Day 4: June 9, 2014

I know that it's taken me a while to do this post, but I've been rather busy. The morning started out with a walk to our classroom. We all thought that the guide was going to show us the direct route how to get from Nido to the classroom buildings, but instead it wound up being an hour walk all around the city. There was no way I was going to be able to remember that, so I just gave up and began observing the beautiful architecture around me and how buildings from the Victorian era or even older were now being used with such modern conveniences such as WiFi. I love how even the newer buildings are built to complement he old history here, so that everything is an even blend. That is one thing that I wish we did in the States. Instead of demolishing and destroying everything that we consider to be old, we should preserve and takes care of it. It can be transformed for modern convince instead of serving as garbage. One cool thing about the walk, was that we got to see the construction of the new Google headquarters. It's going to be amazing.

After we all arrived at our classrooms, some students had class, while most of us didn't until the afternoon. With no way of being able to get back on time if I got lost, I decided that it would be in my best interest to just stay there for a few hours. I updated my blog, walked around the building, and started Orange is the New Black, and messaged friends on Facebook. Afterwards I went to my Writers of the Poet's Corner Class where we were introduced to the syllabus, and given an introduction for Chaucer, Spencer, and Shakespeare, because those are who we would be focusing on mainly. It wasn't much, because we only had 2 hours in the class, but it was little facts about their influences on one-another, over English and writing overall, and just a brief synopsis of what to expect in the class.

After class we had time for lunch before our tour at the British Museum.

This is a picture of the front of the massive building. There are also 2 side wings to  it as well. The steps leading into the building can be used as stadium sized seats. That's what several people do there. Just sit on the steps for lunch or to read.

Here is a more detailed picture of the artwork. It's as close as I could get, to include the whole thing.

The entire building is too much to cover in one trip, but we were instructed to go to three rooms on our own. The rest we could come back and see on our own time, which s no problem, sine all museums and art galleries are open up to the public for free.

Here are some pictures from the Anglo-Saxon Room of Britain. I also took pictures of some of the informational facts so that I wouldn't have to memorize it.

Here are some quotes from Beowulf that they had on the walls. I thought that these were very interesting and fit so well with tying together the culture expressed in the literature with some of the actual artifacts.

Next was the Roman-British Room from when Roman Soldiers ruled the island.

This translations half of the letter above. I couldn't fit all of it.

Lastly, we went to the Egyptian Room. These are all artifacts from Egypt, and their sizes are big. Most of everything in this room is bigger than the patrons viewing them.

After the British Museum, I found my way back to Nido where I began reading Spencer for homework. We read some of his stories on religion that he wrote when he was 17, as well as some of his poems that he wrote to his second wife to court her. Coincidentally her name was also Elizabeth, and so much of his poetry it is said to about both his wife and the queen. My favorite of the poems that we read was:

LXXXI

Fair is my love, when her fair golden heares,

With the loose wind ye waving chance to mark:

Fair when the rose in her red cheeks appears,

Or in her eyes the fire of love does spark.

Fair when her breast like a rich-laden bark,

With precious merchandise she forth doth lay:

Fair when that cloud of pride, which oft doth dark

Her goodly light with smiles she drives away.

But fairest she, when so she doth display,

The gate with pearls and rubies richly dight:

Through which her words so wise do make their way

To bear the message of her gentle sprite.

The rest be works of nature's wonderment,

But this the work of heart's astonishment. 

 

This poem discusses that even though his mistress (Elizabeth) may be pretty physically, it is the words that she speaks that makes her beautiful, because they convey her kind heart and her knowledgeable mind. Her words are what separate her from all others and why he loves her.
 That pretty much concludes day 4.