It started out with English class this morning. I love that these classes are specifically catered to learning about the things we are experiencing. We talked about a lot of the articles we were assigned to read which deal with modern day Great Britain and about Shakespeare.
After class we spent some time outside waiting for a coach (bus) to take us on our day trip. Today the weather was.... sunny! Thankfully, because we were all going crazy in the rain. We we enjoyed that for a bit. Unfortunately, we spent a majority of the day on the coach and so we didn't get to enjoy the weather for very long.
(Amanda Baugh and me- a friend from high school)
(Lauren Fine and Kayley enjoying lunch outside)
(Me on Palace Court- the street I now live on)
The coach was supposed to take us to a town called Chipping Camden in the Cotswolds. The Cotswolds is this beautiful area in England that is "stuck in time" as our professor described. His mother, visiting with our group, described it as the "celestial kingdom." It's in an area that is famous for it's wool industry so it has sheep with lots of rolling green fields and pastures. The homes have thatched roofs and are supposed to be like quaint little cottages.
(MaCall- my bus buddy)
Then we drove a little bit more to Anne Hathaway's House. The actress? Nope. Shakespeare's wife who was eight years his senior. He was 18 and she was 26 when they wed. Six months later she had their first child. This house is where Shakespeare would have come to visit Anne and her family, before and after their marriage. This house was built in Medieval times and originally sat on a farm. Anne's brother expanded it when he finally bought the house from his father. The house itself had a nice thatched roof but was not so much to look at. What I really enjoyed was the giant Victorian tulip flower garden in front of the house and the orchards that ran along the side. They were so beautiful! Maybe when I have my own house I will just plant a giant tulip bed in my front yard instead of grass so it would that I wouldn't have to mow my lawn.
After touring Anne's house, we drove into Stratford. This is where Shakespeare was born, raised, and died. He lived in London for a large part of his life, being "separated" from his wife for 20 years. I learned some interesting things about this man today... We don't know a lot about him but we know that he probably went to school from 6 in the morning to 5 at night and gained a fine education. Hid dad was a tanner and made leather gloves so they were an affluent, middle-class merchant family. He was the third of 8 children. Like many playwrights during his time, he was most likely bisexual and unfaithful to his wife. I had no idea the meaning "fair youth" he writes to in many of his sonnets. Many or most of his plays also have dirty double meanings and were originally meant to be a little grotesque. Interesting...
In Stratford we saw Shakespeare's birthplace. We saw the actual room in the actual house where he would have been born! I took a picture so that if I ever teach sixth grade in the state of Utah and ever have to teach Shakespeare, I can show my students this picture and saw that I'd been there. It was pretty cool but other than seeing the room, not very interesting.
Something I really enjoyed seeing was the Trinity Church in Stratford. The grounds are very beautiful. Imagine old, tall, weathered tombstones that are mostly unreadable. Many are covered with moss and there is tall green grass growing all around. There are many trees that look just as old (or older) than the tombstones and the church. This is the aimbince that sets the stage for walking into the church. The church itself is a gothic style church and it's stained glass windows are beautiful! I took a lot of pictures because this is the only church we've been to so far that pictures have been allowed. Inside the church is where Shakespeare was probably baptized and married and where he, his wife, one daughter, and two sons-in-law are buried. Near their tombs is a first edition of the King James Bible. Apparently there's a myth that Shakespeare helped with the translation of this bible. The bible in the church is opened to Psalms 46. If you go 46 words down from the top of the chapter, the word is "shake" and if you go 46 words up from the bottom of the chapter the word is "spear." Shakespeare was either 46 when the bible was translated or when he died... one of the two, but I don't remember which it is. Weird, right?
(the churchyard)
(the first church we could actually take pictures in!)
(Shakespeare's grave)
We all split up into little groups for dinner in Stratford. I went to my first pub! Pubs here are not like bars or anything. They're usually the places to find the best food and they're usually places people and families go to hang out. It's a fun atmosphere. The one we went to was a little touristy. I want to go to one called The Champion near the Centre that's very old. The actress that plays Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter movies lives around here and I guess she eats at that pub a lot. Maybe I'll have to go celebrity hunting sometime.
To end the night, our entire group went to the
RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company) to see Twelfth
Night. If you've seen the movie She's the Man, it's based off of the
plot of this play. The characters and set were in more modern times but
the dialogue was all Shakespearean. I didn't understand some of it and I
particularly didn't like the raunchiness they added to it (to keep it how
Shakespeare would've intended I guess). Overall, I thought it was pretty good.
I'm glad we had the opportunity to see it.
I'm still trying to fit in homework but I feel
like today I did a good job at "getting stuck in" and not worrying
about friends or homework or whatever. I got to talk to lots of different
people today and spend time with them doing many different things. I
thoroughly enjoyed myself! This trip just keeps getting better each day!
It sounds like you had a fun adventure. I can't wait to see your pics! Love you!!!
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