Hi. My name is Brian Wise and for my STEP signature project I had an Independent Academic International Experience studying Art in Europe. I focused on 14 different works of art located in 5 different cities, spending quite a bit of time examining each one, learning about the stories told within, and translating the emotional maxims in the paintings to my relationships and life. Although this was an art trip I had some fantastic experiences outside the gallery when traveling that forced me to step outside my comfort zone and embrace a new culture. I blogged about how the art changed me at my u.osu.edu/brian and feel that I hit most of my major points there so I want to focus this essay on how the travel transformed me and was really the finishing touch on my growth throughout this experience.
I can talk about specific travel skills, problem solving, or cultural adaptation until I am blue in the face however the overarching transformation I saw in myself during this process was my now intrinsic comfort in unfamiliar situations and how I deal with them. There were several occasions during my trip when I found myself in an unplanned circumstance and I had to figure out how to deal with the problem and continue on my way. Before the trip I often would freeze up when confronted with an unexpected problem and pass the responsibility off to someone else. However when traveling alone it is do or die and after having to make some tough decisions with nobody else to fall back on I now find myself calm, cool, and collected when faced with a problem in everyday life because I know that I have been through worse. This newfound confidence has benefitted me immensely in my academic, professional, and social life, and I can completely thank my STEP experience for that.
The other transformation that I saw about myself was my ability to switch mindsets quickly and wholly. When I was traveling I would go from the craziness of the streets of Paris or Frankfurt to the incredibly tranquil museum. This complete 180-degree shift was a great exercise of emotional discipline, forcing you to transfer from a helter skelter mindset trying to foresee the future movements of 100 different bodies to focusing completely on one object giving it your full attention. Before my trip I would often struggle with this, finding myself going from relaxing with friends to focused studying a difficult task as it would take me hours to shift to the mindset required to study. I have noted this problem for a long time and made a concerted effort during my trip to practice the quick mental changeover. And although I felt myself struggling with this during my first couple visits to Venice and Frankfurt, I had felt that by the time I had hit the Louvre I had mastered it. I now find it much easier to switch from focusing on one task to another, and every aspect of my life has benefitted from it since.
There were several distinct events that I felt contributed to my newfound confidence: An extended layover on the way to Italy, confrontation with conflict in Paris, and the impromptu trip in Latvia. Each one of these experiences contributed to my experience and comfort in new places, and how I saw myself as a new man after I got home.
I had $2000 dollars to plan this trip plus whatever I could cobble together from working during the year. And since my main method of travel was flying I had to be especially creative there. I purchased the cheapest round trip flight out of Cincinnati to anywhere in Europe and then planned to get one way flights from there. And that place ended up being St. Petersburg, Russia. I flew through Germany on my way out & back and flew 2 more flights for half the price. However when flying to Russia I planned to stay in the international terminal to avoid the Russian Visa requirement, which was quite stringent on American citizens. Needless to say I had to explain this every step of the way, and often between steps. And since my flight to Venice had a 10 hour stopover in St. Petersburg and a 12 hour stopover in Chisnau, Moldova, (and not speaking a lick of either native language) I would be put in uncomfortable situations the entire way over. I had my passport checked countless times, was detained for questioning 3 separate times just in Russia by the FSB, and had to go through two volunteer translators to get a boarding pass in Moldova. Each situation required me to think quickly and decisively for a unique solution, and after arriving in Venice I felt as if I could take on any problem the world could throw my way. This experience as a traveler made me much more comfortable in my own skin and gave me a radiating confidence still with my today.
The next situation that really put my confidence to the test was a confrontation with locals on my first day in Paris. The flight to Paris was very easy, and my uber driver very nice, taking it upon himself to welcome me to paris personally. He gave me great recommendations about the neighborhood my hostel was in, taught me a couple unique Parisian phrases (I speak a rough general French), and told me what sights were worth seeing. But he told me that to see the city I should just go and wander around, to get lost and find myself. Very romantic. So since the museums were all closed for the day that is what I did, dropping my bags in the bunkroom and taking to the street. However not long after I had wandered out of the hostel I was walking down a desolate street, suddenly realizing that I was alone in a more industrial area. No problem at all, I quickly pulled up a well-rated café on Yelp and set a course there for a quick espresso. After a couple of minutes walking by myself I heard the scuffle of shoes, realizing that I was not alone after all. Two kids, couldn’t be older than 16, dressed in hoodies and joggers walked quickly after me, and after my taking a couple random turns it was very clear that they were following me. One approached me, holding out his hand and saying “telephone”. His face, hand, and body posture made it very clear that he was not looking to borrow it. His friend, a little apprehensive about the matter, stood in the background while the borrower attempted to block my way. I at first did not understand what was going on, why was this kid asking for my phone? Then it hit me, he was attempting to shake me down. I responded by playing dumb, saying in my most American accent that I did not understand and did not speak French. The boy was not buying it though, and I very quickly understood that there was only two ways out of this situation – either giving up my phone (which contained ALL of my travel data, tickets, reservations, etc.) or taking a stand. This was my first time in this sort of predicament, and since neither kid had a hand in the pocket or was signaling at a weapon I saw an opportunity out. My years of hockey kicked in as I, mid babbling like a fool, hit my confronter in the ears then broke his nose with two swift jabs. Grabbing him and throwing him into his friend I then dashed away, not bothering to look back as I made quick time back to my hostel. However by the bloody crying and lack of hustle after me I knew I had thwarted my would-be attackers with force and efficiency. After the initial adrenaline rush had subsided I felt a whole range of emotions, which eventually settled on guilt. I had no desire to hurt them; I had put myself in the situation and acted out of fear. I spent the rest of the night in the hostel feeling guilty and afraid of what I had done and how I had behaved. But the next day I was faced with the dilemma of whether to emerge from the cocoon of safety in my hostel, back out into the unpredictable and seemingly dangerous world. What if it happened again? While deliberating over my breakfast I had an epiphany that I had acted decisively and although may have made a poor choice by putting myself in the situation, I made the most of it, escaped, and walked away with some very important lessons. And most of all that even though I had made a mistake, I had learned something from it, and thus there was no shame in my action. This was an incredible turning point for me, as in the past I had always looked upon mistakes as an event to be shameful of. But I now felt confident about this, embracing my mistakes as not faults but lessons to be internalized and acted upon in the future. With that new sense of tempered confidence I went back out into Paris, being extra careful of my surroundings but not in a fearful or conciliatory manner. I had a great time, learning a ton about art and culture in the French capital, spending too much on food and gallery tickets, and breathing in the city in a cultured and exploratory yet safe manner. I believe that mindset of accepting mistakes and pulling lessons out of them has stayed with me, and made me much more confident in new situations where I am bound to take a misstep.
Finally an experience that came to define my transformation of confidence during my travels was my impromptu trip to Latvia. In my ever-continuing search for cheap airfare I had booked a one way ticket from Oslo, Norway to St. Petersburg through Riga, Latvia to catch my long haul flight back to the states. I was excited because my layover was only an hour in Riga, which meant only one extended foreign layover on the way back (8 hours in St. Pete). However no travel can come easy and so after landing in Riga for my layover I got to find out that the second leg of my flight to St. Pete was canceled without my knowledge. And being that the next flight to St. Petersburg didn’t land until 6 hours after my long haul took off I was up the creek without a paddle. 3 weeks ago this would have me being a ball of stress not knowing what to do, and 3 months ago I think I would have just given up and settled down to live in Riga permanently. But newly confident me, placed in the newest very unfamiliar situation that had come to define my last month, was right at home. I immediately stopped, laid out my problem (no flight home!), developed solutions (new flight home, get on next flight to St. P and pray, fly to turkey 1 way then home), weighed my options, and acted confidently according to my best information. At 11:30 PM I had no idea how to get home, and after 30 minutes of intense searching in the airport café I had tickets to go home. I rescheduled my long haul flight, booked the next flight to St. P (covered by expedia thankfully), took a taxi to the comped hotel, and went to sleep. Since my flight wasn’t until the next day I got to go out and explore Riga (a little known but beautiful city blossoming in post soviet democracy. I even met a college student who got to show me around, and I saw the U.S. Army Battalion who was rumbling through all the way from spain to show off how we could protect Europe from the big bad Russians. All in all it was a pleasant stop, and I got to see a country that odds are I would never see again. But the most important learning I took away from this was a confirmation of my confidence and ability to make decisions under fire. This was the most challenging situation that I was put in during my trip and I emerged unscathed, acting confidently and embracing the responsibility that I know I would have shrank from before my trip.

I believe that I walked away with two important lessons from my trip. The first and foremost is that I love viewing art, specifically paintings, and I believe that I have lit a passionate fire for art that will burn for the rest of my life. The variety and mastery of paintings that I saw was breathtaking, and I intend to see as much volume and variety of paintings as possible in order to continue to grow as both an art connoisseur and as a person. One day I would love to become a patron of the arts, as these great works do not create themselves. However that requires a degree of monetary affluence on my part, and thus I will justify a portion of my life’s work as generating income for a future masterpiece. Throughout this essay I do not touch as much on the art side of my transformation however it is described in my blog, and there is my first and foremost recollection of my trip and emotional transformations throughout.
Secondly more pertinent to my arguments is the employment of the newfound confidence instilled in me throughout this trip. Currently being on co-op working in management in a factory I have found myself in a variety of precarious situations requiring the full breath of my confidence and aptitude. Whether I am dealing with a distraught worker, negotiating with a supplier, or presenting to vice presidents, I have never found myself to be lacking in confidence. There are still many times that I know I have no idea what I am doing, and will most likely make a mistake. But that is no excuse to emit insecurity, indecisiveness, or lack of strength, all of which will undermine any chance of success that I may have. I am applying confidence in a calculated manner, I am know my strengths and weaknesses, and play them to get me as far as I can go. Whenever I am feeling doubt about my ability, I look back on this trip and remember that I have been able to overcome almost any challenge that life can throw at me. That was the biggest lesson I was able to take away from this, and one that I plan to carry throughout the rest of my life.