Class Year: 2023
Program: McDaniel College Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
Email: yatema03@gettysburg.edu
Hometown: Syracuse, NY
Major/Minor: Psychology & Neuroscience
Campus Activities: I work in RFYP as an RA and in the CGE office as a student worker (yay!). I also work in the Behavioral Neuroscience lab with Professor Siviy and the Cultural Psychology lab with Professor Mukherjee. I'm the Academic Director and Wellness Specialist for ADPi, as well as the Program Coordinator of Psi Chi.
Favorite Experience: Both of the study trips were absolutely amazing. I knew extremely little about Budapest or Hungary going into the semester, and I loved being able to travel the countryside and hear about the history and culture. We went to Balaton and Tihany and learned about wine production from a connoisseur and battles/castles from a professor. We also went to Eger and Tokaj where we toured more castles, got to explore a library with 1000+-year-old books, walked through gardens, climbed small mountains, visited a former labor camp, and learned about the communist era. It was also a great bonding opportunity for the group and it helped us grow closer.
New/Exciting Course Abroad: I took a class called "World Music Survey" With Professor Magyar. It focused on the development of music trends across the world, with a focus on Africa, India, Indonesia, and the USA. Prof. Magyar provided a very unique perspective since he had studied in Indonesia for years and also with a Guru in India. We learned about how musical trends and instruments diffuse across the globe, as well as the relationship of music as it pertains to specific cultures. We even got to visit the Indonesian embassy and play instruments as a group. We talked a lot about the hard lines that Western music draws versus the view that music is a sacred part of life similar to language in other cultures. I've always appreciated music but this class was really exciting because I love learning about how cultures influence/are different from each other.