I've been thinking about monologues because of our show

I went for a walk by myself tonight. Don't worry, Mom, I stayed in well lit areas and always had my wits about me.
I walked by myself, but sometimes I saw people.
There were women in dresses and heels and big hair who carefully entered and exited taxis. There were men with button-down shirts and wrinkled khaki pants who talked too loudly and walked too slowly. There were couples with hands in hands who didn't pay attention to all those other people. There were street cleaners that remind me of zambonis.
I walked by myself to Albert Dock, past closed museums and dark store windows. I sat facing the Mersey and wrote a postcard to a friend. Only one week left, but better late than never.
I walked to places I've seen a dozen times before, but things look different when you're by yourself at night.
Sometimes things look so different that you wander up a street you've never wandered on before, but it's okay because you're able to see something nice when you get there.

I walked by myself back the same way I had come because I was cold and sleepy and sunburnt from the festival (which is my own fault, Mom, for not wearing any sunscreen).
I made myself some tea and thought about how I want to go home, but how I also want to keep taking walks by myself to the docks at night.

London Calling

We went to London last weekend! It's huge, but I think we got to see a lot of the main tourist attractions. We took a train, then the underground, and then we were there! It was colder than I expected.

We started at the London Eye, a fantastic way to see the city if you don't mind heights. The events leading up to it were very similar to what you might encounter in a theme park: long lines to buy tickets, twisting queues before getting into a car, and a gift shop with a place to purchase the photo they took of you. Of course, the views were incomparable.

We walked around after the Eye, finding Big Ben about the same time that we also witnessed hundreds of people in the nude riding bicycles. Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to the reason behind that surprise. I didn't get any pictures of them, but I did snap a few of Big Ben (which I would later learn is the name of the bell inside the clock tower, not the name of the tower itself).

We also stopped by Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, and saw a performance of The Last Days of Troy at The Globe Theatre.

The next day we waited outside the palace to watch the changing of the guards and then hopped on a double decker red bus to tour the city. We saw a lot of the same places that we had walked to the day before, but it was nice to sit down and learn about them as we passed by.

This is what Tower Bridge looks like from the top of a bus.

This is what Tower Bridge looks like from a distance.

In all, London was overwhelming, and the concentration of other tourists was greater than I had expected. A lot of my time there felt as though I was just constantly in Disney World, or something comparable, because most of the sights that visitors want to see are surrounded by tour guides, maps, and overly priced souvenirs. I'm excited to go back, to see some sights that might not be engulfed by people taking pictures.

In other news, yesterday we went on a walking tour around Liverpool with Laurence Westgaph. Laurence pointed out to us several locations in the area where the existence of the slave trade and the repercussions of the people who benefitted from it are ignored / not expanded upon. Yes, a statue was erected of this man because he founded a hospital, but where did he get the money for the hospital? He was active in the slave trade. That experience taught me to look more closely and think more critically about history that is presented to me. It may be the truth, but it may not be the whole truth. Just something to think about.

Museums, Music, and other Musings

Oh no, it's been a week! What have I been up to? Let's find out.

Wednesday, June 4
First thing in the morning we split up into groups to go on a photo scavenger hunt around Liverpool. This was a great way to get us to see several Liverpool sites and also useful in helping us find our way around the city. That was fun, and we found more Super Lambananas!

My group got second place in that scavenger hunt contest, if anyone is wondering.

Following that adventure, we toured The Beatles Story museum. The Beatles are kind of Liverpool's claim to fame, but the museum informed me that locals refused to buy the group's first big record when it originally came out. They were worried that if the boys got too famous, they would leave Liverpool and not be able to play there anymore. Guess that plan didn't work as well as they hoped.

Friday, June 6

At MDI, we took an Afro-Caribbean dance class that was super fun. We learned some dance moves before learning about how the arts are being used to influence communities in Liverpool. There are 6 organizations that were kind enough to take us in during our time here, and many of them are concerned with providing free arts education and activities for communities that might not otherwise have access to those programs.

The organization I'm working with, Africa Oyé, accomplishes this by spreading awareness and enjoyment of African art and music; it's the largest free festival of its kind in the UK. That's pretty cool, right? (Side note, everyone I've met so far working on the festival has been very kind and welcoming. That's a fantastic feeling, and they are a great group of people.)

Sunday, June 8

Some of our group took the ferry over to the other side of the River Mersey. We're living on the more expensive side of the Mersey, the side with shopping districts and restaurants. Many people work on our side and live on the other side, where costs are more reasonable. It was nice to see the normal neighborhoods; they have more charm and character than the streamlined shopping center in which we live. Not to say that I'm not happy that we live in the "posh" apartments above Urban Outfitters, just that now we know where many actual Liverpudlians call home.

The ferry also gave us a nice view of the city.

Monday, June 9

I took this day for myself and went to 2 art galleries. The second (and my favorite) was Walker Art Gallery, which I definitely need to go back to. I didn't take any pictures inside because that place was one of the classiest venues I have ever had the privilege to wander around (and because no one else was taking pictures and I was worried I had missed a sign saying it was prohibited). There was a room filled with sculptures and busts of people like Charles Dickens, and it reminded me of this room from Pride and Prejudice. One of my favorite paintings was called Fantine, and is a portrayal of the character from Les Misérables. I also saw a real painting by Monet! Isn't that wild? I need to go back to that gallery.

Tuesday, June 10

Phew, we made it to today. Congratulations if you've read this far in the post!

I spent all day with a promotional crew from Africa Oyé. We started out by timidly handing out fliers, but the atmosphere improved immeasurably when a group of musicians came to perform outside our Cultural Hub. (Side note, the International Festival of Business is happening now in Liverpool, so there are a lot of professional business people walking around. A booth called the Cultural Hub is set up outside some of the main buildings with the purpose of informing those professional people of fun things they can do in Liverpool outside of the conference. Africa Oyé is one of those fun things!)

I wish I could remember what they were called, but suffice it to say that the sun only came out for an extended period of time when those musicians were playing and dancing--that's how much energy they brought. Thanks to them, we were able to connect with a lot of people and spread the word about Africa Oyé. They also performed at the end of one of the seminars to what I believed to be an unappreciative audience. It was a shame that most people in attendance were too busy networking with each other to pay any attention to the talent on stage in front of them. The good part of the day, however, was how many people we were able to reach about the festival.

I can't wait until it starts next weekend!

Hello, History

Our first full day in Liverpool began with the Museum of Liverpool and the Merseyside Maritime Museum.

The Museum of Liverpool has several exhibits detailing (as you might imagine) Liverpool's history. It was an early and fast growing city connected to the transatlantic slave trade, but is also well-known for its diversity. Liverpudlians consider themselves separate from the rest of England, often referring to themselves as from Liverpool first and from England second. They take pride in their working-class dock worker roots.
Fun facts from the museum:

• Merseyside is home to Europe's oldest China town.
• There are more than 100 statues all over Liverpool called Lambananas that were decorated by different artists. They are odd, but mostly cute. This one is outside of the Museum of Liverpool.
• I stepped on a scale in a boxing exhibit that told me I qualify as a lightweight.

The Merseyside Maritime Museum was very interesting and pretty intense, especially the exhibit devoted entirely to the slave trade. One section allowed the visitor to step into a small theater where two round walls displayed video reenactments of slaves on the middle passage. It was sobering to watch, but effective in portraying the horrors that were experienced.

One of my favorite spots in that exhibit was a single window looking out over the docks.

Nice view, right? I thought so. Then I saw this sign.

"From this window...
"The Liverpool waterfront has changed dramatically since the days of transatlantic slavery.
"The three famous 20th century Pier Head buildings stand on the site of George's Dock where slave ships bound for Africa loaded their goods.
"The two dry docks, in front of the Great Western Railway building, were built in the 18th century. Slave ships were repaired in these docks. They are vivid reminders of the horrors of Liverpool's slave trading, and monuments to the commercial success of 18th century Liverpool."

Slave ships were repaired in these docks.

There it is. History right in front of my face. Not a replica in a display case, but out the window. This museum made it easy to recognize that the effects of events from the past are still very much with us today, even if we would prefer not to see them.

Tomorrow we're off to the Beatles Museum, another kind of Liverpool history.

Pre-departure Post of Purpose!

Just a quick update because I'll be getting on a plane to London one week from today!
1. I am so excited.
2. I haven't even started packing, but I have time to sort that out later.
3. I know where I'll be volunteering for the middle two weeks of the program.
Liverpool has the privilege to host an African music festival called Africa Oyé. I will be helping out in any way I'm needed so that this festival can get underway smoothly. Luckily, my program group will still be in Liverpool while it's happening, so we'll be able to attend and appreciate all the hard work it took put everything together.
I think that Africa Oyé will be a fantastic opportunity to learn about and celebrate other communities, which is a big part of the GIEU program. One big focus of our program is African culture in England (and Liverpool specifically), and I'm sure we will see many examples during this festival

Sefton Park, where Africa Oyé is held, doesn't look too shabby either.

First post!...What?

Welcome, all (mostly Kelly and Bill, I think)!

Chelsea here, and I'm very excited about going to Liverpool in June. I'm going to be doing some sort of unknown service projects through GIEU. I'll let you know when I know exactly where I'll be volunteering for the 2 weeks or so that we'll be participating in that.

I'm exceedingly pumped about this experience, and I hope someone will find this interesting.

See you soon!
(I don't know how to end these.)