Stonehenge and Salisbury

A classic view of Stonehenge

As you may have gathered from my rather imaginative post title, I visited Stonehenge and Salisbury today as part of the International Summer School's social programme.

Despite forecasts that had predicted afternoon showers, we were able to escape most of the rain for the whole programme until it was time to get back on the coaches for the return trip to Exeter.

I was very excited to see Stonehenge. I didn't know all that much about this prehistoric monument prior to coming here, but after hearing so about it and seeing photographs all my life, it was quite an amazing experience to actually see it in person. A tour of Stonehenge includes an audio guide that explains various aspects of the monument at designated points. It was easy to use, though I had difficulty balancing the audio guide next to my ear whilst taking photographs of almost every conceivable angle of the stones. A circular path surrounds Stonehenge and there is a rope that prevents you from walking right up to the stones. I already knew that it would be like this before I even left the US, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that a section of the path actually gets quite close to the stones, closer than I thought it would.

I learned today that the bluestones used for Stonehenge were transported all the way from Wales! These smaller stones weigh up to 4 tons. The sarsens, or large stones, which often have lintels placed across the top, most likely came from around 20 miles away.

Stonehenge: World's largest bird perc

Experts are not exactly sure how the builders placed the heaviest (up to 50 ton) stones or sarsens, upright or placed the lintels up top, but they suspect that they used a complex system of ramps and levers. Excavations and studies have found that one-third of each sarsen is sunk into the ground and that the lintels are notched and fitted into place on top of the stones beneath in a manner than resembles a jigsaw puzzle. Pretty great feats of engineering for a group of people who quite literally had not invented the wheel yet!

The many angles of Stonehenge

Stonehenge's purpose is not completely known, but there are definite connections between the placement of the stones and the movement of the sun during the solstices. Barrows (burial pits) containing cremated and physical human remains have been found near the site, suggesting a religious significance. It's also quite possible that the bluestones also served as a sort of 'status symbol,' since their place of origin in the Preseli Hills in Wales was a notable landmark on the prehistoric trade route. The people who brought them back to present-day Wiltshire, England would have been making quite a statement about their trading and transportation abilities with these stones.

I'm having a bad hair day in this one

Stonehenge today, is of course, incomplete, but that much of it is still standing is a testament to the engineering ingenuity of the builders. As nice and impressive as many of our modern buildings are, I don't think most of them will still be standing after 3,000 years!

Learn more about Stonehenge here: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge/

After Stonehenge, we traveled a short distance to Salisbury, a small town that is renowned for its massive cathedral.

Before we walked to the famous cathedral, we stopped at a smaller medieval church to hear the end of a local concert that was played by a pianist, clarinetist, and violinist. It was pretty magical to hear such beautiful music played in an equally beautiful setting and it helped set the tone for the rest of the trip.
When we reached Salisbury Cathedral, built in the 13th century, we were impressed by the sheer size and beauty of this large church. In another amazing feat of primitive engineering, a spire that towers 404 feet above the ground was constructed in the 14th century by medieval builders, a height that is still fairly impressive today.

Outside of Salisbury Cathedral

The cloisters. Seem familiar?

Many people (and I was one of them, until I did a bit of research) think that Salisbury Cathedral was a filming location for some of the Harry Potter films. Unfortunately, it was not. Having said that, there are many parts of the interior and exterior that look very much like parts of Hogwarts Castle in the films. The early movies were actually filmed in part at a cathedral in Gloucester and also in Oxford. Given the relative proximity and stylistic time frame within which these cathedrals and buildings were constructed, it is probable that there are many aesthetic similarities that overlap (having never visited these other places, I cannot say for sure). So while Harry Potter may not have been filmed in Salisbury, you can still have a stroll through the cloisters and feel like you're on set.

Looking up at the spire

Salisbury Cathedral, aside from its sheer aesthetic beauty, is also famous as the home of the best surviving copy of the Magna Carta, one of only four in the world. The Magna Carta drew up over sixty clauses to help solve a medieval political crisis that occurred between King John and his barons. Only three of those clauses are in effect today, but that even three of them are still relevant is quite astounding. The most famous of these clauses has often been cited as the earliest inspiration for later movements toward human rights, though of course the barons could never have foreseen that at the time. It states:

No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled . nor will we proceed with force against him . except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.

The Magna Carta essentially limited royal authority, quite an astounding feat since no one could limit royal authority at this time, except for the king himself (as you can imagine, the barons were quite persuasive in making this happen). Even if the people who drew up this document had no intention of extending universal rights to everyone, the Magna Carta inspired later generations to aspire to do just that.Seeing this document in person was amazing. Since there was no printing press at this time (early 13th century), everything had to be copied by hand, yet the letters are so perfectly blocked out and written, it almost looks as if it was done by a printing press!

The Magna Carta is written in a shorthand form of Latin, so it is extremely difficult for non-experts to read. However, Salisbury Cathedral provides an English translation of the document for those who are interested.

Learn more about Salisbury Cathedral and the Magna Carta here:
http://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/index.php

I had a great time seeing such beautiful historic landmarks and artifacts today and I hope you enjoyed reading about them.

In which Katelyn drinks Pimm's, goes to the beach, attends class, and competes in a pub quiz

Is it half empty or half full?

After we returned from London, we had a welcome barbecue at Reed Hall, where we had a chance to mingle with other International Summer School students and the buddies (student ambassadors). For most of us foreigners, the barbecue was also an introduction to a popular British drink called 'Pimm's.' If you have never traveled or lived in the UK, like me up until this point, you may be wondering right now, 'What is Pimm's?' Apparently most British people don't exactly know either. After talking to several native Brits, I discovered that it's a brand of alcohol which is often mixed with English-style (carbonated) lemonade and served with fruit and mint leaves, but no one seemed to know what kind of alcohol it was. After doing some scholarly research via Wikipedia, I realized why that was so - Pimm's makes several drinks based on different kinds of alcohol; some are gin-based, some are whiskey-based, vodka-based, rum-based, etc. The most popular type of Pimm's is gin-based and has a citrus flavor. Pimm's is known as a 'fruit cup,' which is an English specialty drink that is often consumed during the summer. Most fruit cups are mixed with some type of soft drink and are garnished with - surprise - fruit. Pimm's is quite good and most of us enjoyed the mild, fruity flavor. If you live in the UK and have found any of this information incorrect, blame Wikipedia.

The following day was orientation, where we listened to a lively presentation on education in the UK from a professor named David before taking a tour of the campus and the city. I ended up skipping most of the campus tour in order to catch up on some sleep, but I re-joined my group for a tour of the city, which I am still having trouble navigating because I am directionally challenged.

The sign says it all

We went down to the quayside, where I was able to get some absolutely gorgeous photographs of the docks, swans, and canoes, as well as a funny little ferry called, "Butt's Ferry," which as the sign in the picture will tell you, will take you across the quay for 30p (that's 30 pence, roughly equivalent to 30 cents for you Americans out there). The ferry goes straight across the quay and is operated by a man who pulls the boat along by hand across a cable. As some of my new friends joked, he has to be in great shape by the end of the summer!

Speaking of friends, I've made a lot! I can't emphasize how friendly, nice, and generous everyone I've met at the International Summer School has been. I've met people from every continent now (except for Antarctica) and none of them have ever been anything but pleasant.

The coast of Sidmouth, enshrouded in fog

As many wonderful new friends as I've met, I haven't forgotten about my fellow Fulbright students. We took an evening trip after dinner to a lovely seaside town called Sidmouth with one of our Fulbright week professors, Professor Clive Sabel, whom you may remember from our Dartmoor and Cornwall excursions. It was quite foggy when we reached the town and that made for some lovely and mysterious scenery - I had a lot of fun with my camera. Some of us had planned to go swimming in the ocean, but it ended up being much too cold for that, so we contented ourselves with walking along the pebbled beaches, watching the boats out at sea, and observing a cricket practice. Professor Sabel was explaining the rules of cricket to us as we watched the practice, but since I can barely understand the rules of my native sports as is, I didn't do too well with understanding a foreign one. We ended the evening with a supermarket raid to get some peanut butter, where we learned, much to our amusement, that the British don't say 'jar,' they say 'pot.'

Visit Sidmouth yourself at: http://www.visitsidmouth.co.uk/

The village of Sidmouth

The next day was our first day of classes. Our classes are divided into two parts: lecture and seminar, which are two hours each, with an hour break for lunch in between. Each class is taught by a different professor. The first day's lecture was an introduction to Global and Imperial History (my pathway). We discussed different ways of defining globalisation (British spelling) and of avoiding Euro-centrism.

After the lecture, we had a buffet-style dinner and pub quiz at the Ram, the student pub on campus. According to our programme coordinator, Lyndon, Britain has an average of 20,000 pub quizzes each week. People pitch in a few quid and then divide into teams and are awarded prizes for the most correct answers and for the best team name. For our quiz, the prize was a pitcher of beer or ale (I can't remember which) and some Cornish biscuits. This went to the team with the most correct answers (we did not have a separate prize for best name, though incidentally, the team who won also had the best name). Most of the people I had met before the quiz were already on teams, so the quiz gave me a great opportunity to meet new people and we all had a wonderful time answering the questions together. We had difficulty coming up with a team name, so I suggested that we pick three random words and put them together. In this way, Team Rainbow Galaxy Victory was born. We came in 6th place, which was somewhere in the middle of the overall ranking.

Today, we had our second lecture, which was on the imperial system and the making of the modern world. And now I will treat you with a five paragraph explanation of Spanish and Portuguese expansion into the Americas. 

Just kidding.

Since I realize that many people don't find global history as scintillating as I do, I've decided that for the remainder of my time here, my posts will focus on the social programmes and day trips that we'll be taking as part of the summer school. I will also occasionally post entries about interesting aspects of British culture or the University of Exeter that I've noticed during my time here.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Stonehenge and Salisbury! Stay tuned everyone!

My London Adventure (Obligatory Royal Baby Info Included)

Warning! The following blog post was written on very little sleep and contains bad writing, mediocre photography, a reflection on smells and how they relate to the human experience, as well as information about the royal baby, corgi disguises, Sherlock Holmes, and Japanese air conditioning, among other things. If you find any of this disturbing or upsetting, please stop reading NOW and consult your local physician.

In all seriousness though, this post will probably get a nice, shiny update and refurbishment some time in the future, because I was way too tired to do a good job on it the first time around, so you have been warned...

Anyway, it's been a little while since I've last updated and I've just returned from London, so there is much to write about!

Let me just clear up a few questions which will probably be popping into your mind right about now:

A picture I took of the palace, one day before the royal birth

Was I in London during the royal baby's birth? Yes.

Was I standing in that mob scene outside of Buckingham Palace? No.

Was London absolutely going crazy with joy? Not where I was, though granted, I was in a hotel room. In actuality, none of the native Brits I've met have shown any real interest in the royal baby - it has been the foreigners who have been the most excited. Having said that, I suspect that most British people around Covent Garden (where the hotel was located) with an interest in the royal family were packed in the pubs drinking to the future king and collecting some of their royal baby bets, since there was virtually no noise on the streets. I did hear what sounded like a small fleet of helicopters go by, but very few screaming people and trust me - you could hear drunken screaming people from the second floor of the hotel - we heard some only two nights before.

Interesting note on how I found out about the birth to begin with: Before we went sightseeing in London on Monday, my friends and I had seen on the "telly" that the Duchess of Cambridge had gone into labour, but I didn't find out that she had given birth until I returned to the hotel that evening and my mom texted me the news from America. After that, I switched on the BBC and watched it for about five minutes before going down into the hotel lobby because I realized they forgotten to give me towels.

To be honest, I had about zero interest in the royal baby before coming to the UK. When I realized aforementioned royal baby was possibly going to arrive whilst I was in the UK, that zero interest kicked up a notch to about a rating of "mild interest." I bought two newspapers for about a pound each the following morning and received a third one for free, but that was about the extent of my excitement for the event (and part of my rationale was that they might be worth something in 50 years).

So that was my royal baby experience. A bunch of helicopters and a text from my mom in New Jersey that told me the baby had been born in the first place. I will say this though - the baby is a really awesome marker for when I had my Fulbright Experience. If I'm ever wondering in the future, "How long has it been since I went to the UK on the Fulbright Summer Institute?" I can just look at the age of Kate and William's child and know the answer.

Anyway, enough of that.

We took the train on Saturday from Exeter to London to begin the International Summer School programme and then took the "Tube" from Paddington Station to Holborn Station near Covent Garden, the location of our hotel. For those of you who may not know, the "Tube" is a popular name for the London Underground. I found the Tube to be fairly similar to New York City's subways, so it wasn't a shocking experience for me.

After checking into the hotel, we took the Tube to South Kensington where we saw the outside of Kensington Palace and its accompanying gardens and parks. When we went back to the hotel for dinner, we began to meet some of the over 150 international students who had just arrived in London for the start of the programme. Throughout my three days in London, I met students from Egypt, Hong Kong, mainland China, Austria, Russia, Turkey, Switzerland, Canada, India, France, and of course, from the US! Everyone has been extremely friendly, kind, generous, curious, and open-minded and we've had great fun exchanging information about our various cultures.

Cheers!

Perhaps my favorite part of the whole trip came after dinner, when a small group of us that either weren't jet lagged or were toughing it out, went on an impromptu tour led by Lyndon of some of London's more interesting pubs, which included an old city sewer system that had been converted into a wine cellar and the Sherlock Holmes-themed pub at 221B Baker Street. We ended the night at an old school pub with cheap drinks (great for us poor college students) and I got to try a bitter ale, which was actually quite good after I acquired a taste for it.

On Sunday, we went on a walking tour of Trafalgar Square, Horse Guards Parade, and Buckingham Palace, led by an eccentric Scottish tour guide who told a lot of funny jokes about being Scottish and disguising himself as a corgi to meet the queen. I had seen these places in pictures and on TV, but it was quite a different experience to see them in person. I think a vital part of this experience was, as it was for all of London, the smells. This sounds funny at first, but when you think about it - you can see a place on TV and even hear some of the sounds, but you can't smell it. Smells have also been proven to be deeply connected to memory, so I think that is a big part of what truly makes for an authentic experience. So what does London smell like? Like food and pollution mostly, like any other city. But that, combined with physically walking the streets and seeing the architecture and buildings anywhere you choose to look and not where the TV camera is looking, makes for a real experience.

We had a free afternoon after the walking tour concluded and two of my friends and I spent it walking along the Thames and seeing an open air market and a line of street performers in Westminster. Some people may say that our time might have been better spent seeing a museum or a gallery, but I enjoyed the experience we had. I had the sense that we had stumbled upon a fun community gathering that brought both tourists and residents together to enjoy homespun food and entertainment and that felt really good.

Inside the Globe

In the evening, we saw a performance of Macbeth at the recreated Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. We were in the "groundlings" or standing section. After walking the whole day, many of us were frustrated at all the standing and some people even fainted! (They've since recovered.) During the first half of the play, I stood at the back righthand side of the stage, which wasn't the best vantage point. I was continually distracted from the performance by how much legs and feet hurt. But then, during intermission, one of my new friends from America suggested that we try to get a standing position near the front center of the stage so I followed her in doing exactly that! And wow, did that make a difference! We managed to get only one row back from the front center of the stage. The actors were within a metre of us at times! I was so engaged by the performance that I forgot how much my legs hurt and I don't think I've ever been as enraptured by Shakespeare as I was then. It was almost magical.

Visit the Globe at: http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/

One of the Tower ravens

Monday (royal baby day) was the last full day we had in London. In the morning, we visited the Tower of London, which unbenownst to me prior to visiting, is actually several towers. There are a number of different objects on display there, including the crown jewels, coins from the mint that used to operate at the Tower, torture devices, and armor. Fun fact: the armory exhibit is the longest running visitor attraction in the world at 350 years old! I also had the opportunity to see the famous Tower ravens. Legend has it that if the ravens leave the Tower, both the kingdom and the Tower will fall. Thankfully, there appeared to be enough ravens there to keep everything intact!

Learn more about the Tower of London here at: http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/

A picture of me next to a trash can! And the Tower Bridge.

We took a river cruise up the Thames from the Tower to Westminster and I was able to get some lovely photos.

Unfortunately, when we arrived at Westminster, the abbey had a horrendously long line (and equally steep entrance fee), so we just had enough time to grab a bite to eat and head off to the British Museum, our last stop of the day before dinner. I was so tired at this point that I barely got through the Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Japanese exhibits. When I found out the Japanese exhibit was air conditioned and had benches, I decided that it was probably the best place to collapse (it also helped that I'm hoping to perhaps specialize in Japanese history in the future).

Two and a half days was of course way too short a timespan to see London properly, but I did get a nice taste of it - enough of a taste that I definitely want to come back some day - especially to see Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral. Hopefully, it won't be too long before I'm able to come back =)

Through the Passage(s)

Yesterday and today, we had attended several lectures on leadership, the environment, and sustainability in the Southwest of England, wrapping up the end of the Fulbright week, and passing into a new part of the programme - the International Summer School (more on that later).

The first lecture we attended was given by Dr Beverley Hawkins, a lecturer in Leadership studies. It was interesting to learn about the theories behind sustainable leadership after seeing it in practice at Embercombe. Her lecture dovetailed nicely with everything that Mac had explained to us during our tour at Embercombe - that leadership can take many different forms and is often context dependent. We engaged in a fun activity where each of us were told to draw and label a children's playground from a specific perspective, which was given to us on a folded up piece of paper. I picked the mother of a six-year old child, so I labeled areas of the playground that I thought would be of interest to her. Other perspectives included those of a fourteen-year old girl, a six-year old boy, a gardener, and a health and safety inspector. Naturally, even though we had all essentially drawn the same thing, the labels were very different. Dr Hawkins stressed the idea that perspectives are not simply ways of seeing the world - they are also ways of not seeing the world. Because the job of a leader is to frame his or her followers' perspectives, this can obviously be quite dangerous, as history as shown.

The second class we attended yesterday was taught by Professor Jonathan Gosling. We discussed a reading we had done about World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Climate Saver Companies, specifically a case study of Tetra Pak, a Swedish food packaging corporation that has a large presence in the Chinese milk industry, where it provides packaging services to leading milk-producing companies. Tetra Pak has worked with the industry to bolster the country's milk consumption (historically, China has never consumed much milk), but has come under fire for being unsustainable due to low recycling rates, despite the fact that Tetra Pak packaging produces less carbon emissions than other types of packging. Having said that, Tetra Pak's support of a growing industry which depends on cattle has drawn criticism from some within WWF, since cattle produce harmful emissions and (ideally) need large grazing areas that often require deforestation. Tetra Pak also was linked to a larger milk scandal that hit most of China's top-producing milk companies several years ago. The business therefore faces many challenges, all of which will need to be met with strong sustainable leadership. We discussed supply chains, environmental impacts, business relationships, and how businesses create demands where there were previously none. On a somewhat related note, Professor Gosling told us about Jaffa Cakes, a British food which, due to new food tax laws, is the center of an ongoing debate of whether it qualifies as a "cake" or a "biscuit." We were encouraged to go out and try some ourselves. After several experiments in the field, we came to the scientific conclusion that they are biscuits, despite their name.

Today, we finished our last Fulbright class with none other than Professor Clive Sabel, who discussed his URGENCHE project with us. URGENCHE stands for the Urban Reduction of Green House Gas (GHG) Emissions in China and Europe. The project has brought together a number of leading interdisciplinary researchers from many different countries. The objective is to study the effects of existing GHG reduction policies on human health. An interesting exercise Professor Sabel had us do was list the ideal characteristics of a fictional city, which helped us envision the difficulties policymakers face in managing urban areas. We also discovered that the qualitative data for GHG reduction policies is sometimes very unconvincing to policymakers and to the general public, even though common sense dictates that such policies are important to the overall health of a city, especially in the long run. It was an engaging and thought-provoking end to an exciting week.

Find out more about URGENCHE at: http://www.urgenche.eu/

A section of Exeter's underground passages

We had the afternoon off today, so we explored the city and ate at Tea on the Green, a restaurant near the cathedral where I had a tasty butternut squash and pomegranate wrap. Then we went through Exeter's underground passages, which were originally used to bring fresh water to the city's wealthiest inhabitants during the 14th and 15th centuries. They were later used as bomb shelters during WWII, though modern research now shows that the tunnels were too close to the earth's surface to have given protection to refugees.

Luke, the medieval man

Me, crouching in a passage. Do you like my hat?

The passages were a unique experience. We were all given hardhats before entering, which we were quite glad of, since we bumped our heads several times on the ceiling (at least I did). We also had the option of crawling through one of the lower passages, which we all took advantage of. The small admission fee to the passages also included a video and a small museum space. And we got to see Luke, the somewhat creepy medieval man!

If you ever come to Exeter, the passages are a fun and unique experience for all ages. They are also the only medieval underground passages open to the public in Great Britain!

Visit Exeter's passages via: http://www.exeter.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2914

We ended the day with a visit to the Firehouse Pub for some elderflower cider before heading back to our dorm's balcony to mix some apple and blackcurrant juice with the champagne the older gentlemen gave us a few days earlier (it was delicious).

I will be in London for the next few days where my friends and I will join other students on the International Summer School programme. We'll be touring all over the city, which is very exciting (I wish it was going to be cooler though). I won't have my laptop with me for a few days, but I will be sure to post when I get back.

Stay cool everyone! It's hot out there!

The Embercombe Experience

Yesterday, we went to Embercombe, a charity and social enterprise whose mission is "to touch hearts, stimulate minds, and inspire committed action for a truly sustainable world." Embercombe is located only seven miles from the city of Exeter, yet it feels a world away. I've never been anywhere quite like it. If this post seems a little all over the place, it is because Embercombe is a large, multi-faceted organization that is hard to explain - and I mean that in the best way possible. If you ever get a chance to book a visit to this amazing place - do it. You won't regret it.

Embercombe was founded by Tim 'Mac' Macartney who formerly worked for a company which specialized in leadership training. He still trains business leaders today, but in a much different manner than he had previously. His vision of Embercombe is largely shaped by Native American and First Nation teachers he met in North America. A core component of the leadership and sustainability model he promotes to business leaders who visit Embercombe is based on the 'Children's Fire,' an informed decision-making process that was used by certain Native American groups in the past and which some still use today. The principle of the 'Children's Fire' is that no decision must be made that would negatively affect the children born seven generations in the future, both human and animal. When you think of your decisions in those terms, it radically redefines your obligations in a way that is far-reaching, both spatially and temporally. I don't know if I've ever come across a better philosophy to live by.

Mac took us on a tour of the fifty acre property, once the home of an eccentric WWII pilot, complete with landing strip and aircraft hangers, which has been utterly transformed into an ongoing project towards truly sustainable living.

The stone circle with the symbolic "Children's Fire" in center

We found throughout our tour that Embercombe runs a number of different programs - not just leadership and sustainability workshops. All of these serve to promote a better, more sustainable world. The organization is simultaneously a charity, a construction site and business, a carpentry shop, a working farm, and a path towards spiritual enlightenment. A fire pit surrounded by a circle of rocks, pictured left, forms one of the sacred spaces of Embercombe, a combination of traditional Native American teachings and Great Britain's own tribal traditions. It welcomes people of all faiths and non-faiths to think about the magic of the world, both spiritual and scientific. It is Mac's philosophy that the two need not be mutually exclusive.

Three families, including Mac's, live at Embercombe full-time and an apprenticeship program hosts participants for a year. People can also apply to be volunteers for one to three months and other various programs host businessmen, school children, and people from other social backgrounds from anywhere from a day to several weeks. As you can imagine, these creates an environment where people are constantly coming and going - and bringing new ideas with them.

The focus of all the different programs Embercombe promotes, is the real world application of sustainable practices, either at Embercombe itself, in larger businesses, or in participants' homes. Embercombe has acres devoted to beautiful gardens that produce food for all who live or visit there at any given time. Everyone who lives there, whether it be a week, a month, or a year helps the community in some capacity. Embercombe produces its own food, wool, timber, furniture, and construction. Excess food is placed into designated compost buckets and a compost toilet turns both forms of human waste into fertilizer for the organization's orchards (I helped contribute to some of that during my stay).

Rescued Dartmoor ponies do some light labor around Embercombe. They are trained to carry baskets on their backs through a very unique form of natural horsemanship that puts the pony's needs, natural instincts, and desires at the forefront of the process. As a lifelong horse-lover, I was impressed and delighted to see the natural horsemanship method put into practice in such a intuitive and compassionate way.

Gardening at Embercombe

People are extremely cognizant of where their food comes from here. Many who visit or live here are vegans and vegetarians. Those who do eat meat generally eat wild caught meat or fish and if one of the rams is killed for mutton from Embercombe's sheep flock, all those who plan to eat it must watch the process. This fosters an appreciation for the food that is consumed. Too often we don't think about where our food comes from - what has been injected into it or sprayed onto it. Often we forget that animals have to die for us to eat them, that they are killed before they would die naturally, and that they too often live in factory farms where they never even see the sun. At Embercombe, you know where the great majority of your food comes from and what process it went through to end up on your plate.

Another important element of Embercombe is the Embercombe Building Company, which employs men who would probably not have access to employment otherwise due to their criminal records. The company gives these men urgently-needed second - and even third and fourth chances to rediscover themselves and rebuild their lives both physically and metaphorically. The company does a lot of demolition work and reuses bricks and other materials that would otherwise be thrown in landfills in building projects at Embercombe. Some materials are sold to contractors in London for a profit, before being mostly reinvested into Embercombe afterwards. The buildings being constructed in Embercombe are about 50% built from sustainable resources. Both the company and the overall social enterprise are not 100% sustainable, but they are quite happy to be transparent about which processes are sustainable and which are not and they are always striving for improvement.

One of the yurts at Embercombe

We had a lovely dinner at Embercombe and had the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life - students from Spain and America, middle-aged men and women from northern England, a carpenter from Germany - the list goes on. It was truly an amazing experience that I will never forget. We stayed overnight in cosy (British spelling) yurts with their own wood burning stoves (it was a bit too hot for the stoves, though), the main accomodations for those who live, work, and volunteer at Embercombe. We all slept quite comfortably and soundly.

Embercombe is all about finding your own path and following your dreams, and doing those things in a sustainable manner with the resources you have available. Everyone at Embercombe is aware that most people don't have access to the sort of resources available there, so the main message is simply: Follow your heart and do the best with the time you have and the gifts you have to make the world a better place.

Please check out Embercombe's website, listed here and see how you can get involved in more sustainable living: http://www.embercombe.co.uk/

You can also 'like' them on Facebook.

More information about the building company can be found here: http://embercombe.co.uk/blog/?tag=embercombe-building-company

Stay tuned for next time!

Environment

I’ve titled this post, ‘environment,’ for two reasons. The first reason is that, over the course of the past two days, we began to explore the issues of environment, sustainability, and the Southwest of England, the theme of our Fulbright UK Summer Institute (UKSI). The second reason is that we also had the opportunity to explore the physical environment of the Southwest in an appropriately physical way.

Yesterday, we started the morning off with some breakfast before meeting Professor Clive Sabel, a professor in Human Geography at the University of Exeter. The itinerary we were given for the Fulbright week simply said that we would “stop off” at Dartmoor before heading onto the European Centre for the Environment and Human Health (ECEHH) in Cornwall, where we would stay overnight at the University of Exeter’s Tremough campus.

“Stop off,” we did.

An example of a tor

Professor Sabel took us on a journey through Dartmoor’s forests and streams. But before we get to that, a little background information is probably in order. Dartmoor is a national park, though that designation means something quite different than it does in the U.S. Professor Sabel explained to us that since the UK has been settled for much longer than the U.S., and has therefore experienced much greater amounts of manmade impact, national parks are not so much the preservation of ‘pristine wilderness,’ as they are in the U.S., so much as the preservation of their current state, which, while beautiful, is not pristine. Therefore, people are allowed to live and farm in Dartmoor, which would be unheard of in a U.S. national park. Dartmoor is famous as the setting for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles as well as for its ponies and sheep, which range freely over much of the park. Dartmoor is also known for its tors. Tors are rocky outcroppings that appear on the tops of hills. They were formed from volcanic activity and eons of erosion and weathering. Dartmoor was once completely forested, but its trees were felled for farming and shipbuilding, leaving the wide open moors and exposed tors that visitors see today.

When we first arrived in Dartmoor, we took a hike through one of the region’s forested areas. We passed a few farms on our way to the river, where we planned to have a quick swim to cool off. Dartmoor does not have a high elevation, but we still had a difficult – correction, I should say difficult for me, since I am extremely out of shape – series of climbs up from the valley over rocks and tree roots. As you can see from the pictures, it was quite beautiful.

A section of the river we swam in, a little upstream

When we reached the river, which was extremely clean – substantially cleaner than the rivers in the U.S. – we all went for a swim, except for me, since, in addition to being out of a shape, I am and probably always will be, a lousy swimmer. I sort of awkwardly tripped over rocks in the water while I watched the others jump into the river with no problem whatsoever. It was still fun and a great way to cool off (the weather continues to be hot) and I’m glad I explored something that was far out of my comfort zone.

One of the many ponies we saw in Dartmoor

After we had hiked our way back to the car, we drove through Dartmoor towards Cornwall, where the ECEHH is located (more on that later). On the way, we saw ponies! Small ponies, big ponies, fat ponies, skinny ponies, brown ponies, white ponies…I think you get the idea. There were A LOT of ponies. Dartmoor ponies are semi-feral. They are allowed to range across the moors for most of the year. Once a year, farmers round ponies up in ‘drifts’ to separate the ones to be sold and for veterinary check-ups. Most of the ponies roaming Dartmoor are mixed-breeds or Shetlands. The rare, pure-bred Dartmoor pony is usually not allowed to mingle with mixed-breed Dartmoor ponies so as to keep the bloodline pure. For information on Dartmoor and its ponies, visit: http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/index

We stopped to get lunch not long after we had seen the ponies. Some of us tried Cornish pasties (native to Cornwall), which are sort of like a pie filled with meat or vegetables. They were very good and quite filling. Then it was onto the ECEHH.

As a reminder, ECEHH stands for European Centre for the Environment and Human Health. ECEHH is located in Truro, Cornwall and is part of the University of Exeter Medical School. There, we met with Professor Lora Fleming, the Director of the ECEHH and a certified occupational and environmental health physician and epidemiologist, and Dr Will Stahl-Timmins, a graphic designer who specializes in the presentation of information and graphics. Over tea and biscuits, we had the opportunity to see some of Dr Stahl-Timmins’ work. He distills large amounts of scientific data and esoteric jargon into visual presentations designed to convey the information to non-specialists, such as policymakers and the general public. One award-winning presentation explained what happens to pharmaceuticals after people use or dispose of them (it can be seen here – it’s the third and last one down: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/339/6119/514.full). It’s hard to explain his work and how well it presents scientific data in mere words because it’s so visual. So, why don’t take a look, yourself? Dr Stahl-Timmins’ blog can be found here: http://blog.willstahl.com/

The ECEHH is highly interested in interdisciplinary work, hence the fusion of graphic design and scientific data described above. The ECEHH often finds it has to use different methods to explain scientific data to different groups of non-experts. In areas such as climate change and pharmaceutical use, which is a large component of the ECEHH’s research, clear explanations are critical for getting policymakers and the general public on board with new programs that improve environmental sustainability.

Aside from our visit to the ECEHH, discussions with Dr. Sabel in the various car rides around Devon and Cornwall opened our eyes to different paths toward environmental sustainability and the challenges they face. This is probably no better represented in the UK than in the windmill.

Windmill farms are clean sources of electric energy. The Southwest of England is a prime spot for these energy-generating behemoths due to its climate and geography. However, there has been immense push back in this region, with residents complaining that they ‘ruin’ the landscape and generate too much noise when situated near houses. There are also questions of how efficient they are. There are similar complaints in the U.S. as well as concerns for bird populations, but I think these issues are largely rather inconsequential. Aesthetics are a rather shallow reason to prevent the proliferation of renewable resources and while I can’t speak to this personally, I’d imagine living near a windmill is comparable to leaving near a highway, which is something to which you can completely adapt (I’ve known several people who have). The concern for bird populations is more legitimate, but it seems to me that windmills are no worse than other forms of fuel we currently use. After all, power lines can, and do, fry birds. And we all know what havoc oil spills can wreak. As far as efficiency is concerned, windmills are still developing. All technology starts off rather inefficient and then grows and progresses as more people invest in and develop it (just think of how far the computer has come). It just needs a chance. This is why the EECHH’s work is so critical in explaining to non-experts just how important it is to live sustainability and why certain small trade-offs and sacrifices need to be made. Energy is not free. Every time we turn on a light switch, the energy needs to come from somewhere, and we too often forget where that somewhere is.

Visit the EECHH’s website at: http://www.ecehh.org/

Wind isn’t the only source of alternative energy. We’ve all heard about solar panels and solar farms (another growing – and controversial, trend in the UK), but have you ever imagined getting your electricity from the power of the waves?

I hadn’t, until I was preparing to come to the UK.

A wave device being tested in Falmouth Harbour

After a lovely dinner at an Indian restaurant in Falmouth (no exploding food this time, thankfully) and a short stay overnight at Exeter’s Tremough campus in Cornwall, we headed back to Falmouth Bay to visit FaB Test – the Falmouth Bay test site where wave device developers can test their machinery in a sheltered environment that is close to port. It is hoped that wave energy will be more popular with residents since it is offshore, quiet, and invisible. As we learned from Falmouth Harbour commissioners today however, there are still critics out there, particularly fishermen who want access to the test site. There are also concerns, again, with how the devices will affect birds and other marine life. Wave energy is still in early stages of development, but it looks promising and should silence aesthetically-minded critics. We got to take a look at a test device ourselves aboard the boat Killigrew. This device is currently generating energy, but the energy is not being stored anywhere. It is simply being ‘tested’ as the name FaB test implies and this will provide vital data to the private company which owns the machine as well as to the University of Exeter, which is conducting research in renewable hydraulic energy. It is hoped that after the testing phase is finished, a newer, more advanced working device will be transferred to the Wave Hub and connected to a power grid. 

For more information on FaB test and Wave Hub, visit: http://emps.exeter.ac.uk/renewable-energy/research/research-interests/offshore/hydrodynamics/falmouthbaytestsitefabtest/ and http://www.wavehub.co.uk/

We ended the day with a visit to the beach on the northern coast of Cornwall near the city of Newquay. The unusually warm weather made it an absolutely perfect end to an exciting two days. I think I’ll let the story of this trip tell itself in pictures.

Next stop: Embercombe and the Heart of Leadership programme!

Arrival and First Full Day

I'm officially in the UK now! It's been a whirlwind, these past three days, so I'll have to catch you up to speed. On Friday, I flew out of Philadelphia International airport to Toronto. It was the first time I had ever flown by myself or internationally. I was pleasantly surprised at how friendly and helpful my fellow passengers were. Two Canadian businesswomen took me under their wings and guided me through the tedious process of filling out landing cards and helped me navigate the Toronto airport. After a four hour layover in Toronto, I met up with one of my fellow Fulbright participants and we boarded the plane to London.

As you can imagine or as you may have experienced yourself, international flights to a different continent are LONG. It didn't help that there was a mechanical issue that delayed us for almost an hour either (apparently part of the plane was missing - very comforting). I was able to catch some sleep, however. For those of you who have never flown long distances, airlines provide little pillows and blankets for such occasions. I made good use of mine! It was quite cold on the plane. Our plane had a touch screen on the back of every seat on which you could watch movies and TV shows, listen to music, play games, or look at a map of your flight. The map section also had the altitude, time and temperature listed. The temperatures at 35,000 ft can get to be over -50 degrees Fahrenheit!

When we arrived in London, we went through immigration and then took a cab to Exeter. The cab ride was about three and a half hours. We all slept on and off. The highways reminded me of the ones we have at home, except of course the English drive on the left side of the road!

English cars tend to be much smaller and compact than those in the U.S. The license plates are much longer than ours however, and, except for the numbers, their general appearance makes no distinction between counties or even different parts of Great Britain, unlike in the U.S., where the country's large size makes such obvious distinctions necessary. When we arrived in Exeter, we found that many people, including our programme (British spelling) coordinator, Lyndon, don't drive very often or even own cars, depending on where they live. In some cities, like London, public transportation is much more convenient than driving (rather like our own New York City). In Exeter, everything is within walking or cycling (biking) distance, so people tend to walk more than they drive, though we definitely see a fair number of cars.

To backtrack a bit, when we first arrived in Exeter it was HOT. It's still hot now, except for the evenings. I was quite surprised, given England's usually cooler climate. The English were surprised too. They're all very excited for the warm weather, but for me, I'd like it to be maybe 10 degrees F cooler (I'm still getting used to the Celsius system here).

The view from my room

There isn't really much air conditioning in England, at least that I've seen (our dorm is not air conditioned and neither are most of the buildings on campus). Buildings are generally designed with cooler temperatures in mind, so they insulate more than anything else.

Our first day included a tour of the city of Exeter. We ate at an Italian restaurant (many of the restaurants are multicultural - Indian restaurants are particularly popular). We walked to the 800 yearl-old cathedral, the quay (pronounced 'key''), which is along the river Exe (there were swans EVERYWHERE) and up and down the streets, including the High Street (every city in England has a high street). Of course a tour downtown wouldn't be complete without a pub visit and we found cosy (British spelling) accommodations in the Fat Pig. My fellow Fulbright participants and I each had a half pint of cider (our first legal drinks!). The cider was good for me because it was only lightly carbonated (I can't drink anything that's heavily carbonated).

Holland Hall

Today, our second day, included breakfast at Holland Hall, where our accomodations are located. We had a very nice gentlement walk up to us about 9:30am to give us a bottle of champagne that he wasn't going to finish off. After we stowed away the champagne in a mini fridge and finished catching some sun out in the courtyard, we attended the Fulbright and University of Exeter ISS orientation. It was very relaxed, fun, but still informative. Valerie Schreiner, the Fulbright Summer Institute Programme Coordinator gave us a 'UK 101' quiz, similar to a pub quiz (minus the pub - we were in a meeting room on campus), which are quite popular in the UK. After that, one of the University of Exeter ISS ambassadors or 'buddies' gave us a campus tour. Exeter's campus is quite beautiful - there are botanical gardens everywhere and it has the highest tree-student ratio in the UK. Some of the cooler sites on campus include a clock tower and the Forum, a new space that joins two older buildings - the Library and the Student Guild - together. It's a very modern and open area with wavy architecture and skylights that open in response to increases in temperature. It also features a seminar room with large touch screens (think gigantic iPads) which are connected to wall monitors. If you'd like to see what the Forum looks like or learn more about it, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQnf4g1jycM

After that, we took another trip to town to the legendary and extremely popular Firehouse pub for a Sunday roast and some more cider (the Firehouse's cider was sweeter than the Fat Pig's). Legend has it, the Old Firehouse was the inspiration for the Leaky Cauldron in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Rowling is an Exeter alumnus. Supposedly Gandy Street in Exeter inspired Diagon Alley as well, so of course we all had to visit that too! The street is curvy and full of character, though of course completely free of magical shops like Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and Flourish and Blotts (unfortunately).

The cushions made from fat

The castle ruins

Then we visited the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) which was very cool. One of the exhibits was called 'Wasted' and featured artwork made from human body parts - a miniature palace made of ice and milk teeth, a hanging decoration made from hip joints taken from hip replacement surgeries, and chairs with cushions made from excess fat taken from liposuctions. The exhibit is intended to challenge viewers into thinking about issues of health, ethics, and art. The RAMM is also connected to a large garden which surrounds the ruins of a 2,000 year old Roman wall, which once completely encircled the city. We walked part of the wall and then down to the gardens and the ruins of a castle that was built into the Roman wall several hundred years later (it's the oldest castle ruin in England). If you want to learn more about RAMM, visit: http://www.rammuseum.org.uk/

Inside of the cathedral (taken by me)

My new friends and I took a trip to the 800 year-old Exeter Cathedral after that. We had only looked at the outside the day before. The inside is absolutely breathtaking. I had seen it before on Google Maps street level view (you can drop inside this particular building), but it's completely different in person. It was awe-inspiring to say the least and the pictures I took unfortunately did not and could not do it justice and neither can words, really. You'll all just have to hop across the pond and visit yourself =) If you would like to do the next best thing and take a virtual tour of the cathedral, visit: http://www.exeter-cathedral.org.uk/

Photo of Exeter Cathedral (not taken by me)

We spent a leisurely half hour on the Cathedral Green, the large green lawn that spreads out from the cathedral. People will often play rugby and other games on the green, exercise their dogs, or just sit and talk.

After that, we went to one of England's many Indian restaurants, The Curry Leaf. We all ordered appetizers (we were still a bit full from the roast) and swapped food with each other so we could try different things. One of the appetizers was this cold round...thing with crunchy yellow...stuff on the top. The server told us to eat the whole thing at once, in one bite. Unfortunately for me, I couldn't eat it in one bite and it ended up exploding on me, which was embarrassing, but was worth it for the laughs and story alone.

We finished off the day with some toffee and banoffee pie (banana and toffee) ice cream at the Ruby Diner. I wish we had banoffee ice cream in the states because it was one of the best flavors of ice cream I've ever had.

We're off to Dartmoor tomorrow and the European Centre for Environment and Human Health to start off our Leadership, Sustainability, and the Southwest Fulbright Week!

Just the Beginning...

Disclaimer: Any of the views or opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own and do not necessarily reflect those of the US-UK Fulbright Commission or the University of Exeter.

Hello there! You have stumbled onto my blog about my Fulbright experience and you're probably wondering what this is all about. So first, a little background:

My name is Katelyn and I am about to embark on a journey that will take me from a small suburban corner of southwestern New Jersey to a much bigger urban corner of southwestern England. I'm a junior college student majoring in History and Philosophy & Religion at Rowan University. Several months ago, two wonderful history professors at Rowan, Dr. Blake and Dr. Carrigan, recommended that I apply for a UK Fulbright Summer Institute grant for one of nine institutes. After carefully researching each of them, I chose the University of Exeter Summer Institute. This particular institute runs for four weeks from 13 July to 10 August. The first week is a Fulbright week which focuses on the themes of Leadership, Environmental Sustainability, and the Southwest of England. For the remaining three weeks, I will be studying on one of eight credit-rated pathways at the University of Exeter International Summer School, the Global and Imperial History pathway.

Exeter appealed to me because of its International Summer School (ISS) programme. After taking a look at the detailed schedule of the Global and Imperial History pathway on the school's website, I knew that I had found the perfect fit for me. Exeter's ISS programme also has a number of cultural and social activities that appealed to me, including a three-day orientation and social programme in London and day trips to places such as Stonehenge, Bath, St. Ives, and the Eden Project. The university's high academic standing in the UK also encouraged my decision.

After I had chosen my institute, I finished my application and sent it to the US-UK Fulbright Commission in the beginning of March. A little over a month later, I was notified that I had been shortlisted and would be interviewed over the telephone for a place on the programme. After I completed the interview, the only thing that was left to do was wait anxiously for the Commission's decision.

I didn't have to wait long. I received an email offering me a place on the Fulbright University of Exeter Summer Institute in the beginning of May. I was ecstatic. The programme is extremely competitive, so I felt proud to have been nominated.

I will be joining three other Fulbright Summer Institute participants in Exeter. I have corresponded with them via Facebook and email and I'm very excited to meet them in person. We will all be studying together for the Fulbright week. Once the ISS starts up, we will each be studying on a different pathway, but we'll still attend most of the social programs together, along with around 150 other students that will be joining us from all over the world.

So that about wraps up the background information. From here on out, I will be posting fun anecdotes about my UK experiences and hopefully a few pictures as well.

Tomorrow, I begin my Fulbright Experience, to which this blog will be dedicated. Tomorrow, I will gather my things, extricating them out from under the watchful eye of my fluffy Chihuahua. Tomorrow I will say goodbye to aforementioned fluffy Chihuahua. Tomorrow, my parents and grandparents will help me pack up the car and drive me to the airport. Tomorrow, I will say goodbye to my family. It will be sad, but I’ll be back soon enough. Tomorrow, I will say hello to a new country, new faces, and new friends.

Hello, tomorrow.

For more information about the US-UK Fulbright Commission and how to apply for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, visit: http://www.fulbright.org.uk/

For more information about the University of Exeter, the International Summer School, and other great academic programs offered there, visit: http://www.exeter.ac.uk/

For more information about my particular program, visit: http://www.fulbright.org.uk/fulbright-awards/exchanges-to-the-uk/undergraduates/university-of-exeter