Professor leads students across continent with ‘Europe by Rail’
by Ken Arnold, Jun 04, 2015
Every other year, Associate Professor of History Kelly McFall, Ph.D. leads a group of students in a trip across Europe called “Europe by Rail.” With the trip almost over, participants are already expressing the transformative experience.
A total of eight students chose to go on the trip this year and have already visited Vienna, Krakow, Prague, and other areas. They still plan to visit Berlin, Budapest, London and other well-known European cities. The group left for the trip on May 18 and will return June 6.
In a previous story, McFall said he was hoping the students would get a feel for both the culture and what it takes to plan their own trip. Participants said they are getting exactly that. Students have been given the opportunity to travel and make their own conscious decisions such as navigating the subway. McFall said he often leaves it up to individual students to be in charge of leading the group to a specific location.
“[The first time he asked me,] I was a little freaked out,” sophomore Megan MacGill said. “I’m really bad at directions but I’m getting so much better at the subway system. It’s easier now.”
Students noted Prague as one of their overall favorite places to visit, but expressed that, as a whole, visiting Auschwitz made the most impact on them. Senior Gloria Esparza said it helped her take a different outlook on traveling.
“I think the thing I’ve been most happy about is having to visit Auschwitz,” Esparza said. “I’ve learned so much history throughout this trip. We should take advantage of all the experiences out there to learn. I know it’s a vacation and I know sometimes we just want not think about anything and just do whatever is fun. But there are so many other ways and things to learn and you should take advantage of that. Traveling makes you a better person – being exposed to something else brings you out of that bubble we live in.”
Participants said they are glad they decided to take the trip.
“If you’re on the fence about taking this trip, take it,” MacGill said. “You get to experience new cultures, new language, new food and so much history. I’m a big fan of history – you can learn a lot [about the past] and apply it to the world now because history kind of tends to repeat itself.”
“It’s a once in a lifetime thing,” senior Shaughnessy Stockemer said. “It’s great to do it while you’re young, because I think it helps you form character. For me personally, I’m going to take back what I’ve learned on a cultural standpoint and use it because I majored in nursing. I meet people from everywhere.”
A selection of photos taken on the trip with captions included by McFall can be found below.
Europe by rails is more exhausting than some anticipated
Every trip there’s one day that goes wrong. That day was today. In 20 years I’ve never missed a train connection because the train was delayed. Today we missed two connections because of two train delays. So a trip that was supposed to last 6 hours lasted almost 14. I was, as always, hugely impressed and thankful for the good spirits and patience of the students–here waiting in a train station in Ostrava. And–as a reward, a few of them who ventured out with me during our delay in Katowice discovered a hole in the wall restaurant where we had the best pierogies I’ve ever eaten. I won’t steer you wrong. . .
This pic of my subway receipt speaks volume about the complexities of globalization. Look at the mix of Czech and English. But especially notice the mix of English and Czech slogans and slang. Much of this receipt is hard to understand whether you are American or czech. It’s just that the confusing part varies from culture to culture.
Don’t judge me. It was warm and it had a free bathroom. Actually, the issues of bathrooms is one of the most surprising and distressing facts for students. Over seven trips to Europe, I’ve learned that one of the keys to it being a good trip is to monitor the time since the last bathroom break and plan to be near a clean and convenient bathroom every four hours or so (and you thought travel agents had specialized knowledge). That, and announcing a clear lunch time each day. It’s little things like the fact that you have to pay to use a restroom in most European cities (and often tip the attendant) that throw visitors the most–often more than trying to live in place whose language you don’t speak or dealing with money you don’t recognize. The idea that every one should have access to a free bathroom isn’t one that anyone has ever thought much about–but usually firmly believes. It’s not that we can’t rationally accept it–after I explain the economics of bathrooms and how they are actually paying for free bathrooms in restaurants and airports at home, they acknowledge that this system means only those needing to use the bathroom need to pay for it. Rather–it’s that we carry deepseated assumptions about how society should be organized–and those we hold most firmly are often those we’ve never thought about until we live in a place which doesn’t recognize them. This newly acquired self-awareness, in my mind, is worth the cost of the trip in itself.
Sheltering from a cold wind by the walls of the St. Vitus church in prague
Chilling at the laundromat. Sorry about how blurry the pic is. When I advertise the trip, I talk about the chance to see palaces, fortresses, museums, and so on. I talk about the ability to learn to function successfully in a foreign country (props to Hannah and AJ for taking us home yesterday–and a reminder–if you know nothing else about the public transit system, you can still get home–as long as you know the name of the stop you want to end up at). But one of the things that makes this trip different than a vacation is the intentional effort to get a feel for what ordinary life is for in the places we visit. Certainly we visit tourist sites. But we also try to eat in neighborhood restaurants, walk around in residential and suburban neighborhoods and observe carefully the people we see (not nearly as much PDA this trip. Not sure what that means, exactly). We’d have to do laundry anyway (at least I hope so–men are always somewhat unpredictable). But there’s something to be said for doing it alongside Czechs (or Brits–the other laundromat I typically use is in London) and getting a feel for what it looks like to perform such an ordinary task. It’s the reason I encourage students to eat out of the grocery store–yes, you save a bit of money and probably eat healthier–but you also get a feel for ordinary life most tourists never get. And, while we take public transit for budgetary reasons, doing so gives you a feel for the city that you’d never get if you were locked up in a tour bus and driven from place to place. And it’s a good reason to walk as much as we do (the high point of our trip, according to Marcus’ app, was 12 miles in a day. Lot’s of gelato being consumed to replenish our energy). Finally–Jake–Marcus did Hannah’s laundry. As I recall, you managed to get the Megans and Randyn to do yours. Guess being the oldest does mean being the wisest.
Practicing our pickpocket precautions in Prague
Cut me some slack, people. A greek salad, hummus and a smoothie aren’t exactly polish. But it’s more veggies than I’ve had in a week. Polish cuisine isn’t for those who want to live long
And the view down the Voltava from vysherad
And finally. For Derek. The entrance to the Czech army military museum
Visiting Auschwitz was one of the most profound experiences of my life. Unfortunately, I find myself unable to put into words how deeply remanants of the atrocities committed here during WWII affected me. It was a heart-wrenching experience, to say the least…one I’ll not soon forget.
Memorial to those who starved in Auschwitz. More in a moment
My students are out there somewhere. If I left now they’d never find me. And then I could use the rest of the money for myself. You didn’t hear that Jennifer Ganz
We decided to scope out the Lennon Wall, among other things, today.
