Wednesday, January 23, 2013

This is a Post About Monday. Ooops.

[Disclaimer: I wrote this last night, but the internet was janky.]

Happy Birthday Sir Francis Bacon! I guess this is a big deal or something. Over the course of his life, he had a seat in parliament, was knighted in 1603, and was rumored to be the actual author of some of Shakespeare's works (how scandalous!). Below are a couple of his quotes for your reading enjoyment (brought to you by brainyquote.com):
  • Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is.
  • Knowledge is power.
  • Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read.
  • Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience.
  • In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.
  • The great end of life is not knowledge but action.
  • The best part of beauty is that which no picture can express.
So it appears that the "study" portion of this whole study abroad shenanighans has begun. Yesterday, however was not your average first day of the semester experience. Typically, the first class of the semester in each class is spent by going through the syllabus; the professor will lay out how the semester will be, their various policies on late work and absences and participation, and you may be a little overwhelmed when you discover that (of course) all of your tests are on the same day or week as a research paper is due. This usually leads to the customary promises to yourself that you'll be a good student this semester and not procrastinate on anything ever again. At least that seems to be the general idea in my college experience.

Anyway, yesterday we had class (obviously, since I'm always classy), because they don't celebrate MLK Jr. day here. And speaking of which I came across this lovely quote.


It's a great quote, and reflects the way I try to live my life.

So yeah, back to yesterday (I sometimes have a little ADHD, in case you weren't aware). We walked over to some building a few minutes away from home and met with our "tutor", Professor D. Rumbelow, for our British Life and Culture class. I was surprised to walk in and see an old fashioned slide projector like this:

Vintage, right?
He gave an introduction of himself and his wife (who partners with him to teach the class). Some fun facts about the two of them:
  • D. Rumbelow was a City of London Policeman for 30 years
  • He is also a freelance Blue Badge Guide and lecturer
  • He has also written 6 books on London police and crime history 
  • He regularly appears on television
  • M. Rumbelow is also a freelance Blue Badge Tour Guide and lecturer
  • She worked as a guide for 25 years at the British Museum
  • She has degrees in Art history (U. of London) and another in the History of Design (from the Royal College of Art)
  • They are both Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society and Members of the Institute of Tourist Guiding
That's a little over half of the information we received about our professors. [Sidenote: they use different sizes of paper here, it's like 8 1/2 by 13 or something instead of 11. Curious.] Needless to say, I was thoroughly impressed with them both, as they seem exceptionally certified and experienced in their fields. Professor Rumbelow lectured for a couple hours on the history of London, and although it was a long time sitting and scribbling away in my spiral, I learned a lot. 

Did you know that the City of London itself is only 1 square mile? Like what!? Most of the "London" we think of is actually in the City of Westminster (like Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, etc.). London is a lot more like Dallas than I thought, with tons of suburbs (which aren't like our American suburbia in the least, much more city-ish and squished together). 


We broke for lunch, and were told to meet outside of St. Paul's station at 2. Since we had some extra time, a few of us went early and checked out some of the shops near St. Paul's. The favorites were Topshop (see picture below) and H&M.


As we were about to leave, a sales associate asked us not to take pictures....oops.

Then we toured around St. Paul's Cathedral and the surrounding areas of the actual City of London with Professor M. Rumbelow. For more pictures of the St. Paul's portion, see 

these people go around and give free hugs
they're promoting sunshine and happiness in London
it was a little weird
but sweet
cute in the crypt 
they elect the Lord Mayor here
and have parties
and dinner
but only for important people, of course
oh, hello


check out that sweet motif
of an elephant
with part of a castle on his back
an image on cutler hall
about how cutlery was made
cutlery, of course, being silverware 

what up St. Paul's clock
and random citizen?
it was a beautiful day
that really poorly done picture
is ancient ground
found under St. Bride's church
that particular spot was the ground
when the Romans inhabited this area
way back
St. Bride's church
it's really cute
it's named after St. Bridget
don't know why they changed it
but apparently that's where we get our wedding cakes from
because a baker looked out the window
and had an epiphany
cool, huh?
apparently apothecaries and doctors used to be rivals
and unicorns seem to be a big deal here
[shout out to Kendra, who loves unicorns]
Friar street
this is a pub
commemorating where they used to have cock fights
that's illegal now
they're very patriotic here
just like those of us from Texas
a cute Welsh church

this is where you can get your coat of arms made and designed
but only if you're of English descent
it's really official
isn't St. Paul's just great?!
 yay
Caitlyn and I about to leave the tube
this was from another time
but I can't remember if I already posted it
I just think it's great
[shout out to Grandma for the awesome scarf]

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