December – 2023

Settling in: host location, classes, and immersion

December 6, 2023December 6, 2023rothg2

McKenzie Harris: September 28th, 2023

After being here for almost four weeks, it sometimes feels like I have my neighborhood figured out. But I still feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of Prague and its mazes of streets. I’m excited to get to know the layout of the city and its activities better as the months go on. From what I’ve seen and explored so far, Prague never disappoints. From underground karaoke in an Irish pub, to the Mucha Museum, to Charles Bridge, every new experience sits glowing in my memories. And there’s always something more to do—to the point where the number of options and plans can actually be sort of stressful (more on that later). I’ve never lived in a big city, so the vibrant and constant energy here is new and fun for me to experience. To be fair, I think the frenetic pace of studying-abroad university students is probably not an accurate representation of all city life. For example, in my neighborhood, I’ll see parents bringing their kids to school or people walking their dogs and it reminds me that most of the people here are just living quiet lives with their families, just like anywhere else.

Since this is technically one of my official “arrival” posts for the travel writing program, I’ll summarize my experience so far with academics, students, extracurriculars, and getting settled into my life here.

^The view from my perch on the upper floor of the Prague Municipal Library^

Academics:

So far, my classes have been quite a lot of work. Home at Western, I’m used to having several classes made up of lectures, readings, and/or discussions, with an occasional exam or essay. Maybe once or less per quarter, I’d have a project or presentation. Here, however, all of my classes are largely project and presentation-based. Since projects are more work than writing for me, and I find presentations stressful, these classes will be a bigger burden than I’m used to in college. Before coming here, I promised myself that I would not let academics control my time here, because for once I’m in a position where I have more important things to do (experience a new city and culture, etc). I realized a few days ago, after a few weeks of diligently doing all of my optional readings and assignments, that I’ve neglected that goal. So I’ve decided to start doing the absolute bare minimum for my classes while still completing all of my graded assignments. (Sorry for any teachers or academic advisors at WWU who might be reading this). I don’t view this as me being careless or lazy; it’s just me straightening out my priorities a bit.

Another subject related to my academics here is that I like University of New York in Prague, but I should have done more research on the school before deciding on this program. One of the main reasons for me to study abroad was to experience my chosen subjects of study in a globally-minded way—to get a new perspective on psychology and environmental studies outside of the American education system. Unfortunately, UNYP is (as you can guess from the name) an American-style school, and I feel like I’m lacking the chance to learn from a European point of view. So for any prospective WWU EdAbroad students reading these blogs to help plan your trip, I highly recommend that you pay attention to the programs’ host schools in addition to the host city.

^From a recent daytrip to Kutna Hora–the St. Barbara’s Cathedral^

Activities outside of school:

In addition to socializing and exploring the city on my own time, I’ve been able to join a few extracurriculars which have added to my experiences here. My music psychology professor recently invited me to join a choir that he directs at a local school. We’ll be learning some Christmas carols to perform at a Christmas concert in December! This was so exciting for me because I’ve been missing music since I’ve been here.

UNYP also has an international friends club, which organizes events where study abroad students can meet locals and do fun things around town. My flatmates and I joined this club and have enjoyed their outings so far.

How I’ve been managing my time:

I’ve been trying to balance my priorities but it’s been a little difficult. One reason is that there’s a very tricky balance between making my experience here as full as possible, and making time for my mental health and rest. When in a city full of options (as I mentioned earlier), it can make me feel guilty to spend time resting at my apartment or doing homework. But I know that I need a lot of rest and quiet time as a person, and if I fill my days too intensely at the beginning of my trip, I might burn out and make myself stressed and sad later. So I’m trying to know when I should make extra plans and when I should take time to stay home. I haven’t really figured it out yet.

The other reason it’s difficult to decide on my plans is that I often find myself choosing between doing something I don’t feel like doing or alienating myself from my friends here. There’s a lot of social politics involved with missing group outings! So I’m working on knowing when to independently do what I want vs. when to do something I hadn’t planned to do for the sake of socializing. It’s hard to explain, but it’s been bothering me lately and I hope to resolve the issue eventually.

Overall, I’ve been really enjoying my time here, and I’ve made so many memories already that I can only look forward to all the ones I’ll make in the coming weeks.

^also from Kutna Hora–the statue walkway on top of the hill^

A weekend in Budapest: featuring a million pictures of the Danube, poignant history, and too many clubs for my liking

December 6, 2023December 6, 2023rothg2

McKenzie Harris: October 11th, 2023

My five roommates and I, plus four other friends from UNYP, joined a student tour to Hungary this weekend. Since Budapest was one of my most highly anticipated trips out of Prague, I was excited to see it, but knew so little about the city that I had almost no expectations. I think that’s a lucky combination of attitudes because I went into the trip ready to be pleased but unable to be disappointed! And sure enough; I got a very positive impression of the city. I still prefer Prague, but I’d like to return to Budapest someday.

For anyone looking into education abroad, I can say that it’s definitely reasonable to do multi-day trips like this while you’re studying abroad. I’ve had a lot of homework lately, but I just did a little extra right before the trip and I was able to go all three days without thinking about school at all. In my opinion, it’s definitely worth it to see some extra sights in your host region, as long as the travel isn’t too stressful, expensive, or distracting from your host city.

^the Parliament Building lit up at night^

Our trip consisted of two walking tours (one on the Buda side and one on the Pest side of the river), a nighttime boat party on the Danube, a street market for local vendors, and some excellent restaurants. The student group also did several very late excursions to clubs. I would have preferred to stay home and sleep, but what can you do? (leave early in my case, haha). I’ll have pictures from all of these activities and more at the end of the post!

Since this was my first trip outside of the Czech Republic since I’ve been here, I wanted to learn a bit about Hungarian culture and history. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to make it to the national museum and I learned less than I would have liked. Nevertheless, we learned some history from our tour guides and I also found a little online to share:

Budapest is celebrating its 150th anniversary of being a city this year. Before 1873, apparently the city was split into two parts on either side of the river—Buda, and Pest—so when they unified, they became “Budapest”. I know it sounds like I’m making this up but I swear it’s true.

Why I was so excited to see the Danube: This river was apparently very important to many historical empires, including Rome, the Huns, and the Ottoman Empire. I read a historical fiction novel earlier this year that was set in the period of the Ottoman expansion, and the river served as an important border and battle location between the Ottomans and Eastern Europe. Even though Budapest wasn’t where all of this happened, it was still cool to see and touch such an important river in person.
The Danube carries many dark legacies in its waters; in addition to the aforementioned wars of the middle ages, the river was used to dispose of the bodies of Jewish people in WWII during Nazi occupation. The picture of the shoes (below) shows a memorial sculpture, for the people who were shot and thrown into the river. The people had to take off their shoes, because they were well made and the Nazis wanted to use them. The third picture below is the Dohány Street Synagogue, the second-largest synagogue in the world. It’s hard to think about the cruelty and violence in the history of this city, but memorials like the shoes and other WWII sculptures (see 2nd below) are good reminders of the sordid past events that shouldn’t be forgotten.

More pictures below!

^the UNYP group!^

^St. Stephen’s Basilica, which we could see from our hostel window!^

^the common room of the hostel^

^me in front of the river^

^another parliament picture, this time in daylight!^

^the tour group, via the Oh My Prague organization^

^this is the ceiling of a cafe! It was the New York Cafe, which marketed itself as “the most beautiful cafe in the world”^

^we had to try the most beautiful McDonald’s in the world too, of course^

^the UNYP group again!^

^me at the Fisherman’s Bastion on the hill, overlooking the city^

^the view over the Danube to the Buda side^

^one of four sculpted lions standing sentry for the Chain Bridge^

^part of the walk up the hill to the castle^

^two sculptures near the castle complex on top of the hill, showing an interesting contrast between the success of the hunters and the woman with a fawn looking at them^

^another picture of the parliament building from the river, but this time it’s from a slightly different angle!^

Thanks for reading!

Two weekends of travel: Dublin and Vienna

December 6, 2023December 6, 2023rothg2

McKenzie Harris, December 3rd, 2023

I apologize for lumping these two visits together into one post, but I have several other topics I’d like to write about in this blog in the next few weeks, so I didn’t feel like last month’s trips needed two separate posts. In addition, the Dublin and Vienna trips were during two consecutive weekends, so in my head, they’re sort of the same event. (that’s what I’m telling myself).

Dublin

When I was deciding where I wanted to travel outside of the Czech Republic, my main ideas were Budapest and Vienna (both of which I’ve now seen!). In a less realistic sense, I wanted to go somewhere a little farther away, and among those options were the Mediterranean coast and Ireland. In the end, I decided on Ireland because I have a friend studying abroad in Dublin who could show me around. I was also excited about Ireland because I have a delusion that my reddish hair, pale skin, and name somehow connect me to the country. As it turns out, McKenzie is not even an Irish name; my taxi driver told me he knew I was American because he had only ever heard that name in American tv!

I spent two full days in Dublin, and I’m really glad I went, despite the cold and my knee’s issues. It was very comforting to see a familiar friend in an unfamiliar continent. On the first day, I got a tour of downtown and Trinity College from my friend Barbara, visited an art museum, and tried my first Guinness at an authentic Irish pub.

^my “mini” Irish breakfast, accompanied by a chai latte and my current read^

^looking into the courtyard of Trinity College, Barbara’s school^

^St. Stephen’s Green^

^National Gallery of Ireland^

On the morning of day two, I went to the beach and was delighted by the number of intact shells on the shore. Later in the afternoon, I met with Barbara to see an archaeology museum, where we got to see bog bodies! For those who are unfamiliar with said bog bodies, they’re sort of mummified people who were recovered from the peat bogs of northern Europe. The peat bogs are extremely acidic, so the bodies of the dead who were put in the bogs are preserved extremely well, similar to how vegetables can be preserved by pickling. I will put a picture of one of the bog bodies below; it’s not graphic but it’s a bit unsettling, just so you know. After the museum, we watched a movie at the Irish Film Institute before saying goodbye. The movie wasn’t Irish, but we were at an Irish institution so I thought it was still a culturally relevant activity. We watched Past Lives (2023) and we both loved it, so I recommend it if anyone’s looking for new movies to watch. I flew home the next morning and prepared for my next few free days before my parents arrived in Prague.

^Bog body!!^

^Barbara and I on my last night in Dublin^

Vienna

My parents and I spent the weekend in Vienna while they were visiting me in Europe. It was a chilly few days, but definitely worth it to see a city I had looked forward to seeing for so long. On our first and only full day, we visited the Habsburg dynasty’s palace, learned about our favorite Empress Sisi, ate schnitzel at the famous Cafe Central, walked around Vienna’s old town, and saw a classical music concert complete with Mozart, ballet, and operetta songs. We also enjoyed the Christmas decorations all around the most popular streets.

^me in front of Schonbrunn palace^

^one of many statues on the palace grounds^

^christmas lights on Kärntner Straße^

On the second day, we left in the early evening, but before that, we were able to get in some sightseeing. In the morning, we went on a (somewhat disappointing) river tour on the Danube and ate strudel. We walked around a bit, and before leaving, we got to see the State Hall of the Austrian National Library, which was the most beautiful room I’ve ever seen.

Overall, I liked Vienna a lot and would like to go back when it’s warmer. It was different from how I imagined it, mostly because I expected the whole city would look just like it did in the movie Before Sunrise. Instead of being intimate and indie-like, everything seemed giant and important, which isn’t a bad thing. I expect other parts of the city are smaller and less regal. I told one of my friends that Vienna is the light academia to Prague’s dark academia, and I still stand by that characterization.