As I
walked around inside the cathedral, I tried to imagine how the early Christians
might have felt. This building would
have been the largest structure that the peasants and pilgrims would have ever
seen. The Nave of the cathedral has
large, vaulted ceilings with pillars soaring high into the air. This was the spot where the pilgrims would
have gathered in the medieval period.
The Crypt is a quiet chamber that is similar to a basement. It is the oldest part of the cathedral (the
11th century, if you can think that far back). It was especially chilling to walk around inside
the Crypt because it has some of the country’s oldest Christian paintings on
the walls. The Trinity Chapel is where
King Henry IV and Edward, Prince of Wales, are entombed. There are so many dead people just hanging
out in this cathedral – it’s ridiculous.
On a
lighter note, I have started two out of my four classes. I am enjoying everything about this British
University system! Class meets once a
week for two hours – one hour of lecture and one hour of discussion/seminar,
generally. This format makes a lot of sense
to me (when compared to our American system) mainly because the class time is
extremely structured and there is an entire hour for discussion. As an English major, I value discussion. Without class discussion, how does the tutor
know the student understands the material?
But, I digress.
Martin,
my tutor for the class “Modern Britain,” does not hesitate to share his political
views with the class. He told us at our
first meeting, “Anyone who uses Wikipedia will be shot… that, and Fox
news. What rubbish.” Geez,
tell me how you really feel. However, this Martin guy is pretty hilarious,
sometimes without meaning to be. For
example, today we were discussing America’s national debt. Martin made a remark that resonated with me: “You’re told that debt as a student is a bad
thing, yet your country is billions of dollars in debt. Explain that to me!” For being so liberal, he
sure hates to see America spending money it doesn’t have.
My
second tutor, Steve, is a young man working on his PhD. Today was our first meeting and he lectured
on Chaucer (say “Chaw-sah” with a British accent… fun) and The Canterbury Tales. This poor
guy is the most awkward person in the world.
Yet, I really enjoyed his lecturing. He kept trying to insert sarcastic jokes about
the Black Plague, but no one in the class so much as cracked a smile. I had to keep my smile to myself, I was
definitely entertained. :]
Although
the Brits do many things differently than Americans at University, one thing
that seems pretty universal is the activities fair. For those who don’t know, a college
activities fair is basically a time for all of the societies, clubs, and extracurriculars
to set up information booths and pass out free candy to bribe – I mean, recruit
students to join. These fairs are 98%
awkward and 2% effective. Most students
go for the free food. It’s always
crowded and hard to hear. And usually,
the one club you actually want to be
part of runs out of free pizza before you make it to their info table. Classic.
Anyway,
while at the CCCU activities fair this morning, I signed up for a few
interesting societies, like music society, performing arts society, film society,
and the Christian Union. Some random
lady tried to recruit me for the Student Socialist Group, but I narrowly
avoided that. I don’t think she realized I am American. TEAM CAPITALISM.
When
people back in the States ask me where I’m from, I generally tell them, “Oh,
the Chicago land area” or sometimes I’ll just say “Chicago land.” I’ve learned real fast that I can’t say that
while I’m here in England. The conversation
inevitably goes something like this:
Me: “Hi, I’m Kristin. Where are you from?”
New Friend: “I’m Chris, from
Ireland. Where are you from?”
Me:
“Oh, Chicago land. It’s in the States.”
New Friend: “Chicago-land? …Is that a theme park or something?”
Me:
“……”
And
finally, something needs to be said about British toilets. And British bathrooms in general. Allow me to be blunt: you get one and ONLY ONE flush. In other words, if you are dropping a deuce,
you had better make sure it all disappears with that one flush. Or else the next person will hate you (I may
have learned that the hard way… But I
won’t go into detail). Also, the
flushing mechanism thingy is weird. And
the Brits (at least, the residents of Canterbury) don’t believe in hot
water. It’s actually quite
depressing. I haven’t had a warm shower
in almost a week. Guess it’s time to
suck it up and assimilate.
Here's some pictures from our trip to Richborough Roman Fort and Fort Amherst Tunnel...enjoy!
Here's some pictures from our trip to Richborough Roman Fort and Fort Amherst Tunnel...enjoy!
Inside the tunnel
No comment...
Chillin at the castle wall!
How cool is this view?!
Cheers!
– K
BRITISH
WORD OF THE DAY:
Queue - a line; EVERYONE LOVES WAITING IN LINES.
