How I Became an Explorer of the World

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Stonehenge // July 20, 2016

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On A Personal Note: Stratford Upon Avon

I had an uncomfortable encounter the other week with a man who approached me at a pub. He was significantly older and had an air of elitism about him. I was trying to dodge conversation whilst waiting for my drink, but he kept questioning me. I begrudgingly made small talk (although I now wish I hadn’t given into this pressure – this man made me very uncomfortable with his tone and his judgmental statements), and he managed to extract from me that I was studying Shakespeare abroad. He said something along the lines of “Well then you must be visiting Stratford on Avon”. I was indeed and from that moment on, a cloud of distaste hung over the journey as it was now associated with this vulgar and vile man.

Thankfully Stratford itself was spectacular enough to allow me to disassociate. We had the privilege of seeing two shows at the Royal Shakespeare Company and visited landmarks where Bill Shakes himself would’ve wandered. It was so lovely to go back to the roots of Shakespeare and see where and how he might’ve been inspired. The trip was doubly exciting because seeing the shows at one of the greatest Shakespeare companies in the world, allowed us to see the polar opposite end of this inspiration. We were able to explore both product and process, and their relationship.

On our final day, we got to perform the monologues we had been working in class in the park by the Avon and the RSC. While stakes were low (we are still work-shopping these after all), I think there was a tangible exhilaration in this – an understood significance of performing in this sacred space.

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My brother and I had a lot of fun at our family reunion yesterday. Germany // July 24, 2016

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Angel Comedy Club

This is an excerpt of an independent paper I wrote on Angel Comedy Club. It’s a bit more personal but also pretty informative. 

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Anti-Brexit Parade in London // July 2, 2016 Taken by Franziska Harms

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GerMANIA

I’m what you might call pantser. I fly by the seat of my pants, and planning often takes the back seat to improvising. This works fairly well for me because, if you’re a pantser, you have to be a pretty good one, or your life falls apart. 

Today however, it seemed like I would fall short. 

First, I called my Uber at about 4:45 AM this morning. After a bit of panic because no one seemed available for a bit and the buses/trains didn’t run regularly this early, I was promptly picked up by my driver, Bayram. He was foreign (I want to say Bulgarian but don’t quote me), incredibly nice, and incredibly smart. We had a very interesting conversation about how all fortunate things (from being able to study abroad, to not living in an impoverished country) are a matter of luck to some degree. We also bonded because he was slightly frustrated when speaking english, that he didn’t have the expansive vocabulary he needed to express his ideas the way he would in his mother tongue. He had only been speaking english for about a year and it was very good all things considered. I could relate because I have fallen off the wagon of keeping up with my german, and I too get flustered when I can’t fully expand on my ideas. It makes you feel like you’ve been reduced to the vocabulary and eloquence of a child, and therefore your perceived intelligence seems to go down as well. You feel very limited and helpless. Bayram however, was generally a very optimistic man and I had a very pleasant car trip to the airport, despite how early it was. 

Now, being a pantser, I had packed the night before (...and the morning of), I had stayed up WAY too late, and I had relied on online check in that morning. This is where the stress of the day truly took off - and how I almost didn’t take off at all.

I had booked my ticket through Hopper, a travel booking app. Now I had used Hopper before, and had great results - I always found the cheapest tickets and they told me exactly when to book, gave me several options, and cross referenced all the airlines and times. I had never had a problem before now. But for this trip I was notified that there was a problem with my payment and that  I needed to call them during office hours or email them. Could I have been more on top of this and done it sooner? Absolutely. But I’m a pantser. This being said, I did both email and call them during their office hours to no avail. I was stuck at the check-in desk with no paid for and/or booked ticket. Thankfully the people at British Airlines in Heathrow were SO incredibly helpful and helped me cancel my ticket and repurchase another one. I checked in, in the nick of time and, by some miracle, didn’t need to pay any more than I did for my original ticket.

I avoided any more mishaps by making this my background as I got on the plane. Ridiculous? Yes. But by now I should know that reminders and plans are essential when it comes to travel - and apparently I’m the only one who doesn’t have this instinctive travel anxiousness to motivate my thoughts that way naturally.

This is one of the many examples over this summer where I’m realizing that there are situations in which being a planner would be more beneficial then being a pantser. A huge thing I’m learning on this trip is how to discipline myself to be more organized, and why I need to be. Again, this need is not something that comes naturally to me but I’m glad I’m working my way towards progress. 

I am very excited to be with family again. My Oma is having her birthday celebration today and my brothers are excited because they can finally drive by some PokéStops. Being back on top of our little hill in Germany is both lovely and nostalgic. 

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I made this my background when I got on my flight.

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Stratford Upon Avon // July 16, 2016

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Oxford // July 6, 2016

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On a more Personal Note: Oxford

If you read my last post you can tell that I obviously felt inspired. I suddenly had motivation and inspiration and felt generally excited about life. More pictures to come soon! 

All this excitement lead me to look into the requirements for their graduate programs. I thought I would kill the suddenly sprung pipe dream quick and move on with my life. But the more I think about it, the more I consider it as a possible MFA program - which is a ridiculous daydream but also one that I'm falling more and more in love with. 

After looking at the requirements I made an interesting discovery - had I applied for their undergrad I wouldn't have even been considered with my high school stats, but now I'm actually qualified. I think I’ll let this thought sit and wax, and we’ll reexamine at a later date. 

But it is of note to see how much the actual area of Oxford affected me, considering we were there for such a short amount of time. I can’t help but wonder how I would feel over a longer amount. Plus I like the schooling structure - they have three short terms, and a weekly one on one meeting with a specialized professor (called a tutor), to discuss your emphasis. The term is extremely dense and you prepare for rigorously for these meetings, but this stop and go energy is very much in synch with my natural work flow. All things to consider I suppose... 

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Oxford // July 6, 2016

Taken by Franziska Harms

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Hi there friends! Here’s some pictures I took in Oxford on my visit this past week. I wrote an essay on how it inspires me for my British Culture and Society class. Here is a short expert:

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Hey there!

So this is just a quick update for this blog:

Originally this blog was made for a class I was in freshman year where we did various activities from the book “How to be an Explorer of the World”. Now I’m using it as a travel log for my month long study abroad trip to England and subsequent two week trip to Edinbrugh for the fringe festival. Stay tuned for updates on Oxford and London coming soon! 

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Differences

Some edges are cut straight, some are ripped

Some have different handwriting

Some are typed 

Some of the papers are smooth

One doesn’t have words on one side at all

Some look crumpled and mis handled

Some have writing on the back

Some are colorful

Three are one of a set of many

Four are written with affection

One was written by me

Some were acquired in the same night

Some have tape on them - one is taped together

Two are on lined paper

The authors have drawn hearts on four of them

One note has three hearts

Six of them are a direct reflection of my life

One was not given to me - I took it

All of them have been folded but some more than others

Some I could hide flattened in between my palms, others I could not

Some of the pages are bright white; others have a tinge of yellow

Only one could replicated by the same source to have it be virtually identical

Six were created by people I know

Some are in permanent ink, others are erasable

If a stranger found them they could most likely only identify three of the authors for certain

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Combinations

My blue infinity scarf vs. The golden picture frame

Both frame faces 

Both offer a limited amount of protection

The scarf was purchased in Europe and the painting has european influences

Both are patterned with squiggles 

When stretched the scarf and the painting are virtually the same length

Neither have a tag noting where it was made or who by

The painting being framed suggests roman influences and scarves were worn in 10 A.D. by romans

Both are accessories to more interesting sights

both can be removed from what they are accessorizing

Both are traditionally less interesting that way

Both are made to emphasize something else's beauty or uniqueness

Both exhibit shapes that are endless - you can trace both of them forever because they are closed shapes

The scarf is royal blue and the painting is golden which are both colors that represent royalty 

Both are made from natural materials for the most part 

Neither of them are meant to be human food

Both objects went through a coloring process

Neither have a specific orientation that they need to be in. You can rotate both 90 and 180 degrees and they would make sense in context

Crocheting/knitting and painting/framework are all considered crafts and artistic in a way

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10 things from where I’m sitting

1. someone is typing in the youtube link on the projector but I can’t tell where the source is  because there are several people on their laptops 

2. people are dancing to a different beat than the music playing (just the way you are)

3. I can’t find one girl who isn't in either sweatpants, yoga pants, or leggings

4. my earlobe hurts when I touch it

5. Katherine's voice is very bright and strident

6. blonde girl straight across from me who know me but whom I do not know looked like she was talking to someone on the floor concernedly, but she was actually on the phone

7. Blue morph suit girl looks so uncomfortable

8. Everyone on on the couch on the lef side of the room is on their phone

9. Blue morph suit girl looks like she’s getting her nails painted but is actually getting her hands painted. It just looks like the painter is messy and her nails are ginormous. Like giant nails

10. I’m clenching my jaw

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