We just left Budapest, and I was sad to say goodbye! During our time there, we spent much of it in the classroom. Even though we were only in Budapest for a few days, there were many common themes between the numerous speakers. One theme that really appeared was the traditional roles of a family. It is expected for women to take car of the household and children, while the men are the main providers for the family. In Budapest, women are looked at in a negative way if they have a very strong career and don't stay home with the children. Many women entrepreneurs found it difficult to break this social barrier of what is expected of them. What i also found interesting was that women have 3 years of maternity leave. For the most part this is a positive attribute for women. The new mothers can stay home and spend quality time taking care of her newborn child. At the same time, this is where the traditional roles come into play. The women start completely taking care of the household when they are on maternity leave, but previously in most cases before children, men and women spilt the household work. Women are expected to go back to work after the three years are up, but when they go back to work, they continue to do all of the household chores. This is what many of our speakers referred to as the typical superwoman or the double-bearing woman Something else that surprised me was that numerous successful hungarian women explained to us how it was crucial to have a supportive husband. I wasn't expecting these women to show a strong need for a supportive man. Even my favorite speaker said she couldn't have gotten to where she is today, if she did have the support of her husband. Now that I look back on it, I understand that it makes sense. Very successful men have pretty much always had a supportive wife to back them up. Now I am glad to see that it may be our turn. Hopefully our next stop, Vienna, will be a culturally rich of an experience as Budapest. I am excited to compare the two cities and she how similar or different they may be.
We have just left Budapest a few days ago and I already miss it! It was one amazing city to be welcomed into when arriving to Europe. For only being there for a few days it was easy to notice the many cultural differences between Budapest and the U.S. First off one thing that was kind of a surprise but very nice was that everyone spoke some english. As long as you spoke slow and clear many people could understand you and it became very easy to communicate. As well in resturaunts many menus were in english so ordering food was no problem, we were not surprised with anything we were eating. Another thing I noticed was the style of most people in Budapest, there didn't seem to be any particular popular pieces, (unlike the U.S. where north face's and Ugg boots are very popular), it seemed t be whatever you anted to wear fit in. Which is why I think we stuck out as Americans a little bit because our outfits were more put together. It was very interesting. A common theme within the food was lots of meat and lots of potatoes. Being a vegetarian in this kind of culture seems to be very difficult since almost every dish is centered around meat. At the first resturaunt we went to for dinner our meal was literally a huge plate of meat for the table. It took some getting used to but eventually by every meal we became accustomed to eating meat and potatoes. One final common theme we saw while traveling around Budapest is that there is one hang out spot for all of the teens. It was actually very fun. It was somewhat of underground bar with food and dancing where I am pretty sure most of the city hung out. It was very easy to meet people there and everyone accepted us, which surprised us because we had a preconceived notion that no one would like us because we are American. All around Budapest was a lot of fun and we met a lot of interesting people. I really enjoyed my time there!!
Bratislava, Slovakia Haley Andersen, Annie Martin-McDonough, Lili Sawan
The Central Europe group traveled to Bratislava, Slovakia for the day. The center of town was a concentrated area of shops and restaurants with outdoor seating areas. The overall atmosphere seemed more casual and easygoing, yet almost everyone seemed to dress more formal. Due to post-communist redistribution of publicly owned property, most people own their own apartments instead of paying a monthly rent. It is also surprising at how little the average monthly income is in Slovakia compared to our standards in the U.S. The city was also very clean compared to many U.S. cities. There are strict enforcements such as a serious fine for throwing gum and cigarette butts on the ground and a two year sentence in jail for graffiti art. Compared to Budapest, Hungary and Vienna, Austria, we observed many young people and homeless people in the streets . There are so many young people due to a large number of universities in and around Bratislava. One such University that we attended was the University of Economics in Bratislava which is the first school in Slovakia that is aimed exclusively towards economics, business, and management. We observed that the students were dressed up. It is a cultural custom for students here to wear nicer clothes during finals. We also learned that students here are required to learn two languages, and some majors require three. One speaker mentioned the inability to succeed without being able to speak the English language. Students have the opportunity to travel abroad, with the assistance of a European Union program that finances such trips. Overall, more women attend university and obtain a large percentage of advanced level degrees in economics and management. This is interesting because although women hold an obvious majority in the educational sphere, they are discriminated against fewer upper-level job opportunities and less pay. This being said, Bratislava, Slovakia is required to follow EU gender standards in order to help eliminate gender discrimination. Overall, the day trip to Bratislava was a fun experience that left us with a promising impression to future improvements.
Budapest, the capital of Hungary, is renowned for its architecture, recreation, culture, and scenery. Before traveling to Budapest, I had no exceptions, and after leaving feel that I have gained a true appreaction and love of the city along the Danube. Within the first day of arriving is was clear that Budapest was completely foreign from anything I am used to in the United States. The city, although reaching peak temperatures of the high 70's, lacks in humidity, unlike my hometown east coast, and therefore was rather enjoyable. The sandy brown tones, ornately tiled and detailed buildings, as well as the cultural influence combine to create the hungarian flavor. Reflecting on my time there I noticed key mannerisms and behavior unique to Budapest. First, when observing the urban style of the people, it was clear that Budapest is not known for its fashion. Patterns, lengths, and fabrics were all mixed to create a very eclectic look. This is contradictory to what I had thought, that a capital city would have a defined and easy definable trends. Also, I noticed the hungarian people were not open to foreigners . While not rude, there was little effort made to get to us "americans" during our stay. Overall, I found Budapest to be a culturally rich city with very strong ties to its past. For example, there is still prevalent sexism with the workforce as a women's first priority is to be taking care of her family; a concept rebelled against in America. Budapest, is definitely a city that I highly recommend one visits. The food, although packed with sodium, is hardy and delicious. There is no lack of nightlife, good beer, and wonderful sites.
The experience of traveling through Prague or as Czech’s would call it Praha, has been an unbelievable experience. Arriving to Prague on our scorching hot bus was like entering a town from the early 1800s. Prague is a very traditional, quaint city that has worked hard to maintain its historical value. Prague was one of the easier cities to travel around as an American tourist. The subways were clear, informative, and efficient. However, false taxi’s are very common in the Czech Republic. Your best bet is to call a taxi company rather then hailing down a taxi. Most of the locals understood English and were very responsive when tourists asked questions. However, I still felt as though people stared at “crazy” Americans. I took a step backward to see the cultural difference between Americans and Czech’s. I noticed that most central Europeans and Europeans in general are more relaxed and laid back. I find that Americans are always hungry, always eager to drinks, and can be at time very loud. In Europe, mainly in central Europe, they don’t abuse drinking. The drinking age is usually 16 or 18 years old and people see drinking as a leisure activity. Where as in the United States, your 21st birthday is the biggest event of your adolescence. In addition to drinking being a leisure activity, alcohol is very inexpensive. In the United States, people abuse their drinking privileges, which allows liquor stores to raise their prices as well as tax for liquor purchases. All this talk about alcoholic consuming you must be wondering what nightlife is like in Prague. Nightlife is great. Since there are so many tourists, especially during the summer, Czech’s have taken the initiative to show tourist what a good time is in Praha. Some bars or people organize bar crawls, which is a group of people traveling from bar to bar with a complementary beverage at each destination. However, if you are craving an ice-cold beverage, Central Europe isn’t the place for you. Europeans don’t care for ice they prefer, I am guessing, warmer beverages. On the upside of warmer beverages, food, drinks, jewels, and clothing are all relatively inexpensive. Bargaining with vendors isn’t in their culture so I wouldn’t recommend bargaining because they usually don’t budge. However, mostly everything is inexpensive which makes it easier to have a more enjoyable time in Prague and to buy a little souvenir to remember the Czech Republic. Prague is truly a wonderful, relaxing, and entertaining city. I would absolutely return to Prague if I were to travel through Europe again.
5 comments:
CE 09 Budapest, Hungary- Caroline
We just left Budapest, and I was sad to say goodbye! During our time there, we spent much of it in the classroom. Even though we were only in Budapest for a few days, there were many common themes between the numerous speakers.
One theme that really appeared was the traditional roles of a family. It is expected for women to take car of the household and children, while the men are the main providers for the family. In Budapest, women are looked at in a negative way if they have a very strong career and don't stay home with the children. Many women entrepreneurs found it difficult to break this social barrier of what is expected of them.
What i also found interesting was that women have 3 years of maternity leave. For the most part this is a positive attribute for women. The new mothers can stay home and spend quality time taking care of her newborn child. At the same time, this is where the traditional roles come into play. The women start completely taking care of the household when they are on maternity leave, but previously in most cases before children, men and women spilt the household work. Women are expected to go back to work after the three years are up, but when they go back to work, they continue to do all of the household chores. This is what many of our speakers referred to as the typical superwoman or the double-bearing woman
Something else that surprised me was that numerous successful hungarian women explained to us how it was crucial to have a supportive husband. I wasn't expecting these women to show a strong need for a supportive man. Even my favorite speaker said she couldn't have gotten to where she is today, if she did have the support of her husband. Now that I look back on it, I understand that it makes sense. Very successful men have pretty much always had a supportive wife to back them up. Now I am glad to see that it may be our turn.
Hopefully our next stop, Vienna, will be a culturally rich of an experience as Budapest. I am excited to compare the two cities and she how similar or different they may be.
CE 09 Budapest, Hungary- Ashley
We have just left Budapest a few days ago and I already miss it! It was one amazing city to be welcomed into when arriving to Europe. For only being there for a few days it was easy to notice the many cultural differences between Budapest and the U.S. First off one thing that was kind of a surprise but very nice was that everyone spoke some english. As long as you spoke slow and clear many people could understand you and it became very easy to communicate. As well in resturaunts many menus were in english so ordering food was no problem, we were not surprised with anything we were eating. Another thing I noticed was the style of most people in Budapest, there didn't seem to be any particular popular pieces, (unlike the U.S. where north face's and Ugg boots are very popular), it seemed t be whatever you anted to wear fit in. Which is why I think we stuck out as Americans a little bit because our outfits were more put together. It was very interesting. A common theme within the food was lots of meat and lots of potatoes. Being a vegetarian in this kind of culture seems to be very difficult since almost every dish is centered around meat. At the first resturaunt we went to for dinner our meal was literally a huge plate of meat for the table. It took some getting used to but eventually by every meal we became accustomed to eating meat and potatoes. One final common theme we saw while traveling around Budapest is that there is one hang out spot for all of the teens. It was actually very fun. It was somewhat of underground bar with food and dancing where I am pretty sure most of the city hung out. It was very easy to meet people there and everyone accepted us, which surprised us because we had a preconceived notion that no one would like us because we are American. All around Budapest was a lot of fun and we met a lot of interesting people. I really enjoyed my time there!!
Bratislava, Slovakia
Haley Andersen, Annie Martin-McDonough, Lili Sawan
The Central Europe group traveled to Bratislava, Slovakia for the day. The center of town was a concentrated area of shops and restaurants with outdoor seating areas. The overall atmosphere seemed more casual and easygoing, yet almost everyone seemed to dress more formal. Due to post-communist redistribution of publicly owned property, most people own their own apartments instead of paying a monthly rent. It is also surprising at how little the average monthly income is in Slovakia compared to our standards in the U.S. The city was also very clean compared to many U.S. cities. There are strict enforcements such as a serious fine for throwing gum and cigarette butts on the ground and a two year sentence in jail for graffiti art. Compared to Budapest, Hungary and Vienna, Austria, we observed many young people and homeless people in the streets . There are so many young people due to a large number of universities in and around Bratislava. One such University that we attended was the University of Economics in Bratislava which is the first school in Slovakia that is aimed exclusively towards economics, business, and management. We observed that the students were dressed up. It is a cultural custom for students here to wear nicer clothes during finals. We also learned that students here are required to learn two languages, and some majors require three. One speaker mentioned the inability to succeed without being able to speak the English language. Students have the opportunity to travel abroad, with the assistance of a European Union program that finances such trips. Overall, more women attend university and obtain a large percentage of advanced level degrees in economics and management. This is interesting because although women hold an obvious majority in the educational sphere, they are discriminated against fewer upper-level job opportunities and less pay. This being said, Bratislava, Slovakia is required to follow EU gender standards in order to help eliminate gender discrimination. Overall, the day trip to Bratislava was a fun experience that left us with a promising impression to future improvements.
Hilary Katulak- Budapest
Budapest, the capital of Hungary, is renowned for its architecture, recreation, culture, and scenery. Before traveling to Budapest, I had no exceptions, and after leaving feel that I have gained a true appreaction and love of the city along the Danube.
Within the first day of arriving is was clear that Budapest was completely foreign from anything I am used to in the United States. The city, although reaching peak temperatures of the high 70's, lacks in humidity, unlike my hometown east coast, and therefore was rather enjoyable. The sandy brown tones, ornately tiled and detailed buildings, as well as the cultural influence combine to create the hungarian flavor.
Reflecting on my time there I noticed key mannerisms and behavior unique to Budapest. First, when observing the urban style of the people, it was clear that Budapest is not known for its fashion. Patterns, lengths, and fabrics were all mixed to create a very eclectic look. This is contradictory to what I had thought, that a capital city would have a defined and easy definable trends. Also, I noticed the hungarian people were not open to foreigners . While not rude, there was little effort made to get to us "americans" during our stay.
Overall, I found Budapest to be a culturally rich city with very strong ties to its past. For example, there is still prevalent sexism with the workforce as a women's first priority is to be taking care of her family; a concept rebelled against in America.
Budapest, is definitely a city that I highly recommend one visits. The food, although packed with sodium, is hardy and delicious. There is no lack of nightlife, good beer, and wonderful sites.
The experience of traveling through Prague or as Czech’s would call it Praha, has been an unbelievable experience. Arriving to Prague on our scorching hot bus was like entering a town from the early 1800s. Prague is a very traditional, quaint city that has worked hard to maintain its historical value.
Prague was one of the easier cities to travel around as an American tourist. The subways were clear, informative, and efficient. However, false taxi’s are very common in the Czech Republic. Your best bet is to call a taxi company rather then hailing down a taxi. Most of the locals understood English and were very responsive when tourists asked questions. However, I still felt as though people stared at “crazy” Americans. I took a step backward to see the cultural difference between Americans and Czech’s. I noticed that most central Europeans and Europeans in general are more relaxed and laid back. I find that Americans are always hungry, always eager to drinks, and can be at time very loud. In Europe, mainly in central Europe, they don’t abuse drinking. The drinking age is usually 16 or 18 years old and people see drinking as a leisure activity. Where as in the United States, your 21st birthday is the biggest event of your adolescence. In addition to drinking being a leisure activity, alcohol is very inexpensive. In the United States, people abuse their drinking privileges, which allows liquor stores to raise their prices as well as tax for liquor purchases.
All this talk about alcoholic consuming you must be wondering what nightlife is like in Prague. Nightlife is great. Since there are so many tourists, especially during the summer, Czech’s have taken the initiative to show tourist what a good time is in Praha. Some bars or people organize bar crawls, which is a group of people traveling from bar to bar with a complementary beverage at each destination. However, if you are craving an ice-cold beverage, Central Europe isn’t the place for you. Europeans don’t care for ice they prefer, I am guessing, warmer beverages. On the upside of warmer beverages, food, drinks, jewels, and clothing are all relatively inexpensive. Bargaining with vendors isn’t in their culture so I wouldn’t recommend bargaining because they usually don’t budge. However, mostly everything is inexpensive which makes it easier to have a more enjoyable time in Prague and to buy a little souvenir to remember the Czech Republic. Prague is truly a wonderful, relaxing, and entertaining city. I would absolutely return to Prague if I were to travel through Europe again.
Alex Fedle
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