city.

8. Racism. It’s not racism like we think of it, necessarily, although I suppose it could go that way. It’s not exactly negative, more of an acknowledgement of otherness. Maybe it’s because I’m specifically from America, but pretty much everyone I know is a mix of something–Irish, English, French, Norwegian, Swiss, Italian, Greek, African, Indian, Filipino, whatever. Not many Americans are pure anything. But here, people are English, or Irish, or Scottish, or French, or Black. To be frank, I’ve heard more about ‘Muslims’ and ‘how they behave’ here than I ever did back in America. I’m sure I was also fairly sheltered at home and I’m pretty good at not paying attention to things that make me angry, like racism and homophobia. I guess I just wasn’t expecting heritage to be as big of a deal to every other person here. I know culture and heritage are important to each individual person, of course, but there seems to be a different tone here.

This mall in London is the only exception I've found for the 'displaying the Union Jack' thing

7. Not patriotic. This was a big shocker for me. We’re all so gung-ho about America, even if we’re not thrilled about what America does. Most of us have an American Flag somewhere in our houses, and we dress up in red, white, and blue on Fourth of July, and we generally support our troops even if we don’t approve of what our troops are doing in a larger sense. There is a sense of camaraderie in being American that British people apparently don’t feel quite as strongly. Our professor says that British people were much more patriotic during the Victorian Era, the Age of Industrialization and Empire; that people flew the Union Jack in pride and reveled in being British. But apparently people ‘got over’ that when Great Britain was booted from it’s number one spot on the world stage. I’m sitting over here thinking that sounds a little bit like being a sore loser, but maybe that’s just cuz I still feel proud of being an American.

6. Not particularly religious. This one is similar to the patriotism thing.  The British nation as a whole was extremely religious during the Victorian Era, but ‘got over’ that as well. Some credit this with the emergence of Darwinism and evolution as an alternative to the creation story, some think it’s because people just began to lose faith as Britain’s hold on their empire dwindled. Whatever the reason, not very many people here go to church on Sunday, I guess (keep in mind this is hearsay, I haven’t actually witnessed it). I suppose I was surprised by this because I naturally assumed that countries kept their level of religious-ness over time. I figured, since America was practically founded because of strong religious sentiment on both sides of the issue, that England must be really religious, or at least as religious as America is. I guess that, like many assumptions, is very incorrect.

5. Not family centered. This I actually find kind of hard to believe, what with the whole ‘nuclear family’ thing that is so prevalent in American society, even if we claim it’s not. We love our families, generally, and defend them and protect them and brag about them and tease them. We encourage each other and help each other and cheer each other up. According to our professor, British families aren’t quite like that. Instead of the typical ‘encouraging’ parent at a soccer game, for instance, saying “You did great!” and “Nice job!” a typical British parent would say something more like “You missed that open goal, what was up with that?” and “Were you daydreaming that whole time?” Now, I personally have not seen anything that extreme, but I have noticed parents treating kids more like nuisances than like children. This isn’t to say that the British don’t love their children–they absolutely do. They just don’t go for the whole ‘family values’ thing that we love. It’s no wonder they seem to grow up to be disillusioned adults, though, if this is true.

4. Don’t like ‘hard work.‘ And really, who does? Hard work is hard. But Americans seem to have the common belief that hard work will lead to a better future, a better job, a better life. Working hard now means that later you can chill out. Working hard at your job is a way to show dedication and possibly get a promotion or a raise. Working hard, for us, is a way of moving up in the world. British people seem to have given up on the idea that a hard working individual can ‘make it’ in this world. The only first -had experience I’ve had with this is the lack of customer service in stores. If the manager is doing something, or a cash register is acting up, or you need help, you can be sure that they will take their time getting to you. Customers aren’t a priority like they are back home. You just gotta wait for them to be done with whatever they were doing before you walked up. Our professor claims this is because the working classes were so oppressed by harsh capitalism in the Industrial Revolution that they gave up on the idea of working for a better life–life never got better for them.

3. Don’t like Americans. This isn’t actually quite as prevalent as I was expecting, but is real in a different way than I anticipated. It’s not really that they don’t like our politics, although that’s true. It’s not that they resent us for stealing the role as ‘number one’ in the world, although I kinda think that might be part of it. They mostly think we’re crazy. Crazy for believing in things like hard work and family and God; crazy for being so happy and optimistic all the time; crazy for rushing around everywhere in such a big hurry. The only first-had experience we’ve had is when we were at the hostel in London-a group of us met some English guys in the lobby and got to talking about the differences between Americans and Brits and how they can always tell when someone’s from America. They claim it’s because we’re always smiling and laughing. whereas Brits are more bitter about life.  Not gonna lie, I think I like being American much more in this respect (in most of these, actually).

2. “Just coffee” doesn’t exist. If you walk into a coffee shop and order coffee, you’ll probably get a latte or espresso. And a weird look. Occasionally they have what they call ‘filtered coffee,’ but mostly to make coffee like we’re used to, we have to do it at home. I haven’t actually been to a Starbucks here yet, so I’m not sure if that holds true there as well, but I’m guessing it will. The girls here who wanted coffee actually had to go to a couple different stores to find filters for the ground coffee we found.

1. No frozen waffles. Okay, this is more of a personal issue than an issue with British culture in general. I just miss Eggo waffles, okay? They expect me to make full-on Belgian waffles in a waffle maker instead of just toasting some frozen ones. I really just want to pop some in the toaster and have strawberries and cream on top but I don’t think our house even has a waffle-maker, and I’d have to find a good waffle recipe somewhere. I may have found a suitable substitute today, but the jury is still out as I haven’t actually tried them yet. The crepes, however, kinda make up for it 🙂

yumm, nutella crepe

So. This is what I’ve learned about British culture that I was 100% not expecting. I’m sure I’ll learn a lot more in the months to come, but I wanted to give everybody an update on how I’m coping with the ‘familiar-yet-different’ environment of England.

With amusement, mild frustration, and much love,

Bryn

 

After packing! Well, give or take a few things left to throw in :)

A Year in One Suitcase…Here I Go

August 28, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Before packing...

Hallo alle!  I’m Hannah, a Valpo junior from Pittsburgh, PA double majoring in German and Spanish.  I’ll be spending the 2013-2014 school year studying in Tübingen, Germany, a small city in the province of Baden-Württemberg about an hour away from Stuttgart.  I’m an incurable language nerd with a passion for travel, and I feel so blessed to study at a place like Valparaiso University.  At Valpo, I’ve been able to have unforgettable international experiences that have improved my language skills and allowed me to see places that, before college, I could only dream about and write on my bucket list.  Last summer, I spent two months serving as an intern at the YMCA in Valparaiso, Chile.    In Chile I made great friends, improved my Spanish, and really learned how to live in and experience another culture firsthand (Want specific details? Read my blog!).  This past winter, I also had the opportunity to tour China performing with VU’s orchestra (I play cello :)).  Seeing places like the Great Wall and Hangzhou’s West Lake were once-in-a-lifetime experiences that I know I wouldn’t have gotten at any other school.

Now that I’ve told you a little about myself and how much I love Valpo, it’s time to get to the reason you’re reading this blog which is…THAT I LEAVE TO GO TO GERMANY FOR A YEAR TOMORROW.  Yes, it’s now 12:14am on August 28th, and after a summer of working 40 hour fast food weeks and wondering how I am even going to begin to prepare for so long a trip, the countdown to the 29th is almost over and I am excited, stressed, and in little bit of denial that I will be gone for a whole year, which is pretty terrifying.  But I’m not terrified in a bad way at all; I have the typical scared/anxious feeling that comes from knowing that you are entering an experience from which you will come out a changed person with a new perspective.  I will miss my family and friends at home and on campus so much, but I know that I’ll gain and experience more from going to Germany than I can even comprehend right now.  Amidst all the changes and confusion that come from living in a new country and learning a new language, God never changes. No matter where I am in the world, I know that I have a home in Christ and that He will care for me wherever I go and lead me to where I can best serve Him.

So now to the real hard part of studying abroad for a year…PACKING.  Two days ago I couldn’t have told you how I planned on fitting a year of my belongings in one suitcase, but it’s finally been done!  I figured that no matter how hard I try, I won’t be able to bring enough clothes or American toiletries, etc. to last me a year.  If I forget or need something, I’ll easily be able to get it in Germany (as if I needed another excuse to go shopping).

After packing! Well, give or take a few things left to throw in 🙂

The next time you hear from me through this blog, I’ll be on my adventure, which is a scary and exciting thought!  I’m planning on making this blog more than just writing.  Maybe some video blogging to come soon?  Check back soon for another post and follow me on Twitter @HannahinGermany.  I’ll be tweeting my study abroad happenings throughout each day as well as announcing new blog posts!  Bis bald!

Peace,

Hannah

 

 

 

Cultural Expectations

August 27, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Tonight I want to share two experiences from the last week or so, and think a bit about the exact nature of culture changes and which differences result in what they call culture shock. First, the two experiences:

My landlady initially described this washer as a "flintstones machine." I don't really disagree!

1. My apartment’s appliances. Over this last summer I was fortunate enough to have an apartment built in the last year or so, with brand new appliances. When I say brand new appliances, I mean the really nice stuff. My current apartment is quite different, however. The fridge is half the size of an American one, and has no dedicated freezer door. The oven and stove are both lit with matches, and you need to hold the gas dial for an undisclosed-but-seemingly-fixed-but-also-random amount of time, and even then it sometimes goes out. The shower has the water heater directly attached, and sometimes the pilot light can go out, requiring it to be lit again with a match. The shower also has two knobs for hot and cold water, but if the hot knob is stationary then the flame might go down, causing the temperature to oscillate between scalding and ice cold. While these appliances clearly are different than the American ones I used this summer, they feel as European as the rest of the flat and I’ve had absolutely no problem adjusting to them as part of my home.

Look at what all I got charged for and the relative prices.

2. Hungarian interpretive food. Sure, Hungarians have their own unique dishes just like any other culture. What I find fascinating though is to taste the Hungarian interpretation of another cultures’ food. For example, in America we have “Chinese food” that we know isn’t really food from China, but more of an American interpretation of Chinese food. In a sense, American Chinese food is an American dish, part of our own culture — we have expectations for how it should taste. Likewise, Hungarians have their own Chinese food. In this segment, however, I want to concentrate on the Hungarian McDonalds I visited. First off, the few McDonalds I’ve seen in Hungary are two (or even three) stories tall. They differentiate from the food from the coffee, giving each their own floors and dining areas. Sitting down in a McDonalds for a while, I noticed that not a single Hungarian had a cup larger than the very smallest cup available, which was a stark contrast to the super-size American cups. Listening to the radio mingling through conversations, I heard a European voice singing in broken English the words “we stand strong for the red, white and blue.” Well, Hungary is red, white and… green. Perhaps this place isn’t so much a Hungarian interpretation of American food as much as an attempt to bring America to Eastern Europe. Not so much a surprise, all things considered, but I walked out thinking that this McDonalds experience felt very different from the American one; it didn’t feel right.

While these two tidbits are somewhat interesting on their own, I want you to think a bit about the contrasting feelings I walked away with. The first one felt very different from what I’m used to, and yet I had no difficulty adjusting. On the other hand, the McDonalds felt very alien from the expectations I’ve developed from experience. In a sense, you could say I had more culture shock going into a McDonalds than I did settling in a European flat. Does this statement seem counterintuitive?

For a few days I chewed on these thoughts and I think I’ve finally pieced together the difference: expectation. I’ve never lived on my own in an apartment in America for more than a few months at a time, I’ve never researched and chosen appliances, or even used them long enough to feel really attached to them. Coming to Hungary, I expected to live in a European apartment where I knew different cultural aspects like shopping more often affect the living style (having a smaller fridge, etc.). My expectation for the living arrangement was that I wouldn’t have an expectation for the details. On the other hand, I had an expectation for McDonalds! I have a cultural expectation for what a fast food joint looks like, smells like, feels like; I know that ketchup and napkins and straws are all free and also know that Americans like to grab as much of these as they want. But to be charged for these items, and to see the local Hungarians understand this system and adapt to it? All of a sudden my expectations were broken and I was able to observe the culture directly, respectively. That’s kind of cool if you ask me.

At the end of the day, what is culture shock? If you asked me right now I’d say it’s the feeling that all expectations you have will be broken. You expect (subconsciously) to speak English but are greeted with a foreign language. You expect to be able to buy your favorite foods in grocery stores, then find out the country doesn’t carry the items at all. Perhaps the best way to manage culture shock, then, is simply to contain it. Understand what you should expect and what you shouldn’t, and walk into situations with an open mind. It’s not a meaningful experience if you don’t learn something new, right?

Living the Dream

August 27, 2013 / / 7 Comments

I have boarded a train at King’s Cross Station and navigated the London Underground successfully. I have seen Buckingham Palace and witnessed the guards in tall hats marching between stations. I have heard Big Ben chime the hour and walked through Westminster Palace. I have been inside the Chambers of the Houses of Parliament and seen a show in Piccadilly Circus. I have eaten in Chinatown, London and taken a picture with a red telephone booth. I have ridden on a boat down the River Thames, under London Bridge, Millennium Bridge, and Tower Bridge. I have been inside the Tower of London, I have stood in front of the Tower Green, seen the carvings on the walls of Beauchamp Tower, visited the Line of Kings inside White Tower and hurried through the torture chamber  underneath Bloody Tower. I have heard the organ play in St. Paul’s Cathedral, and I have been to the very top of the dome of that same cathedral and looked out over London. I have seen a Shakespeare play performed inside the New Globe Theater and I have been through the Museum of London. I have discovered markets and malls, riverwalks and rotundas, and many people and places in London–it was an incredible weekend.

Tower Bridge from the Thames

The Tower

I can’t even begin to describe how I felt or what I was thinking while doing all of these incredible things because honestly, I’m not sure what I was feeling or thinking, just that  I honestly couldn’t believe it. These are places I’ve read about and dreamed about and wanted to see for so long that having the reality right there in front of me was inconceivable. It didn’t feel real, certainly. The vastness of the historical significance of the city I was in was enough to overwhelm me the very minute I saw Buckingham Palace. Despite the rain and the chill and the slight irritability of all of us on the trip (it involved a longish train ride and we were all rather tired after getting up and leaving the house all before 7am), the city was beautiful to me. Walking toward Big Ben may be a moment I remember for the rest of my life, simply because having that iconic structure come into view, right in front of me, in real life, was just… it was indescribable.

My Chinese chicken noodle soup. Yu

The Houses of Parliament are where we toured after seeing Buckingham and Big Ben. The tour guide took us along the route the Queen follows when she opens Parliament (about every five years or so, if I remember right). The building Parliament is housed in was originally a royal residence (Westminster Palace) and the richly decorated rooms show that. There were frescoes of Arthurian legends, portraits of the current monarchs as well as the original Tudors from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and carvings and engravings like you wouldn’t believe. It was so impressive that at one point, as I was entering a room, I just whispered, “Oh my god,” because I couldn’t handle how ornate and beautiful and downright incredible it was, and one of the guides walking past me laughed and said, “That’s the right reaction!” I was standing there wondering what other reactions were even possible. I mean, really. It was amazing (I’m running out of adjectives…).

The gates of Buckingham Palace

After Parliament, we walked toward Piccadilly Circus. I’m not sure what all we saw on our way there, but I took a couple of pictures anyway. At the Criterion Theater, in Piccadilly Circus, we saw a play called The 39 Steps. It was really funny and engaging, although I’m still not 100% sure what it was about besides spies and people with only half of their pinkie finger. The show ended around 6:45, and then Jin (my roommate) took us to Chinatown London, which was really cool. We at at a rather large Chinese restaurant down there, one that she deemed ‘authentic.’ She then told us which food was the best, which was most authentic, and ordered for us all in Chinese. It was pretty cool. Finally, exhausted, we headed back to the hostel to sleep.

The hostel was… interesting. I’ve never been to a hostel before, so it was eye-opening for one. I mean, I knew how hostels supposedly worked, what with a whole bunch of people sleeping in the same room and having lockers to store your stuff in and such, but I don’t think I really got it until I got there. The biggest problem for me that night (the only problem, really) was that somehow, my pillow had gone missing. The hostel had blankets and pillows on all the beds, but mine was missing the pillow part, for some reason. I thought I saw one of the other girls in the hostel futzing around with TWO pillows on her bed, though, so I think it might have been pillow-napped from my bed. Point is, I slept without a pillow that night because I was too tired to go all the way back to the reception desk and ask for a new one. I did, however, get a pillow the second night I was there, which made that sleep much much MUCH better than the previous one.

Big Ben. So gorgeous

The next morning, we had to be at Westminster Pier by 11 am.We took a riverboat from the Pier to the Tower Bridge, with the boat driver pointing out various landmarks and points of interest along the way. This was incredible to me not simply because it was cooler to be on a boat (which it was) but also because this was the river so many people had seen as a lifeline, as a trading highway, as a multitude of other things that I can’t really comprehend. The River Thames, in my mind, is something you read about or see pictures of, not somewhere you actually get to go. But I did get to go, and that was unbelievable.

The next place we went was the Tower of London. Now, I’m not sure I can describe this place in such a way that does it justice, because I was having a full-on history freak-out over it. I am a huge lover of the Tudor story, and especially of Elizabeth Tudor, so the Tower is a place I’ve read much about, heard many stories about, heard many rumors and superstitions about. A lot of the people in our group thought that the area was almost too ‘amusement park’-like for its true historical significance, but to be honest I didn’t even notice. I was too enraptured by the sight of the stones Henry VIII saw before he murdered his wives, the engravings Robert Dudley and John Seymour made before they died, of the very place where famous people were beheaded. I was locked in my little historical world as I walked through the Line of Kings, seeing the armor of Henry VIII and Prince Charles and William the Conqueror. I walked the walls where guards stood in Elizabethan times, and I saw the tower room where Richard III kept his nephews and most likely killed them as well. The sheer importance of this one structure boggled my mind, and I was unable to take in much more for a couple of hours after that.

The New Globe Theater

Of course, I only had four hours to wander London and recover from my mind being blown before it was blown yet again. We went to see Henry VI Part One performed at The New Globe Theater, designed to look as close to the original home of Shakespeare’s plays as possible. I can’t even explain how cool this was. To sit in the lower gallery and see more people standing on the yard in front of the stage, to have the players coming from all directions and interacting with the people in the yard, to hear Shakespeare’s words performed where they were meant to be performed was stunning. Those of us here who are English majors were having minor freak-outs periodically throughout the show. I also met a very nice English couple who sat next to me during the show. It’s been fun to talk to people here, to explain where I’m from and what I’m doing here and to ask them in return.

The next day, we had to check out of the hostel. Then, we went to the Museum of London, which was really cool. Their history began so long before ours did, it’s almost impossible to get through it all. We tried though, in the hour and a half we had. There was one part, called ‘A Walk Through Victorian London,’ that reminded me of the “Streets of Old Milwaukee” exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum, which my cousin and I love. I had fun comparing and contrasting the two exhibits in my head… and they weren’t quite as different as you might think. After the museum, we walked to St. Paul’s Cathedral. This place is absolutely amazing, but they don’t let us take pictures inside. I got a couple from the top of the dome, but that was it. Oh yeah, I climbed up to the very top of the cathedral. I’m not necessarily scared of heights, but that was a bit frightening. The view, however, was worth it. To see London spread out in front of you like that, it all felt unreal and intangible yet again.

St. Paul’s was our last stop before heading to King’s Cross to come back home. To be honest, I don’t remember the train ride because I slept the whole way. Our whirlwind weekend in London was absolutely exhausting, but it may have been the most incredible weekend of my life so far. I’ve seen things I never thought I’d get to see, not in person at least, and I’ve been places I’ve been wishing to go since I could read Harry Potter. I realize, as all this was whisking around me and happening so quickly, that I am incredibly lucky to have this opportunity, and to be making it the best it can be for myself and all those who support me. So, if you’ve helped me get here in any way, be it monetarily or spiritually or physically or emotionally or otherwise, I want to thank you. This trip, even though it’s only been a week, has already meant the world to me and more. It’s literally the trip of a lifetime, and I’m so thankful for everyone and everything that has let me live my dream.

With exhaustion, love, and happiness,

Bryn

Travel Update — August 24, 2013

August 24, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Hey all,

Well, the Wednesday post didn’t happen, so I’ll cover the whole week in this one. Before I start, though, here’s the general timeline of my study in Budapest:

August 15 – 20 Arrive and settle in Budapest
August 21 – September 6 Intensive language course
September 9 – December 20 Budapest Semesters in Mathematics courses

As you can see, this week was split between settling in and starting the language course, and it was quite hectic. So let’s dive into it!

  • Sunday. On Sunday about a dozen BSM students met up to explore the city some and get to know each other. We started at the BSM school and headed to the Danube, and from there ended up at a cafe for lunch. Somewhat of a local dish, I had chicken over noodles (think spaetzle) with paprika sauce. Seriously, I could live off of bread soaked in paprika sauce, this stuff is fantastic. After lunch the group split and my half went up to Margaret Island, which is a recreational island in the middle of the Danube between the Buda and Pest sides of Budapest. After a total of about 8 hours of walking we headed our different ways. All the BSM students are spread across both Buda and Pest, either in apartment or homestays.
  • Monday. A bit sore from the previous day’s walking, some BSM students met at the Great Market Hall for lunch and some shopping (see cover photo). Finally was able to get some langos on the first floor, specifically a sweeter one with sweet cottage cheese and powdered sugar. Cannot go wrong for only 800Ft (~$4)! The ground floor below acts as a farmers market of sorts, with stands for anything from chicken pieces to dried fruits (all by the decigram, of course!). In the basement lurks the various and invasive smells of both fish and pickled items. Market Hall is definitely a sight to see and taste and smell, I’m sure you will hear much more of it in my future!
  • Tuesday. On Tuesday was Hungary’s national independence holiday, St. Stephen’s Day. The streets were filled with music and stands with giant pretzels, pastries, and candies. A couple dozen BSM students met up again and we walked around the city, then walked up Gellert Hill to the Citadel. Finally, the day ended in a long firework display synchronized with Hungary’s famous classical music. Check out my Twitter page for some pictures of the day’s festivities!
  • Wednesday. Wednesday marked the beginning of the language course, and they are not joking when they describe it as intensive! For those unfamiliar with Hungarian, there are 44 letters, and each are pronounced a single way (no matter where they are in the word). Further, Hungarians like their suffixes, making words quite long! However, these qualities are not negatives, but characteristics resulting in a structure with its own unique faults and beauties. I am definitely looking forward to having a better grasp on the language!
  • Thursday. The first half of Thursday was a typical set of languages lessons, but in the afternoon we all headed to the BSM school for pre-orientation (read: paperwork). Oddly enough, as I was sitting there in a room of 50 math students, I realized that this was the first time in over a week when someone has addressed a roomful of people in English. Would it be strange to say that it felt foreign?
  • Friday. With BSM business out of the way for a little while, Friday began a long string of back-to-back language sessions from 9am till 4pm. It’s a humbling experience 🙂
  • Saturday. Having a better idea of what my life in the upcoming 4 months will be like, Saturday seemed like a good day to get my day-to-day life (apartment, cell phone, etc.) in order. I headed over to Arena Plaza as a central location and tried out some Hungarian Chinese food (quite good!), acquired a SIM card for my cell phone, and walked through the magnificently large Tesco hypermarket. While maybe not as exciting as a day at the Hungarians baths or a trip to Munich, I must say that it felt good to have a day to feel at home.

As usual, let me know if you’d like to hear more about anything! Pictures from several of these events will be on Twitter soon, they’re…developing.

Come back tomorrow for a reflection on what precisely we mean by a “cross cultural experience” and why the subtle experiences seem to have the biggest impact.

A Day to Remember

August 21, 2013 / / 15 Comments

Wow. Okay. Goodness. Holy crudpuppies. What.

I am in England.

It’s both incredibly unbelievable and hauntingly familiar at the same time. It’s like every dream I had about England, Cambridge, old historical towns and fashion-forward trendsetters come to life. I mean, seriously, this is what my desk (that I am typing at right now, this minute) looks like:

I mean, this is my life? Really? But I digress. There is more you want to hear about, not just me flipping out over the reality my dreams became.

SO. Today I have flown into Heathrow Airport, ridden up and down the lifts in said airport trying to find the right place to get to our bus (‘lifts’ are ‘elevators’–everything here as a slightly different, but somehow more proper-sounding name… I don’t know how that happened, exactly), took a rambling ride through the Britsh countryside in a very hot bus, somehow managed to understand the rules Matt (Professor Ringenberg, our director) told us, settled into my room, walked downtown, freaked out at how unbelievably COOL downtown looks, withdrew some money which came out in pounds (which was weird), bought stuff to shower with, took said shower, and now I’m sitting down to explain to you all why it is that I find it hard to function normally.

Funny story #1: Apparently there is no such thing as ‘just coffee.’ Well, not at the place we stopped to get coffee, anyway. This is during our small trip downtown Cambridge to retrieve necessities like shampoo, conditioner, and toothpaste. We were all exhausted, naturally, from the 7hr 45min flight, and the 6hr time difference, and so decided that a coffee break was needed to make it through the day. Rachel, one of the girls here, asked the barista for an iced coffee–pretty much the simplest coffee drink there is. Coffee, ice. Bam. However, the barista (and all the workers there) didn’t seem to get ‘just iced coffee.’ The barista suggested an iced latte or iced americano instead, which we ended up getting, but it was a bit of a shock to have a deceivingly ‘American’ looking coffee shop immediately prove itself to be not what we expected. I’m sure there’s more of that to come.

Funny Story #2: We were walking back from our mini-downtown-trip when a mother rode past on her bicycle. She had a kid in a bike-seat in front of her and another in a bike-seat behind her. As the mother coasted down the slight hill, both children were going “weeeeeeeeeeee!!” For some reason, that reminded me that no matter how different or fantastical or strange this place may seem, it is still populated by human beings who aren’t that much different from me, or my family, or my friends. It’s the little things, people.

Finally, we went to Sir Isaac Newton’s Pub for dinner. Now, we were all exhausted and such, but this pub looked pretty cool.

This is the pub we went to… but we got to sit upstairs!

So some of us got chili con carne, some of us got the traditional fish and chips, and Matt even got a lamb burger, I think. Me? I got cheesy chips (cheesy french fries) and garlic bread. I love my carbs. It was really delicious though, even if I did end up sharing my fries with pretty much everyone. But we just got back to the house, I’ve put on my pyjamas, and I plan to relax a bit and force myself to stay awake until at least 9:30 so that the jet-lag doesn’t hit me too hard.

With amazement, love, and exhaustion,

Bryn

Introduction: Timothy in Budapest

August 19, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Hello! My name is Timothy and this semester I am studying in the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics (BSM) program in Budapest, Hungary. Details about the program are below, but first I want to outline how I’ll be using this blog. To communicate the different facets of the experience and have a regular flow of updates, I plan on posting on this schedule:

Sunday Reflection on my study abroad experience
Monday Problem of the week statement
Tuesday Pictures (Twitter)
Thursday Pictures (Twitter)
Friday Problem of the week solution and discussion
Saturday Overview of my recent activities

 

In more detail:

  • Reflection. I’m not on vacation in Europe, and neither am I studying mathematics in America. What’s up with this study abroad experience in the context of both of these individual activities? How do they interact and what am I learning? In this weekly reflection I hope to share some of my perspective as it develops.
  • Problem of the week. It’s not a mathematics program without some actual math, right? Every week I’ll post a favorite problem, discovered from my studies here or otherwise. Participate actively and email me your solution before I post mine on Friday, and perhaps I’ll bring back a little prize for you from Hungary 🙂
  • Pictures. Along with this blog I’ll be updating a Twitter feed (https://twitter.com/TimInBudapest). Tuesdays and Thursdays I’ll specifically put an interesting picture or two up, so check it out!
  • Activity overview. Sure, I might be learning about life and math, but what actually brought these changes about? Twice a week I’ll overview what I’ve been up to and what you can expect to do if you choose to participate in this program too!

Finally, the purpose of this blog is to share my experience to others, not to talk into a void. Please do communicate with me so we have an active dialog going! Commenting on this blog and on Twitter are particularly appropriate means of communicating, but I will also answer emails if needed. No question is too silly or bothersome, so please do share your thoughts!

I hope you enjoy sharing a bit of my travels!

 

About the program

Home to several prominent mathematicians such as George Pólya, Paul Erdös, and Béla Bollobás, Hungary has a rich tradition of mathematics excellence. Designed in 1983, the BSM program allows around 70 undergraduate students from North America to study mathematics taught, in English, by Hungarian professors. More information about the BSM program can be found at the American website (http://www.budapestsemesters.com/) or the Hungarian website (http://www.bsmath.hu/).

The Beginning

August 15, 2013 / / 5 Comments

 

Hi there, everybody. I know we haven’t actually left for this incredible adventure yet, but every trip begins with the planning–unless you’re the spontaneous sort. If you are, I applaud you. I, however, like to be organized and prepared to the point of…. well, I like to pack about two weeks before a big trip, in any case. I did this last summer too, right before I left for my freshman year at Valpo. I had painstakingly packed the ‘really important stuff’ in boxes and  piled them up in my room, while shoving the ‘everything else’ into my closet so my brother could take over, when there were still three weeks left of summer. Safe to say I was a bit excited. Even safer to say that I am more excited right now than I can remember being in my whole life. I’ve packed and repacked my suitcases, trying to figure out how to keep my things under 50lbs for the checked bag and how to shove the rest of it into a carry-on bag that MIGHT be an inch over the regulations, but I’m hoping to get away with it anyway (*crosses fingers*). Those suitcases are standing up in the corner… so the extent of  my ‘stuff’ looks like this right now:

 

… And it’s been like that for about a week already. Whoops, guess I’m trying to make the next few days go by faster so I can finally get to England. It’s hard to describe what England means to me…. There’s a moment in the life of a child where you realize there is one place in the world you want to go someday, more than you’ve ever wanted to go anywhere before. There’s a moment when you realize that the world is bigger than your backyard, your city, your state. There’s a moment when your eyes are opened to how big, complex, and exciting the world is, and all of a sudden you are gripped with wanderlust. You begin to ravenously devour books about the wondrous places the world has lovingly developed over the course of history, of the people who have lived before you in places you’ve never seen. And soon, soon you realize that one place has held your attention for longer than the others—one place that your heart is firmly set on seeing. For me, that place is England. I suppose, more broadly, it would be the United Kingdom, because Ireland and Scotland are part of it too. But England—England is the place for me.

I hope I get to explore more than see–I don’t want to see England the way every other person who goes there sees it. I want to experience it, authentically and truly and dirtily and scarily and all that comes with knowing where you are. I want to see the things no one else sees, the beautiful scenes that take place far off the well-worn path and the moments that happen to occur far from the normal tourist traps. Don’t get me wrong, places like the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace and the British National Museum are on my list of ‘must-sees’ too. But I want more than that (… and now I sound like a Disney movie. The Little Mermaid, anyone?). I want to see the little things.  Being a tourist has always had a bit of a negative connotation for me, and I’d rather live there than just visit. That’s why I’m staying for so long, even though I know it’s going to be difficult. Nine months away from home is a long time to prepare for, so I’m just going to have to accept that there are some things I’m probably missing. But as long as I have my wanderlust and sense of adventure (along with a bit of common sense, of course), I won’t be missing anything too important.

Although I have to say, I’m gonna miss my phone.

With love, excitement, and wanderlust,

Bryn

Saying Goodbye

May 7, 2013 / / 0 Comments

This past weekend was our last weekend of freedom, so to speak, since next weekend we have a group excursion to the Lake District.  That made this weekend our last opportunity to travel where we wanted and say our final goodbyes to London.  Somewhere I really wanted to go back to, which was, coincidentally, where we spent our very first weekend while abroad, was Edinburgh, Scotland.  We had had such an amazing time in Scotland the first time around, and there were still a few things I didn’t get a chance to do the first time that I wanted to go back and explore.

I do have to say, since it was the only place, with the exception of London, that we went back to, it was funny walking out of the train station and knowing exactly where we were supposed to go.  We already had a hang of the city and where everything was located and we already did the walking tour and learned all about the city, so now we could just go and do whatever it was we wanted.  One of the first things we did was climb to the top of Arthur’s Seat, a tall mountain/hill in Edinburgh.  Accidentally, Emelie and I ended up climbing up the higher, much steeper mountain right next to Arthur’s Seat, in the wind and the rain.  Whoops.  It was still quite an experience. From up there we could see all of Edinburgh below us.  It allowed us to actually realize how close to the North Sea Edinburgh actually was.

Something else I really wanted to do ever since that first weekend was to go on the Covenanter’s Prison Tour of Greyfriar’s Cemetery.  Ever since hearing all of the stories about the prison and researching it once I returned to Cambridge, I have wanted to go back and see what all the hype was for myself.  The history behind the prison, and that cemetery itself is remarkable.  So many horror stories have come from authors who were inspired by the cemetery, such as Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and Dracula.  Naturally, nothing supernatural occurred while we were there, but it was still something I had to experience on my own.  Our tour guy himself was enough of a show for me.  He was a bit nutty and hopped around the cobblestone the entire way there refusing to step on any cracks.

  

Since it was Bank holiday, meaning we didn’t have any classes on Monday, Emelie and I came back from Edinburgh on Saturday and headed for our last hoorah in London for Sunday and Monday.  It was nice having just a little more time to see everything in London we saw on our very first trip there, such as London Tower and Tower Bridge, Piccadilly Circus and Leister Square, and even Big Ben and Parliament.  We even did the same telephone booth pose that we had from week one by Big Ben!  Luckily, a women from our hostel mentioned that we should go to the market in Camden Town, somewhere no one had previously mentioned going to, and we headed there on Monday.   This market, literally, just went on and on and on.  It never ended.  There were shops that sold anything you could think of and even a huge courtyard with different tents of food from mini pancakes served with Nutella, to paella, wraps, chicken burgers, cheesecake, pineapple smoothie in a pineapple, and even options of kangaroo.  As for crafts, there was a man that sold candles in the shape of wine bottles and cheese, that would melt in the most amazing looking ways.  The market itself was a sight to see and somewhere I would definitely tell people to go to.  It was bursting with people, especially since most of the people had off work.

     

Hopping off the tube for the last time Monday was pretty hard to do.  I have grown to love the city so much and especially the tube!  Once you have lived and experience London, you’ll understand too.  It is my favorite city in the world, one that I would love to come back and move to one day in the future.  Saying goodbye to Cambridge these next nine days is not going to be easy either.  It is unbelievable how fast these past four months have gone by.  As much as I want to see my friends and family, I’m dreading hopping on that plane for the long nine hour journey back home, knowing that I really don’t know the next time I’ll be back again.  So I’m going to make sure to live up these next few days and do everything my heart desires, going home with no regrets and nothing left undone.

The Cliffs of Moher

Adventures in Scotland and Ireland

May 5, 2013 / / 0 Comments

St. Gile's Cathedral

While I had dreamed of traveling the world when I was younger, I never fully believed that would be possible for myself. There was always some seemingly big obstacle in the way, such as money or being too young. Last week I found myself doing the “impossible”: I traveled around Europe, living out of a backpack. While I have been on a few weekend trips already this semester, it felt so authentic to be traveling for a whole week. I finally felt like a real traveler that spends their life meeting new people, wearing the few clothes that they have with them repeatedly, and learning about many new cultures while seeing it before your own eyes. After traveling for a straight week, I finally realized how fun it is to wake up in the morning and think, “Where am I going next today?”

My first stop was in Edinburgh, Scotland. I had really chosen this location randomly based off the opinion of a friend who had been there already, and I didn’t know much about the city or even Scotland itself. I had head that it was a very beautiful city, but it wasn’t until I stepped off the bus and took a look around that I knew the stories were true. Edinburgh is an amazing city. It isn’t very big, but it makes up for its small size with its sheer beauty. Everywhere you look, there is something wonderful to see. It has a castle, many cathedrals and churches, mountains, and a lake. What else could you ask for from a city? One small downside to living in Edinburgh is the weather. Although it was the end of April when I visited, it was only in the 50s all week, and there would be random boughts of wind and rain. A lot of locals said it was summer weather! Despite the bad weather, Edinburgh charmed me in so many other ways that I soon forgot about the cold.

Athur's Seat

The first day my friend and I were there, we climbed Arthur’s Seat, which is the highest peak of a group of hills in the center of the city that were formed by an extinct valcano. It was a little steep going up, but there were steps built into the hills to help us along. The grass on these hills was incredibly green, and there was a huge breeze that nearly knocked us off the side of the hill as soon as we reached the top. The view was wonderful, and it was an amazing start to my weekend in Edinburgh.

Throughout the few days that we were there, my friend and I went on three different tours of the city. The first was a ghost tour at night which took us to a graveyard, underground vaults, and other spooky places while telling us about the dark history of Edinburgh. The next tour was a free three hour walking tour, which was surprisingly great for a free tour. I learned so much more history about the city and Scotland than I thought I would in the few short days I was there. The company (Sandeman’s New Europe Tours) has tours all over Europe, so I would recommend checking them out if you are ever in Europe. We also went no their spooky tour about witches, fairies, and cannibals, and that was pretty awesome as well. Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Scotland, learning about its history, and talking to the locals.

The Cliffs of Moher

Next on our agenda was Dublin, Ireland. I have heard so many times that Ireland is an amazing and beautiful place to visit, so of course I had to see it for myself. Dublin is a fairly large city with lovely cathedrals and a fun nightlife. What else would you expect in Ireland? We ended up taking the same free walking tour around the city and learned a lot about Ireland’s history. I’m not much of a history buff, but it’s so different when you’ve thrown yourself into a strange city and have no idea about its present or past. That’s why I really liked taking these walking tours; it’s so much better learning about a foreign city if you are actually there to see the sights for yourself.

My favorite part of my trip to Ireland was when we went on a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher and Galway, which are on the complete opposite side of the country from Dublin. The Cliffs of Moher look over the Atlantic Ocean and are just breathtaking. On the way to Galway, the bus took us through the countryside along the coast, and we stopped at a few sights to take pictures. It was a perfect sunny day, and I had such a great time looking at all of the sheep and rock walls amongst the green fields. Galway was a very sweet town next to the sea filled with ancient churches, landmarks, and good food.

I had a wonderful time seeing the sights in Scotland and Ireland during my first week of spring break, and I can’t wait to continue my journey around Europe this coming week.

Rocks on the Irish Countryside

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