Julia L.'s First Post

They say that you can never see everything in a city, and that is definitely a fact. I have been lucky in that fact that I have been to all three cities that we are visiting prior, some more than once. However, this trip has opened my eyes to a different side of issues. I spent a semester in Derry, Northern Ireland in the fall of 2009. While there, I watched some television, after becoming addicted to The X-Factor. I hadn't really noticed anything majorly different, but I wasn't looking for it either. The first night we where in London, the other Julia and I were watching some television, which happened to be talk shows with celebrities as well as a "prove he's my baby's daddy" type show. We noticed an immediate difference in the subjects that are discussed as well as the openness of people, especially the celebrities. This is when I decided on my topic.

My research topic for this trip/class is about censorship, or lack thereof, of taboo subjects--what is talked about here that wouldn't be talked about back home? What about vice versa? We got to talk to one of Ashley's professors yesterday at The University of Edinburgh. After asking these questions, he responded with a prime example. When "Casino Royale" came out, there were issues with it being too violent, whereas in America I never heard this argument. It was just interesting that just over the sea in a society that is basically as developed and as modern as ours, there is such a distinct difference in how violence is addressed in the two societies.

The trip so far has been wonderful. It's been great to see these cities in a different light-literally. I was here in the fall where it got dark at 4pm, last night it was still somewhat daylight at 9:30-which was just weird. Meeting with students and faculty of different universities is always intriguing and I love it, definitely a highlight of the trip.