Humanities 262 post #2

Madame X: James Singer Sargent

John Singer Sargent’s portrait “Madame X” fascinates me. It’s such a social no-no for the 1800’s – in fact, it humiliated the subject and essentially ended the career of the painter. By today’s standards, it would hardly be considered risqué, but back in the day it certainly was: the sexually charged pose, the deep neckline, and the haughty aloofness were far too revealing for a lady. Originally, it was even more offensive – in the final version, he repainted her right shoulder strap so that it sat where it belonged, rather than slipped down her arm, as it was in earlier drafts. Not only was the portrait considered offensive, but the title did nothing to preserve the anonymity of the sitter: everyone who saw the portrait on display at the Paris Salon recognized the fashionable American expatriate Virginie Amelie Avegno Gautreau.

*Note the shoulder strap

Although I’m interested by the social implications of the portrait, I feel most compelled by the dynamic energy exuding from Mme. Gautreau. She is confident, sexual, comfortable, aloof, and determined. Everything about her posture, from her long neck to the way her right arm extends, implies that she is a woman who can fend for herself. The brashness of her confidence is almost overwhelming, especially for a woman of the 1800s. The facts of her life up to that time – she was an American expat climbing rapidly up through the social sphere of Paris – indicate the kind of confidence that she displays in this portrait.

However, confidence isn’t the only energy coming from the portrait. There is a different, more subtle variety of that aura that comes primarily from her face: the slightly arched eyebrows, the staring eyes, and the totally relaxed lips. As Wikipedia tells it, “Gautreau was bored by the process of sitting.” In short, she accepted his request to paint her portrait, but tired of it quickly. I love that that aspect of her personality rises through the brushstrokes: it’s beautiful.

As a theatre student, I’ve learned to search for emotions in others, because that is how I connect on stage and in analysis. I love being able to connect in that way with art other than theatre. Every time I do, I learn a little bit more about the power of any kind of art to portray humans for what we really are underneath our socially acceptable facades: deeply emotional beings with living, interactive energies that affect everyone around us.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Madame_X

American Art: A Cultural History by David Bjelejac

My first Humanities 262 post!

For my American Humanities class this semester, I'm required to post my essays and thoughts for the class on a blog. For convenience's sake, I'm using the same blog I used for London - lazy, right? Whatever. Anyway, until December (when the class ends) I'll be posting only things for my class. If you're interested, go ahead and read. If you're not, I really don't blame you! This first entry is a creative writing assignment: an essay based off of Mark Twain's essay "The War Prayer" (http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/making/warprayer.html - read it, it's a beautiful piece of satire!)

The Tea Party Conundrum

It was a time of great anticipation: the country was spellbound by the ever-present campaign slogans overflowing from radios, televisions, town halls, and spamboxes: midterm elections were on. Campaign trails blazed across the country as Democrats and Repulicans went head to head in heated debates and powerful speeches; tax-deductible donations came rolling in, occasionally resulting in lawsuits against over-generous corporations; special interest lobbyists clogged the roadways of Washington DC; political analysts on every news-station worked endless overtime; political science professors assigned extra homework to encourage their students to be better citizens; packed meeting halls listened, entranced, to flowing speeches which inspired even the most uninterested of sports jocks and rich girls to choose a candidate and cast a ballot; indeed, golden, heroic, beautiful promises for a better nation, honest politics, and the American dream inspired every eligible citizen to declare allegiance to a candidate. Piercing through the middle of all the excitement and beautiful promises, however, was one enduring question on the mind of every voter, on the lips of every reporter, and on the front page of every paper: which candidate will cut my taxes? The occasional bold reporter who dared to interview a candidate without focusing on his plan to help the American people recover from the devastating economic downturn was immediately censured to such a degree by colleagues, employers, and viewers, that for the sake of their careers they immediately discarded the determination to provide well-rounded pictures of the candidates in question and stuck primarily to tax cuts and economic stimulus.

Finally, Monday morning came – the next day the people would flock to courthouses, town halls, and schools to cast their votes; the tension was high, the faces of everyone alight with the excitement of participating in the selection of those who would soon govern our great country. Politicians were delivering final speeches, each determined to outdo the others: shouts of “I promise to lower your taxes,” “Look at his history – he’s always voted against tax reformation,” and “I’ll bring Americans back to prosperity – I’ll let you keep your hard-earned money!” filled the air.

Abruptly, the chaos fell silent, drowned by a thick cloud describable only as Reason Incarnate. Television screens all over the country no longer displayed the familiar images of candidates at podiums surrounded by microphones and flashing camera lights; the radio waves no longer broadcast the familiar sounds of interviews and speeches; in their place was the voice and face of Reason Incarnate. Reporters sat back, stunned, and the entire nation froze in confusion and curiosity. For some moments the mysterious being contemplated his spell-bound audience, and then he began to speak.

“I have heard your demand,” he said, “and I will grant it if that is what you truly desire after I, The Candidate of Reason, express to you the implication of such a demand – that is to say, the full implication; indeed, it asks for more than they who demand it are aware of, unless they be forced to pause and think.

“You have made your demands. Have you paused and taken thought? Is it only one demand? No - it is many: one uttered, and many left in shadow, unnoticed and uncomprehended. But both have been heard by me, Your Candidate, and I stand ready to fill them all. Ponder these next words: keep them in mind before you cast your final vote. If you ask for the blessing of lower taxes, beware, unless you unwittingly bring a curse upon yourselves and your nation. Your request demands that more harm than good to come upon you – especially in your times of greatest need.

“You have heard your own demand – the uttered part of it. I am brought into being from the silenced worries of your candidates, that I may put into words the rest of your demand – the part which all of you uttered silently in your hearts. Ignorantly and unthinkingly? Assuredly so. To every hopeful Senator, every potential Governor, you spoke aloud the words “lower our taxes or we will never elect you, much less re-elect you.” That is sufficient: the whole of the demand is compacted into these few words. However, it now falls upon me to elaborate. To expose the truth underneath your shallow demands, and to show you that as you exacted promises of decreased taxes, you also exacted promises for what would surely follow such measures. Listening candidates wept, but were powerless to express the consequences of your demands, for they knew that you would not listen, but would instead disgracefully shunt them out of the race in favor of candidates who spoke less candidly of the consequences you would face. Now, I put into words the things these future leaders heard, but dared not warn against! The things you said in your hearts without comprehending in your minds!

“We go out from all walks of life to the polls today – heed our desires or be beaten out by one who will! Above all, we desire lower taxes that will allow us to keep more of our money in our pockets - an easing of the strain of government’s burden on us! Candidates, lower our taxes, and take away from us the security and peace of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, and leave our elderly helpless and penniless in their time of greatest need; indeed, eliminate those tax-funded services forever, so that we ourselves may suffer in the end of our lives without aid or pension from those who rule us. Sharply decrease funding to our national public school system, so that our teachers will be more terribly underpaid and our youth will pathetically trail even further behind their Asian and European counterparts. Allow our highways to rot and crumble into pothole after deadly pothole; cease to plow our roads in the icy winters, repair our stoplights in busy intersections, and enforce safe driving laws. Unlock and empty every last federal penitentiary and allow their dangerous, criminal inhabitants to roam our country uninhibited by laws or penalties. Sell our national parks to developers to be exploited and destroyed. Cease to fund the FDA and bring our country back to the meat-packing days of the 1800s. Drain funding from the CIS, the FBI, the Pentagon, and our military; allow our country to be easily infiltrated, exploited, and destroyed by those who wish us harm, and force us to abandon the many weak, oppressed nations that we currently support with our troops and intelligence; and after you have effectively disbanded the military, abandon all of the dedicated men and women that served our country: yes, withhold medical care, counseling, retirement funds, college educations, and memorial services. Leave inner-city slums to become unregulated gang turf, and allow the families of those areas to struggle for survival through the chaos of drug wars. Please, after environmental disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill, leave those who have lost professions, homes, family members, and health to fend for themselves in the bleak aftermath. Leave us ungoverned, unsupported, and unregulated. This we demand of you, our dedicated and patriotic candidates. Leave us not unsatisfied.

“You have demanded it. If you still desire it, speak, and we will fulfill. The future government of your country awaits your response.”

For months after the election, confused citizens struggled to remember what they had been doing for that hour the day before the election: all who spoke of it expressed the same vague memory of an unnerving feeling that they needed to "be responsible, or else" but nobody knew why. Equally confused political analysts tried desperately to account for the sudden increase in viewer interest regarding issues such as public schooling, military campaigns, and the law enforcement system.

http://cagle.com/news/TeaParty10/6.asp

A fond farewell to England

As most of you know, the program ended this last week. On Friday the 11th, I made the arduous journey home: a bus ride to Heathrow airport, a flight to Amsterdam, a layover, a flight to Memphis, a layover, a flight to Salt Lake, and a bus ride home. 29 hours in all - sick! I will miss London, but I'm so glad that I'm home. It's wonderful to be back in a familiar place, with family and best friends around me.

Before I forget what I did, I'd better write out what I did for my last two days in London, since I neglected to post for those days. Packing gets crazy, sorry. :)

Wednesday:
Our second and last final took basically all morning. Eww. It was for our Shakespeare class, and we had to identify Shakespeare quotes (be able to say what play it was from), write short answers defining and applying terms we studied, and write an essay.
After the final, I went to the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum. I'd been meaning to do that for weeks, and I finally got around to it! Aren't you proud of me? It's such a hodge-podge museum - it's great! There was a whole section on metalworking - they had cases of old keys and locks, lots of wrought-iron fences and gates, and even a wrought-iron rose. There was a huge jewellry room with pieces from as far back as BC (Egyptian armbands and such). There was also a big theatre room with costumes from random well-known plays, or that had been worn by famous actors (like Lawrence Olivier). They had a couple of the costumes from the Broadway/West End Lion King musical. Anyway, it was a cool museum.
After the museum, I wandered around that area of Kensington for a while, just to see some of the streets and enjoy the atmosphere. I saw a lot of very cute houses, of course. I also found a Tesla Motors store...and as I stood there staring at the gorgeous car on display right behind the glass window, I said to myself "enjoy this, because it's probably the closest you're ever going to get to one of these". ;)
On my meandering way back to the flats, I discovered a treat. An AMAZING treat. And it's a good thing that I didn't discover it until a couple of days before I left, or I probably would have spent too much money there. It was a frozen yogurt place called Snog. They served real frozen yogurt - all-organic dairy ingredients, sweetened only with agave nectar, full of probiotics. It had that wonderful natural yogurt tang to it. I got the chocolate kind, with fresh strawberries on top. SO GOOD!
I ate that on my way back to the flats, where I ate dinner. Then, it was off to my final show in London: Joe Turner's Come and Gone, at the Young Vic theatre. It was fabulous! The acting was very good, the design was cool, and it was very compelling. I'll admit, none of us really understood it - it was pretty confusing - but we enjoyed it anyway!

Thursday:
I ran around like a crazy person! First, I wanted to milk my last day in London for all it was worth, and second, I needed to keep my mind off of how much I just wanted to be home!
I spent the morning beachcombing on the Thames. That river is disgusting, PS. It's so dirty. But beachcombing was a ton of fun! The Thames has been a garbage dump for centuries, especially since the time of the Roman empire. What that means for us today is that (aside from the river being dirty because it's still unfortunately treated as a dump) there is TONS of old stuff to be found! There are pieces of roman tiling everywhere, shards of pottery from roman to victorian times, pieces of victorian-era clay pipes (from what I read, these pipes were only smoked a couple of times and then tossed, which is why fragments of them are so prevalent), and old handmade nails. I brought back quite the pile of finds. It's great! I made sure I went when the tide was low...unfortunately though, it was low and coming in. So my time was cut a little short, since I had to make sure I could get back to and up the stone stairs to the top of the embankment before it was swallowed up in the dirty water.
After I thoroughly scrubbed my hands in the restroom of the free-entry museum right across from where I was beachcombing, I walked down to Tower Bridge. Again, something I'd been meaning to do the whole time I was there, and just hadn't gotten around to yet! So, I walked across it and took plenty of pictures.
On my way back to the tube, I walked through Petticoat Lane Market. True to its name, it was a market full of clothes! I saw some really cute things, included some adorable summer dresses. I almost bought one of the summer dresses until I realized that the fabric was so thin that I could see my hand through it when I put my hand inside the dress. Umm...not so good. Well, their being transparent saved me 10 pounds, right? lol.
After the market, I took the tube to Holborn. Right by that tube station is my favorite little sushi place - they have premade bento boxes, and you can also make your own boxes from their individual maki and nagiri. As you might guess, I went there one last time to grab an afternoon snack. Mmm...king prawn and mango maki, tandoori salmon maki, and a veggie maki. Yum!
After sushi, I went to a little museum right there by the tube stop, in Lincoln's Inn Fields. It's called Sir John Soane's museum, and it's basically his house, preserved exactly the way it was when he died. Admission is free, because when he left his house to England, he stipulated that it would always be a museum, it would be preserved exactly the way it was then, and it would always be free. So, you may ask, why do we care about his house? Well, this man was a packrat. And I mean, a packrat. He was an architect, and he filled his house with sculptures, elaborate carved marble and stone from old roman buildings, books, models of buildings he was going to build or had seen and admired, and even an Egyptian sarcophagus. It was all very cool. You could definitely tell that an architect lived there, because every room was elaborately, beautifully designed. No pictures allowed though... :P Why is it that in so many of the really cool museums, photography isn't allowed? LAME!
After the museum, I went back to the flats to eat dinner and pack. I hate packing, by the way. It's such a pain. *sigh*
After I had mostly finished packing, I went out with one of my roommates. We went to a bureau de change and changed the pounds we had left into US dollars. She was also awesome enough to take a few pictures of my with a London telephone booth, since I didn't have any yet. (Don't ask me how I managed to be there for 6 weeks and not get pictures with a telephone booth until my last day there...I don't know.)

Thus went my final two days in London. I left the flats at 5:00am Friday morning, and bid farewell while I waited at the bus stop for the bus that would take me to Heathrow.

Thank you, everyone, for taking the time to read my blog and keep up with me while I went on the adventure of a lifetime! I've learned a lot of things about myself and the world that I don't think I could have learned any other way. I feel very lucky to have had this opportunity! All of you who are still in college, or who aren't there yet: go on a study abroad - trust me, it's worth every cent! (Even if those cents are your last...you can get a job when you get back!)
Thanks again for reading my blog, emailing me, and keeping me in your prayers while I was away. I love you all! Cheers!!!!!!!

Boo finals.

As you may have gathered, today was our first final. LAME. It was actually a really fabulous final, so I can't complain too much. It was for our theatre class, and essentially it was a few short essays (that we were allowed to type rather than handwrite) about our experiences: how I've grown, what I liked, what I think should change about the program, etc. Piece of cake! Unfortunately, tomorrow's final isn't so kind. It's a real final. Matching, short answers, and an essay. Grrrr...Boo on you, Lance Larsen! Finals on Study Abroad is LAMENESS!!

After the final, I had to write one last paper. That took all afternoon, partially because I got frustrated with so I took an hour nap in the middle of writing it. That's how I deal with stress, by the way: sleep! It's the best solution for pretty much anything. Really and truly.

After I finished the paper, I decided to go to the Royal Opera House to see Carmen. Oh my gosh, you guys - it was so amazing!! First: the Royal Opera House is of an entirely different caliber than the English National Opera. I mean, the performers were great in both cases, but I'm talking about above and beyond that. I wore slacks and a nice blouse, and I almost felt under-dressed, because most women were in evening dresses (pearls and diamonds would not have been out of place) and the guys were all in suits. There were other women in slacks though, so I didn't feel awkward. During the interval, there wasn't just a bar with drinks for sale. You could order full-on gourmet looking appetizers. The seats were ridiculously expensive: everything in the stalls and the good seats on the balconies and in the boxes were over 100 pounds each. I got the cheapest ticket I could, and it was 13 pounds. Here's the deal though: I didn't have a seat (I stood) and there was a big pillar right in the way of my view of the stage. Awesome, right? lol. After the first half (90 minutes) I was able to sit down on a bench seat a couple rows in front of me because there was an empty space. The pillar wasn't in my way then either!
So, because this theatre is such a fancy-pants deal, they could afford to do some pretty awesome stuff on stage. Like bring on a real horse, donkey, and chickens. Just because they could, not because they were essential to the plot. Awesome, right? And they used real fire. The costumes, especially the Spanish gypsy dresses and the bullfighter suits, were beautiful. Oh, and by the way, I've had the Toreador song stuck in my head ever since I heard it in the first act...it's a very well-known opera song, and I'm sure you would all recognize it if you heard it. Anyway, after hearing the whole thing live, I can't stop humming it!

I love you all! Cheers!

I LOVE LIFE! :)

Let's be honest: today was fabulous! I woke up with so much energy - I felt giddy and excited, because I'm in London and still have a few days to experience some awesome stuff, and I get to see my family and friends very soon. It's a great feeling.

This morning was our last day of class - hooray! I've really enjoyed the classes, and I feel like I've learned a great deal between our discussions, analytical papers, and seeing shows. But at the same time, who isn't glad to be done with classes, right? :) I do have one more paper to write, due at midnight tomorrow, but that's the last bit of homework. We do have finals, which I think is lame on a study abroad, but I guess the teachers don't think it's lame. The other BYU study abroad staying here in the same flats doesn't have finals, but no, our teachers think it's still necessary. Boo. We have one tomorrow and one Wednesday.

Aside from being the last one, class today was exciting for another reason. Turns out, Rodger and Lance have been frugal, and the pound has stayed weak/gotten weaker since we've been here, so there was money left over from the program. What does that mean? They handed out cash in class today!! 60 pounds for each of us - that's like $90. AWESOME! Plus they bought lunch for us today - gourmet real Italian pizza. Which I couldn't really have anyway, because I knew it'd make me feel sick, but oh well. I did have a little 2-inch square of one just to try it, since I haven't had pizza in nearly a year. Oh my gosh, it was SO good. Real basil leaves, fresh mozzerella (how do you spell that??) and cherry tomatoes, on a perfectly thin chewy crust. I thought I'd just eaten heaven in pizza form. Buonissimo! Tomorrow, I think we're getting even more cash, which we're supposed to use to go see a final show. I hope I can, I'm just worried that going to see a show Thursday night when I have to leave the flats at 5am Friday morning to catch my flight might not be the smartest of ideas. I'll probably do it anyway - might as well, right? I can sleep on the flight.

After lunch I headed straight to the Houses of Parliament, something I've been meaning to visit this whole time. Visitors are allowed to sit in the galleries and watch the government do its thing, and I really wanted to do that. So, I sat in on the House of Lords for an hour or so. As I read through the information pamphlets, I realized that England's government is more similar to ours that I realized! Granted, they have a monarch, and the House of Lords isn't elected (although the House of Commons is), but functionally they're very similar. The Houses of Lords and Commons work a lot like our House of Representatives and Senate - they debate bills, and have to come to an agreement on it, and then it's sent to the monarch for a final seal of approval, just like we send it to the President to have it signed. (Although in England, the monarch hasn't withheld approval for over 200 years - it's just symbolic anymore, really.) They also sit according to parties (although, since the House of Lords isn't elected, they aren't all necessarily affiliated with one party). Whichever party gets the most representatives after a general election forms the Government (like how we have a majority party, only here they have more power) and the party with the second most representatives forms the Opposition - their job is to question and regulate the Government - checks and balances, right? I can't help but feel a little sorry for the third and final party...they don't really get anything special. One interesting thing that I learned about the House of Lords that's very different from our Senate or House of Representatives is that the House of Lords is "self-regulating". Essentially what that means is that nobody is in charge - no speaker of the house to call on people to speak or decide when it's time to move on to something else. They do have a Lord Speaker, but all he/she can do is offer advice. Funny, right? Because of that, there were definitely times during the debate I watched where everyone was talking at once (including some poor people trying desperately to restore order with cries of "my Lords, my Lords"). It always quieted down eventually, but with nobody to bang a gavel and call order, sometimes it took a few minutes. Anyway, I thought it was really interesting to learn a little more about how the government of this country functions.

After Parliament, I went to a little restaurant that got really good reviews online, and ordered fish and chips for dinner. I can now officially say that I've eaten fish and chips here in England! Holy cow, the portions were monstrous!!! I kid you not, the piece of cod on my plate was at least 8" long and 2 1/2" in diameter. It was HUGE. And the pile of chips took up the other half of the huge plate. I still can't believe I ate all of it - I'm still stuffed, and that was like 6 hours ago. It wasn't the best food I've ever eaten; honestly, the fish and chips at that little place in Oregon we went to with Grandma were better. But hey, it was London fish and chips - that makes it great, right? :) And for how much food I got, it was a good deal too. The whole meal was just over 7 pounds, which is pretty much the cheapest you can eat here in a sit-down restaurant.

After dinner I went to a show: Kabuki featuring Ebizo Ichikawa XI. He's the heir-apparent to the most prominent Kabuki family line in Japan - they've been around since the late 1600s. Kabuki is very much a hereditary profession - the sons of the stars continue on the tradition of their family's specific style of Kabuki. Oh, PS, Kabuki is an ancient, stylized Japanese theatre form: painted faces, elaborate costumes, musical accompaniment, etc. It's VERY Eastern, and takes a while to adjust to, but it's really cool once you accept that it isn't Western theatre and stop trying to impose those rules and standards onto it. I feel very privileged that I was able to go see it. It's not often that Western audiences get the chance to see authentic Japanese Kabuki, and the fact that I got to see the heir-apparent to the most prominent title of the profession is just amazing. AWESOME! I actually bought a program for this one, and I'm glad I did. I mean, I briefly studied Kabuki my freshman year of college, but I didn't remember much, and the program had a lot of good refresher information. (PS, you have to buy programs at every show here, they don't just give them away. They're usually between 3 and 5 pounds ($4.50-7.50). Gross, right? Usually you can get a free cast list if you want it, but if you want the directors note, historical background, explanations of interpretations, or any of that good stuff, then you have to pay. Another interesting side note: during the interval (intermission) nearly everyone buys a drink. Incidentally, that means that every theatre has a bar - usually one on each floor, ground level and each of the balcony levels. It also means that intervals last for painfully long - at least 20 minutes. At the bars, there are often little snacks for sale too - bags of nuts, crisps (chips), chocolate bars, and the like. However, without fail, whether or not they sell those little snacks, they sell ice cream. Little baby tubs, about 1/3 of the size of the miniature Haagen-Dazs or Ben and Jerry's you can buy in the grocery stores. With little baby spoons. I think it's so funny. Why ice cream? Who knows. Maybe it goes really well with alcohol and I just didn't know, because I don't drink.

OK, the end, because my computer is being retarded and refuses to charge for more than a few seconds without me tugging on it and adjusting it. Grrr....
Cheers, everyone!





In front of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament!

Another free day in London

I kept myself nice and busy today, even though I was tired and kind of wanted a nap...aren't you proud of me? I'm really trying hard to milk this last week for all that it's worth. :)

This morning I went to Portobello Road Market, like I've done every Saturday morning while I've been here. I spent longer than usual there this time, because I had to say goodbye. I'm going to miss that market. It's just the perfect blend for me - the great deals on food and scarves, vintage jewelry, and the whole atmosphere. I cried a little inside when I finally had to leave. Sigh...I don't like this whole end-of-trip thing. It's not cool.

After I dropped off my purchases from Portobello and ate lunch at the flat I took the tube over to see Temple Church. Of course, with my luck, it was closed today...lol. I'll try to go back and see it sometime next week, but the only other time it's supposed to be open when I'm available is Thursday morning, and that's my last day here. Anyway, we'll see if I make it after all. After that little side-trip, I stopped by the London Coliseum, home to the English National Opera (or ENO as it is usually called) to pick up a discount day-of ticket for Puccini's well-known opera Tosca.

After buying my ticket, I ran back to the flats to take a 15 minute power nap (mostly to alleviate my headache), ate dinner, and left for the opera!

I'm really glad that I went to an opera here. I've wanted to since I got here, and haven't managed to get around to it until now. I was a little disappointed though...because it was translated into English. I don't just mean that there were surtitles (that's what they call subtitles here), but the singers were all singing in English instead of Italian. Boo. English is an ugly language for an opera, especially when compared with Italian. Aside from that, I really loved the whole production. The singers were all very good, the orchestra was spot-on, the set was actually really cool, and I had a good seat. Overall, I think my favorite part of it was the villain of the story: the performer who played him not only had a fabulous voice, but he was a pretty good actor too, which is surprising for an opera. Usually the people on stage just prance around a little and sing beautifully, you know? But this performer really acted - he had objectives, tactics, and a real personality! The character is a total scumbag, and I positively detested him, but I really enjoyed detesting him because the performer was so good. Funny thing - at the end of the performance, when he came onstage to take his solo bow, the audience actually booed! I've never seen that happen before! Of course, we were all clapping too, because we really loved him, it's just that the character is so slimy and despicable and devoid of even a sliver of goodness, we just had to "boo". All in all, I'm really glad I went. I love opera. (Nerdy, right? But it's SO pretty, and it takes SO much talent! It's amazing!!!!)

Well, I need to hit the sack - it's nearly midnight and I have church at 9:00 tomorrow morning. I'm getting really excited to see you all again - it's been a long time without any close friends or family...I miss you guys.
Cheers!

Final day in Stratford and first day back in London

That title is a little misleading...we weren't really in Stratford for the 3rd day of the trip.

We left Stratford at 9am to go see two more cool sites before going home (?) to London that evening. Our first stop was Blenhiem Palace.

This palace is still lived in by the 11th Duke of Marlborough and his family: it's been the home to the Dukes of Marlborough since the first one, Sir John Churchill. Seeing a palace that is still in use is flabbergasting. I can't believe people really live here! Of course, we didn't actually see the places where people live, we just toured the rest of the palace, but still. As an interesting historical note, it's the place where Winston Churchill was born. His mother and father were visiting here, and she unexpectedly went in to labor 6 weeks early, so the whole affair was rather spur-of-the-moment. I guess they even had to borrow baby clothes from someone in the nearby town who'd just had a baby, because they had nothing to dress him in!
The most impressive things I think I saw in the palace were the tapestries. They are all handmade (in Norway, if I remember right) and depict various battle scenes in which the first Duke of Marlborough fought. He's an incredibly important figure in English history, by the way. Anyway, these tapestries were made specifically for the rooms they still hang in, so they fit the walls perfectly. They're huge, and absolutely stunning. It's amazing that people made them by hand! There was a great deal of antique furniture in the many rooms we passed through, and our tour guide told us about many of them. I remember in particular a very pretty pair of 18th century french desks made of inlaid tortoise shell and ebony. Um, can you say LUXURY??
While I was at the palace, I also walked over to one of the many gardens. This particular garden had a maze, and of course, I went through it. It was really fun! I've never been through a hedge maze before, so it was a new experience for me. I kept thinking about the final task of the triwizard tournament...fortunately, these hedges didn't close behind me or try to eat me!

After Blenhiem Palace, we went to Oxford for the afternoon. Since we only had a few hours, I had to rush around and choose which highlights I wanted to see. I wish I'd had more time to explore, but as it was, I still saw some really fantastic stuff. First, I went to the Oxford Museum of Natural History, and saw the skeleton of the Oxford dodo. Cool, right? Then I went to Christ's Church College, which is particularly interesting over the other colleges that comprise Oxford for one reason: the dining hall is the Great Hall of the first two Harry Potter movies! So, I have another thing to add to my list of Harry Potter tour sites I've visited! It was really cool, and I'm definitely glad that I spent the few pounds and went in to see it. I'm really jealous of the Oxford students who can eat there whenever they want... ;) After the hall, I went to the Eagle and Child pub. This pub is where the Inklings met weekly to discuss their writings and other things with each other over a cold pint or two. Who were the Inklings, you ask? Well, none other than JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis, to name its most prominent members. I sat in the room where they liked to sit, and enjoyed an order of chips (fries). I could almost feel the literary genius seep into my brain as I sat there... :) After that, it was time to board the coach and head back to London.

Today was a busy day too! Since I only have a week left, I'm starting to feel really anxious to get in all of the sites I still want to see. This whole trip I've felt like I have all the time in the world, and I'm starting to realize that I don't. So, I'm pushing myself to get up and stay up to see lots of things before I leave!

This morning I went to the British Library, because a number of students in the group said it was really cool and recommended that everyone go, if they get the chance. The reason to visit isn't because it's a particularly large library, or a really old library, but because of one special room inside of it. This particular room is a treasure trove of ancient manuscripts - including the Magna Charta, the original manuscript of Handel's Messiah (he had AWFUL penmanship), the original Beowulf manuscript (10th/11th century), Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre manuscript, pages from Da Vinci's notebooks, a Gutenberg Bible, and the Codex Sinaiticus Old and New Testaments (the earliest manuscript of the complete New Testament - Greek, from about AD300 - and a slightly later partial manuscript of the Old Testament). Seeing all of those famous works and books in person was a little overwhelming! You aren't supposed to take pictures in the exhibit, which was annoying; but shhh, don't tell, I managed to take two pictures, one of the Messiah and one of the New Testament Sinaiticus. :P

After the library, I went to the parish church of St. Mary Aldermary's, because I have some ancestors who worshipped there and I thought it would be a good thing to see. When my ancestors (they're on Dad's side - the Allertons, primarily) were there, it was a different church than the one I was in today, but that's because the one they worshipped in was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. Fortunately, the parish records survived, which is probably why we know about them. I've seen copies of the records, but not the original - I don't even know where that is. Anyway, it was a pretty church, and it was cool to think that my ancestors came to that same place to worship.

After the church, I grabbed takeaway sushi for lunch at ate at a little park (with everyone else in London, because the weather was gorgeous today - it was hard to see the grass underneath all the picnickers!). Then I headed back to the flats to write a paper due tonight.

After (almost) finishing the paper, I left to go catch a show: Les Miserables! It still astonishes me how much cheaper musicals are here compared to Broadway. I mean, London's West End is of the same caliber as Broadway, and plays many of the same big-name musicals, but it's so much more affordable. I got my ticket straight from the theatre box office for 15 pounds - about 23 dollars. There's no way I could get into Les Mis on Broadway for less than $75, even in the nosebleed seats (like the 15 pound ticket I bought tonight). When I got to the theatre, I was lucky enough to be able to slyly switch to a better seat because it wasn't sold out. So, instead of my original seat, where about 2/3 of the stage was obstructed unless I sat really far forward and craned my neck, I was on the front row of the 2nd balcony. Even though it was really high up, it was a fabulous seat. Since I was on the front row, but on a balcony, there weren't any heads in front of me, and I could see the whole stage without craning my neck up (like the front row of the ground seats). Anyway, I'm really glad I went and saw it. I hadn't seen any musicals in London yet, and I'd never seen Les Mis, so it was definitely worth it. Enjolras was positively to die for - his voice had just the right amount of vibrato, and it rang beautifully...and he was really attractive too. :) Javert and Jean Valjean didn't fail to impress either, and Cosette hit the high notes effortlessly. My only complaint was Marius. One of the guys from the choir program who saw it a few weeks ago nick-named him goat man, and now I know exactly why. Every time he got angsty, he'd get really tense, his vibrato would turn into a really rapid bleating, and his head and shoulders would literally shake. When he didn't get tense, he really had a nice voice...he just needed to relax sometimes! :) Anyway, I'm really glad that I went to see a just-for-fun musical here. It was very worth it!

Oh boy. It's late. :P Love you all! Can't wait to see you again!