The World in Britain

So, Friday we went to London, and were able to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream at SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE THEATER. It was the most amazing experience of my life…to date anyways! A few of us, including myself, had our last private course Friday before we left. Class started an hour earlier so it ended by 11 am.

After class got out, Victoria and I walked down the road to the bus stop, and made our way to the Reading Train Station. I rode a train for the first time in  my life! It was amazing! A roundtrip ticket, including unlimited bus fare and subway fares was only 12 pounds and 50 pence! That is really affordable. I was really excited as I climbed on board for my first ever train ride experience - the train was even pink and purple! We flew off towards London, and arrived there in about 20 minutes. After getting off the train, we walked around Paddington Square - the same train station seen in many British films. We made our way towards the Underground signs - but not before stopping off at Krispy Kreme for some delicious donuts. The underground (”tube”) is downstairs from the boarding docks of Paddington Station, and I was excited for my first ever SUBWAY RIDE! Friday was definitely a day of first time experiences.

 On the tube, Victoria and I stood and looked at the color-coded maps to figure out where our stop Blackfriars St was. I was a little confused about the whole subway system, and was not really sure how all of it worked - but after experiencing it with a true New Yorker, I was confortable with the whole system by the end of the day! Walking up the steps from the tube was a truly exhilerating experience: skyscrapers began to appear, as did the outline of the famous ferris wheel. Walking across Blackfriars Bridge over the River Thames was a lovely way to see London for the first time. On the right was the famous pier with the ferris wheel, The Eye, and Parliament. On the left was Sir Francis Drakes’ Galleon, Millenium Bridge, St Paul’s Cathedral, and The Globe theater.

Getting closer to the Globe was a mind-boggling experience. Seeing the building that I had only learned about in every theater and english class since highschool was magical and surreal. It was so awesome to see the building that previously I had only ever seen in books! As we walked inside, it was truly amazing to see all the paintings and frescoes covering the old wooden walls…and as I snapped photos, I realized I just wanted to see my favorite Shakespeare play!

 After the play my roomies and I decided to face our (okay, my) fears of heights and walk across the Millenium Bridge. Regardless of how sturdy the bridge was, my heart was definitely palpatating with terror and excitement. We walked up the steps to St Paul’s Cathedral as we decided where we wanted to eat. We finally decided on Wetherspoons and enjoed delicious Indian food and cocktails. We took the subway back to Paddington Station, and felt extremely tired as we finally got off the train to our home - Reading. Strangely, after only 4 weeks, Reading truly feels like home. I am happy here.

 Saturday, Joanna and I went back to London to take advantage of the tours offered at Buckingham Palace! The Queen leaves for 6 weeks during August and September, and this year offered tours of her Royal Residence for 14 quid. Seeing the luxury, wealth, beauty, and culture of her residence was completely mind-boggling! The art, which included original Rembrandts, Van Dykes, and Vermeers was a pleasure to view. The details of her Majesty’s carpets, curtains, ceilings, staircases, moldings, and furniture was just jaw-dropping!! It was a special treat to see Buckingham Palace on the last day before Her Majesty returned “home.”

Before heading back to our home, we took the tube to Tower Hill, and walked 2 minutes to the infamously haunted Tower of London! Being in the room with the Rack, Scavenger’s Daughter, and Iron Maiden was simply surreal, amazing, and sad. Being in the room where Sir Walter Raleigh spent his last days was hard to wrap my mind around. Witnessing the changing of the guards was spectacularly traditional, and making our way to the Jewel Tower where we beheld the most stunningly massive and sparkling jewels was beyond comprehension! The crown, the silverware, the sceptors, the rings, the cloaks were all encrusted with bedazzling jewels and detail! As we left to go back home, Joanna and I were quite content with our first ever weekend in London!!

On Friday we had our first group excursion - to London! For many of us it was our first visit to the city, aside from brief travel there upon arrival. What a day!

I left earlier than many of my housemates, eager for a chance to see the sights at my own pace and to prove to myself that I was capable of traveling alone in a new place. It’s simple, now, to hop the 17 into town and walk a few blocks to the train station. I bought a ticket to London (that included all-day travel on the Tube as well) and boarded the train. Half an hour later I was standing in Paddington Station. The Circle line took me to Blackfriar’s Station, and when I came above ground I was in London under a sunny, blue sky. Dr. Ivy gave us very good directions on how to get to our meeting point, so I crossed the bridge, pausing to take a few photos of the Thames and one of the barges going underneath my bridge, and turned left. The walk along the embankment was lovely. There were families and friends picnicking on grassy patches, enjoying the rare English sun; there were school children in uniforms who were clearly there on field trips; there were joggers and bicyclists - reminding me that this isn’t just a tourist destination, but an everyday way of life for some. People live in London - it’s not just the museums and the towers and the ruins and the monuments. I liked best to be among those who took the sights for granted - that’s the true feel of a place. I had an hour to kill, so I bought myself a gelato - coffee and chocolate flavors in a simple sugar cone - and sat in a sunny spot on the concrete steps facing the Globe Theatre. The gelato was heavenly.

A half an hour later I decided to check out the Globe’s gift shop, and ended up buying a pin, three postcards, and a tote bag that says “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on it - the play that we were there to see! Coming out of the gift shop I caught sight of Hannah and Michaela and followed them to where some of us were already sitting, said hi, and took then took our spots a bit farther along, at the end of the line. We sat on a bench that had been part of the original Globe theatre - until the line started moving and we finally filed into the theatre to take our places as Groundlings, standing in front of the stage.

As I’m sure everyone else will say, the play was amazing. We haven’t discussed the play yet as a group - that comes tomorrow - but the costumes were amazing and very effective, the music and dancing complemented the production very well, the staging was well-planned, the minimalist sets were effective and enchanting, and the actors and actresses were superb. Puck and Oberon/Theseus were my favorites, although Titania/Hippolyta was lovely as well, as were the fairies and players… All right - EVERYONE was! And, as any production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” should be, it was hilarious. I can safely say that I haven’t laughed so hard all year. It was colorful, playful, musical, bordering on racy… What a perfect way to spend a Friday afternoon.

After the play was over, we reluctantly filed back out of the theatre - I think that each of us hopes to go back at some point! Some of us headed to the gift shop, some bought snacks, some gathered in the lane outside. Michaela and I were hungry, so we took off on our own to find a restaurant that my guidebook had promised would be somewhere in the vicinity. After spending a pleasant half-hour wandering the streets, we abandoned the idea of fish ‘n chips in favor of a small hostel café across the street where we could get wraps and smoothies. It wasn’t until we’d finished a piece of banana cake, though, that we finally left, heading for the nearest Tube station. We got distracted along the way, pausing for postcards and souvenirs, and then realising that the nearest Tube station was London Bridge - and how could we *not* see it, being so close? I have to say, it was utterly anticlimactic. I suppose everyone - ourselves included - thinks of Tower Bridge and expects London Bridge to be similar. Not a bit of it - it’s a slab of concrete (that is most certainly not falling down, falling down, falling down) that crosses the Thames and has “LONDON BRIDGE” carved into its supports. Thrilled with this magical bit of London high way, we eagerly took several photos. Another group of tourists asked us to take their photo; they obliged us similarly in return and we made our way triumphantly back to the Underground.

(As a side note, any Labryinth fan will understand my glee at being able to say such a thing.)

Home again, home again, in cozy little Reading! This coming week we have International Student Orientation as well as Fresher’s Fair (to sign up for clubs), and we begin classes the week after!

This has been a whirlwind week! On Friday we trekked over to the Department of Typography for a demonstration of a Gutenberg-style printing press.  It was so exciting, we got to print our own pages of the Gutenberg Bible.  It is not everyday that you get to print your own Bible pages on a mock-up of the Gutenberg printing press.  On Saturday the residents of 153 decided to do a grand tour of Reading.  We hit up Forbury Gardens in Central Reading, which is a beautiful, huge park.  It was crowded because it was a beautiful day, there was even a wedding while we were wandering around.  We also went to the adjoining abbey ruins.  Reading Abbey was founded by King Henry 1 and he was buried there.  It is a huge Norman style abbey, and only walls of the south transept remain.  One of the earliest pieces of music in England was written down here, and there’s a plaque memorializing it on one of the walls remaining after the abbey was dissolved during the Reformation.  It was truly an awesome day, seeing and touching something so ancient, something built before America was discovered.  There is so much to Reading, from the great shopping (I’ve heard that Reading is one of the best places to shop in Southern England other than London) to the fabulous history.  On Friday we’re off to London to see a Shakespeare play at the Globe and do the touristy thing.  We’re also thinking about taking advantage of being so close to London and going back to see more on Saturday.  I will definitely have exciting things to write about next week!

So, this weekend was the first party of the year. It was a nice start to the year, because it was just us Readingites - bonding and having a good time dressed up as the heroes/villains from Batman! I went as Poison Ivy, and it was a lot of fun getting dressed up, playing games, and listening to music. Melissa Gilbert, the girl who threw the little get together was Batman, and she downloaded music from the old 1960s Batman TV show. It was all great fun. Afterwards, we went to the pub, and eventually took a cab to the Q Bar downtown. The clubs here in Reading are similar to American ones in that everyone is dancing, and having a good time. They are quite a bit different though. Most clubs here have strobe lights, and they play a lot of “Garage Music,” which is techno beats with a rap like vocal. It was a lot of fun! Leaving in stilettos, however, was not fun as my roomie and I found out. After dancing all night, the last thing we wanted to do was walk on uneven brick roads in Stilettos. All in all it was a great night! We bonded in the comforts of our own home, dressed up in typical American Halloween fashion, and then explored the city life of downtown Reading for the first time.

Today, it is 24 degrees C, and I can not wait to to go outside with my books, lay down in our beautiful back yard, and soak up the long awaited and much-adored British sun!

I haven’t updated in forever, it feels like, but that may be because I haven’t gone out and done all the exciting things that the others are doing. Hopefully that will change soon…! Next Friday (the 26th) all of us are going into London to see “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Globe theatre! In preparation for that we have a lecture on Tuesday about how to *read* the play and a lecture on Thursday about how to *perform* it, and what certain choices signify for directors. Friday’s field trip will be my first time in London - aside from my brief trip on the underground on my way here. I’m hoping to arrive early and see some sights… Since Buckingham Palace isn’t open past this month, I’d love to see that in the morning - I wonder if I could even catch the changing of the guard? After the play (which starts at 2:00) I’d love to try to get to Westminster Abbey for one of their famous Evensong services… It’s so tempting to try to do everything in one day. The British Museum, the Natural History Museum, Big Ben, the Tower of London… I keep having to remind myself that I LIVE here, and that I can go back anytime I want!

That said, I’m thoroughly enjoying myself just staying at 141 most of the time, as well. I love sitting down to watch a movie with the girls - History Boys, Across the Universe, Labyrinth…  (Have I mentioned how amazing it is to hear *everyone* around speaking like David Bowie?). Making dinner with Melissa the other night was a new experience for me, as I’m frankly terrified of cooking my own meals… but the chicken and broccoli over rice turned out surprisingly well. I love having people come into my room throughout the day to sit and chat, I love finding someone hunched over a Sudoku every time I go into the kitchen for tea, I love turning on the TV and finding Top Gear every time. Jes has been coming into my room to work on her dissertation in the evenings; I’ll miss her when she leaves in a couple of weeks. I love the fact that when I (finally) finished my research paper (on phytoplankton and global warming - terrifying statistics, actually), everyone in the house cheered for me, and I got a great big hug of congratulations. Despite our differences - or perhaps because of them, in ways, we’re feeling like such a family. I’m very honored to have been elected the house president at 141 for this semester - Joanna calls me the “House Mommy,” which I love - if for no other reason than it gives me an excuse to open up my door for anyone at any time… Which is lovely, considering I spend a decent amount of time in my room. I love my housemates!!

I do get out, some, though. The other day we had a “lecture” on campus from Martin Andrews about the invention of movable type… And we got to experience first-hand a model of what the original Gutenberg Press MIGHT have looked like!  Some of us were able to ink the type, lay out a piece of paper, and try it hands-on… I took photos, and it was amazing. Kelly was positively bouncing up and down for joy (you know you were!!) and I thought Melissa would break the thing, she was so strong - but Mr. Andrews said that was good, that the press was made (out of green oak) to creak and flex so that it wouldn’t snap in two. He also showed us an iron printing press, as well as a later one that could have been used in the Wild West - for real! Finally, seeing our enthusiasm, he showed us an Egyptian papyrus scroll from the Book of the Dead… I can’t believe that all of this is open to students at a three-minute walk from our house! Afterwards, Kelly and I headed to the campus library for some books for class… It was my first time going inside, and it was big enough that I got lost once, but who doesn’t like being lost among thousands of books…? Their religious studies section is very enticing; I suspect I will be returning there frequently.

Well, this is already getting rather long, so I’ll end there for now.  It’s hard to believe that our intensive courses will be over soon, and then campus will come alive with students and faculty! I can’t wait.

I can’t believe that we are halfway through week 3.  Mrs Dr Ivy commented on our first day here that after 2 weeks, we’d feel like we’ve lived here forever.  Besides still working some of the intricacies of life in Britain out, I do feel like it has been a long time since I left Washington.  We are all completely settled into our houses and growing into one big family, and we’re getting comfortable in our academic aspirations.  We’ve all written at least one paper so far and have immersed ourselves in reading and lectures.  Despite the fact that we all have to work hard, we’re finding plenty of time for fun.  Someone in our small house, 153, makes dinner almost every night so that we have plenty of together time and we always have a lot of fun sitting down with each other after a long day of learning or touring around Reading.  We find the time to play some frisbee in the dark in our huge backyard and watch movies together, but we also have plenty of time to go and visit the many pubs around Reading and explore the town.  My professor said this morning that pubs are the best place to find things out, and he’s right.  He’s also spent plenty of time telling us where interesting things in Reading are and some contemporary history of the town.  So everyone is intent on making us feel welcome and lending a hand.  This weekend, my goal is to head downtown and explore some things off the High Street where all the shopping is.  I want to go explore the Abbey ruins here, and who knows what else I may find.  And next weekend is our trip to London to see Shakespeare performed at the Globe!  I’ll be sure to keep you posted on all the exciting new discoveries we make around here.

Some of Uni campus–so pretty!

A view of the Student Union building