Knocker-Upper

An unexpected rain storm woke me up at 3 am. All was quiet except for the massive downpour of huge drops bouncing off my open window pane. Not surprisingly, I fell back asleep quicker than one can close their eyes. My agenda for the morning was to wake up at 5:20 am, shower, and then make my way to the South Sefton Rotary Club in Waterloo for their 7:30 am meeting. Earlier the previous evening, two students saw me googling the Royal Hotel in Waterloo. When they found out that the Gormley statues can be found off the beach where the Rotary club met, they asked that I wake them up too so they could join me: me for my make up meeting, them for beachside photo ops.

Later that morning on our way back into town, Colin Beaver, the newly installed South Sefton Rotary Club president gave us a quick tour us around town. We saw the original yellow 17 foot Super Lamb Banana and a smaller union-jack clad one. This sculpture, now the city mascot was created by Japanese artist, Taro Chiezo, to warn of the dangers of genetically modified food. Most appropriate to the city of Liverpool due to the port's rich history in the trade of lambs and the import of bananas. Bypassing traffic past the miles of docks that now stand empty, he told us the story about Liverpool's knocker-uppers. These are people who would carry long thin sticks and tap (knock) on dock workers 2nd floor bedroom windows to wake them up so they could report to their dock by the time a ship was in port ready to be unloaded. I chuckled to myself ... I am becoming more Scousian by the day. This morning, I was a knocker-upper waking up my travel companions before the first light.

Rule #7

During our pre-departure orientation in Newark, those of us who were participating in the COE Europe 2009 tour talked about our expectations: academic development, the trip, and living with our fellow travelers. We agreed that we would abide by the following group rules: #1. go with an open mind; #2. be attentive; #3. communicate our needs; #4. respect each other; #5. respect our common space; #6. look out for each other ; and most of all, #7. no complaining.

Of course, not that I am complaining ... Of all times for England to have a heatwave, it had to be while we are here. 30 degrees celcius (90 degrees farenheit) feels much less oppressive when: buildings are air conditioned; there is no humidity; when one is not wearing long slacks; and, one does not walk for several neighborhoods during the heat of the day.



But you didn't hear it from me ...

Just Do It

Today's topic was international development. But what exactly does this mean to today's college student? Does it mean that one party (country, non-governmental organization, or person) works to reduce the poverty of another; to build capacity so that they have meaningful choices later on; or to improve the quality of life? Yes, to all of the above.

We heard Abigail's and A.B.'s experiences during their year abroad. One went to Peru to teach English and to build green eco-latrines; the other went to Spain and used their English language skills by working at a youth hostel. What they had in common was that both were open to stretching themselves - leaving the comfort of what they knew to experience the unknown with people very different than they. This may sound a bit scary, especially when one is most likely several time zones away from home and gone for a long time. But thats not what they talked about. They said that the biggest benefit was interacting with others, sharing what they had and learning from the local community. They stressed that we all have alot to give and encouraged us to 'just do it'.

Hard At Work

Everyone in the COE group eventually ends up in the computer lab, whether it be after class, after city tours but mostly before they close for the night (at 11 pm!!). Here are a few, hard at work, preparing for the independent travel module to Amsterdam and Antwerp; or researching for their final presentation; or maybe even FaceBooking ...

Castles in the Sand

The warm Irish sea breeze beckons us as we get off the 44 minute train-ride. 10 minutes through flower-box lined streets leading to the beach, Brian stops for an ice cream cone. The cone lady with no front teeth asks for his reaction to Michael Jackson's passing. His reponse, "A sad ending to an even sadder life." Interestingly, England is still reeling from the news -- four days later. Its true. They usually go in threes. This time, it was Farrah Fawcett (age 62), Ed McMahan (age 86) and Michael (age 50). Upon reflection, our afternoon at the classic beach town of Southport brings Jimi Hendrix' song to mind ... "And so castles made of sand, slips into the sea, eventually."

Footpower

With backpacks for a one night's stay, 19 students, 1 student intern, 2 US counselors tried as best we could to keep up with our fast-walking Scouser-talking group leader. We saw the historical, political, cultural and the every day at the turn of every corner. From protests against the Iranian elections, Hare Krishna parades of people dancing in the streets, impromptu (thanks to Twitter) and illegal memorials of the recently departed Michael Jackson, to those enjoying an easy Sunday morning.London easily holds more than the touristy snap shots of BigBen, Parliament and Buckingham Palace.

London is a global city - seemed like out of every ten people we passed, seven spoke something other than English. London is also super efficient with its busses, tubes and ferries transporting the masses from this way to there.Note to self: This holds true, until there is a delay. Then, watch out, near pandemonium! Photo above is of people waiting on delayed trains in London due to Wimbledon 2009 in Wembely.

Another Place

18 minutes north of Liverpool on the Mersey Rail train, takes us to another place -- Crosby Beach.Coming and going were easy, except for a 25 minute hiccup (needing to wait 25 minutes for the next train to come, when we should have hopped on a bus). Both options would have taken us to the exact same place, just a few blocks from our residence hall. Lesson: next time, read the train schedule!!

Here are a few pix from "Another Place", where we joined 100 cast-iron life-size figures of artist, Antony Gormley. Into the ocean and the horizon, each of them look out. Blue water fades into distant landscapes against the blue sky. When we arrived around 3:30 pm, only the tops of the heads could be seen. By the time we walked down the promenade, the tides rolled back and revealed the figures seen above. According to Gromely, the work is seen as a poetic response to the individual and universal sentiments associated with emigration - sadness at leaving, but the hope of a new future in another place.