Friends, Bloggers, Facebook Stalkers, Lend Me Your Ears… (Adventures in Stratford)

This past weekend, Brian, Andrew, Courtney, John, Chris, and I left for Stratford-Upon-Avon (Billy-land) to go see two of Shakespeare’s works, King John, and Julius Caesar. King John was being performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), while Julius Caesar was put on by an all black troupe from different parts of England.

On Friday, I had my last official day with the Giants. All of the students got to meet with David Pickering, the coordinator (or technically the CEO) of the Giants. He gave us a history of why he started the company, a debriefing of how the Jubilee went overall, along with giving us certificates signed by the mayor of Chester, thanking us for our work with the festival. After saying my goodbyes with the staff, I hurried back home so I could pack my stuff and catch the afternoon train to Stratford with Andrew. The trip overall took 2 hours.

Now, back in high school, I was never really a big fan of Shakespeare. Every year, we ended up reading some of his plays in class, and I always, without fail, found myself getting easily bored, and would ultimately go find the sparknotes for the play. (A win/win if you ask me. I could finally I understand what I was reading, and I did well on the quizzes.) So, when we first booked our tickets for the trip, I wasn’t exactly thrilled, but I figured I would be missing out on the “British Experience” if I didn’t see at least one of old Billiam’s plays. I definitely feel as if I made the right choice.

When we finally got there, Andrew and I met up with Brian, John, and Cortney, and then made our way to the RSC Theatre for King John. The RSC is divided into two large stages, the main stage, and the Swan Theatre. Seeing that King John wasn’t a large performance, it was held in the Swan Theatre. The theatre was really nice over all. It had 3 stories of wooden seating, along with a stage that extended itself into the audience (a lot like the one at Hendrix). Not too long after we found our seats, the show started.

I never read anything about King John before, but that didn’t make too much of a difference. The show was absolutely brilliant. For this production, they decided to place King John in a modern day setting, which, surprisingly, worked. It had all of the stereotypical Shakespeare plotlines going for it (royalty, death, misunderstanding, people losing their sanity, etc) but seeing the Royal Shakespeare Company do it, was simply incredible.

You can tell that the actors who work in the RSC are truly passionate about Shakespeare, and acting in general. They usually put on 3 plays per season, and each season usually has a theme. A few weeks ago, they ended their “Lost At Sea” theme, which was when they performed Twelfth Night, The Tempest, and A Comedy of Errors. The RSC is also so popular, that they have had many famous actors perform with them (Patrick Stewart as Macbeth, and, for all of the Dr. Who fans out there, David Tennet as Hamlet, along with many more stars).

The next day, we met up with Chris, and then went to see Shakespeare’s gravesite inside Holy Trinity Cathedral. While inside, we got a brief history lesson from one of the workers about Shakespeare’s, and his wife Anne’s lives. Since we had time to kill, we walked around the city, and through a park that had statues of Shakespeare, and some of his famous characters. From there, we headed back to the RSC for the viewing of Julius Caesar.

This performance of Caesar was put on by an all black troupe from England. They decided to put the play in a modern day African setting, which, like King John, gave a really interesting new spin to the play. Seeing that this was one of the bigger productions for the RSC, it was held in the main theatre. When we walked in, the actors were dancing around the stage, while the live African/Caribbean band appropriately called “The Vibes Of March” played in the background. About 3 songs in, everyone scattered from the stage, and the show started.

After the amazing performance, we did some souvenir shopping, while getting to listen to the Vibes of March play in the café just outside the theatre. While listening to the band, I started to read the program for the show, and found out that several of the actors are, or have been actors in various films. I later found out that 2 of them are going to be in the upcoming movie World War Z (based off of the zombie book that I’ve been reading all semester). Also, while listening to the band, one of the actors from the show came out to talk to the public. I got him to sign my program along with getting to talk to him for a bit. Apparently, he was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, but has been living in England for the past 30 years.

Shortly after, we left the RSC to catch our train back home. Along the way, we stopped by Shakespeare’s house, which was, as Brian and Chris put it, very Disney-fied. Even though it looked like a very fake version of the original, it was still worth seeing. After spending some time around the house, we then left for our train back home.

And Now for the Main Event…Queen’s Jubilee!

After 5 crazy weeks with at internship, it was finally time for the main event, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Festival. The whole staff met at the headquarters to have a quick meeting about finalizing plans for the day, including the different docking stations, the various performing sites, and the scheduled route times.

After the meeting, we made our way to the city center to start piecing together the 70 giants for the parade. One thing that caught me off guard was not only the idea that there were 60 gigantic statues of the Queen parading through the city, but the fact that there were so many different community groups that were represented in the festival. They had everything from Rugby Club groups, Boy Scout and Girl Guide groups, various schools, and many, many more. Since there were so many groups, that also meant that there were many Giants that I’d never seen before. One of the great things about working for this company has been seeing the amount of creativity that these different groups have. They had everything from a pop-art bust of the Queen, to a green alien version of the queen (I think she was supposed to represent spring, but the alien nickname was more appealing).

Another great thing about the day was that I got to see my parents after 6 months. They decided that they would come and visit Chester for the weekend, along with visiting some of our family that is spread throughout England. This is the first time they’ve been to England in 20 years, so it’s been interesting, and pretty funny to see their reactions to how much England has changed since then.

To open off the festival, there was a local percussion group called Karamba Samba that would lead the Giants through the streets. There was an audience of nearly 60,000 people that would clear a path as the Giants walked by. I would have never imagined seeing that many people in Chester in my life. I wasn’t told this until after the festival, but apparently the crowd was so huge, that the Chester police sent a helicopter to fly over the event because they thought that a riot was breaking out in the city (you would think that they would have gotten the heads up about the event ahead of time, but oh well). I was also told that aside from the Queen’s Jubilee Festival in London, Chester held the second largest festival for the Queen in all of England (yeah, it was kind of a big deal).

After we made our first lap around the City Center, all 70 of the giants and the crowd met at the Town Hall to hear a speech that was being given by the Lord Mayor. While that was going on, Zoë and I were given the chance to be interviewed by the local radio station Chester Dee 106.3. We got to talk about our experience with the Giants, and give a brief history about the company. Along with that, we also had some small talk about how great the weather was for the event. Looking back on it, we really did luck out weather wise. The day before the event was a complete washout, but thankfully the day of was completely “normal British weather” free, but sure enough, the next day was another downpour. After the Mayor’s speech, we did another lap around the city center, and then docked them in the town hall.

During our break, me and a few of the others decided to see all of the things that were going on around the city. Many local bands were performing, along with many street performers that are usually in the city. Many of the local businesses and pubs were cashing in on the festival by having discounts on clothes, pints, and food as well.

Near the end of the afternoon, we took the Giants on 2 more laps around the city center, and then called it a day. It was without a doubt one of the longest days I’ve had at work in a while, but it was definitely worth it.  Afterwards, we got to join our supervisors at the Marbourgh Pub for a pint, while getting to watch the live stream of the Jubilee in London.

2012 has definitely been a solid time to study abroad in England. It’s needless to say that having the Olympics, the Diamond Jubilee, and (despite it probably not the happiest thing to celebrate) the 100^th anniversary of the Titanic all in one year, has absolutely made this a very memorable year for England.

Chariots of Fire

*Another late post, still working on catching up!

    So, today was the day the Olympic Torch made it's way through Chester while on its journey to London for the big 2012 event. For the past couple weeks, that was all people were talking about, aside from the Jubilee. They had banners strung out through the city center, along with posters giving some of the details about the Torch Day. Along with the many businesses preparing for the wave of tourists, Kristine, one of my bosses at the Giants, was getting ready to send us out with several of the giants to the city center, just to do more promotional work. While getting ready to hit the streets, my friend Zoë mentioned that her and several of her housemates were going to go to the Torch Relay Festival that they were having at the Chester Racecourse, where there would be a live band, and where, ultimately, the torch would be lit. Jokingly, I recommended that if they have any spare tickets, they could through them my way, and surprisingly enough, they did!

     That afternoon, I met up with Zoe and the others, and we made our way down to the festival. Zoe, along the way, mentioned that the live band was going to be the band Kids in Glass Houses, a Welsh band that sound a tad bit like Fall Out Boy. I had never heard of them, but a live band at any festival is usually a good combination. We made our way into the racecourse, and was instantly able to see the large flock of people walking around. The racecourse is at the bottom of a hill, so there were a many  people sitting on the sides of the hill looking down on the festival. There is also a hotel that overlooks the grounds as well, so there were even people waiting by their windows to watch the whole thing start. In the Racecourse, there was a huge stage that was surrounded by mini booths (Coke-a-cola, Nature Valley, Samsung) that were giving away free stuff during the whole event. This is where we were able to get our dinner (several Nature Valley bars)  and bottles of free Coke. Everything at the festival was limited edition, "Olympic approved"stuff, so I, being an obnoxious tourist, made sure to grab ALL of the things (including a Coke Music Beater/Frisbee, fancy Olympic Coke bottle, and olympic bank lanyard). Along with these great souvenirs, I was also able to get my picture taken with one of the official olympic torches that has been used during the Running of the Torch event. While people were stuffing their faces with free granola, there was also an option of watching the number of acrobatic acts, community choirs, and the main band Kids in Glass Houses (and looking back on it, they were actually pretty good). After the concert, the Lord Mayor of Chester gave an inspirational speech about how the Olympics are important to all of England. The last time the Olympics were held in London was back in 1948, which happened to be the first Olympics held after WWII.

    After her speech, horns could be heard thundering through the stadium. While that was going on, I could feel the atmosphere change around me. Everyone became fully alert, trying to find where the torch was coming from. People quickly began to raise their phones, cameras, and small children just so they could get a view of this memorable event. Then, there it was. One of the jockeys from the Chester Races came in on his horse with the torch. He then walked up to the large torch statue that was in front of the stage, and then proceeded to light it. As the flames shot up, the crowd erupted. It was so crazy to see. It was almost hard for me to believe that I saw the event happen.

    After the torch was lit, there had a ceremonial capturing of the flame. To catch the flame, a few of the Olympic officials brought a special jar that was able to capture the flame. If the fire somehow manages to go out during the night, they have the special jar that still contains the Greek flame. After they captured the flame, the event was practically done. There was still a large audience that hung around the course, but for the most part, everything was done. However, later that night, they had a firework show that could be heard through all of Chester.

   Sadly, I'll be leaving before the olympics start up, but I'm glad that I was able to still get a glimpse of it. The stadium is apparently still being built, so hopefully by the time I get down to London in a few weeks, I'll be able to see it fully completed. I still can't get over how busy of a summer England is going to have this year between the Olympics and the Jubilee. This is by far, the best example of being in the right place at the right time.

The Queen & I

*These next couple of blogs are a little late since these past couple of weeks have been crazy, but enjoy!  


  Last week, Queen Elizabeth II came to visit the Chester Zoo to open the the new Jubilee Gates that were built for her Diamond Jubilee. The entire Giants team and I met around 7:30 that hazy morning to put up 4 different variations of the Queen that were built by some of the local schools and community groups. To no surprise, by the time we got there there was already a pretty large crowd gathering together in hopes that they would see her highness open the gates.

        After we put the Giants together, we moved them to the massive roundabout that is in front of the zoo where we awaited Lizzy's arrival. Sadly, we found out that we wouldn't be able to see the Queen open the gates, but we would see her when she drove in, and out of the zoo, which is better than nothing I suppose. For the following 2 hours, there were several packed cars and school buses that were entering in waves into the zoo. Then, around 10 or so, we saw what was the beginning of a massive motorcade turn into the zoo's entrance. Several motorcycles later, we saw her, Queen Elizabeth II, alongside her husband Prince Phillip, drive by us with a smile and a wave. While at the zoo, she opened the gates, gave a speech, and then about an hour later, left to go to Warrington to open the Jubilee Park that they built for her.

       A few days later, one of my bosses, Kristine, was invited to Buckingham palace to meet her face to face, and when Kristine got back she mentioned that when she was talking to the Queen, Elizabeth asked her about the history of the giants, how they moved, and a bunch of in depth questions about the company which is kind of cool to think about.

      It was overall an incredible experience. I would have never guessed that during a normal study abroad trip, I would be able to do something like that. That would be like someone coming over to the states and seeing the president. Anyway, this was one Queen event down...now all I have to do is get done with the Jubilee event in a few weeks. Despite there being such a big divide between those who like and dislike the Queen, it has been crazy to see how many stores and people have been decorating for the event. Even the streets of Chester have been decorated in red, white, and blue flags and posters. I'm sure that the whole jubilee event will be bringing in a huge crowd.

Working the 9 to 5...

I've finally started my internship with Chester: The Giant City last week. We had our first day on the job last Tuesday, and for the most part it was pretty productive. These past couple of months, I've been volunteering with the Giants, and it has been mostly just me doing temp work around the office until now. Now that the internship has officially started, there are more students (25 to be exact) that are all helping around the HQ. On Tuesday, all of the students were broken up into small groups, and me, along with 3 others were placed in the PR/Journalism group. For the rest of the semester, the rest of the team and I will be interviewing people, taking pictures, doing promotional work for the the company, and contacting other community groups around Chester, all in order to prepare for our main event, the Queen's Jubilee on June 4th. For these past couple of weeks, we've had several groups come in the HQ including a group home for the mentally disabled, a group for teens who have been kicked out from their homes, and are essentially homeless, and even different school groups have come in to help build and paint some of the giants for the festival. As Kristine, my boss, put it, "it is a way for these groups of people to have a creative outlet, and have interaction with the rest of the Chester community that they wouldn't have otherwise." Also during these 5 weeks of my internship, I will be putting together a documentary about the company and it's volunteer work that will be uploaded onto either their main website or YouTube. It will definitely be a trail-by-fire experience though, considering that this will be the first documentary I will have ever created. Either way, I'm still pretty excited seeing that this is a perfect way to develop my lacking filmmaking skills.

All told, these past couple days of work have definitely been interesting. The usual schedule is that we all get to the HQ around 9:30, and then try to plan out what we want to accomplish for that day or week. So far, we've mostly done promotional work around the City Center, like handing out fliers to local businesses, and parading a giant of Queen Elizabeth around town. From this past week alone, I've come to realize how hard it is to be one of those people who passes out fliers on the street, or to be one of those door-to-door sales people. Not only is it fairly awkward to go into random businesses, and ask them for stuff, but it just gets annoying having to repeat the same shtick to about 20 different businesses a day. However, despite all of the awkwardness, we seemed to have a positive amount of interest. Even on the days when we paraded the giant through the city, there was usually a large group of people who would come take pictures, or ask us about the event.

The end of last week in particular was pretty great. We took one of the Queen giants out on the opening of Racing Day, one of Chester's biggest events. The first three days of the event are themed, and everyone and their mothers come to the races, dressed in their nicest suit or dress attire. The opening racing days are also the only days where you will see mass amounts of elderly folk drunk at 1 in the afternoon (No joke, as I was coming back from lunch, I ran into a group of elderly women who could barely walk on the cobblestone streets as they attempted to walk down to the races, it was pretty hilarious). Overall, the event went very well. We had a lot of people stop by to ask questions, and take plenty of photos.

Tomorrow is going to be one of our biggest promo days yet. The real Queen (yes, you read that correctly, Queen Elizabeth II) is going to be coming to Chester Zoo to open the Jubilee gates to a new section of the Zoo. Our company was invited by the Queen, and her Chief Clerk to bring 5 of our Giants to the zoo, and to be there for the grand opening. I can't even begin to describe how psyched I am for it. The event and the experience are going to be incredible, but I am not excited for having to wake up at 6 AM to be at the zoo for 7:00. It's currently 10:55, and I'm pretty sure this is the earliest I've gone to bed in the past several months.

One thing that I've noticed while over here is the huge divide between the people who adore the Queen, and those who think that she isn't that important. A lot of the British students I've talked to have had  pretty strong feelings  on both sides. A few are completely enthralled by the Royal Family, while the others think that the Queen is just some old lady who is simply there for decoration, and doesn't hold any authority in this day and age. It has also been pretty funny to see these two groups argue over the subject.

Anyway, it's off to bed for me. I'll be sure to keep you all posted about the event! I can't believe that it's only 3 more weeks until the main event. So much to do, and so little time. It will be interesting to see how these next couple of weeks turn out.

The Times Are a Changin...

61 days, 18 hours, 31minutes, and 22 seconds. Or, to put it another way, 9 more Saturdays until I'm on a flight back to the states. The weird thing is, I don't know how I feel about that...

Don't get me wrong. I have definitely had my moments of missing everyone back home, and having some homesickness every now and then, but at the same time, I've really come to love it here. It has been crazy to see how fast time has flown by while over here. It feels like it was just yesterday that my parents and I were looking at the cyber tour for Chester, and trying to get my things packed for my "long" 6 month journey abroad. Between meeting some amazing people, seeing places that I never thought I would see, and making memories that I will remember for the rest of my life, it has been easy for me to get used to life here, both academically and socially. I will really miss this place. I have no doubt in my mind that reverse culture shock is going to hit me hard once I'm back home. Like I said in my last post, next year is going to be strange. I have to go from England, a small, but diverse and greatly historical country, to wee, little Conway. The freedoms of a relaxed school schedule, to the focused ways of Hendrix. This time around, however, it isn't going to be just normal Hendrix, but it will be senior year. I still can't wrap my head around that. Where have the 4 years gone? The 4 years in high school lasted forever, but the college life has seemed to go in the blink of an eye.

Even though it seems as if I don't have a lot of time here left, I've still got a lot of things to do to keep me busy. Starting next week, I'll be working with my internship, Chester: The Giant City, full time. I, along with other Chester students, will be preparing for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee on June 4th, which I am really looking forward to. As my boss, Pam put it, "You are really in for a good experience. This is something, that in the future, you will be able to say you helped with. How many people can say that they helped organize and event for the Queen of England?" And she is absolutely right. Since she has said that, I've been trying to make the most of my time here, and have been trying to be more mindful and appreciative of my experience abroad.

When asking people what they thought of their study abroad experience, they will often times tell you that it was one of the greatest decisions that they have ever made, to which I would fully agree. The thing is, I have been wondering if I have been doing enough to make the most of my remaining time here. I have learned so much while here, but I still have more to learn and see. Even Chester, as small as it is, has a lot more to explore. There are so many alleys and paths that would go completely unnoticed if you were just walking around on a normal day. A few weeks ago, some of the others and I found a new passageway to get to the City Centre. We would have been completely oblivious to this new route if it weren't for the music that was being blasted out of the alley due to some party/football screening that was going on. I hope that once the weather becomes a little better, I can do some more exploring. Last week alone was probably the worst weather we've had in a while. Not only did it drop back into the 40's, but it rained everyday. To those people reading this, I highly advise that you don't visit England during the month of April. That whole saying about "April showers" is definitely an accurate one over here.

Also, as my experience has been coming to a close, I have also been putting some serious thought into the graduate schools over here. Not only is it cheaper than back in the states, but it only takes a year to complete since it is such a concentrated program. It has been very tempting, but definitely not something set in stone yet. I've just been trying to put it on the back burner for now, and enjoy the remaining time of my trip.

This isn't really a post about anything I have done in particular these past couple of days, but I thought it would be a good outlet to let out some of the thoughts that have been going through my head lately. All I do know is that, while I am over here, I will be trying to enjoy every second of it.

61 days, 18 hours, 24 minutes, and 54 seconds left. Better make the most of it.

Lost in Translation (Part 3): Paris

We started the next day at 3 in the morning, and said our goodbyes to Raven and Katsu as we made or way to the bus to catch our flight. We got to Paris around 9 that morning, but didn't get to our hostel until 4 that afternoon due to the hostel being about 4-5 miles away, also due to us taking our time getting there. We passed by the famous Arch de Triumph, a massive Virgin Entertainment Megastore, the pyramids by the Louvre, and Notre Damm along the way. Once we got to the hostel, we decided to just nap and relax until about 8 that night. We found an off-the-beaten-path diner next door that had some of the best food/probably the most unhealthy food we had all trip.  After dinner, we stopped by the train station to figure out the easiest way to travel while in Paris. After leaning more about the metro, Andrew decided that he would venture to the Eifell tower, while John and I stayed back at the hostel. Overall, a fairly uneventful first night.

The next day, we work up to the lovely sounds of some random guy in a mask running through the halls banging on the doors, telling everyone to get out of the hostel. Apparently, its a rule that between 11 and 3, everyone has to leave the hostel so they can clean the rooms...not only is that a long time to clean a few rooms, but when we got back that night, all they did was put our sheets on our bed and take out the trash. Not really any cleaner then when we left it that morning. While we were gone, we decided that we would try and find the Tim Burton museum exhibition at the Cinematheque Francaise. When we were at the train station, we were told that the cinema museum was next to the Louvre, so we took the metro to the Louvre station. After asking around the Louvre, we found out that the cinema museum was actually closer to our hostel, which was practically on the other side of town. I guess it was a form of serendipity though, because we found out that all of the main museums are closed on Tuesdays (the next day), so that day was our only day to see the Louvre.

After waiting in line for what must have been close to an hour, we made it into the Louvre. I have been there before back in sophomore year, but this time around I felt as if I was able to appreciate more of the art work, and all of the other exhibitions they had. We spent easily about 4 hours in the museum. One cool, but crazy fact I heard was that if someone was to spend 1 minute at each painting in the Louvre, it would take them 5 years to get through it all. After aimlessly walking around the museum for a while, I finally stumbled across the Mona Lisa, which, to me, isn't as great as it is cracked up to be.  It is definitely a great thing to see, so you can say that you've seen it, but I feel as if there were paintings in the Louvre that were more entertaining and appealing to the eye. For example, the Mona Lisa is in the middle of this gigantic room (which I later found out is called the Mona Lisa room). It has it's own wall dedicated to it, but there are more paintings on the walls around it, along with an incredible, enormous painting behind the Mona Lisa called The Wedding at Cana, which is the largest painting in the museum (262in x 390 in). Despite this great painting being right behind the Mona Lisa, it seemed as if no one really cared about it. Also, apparently, there is one curator for the Mona Lisa, whose entire job and responsibility is to make sure nothing happens to the painting.

When the Louvre closed, we decided to go to the Notre Damm for one of its afternoon services. Even though I didn't understand anything they were saying, it was still nice to be there, and be a part of a service in such a historical place. It is hard to think that people go there every week for a normal church service though. During the service, there were tourists walking around the church taking pictures and talking the entire time. You would think that it would be distracting, but everyone seemed to ignore it. I guess that the congregation (especially those who have gone to the services for a while), just get used to it.

After the service, we thought we would venture to the Eiffel Tower so we could see it at night.  Every hour, there are shimmering lights that cover the tower for about 15 minutes. Once there, we sat under the tower, waiting for it to light up. After the light show, I decided to walk up the tower so I could see the incredible view of Paris at night. Even though, I have been up the tower before, it was a completely different experience at night. At the top, you could see the streets and the lights below go on for miles and miles. After being up there for about an hour, or so, I met up with Andrew and John so we could get back to the hostel and prepare for another early morning.

We started the next morning bright and early, so we could get to the French Pantheon. While we were waiting in line, we met a French teacher who was on a school trip with her class from Minnesota. After talking to her for a while, she let us join her class so we could get into the Pantheon for free. I've got to say, it was pretty cool to be back in high school for an hour. While we were with her group, she told us about Foucault's pendulum, a pendulum in the middle of the Pantheon that is supposed to show the rotation of the Earth. It was really interesting to learn more about it, since we have a pendulum back at Hendrix that is supposed to do the same thing. Shortly after, the teacher showed us the crypt that was under the Pantheon. In the crypt, we found the graves of philosopher Voltare, and scientist Marie Curie.

Our next stop was the Musee d'Orsay, which was an old train station that was renovated into a museum. We spent about 2 hours there looking at the Van Gogh and Monet paintings, along with the crazy amount of sculptures and other paintings they had on the different floors. One thing that I really like about Paris is that they are very proud of the different kinds of art work and the museums they have. Majority of the museums in Paris are free to students, which is something you don't really find back home. They want people to appreciate art, and learn more about it, hence why you can go and see Van Gogh and Da Vinchi paintings all for free. After closing, we decided to have a "healthy" McDonalds dinner, where we celebrated John's birthday with a McMuffin and cappuccino. After dinner, we made our way back to the hostel and got packed up for our next day flight back to Chester.

Overall, it was definitely a memorable spring break. By seeing all of these difference places while abroad, I would definitely say that I have a bad case of the travel bug. I can already predict that it is going to be weird to be back in Conway next year. I just hope that sometime in the future, I'll have another opportunity to see more of these amazing places.