Category: Isabel Chumbler

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On Saturday September 8th I got to experience two types of Cage—the KAGE update panel and the Cage the Elephant Concert!

At 11:00am five other avatars and I met at Gary Ransdell Hall for the KAGE update panel. KAGE stands for Kentucky Association for Gifted Education and this event provided a statewide gifted update for educators, administrators, and parents.

The other avatars and I answered questions alongside Dr. Julia Roberts. These questions pertained to our experiences in elementary school, middle school, high school, and Gatton. This was a great opportunity to show what events in our educational careers led us to attending Gatton. These events consisted of our schools’ gifted and talented programs, clubs, and class options. Once we began discussing our Gatton experiences we shared upon our experiences with research, study abroad, and the community.

After the panel wrapped up I had a few hours of free time before the free Cage the Elephant concert on campus! This concert took place to celebrate Western’s first home game of the season. The exchange between President Caboni and the band to plan this concert occurred in the most business professional of ways—on Twitter.

I showed up to the concert one hour early with a few other girls on my wing (fourth floor, best floor by the way!) and we managed to get second row. We had a great view!! If students would have preferred walking down with a Residential Counselor that was also an option, as the third floor boys’ RC took students down around 15 minutes before the concert began. President Caboni opened up the show with the WKU cheer and fight song, then the talented Cage the Elephant began performing. Cage the Elephant has been one of my favorite bands for about four years, so I was beyond thrilled to see them live. They performed around ten songs and put on such an energetic show. They pumped up the crowd and made everyone excited for the first home game!

After the concert, everyone fled to the football stadium to watch the football game. However, I am not a huge football fan (sorry!) so I did not attend the game. Sadly, we ended up losing against Maine 31-28.

This weekend is just one of many fun weekends I get to experience because I attend Gatton. There’s always exciting stuff going on at Western and I’m so glad I get to experience it as a Gatton student!

 

Cheers,

Isabel

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

Hello Friends!

Last night, we had our first full night of sleep in England! It was desperately needed after hours of travel consisting of trying to fall asleep in uncomfortable positions in uncomfortable airplane seats. Our jetlag began to hit everyone last night, as we all slowly started forgetting how to function in the most basic of ways.

Getting that sleep was much needed for the full day that was ahead of us—a day filled with class time, all things Harry Potter, and free time!

Our first official class period consisted of a discussion of Persuasion, Jane Austen, John Keats, and miscellaneous dates. This was by far the most interesting class period I have ever sat in, as there is never a dull moment with Professor Rutledge.

After class, we had a quick lunch break and grabbed sandwiches from the nearby coffee shop, Costa. We were then on the road! The 46-minute bus ride went by quick as we filled it with multiple games of Heads Up.

Touring the Harry Potter Studios was definitely one of the most highly anticipated activities. Everyone was filled with excitement from the biggest Harry Potter fans to those who didn’t even know Hufflepuff from Ravenclaw. I was able to feel as if I was a part of the films—from walking along Diagon Alley, exploring the Hogwarts express at the Platform 9 ¾, enjoying Butterbeer, and dying from embarrassment when having to ride the green-screen broomstick in front of the crowd of people. Harry Potter Studios was an immersive, magical experiment that allowed us to learn about the behind-the-scenes of Harry Potter!

After the touring of Harry Potter Studios, we had about 4 hours of free time to explore London! I went in a group of 10 with our goal location being Westminister. We ended up getting stuck on the London tube for around 30 minutes on our way there and on the way back we got on the wrong tube which resulted in us getting a little lost—the London tube has definitely been an experience, but it’s been one that has resulted in us gaining independence and learning navigational skills.

England so far has been a wonderful experience and I cannot wait to see what else is in store!

 

As the British say, Cheers!

-Isabel