Referring back to my preliminary reflection paper, I recognize that my thoughts are the same regarding my academic interest in political science and environmental studies. However, while reading further through my preliminary reflection, I realized how grateful I am to have been able to pursue my dream of exploring different cultures throughout this course. In my preliminary reflection, I mentioned that I wished the political science field would let me experience different cultures rather than just simply studying the culture. This course has allowed me to not only experience different cultures but also have a greater appreciation for such cultures as I now am able to understand why certain norms are considered ordinary abroad and unusual at home. In addition to having a greater appreciation of cultural relativism, I realized that I feel completely comfortable analyzing and researching classical music. In my preliminary reflection, I expressed my nerves concerning how to go about writing a paper with classical music as the topic. However, after traveling abroad and writing multiple blog posts and mini-sagas relating to classical music, I have realized that I like writing about topics that are new to me. Whenever I write about a topic that is new to me I like how it encourages me to learn as much as possible about that realm. Typically, when I write about a topic that I am not familiar with I tend to perform extraneous amounts of research so that I feel more comfortable in my writing process. Furthermore, while reading the preliminary reflection, I recognized that one main perception that has not changed is my love for German and Austrian food. Before traveling abroad, I wrote very passionately about experiencing the food of different cultures. I am glad to say that my passion for food abroad has not changed and I still crave a döner kebab to this very day, even though I had so many during my travels.
My interdisciplinary research before traveling abroad was extremely helpful considering I was not able to perform much research while abroad. Before we left for Austria and Italy, I was very confident in my annotated bibliography and independent research itinerary regarding how they would connect to my research paper. My interdisciplinary research before traveling abroad advanced my knowledge of classical music as well as my knowledge of the Holocaust and the Enlightenment. While completing the annotated bibliography before traveling abroad, I was able to become more knowledgeable about the depth of religion in classical compositions throughout the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. I was also able to better understand how composers reference Enlightenment ideals throughout their music. A key insight I gained from completing the annotated bibliography relates to my comprehension of how composers always have a purpose behind their compositions. Similar to authors throughout books, composers will have a message hidden behind every composition. Moreover, while traveling I became a little apprehensive concerning how I would connect my twofold research question to all of my sources after I ended up revising the question numerous times. I was still able to advance my knowledge as I traveled to multiple churches and museums during our independent research days and became more knowledgeable about the contrast of Holocaust beliefs with Enlightenment ideals. However, while abroad I was concerned about not being able to explore a certain church or museum as some places were unexpectedly closed and the site was integral to my research question. From this experience, a key insight I gained was that adaptability is something I need to work on in my personal life. I am generally used to having a color-coded calendar always with me, but while abroad I realized that I didn’t even need the calendar as plans were constantly changing.
I absolutely loved writing blogs and mini-sagas in this course. Every time I would arrive back at the hotel from a class, friend group, or personal excursion I would love to write about my experience. Personally, I have always wanted to take up journaling; however, I have not had much time in my daily life to commit to a journal entry each and every day. Therefore, I loved the blog and mini-saga aspect of this course as it was not only fun but also encouraged me to analyze my experiences abroad. Throughout my undergraduate education, I have become so accustomed to writing about events rather than actually experiencing them. I believe that the blogs and mini-sagas allowed me to have a greater understanding and analysis of whatever I learned that day, simply because I was able to experience it and not just write about it.
I believe that the learning experience which impacted me the most is the language barrier while abroad. At first, I was very overwhelmed about being able to converse in another language. I remember one day after the class went to tour Fortress Hohensalzburg in Salzburg, Austria, I went with a couple of my classmates to this authentic German restaurant. Before walking up to the host we were all very nervous about asking for a table in German, so I pulled out my phone and ensured that I knew the proper pronunciation of how to ask for a table. I thought that it would be helpful at first to ask the host if he spoke English to which he replied by asking me if I spoke German. This interaction was the biggest learning experience for me as I realized that when most Americans typically travel abroad they assume that foreigners know English and most Americans are not willing to learn the language of where they’re traveling. After realizing this, I went back to the hotel and attempted to catch up on some of my German-speaking skills.
At the beginning of this course in the Fall I was struggling with the passing of my grandfather who suffered from pancreatic cancer. In the Fall I realized that my personality had changed regarding how shy and restrained I was while meeting new people. I am typically a very gregarious person, so this was extremely difficult to come to this realization. However, in the latter part of our trip during January I felt like I was beginning to be myself again. I would explore places on my own and talk to people in a much more comfortable manner. I believe that putting myself in a new environment and situation allowed me to release the anxiety I had from the past. I will forever be grateful for this experience as it opened up my mind to see that I can always strive to be the person I want to be.
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