Friday, December 4th was absolutely glorious. I am still glowing with the recollection. Laura, Harman, Navjot, Jen, and I went to the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs. The day could not have been finer for the season, and the scenery could not have been more beautiful if it... well, for anything. The cliffs and the downs have such pleasing contours, and the clouds hung about in all the right places. I felt as if there was nothing and nowhere else on Earth where I would be happier in those minutes we spent there. All of us were happy, and we were all relaxed and taking it in in the most selfless way possible. Recalling my thoughts, I realize I was not worried of concerned about anything. Which is weird for me. There was not a single negative thought the entire time. "The stars all seemed to be aligned" -- listening to The Killers whilst writing this.
We returned to Brighton and dined at Fat Leo's, where the Italian food is genuine, and always a treat. I think it is my favorite so far, as it is delicious, fairly priced, and always staffed with good humor. Afterwards, I went to frisbee practice, which was wet, and slightly painful, but entirely worth it. I think the game was a personal best, although I had no idea whilst I was playing. I was too focused.
Today (Dec. 5th), we are on our way to Oxford, and then Stratford-Upon-Avon where we will see the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Arabian Nights. But, for now, we are on the bus.
** after this, I wrote a lot of stuff which I do not agree with now. One of them being, "I love all the imperfect because anyone who values only perfection must always be bitterly disppointed and angry"... Okay, so, Hannah-Past, take this into consideration: if Gaudi had not been so intent on perfecting his work, had he not been dissatisfied with his own designs and executions of those designs, if he had happily said, "well, it's not perfect!" and laughed off his life's work, we wouldn't have the Sagrada Familia (or at least part of it), or all of his wonderful designs. We may not even have Darth Vader (since Lucas got the idea for Vader's helmet from one of Gaudi's chimneys, according to legend). Anyway, more about Gaudi later... I just wanted to put in the note there that what I write at the time, I don't always believe later. ** Anyway, moving on.
Oxford was interesting. I had venison at a little Thai restaurant So Young, Jisoo, Daye, Kyunghee, and I found wandering around the narrow Oxford streets. It was so spicy, but very delicious. And I was so happy to be eating spicy food, I didn't really care there were tears streaming down my face from the spice. We shopped at the famous Oxford market and I got some Christmas presents, and saw a dead deer hanging in the butcher's shop. Most of the girls were abhorred by the carcass, but I thought it was cool they were selling an entire deer, or at least displaying one. The deer was very small though, compared to Idaho standards, and at first I mistook it for a large goat.
Anyway, we walked all around Oxford and I got to hear the Oxford choir sing at University Church of St. Mary's, which was really cool. I got some video of it, I just have to find it. My videos and pictures are in terrible organizational disarray.
We walked around the Old Library, the outside, obviously, not inside... I saw some students entering it's bowels however, and I thought to myself, "How lucky they are! I would give anything to get my hands on some original publications." Oxford houses at least one copy of every book every published in the English Language. So naturally, the Old Library filled up, and now there are several libraries all over the place, of course. We also walked by the Thames, or a branch of it that runs through Oxford. I liked Oxford, except for the shopping district (which was LUDICROUSLY crowded), it was a nice quiet place. Very old, very quaint, and reminded me a lot of the first Harry Potter movies, and I'm sorry for the kind of mediocre reference, but the first Harry Potter movies have a lot of things in common with Oxford. The narrow streets, the weird places where there is total silence, then there is the leaning buildings, and the straight, flat lawns. The later Harry Potter films look like they were based in Scotland (and indeed they were). But the first two were DEFINITELY based at Oxford.
After wandering around, we got back on the bus and booked it to Stratford-Upon-Avon. We stayed at a delightful little B&B about 2km outside the actual city centre. As old as Oxford is, Stratford seems older. It's a very flat place. There are no hills to speak of. The trees are old, and Shakespeare is everywhere.
Anyway, after we got in from Oxford, we had a little free time before we went to the Courtyard Theatre to see Arabian Nights, so Apryl, Lauren, and I went to eat at the Golden Bee (or something "Bee") pre-show. We got a little bit lost on our way to the theatre, but found it in time.
Arabian Nights was a very interesting show. There was a lot of magic tricks involved. One of the most interesting things was the set. It was a white floor, with a circular, revolving sand pit, which had the awesome quality of being softly luminescent when lit with different lights, instead of a hard reflecting surface. The story was pretty simple: A king has lost faith in women and executes one in his village whenever he has time. One woman decides that the blood shed has gone far enough and requests to be the king's woman for the night (doomed to be beheaded), however, her stories are so good, he must postpone her execution until he is tired of her stories. Her stories are the main part of the play, with the king's story getting mixed up in the middle of it. One night, she runs out of stories, and the king must decide whether to kill her or not. Of course, he loves her and decides not to kill her, and they live happily ever after.
The puppets in the show were beautiful as well. The story was not complex or compelling (I think it's more like a children's play), but the sets were beautiful, the acting was good, and I had a good time overall.
The next morning, we had breakfast, and then I went out for a walk, because we weren't supposed to meet up before noon.
And I'm sorry, I wrote a huge description of Stratford, and my computer just deleted it. I'm going to go scream for a little bit and come back to you when I'm all calmed down.
ARGH!
Hannah
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Procrastination
If there's one thing I've learned in England, its that I like to procrastinate.
This is one of the few things that I like that I actually hate.
For example: I have procrastinated writing in this blog because I had other things I didn't want to procrastinate from. Now, I am writing in this blog procrastinating a project I should finish. A vicious cycle.
What would solve my problem is if I worked up a schedule and stuck to it and didn't fiddle about in the grey area of what I "had" to get done.
So, anyway... maybe if I stop procrastinating this blog, I will feel inspired to finish my other projects which are in dire need of attention.
The only thing I have not been putting off for another day has been taking long walks in the sunshine. Mainly because I know that you can't really expect the weather to stay good for you. If only I took the same attitude with my other work!
I am shamefully shameless.
Anyway, in other news, the weather has been great this April so far, and right now, there is a cricket match going on the field outside my window... it's now almost 5pm... they have been playing since about 1:30 and show no signs of giving up yet. The weather is foggier today, but still pleasant over all. I got a nice sun burn yesterday as Apryl, Ed, and I spent about 4 hours in the sun.
Oh well,
I have all of my adventures written down, they're just on paper... so I will transmit them via-keyboard to your screen.
Thanks for reading.
Love,
Hannah
This is one of the few things that I like that I actually hate.
For example: I have procrastinated writing in this blog because I had other things I didn't want to procrastinate from. Now, I am writing in this blog procrastinating a project I should finish. A vicious cycle.
What would solve my problem is if I worked up a schedule and stuck to it and didn't fiddle about in the grey area of what I "had" to get done.
So, anyway... maybe if I stop procrastinating this blog, I will feel inspired to finish my other projects which are in dire need of attention.
The only thing I have not been putting off for another day has been taking long walks in the sunshine. Mainly because I know that you can't really expect the weather to stay good for you. If only I took the same attitude with my other work!
I am shamefully shameless.
Anyway, in other news, the weather has been great this April so far, and right now, there is a cricket match going on the field outside my window... it's now almost 5pm... they have been playing since about 1:30 and show no signs of giving up yet. The weather is foggier today, but still pleasant over all. I got a nice sun burn yesterday as Apryl, Ed, and I spent about 4 hours in the sun.
Oh well,
I have all of my adventures written down, they're just on paper... so I will transmit them via-keyboard to your screen.
Thanks for reading.
Love,
Hannah
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Queer Day
That Thursday, December 3rd was my queer day. In genre and film class, we watched a film about gay teenagers and suicide in L.A. which pretty much set the tone for the rest of the day. Everything that day was abnormal. But normality is always relative. So, I suppose it wasn't any different from other days, however, i still dubbed it my "Queer day". The day just seemed queer to me. but, I had a lot of fun in class, shopping at O'Neill and making Tacos for Ed with Laura and Apryl. I played at the indoor frisbee league which was fun. With the exception of my knees getting kind of achy, frisbee is really improving my health and fitness. Afterwards, Toby, Dom, Sam, Tom, and I went to the Bear, and then to Toby's where we ate pizza and watched the Misfits, which was the perfectly queer ending to a perfectly queer day. I guess we all have queer days every once in a while.
London with So Young
My trip to London on December 1st with my South Korean friend, So Young, could not have been more perfect. We saw the Moctezuma Aztecs exhibit who, technically, belong to the Mexica culture. most of their artwork was commissioned by the Mexica from the Mixtecs, however. So, the Aztecs is actually a misnomer and they called themselves the Mexica and their most famous artwork was actually of Mixtec origin. Kind of confusing, but there you go.
There was one particular piece, a human skull encrusted with turquoise, which was particularly striking. Perhaps this is because it was a real human skull, with teeth still in the jaw and everything, but the turquoise detail was exquisite. Different shades of turquoise were used to define different parts of the mask, and the effect was astonishing. The Mexica, apparently were very fond of the turquoise blue-green color and valued things of this color more than anything else, except maybe for coral colored shell and gold. The gold work was also incredibly detailed and beautifully wrought. The stonework was also very intricate and expertly carved. Many of the artifacts looked as if they had been made yesterday. The pictoral Codex of the Mexica which showed the coming of the Spanish, their rule, the disease, wars, plans, etc. were also interesting. It was a large exhibit and took a couple hours. I kept thinking of my good friend Adriana throughout the whole thing, as I know she would have been so happy to see it all. Plus we went upstairs to see Korean ceramics, which were very nice. So Young and I had such a good time.
We had lunch in the Forum cafe, a little cafe across the street from the museum. It was very good, and then we went to a matinee of the Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre. It was, of course, a great show. The Phantom was at least on par with the Phantom on Broadway, although, it's a little difficult to compare since So Young and I were sitting in the stalls very close to the stage compared to the balcony seat we had in New York City when I went with dad and my family. So, to me, it seemed as if the Phantom was more awesome in London. He was a perfect singer, and a great actor. The visual tricks were also fantastic, the stage crew for that show muct be some of the best in the business. It must be such a difficult show to orchestrate backstage, as well as on stage, and in the pit. I enjoyed it thoroughly, as did So Young. It was her first musical she had seen. What a good one to start with!
There was one particular piece, a human skull encrusted with turquoise, which was particularly striking. Perhaps this is because it was a real human skull, with teeth still in the jaw and everything, but the turquoise detail was exquisite. Different shades of turquoise were used to define different parts of the mask, and the effect was astonishing. The Mexica, apparently were very fond of the turquoise blue-green color and valued things of this color more than anything else, except maybe for coral colored shell and gold. The gold work was also incredibly detailed and beautifully wrought. The stonework was also very intricate and expertly carved. Many of the artifacts looked as if they had been made yesterday. The pictoral Codex of the Mexica which showed the coming of the Spanish, their rule, the disease, wars, plans, etc. were also interesting. It was a large exhibit and took a couple hours. I kept thinking of my good friend Adriana throughout the whole thing, as I know she would have been so happy to see it all. Plus we went upstairs to see Korean ceramics, which were very nice. So Young and I had such a good time.
We had lunch in the Forum cafe, a little cafe across the street from the museum. It was very good, and then we went to a matinee of the Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre. It was, of course, a great show. The Phantom was at least on par with the Phantom on Broadway, although, it's a little difficult to compare since So Young and I were sitting in the stalls very close to the stage compared to the balcony seat we had in New York City when I went with dad and my family. So, to me, it seemed as if the Phantom was more awesome in London. He was a perfect singer, and a great actor. The visual tricks were also fantastic, the stage crew for that show muct be some of the best in the business. It must be such a difficult show to orchestrate backstage, as well as on stage, and in the pit. I enjoyed it thoroughly, as did So Young. It was her first musical she had seen. What a good one to start with!
Stonehenge and Bath
The weekend following Thanksgiving, I went with the American office group to Stonehenge and Bath. We left on the Saturday morning and got lucky as the weather was perfectly clear and sunny at Stonehenge as we marveled in it's ancient glory and mystery. The location of Stonehenge is very interesting. It's out in the middle of country off of a rural highway. It's literally right beside a road. Besides Stonehenge, the actual stones, there are also mounds surrounding the area that also have mysterious purposes. They look like the Indian burial mounds, but I don't think they are burial mounds. The stones also come from really far away. There is no granite slabs like that in England. There was also this cool rock that turns red when it's wet. But I can't remember it's name and when I went home in December for Christmas, I left all of my pamphlets and stuff with my parents.
I was pleased to learn that Stonehenge is believed to be a calendar with, happily, June 21st as the center of time keeping. My birthday is unendingly cool. I have decided one year, I'm going to visit Stonehenge one June 21st when they have the festival of sorts. I've heard it's kind of a Pagan ordeal, but I would like to see it. And that would be a terrific birthday trip, would it not? Perhaps it's silly, but I find great satisfaction in knowing that on my birthday all the ancient calendars of the world are lined up on their centers.
That about describes my time at Stonehenge... it was quite lovely. Windy and cold, but lovely.
That afternoon we drove to Bath to see the Roman Baths and the Christmas Market... Let me just say the Christmas market was my least favorite activity of the day. It was crushingly crowded, so I got out of there a.s.a.p. The Roman baths were incredibly interesting and exquisite. The classic simplicity of the design of the building was so beautiful, and so well preserved, it was breathtaking. I enjoyed them very much. I didn't touch the water in the baths (as there was a sign saying they were toxic), and I didn't drink the safe water in the pump room (I didn't have time, but I heard it tasted awful), I also didn't smell the-- apparently unpleasant-- odors of the bath as I was sick and could barely breath, let alone smell anything. However, I enjoyed the sights, sites, and the company of the advisor's children and my friends. After we left the Roman Baths, I escaped the crowd as quickly as possible, walked around the town, and happened upon the Fashion museum where I spent a happy two hours looking at exquisite clothes, gloves, hats, period dress, undergarments, shoes, etc.
The Fashion museum is the basement of the Assembly rooms. I would have looked at them, but they were having a function in them, so I didn't get to explore the building. However, from what I saw, the building was wonderful. I walked around town some more, and was incredibly pleased to discover that the rest of Bath was not as crowded as it's city centre. In fact, walking around Bath, I encountered very few people. I saw Queen's Court and was surprised to see a dog defecating on the pavement, but more surprised to notice the owner act as if nothing had happened and not clean up the doorstep of number 23. Oh well, happens everywhere, I guess.
This brings to mind, people do love their dogs here. Maybe I've mentioned it before, but never in my life have I ever seen such well behaved animals. They are strictly and unwaveringly obedient to their masters. The only dog I have met that was not was a dog I met in Sweden who kept chewing on my boots. But he listened to me more than his master, which was weird. It was like he was my dog for a couple of hours. Anyway, enough about dogs, back to Bath.
Saturday evening, we drove through the country outside of Bath (which is absolutely stunning, by the way, it looks as if it were a painting from the Italian Renaissance) to our Ramada hotel, which was a redone manor house. Staying in the country for a day made me realise, the English country side is overwhelmingly beautiful. I mean, you look at it, and you just want to run in the fields and hike through the forests. It's so temperate and mild, so delicious and wet, and looks so pure as if it hasn't been touched by man for a century. Many places, I suspect actually haven't been. But even where people have been, it doesn't appear obtrusive. They keep their large trees, there's little clear-cutting, the forests are well tended and the innocence of the land is well preserved. There are little foot paths sometimes running through the fields. As lovely as the cities are, I think I enjoy the surrounding country side better.
Anyway, the hotel had a swimming pool AND a bath tub! It felt incredible to be immersed in warm water for a couple of hours. An experience which is all too rare in my life. Sunday, I visited the Jane Austen center which was, although somewhat informative, not as fun as the fashion museum. However, I did buy a nice little journal book, and some things for my sister. And also, the Jane Austen center was not actually where she used to live. Where she lived is now a dentist's surgery. I think the address is 26 Gay street. Apparently, Jane Austen wasn't happy living in Bath, as I don't blame her. She originally lived in the country where I imagine she would have been much happier. However, they credit Bath for some of the best "high class" characters in her novels. After I went to the centre, I walked around Bath, stopping in a local craft bazaar, and at Jigsaw where I got some things for my little sister. The drive on the bus back to Brighton was spiced up a bit by the kids arguing and throwing things at the other girls. That was pretty funny. One of them kept saying, "I'm ALIVEEE!!!" until he fell asleep and the bus was blessed with a period of peace. He is a funny kid, and sweet, too, so he didn't really bother anyone, we were just sort of tired and wanted some quiet, so it was nice when we got it. Otherwise, the drive home was rather uneventful. I slept and talked to my little sister a bit on Skype.
We arrived back in Brighton around 8:30pm. It was a good trip.
I was pleased to learn that Stonehenge is believed to be a calendar with, happily, June 21st as the center of time keeping. My birthday is unendingly cool. I have decided one year, I'm going to visit Stonehenge one June 21st when they have the festival of sorts. I've heard it's kind of a Pagan ordeal, but I would like to see it. And that would be a terrific birthday trip, would it not? Perhaps it's silly, but I find great satisfaction in knowing that on my birthday all the ancient calendars of the world are lined up on their centers.
That about describes my time at Stonehenge... it was quite lovely. Windy and cold, but lovely.
That afternoon we drove to Bath to see the Roman Baths and the Christmas Market... Let me just say the Christmas market was my least favorite activity of the day. It was crushingly crowded, so I got out of there a.s.a.p. The Roman baths were incredibly interesting and exquisite. The classic simplicity of the design of the building was so beautiful, and so well preserved, it was breathtaking. I enjoyed them very much. I didn't touch the water in the baths (as there was a sign saying they were toxic), and I didn't drink the safe water in the pump room (I didn't have time, but I heard it tasted awful), I also didn't smell the-- apparently unpleasant-- odors of the bath as I was sick and could barely breath, let alone smell anything. However, I enjoyed the sights, sites, and the company of the advisor's children and my friends. After we left the Roman Baths, I escaped the crowd as quickly as possible, walked around the town, and happened upon the Fashion museum where I spent a happy two hours looking at exquisite clothes, gloves, hats, period dress, undergarments, shoes, etc.
The Fashion museum is the basement of the Assembly rooms. I would have looked at them, but they were having a function in them, so I didn't get to explore the building. However, from what I saw, the building was wonderful. I walked around town some more, and was incredibly pleased to discover that the rest of Bath was not as crowded as it's city centre. In fact, walking around Bath, I encountered very few people. I saw Queen's Court and was surprised to see a dog defecating on the pavement, but more surprised to notice the owner act as if nothing had happened and not clean up the doorstep of number 23. Oh well, happens everywhere, I guess.
This brings to mind, people do love their dogs here. Maybe I've mentioned it before, but never in my life have I ever seen such well behaved animals. They are strictly and unwaveringly obedient to their masters. The only dog I have met that was not was a dog I met in Sweden who kept chewing on my boots. But he listened to me more than his master, which was weird. It was like he was my dog for a couple of hours. Anyway, enough about dogs, back to Bath.
Saturday evening, we drove through the country outside of Bath (which is absolutely stunning, by the way, it looks as if it were a painting from the Italian Renaissance) to our Ramada hotel, which was a redone manor house. Staying in the country for a day made me realise, the English country side is overwhelmingly beautiful. I mean, you look at it, and you just want to run in the fields and hike through the forests. It's so temperate and mild, so delicious and wet, and looks so pure as if it hasn't been touched by man for a century. Many places, I suspect actually haven't been. But even where people have been, it doesn't appear obtrusive. They keep their large trees, there's little clear-cutting, the forests are well tended and the innocence of the land is well preserved. There are little foot paths sometimes running through the fields. As lovely as the cities are, I think I enjoy the surrounding country side better.
Anyway, the hotel had a swimming pool AND a bath tub! It felt incredible to be immersed in warm water for a couple of hours. An experience which is all too rare in my life. Sunday, I visited the Jane Austen center which was, although somewhat informative, not as fun as the fashion museum. However, I did buy a nice little journal book, and some things for my sister. And also, the Jane Austen center was not actually where she used to live. Where she lived is now a dentist's surgery. I think the address is 26 Gay street. Apparently, Jane Austen wasn't happy living in Bath, as I don't blame her. She originally lived in the country where I imagine she would have been much happier. However, they credit Bath for some of the best "high class" characters in her novels. After I went to the centre, I walked around Bath, stopping in a local craft bazaar, and at Jigsaw where I got some things for my little sister. The drive on the bus back to Brighton was spiced up a bit by the kids arguing and throwing things at the other girls. That was pretty funny. One of them kept saying, "I'm ALIVEEE!!!" until he fell asleep and the bus was blessed with a period of peace. He is a funny kid, and sweet, too, so he didn't really bother anyone, we were just sort of tired and wanted some quiet, so it was nice when we got it. Otherwise, the drive home was rather uneventful. I slept and talked to my little sister a bit on Skype.
We arrived back in Brighton around 8:30pm. It was a good trip.
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