Nott What You'd Expected...

I lied.... One more ....

After waking up entirely too early after a night at Ye Olde Cross, we made a treacherous and scary journey to Rievaulx Abbey, one of the most amazing monestaries still standing. It was on our way home, so we made a stop before heading back to the flat.

The monestary was founded in 1132, about 70 years after the Norman Conquest, and stood as a center of agriculture and education. The pictures really speak for themselves. The examples of Roman-turned-Gothic architecture are amazing, and the pure engineering genius of the monks (who built this literally in the middle of nowhere) is hard to comprehend.



The setting of such an immense and elaborate building got Hilary, Emily, and I talking about the integration between religion, commerce, and the strange paradox of a group of secluded men who have taken oaths of poverty, yet live in one of the most expensive and amazing building complexes of our history. They tanned leather, owned surrounding land, raised livestock, and were artisans and scribes. It's interesting to think about how geography and certain political moves have created a religion, Christianity, that is so woven into our history and the European way of life. Even if now the 'numbers' are down in church attendance, the impact that the political and social entity that the church was had on culture is hard to grasp.

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All in all, the trip was great. The group really bonded, and maybe that was the original intent in getting us over here before classes started. The trip itself was an eye opener in the sense that it will now ease us into life in Nottingham. These towns were smaller, more touristy, but at the same time quaint and easy to adjust to. We now have a confidence in ourselves. I'm looking forward to meeting new people- much like the ST.Cloud kids and Craig- and hopefully this orientation (next 5 days) won't be a complete waste.

Orientation for International Students is interesting in that the population of England is changing towards a more Asian-centered aspect, so more than likely we will be in the minority as caucasians. English speaking will be a huge part of the next week, something that will be annoying to have to deal with, and hopefully all of our free time won't go to waste. I still don't feel like i know enough.. if anything.. about our city now. York, Durham, Alnwick, i feel comfortable with, but Nottingham isn't quite as inviting now, and we haven't had the chance to explore downtown.

With Scheduling, joining societies, journaling for this class, and a crapton of reading to do about the history of the English, I feel like i have enough on my plate.

Until Sat or Sunday,

Much love,

KEvin

posted by Kevin @ 12:25 PM