Sunday, June 10, 2012
Doom 6
Greetings from Glasgeeeee
We made it to Glasgow yesterday and it was about 75 degrees and sunny. The shock value of this is lost on the students. They seem not to realize that this is about as rare as having dinner with the Loch Ness monster. The fact that we're supposed to have decent weather here the rest of the trip = rare as Nessie dressed as a ballerina.
Anyway, they found their feet here while I got to sneak away for a couple of hours and see a good friend and her two little ones. Seeing what life is like with a 2 and a half year old AND a 5-month-old was probably my most education experience on this trip....But that's for another time.
Today the students and I are headed to Glasgow University. We're meeting with people in the film and TV studies areas--3 professors and at least 3 students--so we should have a proper seminar day. I met with all of them yesterday to ensure their projects are basically fully formed. They're doing a great job and it looks like today will really help bring everything together nicely.
So far I've had Charlotte at MTV tell me to encourage the students to contact her if they want work in the UK, Esther Leslie tell me to help them if they want to do post-grad work in London, and Ken Millard at Edinburgh--well, he thought they were great and he didn't complain about the weather which is really the biggest compliment I'll get from him. So so far, so impressive. I know they'll be wonderful today too.
I'm trying to plan a group trip through the Highlands one day this week. Saturday the USA is playing the Scottish National Football team (in Jacksonville, oddly) so we'll go out and watch that. It'll will be a good, non-aggressive environment for their "sports in pub" immersion. Good times!
We made it to Glasgow yesterday and it was about 75 degrees and sunny. The shock value of this is lost on the students. They seem not to realize that this is about as rare as having dinner with the Loch Ness monster. The fact that we're supposed to have decent weather here the rest of the trip = rare as Nessie dressed as a ballerina.
Anyway, they found their feet here while I got to sneak away for a couple of hours and see a good friend and her two little ones. Seeing what life is like with a 2 and a half year old AND a 5-month-old was probably my most education experience on this trip....But that's for another time.
Today the students and I are headed to Glasgow University. We're meeting with people in the film and TV studies areas--3 professors and at least 3 students--so we should have a proper seminar day. I met with all of them yesterday to ensure their projects are basically fully formed. They're doing a great job and it looks like today will really help bring everything together nicely.
So far I've had Charlotte at MTV tell me to encourage the students to contact her if they want work in the UK, Esther Leslie tell me to help them if they want to do post-grad work in London, and Ken Millard at Edinburgh--well, he thought they were great and he didn't complain about the weather which is really the biggest compliment I'll get from him. So so far, so impressive. I know they'll be wonderful today too.
I'm trying to plan a group trip through the Highlands one day this week. Saturday the USA is playing the Scottish National Football team (in Jacksonville, oddly) so we'll go out and watch that. It'll will be a good, non-aggressive environment for their "sports in pub" immersion. Good times!
Doom 5
Doom, Post 5
Yesterday was a definite highlight for me. We headed to St Andrews, Scotland--the birthplace of golf and the place Prince William and Kate went to University. We had great (but cold) weather, saw ruins, saw preserved ancient stuff, the Old Course, the New Course, the country clubs, and the beach. The North Sea beach....Shiny sand and freezing cold water. I had a blast with the students.
I only threatened to throw myself into the sea and float away once. I also let the ladies take a picture with a rugby team. They've been told in no uncertain terms to stay away from rugby players, but this was a supervised event. They were excited and the boys were definitely pleased with themselves to have their picture taken.
I'm also glad we got out of the city yesterday. It was a "derby day" here, meaning that the two Edinburgh football teams played. It's a major rivalry day. As much as I'd like to take them in to a pub to watch a match, it's not the best environment. We left in the morning and by the time we got back it was about 7:30. Upon our return the entire city was drunk. There were cops and bouncers everywhere. We just grabbed some noodles and hit the grocery store. Everyone was so tired from the day, no one ventured out for the night. I think I've stumbled onto a plan to preserve whatever innocence is left in the students--wear them out during the day and then they will happily go to bed early. We'll see if it keeps working. Today it's actually SUNNY in Edinburgh, so we're going hiking. I can't wait!
This morning is journal catch-up time, paper,TV,and news stuff and rallying strength for the hike. We're finally getting our photo situation up and running so you can have some visual aids. Enjoy.
Yesterday was a definite highlight for me. We headed to St Andrews, Scotland--the birthplace of golf and the place Prince William and Kate went to University. We had great (but cold) weather, saw ruins, saw preserved ancient stuff, the Old Course, the New Course, the country clubs, and the beach. The North Sea beach....Shiny sand and freezing cold water. I had a blast with the students.
I only threatened to throw myself into the sea and float away once. I also let the ladies take a picture with a rugby team. They've been told in no uncertain terms to stay away from rugby players, but this was a supervised event. They were excited and the boys were definitely pleased with themselves to have their picture taken.
I'm also glad we got out of the city yesterday. It was a "derby day" here, meaning that the two Edinburgh football teams played. It's a major rivalry day. As much as I'd like to take them in to a pub to watch a match, it's not the best environment. We left in the morning and by the time we got back it was about 7:30. Upon our return the entire city was drunk. There were cops and bouncers everywhere. We just grabbed some noodles and hit the grocery store. Everyone was so tired from the day, no one ventured out for the night. I think I've stumbled onto a plan to preserve whatever innocence is left in the students--wear them out during the day and then they will happily go to bed early. We'll see if it keeps working. Today it's actually SUNNY in Edinburgh, so we're going hiking. I can't wait!
This morning is journal catch-up time, paper,TV,and news stuff and rallying strength for the hike. We're finally getting our photo situation up and running so you can have some visual aids. Enjoy.
Doom 4
Doom, Post 4
Captain's Log--I have no idea what day it is:
Today it was about 35 degrees and raining in Edinburgh. Not to be deterred from my itinerary--we will learn daily in a regimented fashion!--we went for our tour of the Old Town. We had a proper "Full Scottish Breakfast" and then headed toward the castle, buying winter clothing as we walked. We made it all the way down the mile, learned a little bit about Edinburgh's history, and got soaked to the bone. Truly immersed we were. But I relented and got taxis back to the hotel. Everyone is drying off and warming up before we hit the Codfather fish and chips shop for dinner. We're supposed to do a ghost tour tonight--though I volunteered to opt out if any of them were too scared. (Read: Donnelly scares easily and would be happy to wait in a nice, dry pub). We'll see what happens.
It was very cool to see the new Parliament building today--there's "big doings" around Scottish independence at the moment, so we're trying to keep up with that while we're here. Excellent timing. I'm going to go ahead and take credit for that.
Tomorrow we're going to try to get to St Andrews. Regardless of the weather they should enjoy it. It'll be especially helpful for the students studying class and culture. On that note, their projects are coming along nicely and they continue to baffle me with their ability to work and take all of this in simultaneously.
We do have tons of pictures, but we're still trying to work out how to get them onto the blogs. They have their own blog in progress, I'm just waiting for logistical help on that one.
On a personal note, I broke in my new Doc Martens today. I figured they deserved it--wearing them for the first time in Muncie just didn't seem right. They're yellow. You'll love them. The grad students and I have already devised a plan involving a striped yellow and black shirt, black pants, my yellow docs, and Lemmy chasing me with a giant net for the first day of TCOM 610 (Creativity) in the fall. Cameras and audience participation will be involved. I love TCOM students.
Today it was about 35 degrees and raining in Edinburgh. Not to be deterred from my itinerary--we will learn daily in a regimented fashion!--we went for our tour of the Old Town. We had a proper "Full Scottish Breakfast" and then headed toward the castle, buying winter clothing as we walked. We made it all the way down the mile, learned a little bit about Edinburgh's history, and got soaked to the bone. Truly immersed we were. But I relented and got taxis back to the hotel. Everyone is drying off and warming up before we hit the Codfather fish and chips shop for dinner. We're supposed to do a ghost tour tonight--though I volunteered to opt out if any of them were too scared. (Read: Donnelly scares easily and would be happy to wait in a nice, dry pub). We'll see what happens.
It was very cool to see the new Parliament building today--there's "big doings" around Scottish independence at the moment, so we're trying to keep up with that while we're here. Excellent timing. I'm going to go ahead and take credit for that.
Tomorrow we're going to try to get to St Andrews. Regardless of the weather they should enjoy it. It'll be especially helpful for the students studying class and culture. On that note, their projects are coming along nicely and they continue to baffle me with their ability to work and take all of this in simultaneously.
We do have tons of pictures, but we're still trying to work out how to get them onto the blogs. They have their own blog in progress, I'm just waiting for logistical help on that one.
On a personal note, I broke in my new Doc Martens today. I figured they deserved it--wearing them for the first time in Muncie just didn't seem right. They're yellow. You'll love them. The grad students and I have already devised a plan involving a striped yellow and black shirt, black pants, my yellow docs, and Lemmy chasing me with a giant net for the first day of TCOM 610 (Creativity) in the fall. Cameras and audience participation will be involved. I love TCOM students.
Doom 3
Doom, Post 3
We made it to Edinburgh! It was a beautiful
train ride and now we're in a nicer hotel right near the University.
Tomorrow the students will meet with Dr. Millard. We're going to sort
out what everyone needs to do project-wise while we're together tonight
and from there figure out how to squeeze in a trip to St Andrews and a
hike up Arthur's seat if the weather cooperates! It's a beautiful place
to be and I think they'll love exploring the city over the next few
days.
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