I can’t believe an entire month has gone by! I spent three days of my fourth week here working on my thesis, and one day shopping. I brought very little clothes (I brought more books than clothes!) and I was getting tired of wearing the same thing over and over again. I visited a charity shop, Primark (a discount department store), Marks and Spencer (also has a food section haha) and Sainsbury (mostly a grocery store). I bought some tops, skirts, and bags. I don’t think I spent more than £4 on each item.
On Friday morning I visited the Victoria Albert Museum and Harrods. In the afternoon, I went to the Tate Modern Museum. Everything I see makes me think globally and also about my personal life. There are so many cultures colliding here in London. The area where the V&A and Harrods is located is very posh. I had a salmon and cream cheese sandwich for lunch! I saw a limo (the first I’ve seen since I’ve been here) and it was transporting two Muslim women. It’s weird for me to see Arabic (?) Muslim (?) women covered up to begin with, but then there are degrees of covering up. Some only cover their head and wear dresses or really long blouses over pants/jeans. Some cover their heads and faces showing only their eyes, but they wear modern clothes. Some are completely covered in black showing only their eyes, but they ride around in limos and shops at the poshest shop Harrods. I don’t understand it all. I suspect that a lot of these women are highly intelligent (I’ve seen some as students around the universities in town) and yet they conform to their cultural/religious traditions. Oh, I also saw two couples. The men had the long beards and little hats, and the women would walk several paces behind them… always… even on the escalator. One of the men would cheerfully turn back every so often and say something to his wife/girlfriend… he even called her babe. The women had heads covered up, but wore modern clothes (all covered up of course… only the skin of sandaled feet showing)
On Friday night, I attended a midnight showing of “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” at The Globe Theatre. The director made some interesting choices which included 1920s period costumes, a female Puck dressed in Vaudeville type costume including black garter belt, and having the actors play three parts each. I would have preferred the traditional interpretation complete with fairy costumes, but I liked being exposed to a different interpretation because it showed me once again how versatile Shakespeare really is. The fact that it was at midnight also added to the magic. The audience was very responsive (packed house) which also added to the experience.
On Saturday, I went on an excursion to Wincester. I got to see the Great Hall used by medieval kings. This is also the area where King Arthur would have lived (if he really existed.) I really should start taking notes when I go on these excursions because the guides give so much information, it’s hard to remember all of it. I visited the Wincester Cathedral where Jane Austen is buried. I learned that the difference between a town and city is that a city has a cathedral with a bishop. While we were at Wincester, they had their annual Hat Fair which dates back to the 19th century. At first we all thought it was a fair celebrating hats. We didn’t see many people wearing hats, and so our guide investigated further. Apparently, it’s a day for street performing. The street performers pass a hat around to collect money, and this is called hatting. In the afternoon, we went on a tour of Wincester College (an all male boarding school) which was established by the Bishop of Wincester, William of Wyckeham. He established it so that 70 poor boys could get an education. Today, it has 770 boys in attendance (70 on scholarship and 700 paying £30K a year in tuition.) Originally the boys would graduate from Wincester College and then continue their education at New College in Oxford University. I caught a glimpse of one of the boys on scholarship (they are the only ones who were black scholar gowns) as I took a wrong turn. Education in the UK seems to be very competitive.
On Sunday, I relaxed, gave myself a pedicure, watched Dr. Who, and visited with Ian’s parents. My first month here has been spectacular. I am indebted to all who made this trip possible. One more month to go!
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