The Final Post

 

I can not believe this adventure is coming to an end. As I said in my first post, Florida was the farthest away from home I had ever been before this trip. Now I have not only traveled Europe, but have done so with some amazing people. I have taken away so many meaningful lessons from this experience. Before this trip I was very sheltered. From an over-protective mother who constantly worries, to a serous long term relationship, I was being somewhat held back at home. My parents were supportive, but very nervous with me leaving. My boyfriend was completely unsupportive, so the relationship ended. Going to these countries, not having a constant means of communication to talk to everyone back home was a relief. It was absolutely refreshing. To be in places that I could not fully communicate with the locals was interesting and wonderful. Living somewhere that only a handful of people knew me for miles and miles, being an ocean away from everything I knew, it was exactly what I needed at this point in my life. The feeling of immaculate anonymity.

My perception of the world has changed immensely. I thought I was very culturally aware before this, now I have lived and experienced new cultures first hand. I’ve realized that no book can teach you how to travel. You have to live it. You have to be accepting rather than judgmental. You can not be a tourist- if you’re going to be a tourist you just shouldn’t even travel. The trick is adapt and blend in with the locals. Observe and react according to your surroundings. You can not judge the actions of people in new countries. Every culture is different, we have unique norms and rules. Instead of viewing cultural differences as rude or negatively, look at it from a positive point of view. For example, in Vienna we had to adapt to a very quiet atmosphere. At first I thought the people were very anti-social and almost rude. Then I realized that it is actually quite polite. They keep a serene and peaceful environment, as a form of respect to everyone around them. You start to enjoy new cultural experiences and appreciate the uniqueness. This was the most interesting and rewarding experience of my life. It can change you in the best way possible, you just have to let it. 

Before this trip I was scared of uncomfortable situations. I had never been away from my family, never traveled with, lived with, and eventually come to love a new group of people. Now I welcome the uncomfortable situations. They are the most beneficial experiences of all. I’ve visited so many beautiful places here. I’ve seen and had so many wonderful new experiences. I learned to be confident and let go of my fears. I have learned that every situation is a chance to learn something new and that experiential learning is not even in the same category as the typical classroom. I can not wait to travel more. I honestly do not even want to return to the states, going back to my life is Ohio seems absolutely dreadful to me. I will travel more in the future- that is absolute. I will forever remember this trip and the lessons it taught me. I could not have grown and learned in the ways I have without this journey. The world isn’t just a globe on a desk anymore, it’s real for me. I’ve realized that I will never be the same person I was before this trip. And I could not be happier about that.    

I’ve met a lot of people in Europe, and I even found myself.

Reading: Gothic Anxieties: Struggling With A Definition

Rintoul’s essay Gothic Anxieties: Struggling With A Definition, explains the difficult task of defining the gothic. The author realizes that the gothic is impossible to define in a specific sentence that can apply to every gothic situation. She gives some past definitions and approaches that previous writers have used to define the gothic, she agrees with some and dismisses others as inadequate. She points out a few different approaches to use as an attempt at a definition of the gothic. She gives three options: listing the characteristics of the gothic, a description of the gothic atmosphere, or the intensive analyzation of a single gothic text. She comes to the conclusion that there is no set way to define the gothic because it so broad. There is no specific way to approach a definition. Through this reading I realized that there is no universal definition of the gothic. In trying to put a definitive description with it, you limit it, therefore making it undefinable. The gothic is subjective. Culturally, personally, it changes. Especially with time. We adapt and modernize the traditional themes in order to appeal to a unique audience. 

Reading: Kafka Gothic and Fairytale

Bridgewater’s Kafka Gothic and Fairytale is an analysis of Kafka and his literary works. Bridgewater explains how Kafka is extremely gothic. He points on that by using various traditional gothic tropes and themes to express his inherent personal obstacles and issues, Kafka sets an obvious gothic tone for himself. His works aren’t always filled with the typical scary gothic castle and darkness, the ever-present monster, and the general creepy images that come to mind with the gothic. However, the characters are always doomed. Whether it be by insanity, death, hopelessness, the character always seems to be doomed. In the Judgement there is tyranny and depression- anxieties Kafka was dealing with himself. In the castle K. is in the irrational pursuit of finding the castle but consistently fails in his mission, this can relate to an authors struggle to be successful and accepted for their beliefs.  Kafka gives us a look at a different kind of Gothic, one that may not be as obvious at the traditional. Doom and despair are his foundations and he delivers them in true gothic fashion. His characters essentially go crazy or die. 

Experiential Blog 8: Learning Through the Study Abroad Experience

During this study abroad experience I have learned something new every single day. Truthfully, it feels like I’m learning every second. As for course work I have discovered a side to gothic literature that I wasn’t aware of prior to this class. I learned that the gothic is present in most aspects of life. And you will find at least one gothic trope in every literary work. I always thought of gothic literature as being horror stories. I have realized that it is far more than this though. There are many underlying themes in books that I have read and movies that I have seen that are incredibly gothic. After taking this course I can see this now. I look back and recognize the gothic characteristics. This was definitely the most interesting literature class I have ever taken. Not only because of the content, but because of the setting as well. 

For me, experiential learning is most beneficial. I retain knowledge better if I am fully immersed in the subject. Visiting these places while reading the stories is the ultimate learning experience. It has made me wish that every class was set up this way. A student can sit in a classroom and read through a text book all day long, but do they even fully understand what they are reading? Most of the time people read the coursework for the sake of their grade. They remember the lessons for the exam but don’t carry on this information afterwards. Study abroad changes this. I feel like I will forever remember Sissi and the Habsburg empire after visting Schönbrunn. Reading out of a book in a classroom makes historical figures seem more like fictional characters. However, with this experiential learning approach, visiting their homes, walking where they walked, and seeing what they saw when they looked out of their window makes them real. 

Being in the countries that these historical figures and authors lived in has changed the way I read and analyze the texts. It brings the stories to life and helps to make the connection the author is aiming for the reader to see. In my opinion there is no more effective or successful approach at learning. I’ve realized that sitting in a classroom next year is going to extremely difficult for me now after seeing how wonderful and different my college experience has been here. It is sad to me that not everyone will see this side of learning. 

Reading: A Madness of Angels

Kate Griffin’s A Madness of Angels is a modernized gothic tale about a sorcerer named Matthew Smith. It is set in London, but with an alternate world feel. Magic is real and used by humans. Matthew finds himself back in his old apartment 2 years after he was supposed to have died. However, his body had never been found. He doesn’t have any short term memory of his life. In the story magicians are being mysteriously murdered. Matthew is absorbed in his vengeance for his original murderer and the  ones responsible for bringing him back to life. 

I really enjoy sci-fi fantasy type novels so I found this reading to be very interesting. It was different from our past readings because it was a modernized type of the gothic. It was set in an alternate version of London which made the story even more interesting after visiting the city this past week. I also liked that Matthew is different from the traditional gothic hero, yet also alike in his instability and alienation. I do think the author does a good job at accurately portraying the gothic in a modern sense. It was a nice change from our past readings. 

Experiential Blog 7: London

Our trip to London was short but sweet. Staying in an English speaking country was interesting. The language is the same as back home. We can communicate effectively. As far as volume goes the British are more around the typical loud American volume. There are differences though. The accent is major. They also use different words for specific things. For example, rubbish is their common word for trash. They also use the word cheers! a lot. I think this is a general statement that can be used in many different circumstances. At the store, the train station, on the street, you hear it everywhere. I love these little differences and I find their language to be quite interesting. I also found that unlike Vienna, it is not as conservative and controlled. Personal space, voice volume, and public socialization is not the same as it was in Vienna. It is definitely a lot more like America in that sense. I enjoyed London but I wish we could have stayed longer. 

Reading: The Lady of the House of Love

The Lady of the House of Love is another gothic love story. The beautiful queen of vampires lives a life of torment, hating what she is. She can not change who she is so she lives in despair. She does not want to kill to survive. This is what makes her character a victim instead of a monster. She spends her days with her tarot cards, and continuously wishes to be a human rather than live a life of eternity as a killer. One day a young englishman comes across her castle. She has her tarot cards in her hand and at the sight of the one she draws she faints onto the chair, dropping the cards. The cards mean nothing to him so when he sees the grim skeleton on top he flips one of two lovers on the top of the deck instead. He is already changing her fate, by taking it into his hands. When she cuts her thumb on a piece of glass he goes to kiss it, as a mother would. This innocent show of caring and love sets her free. She dies, but as a human. She has finally been granted her happiness. The story ends with him going off to war. 

Unlike many stories, this kind of gothic love is pure and genuine. His care and love for her is innocent, not romantic. He wants to help her simply because he is a good person. She is a good person as well, just in need of someone to help her. Because of this, she is able to die peacefully at last. Essentially this is a happy gothic story. The character is technically a villain, she kills men to survive. But she is aware of this fault, and the thought of living an eternity this way is hell for her. She has a happy ending, especially in gothic literature standards. Good does win over evil in this story. She is saved by love. I realized that a “happy ending” doesn’t always mean that two people fall in love and they live happily ever after. Sometimes it is just the fact that they are saved form their torture. Even if death is the only option. 

Reading: Barbara of the House of Grebe

Barbara of the House of Grebe is a gothic tragedy filled with oppression and twisted versions of love. Barbara falls in love with Edmond because of how handsome he is. She rebels against her parents wishes for an arranged marriage to Lord Uplandtowers and runs away with Edmond, who is below her family’s class level, instead. During a fire Edmond’s face is terribly disfigured. Barbara struggles with her love with him because it was only surface love to begin with. She didn’t love the man, she loved his outer beauty. She comes to regret her decision and decides to be with Lord Uplandtowers. A statue that Edmond was having made of himself arrives. She stares at it everyday, remembering his beauty. One day the Lord finds her kissing the statue of Edmond. He has the face of it disfigured to look like his face after the fire. He places it at the end of the bed and forces her to stare at it. She is driven insane. 

I found this story quite interesting. In the end she went insane after the Lord forced her to stare at the disfigured statue of Edmond. I think this is because she was forced to see how ugly she had been, on the inside. She was a shallow girl who fell in love with the surface of a man instead of the depths. This was her undoing-herself. Being forced to see the cruelest and most hypocritical parts of yourself is one of the hardest experiences. In the end she realized that she was the ugly one. This is what undoes her. I realized that when people are forced to see themselves for what they truly are it has the potential to be positive, or negative. It depends on who they are. 

Experiential Blog 6: Attitudes

Attitude is such an important part of traveling. If you don’t have a positive attitude your trip can be ruined. You have to be accepting of the new places, people, and cultures. I’ve noticed that everyone in our group is very good at respecting the different cultures we have experienced. We try our best to blend in and we do attempt the language. We try to adapt to our surroundings in order to respect the people who live in these places. 

I assumed that language would be the only major difference. I definitely expected differences but these places are like completely different worlds compared tot he U.S, in some ways. The way they are so quiet, the way they interact with each other, and the way they treat their cities are the parts I absolutely love.  They have so much class and control. They dress fashionably, they don’t make scenes in public, they are respectful of personal space and time. Everything is always on time. The train doesn’t wait for anyone! It’s a fun way to travel though. 

I have learned that when you are living in a new country you have to accept the culture and embrace it. Here we have to be much quieter and reserved in public. They value respect. For their space, time, and country. I noticed that if you even attempt the small little cultural differences they are much more likely to treat you nicely. Politeness is key. Attempting to communicate in their native language is key. At the very least learning how to ask if they speak english in their language is necessary. They are very upfront about what they want as well. Waiters will tell you if you are taking too long to pay your check, and passengers on the train will let you know if you are taking too long to get off. It’s kind of refreshing. You can’t take it personally or offensively. That is just the way their world works. Picking up on these social queues and incorporating them into the way you present yourself in these places will help you greatly. It’s really quite simple! 

Experiential Blog 5: Novelty

Harlaxton and Grantham have been wonderful. They both feel familiar compared to Vienna and Prague, yet still such completely different experiences compared to life back home. I have definitely had more pleasant surprises here than unpleasant. First, the accents! British accents seem to make everything sound better. I love their pronunciation and slang words. The tiny little cultural differences have been interesting to pick up on. For example, at the cash register we all discussed how the older employees prefer you to put the cash on the counter when paying. The younger employees have picked up on the typical American way of putting it directly in the person’s hand. As far as unpleasant experiences go, I suppose the train system can be a little intimidating. It does not wait! This is not really unpleasant, I just haven’t experienced anything that could be labeled as such (yet!) 

Back home I didn’t encounter a lot of novelty. Living in a small town and not having the privilege of traveling often didn’t allow the exposure. Starting college, driving to Clifton from my hometown, and getting used to a big city was stressful. If I got lost or took a wrong exit I would get extremely upset and stressed out. Here, if I get lost it usually just turns into an adventure and I wind up stumbling across something awesome. That’s what is so awesome about this, you really can’t get lost because you’re exploring anyways. You wind up getting to see more of the places you’re visiting this way. 

After two weeks in Europe I think I have learned to deal with novelty fairly well. The key is acceptation and 0 expectations. You can not go into a new country with a bad attitude about cultures that differ from your own, you accept and appreciate it as a new experience. You also should not have any kind of expectations, that way you can fully appreciate it simply for what it is.  Whether you fell in love with the place or not, new places are still interesting to experience.