Wingate Academics - International Blog

Europe on a Jar of Peanut Butter

Posted by: Hope on April 14, 2008

Hello again! I cannot believe that this semester is flying by as quickly as it is. For first-timers, my name is Hope Gilley and I am a junior finance major at Wingate University. Currently I am studying abroad with the DIS. Program in Copenhagen, Denmark.

From my previous blog entry (please read if you have not already), I gave a vague description about my three week travel break; so I thought I would share a few particulars of my journey. I was fortunate enough to travel to London, Brussels, Ireland, Budapest, Vienna and Prague. I am afraid I would write a book if I told everything that happened, but I do want to share some cool experiences I was lucky enough to have in each of these places.

London! When people talk about traveling to Europe, London is one of the first places that are on the list; so of course I had to go. I am a huge Jane Austen fan and so it was interesting to see some of the places mentioned in her books; for instance, the reference of Covent Garden in her novel Mansfield Park. Although there were amazing historical sites located on just about every street, my fondest memory happened on the Tube (subway) going towards Wimbledon.

With our group, we were on our way towards Wimbledon for a professional tour. As I got on the Tube, I sat beside an older gentleman. Now before I continue it is important to understand that people in Europe do not talk to each other unless you are acquainted in some way. Being from the South, where it seems everyone says at least “Hello” to one another, I turned to the gentleman and said, “Hello.” For a second he stared at me and replied, “Do I know you?” At first I did not understand his comment because of the accent, but once I figured it out I was taken away.

“No, you don’t know me,” I politely replied.

“So you are just being friendly?” was his next question.

“Yes,” was all I could say and he then ventured to tell me how he had ridden on the train for so many years and that I was the first stranger to make a friendly gesture and how much I had made his day. I will never forget the little old man that I talked to on the Tube; I guess it just makes me happy to know that I was able to make someone’s day. Is it not amazing what something as simple as a “Hello” can do for people?

Brussels was phenomenal. I say this with the understanding that I was only there for three days. I definitely recommend it to anyone for a long weekend trip, if you are already in Europe of course. I believe this was the place that I ate the sweetest foods since I have been over here. I am positive that the term “Belgian Waffles” should ring a bell with everyone. I know that I will never have the same feeling about a waffle again when I go back home. I am not exactly sure what makes them so wonderful, besides the obvious reason that they came from Belgium, and I do not know what they do differently, but those waffles were amazing. Belgium is also known for its chocolates. As a group we took a trip to a Chocolate Factory, where I did answer a question right and got some free chocolate; a “thank you” must go out to the movie Chocolat.

Every time I think about Ireland, a smile brightens up my face. There are so many memories from Ireland that I am not exactly sure which one to pick. However, one must do what one must do. I can now officially say that I have been to Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day. I was on an adventure trip that week so everyone participated in some exhausting activities. I got to do a night walk in the bogs, as well as surf and kayak. Two memories about this trip include a “leisure” bike ride and an all-day “hill” walk. You may wonder why I have those two words in quotation marks, allow me to explain.

I signed up for biking, thinking that we would take a leisure bike ride through the country to see one of the most amazing landscapes in the world. Oh, we got to see it but after popping a lung after an extensive ride. Our group ended up biking 16 miles in 3 hours! For someone that has never even done 1 mile on a bike, this is HUGE! You may be thinking I was in the back of the line, but surprisingly enough I actually stayed in the middle of the group. We all laugh about our ride and remember how our leader, Alfie, said that it was about 50% uphill and 50% downhill. I beg to differ, because it ended up being more like 95% uphill and a measly 5% down.

Then the next day, everyone in the group did the full-day hill walk. Again, another deception. This hill was in all actuality a MOUNTAIN. After a 16-mile bike ride the day before, you can image what my legs felt like, jello. We ended up climbing 3 kilometers and that was entirely uphill. Caitlin and I decided to take it slow, but we eventually made it up the mountain. Every time we looked up, we had to laugh because of the steepness of the next hill. But it was completely worth it, the view from the top was so picturesque. All the complaining went out the window once we saw the beautiful view from the top.

The reason this blog entry is entitled “Europe on a Jar of Peanut Butter,” mainly represents my third week of travel break. I travelled with one of my classmates to Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic. As a college student, it is sort of an unspoken rule to scrimp and save what money you can. So, in order to cut costs, I would eat peanut butter for breakfast and lunch and would only go out for dinners. With the dollar being so low nowadays, I personally think it was a smart move!

Budapest is still recovering the Soviet influence after World War II, and so there is still a lot of that history present. My favorite part in Budapest was going to a Horror Museum, which displayed the horror of both the Nazi take-over and the Communist regime. I think that I spent at least a good 2 hours in that museum, learning about Hungary’s history. It is not a common subject in history when you are growing up, so it was extremely interesting to learn what happened. I must admit that I was scared to walk down in the basement to the cells where Hungarian prisoners used to be kept.

Vienna is a beautiful city. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting Vienna. When tourists go to Vienna it is only proper to partake in either a music concert, opera or ballet. It is like going to New York for the first time and not seeing a Broadway play, so of course, I had to see a concert. I bought tickets to a Mozart and Strauss concert in the hall that they both used to play in located in the State Park. This was not only a classical music concert, but there were also pieces of opera and ballet incorporated as well. And just as a side note, if anyone should ever visit Vienna, make sure to eat dinner at the Centimeter; they serve large portions for cheap prices.

Prague seemed to make everything bad disappear. It is gorgeous and like every where else in Europe, it also has a lot of history associated with it. But Prague also allowed me to see how small the world actually is. I was exploring a church, wearing my Wingate sweatshirt, and as I was coming out a man stopped me and asked if I had gone to Wingate University. I explained how I was studying abroad this semester in Denmark. Come to find out he spoke at Wingate in 2005; I was fortunate to meet Thad Woodward and his wife. He knows Dr. McGee and the US Ambassador to Denmark, Ambassador Cain, whom I have already met. Mr. Woodward lives in Raleigh and was vacationing with his wife. It is just amazing how small the world actually is and the new friends one can make.

Overall, I had a great time. I will cherish these memories forever! If you have made down to this paragraph, thanks for finishing my blog and reading about my experiences. I know this one was a long one but inquiring minds want to know. If you have any questions about my stay in Europe, please feel free to email me at dhgilley@wingate.edu.