I have been on sabbatical in Europe since early September. I have been busy and I have had a very good time. Special thanks must go to my host, Bojana Skrt, director of Za in Proti, Institute for a Culture of Dialog, who has provided me with guidance and connections during my stay. She has been a wonderful guide.
I have a number of observations about Europe and life here that I would like to make. You only really notice such things when you are immersed in them. Here are some assorted observations. Some of these may seem trivial and some may seem important, but to me all discoveries are important.
EURO MUSINGS
Don’t accelerate too much.
Gasoline is more expensive in Europe but taxis in many cities are not more expensive. So, how do the drivers survive? From my observation they take it easier. They accelerate slower, achieve lower top speeds and are more patient in their progress. I am sure the lower RPM level means less gasoline consumption.
Be aggressive in line.
Are Americans obedient? Well, when it comes to standing in line I think they are. Europeans will try and cut at the bank or in the food store, and the rush to get on one of the low cost airline flights first can be a crowded experience.
Political speech mistakes.
You have to keep in mind different sets of discretion rules while speaking. Don’t mention Macedonia in Greece (say “Skopje”); realize that Montenegrins now speak “Montenegrin” not Serbian (not to mention scrapping “Serbo-Croatian”), that in Slovenia Trieste is actually “Trst” (they still feel it is theirs), and never order “Turkish coffee” while in Greece because it is “Greek coffee.” 400 years of Ottoman rule still leaves a bad taste.
Good food and international food.
Lots of good food is served in Europe, and I probably gained weight. BUT, there is a problem with food from far away. There are Chinese restaurants but they seem to be uniformly mediocre, and the same goes for Mexican food. I just gave up after a while and stuck to anything of a European variety and had great luck. By the way, pizza seems to b e much better in the USA (in general), or maybe that is just my taste. Overall the dining experience was excellent. I did manage to find acceptable hot salsa after some experimentation, but the effort to find a guacamole (in restaurants or stores) only yielded a sauce made from “avocado powder” not avocados, even in a very expensive restaurant.
Some things just cost more.
Hooray for Italy, who keeps coffee prices down below one Euro. Boo to Greece and Holland who regularly offer it in the to Euros plus range. I had a tiny bottle of water in Amsterdam for two Euros (about $2.60 US). Airport prices are higher in the USA in general, but seem fairly reasonable in Italy and other parts of central Europe. Meanwhile, lunch in Latvia was incredibly cheap and very tasty.
German trains…
Run on time. Really. And they go very fast. There was a digital read-out on an ICE train in Germany indicating that we were going 240 KPH, which is pretty damn fast. They have reserved seats and are easier to use than air travel because of easier check in and the fact that you leave and arrive in the center of town.
Serbian trains…
Not so good. They let me sit in an unheated train car for 90 minutes before letting me know that I should move on up the train. When confronting a group of Serbian train officials sitting in the dining car smoking and drinking coffee about why the train has not left some 45 minutes after departure time, one is told, “Are you in a hurry? Can we offer you a coffee?” Hey, they are personally very friendly.
Christmas conquers Europe
Yes, it really has taken hold. Lots of fat Santas with cokes all over the continent, lots of lights, lots of gift emphasis, etc. I am told this is all fairly recent as Europe becomes bathed in a more consumerist culture. In the center of Athens several Santas were trying to get kids to sit on their laps a full week after Christmas, although that might have been an artifact if the Greek Orthodox dates being different.
Global locations – Acropolis and Great Wall.
Some places have incredible representation of tourists from all over the world. While the Great Wall in China still holds the record for the most diverse group of visitors I have seen, the Acropolis in Athens was a close second.
I stopped looking like an American
Early on it was obvious that I was an American, then after three months people would come up to me in several different countries and ask me questions in the native language. I bought no clothes in Europe and look the same as far as I can tell, but I seem to look different to them. Body language, perhaps.
Smoking.
Lots of it. Still a lot of smoking in enclosed public spaces, including Germany and Greece. A lot of continuous smoking going on as well, one after another. Some countries still have a hard time enforcing inside-smoking rules (or people don’t follow them). The amount of productive human time lost while smoking has to be incredible, but then as a non-smoker I would say that, wouldn’t I? Who am I to say people doing what they enjoy are not productive?
Coffee drinking.
Coffee in Europe is serious business. Now I understand why they complain so much about American coffee, which in comparison is very watery and lacks flavor. Every place that serves coffee serves many different types. Often decaffeinated coffee is not available at all (and you et strange looks when you order it). It is common to need to take a coffee break many times a day, and sidewalk cafes are full of people drinking it. In most countries they rink it slowly, but in Italy they seem to drink it more quickly and then sit for a while. Don’t make fun of American shops that now offer lattes and cappuccinos, because that is the norm for the rest of the northern hemisphere.
Education – better bloom early, decide early.
You are likely to be tracked into different educational systems in Europe by the time you are ten or eleven. Once you are into a track, it is very difficult to get out of it. This is very sad, as it would have made me a street sweeper based on my early school performance. Late blooming just is not accounted for. Likewise, you specialize very early at university so changing our major area of study usually means starting over again. Interdisciplinary work is very hard to do. Once you finish university with a certain specialty it is harder still to switch in real life. Given that 21st Century humans may need more than one vocation, this may well create serious problems ahead.
Political slogans are silly all over the world.
“Boris knows how.” “Strong dinar, strong Serbia.” “Forget politics, choose competence.” “At home in (country X).” Everyone pictured stands in front of a forest or some sort of green landscape. Female candidates have very retouched photos (or retouched faces through cosmetic surgery). In Serbia two of the leading candidates are not even in the country because of legal problems, but they are “somewhere preparing to lead the country after the election.” Even a closer inspection of campaign materials shows a surprising lack of policy specifics, which makes them a lot like America.
Lots of cars the USA does not have.
Nice cars, small cars and different types. Skodas, Citroens, Peugeots and Renaults are common but very rare in the USA. Lots of cool little vans an be seen. Volkswagens, common in the USA, are very different here and smaller. We need more cars like these. I especially like the ultra-tiny Smart Car, because it is easy to park. Maybe hey have smaller cars not just because of fuel prices, but because urban parking in Europe seems to be a universal nightmare.
Easy Slovenia Euro conversion.
Slovenia moved to the Euro on 1 January 2007 and there did not seem to be any problem. Banks had distributed free tiny adding machines to help people calculate new values while shopping, but things seemed to go well. But, some people were sad to see the Slovenian tollar go away, and it did have a great group of poets, architects, painters, etc. on the money … not a soldier among all of them. There are also new coins that have real value (one and to Euro coins) where previously Slovene coins were not of great value. Less paper, fewer pieces of paper, fewer zeros on the paper, and more coins. Some people tell me that tips have gone down.
No passports, please, unless this is a train.
Travel by air within Europe is very easy. They may ant to see your passport when you board (as identification, really), but when you land (in Germany, in Greece, in Latvia) there is no one who wants to se your passport. While driving you hold them up and they wave you through. On the train, however, people check them carefully as you leave a country and then again as you enter the next country. Of course, that could have been a result of taking train from Belgrade (outside the EU) to Ljubljana (inside the EU).
Water conserving toilets.
They use a lot less water on each flush, but the pool of water at the bottom is far shallower. This means that what you deposit doesn’t always get carried away with a flush and may be stuck to the side of the bowl. No to worry, every toilet has a scrubbing device to use to solve this, and it is expected that you use it, but then you have to flush a second time after scrubbing, so I am not sure how effective that is. Many toilets have two buttons, one for yellow and another for brown. Oh, and in Greece you are asked not to put the toilet paper in the bowl. I know, this is more information than you need.
Low cost airline experience.
Lots of internal European flights by Easyjet, Ryanair, HLX, German Wings and many others. They are insanely cheap, with the airport taxes often being more than the flights. No sat assignment on most of them, so you swarm on and swarm off. The seats are not so good for a at guy like me, but the flights are very short. The luggage rules are very strict and everything you get onboard costs money, but not too much. I liked it but I might prefer trains if they were the same cost, but often trains are more expensive. You often have to jump around to various hubs, as on one trip I had Venice-London-Amsterdam-London-Riga-Berlin-Ljubljana. You end up going through that security nightmare in London far too often.
Speed limits optional.
Police with radar guns seem to only be on smaller rural roads. On big highways I have never seen any, and the drivers know this. The result is that with a top speed limit of 130 KPH in Slovenia, many cars are going 170 KPH and others are going 90 KPH, which can make things difficult for someone trying to actually drive the speed limit. People at a faster speed can be impatient with you while you pass slower vehicles and trucks.
Modern Europe is a pretty cool place and I really enjoyed my opportunity to live here for 4.5 months. I feel more global and had a great opportunity to learn. I think if I did not live in Vermont I might like living here very much. But, Vermont is even more awesome than Europe, so I am more than ready to return.
Home is where the heart is.
Here is a list of the things I have done in this time:
PUBLICATIONS
“Internet debating: technical solutions for the early 21st Century,” accepted for publication, Contemporary Argumentation and Debate, 2007.
Code of the Debater: Introduction to the Way of Reason (IDEBATE Press: New York), second edition forthcoming 2007. Awaiting editorial suggestions.
EDITORIAL AND PUBLISHING PROJECTS
Editor, Frontiers of the 21st Century: Argument, Debate and the Struggle for a Civil Society, (IDEBATE Press: New York), Spring 2007.
Program Coordinator for debate section, International Conference on Argumentation, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment, University of Primorska, Slovenia, 24-26 November 2006. Over 80 academic papers presented. Sponsored by Universty of Primorska, Educational Research Institute Slovenia, Slovenia Institute of Education, World Debate Institute UVM and Za in Proti. 120 attendees, 83 papers.
PRESENTATIONS, WORKSHOPS AND PAPERS
Public Lecture, “Debate across the curriculum,” at Cafe DuSein, Athens, Greece, January 9 2007. Attended by teachers, debate trainers and community action organizers.
Debate Workshop, Debating and education for the 21st Century, Moraitis School Athens, Greece, January 8-9, 2007. Attended by over 180 students.
Lecture, “Motivational factors in persuasion,” Faculty of Humanistic Studies, University of Primorska, Slovenia, 3 January 2007. Attended by 20 people.
Workshop, Competitive University Debating in the British Format, Faculty of Organizational Sciences, Belgrade, Serbia, 22-24 December 2006. 30 students.
Lecture, “Subliminal persuasion in media messages,” Media & Society Seminar, Faculty of Humanistic Studies, University of Primorska, Slovenia, 12 December 2006.
Teacher Workshop, Debate in the Tournament and the Classroom, Lessing Gymnazium, Winnenden, Germany, 2 December 2006.
Workshop, Argumentation and debate strategy, Lessing Gymnazium, Winnenden, Germany, 2 December 2006. 60 students.
Teacher Workshop, Getting debaters from “interested to debating” to atually debating. Karls Gymnazium, Stuttgart, Germany, 1 December 2006. 13 teachers.
Chair, Final Round, European Open Schools Debate Championship, Canada vs. Germany, Stuttgart, Germany, 1 December 2006. 13 countries attending.
Keynote Speech, Debate Across the Curriculum: the next phase, International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Peadagogy of Empowerment, November 24-26 2006, Koper, Slovenia.
Presentation, Videoblog Debating: the next phase, International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Peadagogy of Empowerment, November 24-26 2006, Koper, Slovenia.
Director of Instruction, International Debate Academy, Ormuz, Slovenia, November 2006. Seven-day program for university students. Sponsored by World Debate Institute, Za in Proti, USA Embassy Slovenia and Council of Europe. 60 students from 16 countries.
Workshop, Second teams in British Parliamentary Debating, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, 13 November 2006.
Workshop, Communication theory and practice for scientists, Institut Jozef Stefan, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 9 November 2006. Workshop for twenty scholars at the national science research center.
Workshop, Public Communication and Debate, International University Bremen, Germany, 3-5 November 2006. Three three-hour workshops on public speaking, points of information, argumentation, and strategy. Attended by 65 people from 10 German universities.
Workshop, British Parliamentary Debating, Stockholm School of Economics Riga, Latvia, October 31-November 1 2006. Two four hour workshops covering public speaking, case construction, refutation and points of information.
Workshop, Judging and Tournament Administration, Gimnazija Bezigrad, Ljubljana, Slovenia October 24 2006.
Workshop, British Parliamentary Debate - the first two teams, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia October 23 2006.
Workshop, Argumentation basics, Gimnazija Ledina, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 23 October 2006.
Workshop, Argument Building, Slovenia’s World Schools Debating Team, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 22 October 2006.
Pairing and Tabulation, Gimnazija Vic, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 135 students and 40 judges, 21 October 2006.
Moderator, Serbia vs. Slovenia Debate, Faculty of Law, Ljubljana, Slovenia 20 October 2006.
Workshop, Critical Argument Theory, Gimnazija Bezigrad, Ljubljana, Slovenia 19 October 2006.
Pairing and Tabulation, International Schools Debate Tournament, Ljutomer, Slovenia, six countries (Slovenia, USA, Croatia, Hungary, Germany and Rumania) competed, 13-14 October 2006.
Workshop, Points of Information & Public Speaking, Ljutomer, Slovenia, 12-13 October 2006.
Workshop, Challenges of public advocacy, Gimnazija Vic, 10 October 2006.
Workshop, Public Speaking, Gimnazija Ledina, Ljubljana, Slovenia 9 October 2006.
Workshop, Debate and Citizen Skills, Gimnazija Piran, Slovenia 5 October 2006. 100 students.
Teacher Workshop, Starting and Growing Debate Programs, Budva, Montenegro, attended by 18 teachers, 29-31 September 2006. Sponsored by LOGOS Montenegro.
Teacher Workshop, Debate and the Curriculum, Gimnazija Novo Mesto, Novo Mesto, Slovenia, attended by 20 teachers, 22-24 September 2006.
Workshop, Public Speaking, Gimnazija Bezigrad, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 19 September 2006.
Workshop, Communication Skills for the Non-Profit Sector, Metelkova, Ljubljana, Slovenia 14-16 September 2006. Sponsored by Ljubljana Office of Youth.
