Don't think I forgot to do a blog entry for today. I realize how late it is. But I got sucked into looking up travel information. I know it seems like that's all I do (you are probably right) but it's not all I do. Today I did some other things too I promise. By the way, it rained all day today and was incredibly windy. Pretty crappy really.
First off, I went to class. In Sociology of the City, we discussed the Kray Twins some more. It was more about gangsters and the fascination that people have for them though. Then we learned about the paper we have to write. It involves observing some people doing something and then writing about it. Like people in a park or restaurant or on the Tube, the list could go on. I don't know what I want to do yet. The last part of the class was spent talking about multiculturalism in London. In Senior Sem, Phil read some excerpts of more of the War Poets and talked about Benjamin Britten some more. On Wednesday, we are going to listen to the whole piece The War Requiem which is going to be a complete 2 hour affair. That should be interesting.
The most exciting news of the day was certainly the fact that I got my debit card and it works. YAY!!!! I was so happy. I felt completely hopeless and alone without any source of money (other than Vanessa) so it's nice to be a little independent again. After class, I went to the library and got some more books. I think a got a nice variety of stuff like usual. Over the weekend, I read a couple books. One was A Teacher's War which was a memoir about a British woman who taught English in what is now Tanzania and then later in Turkey during WWII. Quite a bit of the book is telling stories of things that happened on the trains while she traveled. It was a really good read and I loved her descriptions. She did some paintings of where she lived and people she met which were in the book. I loved them a lot. It made me excited about all the sweet places I am going to go (granted I am not going to Turkey or Tanzania). I also read The Conscience of the King which was a historical fiction novel about the first King of Wessex. It takes place in 450-500 and is about this Saxon guy taking over the area that is now southwest of London. It was pretty good and filled me in on a big part of British History I was missing (the Saxon Invasion).
Tonight, I called my mom on Skype and we made more plans for when she comes to visit. We are going to go to the Andalusia region which is in southern Spain. I am incredibly excited about it. It should be a lot of fun. That area of Spain used to be the center of the Western Islamic World so there are a lot of mosques and churches and just lots of stuff.
The other part of exciting travel news is that my best friend from SJU, Garrett, is going to be in Sweden at the end of May so I am trying to figure that into my travel plans. I hope I can get up and see him and Sweden. That would be really cool. Because of the rain, I spent most of my day researching and thinking about my travel plans (with my mom, the free weekends in April, and after the program). I am getting a lot more of it settled down in my mind. By that I mean, narrowing down the places I want to go and figuring out how to get there and all that stuff. It is really exciting and I love thinking and reading about all the places.
Well that's all for today. Sorry about not doing the update of my weekend. I just never found the time for it. By Wednesday, I will though.
Bye!
Showing posts with label Travel Research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel Research. Show all posts
Monday, March 10, 2008
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Anthem for Doomed Youth
Well if I thought the past couple days were uneventful, today was the Dark Ages. So I will recount today but also give everyone a little look at all the excitement coming up this month. By the way, the title of this post is the title of a poem by Wilfred Owen, who we talked about today in class.
When I walked into Senior Sem today, Phil called me over and told me that an Indian woman at the grocery store he always goes to asked him to help her two kids (16 and 13) with their English proficiency. He couldn't do it so he asked me if I wanted to do. Of course I said yes. It would involve a couple nights a week and maybe a weekend or two. I would get paid. Sign me up! We'll see what happens but I hope something comes out of it.
In class today, we talked about a bunch of stuff. We discussed the War Poets which were some poets who served for Britain in WWI and wrote anti-war poetry because of it. The most famous of the War Poets was Wilfred Owen. The poetry he wrote holds nothing back and is quite grim and depressing. If you're interested, here's a link to some of his works. It really is worth it to just read one or two of the poems. I suggest Anthem for Doomed Youth because its short and is similar to the rest of his stuff. The most tragic part about the whole thing is that he ended up dying in WWI, just like all the people he wrote about.
We read those War Poet poems because they are featured in a piece of music called The War Requiem by Benjamin Britten. he wrote it for the re-opening of Coventry Cathedral after it was destroyed in WWII. We are visiting the cathedral in a week. Um, lots of connections there to stuff we are doing (British music, morality of war, program excursion, etc.). We are going to listen to that music next week in preparation for our visit. We spent the rest of the class time talking about "englishness" in music. We continued our journey through English music history by learning about the three great English composers of the late 19th and early 20th century, with Holst the biggest among them. Holst wrote The Planets which is very popular among high school marching bands. Park Center performed that music in 1999 I think, maybe 2001. I don't know. At any rate, I had heard it before and am going to hear it again soon. On Thursday we are going to a concert by the Royal College of Music and they are performing The Planets. You should be able to listen to some of the music at this link if you are so inclined. *Phew* That's a lot of connections and a lot of stuff to talk about and get ready for.
After class, I sat around in the computer lab applying for summer jobs and doing more travel research and just catching up on Facebook and emails. I could spend a lifetime doing travel research. Eventually, I will need to stop and do something else with myself but for now, I enjoy it and feel like I need to do it for all the reasons that I think I said before (lots of potential trips coming up). I ate dinner and read and watched tv and generally lazed around. Tough life, I know. That's about it for today.
To fulfill my promise at the beginning, here's a look at some of the uncoming stuff that I know about right now in my life:
March 6 ~ Orchestra Concert
March 7-9 ~ Home Stay near Oxford (more on that tomorrow)
March 12 ~ Theatre: Major Barbara
March 15 ~ Coventry Cathedral and Warwick Castle
March 21 ~ My mom arrives
March 23 ~ Easter
March 26 ~ Theatre: The Importance of Being Ernest
March 30 ~ My mom leaves
Busy, busy. Bye!
When I walked into Senior Sem today, Phil called me over and told me that an Indian woman at the grocery store he always goes to asked him to help her two kids (16 and 13) with their English proficiency. He couldn't do it so he asked me if I wanted to do. Of course I said yes. It would involve a couple nights a week and maybe a weekend or two. I would get paid. Sign me up! We'll see what happens but I hope something comes out of it.
In class today, we talked about a bunch of stuff. We discussed the War Poets which were some poets who served for Britain in WWI and wrote anti-war poetry because of it. The most famous of the War Poets was Wilfred Owen. The poetry he wrote holds nothing back and is quite grim and depressing. If you're interested, here's a link to some of his works. It really is worth it to just read one or two of the poems. I suggest Anthem for Doomed Youth because its short and is similar to the rest of his stuff. The most tragic part about the whole thing is that he ended up dying in WWI, just like all the people he wrote about.
We read those War Poet poems because they are featured in a piece of music called The War Requiem by Benjamin Britten. he wrote it for the re-opening of Coventry Cathedral after it was destroyed in WWII. We are visiting the cathedral in a week. Um, lots of connections there to stuff we are doing (British music, morality of war, program excursion, etc.). We are going to listen to that music next week in preparation for our visit. We spent the rest of the class time talking about "englishness" in music. We continued our journey through English music history by learning about the three great English composers of the late 19th and early 20th century, with Holst the biggest among them. Holst wrote The Planets which is very popular among high school marching bands. Park Center performed that music in 1999 I think, maybe 2001. I don't know. At any rate, I had heard it before and am going to hear it again soon. On Thursday we are going to a concert by the Royal College of Music and they are performing The Planets. You should be able to listen to some of the music at this link if you are so inclined. *Phew* That's a lot of connections and a lot of stuff to talk about and get ready for.
After class, I sat around in the computer lab applying for summer jobs and doing more travel research and just catching up on Facebook and emails. I could spend a lifetime doing travel research. Eventually, I will need to stop and do something else with myself but for now, I enjoy it and feel like I need to do it for all the reasons that I think I said before (lots of potential trips coming up). I ate dinner and read and watched tv and generally lazed around. Tough life, I know. That's about it for today.
To fulfill my promise at the beginning, here's a look at some of the uncoming stuff that I know about right now in my life:
March 6 ~ Orchestra Concert
March 7-9 ~ Home Stay near Oxford (more on that tomorrow)
March 12 ~ Theatre: Major Barbara
March 15 ~ Coventry Cathedral and Warwick Castle
March 21 ~ My mom arrives
March 23 ~ Easter
March 26 ~ Theatre: The Importance of Being Ernest
March 30 ~ My mom leaves
Busy, busy. Bye!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Class Space
"It looks like someone has a case of the Mondays"
That's how I felt today. I was tired when I woke up. I also just didn't really feel like going to class. You do what you gotta do though.
In Sociology, the whole class time was spent listening to my prof tell us about the Kray Twins (Reggie on the left and Ronnie on the right). They were two brothers who grew up in East London in the 40's. By the time the 60's rolled around, they were super powerful gangsters (there is rumored to be a picture of them with the Queen somewhere out there). They were ruthless and violent when they had to be. They basically ruled London during the entire Sixties. They got away with a lot of stuff. It was a really good story and parts of it were pretty amazing. Like all the political corruption that went on back then. There is political corruption now too but I suppose I am pretty naive and don't think about it much so when I get a big reminder like the story of the Kray Twins, it amazes me.
We spent the first hour of Senior Sem talking about the two plays we saw last week. Lots to talk about with them. The second hour was spent getting a little refresher on what an orchestra is. We are seeing the Royal College of Music's Orchestra on Thursday night (they are playing Planets). In preparation, Phil told about what makes an orchestra and how each instrument is like a color for an artists. They have different moods and sounds and looks. We listened to examples of each instrument which was fun. I never listen to band music and when I do, it makes me remember being in band in HS and how much I liked it.
After class, I went down on the computer and researching travel stuff. I looked at Rick Steve's website (just search Rick Steves). He has a TON of information and the people who contribute to his message boards are really good too. They have good advice and funny stories. The reason I am spending so much time researching is because, as I have said before, I like it and because there are still a lot of chances for me to travel while I am here: when my mom comes, two free weekends in April, and after the program. That's a lot of opportunities and a lot of decisions to make about where and what I want to do.
I guess that's about it. It was a pretty boring and uninteresting day so that means this blog entry was probably boring and uninteresting. Sorry about that. Part of the deal though. It can't be exciting all the time. Have a nice day everyone!
*Waves Goodbye*
That's how I felt today. I was tired when I woke up. I also just didn't really feel like going to class. You do what you gotta do though.
In Sociology, the whole class time was spent listening to my prof tell us about the Kray Twins (Reggie on the left and Ronnie on the right). They were two brothers who grew up in East London in the 40's. By the time the 60's rolled around, they were super powerful gangsters (there is rumored to be a picture of them with the Queen somewhere out there). They were ruthless and violent when they had to be. They basically ruled London during the entire Sixties. They got away with a lot of stuff. It was a really good story and parts of it were pretty amazing. Like all the political corruption that went on back then. There is political corruption now too but I suppose I am pretty naive and don't think about it much so when I get a big reminder like the story of the Kray Twins, it amazes me.We spent the first hour of Senior Sem talking about the two plays we saw last week. Lots to talk about with them. The second hour was spent getting a little refresher on what an orchestra is. We are seeing the Royal College of Music's Orchestra on Thursday night (they are playing Planets). In preparation, Phil told about what makes an orchestra and how each instrument is like a color for an artists. They have different moods and sounds and looks. We listened to examples of each instrument which was fun. I never listen to band music and when I do, it makes me remember being in band in HS and how much I liked it.
After class, I went down on the computer and researching travel stuff. I looked at Rick Steve's website (just search Rick Steves). He has a TON of information and the people who contribute to his message boards are really good too. They have good advice and funny stories. The reason I am spending so much time researching is because, as I have said before, I like it and because there are still a lot of chances for me to travel while I am here: when my mom comes, two free weekends in April, and after the program. That's a lot of opportunities and a lot of decisions to make about where and what I want to do.
I guess that's about it. It was a pretty boring and uninteresting day so that means this blog entry was probably boring and uninteresting. Sorry about that. Part of the deal though. It can't be exciting all the time. Have a nice day everyone!
*Waves Goodbye*
Monday, January 28, 2008
Non-School Research
I feel like my eyes are turning into square shapes on account of all time I've spent looking at a computer today. It can't be helped really. I have been researching relentlessly on places to go, things to see, when to go, and a million other things about europe just about all day.
First off, I got up and was walking to Sociology of the City when some guys from my program came walking back the other way with huge smiles on their faces almost shouting all the way down the street that class was cancelled. I was mildly excited. I like that class and I like that prof so (as geeky as it sounds) I was a little disappointed. Plus, I didn't really have anything I really wanted to do today so I was sort of at a loss. But I went down to the computer lab and starting looking at stuff online and I was instantly hooked. I spent almost all of the time that I would have been in class, reading in my "Let's Go Europe" Book (thanks Amy, BEST BOOK EVER). Seriously.
Then I went to Senior Sem. The topic of class was a chapter in our textbook entitled, "The Relationship of Religion and Morality". Uh oh, major controversy brewing in this chapter. Rachels (the author) basically said that religion and morality are completely different things. He went through a bunch of arguments why that was true (using "reason"). One of the reasons they should be seperated is because some people do things because God says they are right and Rachels says that that is bad reason to do something (paraphrasing here). I actually kind of agree but through the WHOLE chapter, Rachels never once mentioned faith. I think that sometimes you have to do things because you BELIEVE that they are what God wants you to do and that's all you have. That can give people a lot of courage and make people do (good) things that they normally wouldn't do. Sorry to get all evangelistic or whatever but I was a little put off by this chapter. Rachels, in the last paragraph of the chapter, says that "he isn't anti-god". I might disagree. We spent the rest of class doing a readthrough of "Murder in the Cathedral" by T.S. Eliot in preperation for our visit to Canterbury Cathedral on Saturday. Sir Thomas Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral in 1270 and people have gone on pilgrimages there ever since. Needless to say, I am excited to visit.
After class, I researched more for what I want to do during and after my classes are done. Nothing set in stone, just accumulating knowledge and seeing if things pique my interest or not. I did a half grocery store visit. That means that I bought stuff for lunch and breakfast but not any dinner options really. I still have spaghetti for tomorrow night so I probably won't do that until Wednesday. Very exciting stuff, I know. Oh well. All in all, it was a pretty relaxing day (even if my eyes are tired from staring at the screen), my first one in a while. I hope everyone had a good Monday (not really possible).
Peace!
First off, I got up and was walking to Sociology of the City when some guys from my program came walking back the other way with huge smiles on their faces almost shouting all the way down the street that class was cancelled. I was mildly excited. I like that class and I like that prof so (as geeky as it sounds) I was a little disappointed. Plus, I didn't really have anything I really wanted to do today so I was sort of at a loss. But I went down to the computer lab and starting looking at stuff online and I was instantly hooked. I spent almost all of the time that I would have been in class, reading in my "Let's Go Europe" Book (thanks Amy, BEST BOOK EVER). Seriously.
Then I went to Senior Sem. The topic of class was a chapter in our textbook entitled, "The Relationship of Religion and Morality". Uh oh, major controversy brewing in this chapter. Rachels (the author) basically said that religion and morality are completely different things. He went through a bunch of arguments why that was true (using "reason"). One of the reasons they should be seperated is because some people do things because God says they are right and Rachels says that that is bad reason to do something (paraphrasing here). I actually kind of agree but through the WHOLE chapter, Rachels never once mentioned faith. I think that sometimes you have to do things because you BELIEVE that they are what God wants you to do and that's all you have. That can give people a lot of courage and make people do (good) things that they normally wouldn't do. Sorry to get all evangelistic or whatever but I was a little put off by this chapter. Rachels, in the last paragraph of the chapter, says that "he isn't anti-god". I might disagree. We spent the rest of class doing a readthrough of "Murder in the Cathedral" by T.S. Eliot in preperation for our visit to Canterbury Cathedral on Saturday. Sir Thomas Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral in 1270 and people have gone on pilgrimages there ever since. Needless to say, I am excited to visit.
After class, I researched more for what I want to do during and after my classes are done. Nothing set in stone, just accumulating knowledge and seeing if things pique my interest or not. I did a half grocery store visit. That means that I bought stuff for lunch and breakfast but not any dinner options really. I still have spaghetti for tomorrow night so I probably won't do that until Wednesday. Very exciting stuff, I know. Oh well. All in all, it was a pretty relaxing day (even if my eyes are tired from staring at the screen), my first one in a while. I hope everyone had a good Monday (not really possible).
Peace!
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