Self-Assessment

Magellan Project 2018 Self-Assessment


Andrew Donatelli

     The Magellan Project is something that I am quite familiar with. Last year, I completed a Magellan Project in Switzerland, Belgium, and Germany, where I studied the chocolate industries of these three countries. This was my first time that I was abroad alone. Fast forward a few months, and I was living in Vienna, Austria for four months, studying at the University of Vienna. I did not want to pass up the chance to do another Magellan Project during the summer of 2018 so I planned a project that would fit in perfectly during my time in Austria. My previous project "Chocolate Empires in Europe" which took place mainly in cities, was a nice foil to this summer's project "UNESCO Natural World Heritage Sites in Europe" which took place in very natural areas. I was fortunate enough to travel to Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Croatia to visit and study some of the world's most beautiful natural wonders. Having Vienna as my home base during this project was quite an advantage. This saved greatly on travel times and costs. I had thought I had mastered everything regarding traveling, but there are just some things that you cannot be prepared for.

     My first mishap occurred during my trip to visit my second UNESCO site in Slovakia. I had booked online train tickets that would take me from Vienna to the city that I was staying in Slovakia. I found a cabin in the train, and sat down in a seat. People started filling into the seats around me and eventually some lady told me that I was sitting in her seat. Apparently she had a seat reservation. I simply slid over to the seat beside me. A few stops later, a guy came in and told me that he had reserved that seat that I was currently sitting in. I left the cabin and looked around for empty seats but there were none. I ended up standing for three hours in front of the bathroom in the train because I did not have a seat reservation. I did not know how or where to make a seat reservation. I would have thought that I would have received one with my ticket. Yes, this train ride was extremely miserable and uncomfortable, but I learned from this experience. Once I arrived, I went to the train station and asked about making a seat reservation for the train ride back to Vienna. It was a simple one euro fee and I had my assigned seat for the whole train ride home. 

     One aspect of traveling that I have learned is that you cannot rely on public transport to be on time. I arrived in Slovenia and needed to immediately get on a train to go to the UNESCO cave. I purchased my tickets at the train station but I was informed that the train was not running from the station. One would have to take a bus to a train station in other city, then take that train to the town where the cave is. This threw off all my times and I was afraid that I would miss the 4:00 cave tour. I did. I arrived late in the town, and by this time, all shuttle buses from the train station to the cave were done for the day. I then had to take a footpath to the cave which took 40 minutes. I just missed the 4:00 tour. Thankfully, I was able to do the last tour of the day at 5:00. To top off the day, it started pouring down rain on my walk back to the train station. My shoes were soaked and I was extremely miserable,

     Both my misfortunes in Slovakia and Slovenia were unavoidable. I had no way of knowing that I needed a seat reservation and I could not control the fact that the trains were not running their normal routes in Slovenia. However, these were learning processes. Of course I was frustrated, worried, and miserable during these situations. These were learning processes for me. I learned how to cope with change, something that I need to improve upon. I gathered from these two experiences that I need to "chill out" more.  I am a very organized person. When something is out of order or changed, I am bothered. I learned though that there are just some things and life that you cannot be prepared for. Sometimes change is good. 

     I must critique myself on my approach to the research. I had much trouble getting into contact with these UNESCO sites. Therefore, I planned to just go on tours of each of the sites, talk to the tour guides and visit the information centers in order to get all the necessary information for my research. Even when I asked the tour guides and went to the information centers, I did not find all the information that I needed. I did have to rely on the UNESCO website and the websites of the each of the UNESCO site in order to complete my research. This was not the best way to complete a Magellan Project and I wish that I would have obtained more first-hand knowledge. Unfortunately, these resources were not always available to me. 

     Even after completing my second Magellan Project, I feel as though I still learned many life lessons and that I have grown to be a better person and a more experienced traveler. I believe that my communication skills were greatly enhanced. I learned how to ask proper questions and articulate responses. I quickly adjusted to plan and time changes and found new solutions to these problems instead of surrendering. This Magellan opened my eyes to a whole different part of the world. These UNESCO Sites hide thousands of feet below the earth's surface and in areas far from civilization. Though not always easy to access, the views, history behind the sites, and the knowledge gained from my tours was memorable and enlightening. I hope to keep exploring our beautiful world and to continue to learn and improve myself through my travels.