Final Blog Entry

The new information that was the most meaningful to me was the knowledge about how to navigate train stations and airports while traveling as well as how to properly plan out future trips. I also have found the information about how to blend in with locals in other cultures fairly helpful. I think this information could have helped me with past experiences involving things from a different culture. This knowledge could have encouraged me to look at travel more earlier on in my college career and also could have changed the way I handled cultural differences in the past. It would have allowed me to handle cultural differences in the past with a more understanding and open perspective. This knowledge could have also given me the courage to try to understand the other cultures better in the past rather than just ignore them. In the future I hope to use this information to change how I interpret/react to cultural differences by having more of a curiousity and open mind. I also hope to use the new found knowledge to gain more of an understanding of the cultural norms in America.

Experiential blog 8: New perspctive

Studying abroad is a different experience compared to normal studying at your home college. The course that I decided to take is Gothic literature. The focus of the course is on the reason why the genre was so popular during it's time and also what it meant to the people reading it. While studying abroad I have learned about Gothic literature in the sense of it's rebellious nature. I took a literature course but have looked at the topic with a psychological perspective. I have learned that people will resist things that cause them displeasure in very subtle was such as through metaphorical writing. I have also learned that oppression is something can come from many different sources such as society, mental awareness and bureaucracy. Lastly I have learned that signs of oppression can be seen even through small details such as wording and tone. My method of learning these things while abroad has been alot more hands on than at home. The lessons are taught less through a book and more with real life examples. At home one would read a book about Gothic architecture but here one just goes see Notre Dame. Also here abroad material is presented alongside with a group discussion while at home I would just work to learn it individually without much discussion.

Experiential Blog:7

While in Europe I have noticed tha people expect a different level of quietness and privacy while eating in a restaurant. If someone is quite loud while in a restaurant then people around them will shoot quick glances their way and get irritated. This behavior leads into one of the main attitudes in Europe which is that people should have a high level of respectability while in public. Another attitude involves personal space in which it is ok to be more accessable into anothers personal space than compared to the US. In the US we have a wide range of personal space that we do not like having to compromise but in Europe it is different. Also in Europe the attitude towards the elderly and women that are pregnant is that they should be given special considerations while on public transportation. This attitude is not really present in the US because we do not have a large focus on systems of public transportation. If someone does not coincide with these attitudes they are not loudly criticized but more so shamed and looked down upon by others around them. Before coming to Europe I assumed that there was some differences in expectations while in public but did not foresee just how large the difference would be. I also did not foresee that people in Europe would be more quiet and respectable in their criticisms. This critique has led me to realize just what the presence of public transportation can do for the mannerisms in a culture. By having a large emphasis on public transportation people start to focus more on their appearance while in public and what they can do to accomidate to others. In general it makes a society that is overall more sensitive and aware of others.

Experiental Blog 6: London Gestures

While in London I saw people use greetings like Cheerio and Cheers. I also observed people being very sincere with apologies and always saying good bye when a conversation ends. People shook hands with each other often and smiled just as much. There was also more of a comfortness with people sitting close to you and more light conversation with strangers. These elements can be quite from American culture where people are very consciousness about personal space and privacy. We also do not shake hands nearly as much nor do we always say good bye. We use words like Hey or What's up more often than a simple Hello or other versions. The conclusions that I have came up with are that in America we are less concerned about the everyday life of others and have some air of expectation about them being able to take care of themselves. Also I have concluded that in the UK there is more concern for the person rather than the job due to people being more comfortable with being close to one another. Lastly I have found that while it's good to be friendly in the Europe, you do not want to over do it and end up just being a nuisance.

Experiental 5: My Emotional Well Being

Throughout the study abroad I have felt confusion and shock but also insightful. At some points I was frustrated by the difference in a cultural belief, as was everyone else. These moments I overcame through actually openning my eyes and experiencing the difference myself. I would express my frustration through whispering a profanity under my breath or putting my hand over my face but once I tryed using patience things got much better. In America we show our emotions quite blatantly by looking annoyed or saying something but that is not the case in the UK. In the UK people feel like showing disgruntlement with something is rude. In Vienna people rarely even communicate with one another unless if their friends. I think some of my feelings of uncomfortableness and confusion are quite common within the study group.  We all are experiencing new places and atmospheres outside of what were used to. Some conclusions I have come to are that people's behaviors and attitudes are heavily affected by the environment they find normal. Speaking up and making your voice heard is quite common in the States but not in the UK. Also I have found that senses of fashion and style can mean very different things depending on the culture it originated. Lastly I found a personal insight while dealing with culture shock and confusion which is that I like to try to understand why a particular norm is around in a culture. I found that working through the confusion to find the purpose was exciting and fun because you can look and say that the norm could possibly work in America.

Experiental Blog 4: Precarious Prague

Just like Vienna, Prague had a good amount of historical buildings as well. The city was broken up between several different eras such as Old Town and New Town. The landscape of Prague was very open with narrow streets that lead people around like a maze. Also in Prague there was small individual parks near the main river that were used for boat rides and cafes. While the buildings are old the amenities inside them are still very modern.When I frist arrived in Prague I almost expected a rundown city with alot of modern structures like skyscrapers but ended up getting a historical museum. I also expected it to be a city that had no real parks and nature but found out that I was wrong. The atmosphere and the landscape of Prague really shows off that it is a louder town that has pride in it's history. Also the presence of so much nature shows that they value environmental friendly locations and want to keep the city in a fresh light. In the critique I learned that there are alot of places in Europe that value clean air and the environment. Also from this critique I learned that Europe in general cares for the vast history it has and hopes to maintain it's history.

Experiental Blog 3: Vicarious Vienna

The buildings of Vienna were uniformal as well as grand. The buildings stood huge enough to cast a complete shadow over the streets and were almost perfectly sized to one another. Landscape wise Vienna felt restricted and well organized.When I first thought of Vienna I did not expect the city to be so luxurious and fell like royalty. I expected the city to be large and not to have as many historical buildings as it had. I think these elements influenced my learning of the culture because it gives you the quiet feeling that comes with royalty and luxury. The landscape reflects the conclusion that I came up with which is that the city is restricted and highly organized because most of the landscape is full of historical buildings that can't be torned down. From this critique I learned that people of different tend to have various acceptable levels of quietness and reservedness. 

I Kafka It

Franz Kafka was a predominant writer during his time by writing nearly 16 novels. He mainly focused on the oppression of bureaucracy and societies norms. This style and topic of writing closely relates to the Gothic themes of resisting empire and struggling to obtain individual importance. A peice Kafka wrote called "The Castle" displays the Gothic aesthetic of hopelessness that people feel when faced with bureaucracy or the empire because the main character K always hits a roadblock while trying to get to "The Castle". Kafka also represented the Gothic ideas of madness and death of individualism with his peice called "The Judgement". In it Georg eventually ends up going mad and jumps into a river which can be interpreted as losing his individualism. These ideas that Kafka wrote about help my understanding of the Gothic by giving me metaphorical context of what the Gothic aesthetic looks like in writing. Also by writing these two novels Kafka shows just the method by which one can actually feel oppressed within a somewhat moderate context and also helped me understand some of the political fears that were attached to the Gothic aesthetic during his time.

Picking a Bone With the Church

The Ossuary of Kutna Hera (also known as the Bone Church) is a location in Prague where a priest and a carpenter cooperated to build it out of human bones. The location is in a graveyard with the bones being arranged in decorative patterns. An example of a decoration choice is drapery. The method by which the bones were used to make decorations for the room is what makes the location creepy. Another aspect that adds to the creepiness is just the sheer volume of bones present which gives the location a supernatural feeling. Lastly the unrefinedness of the building above the church also gives the place a creepy feeling. These methods of utilizing death shows just how different people can view the afterlife within similar cultures.

Trigger Happy Ferdinand

Konopiste was the residence of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. It is a classical Gothic location because there is a large presence of death with all the animals trophies that are mounted on the wall. Also it represents a Gothic location because it has elements of sublime with the large lake and forest that surrounds it. The large hallway of animal heads also gave the location a supernatural sense and added a layer of creepiness. Konopiste is important because it shows the possible mental problems that Franz Ferdinand coud have had and displays the huge influence that he had through being able to pratically bring any amount of animals he wanted onto the compound. The location shows us that Ferdinand respresented the classic Gothic trope of evil aristocrat.

My Protagonist Sisi Top

Sisi aka Queen Elisabeth was the empress of the Austrain empire during Franz Joseph's reign. She has become a cult icon of sorts for people through her life story. She fits the idea of a Gothic heroine because she is a tragic figure who is consistently trapped by a past event that has occured to her which is her marriage. In her life Sisi had to deal with the death of several of her children with Rudolf being the most well known. Rudolf died due to double suicide with one of his mistress's named Marie. Also Sisi had to go through the restriction and lack of individuality that came along with marrying Franz Joseph. The marriage as well as the things that came from it haunted her up to the day she died. This haunting led to Sisi eventually becoming mad in a sense and be a recluse. (But who knows it could have just been that she was hysterical.)

Pick your Palace

In Vienna and London I fell witness to the three interesting palaces Schonbrunn (sorry about not putting the umlauts), Kew and Hofburg. Schonbrunn and Hofburg are both palaces where the Austrian Emperor and Empress lived while Kew is the palace where King George the 3rd resided. Schonbrunn and Hofburg are similar in the way that they are both made to impress guests and display power but differ in the method used to accomplish the goal. The Hofburg uses more of a masculine touch to show power with it's large paintings and sculptures of Franz Joseph to show guests that he was the "man of the house". This design decision was also reflected in the layout of the palace with there being larger rooms and Franz's office residing next to his bedroom. These decisions show the palace off as the place for business and display Franz as the center of power. Schonbrunn however showed power more subtly through sophistication and beauty. It had a huge garden behind the palace and many more rooms with less hallway space. Also Schonburnn had more of a comfortable feeling to it than Hofburg which added to its sophistication aesthetic. Schonnbrunn overall felt less private and said that the royal family has nothing to hide. Schonbrunn was utilized more to show guests how great royalty lived in Austria.
The last palace Kew was completely different from the other two because it felt more like an actual family home. It also had a large garden which surrounded the compund but the house itself was not nearly as big as the other two structures. Kew palace had ample oppurtunity for privacy and a personal life rather than the other two. By comparing and contrasting the various palaces one can see the priorities as well as the mindset of both royal families and how they interpreted power.

The Cathedrals

In my excursions I saw several religious buildings such as St. Vitus, St. George, Stephan's Dom and St. Wulfram. These churches all had similarities as well as differences. Stephan's Dom and St. Vitus are fairly luxurious cathedrals whose primary purposes were to show off the wealth of the rulers to others. On the other hand St. Wulfram and St. George felt more like cathedrals that were constructed solely for worshipping purposes. St. George felt the most personal out of all the religious structures though due to its smaller and more private stature rather than being absurdly large like the other buildings. I also noticed that Stephan's Dom and St. Vitus were being used more for as tourist attractions nowadays rather than being promoted as holy places. By comparing and contrasting the purposes of these religious structures it allows for us to realize the methods by which rulers of different lands displayed their wealth.

Analyzing the Psyche of the Gothic

Sigmund Freud is the father psychoanalysis and was a prominent member of cultural society in during the late 1800s all the way into the mid 1900s. Freud is viewed as being a large of part of the Gothic society that was present during his time due to him opening up the idea that people need to discuss their feelings instead of just repressing them. Freud also allowed for women as well as men the oppurtunity to speak with someone in person about their feelings in privacy. Lastly Freud contributed in a negative fashion with his idea that women could contract an illness called hysteria. These contributions make me realize that while Freud did help with pushing the positive side of the Gothic aesthic of realizing and discussing your feelings, he also contributed to the negative aspect of Gothism which is that women who speak of their feelings or feel repressed are considered mad or hysterical.

Goths of a Newer Day

In "A Madness of Angels" the story attempts to build up a modern gothic aesthetic through it's setting and events that occur. The story does a impressive job at establishing a modern gothic aesthetic with the setting being set entirely at night. The nighttime setting of the story relates to the gothic theme of darkness. The story's version of London is also described as being very dirty which relates to the broken abbey/castle theme of a lot of other classical gothic literature. Another thing the author does well is establish a sense of the supernatural theme with the presence of a litter bug (Golem) and having the main character using something similar to magic. Lastly the author makes the main character's purpose very gothic by making him a resurrected individual who is searching the city through for memories of his past life. These elements make the story have a fairly well done gothic aesthetic.

Uncanniness

I agree with Freud that "the uncanny" is a distinct element of the Gothic sensibility because it is a dark and confusing method that is used to creep out the reader. The concept of the uncanny can mean something that seems familiar but is not. This idea works into the Gothic sensibility through showing a darker and more mad side of individuals. The uncanny ideas can be things such as robots that are made to look like humans or buildings that resembles a location one has been in before. This method of using familiar yet unfamiliar ideas ties into the gothic idea of being trapped in the past. Having a person keep being reminded of a bad experience but only in a very slightly different setting can make a person go insane and question their own minds. This questioning of one's self can then lead to a character to start questioning the world around them which is called imagination versus reality. When imagination starts to become reality an individual will most likely go even more insane. This break down of a character's own thoughts and beliefs that leads to eventual madness shows why the method of "the uncanny" is almost exclusive to the Gothic sensibility.

Creative Gothic Poster

The image contains a timeline of various Gothic literature that has been written since the 18th century. The first two are classical Gothic pieces from the 17th century and the second two are from the 18th century. The third row are Kafka pieces and the last is from the 21st century. On the left side of each of the titles are some of the unique elements that are present in each story. This information will allow you have a basic understanding of how Gothic literature has progressed it's lifespan from it's classical roots to it's modern adaptations. Spoiler: Will also contain some dry humor. Enjoy!

My good times

Some of the pleasant experiences I have had in England thus far are visiting Gregg's bakery in town and talking to the locals at the pubs in town. Another good experience I have had at Harlaxton is just roaming around the manor and seeing the sights. So far I have not any unpleasant experiences. Lastly another good experience I have had was going to the movie theaters. In England I approach the novelties of more quietness and a high focus on politeness with a good attitude as well as attempt to reciprocate the same manners back. At home though I tend to be more loud and have more of a playful attitude towards novelties. What I have learned about myself through my reactions to the novelties thus far is that I am pretty adaptable and observant to my surroundings. What I have learned about my surroundings is that British people as a whole are a lot more conscious about what they say to others and tend to be reserved when speaking in public.

Adventures of Boy Georg and Kafka

In  order to modernize traditional Gothic themes Kafka utilized a literary style called Kafkaesque. In this style Kafka would make his Gothic stories have multiple interpreted meanings when examined by different readers. An example is a story called "The Judgement". In "The Judgement" the dialogue and decisions made the characters can be interpreted in multiple ways. One could look at the story and think it's about how Georg feels guilty over leaving his homeland or another person could read it and think it's simply a story about a father that may be senile that is being taken cared of by his son. The ending itself will also lead people to different ideas about Georg's fate. Some believe he drowned and died while others believe he lived. Another example comes from "The Castle" where Kafka makes the story convoluted and leaves the reader with a mysterious ending. This leads to another method utilized Kafka which is make the pace of his stories reflect the tone of the story. Kafka also uses modern metaphors in order to represent classical Gothic themes.

My Depressed Sisi

Empress Sisi was a Gothic heroine because she was trapped by her past choices of marrying Joseph and becoming an empress. Another reason that she is a Gothic heroine is that she feels isolated from the world and shackled to the expectations placed on her as an empress such as forced behaviors as well as relations. Lastly Sisi is a Gothic heroine because she is challenged by a evil person (Sophia) who only wants to see Sisi fail.

Review of Barbara and Abbey

Barbara exemplifies traditional Gothic themes through having a maiden in distress (Barbara) that runs away from her parents to without their know how to marry a poor painter. The poor painter lover that Barbara runs away with represents the theme of seduction. The story also has an evil man (Lord Uplandtower) that works to try to win over Barbara's love. He is considered the evil man because he will go to any lengths in order to get Barbara to love him. Lastly the story ends with how Barbara feels trapped by her past relationship with Edmond which Lord Uplandtowers exploited in order to force Barbara to marry him.

The ruins of Abbey exemplifies traditional Gothic themes by having supernatural elements such as ghosts as well as having a ruined abbey. The story also has an evil man (The Baron) that gets Abbey sent to the church abbey where she meets another trope, evil church people. The church people decided to condemn Abbey to a locked room when she ended up up being pregnant. The story also has the elements of being dark and mysterious. The last trope is that Abbey comes back from the dead as a ghost who is haunted by personal baggage in order to kill the Baron.

Experience Blog 1

My personal goals for this trip to gain experience with traveling abroad in order to better know how to plan future trips for myself and also I hope to gain experience with blending in with others from a different culture. In order to accomplish these goals I plan to pay attention and ask questions about how various trip planning processes are done as well as observe the instructor's methods to traveling successfully. For the second goal I plan to get involved and be as active as I can during my trip through exploring the local villages and cities. I also want to interact with different shops in Europe as well as the locals.

What is the gothic?

The gothic is a way of thinking that led to specific styles of literature as well as architecture during the 16th century and is still even present in modern times. The style focuses the aspects of terror, creepiness and nervousness through being mysterious as well as surprising. The movement became popular throughout Europe, especially with women. It gave women as well as men a method to explore themselves in ways that was normally frowned upon.    

Akzeptablen und inakzeptablen Verhalten

In society people establish certain standards for others to follow such as behaviors and ways to look. Some of these standards are pretty universal such as don't disrespect others or don't steal but there are also standards that vary depending on the culture. This topic is quite important right now since my trip to Europe will be here shortly (Only 1 week to go!). Up to this point I have tried to always keep in mind what kinds of clothing is more common in Europe while conducting my shopping as well as when considering my packing situation. Should I wear something like a tennis shoe for walking or something that has a little more of a dressier look? Would a hoody be okay or should I go more for a coat? While these decisions seem small in nature I believe they are quite important. Being able to show an awareness of a cultures norms can leave a very positive impression on the members of the culture. Some ways of dress that I could see being bad over in Europe are wearing sweat pants in public and showing some kind of political or patriotic symbol on a piece of clothing. These ways of dress could make you stand out and be perceived as being snobbish or not respectful. As for cultural norms of behavior I could see a decent amount of overlap within cultures on things like how to treat each other and on how to conduct yourself in public. Showing respect for others and conducting yourself in a respectful manner in public will give people a positive mindset about you. Another good thing is to be mindful of the fact that another culture may not be fully knowledgeable about our norms. In situations like this showing understanding and patience will go a long way towards having good relations within the different culture. Lastly I would also try to understand some of the unique cultural ideas that could show up and be ready to adapt to them.  

First impression of english course

The course that I plan to take is ENGL 2095 and with the topic of the course being Gothic literature. I know some information about the Gothic period such as its occurrence during the 12th century to around the 16th century. During this period a unique style of architecture was utilized in order to build things like churches and cathedrals. I also know that this time period led to a great flourishing of literature through the use of the horror genre (Gothic Horror) with creations like Bram Stoker's Dracula and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Another thing that I know is that while the period originated in Europe, some of it's ideas did make it overseas to the US in later years. Lastly I know that even in modern aspects of the gothic period are still utilized in venues such as film and forms of literature. In taking this class I hope to learn some more about the various types of literature that came from the time period as well as other forms of art such as paintings. I also hope to learn about the roots of the ideas of the Gothic period and what events could have had an impact on their far reach.

Getting Ready

Currently getting ready to go overseas for the first time (Britain). As well as first time on a plane (8 hour trip). I have discussed it with the family and they have agreed to split the cost three ways with me. I appreciate the help as I am still a low income college student. For clothes and luggage I have been to only take one medium suitcase and a small carry on bag, In the suitcase it has been said to only bring 3 pairs of pants and maybe 4 shirts with a pair of shoes ( or 2). Boxers are and should be required as well. Shampoo and conditioner, maybe soap as well (if it's not provided). To prepare for the trip I still need to discuss with the bank and figure out the camera situation. For the free weekend I hope to be able to go to either Rome (for the Colosseum) or Athens (more architecture). As you can tell I like looking at architecture, For a backup plan I would go to Paris instead (Eiffel tower at night) or stay in Harlaxton longer. I will be looking at towards the literature course while over there (Gothic ear). I'll post updates when I get closer to leaving. See you till then.