hey folks,
i promise to put pictures on here of the weekend and other trips i failed to tell you about... but the blogger site is having image loading issues. promise they'll be here very soon!
love,
s

***The Street***
I currently have enough information on "the street" to fill several blogs! This weekend I had quite an interesting experience: I ended up spending the majority of my weekend by myself in London. Yes, (to the dismay of my parents, I'm sure) I had to rely on my own wits and navigational and people skills. It turned out to be one of the best things I've ever done. To discover that I can indeed learn to use the underground, navigate bus systems, and find my way around was most valuable! The highlight of the weekend was Saturday afternoon. I was supposed to meet up with some Texas kids at noon to go see Les Mis, but they were nowhere to be found. So, I came up with an alternative plan, which was to try to find a music festival happening in southern London somewhere. After some tube confusion, I made it to Clapham Common, which is a lovely park. The music festival was put on by Ben and Jerry's, so there was free ice cream of every flavor (quite a few) everywhere! Ice cream! FREE! Every flavor! Also, there was a CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN. A fountain of melted chocolate, people!
In addition to all the sugar, the music was incredible. One of my favorites, Badly Drawn Boy, played. It was such a cool experience to see someone you love play in a foreign country. In addition to Badly Drawn Boy, Echo and the Bunnymen played, and a variety of others including the Pipettes.... my new favorite girl group!
But even in all of this excitement, I began to feel a little lonely. Miss Independent was ready to make some friends. Just my luck, a tall kid wearing a UT t-shirt walked past me. "Hey, hook 'em!" my dorky self shouted. He turned around with a smile and we ended up sorting out that he was not, in fact, from Texas, but loved Texas and Texans as he had stayed in Austin for South by Southwest music festival with a bunch of Texas guys. I was then introduced to all of his buddies and we all hung out for the rest of the day.
What an absoultely delightful experience! This is exactly the sort of thing I had always hoped would happen on "the street" in England. Beautiful surroundings, good music and new friends. What more can a gal from Texas ask for?

****THE MUSEUM****
On our trip to the Tate Modern in London on Thursday evening, I was completely struck by one particular piece. I'd made my way through much of the museum, and was on my last floor- the fifth. The art on this floor consisted mostly of minimalist art and conceptual art. Most of it was pretty abstract, so imagine my surprise when I came to be standing in front of a sculpture by Edgar Degas called "Little Dancer Aged Fourteen". I didn’t know what the piece was called or who made it before Thursday, but it left quite an impression on me. The reason it was so special for me is because I remember when I was a little girl, my grandfather gave me a very small version of this piece for Christmas one year. Seeing it in person and so much larger was quite an emotional experience. A lot of memories began flooding back of my grandfather, of Christmas, and of the sculpture. At that point in my life, my grandfather was very sick and my grandmother did most of the Christmas shopping for the kids. However, I remember thinking that this gift seemed like something he had picked out and really wanted to give me. It was special for that reason, and I was doing ballet at the time, so I loved the ballerina as well. As much as I love the miniature, it has nothing on the real sculpture! The detail is so beautiful- the tutu is made of the most delicate gauze. The dancer also has a pink silk ribbon in her hair. It's funny, when you look at it from far away, the whole piece looks bronze. When you get closer to it, the details really pop. These more tangible elements are what make the piece so special. It was really the only one on that floor I enjoyed. I'm not a huge fan of most conceptual art, and I especially dislike minimalist art. I was so surprised to see a sculpture that was completely different from everything around it. This piece is probably the most touching sculpture I have ever seen. The details of cloth and silk bring a real human element to the piece. It truly captured my attention and stirred up lot of memories and emotion.

*****THE NOVEL*****
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a truly fascinating piece of fiction. Of all the books we've read for class, it is my favorite by far. Watching the turn of the main character, Dorian, from a naive, well-meaning, impressionable young man into a horrible, evil person concerned solely with himself was what I found most interesting. The reader can pinpoint exactly where Dorian begins to change into a different person in chapter seven. A night out to the theater to show off his new love, the young actress, Sybil Vane, turns out to be disastrous on many levels. First, Sybil is awash in her love for Dorian and no longer has the desire or ability to act with the same brilliance as she had before. Thus, she embarrasses Dorian in front of his friends. This is where we see the sudden and drastic change in our main character: he goes backstage and tears the girl apart with quotes such as "you have killed my love"; "you are shallow and stupid"; "you have spoiled the romance of my life"; and the best of all: "what are you now; a third rate actress with a pretty face." These harsh and cruel words, so uncharacteristic of our sweet young Dorian thus far, were such a quick about-face that I hardly even believed he was serious. Sadly, he was, and the young Sybil ended up killing herself because of it.
Now the book really becomes captivating. Dorian goes home on this night, after behaving so callously, so brutally. He takes a look at the painting Basil Hallward made of him and notices the most subtle change in his smile.... a cruelty is present. This is my favorite part of the book. After first being so struck by Dorian's behavior, then seeing the result in the painting, bringing in the horror element to the novel- it's deliciously terrifying! We think that maybe it's all in Dorian's imagination, but we continue to read and see that indeed it's not Dorian going insane, but some mystical, ghastly thing that has happened to this painting, exchanging Dorian's youth and beauty for his soul's tarnish.
There has been much debate in this class as to whether or not the book is gothic, or filled with ideas of realism. In hindsight, after reviewing chapter seven of the novel, I feel that whatever people may glean from reading the novel in present day, Oscar Wilde was writing this for the purposes of producing an excellent story, like a gothic fairy tale. I compare it to a fairy tale because they both have the element of the moral element to the story, and the consequences faced by those who do cruel deeds. The evil characters always get it in the end, so to speak, and my opinion of Wilde's gothic intentions are reinforced by this analogy.

more pics- sorry but this only lets me do them five at a time.
top: a pond at Stourhead in the rain- try to see the raindrops, they were so pretty! next: a marble statue down in a grotto, also at Stourhead. next: me plus new friend sheena on the way there. next: me in front of massive redwood tree at Stourhead- these kinds of gardens were famous for importing plants and trees from all over the world, and the architecture was done in classic Greek and Roman styles. bottom: temple of Apollo- our first view of it! we made our way through the grounds with various views of temples and the like as it is a picturesque landscape garden with the goal of making little pictures in openings of trees and such. As you can see, I LOVED it. More pictures to come this week of more urban/London stuff. let me know what you think of these! what do you want to see more of and hear more about? love, s

some more random pictures! top: view of chapel from my bedroom window here at Brasenose in the evening- gorgeous! next: view of some of Stourhead from Temple of Apollo- this place is VAST! next: Stonhenge, yay!
next: a record store here in Oxford. the entire upstairs is full of vinyl for one pound apiece! I bought a Sam Cooke record. bottom: me as Kiera Knightley in Pride and Predjudice. The only thing missing is Darcy. :) Really tho, this is where the film was shot!

***The Street***
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My favorite encounter with "the street" came last Tuesday on our second trip to London for the Oscar Wilde walk and the Museum of London. Not only was I extremely excited to see places featured in The Picture of Dorian Gray, I was really looking forward to just spending some free time wandering around in the city. Both of these things turned out to be really rewarding. The Wilde walk took us up and down the Strand, seeing some famous hotels and theaters. The Strand all on its own is fascinating enough; when you have some sights in particular to add to the history of the place, it's the museum meeting street!
Our other wanderings took us to the Texas Embassy for happy hour. This experience was hilarious. Probably one of my favorite moments of the day was walking in with our group and seeing another kid from the trip, Doug, sitting in there alone drinking a frozen margarita! I don't know why this was so hysterically funny to me, but it was. We enjoyed some crappy Tex-Mex together and had margaritas. It was interesting to see what the English think Tex-Mex is- not very good, but the tortilla chips and salsa were enough to make us happy!
We then continued on and found Chinatown, which was really interesting. I mean, I didn't even know London had a Chinatown. Do all big cities have an area like that? Anyway, Doug and I split off while the rest of the group ate Chinese. We got a little lost, but it turned out to be a good experience. Neither of us had a map, so I had to ask directions quite a few times; mostly to try to find Soho. I was given incorrect directions twice, which took us to some interesting areas of town. In getting a little bit turned around, I had the pleasant opportunity to see a free glockenspiel performance in a Swiss square. It was delightful!
Eventually, we found the part of London called Soho- a cool part of town central to gay culture. I hope to go back there the next time I'm in London and spend a little more time looking around because by the time we found it, we only had about 30 minutes to check it out. We then made our way back to the meeting point at Covent Garden. This ended up being my favorite part of the whole day- the last 20 minutes or so before I had to be back on the bus. This proves my theory about myself that my favorite times in a new place are always the random ones that occur; they're never planned, and they always involve people-watching! Anyway, we were walking back to the bus through Covent Garden, and there were several musicians playing in the square. One was a man playing "No Woman, No Cry" by Marley, all by himself. It was an otherwise quiet evening in the square and there were a few people listening calmly. There was an old gray rasta man sitting at the bottom of a gorgeous ionic column, quietly singing along and bobbing his head. It was such an awesome experience. As we moved a little farther away, there was another musician, a guitarist, playing what sounded like an adaptataion of "Minor Swing" by Django Reinhardt. Really, it's times like these that make me glad I'm studying ethnomusicology, but make me sad I don't have my own recording equipement! Talk about a scrapbook! How fantastic would it be to be able to take those sounds and memories home? I really didn't want to walk the extra 200 feet to get to the bus; I could have stayed right there all night. However, I know I won't forget that calm moment in the square listening to these two men play as it has proved to be one of my favorite "street" experiences thus far.

***The Novel***
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So finally, our class has reached the end of Bleak House. I felt like we'd never get to the end of it. As long as the novel is, I feel like it was a good choice to coincide with our travels to London and gardens elswhere. I don't intend to focus on one passage in particular here, but rather on the conclusion of the novel as a whole.
After finishing the book, I've come to have a deeper appreciation for Dickens. As the novel drew to a close, he had to wrap up many loose ends. I hadn't realized while reading the book exactly how many characters he had written in. There are over 50. The great thing I've noticed about Dickens in hindsight is that he had an amazing ability to keep up with all of the characters, and to give them each such color and life that you feel like you really know them well, even if they only appeared in the novel for a short time. I realized this as in the last few chapters, he (through Esther's narrative mostly) tells us how characters such as Sir Leicester, Charley, Caddy and Mr. Turveydrop end up. What's interesting is that we as readers actually even care to know. That's what I mean when I say he has given these more minor characters color and interesting qualities so that even the most minor person deserves a small conclusion to their role in the novel.
The other main thing I noticed in finishing Bleak House was the continuance of shattered child/parents relations, which we also discussed in class. Dickens starts us off with the sad story of young Esther, having never known her mother. We then progress to the scene in which Esther is reestablished with her mother, yet she is told she can never see her again. Finally, Volumina dies and Esther is truly motherless in every sense of the word. Other examples include Charley and her brother in their lack of parents, Caddy's completely emotionally absent mother in her life, and Jo's lack of parents. The closest thing he had to a father figure was probably Captain Hawdon, who died as well. Then we have the sad and irritating story of Rick and Ada and their child. I've never been so irritated with a character in a novel as much as I was with Rick; Dickens led me to expect more from him initially. What a disappointment, and thus he continued this strain of ruined parent/child relations by leaving his unborn child fatherless. I will say that the only really successful relationship of the sort is between Mr. Jarndyce and Esther. We all thought it was to be ruined as well with their marriage looming in the distance. I think most people who read the book were disheartened by the idea and we didn't want things to change between Jarndyce and Esther because they have such a good and honest dynamic- one of the only honest ones in the novel, aside from Esther's love for Woodcourt. However, he knew he well enough to figure it out, and Mr. Jarndyce certainly pulled through as my favorite character in the novel when he made the surprising twist in giving Esther to Allan Woodcourt. He truly did have her best interests at heart, and it truly did make him happy to see her happy.
Again, in conclusion I now appreciate Dickens' ability to have so many characters and to have so many interestin connecting points between them. His interweaving of the story between characters from the city and the country is masterful and touching, and I'm glad to have read this novel.

some random fun pictures for your viewing pleasure:
top: Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford-on-Avon
next: pub in stratford with Doug, Erin, and Josh
next: Sheena+me in Hyde Park, London
next: Sheena, me, Lauren, Kindi, Ann in Bourton-on-the-Water (random village in England on the way to Stratford, said to be the prettiest in all of England)
bottom: me in front of the Royal Shakespeare theater in Stratford during intermission of Henry IV! It was so cool!
More pics to come of monuments without me in front of them... sorry but I like pictures of people better than just a monument. :)

***THE MUSEUM***
Our first trip to London took us to several museums- The Dickens House Museum, The Victoria and Albert... even Harrod's, in some respects, is a museum, if you think about it. I found the V&A to be the most fascinating. As an avid collector of all things old, whether it be clothing, hats, books, posters or antique furniture, the museum in general appeals to me. One exhibit in particular really caught my attention- a selection of vintage clothing, mostly women's fashions. Looking over the years of Dior and Versace, I found myself salivating over organza, tulle, silk and beading on evening gowns, particularly one number from 1955. As a sucker for the color pink and elaborate beading, this one drew me to it immediately. It was made by Givenchy; haute couture of the 50s, out of the most gorgeous material- embroidered silk. There was a small train at the back; it was made to measure. In contrast to many of the other items in the exhibit which could very easily be found in a vintage shop, or even a thrift store, this one's value shone out from behind the glass. Displayed like all the rest on a simple mannequin, it was special; it seemed alive. I could easily see myself wearing it somewhere fancy, feeling exquisite, and I wanted so badly to get it out from behind the glass and try it on. It looked like it would fit me perfectly. In this sense, the museum is trapping a beautiful work of art that need not be kept out of life. Yes, yes, it's keeping it from the danger of ruin and decay, but I feel strongly that this dress ought to be worn! And maybe someday it will be, by some rich young starlet attending the premiere of her latest film. When they ask her who she's wearing, she'll have the pleasure of replying "vintage Givenchy, 1955. Isn't it fantastic?"

***THE STREET***
There's a lot to be said about wandering the old streets of London, seeing all the old Dickens-related places and all that.... but what have really interested me most are the old streets and buildings and people here in Oxford. The history astounds me; every picture taken looks as picturesque as a postcard or something taken by a professional photographer. Every building has a story; history is ingrained even in the stones of the streets themselves. A cross remains uncovered on the cobblestone streets where martyrs were burned during the reign on Bloody Mary. History is more highly valued here than in the US, I think. Aside from all of this, my favorite thing about any place is always people watching. Yesterday as I wandered in search of a cheap lunch, Oxford was really alive and bustling. Evidently, Saturdays are the days when all manner of street performers get out and do their thing. I saw a hippie playing the bagpipes (rather well, I think... but not like I'd really know the difference), a man pretending to be a statue, and an old woman playing the violin in a really quiet area of town. She was playing a sort of haunting melody which seemed completely appropriate for the place- right next to an ancient church. All of these things aside, my favorite street experience yesterday was watching a band playing in the good old style of American mid 1950's rock and roll. They were called "The Very Same", I guess because they completely ripped off their sound and weren't ashamed to admit it! They were a three piece band, guitar, bass, and drums. They had that old timey sound I adore, and it made me miss home a little bit for the first time. I really wanted to go get a good old American cheeseburger and a milkshake and watch them play... but there aren't any good old American cheeseburgers here. It was so interesting to hear them play and watch people's reactions. I heard a lot of "are they Americans?" and "oi, are these guys Brits?" in reaction to the sound. Some people were too busy to stop for a second and watch, others danced around a bit. A group of teenage boys proceeded to dance around in a circle which was wildly entertaining. This gem of an experience is not one that can be found in a guidebook. These sorts of things occur when you're not looking for them, when you happen to wander into them. These are my favorite sort; watching that band and feeling nostalgic yet excited to be in England, watching the English, watching the tourists... all of these things culminated into one of my favorite moments of the trip thus far.

***THE NOVEL***
In chapter 22 of Bleak House, I came across a particularly depressing section. Mr. Bucket and Mr. Snagsby have gone to Tom-all-Alone's to find Jo, and while they are looking for him, they come across two women. They are the wives of brickmakers from Hertfordshire, two destitute women, one with a newborn baby. Bucket notices the child, and asks how old it is, the answer; three weeks. Bucket asks whose child it is, and a very disturbing quote emerges: "'I was the mother of one like it, master, and it died.' 'Ah, Jenny, Jenny!' says the other woman to her; 'better so. Much better to think of dead than alive, Jenny! Much better!" Now this disturbs Bucket as well as the reader, and he questions the woman about it. Her reply in summary is that she is scared of how the boy is to be brought up in such a horrible environment, with an abusive father, and what good kind of life could he possibly have? She knows his life will be hard, and he will become hardened by its roughness. She loves the child so much that she wishes for him to not have to experience this harsh existence, an existence very similar to Jo's, I would imagine. In this passage, we see how the novel is threaded in a way that Dickens sheds light on the plight of the poor. It's a topic we discussed in class; the hopelessness of the poor in London at that time. From the very beginning of the book, Dickens described the never-ending fog, the black sooty flakes falling from the sky, the mud, the ash, the filth- it's a recurring theme throughout the novel. I think Dickens was perhaps trying to do something to help by describing an awful place like Tom-all-Alone's. The passage I have described is so sad; it pulls at the heartstrings that this woman would rather have her child die than have him experience his life as a poor child out on the streets of London. She doesn't mean it literally, of course, but it strikes the reader to the core- at least it struck me that way.

hello all!
sorry it's taken such a long time (again) but more internet issues afoot. Things are going quite splendidly! After Stourhead on Monday, we had another trip Wednesday to London! It was my first time to London (other than the airport), and it was so exciting. We're reading Bleak House for one of my classes, so we took a Dicken walk through the old law courts and such as well as the Dickens museum, where he and his family lived for a couple years. We then found a pub and had a beer whilst waiting for the coach to come and take us to Harrod's. On the way to Harrod's, we were able to see the more metropolitan/swanky side of London with more shops, etc.... Harrod's was amazing! I felt pretty much like a pauper in there; everything is insanely expensive except for maybe the food. We all got "take away" and took it with up to Hyde Park to eat, which was delightful except for the part when I was opening a bottle of lemonaide and it was apparently highly fizzed and spewed all over my pants. I dried out eventually. So post lounging in the park, we wandered over to the Royal Albert Hall and the memorial across from it.... pics to come i hope... and then on towards the Victoria and Albert Museum. I LOVED the V&A. Loved it. The fashion/vintage clothing exhibit was so interesting, as well as old British stuff, and the Raphael exhibit. I intend to go back sometime while i'm here- there just wasn't enough time because it's such a huge place. Ummmm, everything else is going fine. I still adore Oxford, even more so than when I arrived. Saw Pirates of the Caribbean II last night which was an interesting experience. I loved the movie, yes, but seeing it in and English theater was funny as far as previews and such are concerned. What else... today am seeing Henry IV at the Swan theater, should be cool. Possible trip on Saturday to London, possible trip Sunday to Cambridge. It's only 20 minutes away and there's a castle there. Promise I'm going to figure out the photo thing eventually... just hard to do in this lab cause it's crowded and people are waiting to use the computers. FYI, also, this blog is going to be used for one of my classes, so be expecting some slightly more formal entries on things I've seen here, perhaps a little more concise and detailed bits on a particular thing I saw at a museum or in a novel we're reading, or just an experience on the street. I'll probably put some sort of mark like this : *____* to signify such entries. Or perhaps I will allow you to just figure it out on your own. I'm off now, hoping Richard the "scout" (english speak for cleaning person but more highly respected?) is finished "sorting" my room and "hoovering". :) Oi!

WHAT A DAY!!!
Today has been amazing from start to finish. Woke up, had some breakfast, waited for an hour to go to class in my room, when a funny little old man name Richard came in to clean. He was precious. Then classes, then break for lunch (TASTY sandwich on a baguette with brie/tomatoes/cucumber) then off to Stourhead, about 2 hours away, to see the house and gardens. I swear upon my life, I have never been in a more gorgeous place. It was like the Garden of Eden or something. Plus it rained the whole time so it seemed even more lush somehow. It was acres and acres of the most beautiful trees and plants and flowers and grass from all over the world, as well as rivers and ponds and sculptures and temples and EVERYTHING took my breath away! Every picture I took looks like a postcard. It's ridiculous. We walked and walked and walked for miles in the rain through all of these winding pathways, and I can't believe that it was all one family's property at one point- now it belongs to The National Trust. Anyway, being a HUGE fan of the latest film version of Pride and Predjudice, imagine my excitment when we came upon a view of a place seen in the film... the Temple of Apollo. Amazing. AMAZING! I flipped out. In case you've seen it- it's the place where Darcy proposes to Elizabeth for the first time and she refuses. Oh my gosh, it was incredible. ANYway, when we left there we were able to stop by a little place called STONEHENGE. That was incredible as well- I got some good pics, but you can't get real close to it. Funny how close to the highway it actually is! Needless to say, after all that walking in the rain up hills and in grottos and etc, I am exhausted. My legs are on fire, but it was absolutely the coolest thing ever. Wednesday we go to London... Oscar Wilde stuff and Victoria and Albert Museum... plus other random sightseeing. I dunno if it's possible to top today tho. We'll see. Tonight is "white trash" night at the pub... i may go for a second just to see exactly what the limeys think that means. :) more to come!
PS: i'd have more pics on here but the computer is being real lame. i'll try it again in the morning! you MUST see stourhead. MUST.

(a few pics to tide y'all over)

Hello all!
I know it's taken me forever to let you people know what's going on, but I've been having internet issues with the laptop. Anyhoo.... I got here safe and sound! The flight was a pain in the derriere because it was delayed two and a half hours, so that sucked. Sleeping on the plane proved impossible for me... also, I couldn't watch the movies because the back half of the plane had no sound! Needless to say, it was a long, boring, sleepless flight. Also I was in the farthest back right corner on the last row of the whole plane. It was a little claustraphobic. BUT... when we finally got close to landing, I got the courage to open the window cover, and there was the island! (i was terrified of looking and seeing only water and flipping out) It was so gorgeous to look down on, like a patchwork quilt. I started getting ridiculously excited at this point. Anyway, we finally made it to London, hooray!, airport was boring, got on the coach to Oxford- passed out. Our little bus driver Trevor was hilarious tho. We made it to Brasenose College (the one I'm staying at) which is right in the middle of Oxford on High Street. It's SO ancient and gorgeous. I couldn't ask for a more amazing place to live. I'll be sending a link for photo albums as soon as I get internet in my room- it won't let me do it in this lab. Anyway, we were all pretty exhausted but managed to wander the streets a little, and we all went out for a beer. Not the most exciting night, but i'd been up for more than 24 hours at that point! Today was absolutely amazing- a tour of the colleges at Oxford (pretty much spreads over the entire town... thus the name) and the botanic gardens. I took about a dillion pictures, which will prolly be tedious to everyone but me. :) We had a really nice lunch at a pub on the river... perfect view, perfect breeze, perfect beer... I was a happy girl. I went home, read a little, took a nap, etc.... met for dinner. Food is bland here, but edible. Actually tonight we had a really delicious chocolate mousse thingy which I devoured. :) Tonight, I'm heading to the pub (IN MY COLLEGE, about 50 yards from my room) to watch the rest of the soccer game and then a ghost tour of oxford which is sure to scare the crap out of me, but it'll be fun anyway. The wing where I live is already all Harry Potter ghosty anyway, so it's fine. SO to sum up, I'm good, happy, making tons of friends, seeing this amazing little town. I couldn't be more excited to be where I am tonight! Coming soon will be links to see all of my pictures and a most interesting list of funny differences between USA and England. All good stuff. I miss you people a little, but not that much. ;)