Well, today is my last day; I fly home tomorrow. Which means that I have half a million things to do.
I finally got my paper all written out, and then I realized that I didn't know exactly how long McGee wanted it. When I asked him at the awards dinner last night (which was hamburgers and bangers in a bib in the garden of a pub, yes alcohol was involved, but not by me) he told me how about 3,000 words. I kind of sheepishly told him that I had upwards of 11,000. At which point he was speechless for a second and then cursed. And the teasing by the grad students commenced. They told me that I was ready for grad school. And McGee invited me to be his grad student. When I got back to my room, I wound up taking the last three pages, which were the analysis part, double spacing it to make it 7, then summing up my other 15 pages (single space) in three paragraphs. Admittedly, they made over a page, but still. That's double spaced. It made me kind of sad. I then inserted history wherever it felt necessary and explained things that now needed explaining and I wound up with ten and a half pages and 3500 words, which is more what McGee was looking for. I've sent it to the grad students and Mom, who are going to help me edit it. It's due tonight at six, but I feel pretty confident with what I've got.
It makes me really sad that all of that work isn't going into my paper, but I think that I'm going to turn this into my Honors thesis. The history is pretty much done. I'd just expand the analysis portion of the essay and it would be done. I really like this period in time (the Norman Conquest) because of how unlikely all of the players were. All three of them should never have been king, but somehow they were, and it changed the course of English history, and honestly probably world history, as well.
Besides my paper, I still need one more Harry Potter book, so come about ten o'clock, I'm going to go hunting. Then I still have to pack and find nibbles, get chocolate for my family, and figure out what I'm doing for lunch and dinner. And breakfast for that matter.
I'll make one more post sometime tomorrow or the next day to say that I've gotten home safely and to sum up the whole trip. So I'll talk to you all again then. :)
Showing posts with label Canterbury. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canterbury. Show all posts
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Church Day
Warning: This post (and a couple others) has been edited and added to. That'll show me to make a post in the middle of the day. So, there's new stuff here. :)
Compared to the last few (and tomorrow), today is a pretty slow day. I had class this morning, where we talked about Neolithic Britons and the henges, after I made it there, of course. I got a little bit turned around and had to find the rest of the class to follow to make it to the cafeteria.
Afterward, we met to go on a walking tour of the churches. First we went to St. Martin's Church. St. Martin's church has a wonderful history. It was built by the Romans and used by Queen Bertha, a Christian princess from France who was married to the pagan King Ethelbert. Pope Gregory sent St. Augustine to King Ethelbert to bring Christianity back to the British Isles, and St. Augustine used St. Martin's as his main church, expanding it. Later, the Norman's added on to the church, but the church is supposed to be the oldest continually used Christian church.
Then we went to St. Augustine's Abbey. The abbey was built by St. Augustine on land given to him by King Ethelbert. The Anglo-Saxon buildings were mostly torn down by the Normans, who built a larger abbey on the grounds, rededicating it as St. Augustine's Abbey (originally it was dedicated to Sts. Peter and Paul). Then, Henry VIII broke with the Church and the abbey was destroyed and some of the larger buildings were used as a palace for Anne of Cleves. Elizabeth I and Charles I also used the palace, then it passed out of royal hands and eventually was abandoned. The ruins are uncovered now and make a very peaceful place to visit. There is very little of the walls still standing, but quite a bit of the crypt is still there, including a chapel with some painted tiles and an altar with crosses carved into it. One of the signs showed a picture of a coconut that was held in silver because it was so rare and valuable. To which I had to immediately begin "Where'd you get the coconuts?" "We found them." "In Mercia?!" I also got to try some Honey Mead. It was just too English of a thing to pass up. Besides, that was the one thing that I'd always wanted to try. It tasted like honey, but it had a bit of a kick.
I found the Catholic Church today! It was actually only a block or two over from how we get to the train station, so once I saw the spire it was easy to find. It's called St. Thomas and it's named for Thomas a Becket, who made Canterbury a pilgrimage spot. It actually has relics and a shrine for St. Thomas. It's a beautiful old church, but I didn't take any pictures. I'll have to when I go back. The choir was just starting practice when I got there. I was sitting there for a while when they started playing 'Here I Am, Lord.' I was off to the opposite side of the church, so I sang along softly. I love that song. They have a lute! It makes for a beautiful sound. I got a postcard and I'm going to go look at the little store that they have.
I've started on a bit of homework and looked at how to get to Battle to see the Battlefield for the Battle of Hastings (which didn't actually take place in Hastings) and the Abbey that William the Conqueror built there. I'd also like to see Hastings Castle, but I don't know if it's open. From Google, it looks amazing. McGee suggested that I invite the military history specialist and he's agree it's something he wants to see.
Tomorrow is Stonehenge! I'm so excited! I was thinking of taking Tuesday to crash, go to daily mass, write my paper and run errands and then go to the British Museum on Wednesday (my birthday!). I know another girl who is planning on going to an art museum or might go with me to the British Museum, but I'd be able to at least ride the train up with her. The house is emptying out for our free days, but I don't mind. I'm trying to think if there's something I want to do Tuesday afternoon and I still need to find something to do on Thursday. I don't want to sit around here. I can do most of the stuff here after a class day, so I want to get out to see England while I can. Maybe I'll go to Dover Tuesday afternoon...
Compared to the last few (and tomorrow), today is a pretty slow day. I had class this morning, where we talked about Neolithic Britons and the henges, after I made it there, of course. I got a little bit turned around and had to find the rest of the class to follow to make it to the cafeteria.
Afterward, we met to go on a walking tour of the churches. First we went to St. Martin's Church. St. Martin's church has a wonderful history. It was built by the Romans and used by Queen Bertha, a Christian princess from France who was married to the pagan King Ethelbert. Pope Gregory sent St. Augustine to King Ethelbert to bring Christianity back to the British Isles, and St. Augustine used St. Martin's as his main church, expanding it. Later, the Norman's added on to the church, but the church is supposed to be the oldest continually used Christian church.
Then we went to St. Augustine's Abbey. The abbey was built by St. Augustine on land given to him by King Ethelbert. The Anglo-Saxon buildings were mostly torn down by the Normans, who built a larger abbey on the grounds, rededicating it as St. Augustine's Abbey (originally it was dedicated to Sts. Peter and Paul). Then, Henry VIII broke with the Church and the abbey was destroyed and some of the larger buildings were used as a palace for Anne of Cleves. Elizabeth I and Charles I also used the palace, then it passed out of royal hands and eventually was abandoned. The ruins are uncovered now and make a very peaceful place to visit. There is very little of the walls still standing, but quite a bit of the crypt is still there, including a chapel with some painted tiles and an altar with crosses carved into it. One of the signs showed a picture of a coconut that was held in silver because it was so rare and valuable. To which I had to immediately begin "Where'd you get the coconuts?" "We found them." "In Mercia?!" I also got to try some Honey Mead. It was just too English of a thing to pass up. Besides, that was the one thing that I'd always wanted to try. It tasted like honey, but it had a bit of a kick.
I found the Catholic Church today! It was actually only a block or two over from how we get to the train station, so once I saw the spire it was easy to find. It's called St. Thomas and it's named for Thomas a Becket, who made Canterbury a pilgrimage spot. It actually has relics and a shrine for St. Thomas. It's a beautiful old church, but I didn't take any pictures. I'll have to when I go back. The choir was just starting practice when I got there. I was sitting there for a while when they started playing 'Here I Am, Lord.' I was off to the opposite side of the church, so I sang along softly. I love that song. They have a lute! It makes for a beautiful sound. I got a postcard and I'm going to go look at the little store that they have.
I've started on a bit of homework and looked at how to get to Battle to see the Battlefield for the Battle of Hastings (which didn't actually take place in Hastings) and the Abbey that William the Conqueror built there. I'd also like to see Hastings Castle, but I don't know if it's open. From Google, it looks amazing. McGee suggested that I invite the military history specialist and he's agree it's something he wants to see.
Tomorrow is Stonehenge! I'm so excited! I was thinking of taking Tuesday to crash, go to daily mass, write my paper and run errands and then go to the British Museum on Wednesday (my birthday!). I know another girl who is planning on going to an art museum or might go with me to the British Museum, but I'd be able to at least ride the train up with her. The house is emptying out for our free days, but I don't mind. I'm trying to think if there's something I want to do Tuesday afternoon and I still need to find something to do on Thursday. I don't want to sit around here. I can do most of the stuff here after a class day, so I want to get out to see England while I can. Maybe I'll go to Dover Tuesday afternoon...
Thursday, July 7, 2011
I'm Here!
I finally made it to Canterbury! Yay! However, due to messes with the internet and getting the slideshow up and running, I'm now posting this at 8 o'clock Canterbury time. Or 20:00 as they say here. Luckily, I brought a notebook that I've been writing in all day, to prepare for this, so I still have my initial impressions down. :)
By far the coolest thing about the plane ride was watching the sunrise from 37,000 feet. You can actually see the point on the horizon where the night is giving way to day. Due to being up at dawn, my internal clock has been reset, and despite getting at most an hour of sleep on the plane, I'm actually not quite ready to go to bed. However, knowing how that will catch up with me, I'm going to finish this, then take a shower and bed for me.
When we left the airport, it was raining, but by the time we got here, the sun was shining and while a bit chilly (somewhere in the mid-60's F, I think) it turned into a beautiful day. We had pizza for lunch while going over the basics and then we received the necessaries for our stay, like food money. We were given a break to settle in a little (though not to nap) and then we were off.
The group made two forays out into Canterbury today. We split into two groups, one to go with Dr. McGee (or McGee, or His Excellency) and one to go with Mrs. McGee (which she doesn't answer to, only Stacie). I went with McGee first and got a bit of a walkabout for Canterbury. He showed us where to get sim cards for our phone so we can get a local number as well as the best place to exchange money. We took a small detour to Canterbury Cathedral, but we'll get a full tour later. He took us in to meet the owner of the Jolly Sailor, a pub near our flats that has, I kid you not, hung a Texas flag to celebrate our arrival. We also got to see what seems to be the main tourist shopping district in Canterbury where even our relatively large group of 15 blended in with no problem. It has a Burger King, a McDonald's, and a Claire's. As well as a street that (minus the subway) could be a dead ringer for Diagon Alley.
The second foray was to the supermarket. Where I got batteries for my poor camera and muffins for breakfast tomorrow. I figure I can go back tomorrow for lunch or try to make it to the school cafeteria. I have discovered two things from this trip. The first is that people in Britain are not nearly as quick as Texans to try to get out of your way. They move fast and they expect that you'll get out of the way either by jumping forward or back. Or of course, like the natives, by never getting in the situation in the first place. The second thing I learned is the the front door to Lefranc House is hard to find. I walked past it three times before I figured out where it was and another two times before I figured out how to get in.
Of course after this, I rather desperately needed the internet, not only to post, but to let my mom know that I was alive. So I managed to get a cord by going to talk to the resident people, but then I had to go to the computer lab to sign in because the internet didn't feel like working. Which, in hindsight, was completely unnecessary because the problem was the internet not the sign in and I fixed the internet rather quickly when I got back. But that's life. And now, I'm going to unpack a little and go to bed.
P.S. If you click on the slideshow, you can go to my flickr account and see all of the pictures in a slightly bigger format as well as comment. I look forward to hearing from all of you. :)
By far the coolest thing about the plane ride was watching the sunrise from 37,000 feet. You can actually see the point on the horizon where the night is giving way to day. Due to being up at dawn, my internal clock has been reset, and despite getting at most an hour of sleep on the plane, I'm actually not quite ready to go to bed. However, knowing how that will catch up with me, I'm going to finish this, then take a shower and bed for me.
When we left the airport, it was raining, but by the time we got here, the sun was shining and while a bit chilly (somewhere in the mid-60's F, I think) it turned into a beautiful day. We had pizza for lunch while going over the basics and then we received the necessaries for our stay, like food money. We were given a break to settle in a little (though not to nap) and then we were off.
The group made two forays out into Canterbury today. We split into two groups, one to go with Dr. McGee (or McGee, or His Excellency) and one to go with Mrs. McGee (which she doesn't answer to, only Stacie). I went with McGee first and got a bit of a walkabout for Canterbury. He showed us where to get sim cards for our phone so we can get a local number as well as the best place to exchange money. We took a small detour to Canterbury Cathedral, but we'll get a full tour later. He took us in to meet the owner of the Jolly Sailor, a pub near our flats that has, I kid you not, hung a Texas flag to celebrate our arrival. We also got to see what seems to be the main tourist shopping district in Canterbury where even our relatively large group of 15 blended in with no problem. It has a Burger King, a McDonald's, and a Claire's. As well as a street that (minus the subway) could be a dead ringer for Diagon Alley.
The second foray was to the supermarket. Where I got batteries for my poor camera and muffins for breakfast tomorrow. I figure I can go back tomorrow for lunch or try to make it to the school cafeteria. I have discovered two things from this trip. The first is that people in Britain are not nearly as quick as Texans to try to get out of your way. They move fast and they expect that you'll get out of the way either by jumping forward or back. Or of course, like the natives, by never getting in the situation in the first place. The second thing I learned is the the front door to Lefranc House is hard to find. I walked past it three times before I figured out where it was and another two times before I figured out how to get in.
Of course after this, I rather desperately needed the internet, not only to post, but to let my mom know that I was alive. So I managed to get a cord by going to talk to the resident people, but then I had to go to the computer lab to sign in because the internet didn't feel like working. Which, in hindsight, was completely unnecessary because the problem was the internet not the sign in and I fixed the internet rather quickly when I got back. But that's life. And now, I'm going to unpack a little and go to bed.
P.S. If you click on the slideshow, you can go to my flickr account and see all of the pictures in a slightly bigger format as well as comment. I look forward to hearing from all of you. :)
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