Sunday, September 16, 2007
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Ontological Orators
The fascination people have with historical places is not fully understood but is no less powerful because of it. Tourists pay thousands of dollars to stand beneath the Eiffel Tower, kiss the Blarney Stone, Walk through Check Point Charlie, or to stand on the Beaches of Normandy. It’s a part of their history that they have a vague emotional memory of. Some people would even go as far as to call it an inherited memory and others reincarnation. When Patton stood near some ruins in North Africa he recalled, "It was here. The battlefield was here. The Carthaginians defending the city were attacked by three Roman Legions. Carthaginians were proud and brave but they couldn't hold. They were massacred. Arab women stripped them of their tunics and their swords and lances. The soldiers lay naked in the sun, two thousand years ago; and I was here."
On some level, Hilary’s motivation for her journey to England was based on this phenomenon. Her entire academic career was also grounded partially in it. Part of her and her sister’s for that matter, disappointment in London was due to the absence of that feeling. But their experience in the Cathedral at Westminster made up for the rest of the city. Seeing the bodies of actual saints entombed in glass for centuries was more than enough to make the chills of history climb up and down their spines. The devotion of millions of Christians could be felt every time they took a step or walked past rows of candles. Silence was kept inside and truly honored the name sanctuary. After sending up several of their own prayers for loved ones far away, in health and not; they passed through the doors and returned to the secular world with lightened spirits.
Their school week was pleasantly busy. Between classes and after school activities, the girls rarely had time to analyze their situation. Which they knew to be a good thing. Both outside of their comfort zones, the sisters attended every school activity. Hilary because she was holding onto her last year of college with a desperate grip; and Deirdre because it was her first year and didn’t want to have any regrets. They presumed this method would work because after all as Lance Armstrong once said to a defeated Peter La Fleur in the cinematic masterpiece Dodgeball, “Well, I guess if a person never quit when the going got tough, they wouldn't have anything to regret for the rest of their life.”
Despite the sister’s shared aversion to uncontrollable situations like foosball, pool, ping-pong, badminton and bowling they succeeded and failed at all of them. Hilary teamed up with an English classmate to dominate a foosball match but later lost, with the same partner, at a game of pool against her sister and another Englishman. Later in the week Deirdre succeeded at defeating her sister in three matches of badminton, Hilary maybe winning two sets out of the six. Hilary fared no better against another, even less experienced, classmate. Hilary decided the solution to her lack of badminton skill would be to purchase some athletic attire more fitted for the game.
The more comfortable NSA activity was the presentation of the first film in the Bourne trilogy. Having just watched the Bourne Identity with her Grandfather Ziebarth, Hilary attended purely for social reasons. She had great hopes of sitting by her latest male interest but was maddeningly seated behind him throughout the movies entirety.
The girls’ most archived adventure of the week was the humanity department’s social in Moore Close. There, Hilary and Deirdre met Dr. John Baildam. He was the cheeriest Vice Principle the girls had ever met. Unquestionably English, he met the girls with intellectual and self-deprecating humor. They immediately took a liking to him and enjoyed the cakes and drink provided—Well, Hilary did.
Friday evening a pile of rubbish was set ablaze by the NSA for the annual fall bonfire. Excited beyond reason, both girls wondered if there would be marshmallows there. It occurred to them that the American staple, available at every corner market, might not be in attendance. With genuine concern, Hilary asked the activities coordinator/pastor, Geert, if they would. He replied in his honey-coated, Holland accent that he would try, but they were hard to come by. Apparently they’re only available in England during the weeks surrounding Guy Fawkes Day. Deirdre’s immediate disdain for the holiday was palpable. She even verbalized it, which lead to a brief discussion of the holiday with the gentleman from Holland who really had no informed opinion but knew that it was offensive to a lot of people. Hilary thanked him for his efforts concerning the s’mores issue and walked away debating her sister whether Guy Fawkes was a hero or just a terrorist they agreed with.
This picture shows Deirdre's feelings towards Guy Fawkes Day celebrators
The event itself was destined for greatness because there would be a great deal of fire, a sunset and sitting in an open field. These ingredients were only improved by the full stock of marshmallows that were roasted with great care and nostalgia. The usually irritating feeling of sticky fingers just made the girls feel closer to their beloved United States and summer evenings spent around campfires with friends and family.
New mates Christina (American) and Maria (Dane)
Deirdre after losing a marshmallow to the flames
The end of some honky-tonk
The emotion made the girls remember the Saturday night previous when the school set off fireworks after a Saturday evening service. Hilary, having missed the July fourth fireworks that year, made sure she saw every explosion in the sky that night. Deirdre and her both, shared how strange it was to be looking at the sky, seeing the fireworks and hearing the Star Spangled Banner in their heads--but not in their ears. They wondered if any other Americans were experiencing the same confusion. Hilary just pretended for a few moments that it was the fourth of July, while Deirdre borrowed her camera and tried to capture the fireworks on film.
The idea of change occurring at stationary locales came full circle Sabbath morning when their new friend Dr. Baildam gave the sermon. He spoke of having crossed the Iron Curtain before the fall of the Berlin Wall and after. He reminisced about looking out over the village of Oberzalberg from Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest and wondering how amazing it was that the actions of a society determined to remove violent intolerance was able to now have the Fuhrer’s retreat as a tourist destination. While the sermon was mostly about praising multiculturalism, tolerance and diversity; Even Hilary and Deirdre’s cynicism was diminished for the forty-five minutes he spoke. The quotation of German philosophers and English literature was so enjoyable that they listened with pleasure, instead of defensively against the usual blind-tolerance speeches they were so accustomed too. Ultimately concluding with Immanuel Kant's request of mankind in Latin, sapere aude, “dare to know.” He stated that we too are in an age of enlightenment that demands we know our world. In the unavoidable, global society people reside in today the choice is to either sapere aude or abeo.
The sisters exited the sanctuary with pride and not so much prejudice. Pride that they attended a school that had lecturers like Dr. Baildam and a softened prejudice that comes from being an American in a foreign country.
On some level, Hilary’s motivation for her journey to England was based on this phenomenon. Her entire academic career was also grounded partially in it. Part of her and her sister’s for that matter, disappointment in London was due to the absence of that feeling. But their experience in the Cathedral at Westminster made up for the rest of the city. Seeing the bodies of actual saints entombed in glass for centuries was more than enough to make the chills of history climb up and down their spines. The devotion of millions of Christians could be felt every time they took a step or walked past rows of candles. Silence was kept inside and truly honored the name sanctuary. After sending up several of their own prayers for loved ones far away, in health and not; they passed through the doors and returned to the secular world with lightened spirits.
Their school week was pleasantly busy. Between classes and after school activities, the girls rarely had time to analyze their situation. Which they knew to be a good thing. Both outside of their comfort zones, the sisters attended every school activity. Hilary because she was holding onto her last year of college with a desperate grip; and Deirdre because it was her first year and didn’t want to have any regrets. They presumed this method would work because after all as Lance Armstrong once said to a defeated Peter La Fleur in the cinematic masterpiece Dodgeball, “Well, I guess if a person never quit when the going got tough, they wouldn't have anything to regret for the rest of their life.”
Despite the sister’s shared aversion to uncontrollable situations like foosball, pool, ping-pong, badminton and bowling they succeeded and failed at all of them. Hilary teamed up with an English classmate to dominate a foosball match but later lost, with the same partner, at a game of pool against her sister and another Englishman. Later in the week Deirdre succeeded at defeating her sister in three matches of badminton, Hilary maybe winning two sets out of the six. Hilary fared no better against another, even less experienced, classmate. Hilary decided the solution to her lack of badminton skill would be to purchase some athletic attire more fitted for the game.
The more comfortable NSA activity was the presentation of the first film in the Bourne trilogy. Having just watched the Bourne Identity with her Grandfather Ziebarth, Hilary attended purely for social reasons. She had great hopes of sitting by her latest male interest but was maddeningly seated behind him throughout the movies entirety.
The girls’ most archived adventure of the week was the humanity department’s social in Moore Close. There, Hilary and Deirdre met Dr. John Baildam. He was the cheeriest Vice Principle the girls had ever met. Unquestionably English, he met the girls with intellectual and self-deprecating humor. They immediately took a liking to him and enjoyed the cakes and drink provided—Well, Hilary did.
Friday evening a pile of rubbish was set ablaze by the NSA for the annual fall bonfire. Excited beyond reason, both girls wondered if there would be marshmallows there. It occurred to them that the American staple, available at every corner market, might not be in attendance. With genuine concern, Hilary asked the activities coordinator/pastor, Geert, if they would. He replied in his honey-coated, Holland accent that he would try, but they were hard to come by. Apparently they’re only available in England during the weeks surrounding Guy Fawkes Day. Deirdre’s immediate disdain for the holiday was palpable. She even verbalized it, which lead to a brief discussion of the holiday with the gentleman from Holland who really had no informed opinion but knew that it was offensive to a lot of people. Hilary thanked him for his efforts concerning the s’mores issue and walked away debating her sister whether Guy Fawkes was a hero or just a terrorist they agreed with.
This picture shows Deirdre's feelings towards Guy Fawkes Day celebrators
The event itself was destined for greatness because there would be a great deal of fire, a sunset and sitting in an open field. These ingredients were only improved by the full stock of marshmallows that were roasted with great care and nostalgia. The usually irritating feeling of sticky fingers just made the girls feel closer to their beloved United States and summer evenings spent around campfires with friends and family.
New mates Christina (American) and Maria (Dane)
Deirdre after losing a marshmallow to the flames
The end of some honky-tonk
The emotion made the girls remember the Saturday night previous when the school set off fireworks after a Saturday evening service. Hilary, having missed the July fourth fireworks that year, made sure she saw every explosion in the sky that night. Deirdre and her both, shared how strange it was to be looking at the sky, seeing the fireworks and hearing the Star Spangled Banner in their heads--but not in their ears. They wondered if any other Americans were experiencing the same confusion. Hilary just pretended for a few moments that it was the fourth of July, while Deirdre borrowed her camera and tried to capture the fireworks on film.
The idea of change occurring at stationary locales came full circle Sabbath morning when their new friend Dr. Baildam gave the sermon. He spoke of having crossed the Iron Curtain before the fall of the Berlin Wall and after. He reminisced about looking out over the village of Oberzalberg from Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest and wondering how amazing it was that the actions of a society determined to remove violent intolerance was able to now have the Fuhrer’s retreat as a tourist destination. While the sermon was mostly about praising multiculturalism, tolerance and diversity; Even Hilary and Deirdre’s cynicism was diminished for the forty-five minutes he spoke. The quotation of German philosophers and English literature was so enjoyable that they listened with pleasure, instead of defensively against the usual blind-tolerance speeches they were so accustomed too. Ultimately concluding with Immanuel Kant's request of mankind in Latin, sapere aude, “dare to know.” He stated that we too are in an age of enlightenment that demands we know our world. In the unavoidable, global society people reside in today the choice is to either sapere aude or abeo.
The sisters exited the sanctuary with pride and not so much prejudice. Pride that they attended a school that had lecturers like Dr. Baildam and a softened prejudice that comes from being an American in a foreign country.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Free Fancy Friday
Friday held more promise. Hilary and Deirdre had made a list of things they needed from town and were relishing the idea of a free trip provided by the NSA. At one o’clock they hopped into a fellow student named Andreas’ shiny red Volkswagen. He was an exceptionally large WASP whose car accentuated his lumbering size. The girls thanked him after arrival and Deirdre's eyes lingered a while as he drove away. They ate at Pizza Hut with the group. Deirdre scraped the cheese off her slices which Hilary used, to her sister’s disgust, on her crust. Conversation at the table became interesting when a few Norwegian girls began to explain, in no uncertain terms, why they did not want to join the EU. Tickled by their blatant selfishness and concern for independence, Hilary and Deirdre decided they liked Norwegians.
Norway
Deirdre in Bracknell
After the meal they separated from the group and spent the rest of the afternoon pillaging all the thrift and discount shops of Bracknell. Deirdre bought a bone coloured pea coat that fit her shoulders and waist perfectly; while her less practical sister bought a stegosaurus on a necklace, which Deirdre insisted looked like a hedgehog, for ninety-nine pence. The “Indian” store was finally discovered and was everything they had been promised. School supplies, candles, detergent, headphones, etc…the girl’s combined total did not reach twenty quid.
Decorations purchased at the Indian store
With all their essential shopping completed they ventured back to the indoor mall where the sister’s differing monetary discretion was once again demonstrated: Deirdre bought a bottle of water and sat at the café with all their booty while Hilary strolled across the mall into Sainsbury to purchase something. Exiting the store, she grinned shamelessly at her little sister, with her new Doctor Who, sonic screwdriver and slightly-psychic paper cradled in her arms. Between swigs of water, Deirdre photographed her sister’s joy and eventual disappointment: the sonic screwdriver required a more earthly screwdriver to insert the batteries.
Hilary opening her new toy
After being ignored by the 5:15 bus to Binfield, the girls hoofed their way to the bus station where they met another student who suggested they share a cab back to the school. After again avoiding the bus they freshened themselves for vespers in their room and fought sleep through the entire service.
Ready to escape after its conclusion both decided to skip out on exchanging blessings they were supposed to have written on 3x5 cards. But they steadied their rush after noticing an attractive pride of male students sitting a few rows behind them. As if they had spoken their thoughts aloud, the sisters were soon surrounded by these students. While they approached Deirdre scribbled down a blessing in Gaelic she struggled to spell correctly. Hilary left hers blank and smiled at the approaching pack. Drawn out by a musician who requested her help deciphering a blessing given to him in French, Hilary was cut off from the her sister. He was part of a band that played frequently in London and had EMI records knocking on their door. Genuinely relieved to have finally found a music scene after four days of purely school related events, Hilary felt a tightness loosen in her.
Deirdre was surrounded by the four other gents who filled the group. All attention on her and her California persona, she managed to charm each of them from the most concrete to the most cerebral (her knowledge of Doctor Who aided in the later).
Blessing given to Deirdre by one of the pack
Both sisters were invited to the next night’s event and looked forward to the next morning, a little more than the last.
Getting ready for church.
Considering what to write with her new pen.
Norway
Deirdre in Bracknell
After the meal they separated from the group and spent the rest of the afternoon pillaging all the thrift and discount shops of Bracknell. Deirdre bought a bone coloured pea coat that fit her shoulders and waist perfectly; while her less practical sister bought a stegosaurus on a necklace, which Deirdre insisted looked like a hedgehog, for ninety-nine pence. The “Indian” store was finally discovered and was everything they had been promised. School supplies, candles, detergent, headphones, etc…the girl’s combined total did not reach twenty quid.
Decorations purchased at the Indian store
With all their essential shopping completed they ventured back to the indoor mall where the sister’s differing monetary discretion was once again demonstrated: Deirdre bought a bottle of water and sat at the café with all their booty while Hilary strolled across the mall into Sainsbury to purchase something. Exiting the store, she grinned shamelessly at her little sister, with her new Doctor Who, sonic screwdriver and slightly-psychic paper cradled in her arms. Between swigs of water, Deirdre photographed her sister’s joy and eventual disappointment: the sonic screwdriver required a more earthly screwdriver to insert the batteries.
Hilary opening her new toy
After being ignored by the 5:15 bus to Binfield, the girls hoofed their way to the bus station where they met another student who suggested they share a cab back to the school. After again avoiding the bus they freshened themselves for vespers in their room and fought sleep through the entire service.
Ready to escape after its conclusion both decided to skip out on exchanging blessings they were supposed to have written on 3x5 cards. But they steadied their rush after noticing an attractive pride of male students sitting a few rows behind them. As if they had spoken their thoughts aloud, the sisters were soon surrounded by these students. While they approached Deirdre scribbled down a blessing in Gaelic she struggled to spell correctly. Hilary left hers blank and smiled at the approaching pack. Drawn out by a musician who requested her help deciphering a blessing given to him in French, Hilary was cut off from the her sister. He was part of a band that played frequently in London and had EMI records knocking on their door. Genuinely relieved to have finally found a music scene after four days of purely school related events, Hilary felt a tightness loosen in her.
Deirdre was surrounded by the four other gents who filled the group. All attention on her and her California persona, she managed to charm each of them from the most concrete to the most cerebral (her knowledge of Doctor Who aided in the later).
Blessing given to Deirdre by one of the pack
Both sisters were invited to the next night’s event and looked forward to the next morning, a little more than the last.
Getting ready for church.
Considering what to write with her new pen.
Babel-Babble
Diversity is a curse. Or so the Lord thought when he confused all the day workers stacking bricks for the tower of Babel. But in a never-ending Christian quest to turn lemons into lemonade the administration at Newbold prides itself on enrolling students from sixty different countries. The first chore the Hackleman girls faced after settling into their new surroundings was registration. Multiculturalism in all its glory taxed the still jetlagged ladies. The words: What? Pardon? Excuse me? I’m sorry I don’t understand, etc…were the most used that day. It was not only a stupid American problem; the handicap was shared by every student. This speed bump combined with Newbold’s recent discovery of computer networking, made registration a tedious, day-long process. Unlike the tower however, no one seemed particularly frustrated during the length of the day. This puzzled Hilary most. The idea that all these students were being corralled by a comparatively incompetent staff, without complaint, astonished her. She was torn between admiration and frustration. She silently commended everyone’s patience, but couldn’t help from being disappointed with everyone’s acceptance of mediocrity. Deirdre was appalled by the organization and even after completing registration wasn’t convinced they actually were.
One bonus to the day’s disorder was that they were assigned to two tutors (advisors) each (everyone else only had one—this was purely a mistake on the school’s part). They had to hunt to find them and finally found one of the four. His name was Professor Balderstone. Being the head of the dramatic arts at Newbold, Deirdre couldn’t help from looking at the ground and shaking her head in pity. She wasn’t sure she felt sorrier for her sister or for the tutor if he rubbed Hilary the wrong way. When they entered his office the posters on his walls made the girls immediately warm up to him. Baz Luhrman’s Romeo + Juliet was above his desk along with a movie still from Blade Runner. He quickly realized that Hilary really belonged to his colleague, Professor Trim. After showing them a picture of Trim in a kilt at Balderstone’s wedding, he took them one door down and introduced them to the eccentric, unruly-haired, Dr. Trim. They exchanged details about their countries of origin. Still confused by accents, Hilary managed to understand he was from India and England. Once they established a course schedule (that’s pronounced shed-yool) Hilary and Deirdre proceeded down the hall to Professor Traille’s office. After three swift knocks a busy lady in her late forties answered the door while abruptly ending her phone conversation. She stepped around the room quickly adjusting papers, shifting chairs, sidestepping piles of books and school rubbish. Once standing still she looked at both girls and said, “Take a seat. So, you’re the Hackleman sisters!” The sisters glanced at each other and then back at their new tutor and Hilary asked if they had already established a reputation after only three days in the country. Traille rattled off something in English neither girl understood and then began apologizing for the sad state of her office. Apparently the school had moved her office while she was on holiday and was still trying to attain normalcy. She pointed to a shattered picture frame on the floor with her toe and said, “I still need to bill them for that nonsense.” She was native to Britain and seemed to genuinely enjoy the girls. Hilary took a liking to Dr. Traille after she mentioned her resemblance of Brit pop-star Billie Piper. Even though Deirdre believed Traille to have underscored her sister’s looks with the comparison, she was pleased to have Traille as her tutor.
Billie and Hilary comparison
The first day of classes was their longest so far. French class was to be their first but, true-to-form, the French tutor was still on holiday. The girls bided the next few hours by cleaning their room even more. Their next classes were at eleven. Hilary’s was Reformation, Culture and Society in Early Modern England, c. 1545-1640 with Professor Trim. She liked him better after the introduction to his class. His disheveled, academic, strictly-historian attire fit him better after evidence of his knowledge and affection of and for his subject.
Hilary's drawing
Deirdre was under whelmed by her first day of college and hoped to be at least whelmed in the coming weeks.
After class was the first NSA (Newbold Student Association, not to be confused with the National Security Agency) event: The Barbeque. Not having made it to the last two beginning of school mixers of her college career, Hilary feared the ritual would be unfamiliar and awkward. Never willing to be a victim she armed herself with her new Canon XTi and hoped her sister would fare the storm unarmed. Accidentally a half hour late, they arrived to discover only buns, salad and condiments left on the tables. Deirdre quickly led the way to a group of friends while Hilary slowly joined her taking pictures the whole way. The events of the evening are best retold in photographs:
Chef
Principle
Awkward relay
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)