First Impressions

• Sianna4685's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Cambridge

Trip Start Jun 20, 2006 Previous
Entry Trip End Aug 28, 2006 Next
Entry

  Cambridge, United Kingdom
Monday, July 17, 2006

While I catch you up on Italy I figured I better tell you something about Cambridge (and make you all extremely jealous) before I find myself packing to return to the United States! Why let the time pass me by when I can savor it even more by sharing it with you.

Let me introduce you to the place I have the privilege of calling home for eight weeks. Cambridge is a city whose birth is shaped around the wool trade. The fens, in which Cambridge resides, used to be flooded and rivers such as the Cam were used to export wool from sheep to the Netherlands where it was dyed and made into goods with market value. Sometime around 1200, several scholars at Oxford about to be implicated in the most sensational scandal fled to Cambridge where they founded their own university. Peterhouse was the first college founded followed by many others including Pembroke (the third oldest at 1347 and co-sponsor of my summer program) and King's, founded in 1441 by King Henry VI.

King's is perhaps one of the best known college in the Cambridge system owing to the magnificent King's College Chapel with world renown King's College Boy's Choir. Just this afternoon I participated in my third (and last) Evensong which is an evening Anglican service lasting for approximately 45 minutes. The service consists of spoken and sung texts with the Boy's Choir providing the music; today the congregation had the privilege of singing the final hymn, one by Charles Wesley, which I greatly enjoyed.

King's College Chapel is an architectural masterpiece and I can go in just about whenever I want with my yellow "King's College Junior Member" card. The Chapel is constructed completely of stone, even the vault, though wooden rafters above the inside stone vaulting comprise part of the protective roof. When you first walk into the chapel from the South entrance, there is a mini gift shop to the far left opposite wall and a screen to your right. The screen traditionally keeps the uninitiated away from the high altar though tourists and members of the College are allowed in for services. As you walk past the wooden screen (heavily worked) in Decorated Gothic Style) you face the high altar with floor seating, the choir, and more floor seating to your left and right. Along the back is raised seating for members of the College, their guests, and the two ordained priests. When members of the College who are Fellows, graduates, etc--those with robes--attend services, they always wear their robes. As you sit, surrounded by perfect harmony from the choir, you cannot help but lift your eyes toward heaven only to be arrested by the vaulting. The stone vault is something of a peculiarity given the great expense afforded in transporting so much stone to Cambridge from Europe and the design. The ceiling is known as a fan vault in which the wall supports (attached columns) rise gracefully from the floor and soar above to fan out across the ceiling. Each vertical line coming out from the support then has horizontal molding running in beautiful design across the transverse of the vault. Along the center of the ceiling at connecting points are bosses--large pieces of stone carved into beautiful floral and political symbols. Atop the screen looms an organ which when played at night may be heard from the courtyard.

As I walk out of the chapel and pass through a gate marked "Private" I wonder at the privilege I have been afforded to live and study in this gated, hallowed place, steeped in tradition. I say hallowed because Cambridge was originally founded in the monastic tradition to train men for service in the church. In the architecture and general ambience I find a lingering spirit of religious commitment and sincere faith.

Beyond the chapel you will find the River Cam, stocked daily with eager tourists and sporting locals. To the left you may walk past King's Bridge and through a green gate marked "Private" into Bodley's Court. Walk over to T Staircase (I lived in T Hall at Deseret Towers for three years so I feel right at home) and raise your eyes to the second level of windows. Just to the right you may see me waving, inviting you inside. Ascend the stairs, not failing to notice my very own Cupboard-under-the-stairs marked "Toilets." At T 4 you must pause to knock and give the password--Chocolate Macaroons. You will enter my sitting room complete with brown couch, peach colored walls, fireplace, desk, and little refrigerator. Through a door to your immediate left is my bedroom with a window into the Provost's garden just next to my own sink and mirror. Following my bedroom around from sink back to door I have boudoir, chest of drawers, night stand, and bed--with another fireplace behind the chest of drawers. Following the tour I will have you stay for afternoon tea (Camomille and lemon) and a lively discussion on the topic of your choice.

Have I made you jealous yet?

My first and second weeks have been fantastic. The program staff including Gideon Malone and six Teaching Assistants is working hard to help us feel at home and have a great time. For example, they threw a Fourth of July Barbeque in Bodley's Court complete with reenactment of the Boston Tea Party--yes we actually threw organic tea bags into the Cam! Katherine and Miriam came up to Cambridge that day and were able to participate in the barbecue as well. We had a nice time exploring Cambridge from a City Sightseeing bus and I made certain they attended Evensong though I had my first supervision that night and could not attend with them. I sent them back to London by train the next day for more adventures there with our friend, Pat Priest.

Our first weekend we (the Pembroke/King's Summer School) traveled to London for an orientation weekend. I made my first visit to the British Museum after happening to run into Katherine and Miriam at St. Paul's Cathedral! That night we stood for three and a half hours on the floor of Shakespeare's rebuilt Globe Theatre watching an unabridged performance of Antony and Cleopatra. The quality of sets and acting were phenomenal though I was not terribly fond of Cleopatra's costuming in her suicide scene. The cast did a terrific job of interacting with the audience as well including spitting seeds and nut shells at them, referring to some with their arms on the stage when Octavian says something about a group of people stinking, and splashing water on another section of the standing audience. On Sunday I reconnected with a young man in one of my Humanities classes this past winter semester who was on holiday with his family in London. It was so nice to see a familiar face in London though the reunions did not stop there. As several other BYU students and I left Hyde Park Chapel, I heard my name being called and there was Meredith Stockman, one of my friends from the Scottish Parliament Internship last year. It made my day to see her and she may come up to Cambridge to visit.

I think I have probably exhausted you though I have so much more I could write! Thank you all for being supportive of me and sending along messages whenever you get the chance. I do love sharing my experiences with you and hope you have enjoyed savoring them with me.

Until next time, I remain your ever faithful correspondent.

Slideshow Share

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

06 Miriam, Rebecca, and Katherine	07 Miriam with the American WWII Cemetery	08 Handleys and BYU London Students	09 Fieldtrip to Ely Cathedral
10 Pat, Katherine and Miriam in London	11 Globe Theatre Stage	12 Globe Theatre Outside By Night	13 After the Globe Performance
14 The Peter Pan Statue in Kensington Gardens	15 National Gallery and Trafalgar Square

Previous Entry Next Entry