Some Have Greatness Thrust Upon Them!

After staying in Birmingham for a few days to catch up on homework, we moved to Stratford-Upon-Avon for the weekend for Shakespeare shenanigans. Shakespeare's birthplace has been a pilgrimage site for literary snobs for the past few hundred years, and if you don't like Shakespeare then don't go to Stratford.
It's a small town upon a river (hence the "upon Avon") with swans ready to maul you at a moment's notice. Everything seems centered around the Royal Shakespeare Company theatre, and is within a ten minute walking distance from wherever you are. This weekend we had tickets for Shakespeare's "shipwreck trilogy", or the plays whose plays are propelled by shipwrecked characters. The same cast participates in all three plays, which is impressive. The stage remains the same: boards to look like a ship floor, a huge tank of green water to represent the ocean, and a giant crane to move the set around. Things are, of course, added to the set according to the play. Everything is a modern interpretation, which means modern costumes and sets and the addition of lines (call the airport!) mixed in with the original script. A Comedy of Errors featured a militaristic seaside town, complete with soldiers with machine guns and a giant megaphone warning all foreign merchants to stay away or be killed. Twelfth Night took place in a dilapidated hotel recovering from a storm, and featured the shipwrecked twins crawling out of the water tank (made to look like a pool, complete with a diving board) and onto the stage. The Tempest, the only non-comedy performed, drained the water tank and made the stage look like a deserted island, where all of the characters are stranded.
While there were things I liked about all three, I think I enjoyed A Comedy of Errors most. It's considered one of the more difficult Shakespeare plays to perform, since it relies heavily on slapstick humor and the exposition is dull. Explaining that there are two sets of twins separated at birth with the same names can be confusing. Twelfth Night was not as funny, but had a more sophisticated plot and a fantastic set. The Tempest made excellent use of special effects, since it featured a magician as the lead, but at times hard to engage with the plotline.
After Twelfth Night we all went out for drinks at The Dirty Duckling, a pub where Shakespearean actors traditionally hang out after a show. And, indeed, the company was milling about in civilian wear among us.

Have Fun Storming the Castle!

After Friday's afternoon downpour we were blessed with a beautiful sunny Saturday in Conwy. After walking around town and to the bird sanctuary we decided to walk along the outer city walls, which took about forty minutes.

The biggest attraction, of course, was Conwy Castle. This is a pretty big castle from the 13th century, built by Edward I to conquer the Welsh. Brittany and I had fun tromping around the castle.

Tomorrow we shall return to Birmingham, where we will meet up again with the big group. This was a nice little weekend, though we didn't get much homework done. Hopefully it'll get done on the train back tomorrow! 

Wales and Dragons

Today is the first day of our free weekend, where we split off from the main group of seven-and-twenty in company (will touch upon this reference later in Canterbury). We traveled out of Birmingham  and will be in Wales until Monday.
As we were traveling on the train I could tell when we were entering Welsh country. Signs in Welsh began to appear until we couldn't recognize some of the names. We're spending the weekend in a little Welsh town, where we will hike and spend time looking at castles. The town is entirely walled in, and is extremely small (we tried to get lost and failed). We plan on making day trips to other neighboring towns in Snowdonia.

We tried to walk along the city walls, but then it started to pour. So we'll do that later.

As we walked around town we also realized that this is yet another literary place: that of William Wordsworth's poem "We Are Seven". Tomorrow we are going back to St. Mary's graveyard to possibly read the poem out loud.
Hopefully we'll get some homework done this weekend. We have to read a good chunk of David Copperfield for next week (and a paper to write).

Chilling With the Quakers

When I say that I am chilling with the Quakers, I pretty much mean exactly that. I admit that I had no experience with Quakers prior to this trip except through what I learned in my history classes. As an American I know that Quakers were not universally accepted in many Christian societies and that Pennsylvania was founded upon this Christian denomination.
After hectic London we traveled to Birmingham, and are staying in a study center run by Quakers. On Wednesday we will learn more about the Quakers, but here is what I've picked up from the few hours I've been here:

• Quakers call everyone "Friend". It's an old, old practice but still feels weird. 
• Simplicity is key. They don't believe in clutter, they don't like photographs of people (paintings they are okay with), and they try to keep things efficient. 
• There is no clergy. They don't like that. Service (which I haven't gone to yet) is completely silent and everyone acts as the clergy (when moved by the Holy Spirit). 
• It's very, very quiet here. It's nice, especially after London. 

So far I'm enjoying my stay here. London, while fun, just beat the crap out of us. I'm looking forward to catching up on David Copperfield (my favorite Dickens novel so far!) and writing more papers before my free weekend to Wales. 

10 Things You Learn From Living in London

1. Get a coin purse, or have something to hold coins in. I've never handled so many coins in my LIFE. 
2. Get an Oyster card for the buses and Tube. It's easy to load and it will make your life easier.
3. Learn how the self-checkouts work at Sainsburys and Tescos. 
4. You have an hour? Catch up on reading or write a paper. 
5. Learn to look right before crossing the street. 
6. You know how teachers used to make you diagram sentences in English? That's what the Tube map looks like. Learn how to read it. 
7. Always be prepared for rain. 
8. When the locals cross the road, you cross the road. 
9. Prets will save your life if you need a quick lunch or dinner before class. 
10. There is tourist crap EVERYWHERE. 

Determined To Prove a Villain

Today we traveled back to the Globe for a performance of King Richard III. The difference between this performance and the last one is that we were "Groundlings". What does this mean? It means we stand for three hours in front of the stage, so close that the actors can touch us, which they did several times throughout the performance. At As You Like It, the actor playing the fool kissed a Groundling girl, but no one was kissed today. Instead, we were encouraged to cheer for the king and were made fun of by the actors (I was apparently one of the "blessed wives" of the older gentleman standing next to me).

Posters for both "As You Like It" and "Richard III" outside the Globe. Needless to say, we enjoy Shakespeare's comedies more than his historical plays. 

Barty Crouch from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire played the Duke of Buckingham. The whole performance was enjoyable, though it was an all-male cast (very strange when it comes to Richard wooing).
Tomorrow we are watching "The Mystery of Charles Dickens" for the Dickens class.

Some British Slang

While people in the United Kingdom speak the same language as Americans (after all, we rebelled against their empire that stank mightily of mercantilism, something their own Scottish philosopher warned against), there is some slang that puzzles us. Eventually, we figured it out, but the slang reminds us that this is a different country with a different culture.
Chips: french fries
Crisps: potato chips
knickers: underwear
fag ends: cigarette butts
with bits: with pulp (in orange juice)
give way: yield
lemonade: sprite
I'm sure there are more I've picked up, but it does depend on the place.

Plays and Sherlock! Hooray!

This week we happen to be watching a play almost every night. Last night we watched Jumpy, which was enjoyable, although I'm glad I spent two weeks living in the UK before watching it. I wouldn't have gotten most of the jokes if I hadn't spent time doing grocery shopping or on public transportation.
This weekend Caitlin and I hope to do the whole Sherlock tour in London, mostly by visiting the film sets used in the television show. Harry Potter tours will be done as well, although that requires a bit more planning and a bit more money.
Even though the Paralympics wrapped up on Sunday night with fireworks on the Thames, there are still Olympians scattered all over London. Positively infectious British patriotism has swept London and beyond because of the Olympics. You see them in their uniforms. Nearly all the officiants at the church services we attended have mentioned both events in their sermons. Last night a particularly patriotic dude dressed in silly patriotic clothing high-fived our entire group. People on the Tube are wrapped in Union Jacks. It's kind of fun.
Tonight we are watching an adaptation of "Servant of Two Masters", which I'm familiar with. We'll see how that goes.

As You Like It

Although I had a free day yesterday, most of us spent our time sleeping (the majority of us slept in until past noon) because we came back at 4am from As You Like It at the Globe.
It was much easier to follow than King Lear, and the group was highly entertaining. I had a good time, but I was really, really tired and needed to catch up on sleep. After sleeping in I did some homework and went to see Anna Karenina, which came out earlier in the UK. Very much an experimental movie that captured (from what I've read) the mood of the book. Today is also another homework day, since we usually don't have time to rest or do homework. Brittany and I also toured the Victoria and Albert Museum, which was fun.
Nothing much to say. All of us are very tired.

London, Day 2

Day 2 has, so far, been better than day 1. It's surprisingly hot in London. We thought it would be cooler, like it was in Scotland, but we don't mind the sunshine. It just means that we need to do more laundry.
Today we had class all morning (the classrooms are at a college in South Kensington, which is a twenty-five minute walk from the dorms connected to the college). After walking around and going to theater venues I realized just how big London is. If it takes 25 minutes to walk to class, then it must take FOREVER to get to the touristy things on the other side of town. I liked being able to walk around Edinburgh without getting on a bus. I haven't quite figured out the Tube yet (we went on last night), but I did figure out which line to take when we fly out of Heathrow in December.
After class Brittany, Caitlin and I strolled through the Museum of Natural History, which was on our way back from class. It's free, which is AWESOME, and had some very cool exhibits. Here's one:

And this is the entrance! That's pretty cool! I really want to wander through the Air and Space Museum if I can. Tomorrow we have a free day, and we might arrange a Sherlock Holmes scavenger hunt (both places where Sherlock was filmed and places where the original stories took place). 

Tonight we will go to a midnight performance of As You Like It at the Globe. I hope we can stay up...

London!

Hi all,
London is a HUGE city, and it's kind of overwhelming. We're staying in a college dorm for about 12 days, then onto Birmingham, and then Brittany and I shall schedule a trip to the Welsh countryside.
Most of what we're doing is Shakespeare. Last night we saw this excellent "ghetto/trailer trash" version of a Midsummer Night's Dream, which in fact was HILARIOUS. Especially when the happy couples had a dance party to "I'm Sexy and I Know It" at the end of the production.
Tonight we're going to a three-hour production of King Lear. Tomorrow night we shall go to a midnight showing of "As You Like It" in another outdoor theater.

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON READING

I'm sad that we only spent a day in York, but our stay stay will be for two weeks, so we will have time to explore London. Today we had class (our class hours are very strange) and then spent most of our afternoon wandering around York Minster Cathedral. Since it's a traditional Christian pilgrimage site, we did the whole shebang and attended the evening prayers (again a traditional Anglican service). The remains of a canonized archbishop resides there, so that's why it's a pilgrimage site.
Most of us are reading and writing papers tonight (our due dates are strange. Lax, but strange...) before we head out to London tomorrow. It's a long drive, but we will be rewarded with a night performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream in an outside amphitheater in London. This particular production has been described as "Shakespeare meets My Big Fat Greek Wedding." How interesting.

10 Things You Learn While Traveling Abroad in the UK (Edition 1)

It's the beginning of the second week and everyone is settling into class schedules. Here are some observations:

1. Things get informal quickly, even with the profs. Hey, you're traveling together for 15 weeks. Go ahead and shove the philosophy prof while we're playing a vicious game of "Never Have I Ever." 
2. Accept the fact that you will wash your clothes in the sink many, many times. (Auxiliary law to number 2: communal washing at the laundromat is the way to go.)
3. Accept the fact that by the end of the month no one will care how cute or gross you look. 
4. You can never skip class because your professors are rooming next door. 
5. Chips are fries. Crisps are chips. 
6. People will always ask you where you are from. 
7. Some small English towns don't accept Scottish currency (EVEN THOUGH IT IS THE EXACT SAME, JUST WITH DIFFERENT ARTWORK)
8. It's "queue", not "line". 
9. It's not "sunny-side-up," it's "flat egg". 
10. The tea stereotype is true. It's teatime all day every day. 

Note: Yesterday I wrote "Paraplegic" when I meant "Paralympics". Auto-correct changes everything. 

An Anglican Church Service

Today was mostly a free day, except that we had to attend church together. Normally, if I were back at school, I would have to attend chapel three times a week. Because we're traveling all the time, we obviously don't have time for chapel and instead have group worship on Sundays. This morning we attended a traditional Anglican service. Which, I must say, was an experience.

I have never attended a traditional Anglican service before. Most of what I know about the Anglican church comes from my history courses: that this sect began under the reign of Henry VIII so he could get a divorce, though there are other reasons behind it.

The Rydal parish church is a stone structure down the road from Rydal hall, where we were staying. Bells announced the morning service. It was still a little damp outside from the rain yesterday, but it would end up being a beautiful sunny day anyway. Narrow stained glass windows lined the small room. Many of the people there were also staying at Rydal Hall.

The two priests, or ministers, were dressed in white robes. Upon a closer inspection I noticed that they both wore black cassocks underneath, which surprised me. The Anglican church's close connection with the Catholic church was something I noted throughout the entire service. An older woman assisted the main pastor, which made me wonder about the Anglican's church's views on women in ministry. Conservative? Liberal? Or is this particular parish special?

The entire service reminded me of growing up in the United Methodist Church in Detroit, where I lived as a child. Priests dressed in traditional garb, the numbering of the hymns on the wall, in those aspects an Anglican service is similar to a Methodist one (elements of Catholicism were extremely prominent in today's service, though). However, the differences are stark to a sharp observer.

Most of my biblical and theological studies are associated with Protestant teachings, which meant that the service's continual emphasis on the Virgin Mary perplexed me. I have never before taken part of a service that focused on her. The hour and a half service was structured around the Nine Joys of Mary, which are centered around the life of her son Jesus Christ. Meditative chants interposed the prayers and sermon, some of which were in Latin. In a way the meditative chants are refreshing: they allow the participant to meditate and reflect upon important messages within the Christian faith. As a Protestant, I don't necessarily agree with the emphasis on Mary (though she is, of course, important), and it is one of these key differences that alienates our group from the congregation. To be honest, today was a special day dedicated to Mary, so maybe not all services are like this.

Nearly everyone who took part of the service—save maybe, the singers—stopped and bowed their heads before the altar and genuflected. How different is the Anglican church from the Catholic church, aside from the fact that Anglicans don't follow the Pope?

I found the sermon itself to be short. In a break away from the chanting and traditional prayers, the priest spoke about the Paraplegic Olympics, which are happening now in the United Kingdom.

For the first time in my life I felt very much an outsider taking part in communion. Initially I was unsure if we would be allowed to take communion, since I understand that certain churches won't allow it unless you are a member. But this was a hospitable community, and Chris did tell us tonight that some other conservative churches may be less hospitable to outsiders (such as St. Paul's in London, which I believe we are attending for a service). 

Usually, one goes up near the altar to receive communion, but instead we were instructed to circle the altar as a group. Real wine was used, which didn't faze me, but it did make me wonder why American churches are more conservative in alcohol use during communions and why this difference exists.

The church itself is very old. The congregation's attire clashed with the stone walls and stained glass windows. What makes this particular church historically significant is the fact that Williams Wordsworth used to be the chapel warden. A plaque commemorates his special pew, near the front left.  

I think it was definitely an experience, and while it was uncomfortable most of the time I think it was a good experience. We will be attending a Quaker service as well as a Benedictine service, so we'll see how that goes. 

Poets and Writers in the Lake District

Hello!
While I didn't see any daffodils today or yesterday, we did tour several writers' homes as part of our literary pilgrimage course. Yesterday we took a hike to Dove Cottage, where William Wordsworth spent several years of his life writing The Prelude. After touring the small, cramped dark house (Wordsworth was very much a starving artist) we had a chance to speak with the curator in charge of the manuscripts. Once he realized that we knew quite a bit about The Prelude (courtesy of Cheri's lecture earlier that morning) he took out Wordsworth's personal copy of Paradise Lost. He invited our school to come back to do more intense work with manuscripts, curator training and writing in Dove Cottage in candlelight at night (I guess he really liked our group!).
Pictures of us reading some original manuscripts are on Facebook, for those who are friends with me there.
Today we went out to Hawkshead and made our way to Beatrix Potter's home, where there were also manuscripts for us to look at. I took some pictures of rabbits and the garden there. We also hiked around one of the lakes. Afterwards, we visited John Ruskins' home and wandered around the gardens. The bulk of our stay at the Lake District will end on Monday, a travel day. From here we will go to York, but on our way to York I'm looking forward to visiting the parsonage where the Bronte sisters lived.
Tomorrow we have most of the day to ourselves, which is nice because we all have lots of homework. The theater people need to write reviews, Victorian Studies people have lots of reading, and we Dickensians should get started on David Copperfield. I also have to write a reflective essay about a site where an author lived. I thought about writing about the Elephant House, but I feel as though the parsonage will be especially interesting.
I don't think I've ever been asked where I'm from so many times in one day. Even though this is England, I could very much blend in because modern England is very much a diverse community (the man who helped us get our connection to Edinburgh is Asian, but British, and he told me all about the Filipino sub-community in London!). I will talk more about this in London, where I have a presentation about Andrea Levy and her work on Jamaicans living in a post-colonial London. Usually I'm the one asking people where they're from, but my American accent is very prominent. Most people know our group is American, but they always want to know what state.
I think every single day I've been asked where I'm from, especially when we are eating dinner with other people in the convention center. Accents are different, though I don't know the difference between a Liverpool and Manchester accent. Welsh is pretty distinct.
Unfortunately, I won't be uploading pictures here until London. The Internet here is available in the lobby and isn't very strong. There's a lot I could talk about, such as how we're slowly getting to know each other, or how we occasionally get lost, but this post is getting long as it is. I'll attempt to update again tomorrow during our free time.