A Year Abroad

Originally published September 17, 2008

Well, it was a beautiful fifteen months. I spent two semesters studying in England and traveling all over Europe. I saw Krakow, Amsterdam, Budapest, Prague, Vienna, and Berlin. I even got to spend a month living in London. I’ve seen things that I may never get to see again. Now that I’m back in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, I’ve realized something. This place is far less fun than school in England. There the kids have no restrictions on drinking and only go to class six hours a week. Everyday was like a party. Me and my friends often lament about how fun it was. But we must push on, no matter how much greener the grass on the other side is.

So now I look back on the time I spent overseas and reflect on what I learned. Much of it was academic, but the lessons I will really use I learned outside of the classroom in various seedy places. Here are some of my pearls of wisdom.

First, in England people will not greet you bys saying “what’s up” or “how’s it going”. They always say “are you alright?” This is confusing at first. Every time I heard someone say that to me I assumed something was wrong with me. This is not the case. It will take some time to get used to certain English phrases. If you are in Norwich don’t go to the Waterfront nightclub unless you really like Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson. I went there once wearing a yellow polo shirt and a pair of jeans. The rest of the club patrons were wearing black leather, black makeup, and had their hair spiked up in ways that could put someone’s eye out. I would have felt uncomfortable and out of place, but I was too smashed. Instead I ended up dancing the night away with the black leather clad crowd.

The best advice I could give someone on Amsterdam is don’t go to the sex museum. It’s horrifying. The whole place is filled with giant sculptures of penises and animatronic people doing filthy things to each other. It’s also not really a museum. It’s about as educational as watching Married with Children. Aside from that Amsterdam is a great place. Walking through the red light district is an experience that must be had. There are prostitutes in windows and men trying to sell you cocaine and ecstasy. Very interesting stuff.

I would have to say the city with the meanest people is Prague. I actually discovered that numerous travelers felt the same way. Everyone just seems pissed off over there. I have no idea why, they have some of the hottest women and some of the best beer in the world. I guess some people just can’t be happy. Berlin definitely has the friendliest people. This may be intentional as they are trying to gloss over a shaky history. The advice I got from locals on what Berliners eat is that they eat something called currywurst. This sounds exotic but is really not worth it. It is basically a hotdog without a bun covered in ketchup and curry powder. You can make one of these at home easily.

So now I’m back here reflecting fondly on my past experiences and wondering where the winds of fate will blow me next. Hopefully it will be back to Amsterdam.