Category: Advice

Comparison is the Thief of Joy

Published on by Hannah LangfordLeave a comment

I’ve been in the Czech Republic for about 2 weeks now, and as any study abroad student can agree, it’s been a whirlwind. The most important lesson I’ve learned thus far has been that you will love your new life so much more when you stop comparing it to the one you had before.

The culture shock has been the most intense when I have the mindset of Czech Republic vs. U.S. Of COURSE it’s not Colorado, so why compare the two?

Is the food different? Yes. Is the cellular plan weird? A little. Are the new classes confusing? Absolutely. But when I stop thinking ugh this was so much easier in the U.S. or why does the Czech Republic have to be so confusing? And start simply acknowledging things, taking them in as facts, and MOVING ON, I find so much more joy. I remind myself that I am here to learn a new culture. I am not here to look at this culture and judge, I am here to absorb and learn. Accepting the latter has allowed me to find enjoyment in getting lost (all the time), see the beauty of the new, and overall become adjusted much faster.

Now with that out of the way, here’s what a lack of comparison has showed me in my first few weeks in Czechia:

 

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  • Brno has really interesting art…

Like this clock. Yup. Clock. This is a newer art installment that took 3 years to build and over half a million US dollars. Every day at 11am a marble comes out of the clock via 4 slots. People wait at each of the slots in hopes of catching the marble. And…that’s it.

At first this piece seems a little…random…but it actually commemorates one of the country’s most difficult wars: The Thirty Years’ War. Basically, the Swedes had been trying to take over the city for 3 months, but Brno wouldn’t give up. So, finally, the Swedish general said that if Brno was still standing by noon the next day, his army would give up. So, the people of Brno decided to set all the clocks to ring 12 an hour early-11am- and the Swedes kept their promise and gave up. My goal in life is to now catch that marble.

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  • It’s very easy to travel! But difficult to navigate

As any family member or close friend can attest to, I am not directionally gifted. At all. Because of this, I spent my first week in a constant state of cluelessness. If I was unsupervised, you could guarantee I was also lost somewhere. However, I ended up seeing SO much more of the city this way! More time on the bus meant more time to look out the window. I found a gym, a zoo, and the reservoir, all by accident. Although I don’t recommend this type of self-tour, take some time to just look out the window, you’ll learn a lot.

Almost contrary to this, I’d like to add that it is actually quite easy to travel around. Mainly because public transportation is the most common form of transportation, you can get pretty much anywhere on your own. In addition, it is cheap. Very cheap. Like going-to-a-different-country-for-$10 cheap. And that’s before the student discount!

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  • Everything is beautiful!

Did you know that the Czech Republic has the most castles per square footage in the world?? Or that Czechia is shaped like a bowl, where the bowl’s rim are the mountains? Or that buildings are always refurbished instead of being replaced? Now imagine what that looks like. It looks like red rooftops as far as the eye can see. Colorful buildings with intricate molding everywhere you turn.  Cobblestone everywhere (warning: easy to sprain ankles). Artistic statues scattered throughout the city. Castles placed on every hill. Even the McDonald’s look nice! If you don’t want to go to Czechia for anything else, go for the beauty. (And bring a camera.)

 

Takeaway: Don’t compare. Theodore Roosevelt was right when he stated that comparison was the thief of joy. Throw comparison out the window and instead immerse yourself in the new and you’ll find something much better.

Hannah Langford

CZECH REPUBLIC – MASARYK UNIVERSITY, 2018 FALL

Hannah Langford is taking a break from studying Integrated Sciences at DU to study history and culture at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. She’s looking forward to exploring the unique geography and outdoor opportunities in the area and the surrounding countries. She’s also looking  forward to eating a lot of chocolate.

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Gallus Alice?

Published on by alleydragonLeave a comment

Bin your crisp bag and ‘mon in, because we’re going to learn a new dialect today. Academically speaking, Glasgow patter is the Scots dialect spoken in Glasgow. Practically speaking, it functions as Not English to my American ears. Even though I have to ask Glaswegians to repeat themselves three or four times, I find every new term fascinating.

“Gallus” is a Scots adjective, the last in a long slideshow presented by a helpful professor at our welcome talk. Ages ago, he said, to do something gallus was to be seeking the gallows. In modern days, the connotation is more positive. To be gallus is to be daring, to do something not outrageous and illegal but edgy and brave.

A picture accompanied every preceding term on the slideshow, but the screen for “gallus” was blank. This, he said, was because he wanted to apply the term to us. We, the students spending a semester in a foreign country, are gallus.

At the time, I wasn’t feeling particularly daring. I’d entered the “cultural confrontation” stage, or EVERYTHING IS WEIRD AND I WANT A NAP. In the last week, the shock has worn off a bit, I’ve figured out how to cross the street, and I have a far better understanding of the daring of studying abroad.

In the past week, I have:

  • Managed to enroll in classes (despite the process involving five days, several emails, and many time conflicts)
  • Gone grocery shopping (again)
  • Braved my first giant lectures
  • Run five miles along the River Kelvin
  • Gone to my first cèilidh

My ears are ringing from the many accents I’ve encountered, and I’ve only run into a handful of Americans. I am confused and don’t know where or even what everything is. I’ve relearned how to read street signs and pass people on the sidewalk, and every time I relearn something simple gives me the feeling of stepping off a curb I didn’t know was there.

It is kind of stressful and rather exhausting, and I am a little homesick, but that’s nothing compared to what a glorious, eye-opening adventure this is. For one thing, I’ve planned and dreamed and schemed for years to go to the British Isles. I’m now smack dab in the middle of what feels like a Doctor Who episode, and a mere hop, skip, and a jump away from the green hills and ruined castles of the legends that are told to the accompaniment of skirling bagpipes.

Strangely, the glamour of it isn’t what I treasure most about right here, right now. Rather, I treasure the aforementioned mess of confusion. Why am I so grateful for the fact that I can’t find baking soda in any shop? Because it makes this real. Rather than floating around in a dream, I’m actually living and growing.

More importantly, my confusion has clarified just how difficult life is for the international students back at DU. I’d have classmates who didn’t know about Walgreen’s, or who asked me to explain things like how to check out a book from the library. I took these nuggets of knowledge for granted and didn’t understand why my peers from France, Pakistan, and Taiwan were so confused.

Now, I get it. I’ve walked the mile in their proverbial shoes. We international students don’t have to figure out just a new campus map, we have to learn everything from scratch. Yes, we get the glamour of seeing a new country, and it’s awesome. But we have to live here. We are lonely and confused and stuck in a foreign place for the next three months. We have no choice but to learn on our feet.

We are travelers. Our massive undertaking of studying in a new country is truly gallus, and we’re going to take advantage of it. We are going to see the sights, explore the coffee shops and museums, but also make this place our home.

Just tell me how the subway works first.

Alice Major

SCOTLAND – UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW, 2018 FALL

Alice Major is studying at the University of Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland. She is a double major, focusing mostly on music and adding history because history is cool. Study abroad is Alice’s first time out of the country, and she hopes to come home in one piece and with a wicked Scottish accent.

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