England Tips, Likes, and Dislikes

So, you're thinking about coming on the England Study Abroad Trip. Take it from me, DO IT!!!! this is by far the most amazing trip you'll go on. Sure Spain is fine and dandy, if you wanna lose your liver in the process and not learn anything, but in England, you can party it up and still learn about our technical Mother Country. But a few words of advice to help you along your way.
1. Don't be afraid to meet knew people, that's the whole key of the trip
2. Listen to the professors when they tell you how much clothes to bring, if you think you wont wear it, 9 out of 10 you wont
3. Plan to take taxis everywhere after dark, walking is NOT the way to go, trust me
4. Don't forget a converter, your life will suck without it
5. Use cash, but be responsible, cash is the easiest way to go, not everywhere takes cards here, and Bank of America is the best option, no ATM fees
6. Explore the manor inside and out, leave no door unopened, thats how you find the ghosts, ask Rachel Cross
7. Bring a rain jacket, umbrellas just dont cut it, they end up getting given to the rain gods in the trash can
If theres anything else, read other people blogs, but take it from me, this is by far the best trip of all the study abroad trips!

Likes: I liked the fact that we had more scheduled trips, like Scotland and Wales, and the perfect time in London. I liked the fact that we get money when we leave the manor, and the professors trust us with it. I liked that we were a small group, 70 people is impersonal and it needs to stay like 20-30 people, that's the way to go.

Dislikes: We did't go to Paris. We didn't spend enough time in Scotland. We didn't have enough train passes, we needed like 8. There's not that many dislikes, but those were my main gripes.

England Log

Well, we've arrived at the last day at the manor, man time flew by fast. Well when you consider the fact that we were leaving every other day on trips of our own and doing so many wonderful things it's hard not to believe it. Ireland seems like forever ago and London still seems like an eternity away. this week was filled with manor parties, class skits, memorable trips, and beer festivales, but I digress. By far, if I had to pick one, the best thing we did this week was go to Cambride, at Chelsea and Juanita's urging, and go punting. the punting was fine and dandy, but tey thing that made it all worth it was our punter, Sam, and his teling us of a Beer Festivale going on in town. We were all taken aback by this and decided that that was the way to go!! So we got off the boats and make our way there and I kid you not, kegs upon kegs of amazing beer and cider goodness! So much to drinki, so little time. We barely made it back in time for the train back to Grantham. While on the way back, we were feeling overly American, so we had the cab driver stop at McDonalds for us, don't judge....

Photo Story 5: Lincoln

Response Essay 3

There's an old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. Now I'm sure that's been used before, but there's an unlimited use for that particular phrase. When talking about tourism photography in particular, we have to answer the question of why we take pictures on vacation anyway. What is the fascination with taking pictures of everything we see while on vacation, of people we know, and will never see again? The author claims that "either the interaction between tourists and nature or the environment" is why tourists take photos. Although I do agree in part with Steve Garlick in this assertion, in other parts I need some more convincing. Tourists take photos of the places they visit to cherish the memories of the places they've seen and may never go back again. The fact that he states that tourists think that taking photos of the things they see gives them a sense of owning the thing they see is wrong. It's not simply a sense ow owning, it's more like capturing a slice of time to remember forever the place you have visited. Moreover he gets a quote from Susan Sontag "to photograph people is to violate them, by seeing them as they never see themselves, by having knowledge of them they can never have; it turns people into objects that can be symbolically possessed". This statement can be considered half true, just taking pictures of people without their permission is wrong, but if you ask them, more often than not they will oblige. all in all he makes a few assertions that i do not agree with, but there is some truth to his statement that tourism photography gives the user exclusive access to the memories of the trip.
When addressing the question of why I personally take photos on vacations, it's for the pure fact that I want to remember the places I've been and the things I've seen so I can look back on the memories and share my experiences with the world. I tend to focus on important landmarks, things that interest me, and wildlife when I'm taking photos. Occasionally I'll take urban shots, but my favorite type of shot is overlooking an entire city skyline, especially at night, that's when the true essence of a city comes to life. When it comes to pictures I take at home versus school, I take more photos at school with my friends because mom takes the pictures at home. I may bring my camera when I go out with my friends, but mostly I forget I have it. After I'm done taking pictures I put them up on Facebook to share them with my friends and now family. It's the easiest way to get the pictures to everyone without spending money on printing them up.

Response Essay 2

Image is everything in today's society, which is why the doctoring of photos has become so widely popular by the media. People no longer take beauty for what it's worth, instead relying solely on the fact that if they don't like the way they look or the shape of their body, it can be fixed. It is this belief that has given the people who are victims of this either by choice or by circumstance legitimate gripes when it comes to the discovery of these pictures. And yet some magazines still run fixed images and even run disclaimers that say this image is either a composite or it is not actually a picture of the person depicted. Take for example the picture of Martha Stewart, who was recently released from jail on insider trading charges. The cover of Newsweek depicts her coming out of a curtain with a smile on her face and much skinnier than when she went in. It was later learned that this image was just Martha's head, the rest of her body was that of a model. Newsweek called it an "illustration" but the public knew better. In terms of the Tienanmen Square photo where the lone student stands up to a row of tanks, that photo later was doctored by adding rows and rows of people surrounding the tanks on the sides of the street. The effects of this experiment by UC Irvine shows how people recollections can be stirred and public opinion can be changed by simply combining two events of the same nature. When talking about deceptively doctoring photos, we only have to look at the covers of Newsweek and Time magazines featuring OJ Simpson. Newsweek ran the original mugshot of OJ, while Time added black shadows to his face to make it look more sinister. To me, regardless if you thought he was guilty or not, he has the right to a fair trial and this picture already depicts him as guilty and in an unappealing light. In my opinion, the only legitimate doctoring or fixing of a photo should be white balancing it and making the colors more vibrant to look at, therefore making the picture more appealing. Fixing people or making them look skinnier, prettier, or not using their bodies at all is just unethical and deceptive.

England Trip Log: Scotland

Wow, Scotland was amazing, I wished we could have spent a few more days there. We got to Edinburgh in the afternoon to a rainy and cold Maelstrom that claimed many an umbrella in our group, made me glad I had my Lands End rain jacket, thanks Mom and Dad! The guys and the girls got seperated after we checked into the Royal British Hotel, so Bivens, James, and myself wandered around the city, found dinner at a great Italian place that gave student discounts then just crashed in the hotel until the morning. We all had breakfast in the Castle Room before we headed to Edinburgh Castle for our tour. It was basically a self guided tour, but that was ok, it gave James and myself some tome to make some funny videos in the exhibits about Prisoners of War. We got out of there with the group and shopped High Street for all things Scottish and got away with minimal purchases. Rachel was looking for a new scarf, but couldent find one that wasn't really expensive. She also wanted a stuffed Highland Cow, she was gonna name him Harry, but she struck out there too, bummer Rache. We made our way down the street to an adjacent hill where Bivens and I promptly became famous for rolling down, him intentionally, me, not so much. After that we scheduled a Ghost Tour for the Mary Kings Close tour, the one Stroop recommended. the tour itself was freaky, not so much OMG WTF was that scary, more like, the nervousness of the group made everyone unseasy. James jumped the most when a stick hit the ground in the ghost room, worse than Rachel, I was proud of her for that, maybe she's on her way to not being such a scardy cat. We had dinner at the same Italian restaurant with the group again and once again enjoyed it very much. After dinner we pretty much passed out from walking around all day. We caught the bus to Grantham the next morning with a stop at Hadrians Wall on the way, very cool Roman architecture. This is our last week in the Manor, so I'll have to try to find the other things that I haven't found yet before I leave this place forever. Until next time

Response Essay 1

In today's world that we live in, it is becoming ever present that the media is being granted more and more freedom when it comes to what it can and cannot show in papers and on TV. But this great responsibility comes with the duty to decide what pictures could potentially be too gruesome for the public eye. My take on disturbing images is that yes they should be shown, only after a panel specially appointed by the newspaper or TV Station that they are working for has approved the image as publicly safe and taken into account what most people feelings may be. the editor then must have the final say in whether or not it gets run. Sounds kind of like Congress when you look at it, but hopefully the editor in question will have the trust in his panel that they would not put too bad of an image on there. if these images are simply too good to not be shown, then there should be a disclaimer or advertisement somewhere in the paper that should state, " To see more images about this event, please visit our website, WARNING: Images are of a graphic nature" Some papers have already followed the trend of piggybacking their online papers and TV stations with their main publications with rapid success, an example of convergence. That way the paper or station would get their hits in the web world as well. People in today's society don't like to be over exposed to dangerous world events, the statement "ignorance is bliss" comes to mind when describing people in this fashion. Unfortunately others in this world choose to look at these images and demand that they be shown, regardless of who's lives they are hurting or emotional wounds they are opening up. In the article from the Poynter Online Database, I do agree with the post that states, "Journalists have a duty to help the public wrestle with tough societal issues and thorny national policy questions. Photographic images of important events and places help accomplish that goal." To a certain extent this is true, but there needs to be a line drawn in the sand that says how detailed these pictures can be. the pictures of the Tsunami victims, especially children, should not be shown to the public on the front page of a newspaper with the grieving mother right there. Ethics come into question here about the whole showing photographs discussion. The second Poynter Online Article raises the question about the debate with the appropriately dubbed cereal test the editors go through to censor images. The article states that, "Most respondents described gut feelings, though, telling them when that reality was too gruesome for publication. Many journalists invoked the so-called "cereal test," newsroom slang for a simple question: Would I want my family to see this photo at the breakfast table tomorrow morning?" I completely agree with this statement, would you want your families looking at gruesome images at the breakfast table? Wally Rayl is true in stating that not being able to face reality in this nation is a problem, but the question isn't truly about facing reality, it's about ethics. These problems of ethics vs. reality will continue to rage on for years and years until the censorship is ended completely or increased like it used to be, with the latter not likely to happen ever again. In the end, the responsibility should remain with the papers and stations to censor pictures and video for the public, with disclaimers pointing out where to find the disturbing images online with proper security.

Photo Story 4: Edinburgh Castle

England Trip Log

Well I'm well over a week into my study abroad trip and things here are pretty much amazing. The weather here has been perfect, with exception to the past few days of light rain, the sun has been out every day. The pictures have been flowing and the people are great. Have to stop staying up so late though, I can get away with it in the states, but over here its taxing, I passed out right after the Man U game and went to bed shortly after. the excitement of our day yesterday was going into London for the day. We went to the Globe theater and saw Romeo and Juliet, but only stayed for half of it because of our tickets for standing room were trying on our legs. Most of the group dispersed and the guys went on a little tour of our own. We got on the tube and popped over to Parliment, saw the PM's motorcade, and that's the truth. Walked up to Trafalger Square, took the train over to Picadilly Circus and saw what there was to see there. We didn't take many pictures because we'll be back there in a few weeks, so I'll be snapping photos like crazy then. We then walked to Chinatown and had an absolutly delicious dinner at this small restaurant that we will be going back to when we come back. Funny story, Bivens and I asked for water, but forgot to tell them we wanted tap water, not bottled. So they brought out this elaborate bottle of water with ever mineral in it except Uranium. It was expensive, but it was the best tasting water we ever had, it went down so smooth. We then caught the trian back to Grantham and just made it back in time for the Man U game against Wigan Athletic, which Man U won 2-1 in the final minutes. Tomorrow bright and early we're getting up and going to Scotland to enjoy the sights, maybe do a ghost tour or pub hop, nothing to fancy. I'll blog more about Scotland when I get back, see ya Sunday.

Photo Story 3: Bunker Down!

Taking a trek to the WW2 Bunker behind the manor.

Second Photo Story: Ireland

Trip Log

Well here we are, in England, and what a lovely time it is. We've been doing so much that its exhausting at some points! We just got back from a trip to Ireland and that had its rewards. We stayed in a beautiful hotel, we got to sample Guinness, and now I am a true believer of how great it really is, but I'll stick to light beer. St. Patrick's Cathedral was breathtaking and Christ Church was also very entertaining, since the had a organ player there playing religious organ pieces that made you feel like you were part of something bigger. I don't know what it is, but every time I go into Cathedrals like that, especially the grand ones that have been around for hundreds of years, it always brings out the God fearing man in me. I also left a prayer in St. Patrick's for my Grandma who recently died, wishing her peace in her new everlasting life and that I loved her very much, that made me tear up little. Well that concludes our trip to Ireland, next up is our day excursion to London, I promise I'll be more diligent with this thing when we get more active in the country. Farewell from England!

JJ

Photo Story: Coventry Cathedral Spire

Ok, so these are some epic photos of our journey to the top of the Old Coventry Cathedral Spire by Cory, Rachel, and yours truly!! Enjoy them, because they're hilarious!