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Harlaxton Day 19: Newstead Abbey

August 3, 2018 | 2018 Harlaxton, 2018-2019, Avatars, Georgia Hoffman, Study Abroad | 3 Comments

At 9 am, my classmates and I retrieved our sack lunches and trudged to the coach. We settled into our seats, something we have gotten used to as our group has spent ample amounts of time traveling around England. Some students bobbed their heads and mouthed the words of their favorite songs, others prepared for our upcoming quiz and final, but most closed their eyes and dozed in and out of consciousness.

Our class arrived at Newstead Abbey and drowsily departed the coach around 10:15. The leaders split us into two groups and we began our tours of the abbey promptly at 10:30. I studied the ornate woodwork and detailed paintings of the house as our guide told of Lord Byron’s time there. She told us tales of the scandalous love affairs, odd furry companionships (including a pet bear), and numerous ghost encounters that occurred during Byron’s time at the abbey. Once our tour finished, around 11:45, we were free to roam the grounds of Newstead Abbey.

The weather was a comfortable 75 degrees; large fluffy clouds dulled the sun’s brilliant rays and a light breeze blew as I sat down to eat my familiar bagged lunch. Then, I set out to explore the numerous gardens. A group of friends and I walked by a glassy, green pond and fed the remnants of our meals to a flock of ducks, then continued to the Japanese Garden. We wandered through forests of lush green plants and carefully navigated stepping stones over small streams that riddled the gardens. Some students spent hours in the gardens, others sat down in lawn chairs and napped in the abbey’s courtyard.

Around 2:30, we migrated back to the coach and resumed our bus activities. Over the next hour, our professor led a discussion about the similarities and differences that we have noticed since we have been in England. When we reached the manor, students stumbled off of the coach. We had free time for the remainder of the day. As our schedule has been extremely busy since our departure from the United States, most students used their free time to catch up on lost sleep. After a dinner of beef stew and a hearty slew of vegetables, I went to the junior common room where we played cards and snooker.

Eventually, a large group of us (including most of the chaperones) made our way out to the lawn to play a few games of croquet. Gatton students may not be competitive about coursework, but when it comes to croquet, we don’t mess around. The sounds of competitive banter and laughter resonated through the grounds as we attempted the new sport. This continued until 9:45, then everyone went their separate ways. Some of my classmates studied, others ordered pizza, and the rest prepared for bed. After our 10:30 curfew, my three roommates and I discussed our upcoming college applications and then settled in for the night.

This study abroad has been amazing! I love England and the literature we have been studying. This trip has been a great learning experience because students are encouraged to explore with a small group of peers, rather than being led by an adult. Consequently, my classmates and I have developed independence and formed new friendships amongst ourselves. This journey has drawn our class closer together and will have a lasting impact on our community. I am so thankful to have had this opportunity and plan to study abroad again in the future.

Georgia

By Gatton Academy

Harlaxton Day 18: Class and York

August 3, 2018 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Today, our class time was cut a little short because there was an optional trip to visit the Kentucky-based Carlson Software company that has just opened a United Kingdom office in York. We headed to the train station and grabbed lunch before our hour-long train ride, which wasn’t bad at all. We had a very scenic view of the countryside and played cards the entire way. I won twice, by the way, no big deal.

Upon our arrival, we were greeted with a fantastic lunch, after which our tour of the York location began. We learned that Carlson Software specializes in field data collection software, machine control products for the land surveying, civil engineering, construction, and mining industries worldwide from data collection to design to construction. Although I am not particularly interested in pursuing a computer science or engineering career, I found the work they are doing to be very interesting, and I was proud that a Kentucky company had international connections. We even got to meet a Gatton alum that works for the company, and we were glad to hear about his academic path as well as his experiences while he attended Gatton.

After our tour of the Carlson Software location, we had free time in the city of York. We walked along the town wall, shopped at the stores lining the cobblestone streets, and ate some excellent Thai food, trying to keep the stress of our approaching final out of our minds.

Once we met back at the station, we loaded onto our train and were then asked to exit because the train had lost power and was therefore terminated. We then had to switch platforms and were delayed yet again. At this point, I honestly thought we were going to have to spend the night in York. Fortunately, our train came, and we made it back to Grantham.

Today, in my opinion, has been one of the best days I have had on this trip and I wish it wasn’t ending so soon. Here’s to making the most of our last few days!

– Evan

By Gatton Academy

Harlaxton Day 17: Stratford-Upon-Avon

August 3, 2018 | 2018 Harlaxton, 2018-2019, Avatars, Devin Davis, Study Abroad | No Comments

To kick off our third and final week abroad, we visited Warwick Castle and Stratford-upon-Avon. We departed at 8 a.m. and rode for an hour and a half until we arrived at Warwick Castle. Warwick Castle is a medieval castle that was constructed in 1068 which has now been transformed into an astonishing attraction. After we entered, our group took on the challenge of the corn maze. After reaching all of the checkpoints, we swiftly discovered the exit and completed the maze. We then proceeded to trek to the top of the fortress where we were greeted with an amazing view overlooking the grounds of the castle. It was here that we watched as the large trebuchet launched a rock across the open field. Afterward, we partook in an excursion to explore the conservatory and castle. We gandered at the medieval architecture, pleasing flowers, and elegant peacocks.

After lunch, we were on our way to Stratford-upon-Avon where we stopped at Anne Hathaway’s cottage. We were able to explore the residence where the Hathaway family lived for 13 generations. It was a very unique home because it contained 12 rooms – an extraordinary amount for that time. Next, we voyaged to the heart of Stratford-upon-Avon, the Holy Trinity Church. This place is the home of Shakespeare’s final resting place. After viewing his burial site, we were informed that grave robbers are believed to have stolen his head from the grave! We then traveled to Shakespeare’s birthplace. We explored his home and marveled at the exact bed where he was born. After exiting, we stopped to witness street performers bring Shakespeare’s writing to life. They reenacted scenes from Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet and recited numerous sonnets. We were then granted free time to eat dinner and explore Stratford-upon-Avon. After visiting a local diner and café, we returned to the coach. As the evening concluded, we arrived back at Harlaxton Manor where students began to study for our quiz tomorrow. We then crawled into bed after another adventurous day of exploration in England.

Devin

By Gatton Academy

Harlaxton Day 16: Class and Free Time

July 31, 2018 | 2018 Harlaxton, 2018-2019, Avatars, Hannah Congleton, Study Abroad | No Comments

Today at Harlaxton Manor was a little different. It was an open house at Harlaxton, which means that people that want to see Harlaxton come flooding in to admire the beautiful manor we have lived in for the past seven days. Class still went on, and we learned all about poetry. While we read the poetry for enjoyment, we also discussed the meter, rhyme, and look for poetry terms to understand the poems even more.

Once class was over, we took our packed lunches and searched for a place to eat. It was almost a challenge to find a spot away from the visitors. The challenge was even harder because we finally got British weather aka rain so we could not go outside. One of the fun things to do while the visitors are here is to go pass the “restricted sections” (for visitors) and feel like you are the ruler of the house. I know that I found a quiet corner that was away from the visitors and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon, feeling like a queen.

Hannah

By Gatton Academy

Harlaxton Day 15: Bedford

July 31, 2018 | 2018 Harlaxton, 2018-2019, Avatars, Isabel Chumbler, Study Abroad | No Comments

Today was a shocking day in our England experience, it was actually sweater weather! It was a windy, cloudy day that felt like true English weather—perfect for a day in Bedford.

We all woke up tired after a late night of seeing The Merry Wives of Windsor and finishing our essays. After a quick breakfast in the Harlaxton cafeteria, we were on the road at 8:50 to Bedford!

The John Bunyan museum and church was our first destination point—we saw the church filled with ornate, colorful images from Pilgrim’s Progress on stained glass windows. We went upstairs to the museum and observed scenes representing different points in Bunyan’s life. Among these scenes was a recreation of his prison cell that he called home for 13 years and wrote Pilgrim’s Progress in. Seeing the tin fiddle Bunyan created as a tinker was also a highlight. Visiting the John Bunyan museum was an enlightening experience for religious and non-religious people alike.

Next we went outside to enjoy our sack lunches, but to our arrival it was raining heavily outside. This proved to be a surprise for us as we were used to the dry, hot weather of the past few weeks. We all fled to the nearest shelter we could find to enjoy lunch and escape from the rain. Once the rain let up, my group went to Bedford’s local farmer’s market. The farmer’s market was filled with an array of fresh produce and the sounds of thick British accents bartering.

After our experience in the farmer’s market, we were on our way to the Houghton House! Upon arriving to the Houghton House, we were overwhelmed by the intensity of the wind. The wind blew dirt and debris all over us, but we were still able to enjoy the beautiful sights the ruins had to offer!

We returned to Harlaxton around 5:30 pm and made some last minute revisions to our essays due at 7:00pm. Once I turned mine in, my friends and I ordered a pizza for dinner. We sat around, ate pizza, talked, and laughed. However, soon we will be studying for the quiz we have in class tomorrow.

England continues to get better and better by the day. Hopefully this last week goes by slow because I never want to leave!

Cheers!

-Isabel

By Gatton Academy

Harlaxton Day 14: Class and Tolethorpe Hall

July 31, 2018 | 2018 Harlaxton, 2018-2019, Avatars, Drew Aubry, Study Abroad | No Comments

I began my day by skipping breakfast (sorry mom) and sleeping in. It was the first time we had a morning of free time in what felt like forever. We were able to study for our quiz later in the day, sleep in, write our papers, or anything else that needed to be done during this time. The day before, we had a long and hot hike through the moors. It was breathtaking from both beauty and the sheer amount of physical activity.

In class that day, we had a guest speaker come in to tell us all about her experiences as grad student in the UK. She gave us so much information and many of us a little bit of hope that we could try to go to school abroad one day. After the speaker, we got our first essays back and launched into a full discussion about The Merry Wives of Windsor and John Bunyan.

Once class got out, we immediately left for Tolethorpe Hall to see a live performance of The Merry Wives of Windsor. On the way there, we stopped in Grantham at a grocery store to pick up some food for a picnic. When everyone was finally corralled back on the coach, we took a short ride to Stamford. We got off of the coach, and as soon as we were all ready to start our picnic, there was an absolute downpour. Every one of us booked it back to the coach to stay dry until the rain stopped. Thankfully, the rain only lasted for a short while. By the time we finally got to sit down and eat, everything was soaked but we still made the best of what was going on. Even though the day had been one of the hottest that England has had in 40 something years, the temperature had dropped by several degrees. The sun was peeking through the clouds as they passed. It was fantastic. We finally got to start our picnic and it was by far one of the best dinners I’ve had since I’ve been in England. While we were at the store, my friend group decided to split up what we bought. Each of us bought bread, cheese, tomatoes, meat, chips (or crisps as they call them here), fruit, or drinks. Our group had a huge potluck and it was honestly a great time on a wet table.

After we finished eating, it was time to watch the play. It had a slow start, but was funny as it progressed. The play, like Hamlet, was much better watched then read. The subtle plays on words and the funny actions could be recognized a lot easier when it was live. Something I found interesting was that they had the play set in the 1940’s, so they had swing music and the apparel of the time. They even had one of their actors attempting a southern drawl, which was especially, and probably unintentionally, funny for us as Americans from Kentucky.

To end the night, we got back on the coach. As soon as we got back, a majority of us began to work towards finishing up our second essays that were due the next day. Overall, it was a great day that was full of funny happenings and one that I will remember fondly when I look back at my time in Harlaxton.

Drew

By Gatton Academy

Harlaxton Day 13: Haworth and The Moors

July 29, 2018 | 2018 Harlaxton, 2018-2019, Study Abroad, Sydney Wheeler, Uncategorized | No Comments

Our day trip to Haworth and the moors began with the stifling beeping of alarm clocks from 7:15 to 7:45 AM: the earliest morning we’ve had since our trip began. Our coach departed from the front drive at 8 AM, so we all ate a hurried breakfast and scuffled to the bus with Harlaxton’s signature white packed lunch bags in hand. Our bus ride (and, for most, nap) lasted over two and a half hours, but for the first time on this trip, getting off of the bus didn’t mean we had arrived at our final destination. We hopped aboard a steam engine train, which took us from Keighley to Haworth in a quick twenty-minute ride.

Once we arrived in Haworth, we split into two groups, one touring the Bronte Parsonage Home and Museum while the other explored the church where Patrick Bronte worked in the clergy. We milled around the house grounds, looked in the gift shop, and snacked on our lunches. Once the whole group was back together, we began our trek through the moors of northern England.

We hiked up a footpath surrounded by sheep, rocks, and foliage while skillfully navigating around sheep droppings, stopping midway at the Bronte Waterfalls to eat lunch (if you had any left). After our break, we continued up the moors, climbing higher and higher into the hilly terrain. We only had a few minor falls and scrapes, and eventually made it up to Top Withins ruins. The views from what felt like the top of the world were breathtaking, and not just because we’d walked three miles uphill. After a thirty minute rest while gazing over the moors, we began our descent back to civilization, away from the wild winds and tall grass that inspired Wuthering Heights, the book we had studied in class the day before.

After another hour and a mile and a half, we reached our coach bus, which was a sweet sight for our sore feet and sweaty faces. On the way back to Harlaxton, we stopped in Halifax for dinner, sampling an array of (mostly American) food joints. Our hunger satisfied, we laughed, conversed, and listened to music for an hour on the coach before arriving back at our “home”. Settled back in, we spent the evening resting, exploring, studying, and anticipating the much-needed rest that we’d get that night, as class didn’t start until 1 PM the next day.

By Gatton Academy

Harlaxton Day 12: Class and Free Time

July 29, 2018 | 2018 Harlaxton, 2018-2019, Alex Stewart, Avatars, Study Abroad | No Comments

My day began with a hearty Harlaxton breakfast consisting of a bagel and a mocha. I was excited. Today was one of my most anticipated days of the trip, as we were finally going to discuss my favorite assigned reading: Wuthering Heights.

Our class began, of course, with a quiz over Wuthering Heights and some information about Emily Brontë (the author of the aforementioned novel). After reviewing the quiz, we switched topics and began discussing poetry. The main focus of our discussion was on meter. We discussed iambic, trochaic, anapestic, dactylic, and spondaic meters. Professor Rutledge made the point that most of our names are in trochaic meter (an accented syllable followed by an unaccented syllable) and used some of my classmates as examples. For instance (where ‘ marks an accented syllable and U marks an unaccented syllable):

‘ U ‘ U

“Rithik Reddy”

After our section on meter, we began studying the history of the Brontë family, the influential literary works of Emily Brontë’s time, and Emily’s only novel, Wuthering Heights. Wuthering Heights was influenced–among other things–by gothic novels and Milton’s Paradise Lost. Some of the more interesting narrative techniques in the book are Brontë’s use of multiple points of view to tell the story, and the chiasmus between Heathcliff, Catherine, Edgar, and Isabella.

Later in the day, we watched a screenplay of the book. It made some interesting decisions, such as playing down the rocky relationship between young Cathy and Hareton, and spending more time on the relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff. All in all, it was fairly true to the novel and tied the day together nicely.

Tomorrow, we’re going to visit Brontë Country and we’ll get to see the area that inspired Wuthering Heights. That will probably end up being my favorite part of the trip, though it has some tough competition in the nights I’ve spent playing snooker at the manor.

Alex

By Gatton Academy

Harlaxton Day 11: Nottingham

July 29, 2018 | 2018 Harlaxton, 2018-2019, Avatars, Sasha Sairajeev, Study Abroad | No Comments

Hello, everyone! Today is our third day living in the Hogwarts-like manor, and today marks the first of our several literary field trips whilst in Grantham. Following breakfast, the group piled into the double-decker coach promptly at 8:30 and traveled to the hometown of British author D.H. Lawrence in Nottingham. In the previous day, our class studied the chronology of Lawrence’s life, along with three short stories of his: “The Rocking Horse-Winner”, “The Blind Man”, and “Odour of Chrysanthemums”. As Dr. Rutledge taught us, all great authors gain inspiration from the world around them. This was clearly reflected throughout the day as we witnessed the inspiration of many of Lawrence’s works in person.

We arrived in the city of Nottingham after traveling in the coach for an hour and a half. As usual, most of us (including myself) spent most of our travels there sleeping soundly. Our group ventured to a pathway where we passed various landmarks in Lawrence’s life. We met a few specialists of D.H. Lawrence, and we learned a lot about the influence of events in his life on his stories. We eventually came upon Brinsley Headstocks. At first sight, it seemed like it wasn’t much, just a bunch of wood configured into some sort of shaft (if you actually know what a headstock is, 10 points for you). Thanks to our guides, though, the stories and history of Lawrence truly poured out of the twin headstocks. The Brinsley Headstocks were a symbol of the booming coal industry at the time, which played a significant role in Lawrence’s life and eventually, his stories. Lawrence’s father worked as a coal miner at the Headstocks whereas his mother, contrary to most women of her time, was a part of the lace-making industry.

We took a short break for lunch and moved on to the D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum in Eastwood. The museum was embedded into the house that Lawrence was born and brought up in. After our tour, we went into the activities area and learned how to make rugs out of strips of fabric and play various marble games. Fellow student Julia Stekardis and I were so inspired by D.H. Lawrence’s works that we decided to further explore his works outside of our mandatory reading. As someone who typically doesn’t venture into fictional territory, this was something new that I looked forward to indulging in. I have yet to start Lady Chatterly’s Lover but I’m sure with the amount of recommendations we received to select it, it’ll be a fantastic read.

Overall, Nottingham is the kind of city that, in contrast to the buzzing nightlife of London, feels so much like your own. It’s the kind of city that welcomes you with open arms as if it was your own small hometown. I truly enjoyed exploring the slice of history that it provided in context to D.H. Lawrence, and I look forward to the various literary adventures that are to come.

By Gatton Academy

Harlaxton Day 10: Class and Free Time in Grantham

July 27, 2018 | 2018 Harlaxton, 2018-2019, Avatars, Elizabeth Roebker, Study Abroad | No Comments

Today marks the first class at Harlaxton Manor! After breakfast we gathered in one of the many beautiful classrooms in Harlaxton Manor for class. The room overlooks some of the stunning gardens here with loads of natural light. The ceiling is painted to look like a sky, and has three intricate chandeliers hanging across the length of it. There are so many ornate details in this room, including the wall in the upper left corner which houses one of the many secret passageways located throughout the manor.

We learned on our tour of the manor yesterday that this particular passageway was purposed for servants to move quickly and quietly while trying to serve those living here. It’s almost too hard to focus on what Professor Rutledge is talking about because of how beautiful our new classroom is, but I tried regardless because today we had our sixth quiz on D.H. Lawrence, and everyone found his short stories quite fascinating.

After class ended we went to lunch at the Manor. The food (and most importantly coffee) here is surprisingly good. Then 16 of us rode the 1:10 shuttle into Grantham. There are 4 shuttles per day for us to take, and cabs as well that cost about eight pounds. Grantham is a small town but has plenty of cute coffee shops, charity stores, and little markets for us to get everything we need. I stocked up on snacks at Poundland, England’s version of Dollar General. We caught the 3:30 shuttle back to the manor, and then took naps until dinner time, which is 5:30-7:00. After dinner, we played basketball at the recreation center and just layed around the manor grounds until 10:30 curfew, all in all, a wonderfully relaxing first day at Harlaxton.

So far this trip has been amazing. London was incredible, and also happened to be my first trip out of the United States. My favorite part was the Camden Market and the Tower Bridge. Harlaxton is very different, much quieter and relaxed. It’s a nice change from the busyness of London, as much as I’ll miss it.

Elizabeth

By Gatton Academy

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