The World in Britain

Spending my junior year abroad in England has allowed me the opportunity to do things I probably wouldn’t have gotten the chance to do otherwise, like taking a daytrip to a Belgium or getting close to an original Jackson Pollack in the Tate Modern in London. Academically, one of the most amazing things that I have been able to do is take a class in Oxford. I was lucky enough to take a class on ‘Women in Asian Religions’ there and through this class I was presented with several outstanding opportunities. Besides the individual attention that I received in this one-on-one class, it really exposed to a completely different way of thinking. One of the many highlights of my class in Oxford happened a couple of weeks ago. It was then that my tutor arranged for me to go on a field trip of sorts to meet a Buddhist monk.

This amazing trip brought so many of the things studied in class to life. Sitting with the monk, drinking tea and discussing his religion, these are opportunities that I know I probably would not have been afforded if I had stayed in Lynchburg this year. I was astounded to learn that the monk that I meet with had been a member of the monastic order since he was 12! Talking with the monk also answered first hand questions that I had about Buddhism and its monastic order. One thing that I was curious about was the shaving of the head upon entry into monastic life. The monk explained that this was to free the person of attachment to the hair. This is important within the Buddhist tradition as attachment is specifically mentioned in the religion’s Four Noble Truths as the origin of suffering.

The field trip was truly a special moment from time abroad and a memory that I will no doubt carry for a long time. To future Readingites reading this, if you get the chance to take a class in Oxford, any class, take it!

First off, apologizes for not writing on here more frequently. I know how much I enjoyed reading about the Readingites adventures last year, so I have been meaning to give an update of my time here. Time is flying and more than once I’ve hear my fellow Readingites exclaim “Where did my year go?!” Now that university classes are done and Spring Break is upon us, what better time to recap the past 10 week!

The biggest thing that has happened since I last wrote, both for me and the Program, was the Seminar Trip to York and the North of England. It was a three day adventure packed with all kinds of amazing things. We left 141 early on the morning of February 19. After a four-ish hour coach trip (I slept most of the way!), we were in York. The North was somewhere that I think most of the group had wanted to go, so we all felt incredibly lucky that Dr Franke had chosen to take us to the “capital” of the North, York. That first day we were given a whirlwind tour of York, which included a walk on the city’s medieval walls, and also visited the National Railway Museum. Not exactly my cup of tea, but it did make me understand trains better! That night several members of the group decided to take a ghost tour of the city. More funny than scary, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Our second day in York was the big day for the trip. We were taken on tours of the City’s landmark York Minster and, then later, learned more about York’s Viking and Medieval past. Our third and final day of the trip found us in the middle of a snowstorm. We left York that morning headed for the small village town of Whitby, stopping along the way to try and see the Yorkshire Moors through the snow. The main draw of Whitby is its Abbey (pictured below) as well as its 199 Steps,which figure prominently into Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’. Whitby, much like York, was receiving quite a bit of snow that day, so after a quick look at the town, most of us huddled into a fish-and-chips restaurant to wait out the snow. We left Whitby and made it safely back to Reading that Sunday night.

Personally, I haven’t traveled as much as I did the first term, but I am looking for to an exciting Spring Break. I leave Tuesday for Paris and couldn’t be more excited! I promise to fill you in (complete with pictures) when I get back. Promise!

 York Minster

Whitby Abbey

Here are some pics, foremost, of the snow we got this winter; my friend built a snowman and a snowdog.

 It’s hard to believe we’re almost halfway through this term (of Reading classes). It feels like it has flown. This week, too, has passed quite speedily. I think the big event we’re all looking forward to is the trip to York. We have a quick presentation to give prior the trip, but I’m personally looking forward to the roadtrip. There’s nothing better than hitting the open road! Especially considering that it’ll be a 4-5 hour drive. =)

I haven’t done much this term yet, other than falling back into the routine of things. Raquel and I tried to get out to see the showing of Going Postal by Terry Pratchett, but it was sold out. On the 18th, however, we’ll be going to the British Museum, and maybe we’ll be able to catch a show or something after that.

 Speaking of shows, I had the chance to see Phantom of the Opera, and I was stunned by how fantastic it was. The movie, as much as I enjoyed it, left out a lot of key characterization that the play held. The play was great, although the seats we were in obstructed our view of the dropping chandelier. It came down really fast, and it was amusing to see the audience’s reaction in front of us. I’m hoping to see The Lion King sometime this month. In April, I’m holding out for another opportunity to go to the Globe Theatre and catch another show as a groundling. That was a lot of fun.

Well, that seems to be all for now. We haven’t forgotten about the blog,  just been extremely busy. It’s also hard to believe that it’s February. Today was beautiful blue skies, until it rained, at which point a rainbow broke out; it was beautiful.

It’s been over two months since I (or anyone else) posted anything here, so let me update you on what’s been going on here in England…

On November 26, the Fall ’09 Readingites celebrated Ring Day/Night! We started the day bright and early at 7 AM with a hunt for our rings. Gill, the Residence Manager for the program, had hidden our rings throughout the house and we had two hours to find them. Most of us found them quickly (I can proudly say it only took me a little over 20 minutes to find mine!) and rejoiced at finally getting our rings. Personally, I love my ring and hardly go anywhere without it. I have to admit that I was a little sad about giving up Ring Week on home campus to be here in Reading, but I feel that I still had a very nice Ring Week here in England. That night we had a combined Thanksgiving/Ring Night dinner and capped the night with a spirited rendition of the College Song outside of 141.

Classes ended two weeks ago on the 11^th and most of the Readingites are now off exploring other parts of the world, like Cairo and Paris. I am spending this break here in England trying to explore this country a little bit better. Last week I made it into London where I spent a wonderful day exploring the British Museum, the Geffrye Museum (a wonderful social history museum that I highly recommend),  and seeing “Cat on A Hot Tin Roof” in The West End, London’s theatre district. James Earl Jones (the voice of Darth Vader and Mufasa) starred in the show and I managed to meet him and get his autograph after the show. All in all, it was a very good day! I will be heading back into London for New Year’s Eve, where I plan to ring in 2010 in Trafalgar Square!

As for the coming months, I am excited to begin the next term because I feel more at ease here now, but at the same time I am a little sad at how quickly my time in England is going. I can only hope next term doesn’t go as quickly as this first one went. I will be sure to post more updates of my life abroad in the new year! Until next time, enjoy these pictures of Ring Week and the Holiday Season!

 My Ring!

The Christmas Tree at 141

Snowfall

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything here, sorry about that, but like Leanne wrote, life in Reading does get hectic sometimes…

Classes are in full swing now. In fact, we are about to start wrapping up our first semester here - that’s both scary (because of how fast the time here is going) and real exciting (because it means I survived my first term in England!). This term I’m taking the “normal” class load of three class (plus the World in Britain seminar) - Intro. to Shakespeare, Intro. to Law, and Intro. to Japanese. Shakespeare is far and away my favorite course (or module, as they say here). The professor is American, which, at first was a little strange, but now it is just a wonderful experience. Like Leanne said, the courses here vary widely in how they are taught, but the main thing people applying to the program in the future need to know is that the program is very much dependent on the individual. It’s up to each person to determine what they get out of this program.

OK, enough with classes for now. This past weekend the Fall ‘09 Readingites participated in one of the best parts of the program - the Seminar Trip. We take one each semester and this semester was a trip to Bristol and Bath, two towns about an hour away from Reading. We left early Friday morning and, after a stop at Stonehenge, we spent most of the day in Bristol. As a group, we explored John Wesley’s Chapel, the oldest Methodist chapel in the world. After that, with most of us tired from being up so early and all of the traveling and exploring, we headed back to the very nice hostel and called it a night. The next day we were up early for our day outing to Bath. Our first destination as a group in Bath was the Roman Baths from which the town takes its name. It was really an amazing experience being in such an ancient site, and, even though the site isn’t completely Roman, the addition of actors portraying Romans definitely added something to the experience! The group spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon exploring the Fashion Museum and the Royal Crescent, an architectural masterpiece and well-known Bath landmark. In the late afternoon, the group broke up and we each explored different sites in the city. I went with Annie and Anna to explore the East Asian Art Museum and the Jane Austen Centre. We then moved on to Sally Lunn’s, where we joined fellow Readingites Liz and Katie and enjoyed a famous Sally Lunn Bun in the oldest house is Bath. After waiting out the worst of the afternoon rain (this is England, after all!), Annie and Anna and I moved on to tour the immense Bath Abbey and then crossed the Pulteney Bridge to get amazing views of the River Avon. It was a hectic, busy day and I’m pretty sure most of us were glad to board the bus and get back to Bristol! Sunday was our final day in Bristol and we spent the morning as a group exploring the history of slavery in Bristol and then visiting the Georgian House, a wonderful example of both Georgian architecture as well as how life was lived in Georgian England. The group split again in the afternoon and Annie, Anna, and I headed to find the Red Lodge, a strange piece of architecture that’s an amalgamation of many styles and a wonderful place to visit! After a quick walk to the Bristol Cathedral after Red Lodge, I broke off from Annie and Anna in an attempt to find another Bristol landmark - Brunel’s Clifton Suspension Bridge. This mission was, for the most part, a failure. I saw the Bridge but never reached it. But it wasn’t all in vain, as I saw a side of Bristol that not many in our group saw. After my trek around Bristol, I rejoined Annie, Anna, and Leanne and we wrapped up our Fall Seminar Trip by stopping into St Mary Redcliffe in Bristol, and then in a quick stop on our way home, the group stopped at Lacock Abbey (as seen in the Harry Potter films!).

All in all, it was a good, if tiring, trip and I think I speak for all Readingites when I say it will probably be one of the things that stick out in their memories from our time abroad!

Massive apologies for the fact that it’s been so long since anyone has written. Classes have been taking off, schedules have been organized–or at least discussed–and life has in general been crazy with acadaemia.

 This, sadly, will be a post mentioning classes, since I think it’s important for the people soon to be coming out to know. Classes out here are very different from those back in Randolph College. For one thing, you are given a massive bibliography and expected to read something from it. Depending on your classes, you may be expected to share what you’ve read or prepared. This, as terrifying as it might sound, is actually a lot of fun. The books you can choose to read often as not are geared for something you find interesting and may enjoy. Some classes might have a textbook that they encourage you to buy, but 9/10 times the library will have it.

 Also, the people in your classes can often be a lot of help (especially the ever-knowledgeable 3rd years). Don’t be shy in getting to know them. They make up a big opportunity of socializing. A funny thing that happened the other day was our lecturer (they switch around depending on areas of expertise–which is another interesting fact: you don’t have the same lecturer all the time) was American. Or at least, she didn’t have the accent I had come to expect. It actually felt odd to listen to her. Haha. Go figure, right?

 One random thing that really blew me out of the water–and this isn’t class related–is that I was going through my wallet looking for money to catch the bus. I came across some US dollars and had to pause–I didn’t realize I had got so used to the Pound. It’s going to be really weird for me to go back to the dollars, I think.

 Life has been full of ups and downs out here, but having only spent two months out here, I can say that I’ve already felt myself changing. I look at things a little differently then I did back in the US, and simply interacting with the people out here has been eye-opening. For me, this came in going to church–and honestly that has been the best way for me to get out and meet people. But there are always opportunities to get out and meet people–either clubbing, interacting with classmates, or simply hanging out in an open place and being friendly.

 This weekend we’ll be traveling to Stonehenge, Bath, and various other places. It’ll be a lot of fun as it looks like we’re leaving at 8 am on Friday morning and won’t be getting back until Sunday evening.

 Determined to one day use the phrase “cheers” correctly,

~Leanne

I’m kicking off my very tardy first-ever Reading Blog entry with a general list of completely unrelated observations I’ve gleaned during my time here.  They may not be particularly useful or insightful, but I endeavor to amuse.

1.  English weather can change at the drop of a hat, but if you do not have an umbrella, it will rain all day.

Not that an umbrella will be at all useful to you in the case of a rainstorm. You’re best option is a very warm raincoat and- most importantly- some kind of boot. The umbrella is more of a talisman. If you have it, you won’t need it, if you need it, you won’t have it.

And let me take a moment here to say something about English rain, because it is different in some hard-to-define ways. First of all, it doesn’t pour down like a proper thunderstorm. It’s more like a heavy, persistent drizzle, like it’s too polite to go all-out and pour buckets, but it’s also not going to let you get away dry. It is also very cold. Not an icy or bitter cold, but a very permanent one.  The kind of cold that settles into your bones and makes you think you will never be warm again. Ever.

2.  Bridges makes me miss the Randolph College dining hall.

And it’s not because of the food. Believe or not, the food’s not that bad. It’s hardly fine cuisine, but it’s very edible and sometimes it’s even good. It’s a little bland, sure, and it certainly not good for my waistline and self-esteem, but I also don’t have to cook it myself. No, it’s not the food… it’s the lines.

Do you remember in high school/middle school how you had to stand in line with a tray and shuffle along, receiving spoonfuls of unidentifiable mush in various shades of brown? In my high school, the line used to wrap all the way around the dining hall. The first day we stepped into Bridges, it gave me rather unpleasant flashbacks to my sophomore year.  Now I don’t know if it’s just bad design or some  bizarre shrine to the grand institution that is standing in line, but Bridges seems to be designed to make the whole food-acquisition process as obnoxious as possible.

3.  The Brits will almost always be willing to offer you directions.

This is because there are no signposts. I am not lying. If you’re very lucky there might be a little plaque nailed on a brick wall somewhere identifying the street you’re on. Odds are it will be about six inches off the ground, where even someone as short as I am won’t notice it. Maybe I just have terrible luck, or maybe Americans feel a compulsive need to label everything and I’m just spoiled. Also, cities here seem to have been designed not on a grid pattern but more of an ugly spiderweb or broken glass pattern.

The good news is that, as the title says, the Brits are very understanding and willing to offer directions and advice. A woman in Portsmouth offered Nick and I directions before we’d even asked for them. In London, our bus driver had to pull over and ask for directions to the Globe. Just today, in fact, a very kindly professor helped me find a bafflingly distant part of the HumSS building known as “the Tower.”

And finally…

4.  A hot cup of tea is the most wonderful beverage in the world. Nothing will ever convince me otherwise.

Brandon has done it again! He is 2 for 2 when it comes to planning socials and events for us to hang out as a group. The first one was a BYOI (Bring Your Own iPod) party. We danced to our own music and, as odd as that might seem, it was a ton of fun. To watch someone dancing to music you can’t hear–or rather, the music you’re listening to–is an amusing experience.

 So when he mentioned the opportunity for a murder mystery dinner, we were gung-ho about it. Why not? It sounds like fun; we get dinner and a mystery. I think a few of us were a little wary about the murder to be had, but then, who wouldn’t be? A few days prior we got an email assigning us names and quick summaries of our characters. Some of the names ranged from the hilarious to the wacky: Rich Foreshore, Tara Tiara, Iona Gunn, to Marie Badley, Rhona Sadit, and Lee Lostit.

What made it better was the way people fell into their roles. At first there was a little apprehension, but then we settled down and began to get to the crux of the matter. Who murdered Top Chef Mickey Sadit? There were three chefs all told: Ollie Olliver, Sefton Badley, and the mysteriously missing Mickey Sadit. Sitting at the table, we had specific pieces of information to give out and/or pass around, which would lead us to who had murdered poor Mickey.

The dinner, meanwhile, was going on throughout all this. Brandon, Caleb, and Katie were constantly jumping around, bringing out food, taking empty plates, and filling water jugs during the three-course meal they had prepared. Last but not least, the end came with its “just desserts”–literally. Just as we got our dessert, we learned who the murderer was. The delivered speech along with its motive was beyond impressive and I have to say that it rivalled the professional murder mystery dinner I had been too.

We had a blast and we were exhausted by the end of the dinner. Some of us helped to clean up afterwards, getting an assembly line formed to soap, rinse, and dry dishes. Many hands make light work, but with the fabulous meal we had, it was so worth it. And Brandon and the rest of the wonderful people who helped cook the meal (Katie and Rhiannon and Caleb–I forget who else might have helped) did a spectacular job.

So, in the tradition of passing “Compliments to the Chefs”, it was a fantastic night. 

(And, oh look, pictures at last!)

So today is Saturday, October 17, 2009, and I’ve been here for a month and a half now. As from the other posts, we’ve been to Portsmouth where we got to clamber over the HMS Victory and HMS Warrior. It was neat to explore the old ships, despite the fact that many of us had to be careful not to bang our heads on the low beams.

And we’ve also been to The Globe, where we saw an amazing production of “As You Like It”. I never was much of a fan of Shakespeare, but after watching that, I was in awe. Especially after the scene when Orlando tackles his brother towards the beginning and later when Orlando wrestles the wrestling champion.

Recently, I believe it was last Saturday, we went to the Isle of Wight to check out the Osbourne House. It was beautiful. The hour-long ferry ride didn’t feel very long with the excitement of traveling and soon we were on the Isle. A few of us had the opportunity to take the horse-drawn carriage (thank you Dr. Franke and Gill!) to the Osbourne House which was easily within walking distance. It was a unique experience.

 The Osbourne House was huge. We only went through part of it that was open to the public, including the servants’ stairwell, as well as the nursery, the private room of Queen Victoria, the billiards room, and countless others. Throughout the building there were displays of cups and platters, all brilliantly decorated, as well as busts and statues. And the floor design was spectacular, providing it wasn’t covered up with rugs.

Exploring more of the Osbourne House took us outside to check out the walled garden, the ice-house, and the little cabin/house that had been built to give the children a slightly more “normal” feel to life. My favorite part was the fort the kids had built, making their own bricks by hand. Complete with the fort were trenches and two or three play-cannons. I don’t know about Victoria’s children, but I would have spent hours playing in the trenches.

 After Osbourne House we took a quick detour to the Garlic Farm. Having been to the Gilroy garlic festival in California, I thought I knew what to expect, but what I found was better. They had dozens of garlic-flavored items from sauces to dips. They even had garlic fudge and icecream. I’m not much of a garlic fan, but I tried the Chocolate Garlic & Chilli icecream. Surprisingly it wasn’t bad. It was a weird combination, since the icecream was cold, the garlic didn’t really have much flavor, and the chilli gave off a burning sensation. (Nick didn’t have the same impression, but he was eating this after he had tried the Dragon’s Breath hot sauce. You’ll have to talk to him, but apparently it was HOT.) Anyway, the icecream wasn’t bad; the garlic fudge was better.

All-in-all, the Isle of Wight was a lot of fun. And considering all that we crammed into one day, we did a lot and had a blast. (I’ll stop here for now, but there’s more still to come!)

So here’s a little back-dating account of my adventures thus far, starting with Week 1 of my arrival:

 So it’s almost been a week since I’ve moved into 153 Whiteknights. The house is nice; the bedroom is large, and with my bed pulled up against the bay window, I get sunlight streaming into my eyes each morning. That is, before the clouds move in. Surprisingly enough, the first week was rather warm and not all that rainy. There were times when it came down–but it resembled snow in the way that it fell. On a side note, I finally invested in an umbrella.

Monday morning I flew in to Heathrow. Caught a shuttle to Paddington station, then caught a train to Reading station, where I then got a taxi. Planes, trains, and automobiles–check. Tuesday we had class: War and Strategy in the Contemporary World. I was alive, after having gotten 4 hours or so of sleep on a 6 hour flight (which they had to delay otherwise we would have arrived too early–Heathrow has a curfew of no planes landing before 5 am).

Wednesday we got real fish and chips from a place just down the street–it was delicious. Thursday was fun-filled with exploring the bus system. I got a phone at The Oracle and had a generally nice day looking around and enjoying the sites down at the mall.

Friday we caught the train to London. Well, Anna and Alex and I went to London to see the Henry VIII exhibit. It was really good–lots of Latin, to my surprise and delight. We came out of the underground and nearly ran into Big Ben. I hadn’t realized it was so massive, or that we could get so close. Westminster Abbey was there too, and we observed Evensong at 5pm, which was really nice. Buckingham palace was really neat, and we got to see a few of the guards with the tall fuzzy hats and red uniforms. I spotted some mounted police too.

The London parks were really nice, filled with a few pelicans, geese and lots of pigeons. London was a blast, and the underground was pretty easy to use. I’m getting used to pounds, but I still keep thinking in terms of dollars. And the accents are nice. Unless they’re shouting or screaming or something. The BP down the street has a nice loud speaker system that invades the house every so often.

Classes don’t officially start until the end of September, beginning of October. Language classes, like Italian, don’t start until a few weeks after the regular classes start. I want to be fluent in Italian…but at this rate, I’m going to have to put in some overtime.

The only thing I’m missing (asides from my camera charger) is someone with a sense of humor. Come ON people, would it kill you to crack a smile at one of my lame puns??? So I’m going through humor withdrawals and trying to catch up to the people who beat me here by two days.