I'm such a geekburger, just as a forewarning, but I think today I was more excited than anything, because the first day of classes was today! My first class was at 10am and it is THE biggest college-level class that I have ever had (there's got to be at least 100 of us, and there's two sections!). Anywho, the professor is an absolute riot; he poked fun at British stuff and I laughed more in one class than I ever have! P.S. He is also the Soren of Kingston University (those Berea students should know what I mean, but for those who don't, he's the international summer school study abroad coordinator). He was also our meeting person at the airport when we flew in freaking early Wednesday morning and at orientation on Thursday, he asked me "Were you at the airport yesterday?" I was like, yay! Good to know that I'm actually going to be remembered here! :D
Oh, in case I didn't mention, my first class is British Culture and Society. We have our first field trip on Monday (July 4th...hehehehe, oh the irony) and we're going to Hampton Court Palace, aka Henry the VIII's home. I've only seen it in passing but it looks absolutely gorgeous! Will post pics later...
My second class is creative writing and today we didn't really do much except read some poetry and chat a bit. While the poems were beautiful (they're below), the professor was a bit dry and somewhat monotonous, so I hope that it will get better. Other than that, it wasn't bad; we're going to some pretty cool places too, just can't remember them off the top of my head at the moment. Anyway, here's the two poems we read today (one is so nicely written and the other one is just brilliant; try to decipher between the two):
1) "Get Drunk!"
You must be constantly drunk. That's all there is to say; it's the only thing that matters. To avoid the horrific burden of Time crushing your shoulders and pressing you towards the earth, you must get drunk, incessantly.
But on what? On wine, on poetry or on virtue, as you wish. But get drunk.
And if sometimes on the steps of a palace, or in the green grass of a ditch, or in the dismal solitude of your room, you wake up and find that your drunkeness has diminished or disappeared, then ask the wind, the waves, the stars, the birds, the clock- everything transient, everything that groans, everything that journeys, everything that sings, everything that speaks- ask them what time it is; and the wind, the waves, the stars, the birds, the clock will reply: "It is time to get drunk! To avoid being the martyred slaves of Time, get drunk; get drunk incessantly! On wine, on poetry, or on virtue, as you wish."
2) "The Backseat of My Mother's Car
We left before I had time
to comfort you, to tell you that we nearly touched
hands in that vacuous half-dark. I wanted
to stem the burning waters running over me like tiny
rivers down my face and legs, but at the same time I was reaching out
for the slit in the window where the sky streamed in,
cold as ether, and I could see your fat mole-fingers grasping
the dusty August air. I pressed my face to the glass;
I was calling to you- Daddy!- as we screeched away into
the distance, my own hand tingling like an amputation.
You were mouthing something I still remember, the noiseless words
piercing me like that catgut shriek that flew up, furious as a sunset
pouring itself out against the sky. The ensuing silence
was the one clear thing I could decipher-
the roar of the engine drowning your voice,
with the cool slick glass between us.
With the cool slick glass between us,
the roar of the engine drowning your voice
was the one clear thing I could decipher-
pouring itself out against the sky, the ensuing silence
piercing me like that catgut shriek that flew up, furious as a sunset.
You were mouthing something: I still remember the noiseless words,
the distance, my own hand tingling like an amputation.
I was calling to you, Daddy, as we screeched away into
the dusty August air. I pressed my face to the glass,
cold as ether, and I could see your fat mole-fingers grasping
for the slit in the window where the sky streamed in
rivers down my face and legs, but at the same time I was reaching out
to stem the burning waters running over me like tiny
hands in that vacuous half-dark. I wanted
to comfort you, to tell you that we nearly touched.
We left before I had time.
Ok, enough of the creative juices (BRILLIANT, huh?), company and I ventured into Kingston and shopped around a bit. Hey, I didn't go nuts either! The stuff I did buy I actually needed, so no judging!!! I'm proud of myself!
Kingston is SO FREAKING COOL!!! Not as insane as London, although still busy, but it's so neat; I could've spent hours there! We ventured into a mall, yes, a mall, a five-story one, to be exact! The stores had multiple stories as well, and when you left one floor of the store, you got on another one, left THAT floor, and then you were on that floor of the mall! It took some getting used to, but all in all, not a bad idea. Prices were not too shabby either.
Anyway, the mall closed super early, and we had split up into smaller groups by then, so my company and I wandered around for a bit longer. We eventually ended up alongside the river, and we were hungry, but food by the river is $$$$ and, ya know, we're sort of on a budget! LOL! Anyway, we did get lost...all of the bus stops were not the ones we needed. But after about 20 more minutes we did find the right stop and make it back to our little Seething Wells alcove, where flatmate Kelly whipped up some spaghetti and we ate blissfully! We then all congregated in the kitchen and ended up talking for a good 2+ hours. Yay for making friends!
Tonight, I shall stay up late, though, because I get to have a skype date with Kelly and the best friend! So excited! But I'm sleeping in, and then tomorrow, it's off to run around London some more; possibly get duo-tickets for Madame Trousseu's and the London Eye! shwaaa! Then...who knows? But I reckon that's the whole fun of it.
Thank you readers for, well...reading! Not to toot my own horn but I'm sure that you're enjoying living vicariously through my words. Will post tomorrow. <3
blessings, H
No comments:
Post a Comment