Experimental blog #9

During this study abroad program I feel that I have learned so many beneficial lessons. I had such a different prospective of others cultures than I do now. Before when I met people from other cultures their background's never really fazed me. But now I feel like I have a different outlook on the way other people, of different cultures, live their life. I feel like I have changed for the better in that way. I truly appreciate the difference of cultures now that I have experienced them. To be fully immersed in a different culture is far more beneficial than just reading about them or watching movies. Because once you have had the experience of conversing with people from other cultures in their home town, nothing can engross you more. I have enjoyed my time abroad and I think I have utilized my time abroad to the fullest.

Experimental blog #8

During this course I am learning the impact of Empire. We have travelled to a few cities in Europe to really get a feel for what the empire was like many many years ago. This study abroad class has taught me so much that I don't think the equivalent classroom course could ever compare. All the pictures and textbooks do not even begin to compete with the actual places we visited.
This trip is important for me because it is widening my understanding of Empire in the early days. So many things I have only just heard about let alone study. I am so glad I signed up for this course because the knowledge I have acquired on this trip is far greater than any knowledge I would have received for independent travel. The required readings really helped put my vision of Empire together.

Experimental blog #7

I have been pleasantly surprised with the behavior of the people in England. They are polite and kind and try their best to accommodate their visitors. I have had a few conversations with people in town who ask me how Harlaxton is, and ask me about the States.
Unlike Americans, the people here are uncomfortable insulting others. For example I thought it was interesting that instead of asking us to keep it down, the bar tenders called Harlaxton about the rowdy students. It is also strange to see the British people in the grocery store obviously trying to get around someone, but not saying anything like "excuse me", they just stand behind the person and wait.
Seeing how the natives act, I attempt to be similar in my ways, as long as I am here. I do not wish to stand out as just another crazy American. I want to bring honor to my country and being rude and reckless will not win me that.  Instead I will continue to act with dignity so I  may bring a good name to the US.

Experimental blog #6

While in London I observed different ways of speaking. The English culture, I feel, is so much more sophisticated than American culture. They have a polite way of life, it seems like it is against their culture to be rude to people. The American culture is not much like that, we don't really have boundaries when it comes to speaking our mind and acting the way we do. The language here is different and I have concluded that life in England has a calm aspect to it, and it is a very enjoyable country.

Experimental blog #5

Emotions
-Note the emotions you are feeling as you experience your study abroad program. Pay attention to how you react to new situations as well as the other people in your group. Notice how emotions are expressed in your American group and in groups of people in Vienna and Prague.·

I am a very out ward person emotionally, so I express my emotions pretty freely. But when traveling to foreign countries, with different cultures we have to remember to be couscous of the people around us and try not to offend them with the way we express ourselves normally in the U.S.. I think after seeing how people conduct themselves in different countries, gives me a better respect and understanding for their way of life. After complying and attending to my emotions appropriately, I have come to the conclusion that I truly enjoy the culture and how people act over here. Not more than the U.S. obviously, but I really enjoy the customs of Europe. 

Experimental Blog #4

Prague
-Describe buildings and landscape

The buildings and landscape in Prague are very quaint, the cute little buildings with all the different colors give the city it's character. Also the landscape especially by the river is quite beautiful.

-Compare what I was to what I expected to see.

Beginning this trip I imagined Prague to be a cute little European town, I wasn't sure what specifically to expect but while we were in Vienna I met a man who told me That Prague would be much cuter than Vienna. This interested me because I was so in love with Vienna. But he was so right <3. 

-What insights did I learn doing this exercise about Czech people?

I learned about how content the Czech people are here, so far I haven't experienced much rudeness except when it comes to splitting the bill at restaurants. I have heard One cop car this whole time as opposed to Vienna I heard them multiple times a day. 

Experimental Blog #3

Vienna
Buildings and landscape explain how they influence and reflect the culture and compare.
My insights 
The buildings here have a very imperial look, the architecture is beautiful and grand.  The Landscape is very particular with all the gardens on the outskirts and the stone walls, the statues and fountains In the city. Those have a representation of power and officiality. 
I think that these things reflect upon the locals in a good way, they seem like they have a lot of respect for their culture and history that comes with living here. 
I definitely have a greater outlook on the culture in Vienna after staying here a few days I have come to appreciate their way of living, Cincinnati is nothing compared to this grand city.  
We don't have the palaces and the historical significance. These European city's astonish me. The US doesn't have the imperial side like they do here, the fancy ballrooms, dining rooms and such are so exclusive to this side of the world.

Kafka and Empire

Franz Kafka is known as one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. He was born, and lived in Prague. His works consisted of the most utterly gothic stories. He betters my understanding of Empire because he is so widely know around the world. There are so many people out there with such respect for the famous man that his name is used and studied in so many classrooms around the globe.

Kutna Hora

Kutna Hora is where the bone church is located. An old monk had dug up over 400,000 dead bodies from a grave yard to make room for more bodies. It is said that the bones called out to him during the night, and in order to silence these voices he put the bones and skulls up for decoration around an old chapel.
This church is very gothic and sublime. As we walked into the musty church we were instantly surrounded by death and decay, which was very creepy. There were piles and piles of bones as well as little decorations created with bones. I think it can be sublime in the way that one person can feel so small surrounded by those masses of bones. The bones represent so many different people, that one person can look at the piles and be in total awe of the whole church.

Konopiste

Konopiste is a hunting lodge where Franz Ferdinand used to retreat. He hunted all types of game there, and shot and killed over 300,000 animals. Franz mounted and numbered every single one of them. Doing this made him feel empowered, and made others around him kind of weary of him. This Lodge is truly a symbol of empire, Franz made it that way by displaying all of his trophies for his guests to see as well as for his own enjoyment. I think having 6-10 trophies on the wall is enough to feel proud, but no, this man went above and beyond.

Sisi's role

Empress Sisi is an Empire Heroine. Her constant state of struggle was torturing her every day. She is certainly a figure to learn from and respect, because marriage at such a young age must have been so difficult for a country girl inheriting an entire Kingdome. She was only 15 at the time and her understanding was not fully developed. She had no idea the depth of her situation. Sisi later writes how marriage is something to regret for years and years to come. It was such a serious commitment for a young girl. Though Franz Joseph loved Sisi very much, his love for her was unrequited. Sisi did what she had to, to rule her contry without falling apart. She stayed storng though her hardships and rarly let her sadness show. Sisi is one great Empire Heroine to look up to for strength to get through any hard times.

Palaces

The palace of Schonbrunn in Vienna was the summer home for Franz Joseph and Sisi. Though out in the country much business was still being attended there. Upon arrival the guests would have a waiting room to wait in until their audience with the emperor. There was also room for large dinner parties as well as fancy balls and guest quarters. Outside there are beautiful gardens surrounding the palace which seclude it from all other civilization.The Hofburg palace was very similar only it was the official palace of Vienna. It is located in the center of the city. It is not as pretty as Schonbrunn, it has no gardens. The gray look made it feel very industrial.
The palace of Kew Gardens was the home of George III. It was considered the summer palace, and it is what one would imagine a regular summer home to be. Contrary to Schonbrunn, Kew did not have a large ball room, guest quarters or elegant waiting rooms. This red brick palace was much more homey and centered towards family than anything else. I do not recall seeing any sort of writing desks for business to be had. I think this summer palace is much more favorable than Schonbrunn even though it is a great deal smaller

Cathedrals

The Cathedral of St. Stephen in Vienna was the massive church absolutely covered in gothic décor. The trademark of the church is the tower, extremely tall, narrow and pointy. It was quite dark inside,  almost dependant on natural sunlight. The Cathedral of St. Vitus in Prague was anther large Catholic church. I thought this church was not nearly as pretty as St. Stephen's. St. Vitus was also very ill lit and covered with the gothic setting, from each painting to every little window.
The Basilica of St. George in Prague on the other hand was way smaller and so different than the cathedrals. St. George's was a quaint little Roman chapel. It had gray stone and round doorways, very early roman. There was not much in the way of decorations and it did not contain stained glass windows. I think the only somewhat gothic aspect of this church was the crypt, but even that did not show much creepiness. It was very plain, not what you would expect a crypt to be like.

Freuds Contribution to Empire

Freud Contributes to the understanding of Empire in a few different ways. Being that he is the father of modern phycology he holds a high rank in our society. So many people look up to him, read his books and study his life. Patients would trust Freud and take his advise to heart. He was the highest form of help for any mentally ill person. I think that Freud reined the modern physiological empire because of the enormous amount of power he possessed in the mental health industry in Vienna.

Mortons

Rudolf was the only son of  Franz Joseph and Elizabeth of Austria. The crown prince had various titles pertaining to his position in the Empire, but this did not necessarily mean he possessed the power which accompanied these roles. For instance he was the leader of the Austrian militia but was never informed of their meetings. Franz Joseph did not treat Rudolf well as a son, he did what he had to for show but did not make out to be a decent fatherly figure. Rudolf and his father did not have the same political views, Franz Joseph, being Catholic, was more conservative. And Rudolf followed more views with his mother who seemed to be more liberal. When Rudolf committed suicide, Franz tried his hardest to conserve his family name and not let the word get out of the real cause of death. But when the truth was publicized, he convinced those of authority to rule Rudolf had a mental illness. And when that seem to work the Emperor finally had to bribe the burial grounds for a plot on Holy Land. There his body lay today.

UK Novelties

I was surprised about how beautiful the grounds at Harlaxton are, including the Blue Bell trails and the gazebos. I cannot say I have had any unpleasant experiences here so far. I was just surprised how many servants quarters there are. I guess back in the day they had to have room for so many servants.
As far as dealing with novelties, I am usually a loud person back home. So over here in the UK, I have to remember to watch myself, be aware of my surroundings and act accordingly. I feel like fully immersing myself in this culture is bringing out the best in me. Having to adjust to different customs has really been a blast though!

The Ultimate Gift

 I chose to come on this trip with a few goals in mind. I wished to begin traveling the world while I am still young and able to do so. I also want to immerse myself in other cultures in order to experience different ways of life and happiness. I also wish to learn a lot!
 German history absolutely fascinates me, I feel that taking this course is opening up many more opportunities than anything. I plan to achieve my goals by being tentative in class, as well as experiencing the UK and Europe to the fullest. I truly believe that this course has been my Ultimate Gift.

The Gothic Idea

Today, being gothic means to dress in dark colors, wear lots of eyeliner, and maybe have gages. That's just your stereotypical Gothic person. But what is seldom know to many of our worlds youth, is the origin of the idea of being 'Gothic'. My understanding of it always came from the architectural stand point. The large dark buildings with the pointy towers, which give off a sort of creepy vibe, this is what I think about. And our modern 'Gothic' people are following that trend by portraying themselves as creepy figures. So I guess you could say they are sort of keeping the Gothic era  alive in their own way.

Standing Out

Clothing or behaviors which may cause you to "stand out" in London, Vienna or Prague.

Americans are known to be loud both vocally and apparel wise. I think keeping our colors subdued will help the group fit in(not that people won't know we are tourist or any thing). Also being respectful to the locals in our host country is very important because we do not want to give them any more of a reason to dislike Americans.

What I expect

     When think about traveling abroad I get very excited. I am absolutely psyched about being able to study German culture and history in different countries!  I expect to be very engrossed with the new culture, and I hope to get the most out of this experience. I do not know a lot about the Habsburg line, but I expect to be an expert by the time I return home. The thrill of this Abroad adventure is building and I cannot wait to be studying German History with new friends.

Getting Ready

To get ready for the British Study Abroad, I am getting my founds in order so I can make a side trip to Paris. I am also planing my outfits so everything will coordinate with each other. I want to be able to pack light even though it will be super hard because I love all of my clothes.