By:  Veronica Johnson

Today was day 15 of our 23 day trip. We began class this morning at 9:00 AM (3:00 AM Central Time) with a quiz on John Bunyan and excerpts from “The Pilgrim’s Process.” Alexa and Chloe presented to us what they learned about Brexit and Social Differences between different countries in the UK. We then discussed Bunyan’s story and The Puritan Era, the time period in which Bunyan wrote. We concluded our class with a discussion on how social differences appear in “The Wind in the Willows” and some lively banter about how we personally perceived the main characters when reading the novel.

After class we had the day to ourselves, so you would think that everyone would be relaxing and exploring Harlaxton and Grantham, but this was not quite the case. For many of us, today was stressful because our second essays were due today. I spent my afternoon having my essay critiqued and critiquing the essays of my peers. I found the process to be very enlightening because I got to see what other people thought about the books we read for class. Because we got to choose our essay prompts from a long list, everyone wrote about something they thought they knew a lot about or were interested in. Although this was a positive experience, I am relieved that I am done writing essays, at least until our final.

I explored the grounds after submitting my essay, and I have yet to be disappointed with anything here at Harlaxton. I continue to find beautiful scenery and perfect places to lay out and take a nap or relax and read a book. Today was a long day, but it has been a very good one!

By: Veronica Johnson

Our third day in London has come to an end, and boy was today (Sunday) action packed! Yesterday in class we talked about Jane Austen and her novel Persuasion, so today we visited the places we had learned about. Our group spent our morning in Chawton, our afternoon in Winchester, and our evening in London, so we were traveling all over the place and walking a lot!

We left early this morning en route to Chawton, where we had a picnic on a church lawn, visited the graves of Jane Austen’s mother and sister, and toured Jane Austen’s house. Chawton is probably the most British-looking place I have ever seen: we were surrounded by thatched roofs, sheep, chickens, and horses.

We later went to Winchester, where we visited the Winchester Cathedral (the church where Jane Austen is buried) and completed the Keats’ Walk (the path that John Keats would walk daily). Along the path was a stream that a group of us waded in when we had completed our walk. The water was very cold, but it was very clear so we could see straight to the bottom of the stream: something scarcely found in Kentucky. When we got back to our dorms, we split off into groups to eat dinner and explore new parts of London.

The highlights of my day were watching crazy things unfold on the bus to Winchester, wading in the water at the end of the Keats’ walk, getting ice cream in Winchester, and trying a new restaurant called Cha Cha Moon in London!

A couple of days ago, my friends and I were talking about how crazy it is that we, as teenagers, get to travel across the world and explore new places with our friends. Being able to study abroad while still in high school is such a cool opportunity, and I am very grateful to be able to see the world while completing a college course. I am definitely looking forward to the rest of our time in London, especially going to Shakespeare’s Globe Theater to see The Taming of the Shrew!