Experiential Blog #9

The information that I gathered on this study abroad trip that was most meaningful to me was probably the information about how much the Gothic literature really affected the society everywhere all over the world. This could very well have changed some situations I experienced in the past because now knowing that the Gothic is everywhere I will look at things with a lot more understanding of architecture, literature, and all the more Gothic details of the stories I read. This new information can change my perceptions and interpretations by allowing me to fully understand that just because it isn't dark and looking Gothic doesn't mean it shouldn't have a Gothic interpretation because of the way the characters are treated and also how they live their life.

Experiential Blog #8 Some of what I learned

What I have learned in the Gothic class relates heavily to my daily life because as we learned in the class the Gothic is everywhere. It is in many of the things we read and watch on TV, it is in so many modern movies such as Hunger Games and Harry Potter, and it would be nearly impossible to name them all. I have learned that the Gothic is not just about horror and gore it’s about instilling a fear or intimidation into those around it. It is about the repressed desire, emotion, and experience coming out in the form of rebellion. The learning experience here is much more involved and individualized compared to the learning experience back home because we work closely with our professors and our peers. We utilized group projects and gatherings to collaborate ideas and communicate different understandings. One of the important bits of knowledge I acquired during my experience on this study abroad trip is that even though in this culture things are communicated, and for that matter done differently in general, we are all still human which means once the communication barrier is broken, it is not hard to merge with the second culture.

Experiential Blog #7 Peoples attitudes

People’s attitudes here about time are starting the day early and ending it early; people like to have as much of the day remaining as possible. People here talk quieter so the personal bubble becomes a bit smaller because you need to be able to hear what the person next to you is saying. Most people in the UK treat foreigners very well as if we belonged here; in some other countries the language barrier determined how much the citizens liked us. People respond somewhat neutrally to negative behavior because they aren’t really sure how to respond without escalating the situation, so instead they just apologize. The number one clue that helped me figure out the attitudes of the people in these different places was the loudness of their voice and the personal distance they allowed me. I always assumed we were loud in the US and we are, however the difference is not extreme to me. I now know that I need to be mindful of the personal distance and volume of the people around me and adjust correspondingly.

Experiential Blog #6 Listen to what is around you

I have observed that in different locations people talk in different ways. For example in Vienna Prague and London everyone is much quieter especially if there is a larger group of people or just having a personal conversation. I will talk primarily about London because I speak the language. I noticed that when you are saying goodbye to someone here it is common to say something along the lines of "cheers". I also noticed that apologies are very common and quite frequent about things we don't normally consider worth apologizing for. In our native language we mostly ignore small interruptions and just ask the other person to carry on while here it would be grounds for an apology. I come to the conclusion that it is only slightly more formal than our language and much more polite and clear. communication here in London is very easy to understand and also easy to pick up on.

Experiential Blog #5 Emotions

My emotions are primarily stable and don't require much expression but when I am happy I typically express that by smiling or laughing. When I am in a place of work or study I try to take things rather seriously and avoid having any inappropriate emotions for the given time. I noticed on this trip others have caused and or have contributed to a lot of drama with there emotions and need to tell everyone everything and personally I think it is just a bit annoying I prefer to keep personal things of myself and others to myself. Everyone deals with emotions a bit differently and the conclusion I've come to is that it is best to keep things that are normally kept private private, and some people don't deal with this the right way because for some reason they feel the need to tell everyone else. My personal and cultural insights I have come to as a result of attending to my emotions this way is that drama and violence is easily avoided by just being passive when you feel the need to say or do something that is inappropriate for the situation.

Experiential Blog #4 Prague

Prague is probably the opposite of what I expected. I was anticipating a run down corrupt city filled with poverty, drugs and alcohol. Prague is one of the cleanest cities I have every been to. The building are all different from totally classic Gothic to modern hybrid styled buildings no cookie cutters here. I learned that the culture of Prague is hardly what I expected, even being the party city it is a highly functional city with lots going on and lots to do. Prague is open for business. Prague has a ton of greenery and tons of public places to hangout which is also not what I expected I thought the city would be very crowded with buildings and industry, but not at all. For entertainment the list goes on and on, we went to tour Konopiste, Prague Castle, the bone church and also the Kafka museum. I had a lot of fun just walking around and exploring the different things to do around the city.

Experiential Blog #3 Vienna

I expected the buildings in Vienna to be very classical, older and smaller. I expected a very quiet city with a limited amount of quiet people. I got something totally different, what I saw were very narrow connected building that were very tall and lots of them block after block. There were tones of people and from my experience it was not the quietest city. I was disappointed that most of the interactions I had with the locals in Vienna were very short and rude, I believe this to have been caused by the language barrier but it is hard to tell. The landscapes were not exactly what I expected either. I expected much more greenery and small relaxing areas with public seating. It's possible we were simply in the wrong part of the city but there was very little decoration with greenery and very little public seating if at all. Although this posting sounds negative I had an excellent time in Vienna because of all the things to do for entertainment such as st. Stephens spire view, many places to shop and buy souvenirs, and best of all the food is fantastic every where you go.

Explain how Kafka's writing contributes to your understanding of the Gothic

Kafka had a very dark mind that was disarray and confused, he had many characteristics that a typical Gothic character would have. this was represented really well in the Kafka museum  by the dark lighting and confusing pathways through the museum Kafka contributes to my understand of the Gothic because he created the idea of Kafkaesque in his writing, this is where there is no avail and no ending, solution or climax but the reader feels as though he is getting toward the solution but is almost always let down. This help my understanding because the idea of Kafkaesque is used in many other pieces also. Kafka helped to influence other writing such as Madness of Angles where the character wonders the streets of London endlessly.

Describe the Ossuary of Kutna Hora Explain why it is creepy or sublime

The Ossuary is a church where in the 1800's all the bones that were buried outside the church in a mass grave were removed and moved to the inside of the church and used as decoration. The bones were stacked from the floor to the ceiling and covering the walls. This was because the people that tend to the grounds ran out of room for burials. I found this very creepy because of all the unknown death all the people whose names will never be known. I also found it creepy to find all the bones where you could actually tell how the person died.

Describe Konopisre as a classic Gothic location Explain why it is important

Konopisre is not Gothic architecture but at the same time is a very Gothic location, when I walked into Konopisre the first thing I saw was death in the form of thousands of animals mounted on the walls. The interior was very dark and depressing. This is important because it shows that you don't have to have a Gothic structure to have a Gothic feeling arise. On another note the rest of the house was almost normal aside from the causal pelt here and there. Although the feeling from the hallway is just so overwhelming it makes the rest of the house creepy also.

Describe Sisi Explain how she is a Gothic heroine

Sisi was a young enthusiastic girl who loved the outdoors and riding her horses; she was a free spirit who was entrapped and forced into a life of sadness and captivity after her marriage to Franz. Following her marriage she was unable to ride her horses or continue to be a free spirit like she once was. She had to formalize everything she said and be very formal with everyone she talked to; Sisi was left with nearly no freedom of speech or ability to make decisions on her own. All of these things make Sisi a Gothic heroine because she has been repressed, has a life of sadness and death.

Compare and Contrast Palaces

The Schonbrunn summer palace was very home like without knowing what life was actually like behind the scenes when Franz and Sisi lived there together. Everything in the palace was very simple; Franz's room was quite plain and he was not interested in changing it either. His bed was very basic and so were all of his amenities. On the walls Franz primarily had portraits of this wife Sisi and his family. At the Hofburg palace things worked a bit differently, Hofburg is actually a word for court which can give you an idea of how the Hofburg was more business like. This palace was the main palace and was much more professional than the Schonbrunn. Instead of paintings of the family he had many more paintings of important figures and some of himself. Sisi however was still seen often in paintings at this palace. The main difference between the living quarters of the two palaces is that at the Hofburg palace Franz's and Sisi's room were separated from each other and had separate entrances. In addition to this Sisi's rooms were much smaller than Franz's rooms. Franz also had a bell that he had to ring when he was ready to be entertained by his wife, so he had to have her permission before entering. At the Schonbrunn palace there was one passage that went through all of Franz and Sisi's rooms, so there was much less privacy for Sisi. The Kew palace is very different from the Hofburg and Schonbrunn palaces. The Kew palace was laid out in a very symmetrical way. The palace consisted of three floors: the first floor originally contained the living quarters for George III where he was treated for his mental illness in very obscene ways. the second floor was the living quarters for queen Charlotte and the daughters. This differed from the other palaces as the most of the living quarters were based on one of the floors. The other major difference with Kew palace was the gardens. The Gardens at Hofburg and Schonbrunn were very nice however they consisted of mostly privacy bushes and small plants which granted a small amount of privacy for Sisi. The Kew palace garden was much larger and had a very large variety of plants and gardens from Chinese plants and trees to palm trees and plants from all over the world. The Kew garden provided a lot of privacy for the queen because of its vast amount of land. All of the palaces had their similarities and differences but Kew gardens I believe provided the best environment for the queen to have a life and things to do.

Compare and contrast Cathedrals

During my study abroad I have seem several cathedrals and church gathering areas. The biggest cathedral I have seen to date is st. Stephen in Vienna this is a very Gothic cathedral with it's many very large Gothic spires. and pointy edges. The interior of this building was amazing and is like nothing I have every seen. On each of the interior pillars that stretched from the floor to the ceiling there were small replicas of the st. Stephen with all the details of the church exactly as they were on the outside. this gave the interior of the church a very Gothic feel. st. Vitus in Prague was much like st. Stephen from a Gothic standpoint however it was a much smaller cathedral from the outside, the spire is not nearly as tall, but at the same time the interior of the cathedral is similar in size and architecture. st. George across the street from st. Vitus in Prague was hardly comparable to any of the other cathedrals we have seen rather than having Gothic architecture this cathedral was based on Romanesque architecture which some consider to be totally anti-Gothic with its well rounded arches and walls this cathedral was much smaller than any of the others and it is also much older dating back to 920. In my opinion this church had a more comfortable atmosphere than the larger cathedrals because it would have been more individualized. The final church I got to have the pleasure of visiting on this trip was st. Wulfrum in Grantham this cathedral was on the line between st. Vitus and st. George as far as the comparison goes. This cathedral had a very Gothic exterior with a very large spire but the interior of the building is similar to st. George however it is not so Romanesque. st. Wulfrum has an interior that points less towards the Gothic because of it's rounded arches and ceilings. I had a wonderful time visiting all these cathedrals and I find it very fascinating to see things that date back hundreds of years before the united states was even colonized.

Freud’s contribution to understanding the Gothic

At the Freud museum I learned that Freud helped us understand the Gothic a bit better by giving us a description of the uncanny, it is the line between reality and fiction when something is close but not exactly right which causes an uncomfortable feeling for the reader. I also learned that in Freud's time showing large amounts of emotion was highly unusual and regarded as Hysteria, this "disease" was primarily diagnosed in higher class women who had the money to see a psychiatrist such as Freud. Freud thought hysteria was caused by an inter conflict between a wish and is repression. With this information I can say that Freud did help the understanding of the Gothic because the uncanny is commonly used as a Gothic concept in many old and modern stories, and Hysteria is the repression of wishes or dreams and anything being repressed will cause a want for rebellion from the normal.

Agree or Disagree with Uncanny

I agree with the idea of the uncanny as a Gothic theme. I feel this can be deemed a Gothic theme because uncanny means that things are similar but not exact something is off or misplaced in the comparison and I feel this can add a very creepy scary feeling to a Gothic piece. I attended Lakota East High School, you probably know that Lakota is a very big district, being that, there are many other schools one of which is Lakota West High School. Both East and West buildings have a nearly identical layout given a few very minor exceptions. When I go to the West building it is very creepy for me and something just doesn't feel right almost like West is an impostor here to take over. So the feeling I get from the uncanny effect of being in the two almost identical schools is similar to the feeling I receive when I read a piece of Gothic literature. That being said I do agree that the uncanny could very well be thought of as a Gothic element.

My surprises at Harlaxton and how they affected me

Several things have surprised me so far during my stay and touring of Harlaxton, Grantham, and Stratford. My number one surprise so far has been the politeness of all the people and the simplicity of the communication here. I feel I reacted to the differences quite well because I am the type to treat people the way I want to be treated and everyone so far at least in the locations I have visited are very respectful and are easy to engage in conversation with. An unpleasant surprise which I kind of expected is that you may not have a free refill on your drink. In Stratford I had asked one of the bar tenders if I may have a refill on the soda I was drinking and he looked at me like I was crazy, and this made me rather uncomfortable because I had to tell him I didn't actually want another drink I wanted a water instead. I suppose I deal with novelty here relatively the same as if I would deal with it in the states, which is in the most respectful manor possible. I have learned that I am in fact more willing and less lazy than I imagined I was and would be. I am very excited to get up in the morning and go try something new which is not something that is easily accomplished without lots of time and money in the united states.

Kafka takes traditional gothic themes and modernizes them.

One of the traditional Gothic elements that could potentially be considered modernized by Kafka in the Judgement are some religious aspects; Georg's father seems to be a metaphor of some type of religious judgment It seems to me that Georg is quite selfish and high thinking of himself, this is what makes his father angry. there is also strong dark emotions towards the end of the story when Georg's father tells him he is sentenced to death by drowning. One of the new twists Kafka brought into the Gothic world is Kafkaesque, this is greatly represented by the story the Castle in the fact K. is walking with an intention to make it to the castle but as the story goes on it seem he is getting no where. K. follows the road that initially appeared to go towards the castle but it only seems to go the wrong direction. K., like anyone else, finally gets fed up with this and leads himself off the path and we are left wondering what his final location is. There also seems to be a bit of isolation in the piece where K. attempts to find a local companion or someone to get closer to during his stay at the castle but cannot.

Angles Are Mad

Rather than having a decay of the mansion there is a decay of London. In addition to this the author uses a sifi creature rather that a paranormal creature. the golem or trash monster is the villain in the story which the main character has to defeat. The story is similar to Kafka's because the main character wanders through London like how the characters of Kafka's stories wander through towns.

Creative Gothic Infogrphic

This image contains information on each of the stories we have read so far in Gothic literature starting in the 18th century all the way up until the 21st century. To some extent we explained the advancements of the Gothic through the years of stories we covered. You can see how the Gothic elements have changed throughout the story timeline. also the excellent dry humor is courtesy of Nick Burkhart

Sisi was a living gothic heroine.

Sisi is a gothic heroine for several reasons. she was trapped and imprisoned in her marriage which caused her to be isolated from her friends and family. She was also in mourning for so much of her life because of her two children. and her husband passing away. Sisi was very emotional, like the Romantic movement encouraged people to be; the people admired Sisi because of this, however she didn't fit in very well and was somewhat mentally unstable. Sisi also lived in a very gothic setting, the Habsburg palace, which was dark and depressing. Sisi was very unhappy that she couldn’t do the things that she wanted to do like ride her horses or play with her pets, she missed her past life very much. Overall she was a very gothic figure.

Gothic elements of Barbara

In Barbara there are a lot of Gothic themes, for example, many things happen in darkness, like when Barbara runs away with her lover in the middle of the night. There is also the fact that Barbara is stuck in the past after the death of Edmond, and she becomes obsessed with the idea of his beauty. The author of Barbara of the House of Grebe seems to punish Barbara's character for being vain and only loving Edmond for his looks. it seems like the author feels that she deserves the mental issues brought on by her second husband. These are only a few of the Gothic elements in this story.

My goals for this trip!

I am determined to accomplish several goals on this trip! My number one priority is to succeed in the class requirements and complete the Gothic Lit course. To do this I will set aside time to read and work on the blog entry to stay caught up, focused, and on task. I also have several travel goals, I want to see as much as possible, its very hard for me to sleep early at night knowing that there are still so many things remaining to see and do. I would like to spend more time continuing  to  get  to know the classmates better so we can all share our travel experiences and try new things as a group. everything is always more fun when everyone is thinking differently and the ideas can be collaborated.

What shouldn't I wear??

Essentially you should not wear anything sporting american clothing, camo, or anything that presents that fact you are american. I will bring mostly plain shirts and solid color jeans.

Define the Gothic

The Gothic is not very easily described in words but may be more easily described by the sensibility or feeling you have when you witness something of this nature it may be creepy, scary, sublime, not horror but terror and mystery, a big wave. Often associated with 18th century Catholicism, but it still plays a large part in our modern culture in our movies TV shows and games such as the Hunger Games, Sleepy Hollow, and most of Tim Burton's movies.

Getting Ready

I have been preparing for the UCBA Study Abroad trip for the last few weeks. My first steps in preparing for the trip is getting a passport. That was an adventure in itself. I went to three different post offices in and around Cincinnati in an attempt to find someone that could get me in given the time frame I had given myself. Finally I found a post office that could get me into an appointment by the end of the week. with all my paperwork already filled out they had me in and out in under 5 minutes.