In Group 14 we have members studying in Prague, Czech Republic and Edinburgh, Scotland.
These first two weeks we wanted to focus on exploring the new cities we are living in while gaining a deeper understanding of some of the more unassuming areas and aspects. Additionally, we quickly realized that because of the compelling aspects of these new cities, even simple things we would do at our home school such as finding a new cafe, going to class, and interacting with city creatures like pigeons became culturally specific. Overall, these first couple weeks were about getting used to living in a new place without forgetting that every time we venture out we have the opportunity to be entrenched in historically and culturally significant places.
This photo of Marie’s overlooks Princes Street Garden which is right behind the Scottish National Gallery. Even outside of the museums in Edinburgh, it’s almost impossible to not come across historical buildings and monuments such as the Scott Monument (seen at the left of this image) which is a centerpiece of the skyline of New Town. Additionally, Marie found this particular photo to be interesting because the subject in the foreground, a pigeon. In her mind, pigeons are such a staple of urban spaces that she has explored in the U.S. including Chicago. Pigeon sightings around Edinburgh so far have helped me to think about how more recent and urban aspects of the city has influenced our view of a very old city. Pigeons are also especially interesting since they have been left to wander around urban spaces now that the purpose they once served for humans (messengers) which is outdated.
On Steven’s aimless stroll through the neighborhood last week, he found this cafe that has 120 years of history called Cafe Louvre. It claims to be Einstein’s favorite cafe and Kafka wrote metamorphosis here. The cappuccino and cheesecake in total were under eight dollars and are easily one of the best he has had. Steven found it quite astonishing that a relatively unassuming city like Prague could carry such rich history and culture.
This last photo was taken by Steven while in class as his main objective is studying film at Prague Film School. He shared that it has been exciting to learn new lighting techniques and have fun on sets. I (Marie) also found this photo of Steven’s practical class compelling because my classes have been cancelled many times far in Edinburgh due to UK wide university strikes.