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The one about the Media…

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This is a post I have been interested in writing for a while as someone who loves music, movies, and television. Having been living in another country I have of course been introduced to many kinds of new artists, shows, and films that I would never have otherwise come to know, and I have to say that I am in love with English media! Starting with their music.

Music here in the U.K is similar to in the states, but there seems to be less rap and hip-hop in their top charts. It seems the trend is more towards pop, dance, alternative, and folk here. Many popular artists from the U.K are known in America such as Adele, One Direction, Jessie J, and more recently Ed Sheeran, but there are plenty of amazing artists that are fairly unknown in the American music industry. One of my personal favorites would be Olly Murs, who was the runner-up on the English version of X-Factor in 2009. I am constantly listening to his new album while writing essays or cleaning my room or anytime really!

This one is always on repeat in my head:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5w4N3pKnQw&w=560&h=315]

Of course there are plenty of great artists here that are little known in the states such as Wiley, Robbie Williams, Rudimental, and Swedish House Mafia among others. I will add some video links at the end of the post with top songs from each of these artists. I think it is really interesting how American media easily penetrates through other cultures across Europe, most likely because we have a mass media culture that is a driving force in the world of music, movies, and television. Many of the big artists in America are popular in the U.K as well like Rhianna, Bruno Mars, P!NK, Pitbull, and Taylor Swift, but England holds its own in terms of having great artists who produce great music.

On to movies, or as the English say, films. This is the area where I feel like the U.K and U.S are most similar. There is huge cross over in terms of films, the most recent example I can think of being Skyfall, the new James Bond movie. Obviously an English film series that has had huge success in the states. Another example of this would be Harry Potter, a major English film series that is universally popular. At the same time though there are English films that are essentially unheard of in America. Two very popular ones that I was made to watch by my friends upon arrival were Snatch, and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Both are action comedies that are hugely popular in the U.K, even though both are somewhat dated. England certainly loves it’s comedy, probably because there is so much banter and sarcasm in its culture, so films like Simon Pegg’s Shaun of the dead and Hot Fuzz are very in demand as well. All movies that are big in America are also big in the U.K  so anything you might see at a theater in the states you would definitely find here as well, in addition to the English films.

As far as television goes it seems that like their films, the English love comedy. The most watched shows from what I can gather are sitcoms and reality shows. There are a few English programs that have gained popularity in the U.S such as Doctor Who or Downton Abbey, but it surprises me how many great shows there are that have not reached the states. This may be because many times Hollywood tries to make its own versions of popular English shows like The Office, Being Human, or The Inbetweeners. The American version of the office has done pretty well for itself, but generally great shows here in the U.K tend to flop after being re-done in the states. One of my personal favorites that I have discovered is Fresh Meat- A program about a group of uni students who are thrown together as housemates and the situations they go through. It is an absolutely hilarious show and I can’t wait for it to come out again every week. One fun fact about the show is that there is a character named Oregon! How cool is that?! Here is the season 2 (or as they say here, series 2) trailer:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_xUjrpwqyA&w=560&h=315]

Well there you have it-my assessment of the differences in Media between the U.K and the states. Media is such a powerful force in today’s world, particularly for my generation and those after it, so it is interesting to see the differences in music, film, and television across cultures.

I hope you are well, and let me know in the comments what is popular in the country you are studying in!!

Summer

P.S- Here are the other top songs I said I would post from above if you are interested:

Robbie Williams- Candy
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtOV7bp-gys&w=560&h=315]

Wiley- Can You Hear Me
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbQaCCb_Gzc&w=560&h=315]

Rudimental-Feel The Love
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oABEGc8Dus0&w=560&h=315]

Swedish House Mafia-Don’t You Worry Child
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y6smkh6c-0&w=560&h=315]

Christmas Culture!

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Well last weekend I had the chance to go home with another friend to spend the weekend in another English city! This time I went to Leeds, a city in the center of the north of England. We arrived on Friday night and almost immediately went to visit one of England’s more exciting Christmas traditions-the Christmas market! Specifically, the German market. I have found England’s whole market idea is quite different then ours in America. I can’t say I really know many markets in the states apart from the Saturday Market that many cities have like Portland and Seattle, or perhaps the occasional farmers market, but otherwise the concept doesn’t really penetrate into American culture like it does here. In every city across England the Christmas markets have sprung up, each very similar: little booths put up housing all kinds of trinkets with a main, larger shack somewhere in the center housing an impromptu pub. Personally I am a big fan of the food booths, where you can get anything from bratwurst to burritos to nutella crepes!  There is music and cheer everywhere- after about 30 seconds I realized just how much the holiday season means to England. Even before this I could tell that the holiday’s are really something else here, with everyone going on about their Christmas shopping and Christmas jumpers and so forth. Not to mention that every city, town, and village had put up its own giant Christmas tree as well as lights along every ally and road. I asked some friends but they did not seem to comprehend why I was asking them why the holidays were so revered on this side of the pond. They just kept saying “because it’s Christmas! It’s the happiest time of the year!”.

I think part of what makes it all so special is the fact that the English, especially here up north, are living in darkness a majority of the time and so all the lights and wonder of Christmas make everyone cheery. In addition, it is a time of relaxation and family, just like it is back home in the states. All I know is that I thought the holiday’s were a big deal in America, but nothing compares to the amazing Christmas culture that exists here in England.

The German market in Leeds:

The Liverpool Tree:

One of the many strings of lights along the shopping center road in Liverpool:

After going to the market on Friday Night, we went to a birthday party for a friend’s father on Saturday night and had a fun night helping set up. I even had my first hog roast! After dinner we relaxed and had the most delicious and rich chocolate cake I had ever eaten, and then I found out it was from Costco! I guess Costco cake is famous all over, and tastes amazing no matter where you are.

At the party:

It was really nice to get a weekend away from the University, I don’t think I realized how much I needed it. It felt quite a bit like going home for a weekend while at western, a time to relax and recuperate from my studies and from all the craziness that goes on living in the halls. Overall I had a great weekend, and I feel as though I learned a lot about English culture during the holiday season.
Hope you are all well!

Summer

An Anecdote to War

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For all the peace we still live in a time of war

Still I believed not that I would feel it so far from it’s core.

Yet one dreary night as I rode through the  snow

A man came on board with nowhere to go.

He was escorted by two policemen who continued to say

Here in this country he wasn’t to stay.

With much discussion, most of it lost in translation

It came through that he was in seek of asylum; a safe location.

While this was a first for my young mind

This war weary continent keeps this story in endless supply.

Land bridges connecting the agony with the west

Bring refugees to live among we who can rest.

So while I wish not to know the story behind those African eyes

It was a subtle reminder we live in restless times.

And so ends an anecdote to war.

Chuck

An English Thanksgiving

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Greetings from Being abroad during the holidays was something I had not really thought about previous to thanksgiving, but it was very strange to be have my first major holiday away from home. Luckily we had a great set up with the international society here where all the American exchange students got together and divided up cooking tasks to put together a big thanksgiving dinner.

All of the English students were very interested in American thanksgiving and what is represented. It led to a bit of an American history lesson and it was fun to take a look at thanksgiving from another point of view.

The Americans spent a good part of the day cooking and preparing for the meal together with great results:

Thanksgiving 2012 008

Thanksgiving 2012 011

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In the end we had a great night with our new family, and it was nice to get a break from all the coursework that is starting to pile up at this point in the semester!

Hope your journeys are going well,

Summer

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

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Greetings!

Since my last post, I have been quite busy! With my Art and Culture class, I was able to tour the National Gallery on Castle Hill. We had a private tour guide that introduced us to Hungarian art. While there, we looked at a very special painting from a Hungarian artist. It was a landscape painting (see below) but while I was appreciating this fantastic painting I realized I had seen it before. Not the painting itself, but I had been to the location painted. I raised my hand asked the tour guide, and sure enough… The painting is of the Greek Theater in Taormina and Mt. Etna which can be found on the Italian island of Sicily. I was lucky enough to visit Taormina this summer prior to arriving in Budapest and it actually became my favorite city I have traveled to. Although the picture of me is from this summer, I thought it was so exciting that I recognized the town!

Painting of Taormina

Me at the Greek Theater in Taormina!

I was lucky enough to travel to Vienna for their famous Christmas markets! This was my second time in Vienna this semester, so luckily I was able to concentrate on the Christmas fun rather than view touristy things. We arrived on Thanksgiving day, so of course we had to have a traditional Austrian meal for our big dinner. It was an easy choice… Wiener Schnitzel!

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For dessert, we went back to our hostel and had Ben & Jerry’s! Yes, real Ben & Jerry’s! I had searched all of Europe for my favorite Chunky Monkey, but finally found it on Thanksgiving Day! It was perfect timing. The next day we began our Christmas Market-Extravaganza! There are about a dozen markets in Vienna and we were able to see the 4 largest. The ornaments were beautiful, the handmade crafts were so intricate, and the food? The food was to die for. We ate so much this weekend, but it was worth every euro. We even had the chance to see SchonbruImage

We even had the chance to see Schonbrun Palace! There was a Christmas market there as well, but the true beauty was the view from the top of the palace hill. From there you could see all of Vienna. It was truly a breathtaking sight.

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A view of Vienna including the Palace from palace hill!

While we were in Vienna, we heard a rumor that a Mexican restaurant in Budapest was offering “Thanksgiving Burritos”. So naturally, we were curious. Upon returning home to Budapest, we went straight to Arriba to check it out! Sure enough, they had burritos that were filled with roasted turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry salsa. It even came complete with a slice of pumpkin pie. Although the thought of a Thanksgiving dinner wrapped in a tortilla sounds rather gross, we decided to give it a try. Surprisingly, it was delicious! It was the perfect end to our Thanksgiving weekend!

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My traveling partner, Harry, and I eating Thanksgiving burritos!

I also had the chance to experience the Great Market Hall here in Budapest. It is open 365 days a year and is a major tourist trap! They sell produce, meats, and souvenirs. It has the feel of a local farmer’s market… but in reality the locals shop at a much smaller market on the Buda side. My friends and I plan on going there next week. Although the Great Market Hall is too expensive, you can find a nice traditional langos bread. Langos is basically fried bread that is topped with cottage cheese, sour cream, grated cheese, pepperoni, and vegetables. It looks quite disgusting honestly! I wasn’t brave enough. I instead got a jelly topped langos, which was delicious!

The Great Market Hall!

I hope you all are enjoying the remainder of your time abroad! I know I am!

Best wishes,

Molly

Thanksgiving in Costa Rica

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For Thanksgiving, we went to a dinner provided by the school since it was included in our program. It was only ok and there wasnt any stuffing. They also used squash instead of pumpkin to make pumpkin mousse rather than pumpkin pie. I guess turkey is very expensive here in Costa Rica. It was nice to have an opportunity for my roommate and I to dress up though and there was also dancing afterwards. Koryn

Marine Bio Field Trip

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Marine Bio Field Trip

We went on a marine bio field trip to Cahuita which is close to Puerto Viejo on the South Caribbean side. The weather was not as nice as we thought so it rained in the evening which made the water level higher and the visibility was low for snorkeling. The first activity we had was exploring in hopes of finding marine organisms. We waded a little and found sea cocroaches, urchins, sea anemones, and brittle stars. Since the water level was a little high we were not able to explore all of the areas that we were going to. We also saw an almond tree and an estruary. An estruary is where a river pools before running into the ocean. The one that we saw was dark due to the royal palms which secrete tennins into the water which are used to dye wood. Estruaries are very important to the marine ecosystem because they house marine birds, crocodiles, and serve as fish hatcheries. The next day we went snorkeling and saw many organisms. Some of the more interesting ones that we saw were lion fish, a nurse shark, and a sting ray. We were given boards to take under the water to write notes which were really cool. We were dropped off at a beach afterwards and then we walked to another beach called Punta Uva, where a friend and I practiced lifts for our dance class.. super fun! Koryn

Underwater Panama

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Underwater Panama

So I went to Panama and it was one of my favorite places. It was quite a trip to get there and renew our visas but it was worth it! We took a bus down to the border, walked the border, took a taxi into Bocas del Toro, and then a taxi boat to the island that our hostel was on. Our first day we went on a dolphin tour where we saw many dolphins. We couldnt swim with them do to giant swarms of jellyfish everywhere though. After that, we went to a different area and went snorkeling. This pic was taken by a friends underwater camera! The marine life here was fantastic and what made it even more cool was the fact that I am currently taking Marine Bio so we were able to identify species or take pics to ask our prof later. We saw brittle stars, starfish, sea squirts, sea sponges, corals, and much more. We then went to a beautiful beach where we spent the rest of the day relaxing and soaking up the extremely intense sun. Panama is essentially on the equator so it is really, really hot and humid. The next day we hung out at a place called the Aqua Lounge which had swings into the ocean and a trampoline set up to jump in as well. It also had cut outs in the deck that were kind of like swimming pools. The water fleas were a nuissance and I got my foot stuck in the deck which was painful. But overall it was a lot of fun. We thoroughly enjoyed small things like having a kitchen available as well.. we formed groups and made meals. The trip was so much fun even though it was required for our visas.

Thanksgiving German style

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Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

Today’s special holiday post isn’t a post, but rather a recipe for what I call “Breisgauer Pie.” Whether you need an idea for a pie as an exchange student, or you just want a delicious recipe, I hope you give my pie a try!

I also have a recipe for a small, simple holiday meal.

Make the stuffing from scratch! We used sliced bread, bacon, herbs, onion, and oil but one could use anything. The only tip I have is to use sliced bread instead of croutons or old, hard bread. The soft bread will soak up the flavor of everything it is mixed with and be a tad chewy (as a traditional stuffing is.)
Here in Germany one can find turkey steaks (puten schnitzel) anywhere. Just grab a couple and flatten them to get more bang for your buck.
Put a little oil in a frying pan, and throw the cold stuffing in. The oil will keep the bread soft so it can take in the other flavors.
Once the bread is nice and gold, go ahead and pile it on the turkey steaks.
In order to get the turkey rolls started, quickly fry each side before putting it in the oven to roast, bake, whatever. TIP: In regards to cooking: if it smells done, it’s done; if it smells burnt, it’s burnt; if it doesn’t smell, leave it alone.
With the stuffing piled on, roll the turkey and stick some toothpicks through to hold there form while cooking. If you still have stuffing left over, just shove it in the sides.
To merge the US tradition with the German culture, rotkohl (sweet red sauerkraut), mashed potatoes, and red wine accompanied our turkey rolls.
Hope I have given all those exchange students and those who might be having a small holiday feast an idea for a simple festive meal.

The Breisgauer Pie

The main key to my pie is something called Blätterteig. It is basically a ready-made pie crust and good for everything. For those studying in Germany and Europe, I would recommend finding Blätterteig in your nearest grocery store when making your traditional American dessert.
My filling was very spontaneous. The quickest and easiest filling to make, I found, was to buy a bag of frozen mixed berries and mixed in some amaretto, white rum, cinnamon, and lots of sugar. TIP: Use about 1/2 cup of the liquor or else the alcohol will be overpowering. I have also found, for dessert recipes in general, that Torani syrups (the usual Italian soda syrups) are a good substitute for alcohol. (Here instead of amaretto I would use the Torani Almond syrup.)
Fill the crust. TIP: Put some oatmeal, corn flakes, or something to soak up the juices and keep the crust dry.
Throw your second blätterteig over the top and cut it to the round form. Put a cross-cut in the middle to let the steam out and make it look like grandma’s traditional pie.
Throw some vanilla ice cream and whipped cream on top and enjoy.

Roma Roma Rome!

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Man have I had a crazy last couple of weeks!!

In my last post I mentioned I was heading to Rome soon-and that was two weeks ago! What an amazing place it was as well, I would have to say visiting Rome has been my best vacation in life so far. It may have only been three days but man did I pack a lot into a little amount of time!

I arrived on Monday with Lorenzo, one of the other American students, and we were meant to meet the owner of the flat where we were staying at 1:00pm but our flight got in an hour early so we found ourselves waiting outside the apartment building for a little over an hour. Luckily we made a friend while we were sitting in the courtyard:

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After getting the keys to our flat we took a few minutes to settle in before we met up with the owner of our hostel at a local cafe and he helped direct us on where to go and how to get there and what to do during our stay. He had a large map on which he drew so many arrows and circles that by the end both Lorenzo and I could hardly read it! After our little rendezvous we decided that even though it was getting dark we wanted to get a head start with our new map so Lorenzo and I decided to walk to the Colosseum since it supposedly wasn’t that far. What was supposed to be a 15 minute walk turned into a nearly 40 minute walk even though we had the map right in front of our noses. Eventually we made it to the grand building though by that time is was quite dark, something which turned out to be in our favor as there were not many tourists scattered around and we were able to have a great experience walking around the colosso at night.

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On our way back to our hostel we stopped by a little hole in the wall take away restaurant that was amazingly still open where I got my first slice of real Italian pizza, and it was delicious! From there it was off to bed to prepare for day 2, and for the arrival of our other friend Porscha who had been held back in England.

Day 2 began quite hilariously as we accidentally slept in until nearly one, and then we locked ourselves out of or hostel with no phones. Luckily we had out day bags so we decided to just go out and visit the sites and worry about getting home later. We walked nearly all day visiting almost all of the major sites along the way:

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After a long day it was time to go pick up Porscha and get our keys and phone situation sorted out. Luckily the owner of the flat was able to meet me back at the hostel so I could get our things while Lorenzo made sure Porscha got to our hostel. Since it was getting late again we decided to break out the map and try out some of the classy restaurants our host had told us about to get some real Italian food.

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The next day we made sure to set an alarm so that we would not sleep in, and after watching the presidential election speech we got up and got prepared for our biggest day yet. We had a quick breakfast at the local cafe before setting out to get our tickets for finally entering the Colosseum. What a surreal experience it all was. To actually be there in person was very strange, but we made sure to stop and sit and really let it sink in.

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From there we went to see all the other major sites like Trevi, the pantheon, capitol hill, and the Vatican.

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Sadly our last day came to an end far too quickly and as our flight was quite early the next day we had another early night. Rome was an absolute dream and I still am having trouble with the fact that I was actually in one of the most amazing and historical cities in the world! Now back to school life and real work. Until next time!!