UF in Madrid

Next spring, I have the opportunity to participate in a foreign exchange program through the Heavener School of Business at the University of Florida. As a marketing major planning to complete a Spanish minor, studying in Spain was a logical choice. After narrowing my choices, I have decided to study at the private Universidad Antonio de Nebrija in Madrid. In addition to the educational value of studying at a foreign university, I am looking forward to experiencing the country on my own and becoming immersed in Spanish culture during this three month adventure.

by Nina Vanell

Things to Do:

 

After years in Spanish classrooms lined with vibrant posters of matadors facing off against ferocious bulls, I have become convinced that bullfighting is an essential aspect of Spanish tradition. As such, I am determined to watch a bullfight at the beautiful Plaza de Toros de las Ventas. The season begins at the end of March and continues through October, but the peak of the season is during the San Isidros festival in May and June. During the festival, the bullfights occur nightly, while the rest of the season they are held only on Sunday evenings.

Although this tradition has been carried on since the 1100s, the brutality of the sport has raised ethical concerns. Over 10,000 bulls are killed each year in Spain during these violent displays of strength and bravery. While this is definitely an aspect of Spanish culture worth seeing as a foreigner, it is hard for me to accept the cruelty of a tradition that has carried on for centuries.

Of course, soccer (I mean football, sorry) dominates my perception of Madrid. I am incredibly excited to watch a Real Madrid football game at the massive Santiago Bernabeu Stadium that holds up to 130,000 visitors. As the national sport, football plays a huge role in Spanish life. Fans are known for their passionate enthusiasm in support of their favorite team. Every weekend from September through June, games take place in the arena. Tickets can be bought online for 35 EUR, about $40.

When I told one of my friends that I was planning to do foreign exchange in Spain, he strongly encouraged me to choose a school in Madrid based on his past experiences there. I asked him to tell me one thing I could not miss out on while living in Madrid. His response: watch a traditional flamenco dance. Usually, the dancers provide entertainment at restaurants and bars, so I will definitely be exposed to this aspect of Spanish culture.

It was interesting for me to learn about the significance of flamenco dance in Spain, yet another way that the traditional roots of Spanish culture are preserved. Flamenco is an emotional and passionate art form that originated with gypsies in southern Spain. The basic combination of dance, song, and guitar became widely popular, and flamenco spread throughout the country.

Looking Down At—Or Up To—Nature: The Psychology of How Czechs and Americans View and Interact with Nature

Looking Down At—Or Up To—Nature

(The Psychology of How Czechs and Americans View and Interact with Nature)

Dobrý den! I hope your day is going fantastically.

Well, I must have retained something from all of my psychology classes, because planning and writing this is really exciting for me. Really exciting. Maybe because I feel like I’ve uncovered some great psychological phenomenon. Which I probably haven’t, so don’t get too excited.

I do, however, think that there is a significant difference between how Czech and American people relate themselves to nature, and I believe that this difference is important. Let’s explore!

Looking Up vs. Looking Down

A mother, daughter, and puppy trio walks down the paths on the outskirts of town.

  

This first point relates specifically to Florida and other mountain-lacking parts of this country (and of the world, I suppose, but I won’t generalize).

My argument: When people spend their lifetimes looking up towards nature, they develop a very different mindset than those who spend their lives looking up towards buildings and other man-made constructions.

In the Czech Republic, you cannot help but look up. You look up at the huge forest-covered mountains. You look up at the hills that are everywhere. You look up at the towering Topol (Poplar) trees that line each road.

Topol trees were planted extensively in the time of Communist Czechoslovakia

along fields in order to shield crops from the wind;

they were colloquially called “windbreakers”.

The “looking up” serves as a constant reminder that we are not the most extraordinary beings in the world. Everything is beautiful. Looking up and assuming the body language of modesty forces us into a reverent mindset.

On the other hand, in America (Florida) I find myself looking up at buildings and skyscrapers—they are the tallest structures in the environment—and looking down at the flatness of the earth around. I think a sense of superiority comes about because of these constant reminders of human ability, which makes people feel entitled and powerful. This phenomenon can occur in environments where the natural elements do not tower (no mountains, hills, etc.), or in environments where buildings rise above the present natural elements. Looking down lets us physically embody superiority.

My favorite place in the world, the top of the mountain “Klet’” near my hometown.

As one of my psychology professors loves to remind my class, the brain processes metaphors literally. In classic experiments, people holding warm coffee were rated as “warmer,” or friendlier, than those holding iced coffee. So why can’t it work the same way in this case? If we literally look up to something, perhaps we metaphorically begin seeing that something as valuable, important, and powerful.

So what do you look up to?

CES Study Abroad Information Session

by Ena Barisic

The Center for European Studies held a summer study abroad informational session for students interested in visiting either Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, or Belgium. These programs can count for the required summer term, and as classes for Political Science, European Union Studies, Eastern-Central European Studies and International Studies. The purpose for the session was to informally give information regarding each individual program, with regards to important details such as costs, transportation, classes offered, housing, and entertainment. Each program’s advisor joined the group of students in order to further explain the program. The general gist of applying is similar to all four programs: send an application, letter(s) of recommendation, said college application, minimum of 2.0/2.5 GPA and a non-refundable fee. Scholarships are offered for students to apply in order to fund the costs.

Coffee with a Diplomat: Informal Session with Michael Thurston

by Ena Barisic

A room of interested students had the pleasure of engaging in an intimate discussion foreign affairs positions with Michael Thurston, Senior Foreign Service Officer (SFSO) of the U.S. Department of State. The event was arranged by the Center for European Studies at UF. Thurston has visited the University of Florida campus previously in Fall of 2014.  The purpose of this year’s informal session was to recruit and inform students about career options at the State Department, including jobs as a Foreign Service Officer (FSO). The Department seeks increased representation from the Southeast to bolster diversity and promote equal regional participation.

Thurston began the session with an account of his experiences, his service, and the impact of the State Department on his life.  Thurston served in Afghanistan as the advisor and senior civilian to the Special Operations Joint Task Force/NATO Special Operations Command and as the acting ambassador in Burma. His previous posts include Australia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Mexico, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

Thurston discussed the application process in detail. As an FSO, you represent the United States overseas, thereby playing a vital role in foreign affairs, a role that the U.S. Department of State does not take lightly. Applying for the FSO position consists of multiple rounds of pass/fail assessments: qualification/registration for the FSO test, passing the FSO test, submission of a personal narrative to the Qualifications Evaluation Panel (QEP), passing an oral test, and passing the medical and security clearance. Lastly, the QEP will do a final review of your file before offering acceptance. Once accepted, candidates must select one of five tracks: Consular, Economic, Management, Political, or Public Diplomacy. Thurston advised listeners to carefully consider this decision, because although it can be done, the process to switch tracks is highly complicated.

Thurston’s enthusiasm for the position allowed him to express the personal benefits of the job in an enticing way. When he applied, he was originally attracted to the prospect of travelling, while serving his country. As an experienced diplomat, he is now humbled by the relationship he makes with diverse groups around the globe. He says that this appreciation for people “can’t be taught in textbooks.”

This Czech and American Life: Community, Nature, and the Future

            Dobrý den! (Hello!) I’m Veronica Cinibulk (that’s the Americanized version, it’s really Cinibulková), and I am from the Czech Republic. *Fast Fact* The –ová (or –á) is used at the end of females’ surnames to indicate their gender, though a very small number of surnames don’t change, and are the same in masculine and feminine form. *Another Fast Fact* It’s the Czech Republic now, though people seem to have trouble letting go of the word “Czechoslovakia.” It’s alright, I understand. It was Czechoslovakia until January 1, 1993—just 22 years ago! I know. Crazy.

We’re two countries now! Though we still have joint TV shows…

            My family and I moved from the Czech Republic to America when I was three and a half years old, but we continue to go back each summer, sometimes for three or four months, and later for one or two. Just for fun, I decided to count how many times I have sat sleeplessly through the nine, twelve, or fifteen hour flights across the Atlantic, and the answer is…34. Thirty-four times. Yes, I love traveling, and I love airports. But I have grown quite a strong dislike for the actual flying aspect.

My doggy at the airport, ready to travel. She’s not too fond of the flights either…Fifteen hours in a bag can get tiresome, you know.

News from Polish Studies

The organization of the Center’s Polish Library and Reading Room is well under way! We have received tons of materials from the Kosciuszko Foundation (http://www.thekf.org/kf/), the Sembrich (http://www.thesembrich.org/), the Polish Library in Washington D.C. (http://www.polishlibrary.org/), The Polish Library “Millennium” in Los Angeles, The American Institute of Polish Culture in Miami (http://www.ampolinstitute.org/), and a private donor Thomas Anessi from Poznan, Poland. A very big thanks to all of these institutions!

I have begun labeling the books with call numbers and shelving them, as you can see in the pictures below:

Polish Studies Library, TUR 3326B

Just a note on the call number system I’m using: since it would be rather difficult to learn a decimal system like Dewey or Library of Congress on my own in a short time, I am relying on an “accession” numbering system. Basically, the first book I’ve put on the shelf was labelled “CES POL001”-- “CES” for Center for European Studies, “POL” for Polish, and then “001” for the first book. The books will eventually be electronically catalogued with appropriate information, including their donors and the call numbers. This catalogue will then be available online.

And still more boxes of books to add!

That’s all for now from Polish Studies! 

Na razie!!

- Jack J. Hutchens

Ece Erbay, CES Turkish Intern

The Center for European Studies is proud to host student interns visiting from Turkey. This past semester we housed J-1 Student Intern, Ece Erbay, who worked under Dr. Emrah Sahin, Director of the UF Turkish Studies program. Below, Ece writes to us of her duties as a UFCES Turkish Intern, her experiences at the University of Florida, and how these experiences have affected her course of study as a student of International Relations at the University of Economics and Technology in Turkey. Thanks so much for spending the semester with us, Ece!

I cannot forget those moments on August 23rd, the day I arrived in Gainesville. I looked out of the airplane window at the beauty of the town’s all-green landscape—so different than the all-yellow Ankara, the city I come from. My internship at the University of Florida’s Center for European Studies (UFCES) officially began at the American Embassy of Ankara, but my physical encounter with Gainesville some time later, coupled with the jetlag of my overseas flight, made my arrival surreal. I was scared, excited, and enthusiastic all at once.

I am a junior majoring in the International Relations program at the University of Economics and Technology in Turkey. This program should have already “internationalized” my perspective but, no offense to the program, the internship at UFCES gave me a concrete opportunity to work in an international setting. During my four-month internship at UFCES, the first-day excitement and enthusiasm remained while the initial scare transformed into an insatiable drive to explore the land and contribute to the Turkish Studies program at CES.

The University of Florida is an amazing university where students never stop communicating with each other. Social events are held on campus throughout the week, which CES plays no small part in. Throughout my internship I had the pleasure (and privilege, really) of working with the CES team, a team that is incomparable to any other when it comes to loving the job, staying loyal to it, and smiling all the time despite the job's stresses. Their offices are designed to welcome and treat you nicely: see the CES lobby for proof. As a CES Intern, I held conversation classes with American students taking Turkish as a second language, helped prepare reading materials for Dr. Sahin’s Islam and Turkey class, organized Mediterranean Movie Nights, and attended English classes through the International Friendship Program at the local Baptist Church. I even found time to travel across the state of Florida.

My internship at UFCES was a great experience. It not only fulfilled the internship requirement at my home university but it also increased my sense of accomplishment and open-mindedness, the latter of which I will definitely use in my encounters with foreign cultures and people and in my future endeavors in the field of international relations.