Payton Newlun

03 August 2015

Brugge

Brugge -- After Amsterdam, Katie, Jackie and I went to Brugge, Belgium. They already had booked a room for the night. Me being me, I was just going to wing it and hope for the best. I originally planned to sneak into their room but the joys of life came into play. Both Katie and Jackie booked the wrong dates at their hostel so we were in a pickle. Luckily, the manager of the hostel was able to find another place that had room for us down the road. What a great way to start off our trip!

We were beyond hungry after the four hour train ride. We threw our luggage in the room and made way to a local restaurant called Cambrinus. It’s Belgian style cuisine which consists of fries, stew and mussles. They also are home to four hundred different beers. I was in heaven! I got the beef stew. It came with hot apple sauce and a side of fries. It was easily top 5 meals I have had on this entire trip. The meat cut like butter, the gravy was almost perfect (basically it wasn’t my mom’s recipe), and the apple sauce topped the dish off. I had a beer from the Delirium brewing company called Tremens. It was nine percent alcohol and I could taste it with every sip. I am open to try any beer but I can say that will be the last time I have a Delirium Tremens. I do recommend Cambrinus to anyone traveling to Brugge.

Brugge is like walking through a time portal. The horses galloping on the cobble stone roads throughout the city makes you feel like you are back in noble times. I would not be surprised if Game of Thrones filmed in Brugge. The medieval buildings are incredible. Its amazing that they have kept up for all these years. The canals that run through the city just add to the beauty of Brugge. I was not fortunate enough to take any tours due to the small time I was their but it is definitely a place that will be revisited. It was the prettiest city I have visited on this trip for the architecture alone.

We ended the trip by visiting an Irish pub. Most would say that doesn’t make a lot of sense but at the time it felt right. Our bartender may have been the most interesting man alive. He was born in Ireland, his mother was French and father was Irish. He live in Ireland for 9 years then moved to France. He spoke both languages but had the strongest Irish accent I have ever heard. He resided in Miami for five years in South Beach bartending. Now he lives in Belgium but travels across Europe bartending. He bartends for a living because it’s his passion but it’s okay because he has an accounting degree to fall back on. I would put him up to replace the Dos Equis guy because he honestly was the most interesting person I have met. It ended the Brugge trip perfectly.

03 August 2015

Amsterdam

Amsterdam -- Amsterdam. It’s one of those places you have heard about your entire life. From movies to music to friends, Amsterdam is always making its way into your life. Without a doubt it is a place that finds its way to almost everyone’s bucket list. We all have that one friend who says, “Dude you know where I want to go before I die? Amsterdam! You know pots legal over there right?” That is what comes to most minds when Amsterdam is brought up in a conversation. It was one of the two facts I knew about the city before spending a few days there. The second is Amsterdam being home of the Anne Frank house. Not knowing what else Amsterdam had to offer, I thought two days was all I needed to experience it to the fullest. Those two days came and went, leaving me with only a taste of all the great things the city has to offer.

As I was walking out of the train station into Amsterdam I was overcome by life. People sitting down at riverside restaurants, bikers making their way through the traffic and tourists caught in the middle of it all. Buildings dating back centuries without a brick missing from the original architecture. The bridges arching over the rivers gave off a romantic vibe that should be experienced with a loved one. Strips of bars from one end of the road to another reminded me of walking down Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Accidental wrong turns become places you want to return to. I could tell from the first night that two days was not enough.

The second day was the best day I had in Amsterdam. I was unaware that the Heineken Brewery was located there. I asked a few friends to go but they decided to go to the Van Gogh museum. I couldn’t understand why they would prefer that over the brewery. I guess two free beers only speaks to the wise ones. So I decided to do the tour alone and that couldn’t have been a better decision. It took almost two hours to finish. I got see the Heineken horses, the bottling of beer, and the process that goes into making brewing Heineken beer. The tour ends by leading you into the bars where they serve you the complimentary Heinekens. It was an ice cold and refreshing way to end the Heineken Experience.

I ended the day by visiting the Anne Frank house. The line stretched out and around the street; it was approximately an hour and a half. I did not care how long it would take because I would have never forgiven myself for not being patient enough to experience that kind of history. Pictures were not to be taken inside to preserve the history but that didn’t bother me because I knew it was something I wouldn’t forget. Walking pass the book case through the secret door gave me cold chills. The steps leading up were very narrow and extremely vertical. Entering Anne’s room and staring at the pictures she had posted on the wall was riveting. The journal quotes located in every room bring the story to life. Seeing the bathroom they shared and looking into the mirror everyone brushed their teeth in was particularly overwhelming. After finishing the tour, I stood outside looking at the house from the street. The feeling I had is hard to describe but I know it was something that will stay with me for a long time. 

03 August 2015

Buchenwald

Weimar -- Buchenwald was a concentration camp during World War II. It is located in the outskirts of Weimar, Germany. The camp was liberated by the United States in 1945. The U.S. found more than 21,000 prisoners when they took the camp over. The buildings that house the prisoners are now taken down but some buildings are still left standing for the museum.

The entrance gate to the Buchenwald concentration camp. 

You can tell the clock is still stuck at 3:15 from the U.S. Liberation. 

When I arrived at the gates of Buchenwald I noticed the clock was stuck at 3:15. The reason it permanently stays at that time is because that’s the time the U.S. took over and liberated the camp. That was the moment when everything started to sink in. We first went in to the cell chambers that house the Jews the night before they were executed. The cells are smaller than an average jail cell. Some had beds and others did not. They were sealed with big metal doors that had a slot you could open about the size of an iPad. Some were lit up so you could see the inside but others were left completely dark with the intention of seeing how they lived their final night.

The entire tour of Buchenwald remained completely silent between the friends I went with. As we continued to the next building we realized we were entering the crematorium. You walk up a few steps and there are a row of furnaces that were open for you to look in. This was where they would burn all of the bodies. It is unexplainable the feeling you get while looking and imaging what happened in front of your face only 70 years ago. To the right is a body shoot that leads to the basement. The basement contains a series of hooks along the walls around the entire room. The S.S would hang men, women, and children here to die. I couldn’t spend too much time there because it is too overwhelming.

We then made our way to the building where the prisoners would be stripped of their clothes, shaven then cleansed by the Nazis. The building contains photos drawn by the inmates of others and what they would see and go through. There was a pile of shoes that belonged to the men women and children of the camp. It was beyond words seeing the little kids shoes sitting there and realizing the life that was stripped away from them. There was a door that went into the decontamination room where the new arrivals were hauled up in a chamber and cleansed. I had cold chills when I walked by the chambers to see a clay block of the outline of three corpse in the middle of the room. That image has stuck with me and the feeling I get every time I think of it consumes me.

I was at a lost for words as I was leaving the camp. Everyone reads about the holocaust and sees pictures from the awful things that occurred in that time. I never realized the magnitude of what happened during World War II until I left Buchenwald that day. It is something I think everyone should do because it puts a new perspective on something you think is so familiar. I cannot explain the experience because I have never experienced something of that magnitude but I know my thoughts and ideals have forever changed from that day. 

01 August 2015

Switzerland

Interlochen, Switzerland -- After a long nine hour trip from Frankfurt we finally arrived in Interlaken, Switzerland. It is a beautiful resort town that rests between lakes Thun and Brienz. It is surrounded by the Swiss Alps. We stayed at a local hostel called the Tent Village. Tent village consists of a series of structured tents with each one having three bunk beds. At first, it seemed to be that we were not going to have any trouble because the tents were pretty nice for fifteen euro a night. Then the storm hit.

It was the middle of the night, the wind was howling, the rain was pouring and I felt the tent was one blow away from sailing off in to the Alps. The wool blankets from the 18th century were no match to the frigid environment of the tent. Each and every one of us didn’t sleep a wink that night. It was a pretty awful beginning to an amazing experience.

The next day I explored the town of Interlaken. It was a nice little resort town with little side shops and nice restaurants. The average time spent in each store was close to thirty seconds. That was how long it took me to realize I did not have enough expenses to live the Swiss lifestyle. The exchange rate from Euros to Francs was a surprise to me. I originally thought Switzerland was in the European Union but that was not the case. I entered three restaurants that day with the mindset of getting a nice full course meal. With every menu I opened, my pockets felt smaller and smaller. I ended up stopping at a place that I knew would not disappoint, the doner stand! After leaving three straight restaurants due to the expense I thought the doner stand would be a friend to my wallet. Once again I was victim to the Swiss prices. It costs 8 francs for the doner and that did not include the drink. It was a shot to the heart after having the luxury of spending 4 euro for a doner in Erfurt. The doner was pretty good but I don’t think it was 8 francs good.

The third day in Interlaken Jackie, Thu, Katie and myself decided to take a train to Grindelwald. It is a ski resort village that is surrounded by the Swiss Alps. It attracts snowboarding, skiing, and hiking. Grindelwald is arguably the most beautiful place on Earth. It was a beautiful day. The weather was in the mid-70s, no clouds in sight and the mountains were glistening from the sunrays gazing down on them. We decided to hike up a trail as far as we could so we would be able to get the best view of the Alps. We hiked for three hours until we reached the perfect setting for a picture. Some of us were struggling. I’m not going to say any names, but one of us thought it was a good idea to wear high top Converse to hike. It was worth every second though. The natural beauty of the Alps was more impressive than any archaic landscape I saw on this trip. I cannot not express to anyone what it was like nor can any picture do the justice for what lies in the Beauty of these mountains. It was truly the most incredible experience and I suggest it to everyone.

31 July 2015

Intercultural Adaption Theory

Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany -- I cannot believe I have been living in Erfurt for two months now. It seems like we just arrived here yesterday. My experiences here have been a long communicative lesson of trying to adapt to another culture. Intercultural adaption is the process of trying to reduce misunderstandings between cultures. I have heard some people leave here being more American than when they arrived. I beginning to think this may very well be what is happening with me.

When I first arrived here I was in, what they define in the Intercultural Adaption Theory as, the “honeymoon stage.” I was trying to use as much German as I possibly could. I would let people cut in front of me, kindly move when the bikers would ring their bells, and let people on the transit before I got off all to avoid conflict. Avoiding conflict was not necessarily why I was letting the locals do these things, it was more of me not knowing if these actions were normal. During this stage I was trying to figure out how Germans work in everyday life with the little things that you only notice when you are looking for them. I am not talking about the difficulties of ordering food because there is almost a universal script when it comes to restaurants. The drink come first, then ordering food comes second and lastly is collecting of the check. I was looking more into the mannerisms and politeness of the culture.

As I have spent more and more time here, I am getting more and more irritated with these little nuances. The lack of manners has become overwhelming. People bumping into you on the streets without apologizing, or individuals trying to get passed you not excusing themselves is bothering me a lot. Some of my friends laugh at how flustered I can get but what makes these things okay to do? I do not think there is a cultural barrier when it comes to letting people off of the transit first before boarding. I would say this is common sense no matter where you are from. “Bikers” might be the most irrational individuals of them all. They do not slow down for pedestrians, they will run you over before stopping, and they think they own every aspect of the streets. That goes for the side walk, their lane, the transit lane, and the car lanes. I honestly have dreams about hearing that obnoxious bell the “Bikers” ring and throwing a stick through their spokes. These interactions I have been experiencing are mostly non-verbal and they continue to make me appreciate the little things back home.

The Intercultural Adaption Model ranges from one to four. One being the honeymoon stage and four being complete adaption. I would say I am a two because I have come home from the honeymoon but I have not fully adapted to being married. I am still shocked by the culture and but in no way am I used to it. I would definitely say I will not get used to these cultural nuances. It seems unusual to say but I feel more American now than I have living in the U.S. for twenty years.

30 July 2015

The Tale of Two Cities

Berlin -- July 13th we left Erfurt to visit Berlin for three days. It was all expenses paid which is always a greatly appreciated from a broke college student. It took us four hours to get to Berlin by bus. It was not too bad of a trip on the way there due to me being awake for maybe thirty minutes of the journey. I had never been to Berlin before so I was very eager to experience such a monumental city.

The Berlin Cathedral. Finished in 1905, it has the architecture of
Neo-Renaissance which makes it looks older than it actually is.  

After settling into the hostel, we decided to go explore for places to eat nearby. So being in Berlin for the first time of course we had to go eat at an Italian restaurant. I realized from spending time in both Berlin and Erfurt, there is an overabundance of Italian cuisines all over Germany. Not only in Germany but the United States has just as many Italian places as well. It is pretty safe to say they all taste pretty similar. You are more likely to find an Italian restaurant than you are a traditional German restaurant in both Erfurt and Berlin. It could be that Germans cook their traditional food at home for dinner and when they dine they prefer other styles of food. I am not very sure but it surprises me that there are not very many traditional German eateries.

One of the most blatant differences I found was the doner stands. Doner is a Turkish dish that is usually lamb but can also be chicken and it is cooked on a vertical rotisserie. It reminds me of gyro stands in the U.S. but in my opinion is ten times better. I go to a doner place in Erfurt right beside my apartment building called the Lunchbox. The food is amazing! Not only can the two gentlemen that own the place cook a great doner, they are also masters at making a delicious Italian influenced pizza. After eating at the Lunchbox for a month, I thought I knew what a perfectly made doner tasted like, but was I wrong. The second day in Berlin I was craving a doner, so I stopped at a stand in the city. The condiments were the same as the Lunchbox, aside from a few different sauces. I made it the same way I always do in Erfurt: lettuce, cabbage, cucumber and tomato salad, and to top it off I ventured off to try their spicy chili sauce. One bite was all it took to make me a believer of Berlin doner. The bread they used was softer, the meat was intensely for flavorful, and the chili sauce was made to fit my taste buds. Come to find out, the Turks originally settled in Berlin, adapting their traditional Turkish plate to the German culture. Both were still really good but I had to give the victory to Berlin in the doner dispute.

Berlin is a very historical city that has a lot to offer. The walking tour we went on during the second day of our trip was very insightful. A lot of the original architecture was destroyed during World War II. Many of the buildings look old but were built in modern times with the purpose of making them look like were structured during renaissance periods. I would have never of realized this if it was not for the tour. Berlin is an old city but at the same time it is architecturally very new. Unlike Berlin, Erfurt is as old as it looks. The Cathedral that still stands to this day was built in the 1100s. The house Martin Luther lived remains the same. Erfurt is a medieval city that had the fortune of not getting destroyed in World War II. Erfurt is visibly more pleasing than Berlin.

One of the more obvious differences was the language barrier of Berlin and Erfurt. Most of Erfurt does not speak English. Any restaurant, grocery store, brat stands, and other attractions have a major language barrier. Ordering food and asking for help in Erfurt is the most difficult thing about the city. I would say it is partly due to it not being a very touristy city. Also it is one of the smaller cities so English is not really necessary when you do not have a lot of English speakers traveling through Erfurt. Berlin is a more commercialized city. While being there I felt like I was back in the United States. Everyone spoke English and it was a melting pot of different cultures. Ordering food was not a problem at all. Although Berlin is twice the size of Erfurt I felt more comfortable while being there. Berlin is one of the main attractions when in Germany, so people from all cultures travel there. That makes it more common for people to speak English because they are seeing it a lot more than you would in a small East German city like Erfurt.

Both Erfurt and Berlin are amazing in their own ways. I enjoyed every second of being in Berlin but Erfurt is my home away from home.  

12 July 2015

First-Half Reflections

Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany -- Upon arrival in Germany I had no idea what to expect. I did not have any predisposed ideas of what I thought the people would be like. I knew there would be a language barrier but I did expect everyone to speak English. Maybe it was the arrogant American in me that thought everyone should speak English or possibly it was wishful thinking. Being here for a month has led to me realizing how our cultures are alike, as well as, how they differ. 

The older German residents of Erfurt, much to my surprise, did not speak a lot of English but the younger generations can speak it pretty well. The language barrier is pretty rough when it comes to ordering food or just small talk in general. The biggest shocker to me was the cultural difference of small talk. In the United States, we are professionals at small talk. “Hey Bob, how’s it been? Good Jerry, Thanks for asking!” That would be a typical small talk conversation between two Americans. But it is not like that here in Germany. One example I can recall is meeting my roommates. As I unlocked my door into my apartment, I walked to be met by my roommates. The one speaks no English at all but is tri-lingual in Polish, French, and German. The other speaks pretty good English. As I tried to have a conversation with the one who spoke English, he was backing away from the conversation. So I thought he must just be busy with school. As the encounters with him grew, I noticed he does not like to have small talk at all. After a little exchange of hellos he not interested in conversing after. He is a nice guy, do not get me wrong, but not much of a talker.

One of the major differences I found was the service of waiters and waitresses at restaurants. I am very aware of tipping not being a custom due to the employees making a livable wage. The contrast comes after you order your food. When your food gets to the table and the waiter/waitress delivers your dish, that’s the last time you will hear from them for quite a substantial amount of time. Being from the United States you expect your bill to come as soon as you are finished eating your meal. We are a fast paced culture, as in, when we want something we want them now. We do not like to wait around for things. It is a little bit of a mix between impatience and a norm. Germans on the other hand, make an event out of going out to eat. They go in planning on being there for a while and taking their time. The waiters do not bother you because they want to give you your space and enjoy the whole experience.

The German SPICE students are really no different than us. They are young college students who are under the pressure of finals and trying to manage the SPICE classes on the weekends as well. I noticed in our very first class that they were just as nervous to speak up in class as we were. The first class of any semester everyone does not know what to expect. It usually takes a week or so to get used to the environment and the professor. Once we all spent more and more time in the class I thought they would speak up more but they usually just kept to themselves. There were times where the students from the US would be in heated disputes and I would just catch them staring at us not saying a word. I was not sure if they did not speak up because of the contrast between languages or they were just shy. I later found out that their classes are more formal and less interactive between the students and professors. I was pretty surprised to hear that but found it very interesting.

3 July 2015

Face Negotiation Theory

Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany -- Face negotiation theory is the idea to protect one’s self from conflict when having an interaction with a person from another culture. It also can be the other person saving your face because they know you are unaware of their cultural norms. 

I actually haven’t had any conflict while being in Germany for the past three weeks. I have had a bunch of friends tell me their instances where communication did not go smoothly with the locals. I believe it comes from the self-construal idea whether to be independent of one’s self or interdependent. Independent means you identify yourself as someone who relates on their own accomplishments and beliefs. Whereas interdependent means you see yourself as part of the whole rather than self. 

I do not think I have had any conflict because I identify with the interdependent side of the self-construal idea. I am very aware that I am in another person’s country during an interaction. I use as much German as possible even though that is not much at all. I know they see the effort so they are easy to accommodate you when you are trying to get your point across. Another part of my personality I convey is I always try to stay happy and positive. As cliché as that may sound I am almost certain it wears off on the other culture. They usually smile back or they will take their time until we both figure what I am trying to do. 

I am pretty curious to see if I can keep this streak alive, but knowing me I will piss someone off tomorrow after posting this blog.

26 June 2015

Communication Accommodation Theory

Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany -- Communication accommodation theory looks at how individuals change verbal and nonverbal communication in an interaction to relate to the other person in an encounter. Essentially it occurs when you do not have much in common with the other person so you change the way you communicate to try to relate to them. People tend to change their behaviors in an interaction to control the differences between one another.

I met a recent graduate here in Erfurt at a local pub. He was a very nice guy and we conversed all night on many of subjects. One specific conversation I recall was the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. His view on the situation was that no one should resort to nuclear warfare to solve a problem. He thought that was a complete inhumane action of the U.S. to do and opposes the decision strongly. I, on the other hand, agreed with the U.S. decision to react not because I am a citizen of the country but because I realize how different of a time War World II was. I know from history that Japan is a country to never back out of a fight because of their pride in themselves and as a country. They would rather die than to be taken captive. The decision to drop the bombs was not overnight. It took a very long time and even then we still did not want to do it but had no other choice. The U.S. made a statement from the decision that was recognized globally.

Although we disagreed, we respected each other’s opinions and continued to have a good night. That interaction is an example of divergent communication accommodation theory because our views on the conversation was on two different social standpoints.

31 May 2015

Introduction

East Liverpool, Ohio -- Hi, my name is Payton Newlun. I come from East Liverpool, Ohio. We are most famous for once holding the title of being the pottery capital of the world. I am 20 years old and I attend West Virginia University. I’ll be a junior this fall and continuing to work towards getting my Communication degree. First and foremost I am very excited to have the great opportunity of living in Erfurt for the summer, thanks to the SPICE program! I cannot wait to experience the European culture first hand and make a lot of memories. I do not think it is going to hit me that I get spend nine weeks in Germany until we arrive in Frankfurt. I have no idea what is going to come of this trip but I know it will be a great time. I am most eager to see the bonds we all make as a group and the friendships we all will form. I plan on doing as much traveling as I possibly can because I do not know if I will ever get this opportunity again. It is going to be amazing to be able to experience the rich history of Germany as well as the rest of Europe!