Westminster Abbey

As I walked through the abbey, I couldn’t help but stand in awe at the shear majesty of the building and the monuments. The fact that someone as great as William Wilberforce and Elizabeth I, so far removed from my mundane existence, lay before me was unbelievable. But at the same time it reminded me of human mortality. Those great figures of history are dust at the bottom of their great gilded effigies just as my ancestors are dust in their rotting wooden boxes. While it is good of us to remember and honor them for their progressive achievements, they are now without the ability to affect change. They gave their lives in passion for their beliefs and efforts, but now are at rest and have left us with the charge of creating a better tomorrow.

The Great City of Londinium

Venturing out to do the Londinium Walk was one of my first experiences with London outside of 27 Palace Court’s immediate surroundings. I think there was something special about starting at this great city’s roots and, as I have continued through the week to everything from the Clink to Bath, the Houses of Parliament to Tate Modern, I have been able to do so with the a concept of where it all began.

I love how the remaining pieces of Roman society are just interspersed throughout the City. Even as I was looking for them, I was always surprised to find them where they were. Monstrous modern skyscrapers have built up around these glimpses into the past, and yet for me they do not overshadow them. The human eye finds history just as beautiful and fascinating as the most artistic building that could be created today with all of our fine resources.

The necessity for walls is such a foreign idea to me, coming from a day and age where we come and go at will. But seeing the wall and other gates that were a requirement for any settlement to be secure, helped me visualize how the world must have been. Because of their enormous power, the Romans had many other factions who wanted a piece of it. The settlement of Londinium, on the very edge of Rome’s empire, would have been an easy target to be picked off and probably was attacked multiple times to this end. There was also the matter of the Vikings, Visigoths, and Vandals that would see and envy the growing wealth in Londinium and want it for their own. Not only did the Romans have to worry about those outside influences, but also rebellion within. Strict rules and regulations must have been imposed on the native peoples in order to maintain Roman supremacy, yet we know rebellions did occur. I can see the Romans believing themselves to be superior, coming to rescue the inhabitants of Britannica from their obscurity and barbarism, and in contrast, many Britons, such as Boudicca (who frankly had a good reason) resenting the conquest.

The uneven brickwork that characterized the wall seemed crude to my eye, which is accustomed to smooth streamlined modern glass buildings, but at the same time, it is difficult to comprehend how a society without cranes and state of the art machines was able to create what they did, and at the level of quality that they did it. Today, over a thousand years after its construction, the London Wall still stands. There are fragments that are blackened from bombings during the Second World War, but they also remain. The brilliance of human society is baffling to me. So I find myself at a loss—in awe at the sure genius they must have possessed to create what they have, and at the same time, horrified at the brutish deeds they committed. But I suppose they would say the same thing about me and my ability to vote and wear pants and my country’s ability to devastate an entire region with the drop of one bomb. Keeping it all in perspective is the task at hand and looking into the past is a great tool to accomplish this.

I've been a bit busy

So I've gotten extremely busy the last couple of days trying to explore the city and fit in all of my required assignments, but I'm going to try and update semi-regularly from now on, once a week at the very least.

Hmm... I guess I should catch up from Wednesday.

Wednesday was our first day trip. We went to Stonehenge and Bath and it didn’t disappoint. They were amazing. Driving to Stonehenge is an interesting experience because you’re out in the English countryside, tiny farm after tiny farm, where it's so green your eyes hurt, and then all of the sudden Stonehenge is in front of you. It's not even a kilometer from the road either. It's a bit smaller than one generally pictures it, but amazing all the same as it sits there in the middle of a field--not ostentatious at all, and yet you can feel that it's important as you stand there and gape. If any of you are in London ever, it's definitely worth the hour and a half drive.

Bath, is a completely different experience altogether. Most of the city is preserved in the neoclassical style, the way it was at it's height when Jane Austen and many others would have visited there. It has it's own majesty about it. Many of the original Roman baths are preserved, I know the water is running through the same man made channels it did in 100 AD or something. And then I was also able to tour Number 1 Crescent Road where there is a museum showing what a rented flat would have looked like in the Regency time period. Also, I went to the Jane Austen Centre that they set up in one of her previous residences as well as have a traditional English “tea” (hot chocolate) in the Pump Room. The exact same one that is mentioned in several of Austen's novels and was probably used when the queen came into town. So Wednesday was basically awesome.

Thursday I explored the southwark (pronounced suth-uck) area (or south of the Thames) where Shakespeare's Globe is, and he lived for parts of his life. For a lot of London's history it's been a bit of a bad neighborhood, but recently they've added the city government buildings, the London eye, and a theatre district and it's become a centre for modern art. It's basically become my favorite part of London (that I've seen so far). But part of that is probably because there was a Thames festival Saturday, which I went to, it was a ton of fun.

That night (Thursday) the programme went to a mystery play called "39 Steps" that was ingenious. There were only 4(ish) people in the cast, the lead stayed the same, but the other three actors had to play several characters each and the switches and the staging was hysterical. Everyone was laughing for the whole two hours. I did learn something about Britian though: they don't have air conditioning in most of their buildings. The theatre was boiling when everyone got in and there was no air conditioning at all. It was really a weird thing for me, coming from a desert and all. But it'll be cold here soon enough and no one will have use of air conditioning anyway, so I don't think it'll matter much.

Friday we went to the Houses of Parliament otherwise known as the Palace of Westminster where the House of Commons and the House of Lords operate. There was a fire in the 1800s and most of the building burnt (and was rebuilt by Queen Victoria), but there was one hall that was saved. And it just happens to be the hall where Braveheart was tried and sentenced to death and the dead body of Cromwell was tried for treason. It was built by William the Conqueror's son and additions done by Edward the Confessor.

The whole thing is utterly fascination. All of the little detains and tradition that are a part of their culture. The House of Commons was destroyed during the bombings in WWII, but Winston Churchill had it rebuilt and I got to walk through the same doors as he did when he was Prime Minister. It was brilliant.

Other than Houses of Parliament and the Thames festival, Friday and Saturday were both pretty uneventful. Mostly I've stayed home and read and done homework because I have a project due on Tuesday. But once it and the one the following week are done, I won't have to worry as much for the rest of the semester.

Well, I'll keep you posted as more happens, I know I won't post between Wednesday and Friday because I'll be in the West of England. But I know I have several Field Studies to post so you can read those if you really want to know what's going on over here.

39 Steps to a Hysterical Play

The “shocker” 39 Steps is exactly as its author John Buchan described it: “an adventure where the events in the story are unlikely and the reader is only just able to believe that they really happened”. And it seems when the story was adapted for the stage the writers took this idea and ran with it, creating an extremely entertaining parody of a cozy drama.

Through a parody we are able to learn some of the common elements used by the subject matter being presented. For example when it comes to characters, a cozy drama will generally include: the innocent ordinary (yet dashingly handsome) man (and don’t forget the pencil mustache) that always gets pulled into the conflict and ends up solving the mystery in the end; the unassuming (yet somehow stunning) young girl who will inevitably be pulled into the mess (and despite her best efforts, fall for the leading man); and the two dim-witted henchmen (who’s thoughtlessness will aid the plot in its unlikely escapes).

Parody happens to be my favorite genre of literature, so it probably wouldn’t surprise you that I thoroughly enjoyed the entire play. What most impressed me was the staging throughout. For instance: when they were on the top of the train with their coats flapping in the breeze, the swaying and theme music whenever the love birds would meet, and the movement of the picture frame window during Hanney’s escape from the farm house. The effectiveness of these moments came about because the actors choose to make use of every moment and weren’t afraid of making fools of themselves: two ingredients necessary to make any play a success, and this one definitely was.

Modern Art on the Southbank

As you walk along Thames path on the south side of the river, the most striking characteristic of your surroundings is the wide spectrum of art present there. From the tribute to Shakespeare with the rebuilding of his Globe, in addition to National Theatre, Royal Festival Hall, and Queen Elizabeth Hall, to the various Museums such as Tate Modern, Movieum, and The Hayward Gallery this area clearly is a haven for the liberal arts. But the artistic flair has bled through the gallery walls and performance halls. As you walk along the path it is startling to find that around every turn there is a new artistic venture. These include graffiti art, sidewalk musicians, and large green living rooms. These qualities give the district it's wonderful atmosphere; an atmosphere that is easy going and open minded to the many forms of beauty presented to it.


Going Green
Black Oval
Street Art
The Tree of Life
Music on the go
A Young Boy Dreams
Cleaning the World: One Pair of Lost Sneakers at a Time
Captain Shakespeare
Room of Hidden Things

Class Assignments

So, for all of my classes I have field notes/studies that are assigned, and one way to turn them in happens to be posting them on my blog. So some of my posts are going to seem more academic and less like a loose itinerary from now on. Feel free to read them, but I just wanted to give you the heads up so you weren't confused by my intermittent tonal changes.

Love you all,
Tracy

What I Learned in Bath

Even having watched movies based on Jane Austen’s novels, it is difficult to build an authentic image of the world that she lived in and was inspired by. However, as our tour bus rounded the corner and made the city of Bath visible in all of its neoclassical glory, I felt for a brief moment that perhaps I was able to share some of her world. What is hardest to comprehend is that while I feel I am looking at a relic, a piece of antiquity preserved just for my curiosity and enjoyment, she in turn, was viewing a city on the cutting edge of fashion.
In addition to the general Austen ambiance that was a part of our visit to Bath, there were several interesting facts that, for me, really provided insight into why she wrote about what she did. For instance, the favorable portrayals of sailors in a lot of her novels, especially Persuasion, drew from her own brothers’ experiences on the sea; sharing in her sister’s tragic loss of a fiancé, she was able to convey the deep levels of pain that loosing your companion can create such as, when Elinor believes Edward to be married or Jane’s discontent when Bingly leaves suddenly to town; and lastly, having herself refused to be a part of a clandestine marriage, she was able to infuse that same independence into her strong female characters.
Although she didn’t write any of her standard works while in Bath, it seems she was able to glean the experiences that informed many of her novels during her stay. While there, she would have been able to observe a variety of people in different situations and develop the unique and insightful view of society that was splashed throughout the pages of her novels. Her family’s life was not the ideal—neither she, nor her sister, ever married, when her father died they were left almost penniless, and one of her brothers had severe disabilities. Her life, like so many others’ was full of challenges. Yet, through the small sheets of paper that she scribbled on, she was able to find solace in a world where things turned out well in the end. Because even with the awe inspiring grandeur of her environment, life remained a difficult thing to bear at times and one had to maintain hope that tomorrow would lead to a favorable resolution.

More from London.

Hey all,

Well, the jet lag is getting slightly better, except that I woke up exhausted this morning. However, that has worn off as the day has progressed so I didn't have to take a nap and ruin my time zone recovery.

I just compiled all of my syllabi for the semester and it looks like they're going to be keeping me VERY busy. I think I'm going to be utterly exhausted when they send me home in December. But it'll be completely worth it. I'm experiencing so much everyday, and yet, I know I won't have learned even a small percentage of what this city has to offer in that time.

Yesterday was my first time on the tube and I have to say that I think it’s possibly the coolest thing on the planet. We just swiped our oyster cards caught a connection and popped out two blocks from the British Museum. It's so fast and efficient. They need to do it everywhere. It’s interesting here because you see a lot of diversity on public transportation- from tourists, to business men in suits. Also, something we've learned about British people is: they are really quiet on the subway (in general too, but this is where I noticed it for the first time). They all have a newspaper in their hands and get on and read until their stop. And in the elevator, oh I'm sorry, the lift, you squish 30 people in and then stand still and silent for the 45 second ride even if you know someone. It's almost comical.

We only spent an hour or so at the museum, some of my friends were there for an assignment and when they were done we needed to work on something else, but it was unbelievable. I mean I got to see THE Rosetta Stone. And many of the statues and side pieces of the Pantheon. And a statue of Ramses II. And they weren't reproductions like everything I’ve ever seen before. They were real pieces of history two inches from me.

Afterward we started one of our assigned "Walks" (we have to do 12 all over London). This one traces the outer perimeter of the old city of London. It took us about 2 hours just to get half way through, probably because we were still trying to figure out how the city works. It started at the tower of London where the old wall starts, and then is supposed to end at St. Paul’s cathedral; however we only made it as far as Liverpool station. It was amazing just rambling around The City, called so because it's the site of the original city but is now the Financial district. The buildings were huge, which I've seen before, but not all squished together like that. And then right next to a gorgeous glass contemporary building would be a church that had stood there for hundreds if not thousands of years. It's so amazing to walk through such a great blend of the past and the present. That's really the description for most of the city, at least what I've seen so far.

By the time we got home for dinner, because we did all that between noon and five, we were beat. My legs are still hurting from walking so much. Later that night a group of us girls went around the corner to this Belgium waffle vendor and I'm afraid I might get addicted to them if I'm not careful.

Well I have a ton of homework to do and breakfast at 6:30 tomorrow before we leave for Stonehenge so I should call it a night.

Love ya,
Tracy

Ramses II

Rosetta Stone

Three Naiads

Old Port of England
This is where the Harry and Hagrid talk took place in the first movie
Tower of London, which I have yet to really tour.
Emperor Trajan at Tower Hill.
Triumphal Arch, World War I monument. You can't see in the picture but the black on the columns is actually inscripted with names.
I mentioned this before. Ancient and Modern coexisting.
This is right around the corner on Queensway. I thought it was funny how the entire street is lined with shops and hten there's a random church with Gothic architecture.
Me out in front.
Because I just had to.

This was probably one of the coolest things EVER! I never thought I'd be able to be standing there. And now I could go every day if I wanted to, but I can't I'm kind of busy at Hogwarts right now.

First Impressions

I had a really great flight from the states, it was rather long though. I woke up about an hour and a half before we landed and watched on the map as we crossed over Ireland to get to England, even though when I looked out the window there wasn't anything but clouds.

We had a hired van for a few of us to get to the centre and our driver had such a thick accent, it took me a couple seconds to translate what he was saying in my head, but he got us there safely. Despite this I quickly realized that London traffic is terrifying—with the tiny roads and everyone on the wrong side, thank goodness I don't have to drive at all while I'm here.

The centre is fantastic. It's a lot larger than I expected it to be. For some reason I got the impression from the pictures that it was 3 stories. But instead it's five. And that's five floors above the ground floor. In fact, I'm living on the fifth floor. It's the small attic room that six of us girls stuff into. It's a lovely room, but I'm always short of breath when I get to the top of our 83 stairs.

My mother wanted to know my first impressions of London and well, all I've really seen is the drive from Heathrow to the centre and then Kensington Gardens which I explored with some people when I got in because they're literally a three minuet walk from where we live. So far, I think this is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I've honestly been walking around mesmerized. The houses are all regal and everything is soooo unbelievably green. I can't wait to see more of it. Tomorrow I'm getting an oyster card that’ll let me ride on the subway, so that'll be a lot easier.

I must say, I was expecting it to rain a lot and be cooler than I was used to, but it's rainy all the time. I don't think I've seen the sun once. And today when I got out of church it was freezing. For some reason I didn't think to bring my new coat and I was really cold, although my teeth weren't chattering, so it mustn't have been that bad.

Church was really interesting this morning. I mean it was exactly like church in the states, only one of the boys blessing the sacrament had a very distinct accent (I think there were some African influences) so it was like a whole new sacrament experience. At the same time though, there are a lot of Americans and other non-Brits, so while it's very much the same as what I'm used to, I think the mix of cultures probably gives an interesting twist to the ward make-up.

Random side note: but Becky and I have decided that British children are the cutest ever because they go around in tiny little rain boots, and then they start talking with adorable British accents. I can't walk through the park without getting the "aww" face a least a dozen times.

Okay so the sun must have been listening to my earlier statement because it just came out. Well, it's still cloudy, but a good amount of sun is filtering through, so it's seems sunny. Well I’ll write again when I have more to report on, but until then I'll leave you with my virtual tour of the centre.

This is the BYU centre. And that tiny white box on the top of the house is where I live. Isn't it amazing.

And this is the view down the street as you walk out the door.
This is jsut a house down on the corner of Palace court and Bayswater road. 50 steps from my front door.
This is the double table dining room. And you can't see it in this picture, but there is the most unbelievable molding on the ceiling around the chandalier.
This is the lounge, although I probably won't be lounging about in it.


And the lovely 80 themed, or hasn't been redecorated since the 80's, mess room.
And the library, equiped with window seat, just to make me feel right at home. This is the classroom. It's on the first floor (which is actually the second american floor) look at the molding it's crazy. And the window shot is along the left wall. I'm not sure how we're supposed to concentrate with that in our view, but apparently they expect us to.

This is our tower room. We are officially the Charlotte Bronte room, but it's also been nicknamed, The Celestial Kingdom, Bronte tower, Bertha's lair, and the great butt room (cause we're all gonna have great butts going up and down the stairs all the time).
This is the fire escape, but it has the cutest ladder leading up to it that we use as a reading corner.

Well, that's it for now. I have to go out and take pictures for you all. Hope you're all doing great.

Love,
Tracy