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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

Harlaxton Day 9: Arrival at Harlaxton

July 26, 2018 | 2018 Harlaxton, 2018-2019, Avatars, Rithik Reddy, Study Abroad | No Comments

Hello, greetings from Harlaxton,

After making the most of our time in London, all of us reluctantly packed up and went back to the bus to depart from Nutford House. Today, it was a double-decker bus, which was a welcome change. Some of us were even lucky enough to have two seats to ourselves. Most of us slept until the nine presentations started. We learned about Lord Byron’s love life, then went through the British Education System and British Sports, and ended with the Characteristics of a Manor House. After this, we went promptly back to sleep.

When I woke up, I was greeted by one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen. Everyone was in awe of the amazing architecture. Then finally, we got inside, put our bags up, and then started a tour.

In our tour, we got to see the beautiful interior of Harlaxton. With the expansive rooms and elaborate architecture, there was a lot to take in. The castle was actually made for a man named Gregory Gregory, and in some fireplaces, architecture from tombs was used to make it. We even got to explore a secret passage!

After our tour, all of us ate dinner. A couple of other people and I decided to explore the grounds, and with all of this exploration, we ended up at the gym. After this, we went back into our rooms, studied a little for the quiz tomorrow, and then all went to bed for some much needed rest.

Rithik

By Gatton Academy

Harlaxton Day 8: Class and Free Time

July 25, 2018 | 2018 Harlaxton, 2018-2019, Avatars, Shay Moore, Study Abroad | No Comments

Today was our last day in London before we depart for Harlaxton. After a long day of touring Oxford yesterday, we were all ready for some free time today. Class was from 9:00-12:00, and the rest of the day was ours until we had to come back for curfew at 11:00. At the beginning of class, we had a quiz on three short stories and their authors, and during class we discussed those stories, as well as points of view within writing. At the end, Professor Rutledge read the short story “Clay” aloud and explained what things meant as he went along.

After class, everyone found a group and went their own directions into the vast city of London. Izze, Sereniti, Isabel, and I left the Nutford House, stopped for coffee at Costa, and then got on the tube and rode to Camden Town in London. We ate some delicious pizza at a small local Italian place, and then we went to the Camden market. We bought some “Mind the Gap” t-shirts, as well as some decorative pins and other souvenirs. Then we walked around and shopped at several local thrift stores. At 5:00, we rode the tube back to the Nutford House to take a break and put our purchases in our rooms.

While at the Nutford, we rested and turned in the final drafts of our first essays, and then Devin and Zane joined us and we rode the tube to Oxford Street. We walked around for a while looking for a place to eat until we finally decided on a restaurant called The Diner. Isabel and I ate veggie burgers, Devin and Zane got wings, Sereniti ate a hotdog, and Izze got some of the best banana pancakes any of us have ever tasted. After we devoured our meals, we strolled over to a multi-level H&M, where we browsed until it was time to head back for curfew. We hopped on the tube and rode back to Edgeware Road. My friends and I arrived at the Nutford House around 10:30 and hung out playing cards until we needed to go to bed.

Today was my favorite day in London, and it was definitely a good note to leave on. We’ve all loved the city, but we’re also excited to depart for Harlaxton tomorrow to explore the manor, play croquet, and do anything else we can get our hands on. All that’s left to say is goodbye!

Shay

By Gatton Academy

Harlaxton Day 7: Oxford

July 25, 2018 | 2018 Harlaxton, 2018-2019, Avatars, Study Abroad, Trivan Menezes | No Comments

We were somehow able to sleep in for an extra hour today. Thank goodness. It felt good, though it didn’t fully account for the jetlag and lack of sleep that has almost transformed us students into zombies.

I’ll start on another note.

I exited the bus at Oxford not knowing what to expect. Maybe an intense environment where students roamed everywhere? Maybe a typical college town? I noticed immediately that Oxford students were nowhere to be found. In their place were hordes upon hordes of tourists roaming around. After all, the city is home to one of the finest and oldest universities on this planet, making it a prime destination for tourist students on the verge of applying to college who are seeking false hope of defying reality and actually getting accepted into their dream school.

ANYWAYS, as a group, we headed through the town on foot to Christ Church College, one of the 38 colleges which make up Oxford University. Once we were outside the college building, the staff laid some ground rules and gave us around 1.5 hours to roam around the area and city prior to our tour of Christ Church. Pokey mentioned that some past students typically rented either rowboats or punt boats and chilled on the River Thames to pass some time. That sounded great to me, so I got with seven “lads” of our group and we headed down to the riverside in search of a good time.

We rocked up to a dock where a guy was renting out boats. He gave us a few options. We could split our group into two and pay £40 for each group to ride a punt boat, or we could do something slightly more economical: rent one motorboat for the entire group for £55. The decision was obvious. We gave up our desires for a quaint rowing trip on the river to reap the beautiful fruits of industrialization.

Next thing we knew, we were absolutely speeding down the River Thames. Just kidding. As you likely predicted, us Gatton students are responsible drivers, so we settled for a nice, smooth stroll down the river. Okay, that might not be entirely true, either. Honestly, we couldn’t figure out how to put the boat at full-throttle until toward the end of the excursion, so a leisurely ride on the river is what we settled for. Regardless, we had a fun time.

Following the boat ride, the whole Gatton group reconvened outside Christ Church College to prepare for our tour. Our tour guide arrived on the scene. A charismatic fellow, he showed us around some interesting sites. Most notably, he showed us the Christ Church College Great Hall (the inspiration for the Great Hall in Harry Potter), the Bridge of Sighs (inspired by the one in Venice), the Bodleian Library, and the Sheldonian Theatre.

During the tour, I asked the tour guide a question here and there, and I wanted to learn more about who he was. I could tell he had a story to tell. He had mentioned he had attended University back in his day, so I asked where he went to school. He responded with “Not Oxford. I actually went to a school down south called the University of Essex.” I followed with, “What did you study?” And he replied, “I studied electrical engineering. What are you interested in?” I responded, “Cool, right now I’m interested in pursuing either computer science or electrical engineering.” Then the man shared some interesting facts: “Well, actually, I studied computers and telecommunications, and how to combine the two together. I even wrote the first textbook on combining computers and telecommunications. Not the best one, but I can still say I wrote the very first one.” Wow. What a guy. Apparently, he has also published a few books pertaining to Oxford. Even though he wasn’t a widely-known author, it was cool learning this information. It is moments like this that have defined my trip thus far. The superficial pictures in front of tourist attractions are not the things I’ll remember the most, but it’s the personal interactions with people that have forged my experience here. Whether that’s talking to an Italian kid at breakfast, talking about the progression of soccer cleats (football boots) with a worker at the Nike store, or learning that my tour guide has significantly contributed to a field of science, these interactions are what have formed my experience in England.

Trivan

By Gatton Academy

Harlaxton Day 6: Class and Free Time

July 22, 2018 | 2018 Harlaxton, 2018-2019, Avatars, Georgia Hoffman, Study Abroad | 2 Comments

Hi everyone,

Most of our class, including me, began the day with breakfast at the Nutford House around 8 o’clock in the morning. Then we rushed upstairs to study for our upcoming quiz over C.S. Lewis and J.R.R.Tolkien. Class started promptly at 9 and we had a group discussion about the Hamlet play that we watched at Shakespeare’s Globe. Next, we had our quiz and talked about the lives of the authors. We transitioned to discussing poetry categories. Professor Rutledge read Beowulf aloud to the class, speaking foreign syllables as we struggled to determine the meaning. We talked about poetry terms and our upcoming assignments. After class, everyone split up into groups and we headed our separate ways.

My crew made our way to the tube and practiced our British accents as we commenced our journey to the London Eye. Upon reaching our stop, we weaved through streets crowded with people, until we reached the line. We spent the entire 20 minute Ferris wheel ride admiring the sparkling water of the Thames and attempting to capture the incredible London skyline in photographs. Afterward, we rushed to Westminster Abbey, but were too late to enter. We returned to the winding tunnels of the tube and rode to the Twinings Tea Shop where I bought a souvenir tea box and enough flavors of tea to last a lifetime. After taking a break at a local park, we continued our adventure to the London Tower. The old architecture in London has been breath-taking and the tower was no exception.

Next, we followed a path to the Tower Bridge and walked across it, constantly snapping photographs of the bridge and the buildings crowding the cloudy sky. There, our group eagerly waited to take pictures with a giant statue of Jeff Goldblum in his signature pose from Jurassic Park. Navigating the tube has gotten easier and easier as the week wears on, and we made it to the pizza shop where we got our dinner with ease. Since everyone was exhausted from exploring throughout the week, we returned with our pizza to Nutford House around 9:15 (although curfew was at 10:30) and set to work on some of our class assignments. Eventually, most of the students migrated to our temporary classroom which buzzed with conversations about today’s adventures. Tales of Buckingham Palace, the National Botanical Garden, and visiting The Shard, accompanied by the debates over which clever caption to post, filled the room.

Georgia

By Gatton Academy

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