Surprise in Wonderland (4)

Noticing surface changes when coming to the UK was easy because it threw me out of my everyday habits. At first the changes were just little things that annoyed me; like, the front door handle is always on the left side when in America it's always on the right. The toilets are really different but I have used English toilets so much I don't even remember what is so different anymore. American toilets flush better at least. Riding on the left side of the road is a little uncomfortable at times and I haven't seen any law enforcement vehicles at all, just police walking around in the city. This could explain why the British drive like mad people. Although on the contrary I haven't seen any road side accidents or even a close call. This confuses me.

Public transportation is golden. They also constantly push recycling, printing it on bags and bottles. The UK being an older country than America understands the importance of making the most of their resources. If America is frugal with their resources now we will of course be better off in the future. Melissa was talking to a lady on the train and the lady explained that England's natural coal resources are pretty much gone.

I feel like "Alice in Wonderland". I wake up in a strange place with (at the time) strange people. I go exploring and observing the different cultures, types of people, traditions and law. I can even go as far to say that I explored time/history and the periods/symbolism's that they brought. I really feel that this has changed me. Novelty here is not necessarily more exciting but my fascination with the Medieval/Romantic way of living makes it more exciting on a personal level. It's quite irritating when people ask me about New York or Las Vegas and I have to reply that I have never been. It's a burden on my part that I haven't really explored my home country to it's full potential but yet I'm aching to get outside too see everything else. Quite a contradiction, it's the Byron in me.

Caterpillar: Who are YOU?

Alice: ... I -- I hardly know, sir, just at present -- at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.

Coming to the UK is comparatively a small step to many other countries that I hope to one day visit: Mongolia, New Zealand, Zambia, Austria, Germany etc... but I want my eyes to constantly be aware of change be able to adapt myself for the better.

Alice
But then, shall I never get any older than I am now? That'll be a comfort, one way -- never to be an old woman -- but then -- always to have lessons to learn!

Newstead Abby was incredible. The gardens were beautiful and in several different styles (Spanish, French and English) . The interior had been kept up well, at least the parts of it that were accessible. The Abby was very flamboyant and I could see the influence of Byron's travels among the decorations and some children's toys. In the poems he speaks about the ruin that the Abby has come to and that the previous Byron the V had let the Abby be destroyed. Instead of fixing it up he only keeps a few rooms for entertaining others and complains about the mess of an Abby it has become. There was so much potential beauty and from the paintings of Newstead it seemed as though it hadn't completely lost its luster (although the painter could have brightened it up to deceive the viewer). He is does seem to be very selfish and could have occupied some if his time by cleaning up his surroundings. It would have changed the tone of his poetry.

Newstead seemed a little stuffy inside and which I'm sure the extra architecture and decor was very in style back in his day. It doesn't quit measure up to my likings of Sherwood forest or the Moors. The Bronte sisters took Romantic aspects from Byron's poetry like his whole out look on things of passing beauty and decay is romantic. The Robin Hood stories put a large influence on Byron's description of nature. I see him trying to raise himself up as a hero, as a Robin Hood.

I can not completely dis Byron because I too take things for granted and sometimes complain about things that I myself could have prevented or changed. I can learn from Byron and say that I'm not going to complain or try to be a power figure, someone I'm not, just take life as hit hits me and change the things that I have the power to change.

In Photo Heaven

Some of my homework today was to try and capture 4 different styles of photography while in Sherwood Forest and the following are my best attempts at it.

First challenge was to capture something picturesque. This photo does it for me because it uses some standard protocol for good aesthetic. It has a slightly high horizon line and good depth of field.

The second challenge was to capture something Romantic. This tree lying breathless on the forest floor decaying away into its surrounding was most Romantic.

The third challenge was the sublime and I have two different ones picked out because in one I found the classical representation of God the Father in light from the Heavens. In the second I found the sublime because it's so intricate and minute that I was in aw of how it has been formed and design. How beautiful even the smallest detail, it kinda overwhelmed me.

The fourth and final was to interpret Modernism. So I chose one of the road makers in a juxtaposition with the natural greenery in the background. The image in the foreground is a tree that has been cut down to serve man the others exist naturally.

Robin and the Green Man

Exploring Sherwood Forest today was awesome! The sun was out, the sky was a crisp, clear blue and every once in a while a cloud would float by, which Lady Thelma did capture on camera. There was also a light breeze in the air which made walking about in Sherwood Forest exceptionally at my leisure.

The gift shop was adorable and I think that it is really great but mostly for children. They catered to the younger crowd in the gift shop. About half of the shop would have been considered a child toy, I guess rather than an adults toy. The museum was also very playful and child like but at the end it became a little more adult. Everything was crafted well and was very novelty. It was youthful and I really have no criticisms of the gift shop or the museum. Robin Hood is a youthful story and plays a huge role in the minds of children. It helps them grasp larger political and social issues.

I never expected there to be so much Robin Hood paraphernalia like he was a real man from history. He is such hope for people that he has became real in the believers eyes. The forest is much more "Romantic" than I imagined it to be. In my mind the forest would be younger and perhaps had water running through but I was picturing what the forest was like growing up at my parents.

The Forest was so incredible! I had such a great time trying to find the photo requirements listed for homework. Sherwood Forest is such a novelty because the trees are beautiful and old. Some have fallen and are decaying back into the earth but only to produce more life. The whole forest is very "Romantic". I could imagine Robin Hood and all the merry men sitting on trees and running past or in the grass drinking. The Green Man helped the characters come to life.


P.S. photographs to come.

Was Hungry to Learn...

And now I have so much leaning to do I can nearly keep up. The basic classroom set up has been two to three hours of each day. We have been meeting at different places on the manor grounds. The first week we met several times in the music room on the ground floor. We have also met a couple times in Professor Ruth's luxury suite (where we enjoy the simple comforts of hot tea and coffee). Everyday I am seriously in awe of Professor Ruth's knowledge on every topic that we discus, even topics outside of her class plans. Sometimes my brain hurts for a little while after class as I continue to sort through the information. I really don't have a brown nose right now.

I have really learned a lot about the Bronte sisters. I chose "Wuthering Heights" to read because I suppose I was attracted to the dark, chaos if it. Although being in class and hearing about "Jane Eyre" makes me want to read it. The young Heathcliff and Cathrine characters in "Wuthering Heights" symbolizes a free, innocent, wildness which is within reach of being tamed by society. For an extremely short overview, in the end the two different cultures are balanced within the decedents of Heathcliff and Cathrine showing that a balance is necessary.

This past week we have been going through the different periods through history and discussing their characteristics and how they have influenced one after the other to give us the period of Modernism/Post Modernism that we live in today. We started with the the medieval mindset. During this period people turned to nature for answers and guidance, a worship of nature, exploring natures life and power (The Green Man). We also talked about how Christianity and earth religions synchronized together. The effects of this merge are still being practiced in traditions today. Some very broad illustrations would be Christmas in December and the tree. The Ester bunny and eggs. They come from the collision of earth and christian religion. We continued into the Gothic period were we talked about the Church creating superstition and mystery trying to gain power in society and government. Numerology and creating a sublime aesthetic played a huge part in creating these mysteries. This is what we labeled the "good" Gothic group. Secondly we have the literary Gothic group which is essentially the rebellion of the churches secrets and restraint in ritual. They brought up ideas of individuality and took Protestant ideas of having the Spirit within us instead of having a mediator who was "holier-than-thou". These individualistic advances brought us to the Romantic period in history when being individual and expression of feelings was so incredibly important. The common man had been suppressed and hadn't been good enough to freely express feelings and individuality and now they were being lifted up as hero's. It was all about the longing of something bigger than yourself the exotic. Trying to create aesthetic that could describe the persons aw of the sublime. The question is how do I put into words, put onto canvas, create song to, or a movement that can somehow describe something wholly encompassing body, soul and mind? It was the great quest of the time. To be so engulfed in emotion and feeling that one would forsake all other aspects of life. This way of individual thinking lead to the industrial revolution and the Victorian period. All this thought produced machinery, Darwinism, Marxism, Feminism, etc... People were beginning to battle topics that had lane under the surface for centuries. With Darwin the very existence of God was being openly questioned. Industry took most people into cities to find work. After cities were full and people couldn't find work the people fought extreme poverty. It struck a huge revolt called the Luddite Revolt. The people fighting for jobs and their very existence, went on riots and vandalized the mills and large plants. They have been drove to radical behavior. The owners of mills complained about the nuisance and requested that by law the death penalty was to anyone who would vandalize a mill. After these revolts came the Modernist period. We find in this period the balance of providing feeling and emotion along with thought and an educated insight. A behavior with reasoning and rational decision making. It was an exploration into the deep conscious and even the sub conscious. Random and creative thought placed in working order.

With every conformity there is a rebellion. I have learned that when looking at society and dividing the general public into categories there is no non-conformity. As I look back on history as an observer of art, documentation and literature I have realized the ever continuing trend of people believing that they are apart of a free non-conformist way of life and not looking at their own group of conformists. I have to wonder why people believe they have to start a revolution every time they disagree with something. It is all how we perceive things. When most people are wearing rose colored glasses it's a mind set. It's a belief system and it's so real you can almost touch it. I don't think that acts of violence will ever change a persons negative views only make them worse. And so history repeats it's self.

I have also found insight on different beliefs and how they effected the people as a whole. I want to explore them on a personal level. I believe two different beliefs and I am trying to find the balance for the two to live harmoniously together within one body. It was really refreshing to learn about the synchronizing of earth religions and Christianity and I am going to research it and make it real to me.

P.S. photographs coming later.

Cheers (1)

I was using the bathroom in Scotland and when I walked out the lady waiting in line for the bathroom said to me "cheers love". I have heard this the most as a general greeting and maybe even as a thank you. I have noticed the use of "pardon" instead of excuse me and whenever I say "thank you" they say "thank you" right back. Their version of "you're welcome". In England I have noticed that the letters "r" and "t" are either softly pronounced or not pronounced and they always kind of round their vowel sounds. The biggest difference in pronunciations from England to Scotland is in Scotland they always use really deep dips in their vowel sounds. They use a lot more slang as well (so a local explained to me).

I think that I mentioned in a previous blog how softly they speak in groups and in public. Well I'm pretty sure that only goes for England or at least the Grantham area. In Edinburgh, Scotland they are louder and much more outgoing and unreserved with their speech (and actions). It was mentioned by a local that certain curse words are generally used only when a Scottish person in truly angry. They proceeded to explain that the Scottish get angry quickly. Another interesting side note it that "heavy metal" music in Britain us not breakdowns and growling like in America but it is dance and techno music.

The Scottish nonverbal behavior is more "hearty" than in America. By that I mean I have observed more touching, hugging, smiling just at meeting. Even as they walk past some can't help but say "cheers" to each other.In comparing Britain and America I think that in general they are more polite to one another. Sometimes saying "hi" to a random person on the sidewalk in America will get you a strange or dirty look and a silent walk past. Here they respond happily to a random greeting. I think that in England the important things are staying off your cell phone and iPod in public. They even have signs posted indicating how rude it is and that you could get escorted out of public areas while using them.

The a cheery public disposition is something much more valued here than in America. The trend in America is to look put-out and anti-social. How many times have you been sitting in class before it starts and everyone around you is trying to fit in their last texts before the teacher comes in? People walking down the street don't even watching the concrete but watching their cell screens. How many times have you said "thank you" at to someone in America and they're response is silence. Maybe you don't notice because it's happens so often but here it would be rude. The human interaction is something that they still rely on here. It's still needed. The way that America is going we will eventually be completely out of touch with each other and isolated to our technology.

P.S. pictures coming soon

Editing Behavoir (5)

Here daily habits feel like they have been completely demolished but this is not the case. I believe that it's just the fact that there have been no set times or rituals to my daily habit. All I know is that at some point and time during the day personal hygiene and up keep gets done. This statement is being made with the exception of Scotland when I did not shower for two days nor did I brush my teeth for one having lost my toothbrush. Really it's not that bad, everyone should try it at least once.

When it comes to adapting to circumstance of studying abroad and trying to fit so many places into a short period of time I believe the best way to describe it is "always be ready to go". All that I have at this point and time in my life is in a bag and I love it! I love the minimalistic living and just picking things up as I need them. When I was a younger girl around 12 or 13 my favorite book was "The Gospel According to Larry". In the book the main character (Larry) has a rule that he will never buy anything new without getting rid of something old. I can't recall right now, it's been a while, but he only keeps a specific number of items in his possession, lets say thirteen, he would always put great thought into getting something new and always traded something out when he did get something new. I can come up with countless novelty examples of this way of living and it's such and attractive way of life to me. When I return home I will always keep a bag packed with essentials so on a whim I can take up and leave.

Living in almost complete spontaneity and minimalist has for the most part improved my mind set on being abroad. I know that living here would be a different story but I appreciate the traveling side of it. Everything being so mobile has increased my level of physical activity by quite a bit compared to my home life. I will admit that for the past two years of my life I have been ridiculously lazy. The only thing that complicates my life right now is the time difference between here and home. Everything else that was complicating my life before is gone. No cell phone, no job, no car and the list could go on.

And for the list of "I want's..."

All-in-all I value so many of the changes and hope in all sincerity that things stick with me back at home. I want to walk to the grocery store, I want to make sure I keep a blog going, I want to keep a bag packed and ready to go for randomness sake. I want these things to testify me. I want people to know me by what I bring back from my experiences here.

P.S. pictures coming soon ;-)