Day 44-45

Day 44:

Yesterday we went to the Imperial War Museum in the afternoon. We started off by going to an exhibit where they had recreated the trenches from World War II. They were very dark, low ceilinged, and claustrophobic. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be in there day in and day out with not only these elements, but also the smell, the rats, the explosions, the injured, and the thought of dying always on the mind. The next exhibits we went to were the WWI, WWII, and Inter-war years exhibits. It was interesting to see what the part imperialism played in these wars. I never thought of them as being world wars because all of these countries that were part of the British Empire or colonies of France, etc. I really liked that they had an inter-wars exhibit between the two of them so we could see how the countries were affected after the war and what led to the next one.

We spent an hour in the Holocaust exhibit at the Imperial War Museum. It was a very dark and depressing exhibit. They had videos of Nazi propaganda, Hitler’s speeches, mass killings, and survivors telling their stories. The Nazi propaganda videos disgusted me. I also couldn’t believe how they treated people in the camps by doing experiments on them, comparing their hair colors, measuring the length from their nose to their chin, etc. I was shocked when I saw the photos of multiple mass graves full of naked women and children they had shot. In one room was a hundreds of shoes from the people at Auschwitz. They had many things from concentration camps, slaughterhouses, and Jewish ghettos. It was a very well done exhibit. It was hard to be in there for too long because it was so depressing. Most of us were quiet after we finished the exhibit.

That night I saw the stage version of War Horse. It was excellently done. The puppets were absolutely incredible. They had a made a horse where two people would stand on the inside moving the legs, flipping the tail back and forth and making the horse look like it was breathing. A third person was at the front moving the head, flicking the ears, and opening the mouth. I forgot it was a puppet only after a few minutes. What was really impressive was they made the horse strong enough to hold actors on it’s back. It was so believable. The story was wonderful as well. It was a story of World War I. In it there were mainly two characters who owned the horse: a British boy and a German soldier. I loved it because it showed the people on both sides from the horse’s view. And of course the horse has no opinion and with a horse you can’t see which side it is on, so we could get the angles of both sides of the war. It was very moving.

Day 45:

Today we left the Center at 7:45 to go to Blenheim Palace and Oxford. The weather was absolutely miserable. Nobody’s umbrellas would cooperate, and we were drenched and cold. When the rain falls here it isn’t a rain that just falls straight onto your umbrella. It is a rain that gets in your clothes, that hits you at all angles. Apparently the weather had been horrible in quite a few places in England that night. Trees had been uprooted and were blocking traffic. When we got to Blenheim Palace this was the kind of weather we had and we had to wait outside for 45 minutes until they would let us in for a tour. When I was brave enough to lift up my umbrella, I saw that the grounds actually were really beautiful. When we were there it seemed that a lot of the grounds workers, cashiers, and tour guides weren’t necessarily happy to have us there. It was a beautiful palace. It was not as stunning as Versailles, but there were a few rooms where they had the same gold rococo work that the rooms at Versailles did. It was more interesting because of how much we have studied Churchill. He was born in Blenheim Palace, though not on purpose. His mother unexpectedly went into labor at a party one night in Blenheim Palace. He is also buried near the palace. Many of his paintings were hanging up in various rooms in the house. The most amazing part of the house was the library. It was the second longest room in England. It had books lining most of the walls and had the most beautifully hand carved ceiling. At the end of the room was one of the most amazing organs I have ever seen. It was incredibly large and it was so beautiful. The room was mostly white and was very grand.

Next we went to Oxford. We had a guided tour through the different college campuses. At the beginning he talked about how the university worked for nearly a half hour. It was so different than ours that I almost felt more confused at the end. The university is made up of a bunch of different colleges.

Some fun facts:

-The oldest college started in 1249.

-J.R.R. Tolkein got his undergraduate degree there.

-Final exams at the end of your degree are the only thing that determine how well you did there.

-You where special robes during your final exams and wear a carnation. A white carnation means you are the beginning, pink is the middle, and red means you’ve finished.

-During application interviews the professors ask you trick questions such as, “Do you think you’re clever?” or “How would you weigh your head?”

-There are 38 colleges with 550 students in each.

-Each college has their own bar.

-Harry Potter fact- in one of the colleges is the tree where Malfoy was turned into a ferret during one of the movies.

-Haley who discovered Haley’s comet lived in one of the university buildings.

When athletes apply only their academic abilities are considered, no matter their playing ability.

The next five days hold finals, papers, class, studying, and trying to spend every spare minute in the city! This time has gone by so fast!