Euro2008

So Spain won Euro2008 last night. They were the team that I had picked from the start, so it was cool to see them pull it off. We did a bit of a pub crawl to watch the game, starting in one closer to our side of town and walking at half time over to another one closer to another set of ASE houses. I'm sad that football is over now and we have no more sports to watch. Oh well, in two weeks I can come home and watch the Cubs slow, painful descent from first place. Hooray!

London Town

So yesterday and today I was down in London for a study weekend with my Alfred Hitchcock class (8 students, our professor, and another person from the program), and it was quite the adventure. We got down Saturday morning and we were supposed to take a tour of London with a woman who actually interviewed Alfred Hitchcock in the 1970s. This woman was absolutely nuts. She essentially dragged us around London for close to four hours showing us sites that Hitchcock used in a few of his films, but she seemed to be making up facts not only about the locations but about how Hitchcock used them. At one point she told us that when the studio asked him to cut a scene from one building, Hitchcock broke down and wept. We did get to hear the tape of the interview that she did with him, which was fascinating, but the meal we had with her (at a pub featured in "Frenzy") was quite bizarre. She told us it was impossible for any of Hitchcock's leading actors, such as Cary Grant of Jimmy Stewart, to play bad guys or villains simply because they are Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart, despite the fact that Jimmy Stewart seems certifiable in "Vertigo." If nothing else, this woman was entertaining and made for great conversation for the rest of the trip.

Hitchcock's Childhood Home


After that, we went to the London Eye, where our assignment was to take pictures and come up with an idea for a scene in a Hitchcock film in which a man gets on the Eye, and by the time it comes back around, he's dead. This morning, we made storyboards for the scene based on the pictures we had taken. My group wove a story of a woman with a mean husband who pushes him out of the doors to his untimely demise. We had time after the eye to walk around a bit, and I ended up with a few people at an arcade. We won styrofoam airplanes. It was productive. The rest of the evening was spent at the hostel and at a wonderful pub across the street where we got to sit on the Thames and reminisce about Crazy Hitchcock Lady.
The Houses of Parliament from the Eye

The London Eye

Today we got to go to the Tate Modern for about 3 hours. The museum is fantastic, with work by Roy Lichtenstien, Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollack, Pablo Picasso and many, many more. We got to hear a short talk about Maya Deren, the first great American avant garde film director, and then see her seminal piece, "Meshes of the Afternoon." I'd seen the film before in school, but it was cool to learn more about it there. After the museum, a few of us walked across Millennium Bridge to see St. Paul's Cathedral and grab a quick pint before getting back on the bus for Bath.

Street Art on the Front of the Tate

Tower Bridge, as seen from Millennium Bridge

St. Paul's Cathedral

The rest of the weekend is quiet. Tonight I'm going out with some friends and tomorrow night is the Euro2008 Final (GO SPAIN!) so that should be a lot of fun. I'm sure I'll check back in following that game. As always, thanks for reading!

MMJ and Sports in Indiana

First things first. Last night rocked. Very hard. They play with such intensity everytime I see them. Terrific.



Second, goodbye Greenspan. Thanks for messing up Indiana Basketball.

Thirdly, This is Larry Bird's last chance. We need a good team this season. I don't know if he got good enough players, but this season is his last at bat for me.

London, etc.

So tomorrow I'm off to London for a study weekend. I'll report on that when I return on Saturday night. In the meantime though, here's a little update on a few things as well as a little ramble or two:
1. Tonight I'm going to see My Morning Jacket in Bristol with a bunch of people from the school. They're one of my favorite bands and they are terrific live. I'll probably add a post on that later.
2. Sport and Karaoke:
Yesterday was a pretty awesome afternoon. We went to Victoria Park to play football (or soccer as you Yanks call it). It was pretty cool to play football in England, and even cooler to have Japanese tourists sit and watch us and take pictures.
Later that evening, we went out the Huntsman for some karaoke. My housemates roped me into a little "Bohemian Rhapsody" before I got up with a few people to sing Outkast's "Ms. Jackson." That's the picture below.

EDIT: Here's a picture of the people from our trip that showed up to play football.

3. Jermaine O'Neal:

I just read a report that said the Pacers were going to trade J.O. to the Toronto Raptors for T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, the 17th pick in the draft and a player to be named. I must say that it's a little bittersweet. Jermaine was a big part of the team for a while and really was becoming the face of the franchise around the time Reggie Miller retired. The last few years have been very disappointing, with all the knee problems. I think the move is definitely for the best. The Pacers are obviously trying to rebuild and rebuild young. Based on the fact that they don't have room in the salary cap and he's really their only tradable commodity, it's a smart move for the team. Plus it will give him a chance to get back on a decent team. All in all, good luck J.O., and thanks for all the good years in Indy.

The Grass is Always Greener

WHY LIVING IN ENGLAND IS BETTER THAN LIVING IN THE STATES:
1. Everyone walks everywhere, which means people are in better shape.
2. People don't buy in bulk. You get what you need as you need it.
3. Going to the pub isn't the same as going to the bar. You're going to relax and socialize not have a crazy party.
4. Everyone is a lot more environmentally conscious.
5. Football is awesome.

WHY LIVING IN THE STATES IS BETTER THAN LIVING IN ENGLAND:
1. Everyone smokes here. Everyone.
2. It's so expensive. It doesn't help that Bath is the most expensive city in England.
3. Five channels of TV.
4. Ketchup is so much better than mayonnaise.
5. Football is awesome.

Go Cubs Go!

"The White Sox, who have lost 8 of 12 overall and had their lead in the AL Central over the Twins chopped to 1½ games, didn't win a game this weekend. But before and during the series they took some shots at the Cubs' old ball park and the team's emotional fans.

Guillen told reporters there were rats as big as pigs in the batting cage; pitcher John Danks said Wrigley smelled of urine; and catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who is always booed loudly, weighed in after fans directed a profane chant in his direction Saturday.

"They're idiots," Pierzynski told the Chicago Sun-Times. "It's like what Lee Elia said: 'Eighty-five percent of the people work, the other (bleeps) come out here."'"

Sorry White Sox, whining won't erase the fact you got swept.

A Video Tour of Bath

Hello everyone! Here is a little video I made yesterday that shows you some of the biggest sites in Bath, all of which are on my route to school everyday. Enjoy!

UPDATE: Since the video quality isn't great, here are some of the pictures from the video:

Day Trip to Cardiff

First of all, so sorry that I disappeared for a while. While the first week was all about getting used to Bath and seeing some sites in England, the second week was all about work. In both of my classes, we had 5 page papers due on Thursday, so much of my week was concentrated on that. The only other highlights that I can think of were trips to the pub to watch Euro2008. I've put my money on Spain. With all that work behind me, Jon and I decided to go to Cardiff, Wales for the day yesterday. It's a solid day trip and the train only takes an hour from Bath. We had the plan of doing the following: 1. Tour Millennium Stadium, home of Cardiff Rugby, 2. Visit the National Museum, 3. Go record shopping, and 4. Visit Cardiff Castle.

1. Tour Millennium Stadium

Sadly, our plans were thwarted by none other than Neil Diamond. Since he was performing in the Stadium that night, all tours were cancelled. It was disappointing, but I suppose could have been worse.
2. Visit the National Museum

This was a pretty cool place. Though a lot of it is a natural history museum, there is a large collection of French art that was left to the museum by a pair of aristocratic sisters. The exhibit featured works by Renoir, Monet, and Van Gough. As I said, the rest of the museum was based on natural history, with exhibits on natural wildlife in Wales and how Wales was formed.
3. Go Record Shopping
After searching around the City Centre for a while, we found Spillers Records, a store that holds the claim of being the world's oldest record store, having been founded in 1894. There, I was able to track down a few 7" singles, including Band of Horses' "No One's Gonna Love You," The Envy Corps' "Story Problem," and Cardiff's own Los Campesinos!' "You! Me! Dancing!" Overall it was a productive visit and the staff was incredibly cool.
4. Visit Cardiff Castle
Our last stop was probably the coolest of the day. Cardiff Castle is right in the heart of the city and dates back to the 12th century. We got there and explored the Keep, a large central tower surrounded by a moat. From the top, there are incredible views of the castle and the city. We then were lucky enough to be there during the first exhibition of jousting at the castle since medieval times. There was a sort of festival going on, complete with combat demonstrations (sword fights) and of course, jousting.




All and all, it was a pretty cool day. Cardiff is definitely a solid day trip, so we were pretty exhausted when we got back that night. Today I think I'm going to wander around Bath and finally take some pictures or video to show what the city is like. Be sure to check back tomorrow for that. Cheers!

Cornwall Weekend: Recap

So this weekend, all of ASE packed up and went to Cornwall. Cornwall is in the southern part of Britain, but is not part of England. After a long five hour bus ride, we arrived in Tintagel, the birthplace of King Arthur. Though not much of the castle is left, the mountain that it is on is absolutely stunning. The water is unbelievably blue and the view from the top tremendous. We wanted to go and explore what is thought to be Merlin's Cave, but high tide prevented that. Instead, we walked over to another set of caves. Though I opted to stay dry on the shore, a few other people ventured in. After Tintagel, we had a three hour bus drive to where we were staying, a sleepy little fishing town called Coverack. To give you an idea of how small the town was, our group filled up the youth hostel, two bed and breakfasts, and part of the only hotel (and pub). There I got to have my first taste of a Cornish pasty (pronounced p-ah-sty), which is essentially meet and potatoes wrapped in a flakey crust. Quite delicious. The next day, after having a traditional English breakfast at the hostel, we left for The Lizard, the southern most part of Britain. There, we took a three hour hike along the beautiful, hilly coastline with a guide who could easily host Survivor Man. After a quick lunch in the bus, we went to St. Ives, a very pretty costal town nearby. There, I went to the Tate Gallery of Modern Art, played frisbee on the beach (turns out there's some Ultimate players from Skidmore in our group and one of the ASE faculty members started the team at Oxford and played for the English national team), and lastly, went to sculptor Barbra Hepworth's house, which is now a museum and gallery of her work. That night, we had BBQ and ate Cornish clotted cream ice cream, the highest fat (yet most delicious) ice cream possible. This morning it was our plan to hike up a hill in Widcombe-in-the-Moor to see a view of the countryside, but rain prohibited that (luckily, the previous two days' forecast for heavy rain had been wrong), so we took the bus straight back to Bath. Now it's back to work for the week, with papers in both of my classes due on Thursday. The exciting thing however is that because I'm here during the Euro Cup, there's a lot of football, including a huge World Cup rematch between Italy and France with the winner advancing to the next round. I'll be sure to post updates as interesting things happen, but until then, thanks for reading!
Tintangel

Merlin's Cave

The view of the coast from our hostel in Coverack

The Lizard

St. Ives

Residential Weekend in Cornwall

This weekend, our entire group is off to Cornwall. Our schedule includes visiting Tintangel Castle, the birthplace of King Arthur, hiking around someplace called the Lizard, visiting St. Ives, and lastly Dartmoor. Check back on Sunday or Monday for pictures!

The Worst Thing to See on British TV

Last night, we got home from karaoke (I sadly sang the Beastie Boys' classic "Fight For Your Right to Party"), I turned on the TV, and to my surprise, found a simulcast from ESPN of the Cubs-Braves game. Despite being tired and having an early class, I decided to watch. What's the first thing I see? Alfonso Soriano getting hit in the hand. I wake up this morning to read he's out for six weeks with a broken hand. There's really no reason for this post, just an excuse for me to vent about Soriano. The Curse is awakening. I can feel it.

Stonehenge and Glastonbury

Today was our first adventure outside of Bath (pictures below, more on Facebook if you're on there). Our first stop was Stonehenge. I think that most noticeable thing is that Stonehenge is not exactly what you might expect. It's in the middle of the country, but in between two major highways. Secondly, it's smaller than you might imagine (not Spinal Tap small though). Either way, it's a pretty spectacular sight. The sheer idea that people about 18-20 years old dragged these rocks over is pretty amazing. I still think it was made by aliens.
Next we went to Glastonbury which is my new current favorite place in the world. Glastonbury is a small town that was once the site of the first Catholic church in England. The abbey, founded somewhere around 610, was once one of the largest churches outside of Rome, bigger than Canterbury. It is also a major site in the mythology of King Arthur, as he was said to have died near there. In the 1100's, the church even announced they had found the remains of Arthur and Genevieve on the site, but this is widely regarded to have been a publicity stunt to attract pilgrims and tourists after Thomas Becket was murdered there a few years earlier. The abbey was largely demolished by Henry VIII after he formed the Church of England in order to get rid of all Catholic sites, there are ruins remaining, including the intact kitchen. We walked around all of the sites, including a few ponds on the grounds. We had a short break and I went with two other guys to get fish and chips (my first of the trip) and had a pint of cider. We then found a little record store, where I naturally was in heaven (I picked up David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" and Lou Reed's "Transformer"). Our last big trek of the day was up a giant hill to St. Michael's Cathedral. The hike was rough, especially after that lunch, but payoff was incredible. There's not much left in the Cathedral, but the view was spectacular. We could see from up there the rain coming, so we took off, and headed back to Bath. Tonight there's a karaoke thing at a pub. We'll see about singing.
I want to thank all of you so much for reading and leaving your comments. It has been great to hear from home. To answer a question I got, there's a pub about 5 minutes away, and several that are more central for all the houses that are around 15 min. Tomorrow it's back to class, but Friday we're leaving for a residential weekend in Cornwall. I might try tomorrow to take a few pictures of my route to and from class each day. It's right through some of the more notable sights in Bath and will also help provide a nice insight into what the city is like. Enjoy the pictures below!

Stonehenge of Course

Glastonbury Abbey

The grounds of Glastonbury Abbey. The tower way up there on top of that hill is St. Michael's, where we climbed.

Me with the English countryside in the background

St. Michael's

A Video Tour of 29 Northhampton St

First Day of Classes

Before going into my first day of class, I figured I'd talk briefly about last night. Yesterday was the last day of the Bath Fringe Festival, and Jon and I ventured to go see the Complete William Shakespear Abridged, as performed by theatre students from Bath University. The show was at the Bath Works Museum which is just a short walk down the street from our house. The show was pretty good, and a fun way to end my first here.
This morning I had my first class, The Triumph of Georgian Bath. My "tutor" is not exactly what you would expect in a British professor. She's a younger woman, probably in her mid-30s, and is the curator of two museums here in Bath. The class is a very interesting one. Instead of focusing strictly on history, we're focusing on how the architecture and the buildings in the city shaped the history of the city. Since it focuses on the Georgian period, today was our day of covering Roman Period through the Medieval Period. After only about 10 minutes in the classroom, we took a walking tour of the city, walking around where the Medieval wall had once been. Our tutor is one of those people that just sort of knows everything and can't quite finish a topic because they just have so much to say. Tomorrow is a lecture, but our schedule has us doing a walking tour at least twice a week.
I just got back from my course on Alfred Hitchcock, and I'm even more convinced now that the course was designed specifically for me. We get to watch almost all of my favorite Hitchcock films, including Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho, The Birds, and my all time favorite, North by Northwest (if only we were watching Notorious, but that was made before the time period we're studying). Dr. Davis, a professor from Denison, is probably the best person to be teaching the class. He's truely excited about he material and easily gets sidetracked with other interesting facts. We're going to focus a lot on Hitchcock's films and how they function not only as films (i.e. narrative, editing, etc.) but in how they reflect cultural and industrial context of their period. I have a presentation already on Thursday, but it shouldn't be too bad.
Tonight there's a reception for all of the students and professors at an art gallery here so that should be good. There's also a trip to Stonehenge (I hope it's as tiny as it is in Spinal Tap) and Glastonbury on Wednesday and another trip to Cornwall this weekend which will no doubt produce some pictures. Tomorrow in between classes I'll try posting a video tour of the house.

Finally in Bath

I've finally arrived! The flight over was okay, I had a row to myself so I got to stretch out which was nice. When I arrived in Bristol, I took a bus to the Bristol train station and then a train into Bath. Upon arriving there, I went straight into orientation, got a tour of the main building at the school, Nelson House, and lastly, schlepped my heavy luggage on the 20 minute, uphill walk to my house through the center of Bath. The house is fantastic. It's in a nice neighborhood (my roommate Jon, who is also my roommate at Denison, told me that he heard other houses in the neighborhood go for about 500 pounds) and our room is much bigger than I thought. Our room is right up front and there is another guy that lives in a single next to us. There are four other girls that live in the upper two floors. There are three bathrooms, but only two have showers. There's a nice common area downstairs that has a couple of couches and a TV, VCR, DVD player, and VHS library (complete with "Ghostbusters"). There's also a full kitchen and a washer and dryer. I'll post some pictures or a video tour when I get the chance. After a much need quick shower, I walked back to Nelson House for a "social orientation" about how to adjust to life in England. We then took a walking tour of notable shops in the city, half of which I won't remember in the morning. Then came the biggest adventure of my entire day: grocery shopping. Walking around the grocery store I felt like a lost kid. Everything is organized and packaged so differently it's hard to know what to do. We then trekked back to our house (another 15-20 min. walk) and that's where I am now. So far everyone seems really nice. All of the people working for the program seem great and the other students do as well. I'm sure that as soon as we get the chance we'll be able to "bond" a bit better. Tomorrow I hit the ground running with a 9:30 class, "The Triumph of Georgian Bath." Apparently my instructor is the curator of the Bath Museum and we're spending our first day on a walking tour of the city. I'll be sure to report once again once I've actually taken the classes. As always comments are welcome!

En Route

I figured that when starting this blog there would be a lot of really unnecessary posts, but what the heck. Travel Attempt #2 has so far gone pretty well, with a slight delay in Indy. My flight to Bristol is on time, and if I can stay entertained for another couple hours, I'll be on my way. More to come when I get there and get to report the oh so exciting details of my arrival.
UPDATE: My flight is about to leave. I stayed entertained long enough thanks to the wonders of "30 Rock" and "Arrested Development. (I told you there'd be some unnecessary posts...)

Well...

Due to some bad weather, I'm stuck in Indianapolis for another night. My flight to Newark was delayed and wouldn't arrive until about the same time my connecting flight was leaving, and unfortunately the next flight to Bristol isn't until tomorrow night. This will put me in Bath about 24 hours behind schedule. I'm a little bummed, but it could be a lot worse. I'm assuming I'll make it there tomorrow okay, but I'll be sure to post when I do.

The Journey Is About to Begin!

Hello everyone! To document my six week stay in Bath, England, I have set up this blog to spread stories, pictures, and the occasional video easily to as many people as possible. I have class Monday through Thursday, so I'm guessing that most updates will happen Sunday night or Monday afternoon, but I won't truly know until I get there. If you would like to receive the latest posts in your email, leave a comment by clicking the link under this post or email me at warsha_m@denison.edu. Otherwise, just check back periodically. I am leaving tomorrow, so look for the first post on Saturday or Sunday!