Laurna Curby

03 August 2015

London

Tower Bridge was finished on June 30th 1894 by the future King Edward VII. 

London -- London was so amazing. A country where everyone is speaking English is my kind of country. I had built this city up so much in my head and somehow it lived up to this vision. I have always had a fascination with England. This trip to Germany was the perfect opportunity to visit London. I did not have any bad experience here. Conversations were polite. The people were fun to listen too. The city was not scary.

Buckingham Palace gate is pictured. 

The gate to the Palace 

shows the royal coat of arms.

One interaction I had was at the Hard Rock Café. The waiter was awesome. He gave me tips to save money, he showed me his favorite drinks and he even got me a free bag. He told a joke almost every time he came to the table and I thoroughly enjoyed my experience. The host helped us with directions and was knowledgeable about the city. The retail shop had people who were friendly and fun to have a conversation with.

After my amazing lunch, I went to Buckingham Palace. Buckingham Palace is the home of the Queen of England II and Prince Phillip. I also saw the London Bridge which is not as fancy as you would think but rather just a boring bridge. I also saw Tower Bridge. Tower Bridge is a suspension bridge with two towers. The top of the towers are connected with a walkway. The Tower Bridge was originally a green color but was painted red, white, and blue in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee in 1977. The Silver Jubilee is the 25th anniversary of succession to the throne.

This city was magical, in the fact that I spoke the language meaning I was not scared of the language barrier. I did not have to save face and there was no culture shock. I had no conflicts and had an easy trip. 

01 August 2015

Prague

The Charles Bridge, it was built in 1357 and was originally called the Stone Bridge or Prague Bridge.

Trdelník is a traditional Czech food.
It is a spiraled dough that is cooked
and covered in honey. 

Prague -- Prague is an exceptional city. My first interactions were great. On arrival at my hotel, I was greeted by the owner who invited me in. She offered a refreshment since she knew I had been traveling quite a bit. She then sat me down and asked if I had any places I wanted to see. She then gave me a map and circled the main sights I should visit. The important places were highlighted and routes to these places were written down. She was enthusiastic and got me excited to see the city. She also gave me a warning about pickpockets. After this brief introduction to the city, I went to dinner. While I did not hear English being spoken everywhere, I learned at dinner that most do speak English. The following day I went out to see the castle and then I ate a traditional food they called Trdelník. I also visited Vyšehrad. This piece of the city is said to be, by locals, the first place of settlement that became what is Prague today. The graveyard in Vyšehrad has the most famous Czech people buried there and has one of the oldest buildings of Prague.

Throughout this trip I had little problems. The people were decent but the conversations I had here were simple. The hotel owner had been the only person that I had a full conversation with. She was polite and upbeat. The final day she stored my bags and when I returned to get them she had a cab ready to take me to the airport. I had no real shock while visiting Prague and I did not try to save any face. The airport in Prague was easy to get through and nobody was rude. Prague was a good experience to say I was there but I probably would not go back.

31 July 2015

Intercultural Adaptation Theory

Erfurt, Thurinigia, Germany -- On the scale of cultural adaption, I would say, honestly, that I am in the honeymoon stage still. I have not spent enough time to become adapt. I have been traveling many of the weeks that I have been here. I am still thinking most things are awesome. I never went through culture shock as far as I am concerned. I dislike a few of the practices around Europe but I never felt really out of place. I have fallen in love with Germany and have been the second I had landed. It’s a lovely country! The people don’t make un-necessary conversation. I love this because small talk is often something that makes me uneasy back in the states. The people are not as rude as I have been told. The language is amazing to me. I love learning new words every day. I am still amazed every time I walk into Erfurt and I see the massive churches on the hill. The buildings are so old. The town is so peaceful.

While I love the town, the practices I cannot stand are the service at restaurants. Going out to eat is frustrating. You can be stuck at your table for several hours. I also can get frustrated with the language barrier but neither of these things are something that will scare me away from this new place!

On another hand, I was told that, perhaps, I am in stage three, Adjustment. I have figured out the culture and I have accepted that I should not cross the street without the green, I am prepared to wait at dinner and I have accepted that I will not be able to talk to everyone. I did not see it this way until they pointed it out. Either way I am still amazed that I had all these opportunities and I am amazed that I am living in Germany. I am also getting excited to go home as well. 

28 July 2015

Paris

The Louvre, the most visited 

museum in the world. This
museum is the home to
The Mona Lisa.

Paris -- Paris was an experience. I went to Paris for two things! Firstly, I wanted to see the Eiffel Tower and two, I wanted to see the Louvre. I will say that I accomplished both of these but I did not enjoy it. I will start by telling you the metro is scary. So many people and all of them are really weird. Second, do not trust anyone! Paris was the last place I was worried about, but on arrival at the train station I learned quickly Paris was not as friendly as Berlin or Amsterdam. The people were not friendly, they were not helpful and many of them do not know English.

The Eiffel Tower was erected in
1889 and is, to this day, the
tallest structure in Paris.

Communication was difficult in Paris. I got lost quite far from where I was staying. All I needed was the metro to get me home. I went in to a post office thinking the employees would be able to speak English. I went in and said “bonjour” and tried to ask if they speak English. They answered yes, so I asked for the trains. She didn't understand trains. So I said “Deutsche Bahn, or Thayla.” She still did not understand. I was going to say metro when another person stepped in and pointed me to the closest subway stop.

Pont Alexandre III is described
as the most extravagant
bridge in Paris. 

There were many times that I tried to save face, I would try not to speak, and I would just try to point at everything. I attempted to find everything on my own. I tried not to ask questions but when I did it never turned out well.

Another terrible thing about Paris is there are guys of one nationality trying to sell you things everywhere. By the Eiffel Tower they would try to sell you roses, miniature Eiffel Towers, water, wine, and sling shots. By the Louvre they were selling paintings and other little things. They are everywhere and they pick out the tourist. They get the tourist in their sight and talk to you until you finally buy something or run away! To me, Paris was a culture shock. It was automatically disgusting to me. After the first twenty minutes of being in Paris all I wanted to do was hide and do absolutely nothing. I forced myself out of the room and spent all of the next day just trying to find the train station to make my reservation back to Erfurt.

27 July 2015

Amsterdam

The Dancing House, these house, while being crooked, are one of the most expensive houses in Amsterdam.  

Amsterdam -- Amsterdam has been my favorite city this trip! The people were so friendly and accepting. I almost thought English was their first language. They did not care that we were tourist. I did not feel the need to present a certain face and I had little fear once I had walked around the city. Amsterdam was made for tourists. While the ideas around Amsterdam may be a little off putting you can’t let that keep you from visiting this amazing city.

One of the many buildings that 

I found beautiful.

I was originally not excited by the idea of Amsterdam. You hear about it, as if it is a party central. You hear about the weed, and other drugs, you hear about the red light district, but you don’t hear about the people, the buildings, and the french fries!

While I have already hit on the fact that the people in Amsterdam are very inviting I need to emphasize how cool they are. I had no problem with any employees, I had no problem with the other tourists. For a great example, I went on a pizza cruise with my boyfriend. We got on the boat and was soon sat with another couple from Canada. The boat ride was filled with pleasant conversation, a lot of beer, and pizza. The couple was telling us about their adventures through Europe and we were telling them our plans for the next two weeks. They were telling us cool things about Canada, specifically Toronto. Within the last five minutes of the cruise we asked for another beer the waitress was skeptical about our capacity to finish the beer before the end of the cruise but brought us a beer anyway! We finished it, by the way.

Now for the buildings. The architecture was interesting. There are several sets of houses around Amsterdam that they call Dancing Houses. These houses lean in many several directions. They lean because they have a wood foundation and water has warped the wood. The Dancing Houses are said to sway in the night. The floors of the houses are not crooked because they have been upgraded but the city did not want to change the look of the Dancing Houses. These houses along with many other buildings in Amsterdam are very nice to look at and easy to enjoy.

Finally, the french fries! French fries in a cone are inconvenient but theses fries were delicious! I do not care who you are there is no way you could not enjoy these french fries. You may get a little messy and you may feel fat when you eat them but you just need to embrace the french fries in the cone. And to end, one piece of advice, do not, I will repeat, do not get a large cone of fries.

26 July 2015

Reflecting on Berlin

The current Berlin Cathedral was built in 1905. In 1944, the cathedral was bombed and a large portion collapsed. Reconstruction did not occur until 1975.

One of the many Bears around Berlin! 

A bear is the symbol of the city. One

hypothesis is that when the first
bear appeared, 1280, bears still
existed near Berlin. The feared
beast was a good representative
of the city.

Berlin -- Berlin is a place that I feel everyone should experience. In my opinion, there are many differences between Erfurt and Berlin. First and foremost, I quickly noticed that in Berlin, the people were not strained when speaking English. Most of them figured out that I was an American and would speak to me in English with ease. I found that West Germans are more inclined to speak English than East Germans. I believe this is due to the fact that there were several American and English military bases in West Germany after the war, thus making the English language relevant to them while East Germans did not experience the same exposure to the English language. I overheard two conversations where a German speaker was teaching an English speaker German and vice versa.

Berlin is also a newer city with buildings that may look old but in reality are much younger than those in Erfurt. Berlin is an important piece in history. Berlin was a major city but, in world war two, it had gotten brutally destroyed. Berlin has since became a top city after the reunification of Germany, which took place in 1990. The city now has many buildings that look old, but a lot of buildings downtown were actually erected after 1920. The city is still building itself up and being so, it is bringing new people into the city. Berlin is important because the city was once split in two by the berlin wall. The unification of the city has made Belin very different in the aspect that the people who lived on both sides have been forced to come together to form a certain unity. Berlin was an amazing change from other cities I have visited in Germany. It was confirmed quickly that Berlin is, in fact, the hipster capital of the world.

Inside the Memorial to the
Murdered Jews of Europe.

While visiting Berlin, we went to an abandoned airport and I am sure you are thinking of an old, falling down building that kids creep into, hoping to find ghost and tag it with graffiti. That is exactly what I was thinking when we were told to go there. Upon arrival at this abandoned airport, we found it to be a park. Kids were skateboarding and rollerblading on the runways, along with many bicycle riders and runners. On the grass between the runways, we could see a garden with many shacks. There were many guitar players and singers playing their tunes. I found this use of an abandoned space to be absolutely amazing. When we, Americans, abandon something, we leave it to rot, but they made it into a place to be together and have fun. Not only was this place simple, but the people we encountered were very inviting.

While Berlin was amazing, there was one sketchy encounter. Several other girls and I were walking around the city at night when two girls came up to us and asked if we wanted to find a bar. While the others were about to answer, I noticed a male standing near us and was also waiting for an answer. I found this strange and immediately said no. The others were about to say sure, but I found that just because everyone seems nice does not mean, that it is the case, that everyone is nice.

I had few communication issues in Berlin, the general population seemed decent at speaking English and did not seem to mind that tourists were there. The encounters I had with restaurant employees and hotel staff were pleasant. In Berlin, I did not have to try to speak my crappy German like I do in many other places. In Erfurt, most of the time I try to speak the minimal German I have. I attempt to understand the Erfurt community but in Berlin, I felt almost a part of the community.

12 July 2015

First-Half Reflections

Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany -- Upon arrival in Erfurt, I was nervous about talking to those in the town and my soon to be classmates. While I know that many citizens of Germany learn English growing up, I had mixed feeling about going up to others speaking my native language. After meeting the German students in my class, I felt better about communicating with my classmates. Their English was much better than I could have imagined. They were friendly and seemed happy to be a part of SPICE 2015. After conversation with the other students, I learned pretty quickly that a German university is different than our universities back home. The German students seemed more grown up than us Americans. The first time I met one of the German students in our class was the first day I got to Erfurt and I remember thinking that perhaps she was graduate student. She was leading us to our dorms where we would be living for the next two months and she seemed very grown up when really, she is only a year or two older than me. I met the other two students the first week in Erfurt and they were much more social than I expected. They participated in small talk, I thought that was not a thing in Germany, but I guess in that situation what else are you supposed to do.

While my classmates turned out to be pretty cool, I have had some good and bad interactions with the residents of Erfurt. While many of them speak English, I have still attempted to learn some German while abroad to save a little face. This has back fired a few times. I remember the first week we were in Erfurt I attempted to say “Can I have” and then whatever I was asking for in German. The person looked at me like I was mental. I then attempted one more time. I finally resulted to English to which they replied thank you. In these situations, I question if they even appreciate the effort or if they are just annoyed with me being in their presence. I would like to think I am bettering myself by learning another language but I have encountered several instances where they would rather me just speak English. Now I have also encountered where they try to help you with your German. I like these encounters. I was trying to order ice cream when I first got here and I attempted to say “erdbeere” or what we would call strawberry. I did not say one of the letters right and the guy scoping the ice cream taught me to pronounce it correctly.

While there are language barriers here, I find that the pace of the culture is slow and everyone here seems relaxed. Even with the barriers, you can still get that at home feeling. The peace of sitting outside while eating a meal and watching the people go by. You can sit for hours upon hours just watching the people. It amazing and I question every time I sit down for dinner why we do not take time to just sit under the sky, the time to talk for hours before and after a great meal. After spending time in Germany, I will always question where everyone in America is in a hurry to go. In the end, we will all be in the ground, so why not sit down and enjoy your dinner the way it should be enjoyed? 

8 July 2015 

Brussels, Belgium

The ceiling of a church 

with the Illuminati.

Brussels -- After a split decision to go to Brussels, I have found this city to be my favorite place thus far on this trip. We arrived in Brussels at night and after a long search we found a hotel. This journey alone was tiring and scary. We got off the train in a section of Brussel that is not a tourist section. Upon arrival we found out that the Eurostar was on strike, this was bringing an extreme amount of tourist, and they were taking up all of the hotels. We finally went back to the tourist section, there we found a reasonably priced hotel. The group split up and four of us decided to go on tour of the city the next day. This city was amazing. I think the most interesting part for me is that around the city you can find evidence of the Free Masons. The Free Masons had come and helped rebuild some of the buildings. You can find the first symbol of the Free Masons upon these buildings and you can see the Illuminati symbol on the ceiling of the church. While the Free Masons had not officially started yet, it is said that they were there.

Real Waffle with Hot Chocolate.

Besides the symbols throughout the city, Brussels showed equality with several statues a boy, a girl and a dog peeing. Brussel also had many hidden gems one being a two hundred old bar down a back ally. At one point in the history of Brussels they banned alcohol so they began building bars down alleys. From the road the alleys look to just end but once you go down them you will often times find a bar. The food of Brussel was also amazing. I, not knowing very much about Brussels, was surprised to hear the mussels were something that should be had. The mussels were very good served with bread and French fries. I also had two waffles while I was there. One was a street waffle covered in warm chocolate, which was as delicious as you would think, the second waffle was described as a “real” waffle by our tour guide. This waffle, I got it with strawberries, was also delicious. With the second waffle I drank the richest hot chocolate I have ever had.

Brussels was an experience of a lifetime, this trip allowed me to see a new city but it also taught me a few valuable lessons. The first lesson is before you go anywhere make sure you have a place to sleep! The second lesson is that one, who is traveling, should keep up on current events and how these events are effecting the world! The third lesson I took from this trip is to not overlook the tours being offered. The tour we took was one I will not forget. We got food, drinks and history in one convenient package. 

3 July 2015

Face Negotiation Theory

Erfurt, Thuringia, DE -- You present a face when you are in a conflict. There are two faces, self-face and other face. This week I decided to get my hair cut, yes in Germany. Why you might ask, because for some bizarre reason I thought it was a good idea. I was getting tired of my hair so I went to a salon. The woman who cut my hair spoke “little” English. I looked up the German words for bangs and layers hoping they used the same word for hair as we did. The woman was very polite and seemed to have understood. She began cutting my hair and was very professional. She attempted to make conversation as any hairdresser would but with the language barrier it was difficult. I am one to keep to myself but I usually attempt to keep conversation because that is what we do, but this encounter made me feel so awkward I just stopped talking.

I realize now that I tried to save my face by not talking. I kept a smile on my face for the duration of the cut because I did not want her to think that I didn’t like it. Whether I liked it or not was not a question at that point. I tried to save my face by not causing a conflict or what could be a conflict. This theory seems relevant to everyday interactions with anyone of another culture. I try to save my face by not messing up their language but at the same time am I saving face at all doing this?

25 June 2015

Communication Accommodation Theory

Frankfurt, Cologne, Brussels, Düsseldorf -- This week we decided to do four cities in four days and let’s just say it got a bit hectic at times. This week I got to experience traveling at its worst. Being in a country where you do not speak the same language is stressful. Not knowing where to go makes this even worse. You can attempt to ask questions but most of the time they just look at you like you are crazy. You can point to signs or papers but you may not get an answer even then, so you go to the back of the information line and hope you get another person this time through. You hope to get the young person behind the desk but sometimes they are all older. You might think someone here must speak English but you cannot prove it and you cannot find that special, very special person. Occasionally, it is not this difficult because of communication accommodation. I have noticed that I speak slower when I talk to someone of another language and I use my hands more frequently. I try to use some of the words I do know in their language if I have any. I look for pictures or things to point at to get them to understand what I am asking. They, when reply, might accommodate by pointing as well or sometimes just speaking English. Without words we must both try. This theory is easily applied to everyday here in Germany. Every day is another day to accommodate for my lack of Deutsch language skills.

Specifically there was a time at a subway station in Brussels where other spice students and I were lost. We went to the information desk to ask for help finding the platform and train we needed. We asked questions and we were not getting an answer. We showed the guy our itinerary and he pointed towards the platform. He then said one stop then get off. We had to accommodate by showing a picture and he had to accommodate by trying to use English.

28 May 2015

Introduction

"Small Town," Ohio -- Hello I am Laurna Curby and I am a junior at West Virginia University. I will be graduating next May! After graduation I am not sure where I will go, I am looking into law enforcement so that I can become a detective. I am from a small town in Ohio, I usually say Northeast Ohio but then people ask for a city and that when I say it is about 40 minutes from Youngstown and Akron, about an hour from Cleveland, 20 minutes to Kent. I grew up on a back road that had us and Amish, no I do not know anything about them except they aren’t as friendly as people say, they don’t have electricity but they do have phones and their own schools, they call us Yankees but mostly they keep to themselves. I loved my small town. I chose West Virginia University because of the Forensics program but I love it because of the small town feel. I no longer study just Forensics but am now a Multidisciplinary Studies major. This meaning I have three minors, Forensics, Communications and Photography. I am so very excited for this opportunity to expand my horizons. This trip allows me to finish my communication minor and practice my photography. I am currently in Germany to visit my father so I am already getting a feel for the country. I am so excited to see more of this country with fellow mountaineers. I know that this trip id one that I will be talking about for years to come.