While we Miscellany editors are stuck in glamorous Northfield, twenty lucky students are exploring London on Nancy Cho’s English and Theatre off-campus studies program. Over the course of the term, a couple of participants will give us a peek into the program with an hour-by-hour account of a day in the life on the London program. First up is Jenan Jacobson ’18:
Monday, April 4, 2016
9:00 Breakfast at the Pickwick – toast with peanut butter!
10:00 Nancy Cho’s Imagining London class; we talked about an article by Regina Martin that discussed Howard’s End as a geographical representation of different modes of financial processes. We debated Martin’s claim that Forster hinted at a shift in the traditional narrative style of the time, but was unable to follow through with this shift– we didn’t agree. We also broke into small groups to discuss passages in the novel that emphasized London’s role in the narrative.
12:00 Quick lunch at the Pickwick.
1:00 Walked from the Pickwick to the Tate Britain. The walk was long (about 2.5 miles!), but we encountered several fun stores and interesting sights that made it worthwhile. We loitered in a fancy chocolate shops long enough for them to start offering us free samples. Very tasty. And out of our budget.
2:00 Explored the Tate. We focused on pieces by Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, who were members of the Bloomsbury Group. Nancy gave us an assignment to write about one piece by each artist and comment on their framing within the museum. After finishing our assignment, we meandered around the museum until we decided a caffeine boost was in order.
4:00 Found a small bakery in the neighborhood (Blanche Eatery). Ordered a chai latte and split a chocolate and caramel cake. Just managed to avoid another bout of sporadic rainfall.
5:30 Wandered through St. James’s Park—took a gander at the park’s famous pelicans—and eventually made our way back up to the neighborhood where we would be seeing our show.
6:00 Spent a while trying to find a restaurant after we
realized the place we were aiming for only served lunch. We eventually happened across a Mexican restaurant, Wahaca, with decent prices and psychedelic bathrooms. We all agreed it was a fun place, though nowhere near authentic.
7:30 Saw People, Places and Things on the West End. The lead actress, Denise Gough, had won an Olivier award for Best Actress just the day before! Her portrayal of a young woman attempting to overcome drug addiction was remarkable. We all left amazed and eager to look up YouTube videos of interviews with her!
10:00 Made our way to a delicious gelato place, Amorino, and indulged. The Hazelnut Chocolate was perfection.
11:00 Walked back to the Pickwick and finished reading Mrs. Dalloway for Tuesday’s class. Slept. (Final count: Walked 10 miles!)