Let the classes begin.

My first class this week was on Monday--English Literature in a Cultural Setting with Dr. Talbot. He's a little kooky but whatever, he still gave a brilliant lecture. We talked about Robert Frost, T.S. Eliot, and Ezra Pound, all men who have made significant contributions to literature and who are all American. They are from New Hampshire, St. Louis, and Hailey, Idaho, respectively. Talbot's point was this: The important thing is not where you were born, but where you find your place. In regards to these men, they all found their place and beginning in London. To wrap up the class, we walked together to Ezra Pound's old house on Kensington Church Street, which is a step away from the church where T.S. Eliot was married, St. Mary Abbot's. It was really moving to be walking the same places where these three amazing men walked before. Here are some pictures of the walk.



After the walk we were set free to go to lunch and spend the rest of the day doing whatever, so Kristin, James, Carlos, and I decided to find some lunch. We ate fish and chips at Cafe Diana, which was really good. We didn't want to stay at the Centre after that, and Carlos mentioned he wanted to go swimming, so we ended up taking the Tube out to Camden Town and Hampstead Heath. The Heath is a gigantic, overgrown parkland outside of London that has developed ponds for swimming. So while Carlos did his thing in the 19 degree Celsius water, Kristin and I read and wrote on the bank. We didn't get to stay very long because I had to get back for kitchen duty, but it so amazingly beautiful to be there just for an hour in the warm weather.