Whirlwind!

As we reach the end of week 2 of our grand UK adventure, I think a lot of us are feeling tired. The last couple of days, I've heard more people talk about quiet afternoons reading in their room or taking a powernap before the evening's events, rather than 24/7 on-the-go bursts of activity. Perhaps it's no big surprise. Aside from adjusting to the new time zone, culture, foods, and peoples, our class has done the following:

* Visited 4 museums/exhibitions
* Toured the palace/prison of the Tower of London
* Taken a tour of the Globe and Rose theaters
* Toured the Treasures Gallery of the British Library
* Traveled to and explored Stratford-upon-Avon, including Shakespeare's gravesite and optionally, the in-town houses associated w/his life
* Studied and discussed 3 plays
* Seen 3 play performances
* Written 1 3-pg. analytical essay
* Completed 4 extended journal entries
* Taken scads of notes on our site visits
* Participated in joint discussions with the Theatre and Literary London and Dublin classes
* Walked over 15 miles
* Shopped til we dropped (I hear H&M is a particular fav)

And this doesn't even include what we've all done during our London Alive walks, weekends, and free time. Whew! Now we're all preparing our suitcases and books for the next phase: London Away. The Shakespeare class, along with 4 other courses, will be going to Edinburgh, Scotland for the first half of the week. We'll be studying Shakespeare's _Macbeth_ and related Scottish history at the sites of three castles and in the countryside. We'll also be hearing a lecture from Dr. Matthew Hammond, a professor at the University of Edinburgh who specializes in early Scottish history. He'll be filling us in on the *real* King Macbeth, so we can see what kinds of changes Shakespeare and his contemporaries made to the tale. From there, we dismiss for mini-break and then will return to London to share stories and finish up our studies and research together.

So, Alba gu brath*, y'all!

Dr. T.

* "Scotland forever!"