Jane Austen Madness

Where else should you study Jane Austen besides Bath and Lyme Regis, the setting of her novel "Persuasion"?

The first view of Bath was breathtaking as we rode in on the bus. The sun reflected golden off the hilly green countryside, divided into crooked squares by hedges and stiles. Bath is nestled deep in a valley between rolling hills, the cathedral and church spires rising up over the rooftops of the town. Our group stayed in the youth hostel outside of town, and to get into town, we had to take a trail that overlooked the whole city and the hills around it. Beautiful.

Bath is the site of a natural hot springs, and the Romans flocked here to swim in the waters and drink the mineral water which supposedly brought good health. In Jane Austen's time, Bath was a place for the rich and famous to see and be seen.

We took a tour of the city itself and saw the same sights Austen saw. The next day was our luxury day. First, we toured the historical Roman baths. Next, we had a lunch in The Pump Room restaurant, which was fancy and served great food. Some of us "took the waters"--i.e. drank the mineral water from the spring. It was warm and metallic--I couldn't finish the whole glass. From there, we moved on to the Thermae Spa and bathed like the Romans did (with modern conveniences of course) in the most amazing rooftop, poolsized hot tub. Watched the sunset over the rooftops of the town. So memorable.

We took the bus toward Lyme Regis, where I got my own room in the luxury Alexandra Hotel. The town is built on the steep hill leading down to the ocean. The weather was windy and wavy. We acted out a scene from "Persuasion" on the cobb, which is a tall stone breakwater around the marina. We only stayed for a few days. Oh, and had breakfast with the drummer from the Rolling Stones. Encounters with fame.

Canterbury to Stratford Upon Avon

We left Saloman's and went to Canterbury. We were fortunate enough to have stayed within the cathedral precincts and have complete access to the Cathedral pretty much whenever we wanted. It was amazing to look out the window and see this ancient Cathedral glowing orange in the light of the moon. People have been coming to Canterbury for over 1500 years to worship God--it is a place of pilgrimage. I did my best to feel the history, imagine the different people walking and riding hundreds of miles to worship at this exact spot. Sometimes, it is hard to really grasp things like that.

We then headed to Oxford to tour the college of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, T.S. Eliot, and Lewis Carroll. The colleges and town were beautiful, and we had a wonderful tour of the city despite the bone chilling cold.

Arriving in Stratford-Upon-Avon, the town of William Shakespeare's birth, I could tell right away that the place goes all out for it's most famous son. Throughout our time there, we walked by the As You Like It Cafe which served "William's Shakes", ate at a cafe termed "The Food of Love", shook our heads at Romeo and Juliet's "adult" shop. While there, we had a packed schedule of events at the Shakespeare Center in town. We got to have several discussions on the play "Twelfth Night" which the Royal Shakespeare Company was putting on at the time. We got to see the show not once, but twice, which was phenominal. Afterward we had a question and answer time with one of the main actors. We took an amusing stage combat class. It was a rewarding week, filled with more amazing theater experiences and the chance to delve into Shakespeare texts.

All these towns had taken on the look of the season and we decked out for Christmas. With a month left before home was on the horizon, for the first time I started looking towards the end of the trip and looking forward to celebrating Christmas at home with family.

Retreat

We moved back out of the city to Salomans, a type of convention/retreat center in the country. We arrived at the “peak” of fall, the trails through the woods covered in crunchy, fallen leaves and the trees orange and yellow. The days were getting shorter, however, and a November chill was in the air. The first thing we did after dumping our luggage in our rooms (with ensuite bathrooms-yay!) was go out barefoot on the green lawn and toss a frisbee around.

We had a lot of class that week and studied Shakespeare’s “Othello” and “Twelfth Night”. One day, our group did a ropes course (on the property at Salomans), complete with helmets and unflattering harnesses. Unfortunately, the day before I had twisted my ankle and therefore assumed my position as photographer for the day, taking millions of unflattering pictures of my friends climbing up poles and hanging from trapezes. I did get to don a harness and do a zip line over the pond (no climbing involved).

Halloween also took place while at Salomans. We dressed up for dinner with what limited resources we had. I became “Emily Wickinson” for the night, my take on the reclusive poet Emily Dickinson. A bed sheet was involved, as well as a penciled in unibrow. We enjoyed dinner and a little party afterward. My first Halloween where I didn’t eat a single piece of candy.

London Take Two

The second time in London was completely different than the first. It felt like coming home. Not only were we reunited with our whole group, we returned to a place for the first time in two months—the Celtic Hotel. After the stress of being on our own in Europe, we were back in a familiar place where there was no language barrier. Deep sigh of relief.

I spent the week walking. The fall weather had not yet turned too cold and all the trees were at their orange and golden state. The crisp feeling in the air and the calm I felt being back in London inspired me to just walk, be outside, observe the city, and rest after free travel.

I walked in the parks, I walked two and from museums instead of taking the Tube, I walked through Trafalgar Square and along the Thames. Sometimes I listened to my iPod and put a soundtrack to the movement the city. Other times I just walked without it and listened to the voices of people talking to their companions or on their cell phones.
There were other things: I visited the National Gallery and the British Library. I also saw Phantom of the Opera at West End—it was phenomenal. I enjoyed time with my friends and roommates. It was good to be back.

Free Travel

Free Travel began in Paris. Me and two other girls stayed in Paris an extra night for a few reasons (long story), and that extra day was quite stressful. We had to move to a new hotel across town, near the train station we’d be taking off from early the next morning. The Lonely Planet guide told us that Hotel Baudin, to which we were heading, had 17 “brightly colored, traditional rooms”. As Nelly said later, “Dear Lonely Planet, Please define traditional.” The rooms were falling apart at the edges and the “shower” was a mini bathtub with a hose. But it worked—a place to rest our heads for the night. I just didn’t look in the sheets before I got in them.

The next morning, we left at 6 am to walk to Gare de Lyon train station to go to Florence. The sidewalks of early morning Paris were eerily empty—we didn’t see a soul as we rolled our suitcases. I guess the drunks had all gone to bed and the shops wouldn’t open for the next few hours. We fumbled through the ticketing process and with the help of a few kind people, managed to make it on the train to Florence. The train ride was beautiful—we cruised smoothly and silently through Southern France, beside blue inland lakes with white sailboats on them, and eventually the Alps rose up on our left, all purple and snowy.

Somehow, all went smoothly as we transferred trains in Milan and got to Florence. We found our hotel and found it much nicer than Hotel Baudin. We had a sunny balcony and tall windows, and it was on a nice quiet road near the train station. That night, our biggest accomplishment was finding a supermercado, getting some dinner, and eating it on our balcony. As we walked to and from, I was surprised that most of the conversations I heard were in English—American English. I knew Florence was a popular tourist destination, but I hadn’t expected the first people I interacted with to be from America.

Nelly, Melissa and I all admitted we needed a day on our own. Nelly went to Rome, Melissa to a Tuscan tour, and I took a slow day getting to know Florence. I walked through the San Lorenzo market, an outdoor mecca for Italian leather jackets, souvenirs, and jewelry. I spent nearly all of my cash on gifts and a dress for myself, and popped back into the hotel to drop it all off. I took off again to see the Duomo—the large cathedral—and wander through the streets and piazzas. It began to rain and even though I had my own umbrella over my head, several men tried to sell me a new one. I had my first Italian gelato standing under a building overhang, soaking wet, but loving it.

The girls all made it back safely, and the next day, we went back to the market so they could do some shopping. We were joined in the early afternoon by our friends Carrie and Erin, who were spending free travel in Rome but came up to Florence for the day. We waited in line at the Uffizi gallery and saw Michelangelo’s David, which was impressive and worth the wait. There wasn’t much else to see in the museum. We wandered around for the rest of the day, enjoying the sun, taking pictures, spending time by the river and watching the sun go down.

The next day we hiked up the Piazzale Michelangelo, an overlook of the city of Florence, and the hilly countryside around it. It was a beautiful day and all of us were captured by the beauty of where we were. We had a random run-in with someone from Bethel, not on our trip. Our other prerogative for the day was to figure out how to get back to London at the end of free travel, and while striding through the train station to figure out our tickets, we had another random run-in with people from our England Term group. You would think we hadn’t seen each other in years, the way we were carrying on and hugging in the busy station. We ended up spending the night hanging out with them and the other people from Bethel we happened to run into. Crazy, small world.

The next morning, we left Florence and boarded the train to Nice, with heavier suitcases due to the many purchases made there. The train ride was again beautiful, this time because the tracks ran parallel to the Mediterranean Sea. It was gorgeous. Nice was sunny and warm upon our arrival, ritzy and resort-like. We were unsure about how our hotel would turn out, since it was about the same price as Hotel Baudin. Hotel Wilson turned out to be a pleasant surprise and a wonderful home for the next 5 nights. Run by a casual, chilled out surfer-ish man, covered with plants and smelling of incense and smoke, it was a comfortable very casual atmosphere compared to the last few places. He also had a pet turtle. That night we ventured down to the Promenade, a path along the shore where the ritzy hotels and casinos are, along with the beaches. The sunset was pink and blue, and the sea warm.

The next day we went to the beach. Katy came from Paris, where she’d been with her family, and joined us.
The day after that we went to the beach.
The day after that we went to the beach.
The next day, we went for a walk in the old town, did some shopping, and then went to the beach.
It was just the thing I needed—relaxation, warmth, sun.

Getting back to London proved to be a little more of a challenge than expected. Katy and I had planned to take the trains up to Paris, then take the Chunnel under the English Channel up to London. It was going to be a long day, but we were ready. But then there was a little thing called a Railroad Worker Strike. Meaning that little to no trains were running that day. Just that day. October 20, the day we needed them. Despite much help from the patient workers at the train station, all our train options were iffy, and we didn’t want to spend any more time in France than we had too. So we bit the bullet, dropped more money than we had to get plane tickets from Nice to London with the other girls. Needless to say, we were stressed. But we made it on the right plane with time to spare, and within three hours we were in London Heathrow airport, relieved and drained, but back in a familiar place and reunited with our England Term people back at the Celtic hotel.

On and Off the Train: A Panic Attack Waiting to Happen

Train travel itself isn’t bad. Taking the train from Paris to Florence was absolutely beautiful—cruising by small French towns beside deep blue lakes and autumnal mountains. The transitions are what cause enough stress to ruin your day and leave you completely exhausted by the end of it.

Because not only am I dragging myself onto the train, but myself and a huge backpack, which with the combined weight of my computer, large camera, books, journals, and whatever else won’t fit into my suitcase, adds about two feet of length to my body when I wear it on my back. Not only that, but I have my 50+ pounds suitcase to maneuver over the large gap between the platform and the train itself and then up the awkward stairs. We quickly learned that the best way to get over this hurdle was to toss our suitcases into the train ahead of us, then follow them up. Next, I had to fit myself down the thin aisles, backing up and dragging my suitcase sideways to find my seat, apologizing profusely to the innocent people I inevitably hit in the face with my backpack. Once I found my seat, I had to figure out a place to fit my suitcase—overhead compartment where I can keep an eye on it but where it may fall and kill someone, or in a storage place at the end of the car where it could be stolen? On the first train ride, we debated, while standing in all of the impatient French people’s way. A random Asian man appeared suddenly, and helped us hoist our impossibly heavy suitcases up into the overhead compartment. He then disappeared, out of our car, and we never saw him again. Train angel? Maybe.

Getting off the train is a whole other animal. First, we had to try and understand the voice on the overhead speakers, as it spoke in four different languages telling us which stop we were at. However, the voice happened to get quiet right when it mentioned the station, so we could hear, “Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be arriving at Genova Station in 5 minutes”, and just had to peer intently out the window to see the signs. Once we knew we were at our stop, the scrambling began again—get all pieces of oversized luggage to the door of the train without clocking anyone or getting in their way. Finally, I had to tackle the stairs again, learning quickly that to fit oneself, ones multiple handbags/backpacks, and ones suitcases out of the train door and down the steps all at once is disastrous and results in getting stuck. By the end of the day, I had it figured. Leaving the suitcase on the train right by the door, I move myself out of the train, down the steps, safely over the gap and onto the platform. Then reach back and hoist the dang thing to safety behind me.

Welcome to France?

We flew into Paris, then drove right back out of it to go to Bayeux, from which to take a tour of the beaches at Normandy. France greeted us with clouds and rain, dusty old cathedrals and a language barrier for the first time on the trip. Going up to order a sandwich for dinner, I’d forgotten that I had no idea how to say “I’ll take one of those” or “Can I have a water with that, please”?

Another thing that welcomed us to France was two of our group members having their passports and credit cards stolen from their hotel rooms in Bayeux. Not only did it create a lot of hassle—dealings with embassies and French police—but it made me feel unsafe and unsettled in this new country.

Touring the beaches at Normandy and the American cemetery there was a moving experience. It rained that day, fitting weather for reflecting on the battles of D-Day and the many men that died there. I learned that the Americans and British landed on those beaches expecting to lose more than half their men—but went in anyway. It’s that kind of bravery that blows my mind—I wonder if I have anything like that inside me, and what kind of people do.

That night, we had a banquet at a restaurant in Bayeux, a birthday celebration for one of the girls and also a kind of closing to the first half of the semester with Dr. Ritchie. We all said nice things about him and his wife and snapped photos with each other, and I felt the community that this group has developed over the past two months. It was hard to say goodbye to him as he was such an integral part of this trip for me.

From Bayeux, it was on to Paris. My first vision of the Eiffel Tower was on the bus as we drove along the Seine, and the sun shone through the clouds in rays. I didn’t think Paris would hold much sway over me, but that first sight of the Eiffel Tower stirred up the feeling of excitement and romance of a new, historical city.

The time in Paris was spent writing a paper, eating at sidewalk cafes, touring the Lourve (the Mona Lisa and many others), taking a bus tour, and stressing out about planning free travel. The last day in Paris, we were on our own, and literally spent the whole day dragging our luggage across the city on the Metro, staying in a crappy hotel, and running around figuring out our train tickets for the next day. Though the city had it’s allure, I was so relieved to sink into my seat on the train to Florence and say goodbye.

TO ARTHUR!!! *Ireland*

I’ve been putting off blogging about Ireland because I just don’t know how I can possibly
express all of the things it was to me, all of the things that happened there. But it is the next place on my journey, and it’s about time. We went to three main places—Dublin, Sligo, and Belfast—and each place was completely different from the last but all so intrinsically Irish.

Dublin
We began the stay in Dublin, staying in a nice hotel off of O’Connell Street, north of the Liffey around where James Joyce, one of the writers we are studying, lived during his childhood. I got a different sense in Dublin than any of the other cities visited so far. It was more gritty—the people had a sort of hardened look around their eyes, which makes sense. Irish history is very confusing, but to sum it all up, they’ve had a hard time of it. The political, social, and religious history has been riddled with violence and turmoil since the late 1500s, and it is that history that the Irish people have struggled through … and it has made them tough.
The first day there, I went to the National Gallery (how many of those have I been to now?), and saw an Edvard Munch exhibit there that was very moving for me. From there, me and some friends saw the Oscar Wilde statue and walked up Grafton Street, which is the main shopping area. That night, four of us girls went out to a nice dinner with our professor and his wife, who have been so great to get to know. We split from them afterward and walked down Temple Bar, which is the main pub area in Dublin. Throughout our night, I came to find that Dubliners (ie people from Dublin) are some of the most friendly people I’d encountered so far, and also the most convicted on political and social matters. They are more informed on American and World politics than I am! I met some really wonderful, memorable people, with strong philosophies about life. These people really made my time in Dublin.
The second day, our group actually left the city to go to Glendalough, a lovely old monastery set on acres of mountainous green land in the Irish countryside. I went off by my myself for much of the time, walking and writing and taking photos. We got back in the city to find that it was “Guinness Day”—the Irish celebration of the 250th anniversary of Guinness beer. The tradition is that at 5:59 PM, everyone in Dublin is supposed to raise a pint of Guinness honor of Arthur Guinness, the inventor. Then they spend the whole rest of the night drinking Guinness. At 5:59, I was in my hotel room with the windows open and heard a huge cheer throughout the whole city. It was a pretty cool, Irish moment—even if it was just all about beer.
Many members of our group chose this night to go on a Literary Pub Tour—where these actors lead a group of people to 4 different pubs that were once frequented by Irish authors of old. Of course, since it was Guinness Day, the pubs were very crowded. It was a fun time though, and the actors did a great job adding a literary flair to a pub tour.
The last day in Dublin, I headed to the Irish Writers Museum and walked around a bit more. That night was “Culture Night”, so a few friends and I went to an outdoor music and poetry performance for a little while.

Sligo
At Sligo, which is on the west coast of Ireland, we stayed in rural self catering cottages at a beautiful bed and breakfast. It was set in the woods and basically a few hundred meters from the ocean (Sligo Bay). I walked that beach many times, and never saw another soul, so it was like my own private beach. Since we were back out of the city, it meant more schoolwork and classes—we wrote two papers in our time there. The rest of the time was spent hanging out with great roommates and friends, walking on the beach, climbing another mountain (not nearly as big as Snowdon, but still cool), reading W.B. Yeats, and cooking meals together. Also, it was my 21st birthday while in Sligo! My friends and I had dinner together, and then the whole group learned traditional Irish dancing from this great Irish couple. It was a perfect birthday activity—Irish dancing was complicated at first but we all caught on and laughed pretty much the whole time. Afterward, some of us went for a quick swim in the Irish Sea to cool off. It worked.

Belfast
Belfast was completely different from any other place since instead of being together with the whole England Term group, we split off to stay with host families. We were connected with families who go to Fisherwick Presbyterian Church in Belfast, and I, along with my friend Katy, stayed with the Kennedy family. The parents were probably in their early 40s, Peter and Carolyn, both doctors, and the kids were Adam, 12, and Juliette, 9. They had such a nice house, in a little more suburban area. Katy and I had our own room that smelled wonderful, and Carolyn did so much to make us feel at home and give us everything we’d been missing—warm meals, tea all the time, long showers, huge fluffy towels, and hot water bottles to sleep with. The kids adored us and we adored them, and hung out with them the whole time. Peter took us on a driving tour of Belfast, we watched one of Adam’s rugby games, and played outside with the kids in the glorious, windy fall weather. It was refreshing to interact with a family and ask cultural questions we couldn’t ask else where. For example, I kept finding people in Ireland and sometimes England would, as a greeting as, “Are you alright?” To me, that sounds like “Are you Ok??? Is something wrong?” so I would always answer, “Um, yeah?” but figured it must mean basically “How are you?” I asked my host dad, and he said the proper response is “Grand!” So, there you go.
I also got a few more lessons in Irish history and am slowly putting the pieces together of what happened between the Catholics (marginalized and put in lower-class) and Protestants (elite), those who wanted Ireland to rule themselves and those who wanted to be united with England. It’s all very complex and I don’t think I could ever understand all of it.


All in all, the best thing about Ireland was the people. Out of all the places I’ve been so far, they were the most apt to strike up conversations, the most hospitable, and the most memorable. On this trip, we’ve been moving so much it’s been hard to have good conversations with people from these places. In Ireland, for some reason, it happened so easily and its something I’ll always remember about the Irish.

High Leigh and Cambridge

From London, we headed back out to the countryside to a conference center, High Leigh, in Hoddeston. The location was prime for walking over the hills and laying out on the lawn journalling, and night games. It felt like a church retreat, in a way. During our time there, we had to write a paper and spent more time in class. We had beautiful weather and I enjoyed hanging out with my friends and learning.

For an idea of the schedule of the day at High Leigh, and the amount of time spent eating, here is an example:

Wake up
-Eat Breakfast
Class
-Morning tea and biscuits
Class
-Lunch
Break
-Afternoon tea and biscuits
break
-Dinner
break
-EVENING REFRESHMENT to cap it all off.

We left High Leigh after about 5 days and stopped at Cambridge for two nights to explore the university. We toured the colleges and had a birthday party that night.

London the first time

From St. Deniol's Library, we moved all too quickly into the big city of London. I had some apprehension about navigating the city and figuring it out, once things got going I came to love it.

The first full day, we went on a typical, touristy “Hop on, Hop off” tour of London on a double decker bus. On that tour, I viewed Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye. A friend and I took a cruise on the Thames up to the Tower of London, and walked over to the Tate Modern, where we saw many modern artists we’d studied in school.

The next day, I wandered through the British Museum and got to see the "Elgin Marbles"--famous and controversial grecian sculptures orginally from the Parthenon. I enjoyed them immensely--half of the figures were a play by play of some man fighting a centuar, and losing. Except none of them had heads. After this, I did a little shopping on Oxford Street and explored more on foot. That evening, our group went to the Agape Arabic Christian Center, a small Arabic bookstore in an Arabic Quarter of London. While there, we got to hear from several Christian Arabs about their lives and ministry to muslims around them.

I went to church the following morning at an Evangelical church, a very interesting service that reminded me of church at home. Afterwards, a few friends and I went to Hyde Park, a busy tree lined park in central London. With the sounds of an ABBA concert echoing through the green park, we enjoyed some time journaling and reading. Later that night, a bunch of our group went to the Thames Festival, an outdoor art festival along the River Thames. Outside the Tate Modern, they had created several art installations using fire, and had little fires around the yard and along the river. With the live music, festive food, arts and crafts, and cool dry air, it was a perfect night to be out.

The entirity of my day on Monday ended up to be trying to find a place to get a hip London haircut. And I did!

Tuesday was our day at the Globe Theater, starting with an insiders tour and class and ending with a performance of "As You Like It". It was pouring rain. The tour and class were interesting--we got to learn about how Shakespeare would have directed a play in his time. We had a break then, during which a few friends and I travelled across London to go to a cheap clothes store and buy Ben's Cookies--an england term legacy we are carrying on. Then we headed back to the Globe for one of my favorite nights of the trip. "As You Like It" was wonderful. The energy and talent of the actors, the way they interacted with the crowd, the atmostphere of the historic globe theater, and the story itself made for an absolutely fantastic performance and a wonderful night for our last one in London.

St. Deniol's Library

In the heart of a small village in Northern Wales, William Gladstone—book enthusiast and prime minister in the 19th century—built a library to house his huge collection of books. It is now a library, bed and breakfast, and destination for people wanting to study a number of subjects.

I feel so blessed to have stayed at St. Deniol’s for a week. Since it is more of a study center, we had classes in the mornings and some really inspiring discussions about literature. The afternoons were spent reading Wuthering Heights and drinking afternoon tea, or going on long walks through the lanes and fields of Hawarden. The days there seemed to last forever, and the building felt like home. Spending time there inspired me to read and write and just enjoy quiet time.

It wasn’t all rest and relaxation. Our group climbed Mount Snowdon, the tallest peak in Wales, which was one of the more physically demanding things I’ve done in my life. There were high winds, pelting rain, and steep rocky inclines that seemed to go on forever. But with the fellowship of a few friends, we conquered the mountain and made it to the summit … only to see white mist. Although there was no view, it was still satisfying to do something so challenging. There was a nice station at the top to get hot drinks and rest before the trek back down.

The library itself we found to be slightly haunted, and it inspired our imaginations
One of my favorite parts of the stay at St. Deniol’s was spending time in the library. They have these moveable stacks full of literature that I spent hours perusing and wishing I could stay forever to read them all. Maybe I’ll go back some day…

Random Things about England

Here are some random things about England that are notably different than in America. I like to pick up on these cultural differences that I had no idea about until I got here.

-They don't have a sheet to cover up with. It's just a sheet to cover the mattress, and then a duvet (sp?) cover to put over a thick comforter type blanket. This was very confusing at first. In Edinburgh, I used the duvet cover as a sheet but thought it was weird that there were like 2 sheets glued together. I was also afraid to use the comforter they gave us, because it looked gross. Eventually learned that the double sheet was a duvet, and the comforter probably was gross but meant to be covered by a clean duvet.

-Bath mats. Paper squares about two feet by three feet to put on the floor instead of a rug.

-In America, on a walking path, you typically walk on the right side. We drive on the right side. Still figuring out if we should walk on the left side in England.

-Road Signs:
Give way=yield
Humps Ahead=Bumps Ahead ( I wonder if America is the only place that calls them bumps. They were called humps in Belize too )

-Wellies=Boots

-Cheers! = a commonly used parting comment that I think means, generally, "Have a good one"

-Obession with fire safety. The first week here, I noticed the large amount of green colored signs saying "fire assembly point" and "fire exit this way". Each place we go, they commnunicate over and over the fire exits and fire safety. We've also dealt with three fire alarms and evacuations--two in the flats at Edinburgh and one last night, at 3 AM, here at St. Deniol's library. Upon finding the room which made the alarms go off, which happened to be a room two from our team are staying in, the library peopel asked "We're you smoking??" to which they replied "No, we were sleeping!" to which the library people said, "Oh, another possibility is that a spider crawled in to the fire alarm." We were too tired at the time to speculate how the presence of a spider could set off fire alarms throughout the whole building.

-Obsession with their dogs. People take their dogs every where with them, and half of the articles in the daily paper are about "How to travel with your dog" and "England's Oldest Dog Dies". There are dogs tied up on their leashes outside the supermarket and other stores.

To Her Fair Works Did Nature Link The Human Soul That Through Me Ran ...

After leaving Edinburgh, we traveled to the island of Lindisfarne, also called the "Holy Island". It is a place steeped in Celtic history, a place where monks and saints once lived and created the basis for their mission to the pagan people in surrounding Northumbria. Their history is very important to them there, and all the islanders know and respect the stories of St. Aiden and St. Cuthbert.

A unique thing about this island is that it is totally dependent on the tide. At high tide, the road is covered by the sea, and impassible, trapping those on the island, on the island until the morning, and low tide, comes. It was a wonderful place to stay--very idyllic and welcoming, and we stayed in a bed and breakfast that had comfortable beds and a home cooked dinner.

In the morning at low tide I walked about gathering sea glass, enjoying how much slower life goes when you are not in the city.

We only stayed a night there, and went on to Durham, the sight of England's greatest Roman style cathedral. The town of Durham almost felt like the Edina of Minnesota--kind of ritzy and rich. The Cathedral itself was beautiful, and we attended evensong there. It was amazing to hear the huge, open building fill with the sound of the choir.

Durham was also a one night stay, and finally we came to the Lake District. Along the way, we stopped at Hadrian's Wall, a stone wall built by some king long ago to mark the border of the northern Roman empire. We got to hike along it in the wind and the rain, up and down steep rocky inclines with beautiful views at the top.

Now I am in the Lake District, which was one of the draws for me for coming on this trip. We are staying in a town called Keswick, right in the heart of all the mountains (called fells), which are splashed in purple heather and covered with pine forests. The town kind of feels like a Colorado town, with many outdoors shops and focus on getting out and exploring the Lakes.

We visited the house of William Wordsworth, poet, a necessity for us literature nerds. We had an outdoor activities day, guided by outdoor adventure guides. Although it was downpouring and freezing, we built canoe rafts and took them out on Derwentwater Lake. After, we got to do archery and orienteering. The best part about this day was wearing the "waterproofs" (rain jackets and pants) and "wellies" (rain boots). We all looked strange. That was enjoyable for me.

Today I hiked up around the area, saw some breathtaking views of the surrounding fells, and walked through a field with sheep and black horses. My life is complete!

The Rest of Edinburgh

The past 4 or 5 days in the city have provided me with so many new experiences that I've absolutely loved. We have started class at this point, which adds the dynamic of doing homework, planning out how to spend my time wisely, and remembering to wake up in the morning to walk to class. Beyond that though, plenty has been happening.

The great thing about this city is that we can get everywhere we need to by walking. I've never walked so much in my life, but it's so convenient and easy to get around and see all I want to see. I visited the Scottish History Museum, had coffee in the Elephant House (the cafe where J.K Rowling wrote Harry Potter), toured the Edinburgh Castle, climbed a mountain/hill called Arthur's Seat, and saw a few shows.

One of the shows, called "Tattoo", was this Scottish military band performance that was held in a temporary stadium type thing built right in front of the Castle. It was a huge spectacle, and people from all over the world were there to see it. It was a wonderful thing to be a part of, a very Scottish thing. There is nothing like the sound of a hundred bagpipes playing "Auld Lang Syne" in front of the towering castle ramparts.

Saturday the group got out of the city and bussed out to visit the ruins of a castle called Linlithgow and tour the restored Stirling Castle. Both held so much history and beauty, but I liked wandering around the ruins at Linlithgow the most. It was set beside a blue loch and walking around the grounds and crumbling stone was quite peaceful and reflective.

Today is the last day in the city. I know I will miss it but I can't wait to get out into the countryside and explore the Lake District in England.

Sipping Lattes in Edinburgh

I made it safely to the UK! We got in to Edinburgh in the afternoon yesterday (August 18), exhausted, jet-lagged, but extremely excited! We are staying in University of Edinburgh housing "flats" which give us each our own room. Mine is on the third story with a window across from a beautiful old church and looking down on busy Clerk Street. It's very noisy but perfect, because we are in walking distance from all the necessary Edinburgh sites.

Today, with a few other members of my team, I walked down the "Royal Mile" where the Fringe Festival crowds hurried about in the cold, gray wind. I love the weather--it's exactly how I pictured Scotland to be. At the center of the city is the old castle that towers over everything from its stone hill. We explored the National Gallery of Scotland, found a little "Writer's Museum", and marveled at the many tall spires of churches throughout the city.

As far as the overall feeling I get from the people is one of indifference. Not many are overly friendly or unkind, they just walk quickly to their destinations and keep their eyes level. I definitely stand out as an American and tourist, what with my dorky huge camera bag and huge camera. But, with the Fringe Festival going on, we are not the only tourists here. For the next few days, we will be seeing shows, continuing to explore in our large amount of free time, and starting classes.

The Pre-Trip Post

Hello!

As I travel to the UK for this fall semester, I've decided the best way to keep all those at home updated on my adventures is through a blog.

On August 17, I will be taking off to Edinburgh, where the trip begins. I'll spend the semester traveling around with 20 students and two different professors from Bethel. Some of the places we'll visit are London, Canterbury, the Lake District, Dublin, Belfast, Paris, Stratford, etc. etc.

So if you want to catch up on what is going on with me, check on this blog every week or so and I'll try to keep you all updated. I know I will miss home (and my favorite MN season--fall!) but I can't wait to start this new adventure and see how much I have grown and changed when I come home exactly four months later in December. I'll post some sweet pictures as well!