English Life

When planning my trip abroad, I of course knew that I would be exposed to vastly diverse cultures while traveling and studying.  What I couldn’t image was the fun and excitement living among the English culture would bring.  There were so many things I found to be different, but different to me seemed so new and exciting.  Who knew that one of the most entertaining activities would be sitting around with our British friends asking the age-old question, “How do you say this?….”  My hours of such dialogue and my experiences in the classroom in England provided me with insight into different areas of British life.

Education

One of the most challenges aspects of English culture to get used to was education.  As I quickly came to find out, a college education in England is dependent mostly on the student and his or her own discipline for gaining knowledge.  The same is of course expected of American students, but in England I found there to be a definite degree of independence given to students by professors.  This style of education is what I expect an American Masters Program to be like.

Unlike most of my English classes at King’s, at Manchester my coursework consisted of one large paper and a final exam.  After being used to classes at King’s that asked me to write countless papers, complete worksheets for homework, and take as many as three tests throughout the semester, this change was scary and intimidating.  The amount of literature I was required to read remained the same, but I no longer felt like my reading and comprehension was being monitored or assessed.  I was assigned a book to read each week and attended one lecture and one seminar on each text.  In the lecture, a professor provided his or her ideas and in the seminar we were able to share our ideas.  After that one week, the class would quickly move to a new book, whether I had read or understood the last one.

The concept of a reading list in England was also new to me.  At the beginning of the semester, we were given a reading list with all the books and articles that would be secondary sources to the main texts.  Because English students only had 6 hours of class during the week (as compare to my usual 15-20), we were expected to put in about 40-45 hours of work outside of the classroom.  During this time, we were to be delving into the secondary sources and reading any and all books on our reading lists.  It was also brought to our attention that none of these books needed to be read fully, or even at all, but they were there for our benefit. So the choice was mine.  I found it hard to keep up with the secondary reading lists because there were so many main texts.  I did my best on flights and trains to keep up, and found myself doing a lot of extra work during finals week when I had a whopping FOUR WEEKS to prepare! (I also liked to joke that the English know how to take their time!)

With so few assessments and so much out of classroom time, I was very anxious and worried how my grades would turn out.  Not only did my final grade rest on only two assessments, but the English system of grading was foreign to me and I was unsure as to what was expected of me to earn good grades.  The British grading system is very different from the American system.  A first class grade (the highest mark) is anything over a 70%.  Therefore, anything above a 60% is also a very good mark.

Now that all is said and done, I can look back and appreciate the English education system.  It allowed me to grow as a student and become even more independent in my studies.  I learned to really rely on my own ambition because it was many times a challenge to fit in studies while travelling around the world.  It was a good challenge, however, because it taught me to be studious even when not being monitored by graded work throughout the semester.  I can see how this system could be difficult for first year students who have not learned the techniques of time management and studying yet.  I can only imagine a naive first year looking forward to partying rather than studying and leaving all of their coursework to the end….so maybe the British system breeds students who are in college for the right reasons? I would say so!

Phrases, Words, and The Like

As I mentioned before, one of the best parts about living in England was making English friends who have different ways of talking, joking, and even saying ‘what’s up.’  One British phrase that I never quite caught on to or learned to answer correctly was the question, “Are you all right?” which in a shortened, passing by version sounded like, “You all right?”  This phrase is not used like it is in America to denote worry, but simply to say ‘whats up?’  I can clearly remember the first time I was asked this.  I had gone to my flatmate’s room next door to say hello, and when she came to the door she said to me “You all right?”  I, being newly arrived to England and still on American brain waves, answered, “Yeah I’m fine, why?”  It was not until a couple of days later that someone asked me the same question and I finally questioned why everyone kept asking me if I was all right.  “Do I look sick or something?”  “No! We are just seeing what’s up!” This made sense when they said it, but I have to admit that I never quite knew what to say when someone said it to me while passing by.  Most times, I would be busy thinking of a response and they would  be long gone.

I quickly learned that quid was to pounds as bucks are to dollars, and knackered means you’re really tired.  Chips are fries and crisps are chips.  “Can’t be bothered” means you just don’t feel like it, and “taking the mike, michael, or the piss,” all means joking around or pulling someone’s leg.  “Cheers,” rather than being solely for clinking glasses in a pub serves as thank you, hello, goodbye, and really anything at all.  If you are sleeping in one morning you are having a ‘lie in’ and going to classes is considered being “in Uni” (university).  Also, high school in Britain is called college and college is called University. And, of course, one of the most popular differences between America and Europe, soccer is football.  For me, I always had trouble with this one because the conversation usually went like this….

Me: “Are you going to the football game tonight?

British person: “Oh, you mean American football?”

Me: “No, I mean soccer! I’m trying to use your terminology!”

British person: “Well you might as well say soccer then, because we think you mean American football.”

But then of course I would say soccer next time and get told, “it’s football!”…..Just a one downfall of being American in England, I suppose.

Lifestyle

I also found the British lifestyle to be different from what I am used to here in America.  In general, it seemed like everyone took their time a bit more and didn’t worry so much about gettings things done ASAP.  I remember many times being frustrated at the receptionists who never seemed to find anything urgent.  What I mistook for laziness at first was simply a different mindset.  Instead of forcing the issue until things got accomplished, they told me to just wait and things would work themselves out.  Also, the idea of a vacation (or holiday) was something that all employees were welcomed and expected to take advantage of.  As opposed to the American way of thinking that taking a vacation that is given to you could hurt your position or reliability in a company, British working people value the rest and relaxation that vacation brings and find it a necessary part of working and rejuvenating.  I was given three weeks for spring break, four weeks to take finals, and a total of five months to complete a semester.  Although I found it slow and tedious at times, it was nice to be able to travel in these weeks and learn to relax.  I think we could all take a lesson from the British and just chill out and have a pint everyone once in a while.

There are a thousand more differences I could come up with, but the ones I mentioned are those that have stuck with me the most.  But there is one last thing you should remember if ever going to Britatin…..a proper English tea always takes milk.

A “reel” experience in Italy…

Piazza San Marco, Venice.

The Trevi Fountain, a dish of spaghetti, the Grand Canal, gondolas floating gracefully on the many canals, these sights and ideas about Italy were something I experienced long before my study abroad experience to Italy. Although I never visited a city abroad before, I had a picture painted in my head of what Italy would look like if I ever had the chance to visit. These ideas were shaped by the common American perceptions and different ideas that arise from watching films that are set in Italian cities. Over the summer, prior to my study abroad visit to Italy and Turkey, and throughout the weeks after my participation in the program, I researched the difference between films’ depictions of the cities of Rome and Venice and compared them to the experiences I had while in these Italian cities.

Once I had arrived in Italy, I was instantly interested in comparing certain sights, like the Coliseum and the Spanish Steps in Rome and Piazza San Marco in Venice to what I had seen the films I watched, would they look the same in person? The excitement of having an idea of what Italy looked like, due to watching films, is kind of like watching a movie trailer before seeing a movie, the trailer gives you a good idea of what the movie will be like, but it doesn’t reveal everything, that’s what the films I watched prior to traveling did for me. They gave me a broad idea, but it would differ in some ways to what I experienced when I was on the Spanish Steps or standing on the Rialto Bridge in Venice looking out at the Grand Canal for the first time.

The Coliseum, Rome.

Many of the films I watched before my first visit to Italy told exciting stories about the cities of Rome and Venice, they created great excitement for me, a first time traveler, and someone who would be studying and living for a short time in these cities. They seemed to depict Rome and Venice as romantic places where adventures can happen for the common tourist. These cities would play host to a place where you could become immersed in a culture different than your own, especially for an English-speaking American, where the language that surrounds you would be Italian and the occasional English for those Italian who really want to speak and appeal to tourists who don’t have any idea how to pronounce a word of Italian. In Rome, you could indulge in delicious cuisines, while in Venice, stumble upon an Italian and find yourself falling in love with them during your stay in the city.

Many films manage to depict Rome and Venice accurately, but they don’t forget about the entertainment factor that they must uphold, as movies are a product of the entertainment business, after all. The experiences that characters have in films may not be as accurate or true to the experience I had in these cities because they’re a part of a film, a narrative, a story about a fictional character’s experience. The experience I had in Rome and Venice was my very own, however it was influenced by what I watched in many films, wanting to see certain sights, like the Trevi Fountain to throw my coin in, or visiting Piazza San Marco at night just to sit at a sidewalk café in the piazza, or even wanting to indulge in a whole pizza pie. I was influenced by films to have a comparable experience to what I may have analyzed in films, the idea of being able to relate to a character that is similar to myself, may not be unrealistic at all. However, the experience I had in Rome and Venice was one that would be appealing to many tourists, to people who have never seen Italy before because it captured the excitement of these beautiful cities and managed to live up to certain expectations that I’ve always had. Of course, I never imagined the pizza, spaghetti and gelato to be as good as it was, or for the famous sights to be as amazing as they were, once I learned more about them, but perhaps that’s one of the perks of actually seeing these cities instead of just watching a film about them.

My research gave me the desire to continue to explore similar media studies in my academic career, as I search to better understand how influential the media is and how it shapes our ideas about places we’ve never been to. The search to understand a place in its true light, or at least from my perspective is something I’m very fortunate to have had, as I had the opportunity to realize from my research and my study abroad experience. As I complete my research, I wonder what cities I can explore next and what films I can view to continue to paint pictures of the places I’ve never seen, until I see them for myself.

Hong Kong Life

My Job

As my time working in Hong Kong draws to a close, I have to say that I really do love the students that I have been working with for these past few weeks. My floor is very respectful and fun to supervise. Even if there is sometimes a language barrier, we all work through it and stay positive. It is interesting to observe their relationships with each other and to watch them develop. Disputes do occur between them, but in the end they have been able to work it out and maintain a sort of “brotherhood” with the rest of their hall.

 

The City

The city of Hong Kong is definitely an interesting place—unlike any city I have ever been in before. The population of Hong Kong is over 7 million and that is quite a lot of people in such a small place. In order to accommodate so many, the city is full of skyscrapers—even more than New York City. Many of these buildings are enormous apartment complexes where the majority of Hong Kong residents live. As I walk through the city, it is evident that commerce is around every corner: from giant shopping malls to outdoor markets. The shopping districts are packed with crowds of people making public transportation ports a place of major congestion.

Public Transportation is, however, quite efficient in Hong Kong. They have a seemingly endless system of buses, minibuses, trams, ferries, and underground “MTR” subway trains. I have to say I have never waited more than 2-3 minutes to board any of the available options. This is because the residents truly depend on public transportation. Owning cars is almost unheard of because of the taxes enacted by the government and the exorbitant parking fees (which makes sense—there is simply no room for cars or parking lots in the city). The public transportation system is actually quite cheap and any form of public transportation can be paid for via “octopus card.” The “octopus” system is both efficient and convenient—the card works sort of like a “Visa Pay-Pass.” Whenever you board a bus or walk into the MTR, you simply press your octopus card to the sensor and it automatically deducts the correct fare. So many people use the octopus system that restaurants, convenient stores, and even vending machines all accept octopus payments. In the bustling commerce-city of Hong Kong, the octopus card makes transactions lightning-fast.

My time in Hong Kong was definitely a great contrast of my time through Europe. It is interesting to really see elements of “the East” overtake elements of “the West.” The architecture is prominently constructivist—like what I had seen in Russia. For example the apartment buildings were built so plain and so tall, you could see that the goal of building them was to house the most people in the smallest space. The cuisine is much different as well and actually authentic, unlike the Chinese food that we are used to in the USA. It became uncommon to find a restaurant that actually used silverware instead of chopsticks. In fact even “Western” cuisine was prepared differently than what I am used to, except for the chain-restaurants like McDonalds.

 

New Friends

Through the summer I am happy to say that I have left with new perspectives and some new friends. Besides my American co-workers, I had the opportunity to work with several residents of Hong Kong, and Mainland China. In was interesting to see us all learn from each other as our time went on. One girl from China, Lily, said that she had never before been to a dance, or heard of “being pied” among other things. As we planned activities for the students—she had to learn herself about what these strange “American” things were all about. Likewise, I learned much spending time with them on campus and in the city. I often bombarded Oscar, a resident of Hong Kong, with questions about the city and the culture and he was happy to answer. I even learned some Cantonese phrases along the way. Working in Hong Kong has afforded me a great experience that I am so fortunate to have had! I may even consider visiting Asia again in the future.