Catching Up

I haven’t been able to write in a while because 1. I have been cooped up in the library writing my paper for my D&B class and 2. I haven’t been doing many note-worthy activities because of the aforementioned library imprisonment. Here are the highlights of the past few days:

Harmonious Art
On Monday, I had a very productive painting class! We learned that paintings need to be narrative to tell a story, (we made up a story to describe the relationships between the different pieces of fruit on the table), and that they also should be harmonious. Thomas, our professor, appealed to my musical background explaining that melody implies a story, but harmony is vertical on the musical score with all of the instruments working together. It was a great analogy and I began to understand what he was trying to teach us. Harmony means that all of the elements of the painting work together, and the set-up is seen as a whole so that the background adds beauty to the foreground. When I got frustrated that I couldn’t mix the “right” colors, Thomas pointed out that no one asked me to. The purpose of color is to set up a harmony between objects and to set up the color contrast of light and dark. Once I freed myself from my self-imposed color constraints, painting became so much more enjoyable and my paintings significantly improved. Instead of painting the background in a dull off white, I was able to play up the blue light in the room to offset the greens and reds of the fabric and fruit. My paintings became less about realistic representation and more about what I saw and the colors that caught my eye.

Summer time
Monday night, I opted not to do any work, so Meg, Ken, Duc, Ben and I hung out by the river. Once I made that decision, it was surprisingly liberating because I didn’t feel guilty about the work that I could be doing while I was having fun. I’m going to take that technique back with me to school. It was so nice outside and such a great location to just sit around and watch punters float by and chat. Sitting by the river felt like such a perfect summer evening and was so simply relaxing. It is when I am with my group of friends around Cambridge that it hits me that I am in England, something I had been looking forward to since I applied to the program and I feel carefree and happy.

Stir Crazy
Both Tuesday and Wednesday were not particularly enjoyable in relation to my first few weeks here. Tuesday, I spent from about 1 until 4 in the library working on my D&B paper. I was simply unable to get a grasp on my paper topic. I was getting so frustrated that I had to leave so I went back to my room, where someone was practicing the flute, so I left again and searched for a new locale. I followed the advice of a friend and went to the Double Tree Hotel and sat outside on the river outlining my NEW essay topic. After the earlier hours of frustration, I decided to cut my losses and start anew. I arrived at dinner completely delirious from working. After dinner and on my way to the library again, a friend recruited me to be the fourth player in a croquet match. Even though I lost both games, (the second one was a heartbreaker!), the game put me in a good mood and I was ready to get back to writing. After a couple hours of working, we were all frustrated and so a group of people in the library decided we needed a cider study break.

It was a similar day yesterday, (Wednesday), but I was more successful in writing. I managed to break up my time in the library by going to another Tea Party, (great carrot cake!), and going to the gym—counterproductive, I know. After dinner, it was back to the library to work on my paper, which was once again interrupted with a trip to the bar for a study break and a search for Maltesers for Meg and me. I learned that lemonade in England is way different than lemonade in the States. It’s more like sparkling lemon water.

As for today, I finished my paper this morning (HURRAY!!!!!!) and I will spend the rest of the evening studying for my final tomorrow. I definitely did not expect to be spending this much time in the library when I signed up for the program, but at least I’m not alone in the library. I think I’ve solidified several friendships with students in the program simply by seeing each other repeatedly in the library and commiserating about our work!

Closing thoughts:
Running has provided a great way to see Cambridge and get an overall sense of the city. Yesterday I ran to the gym and noticed just how eco-friendly Cambridge is. It is not uncommon to see men in suits or women in dresses riding bikes. People also walk everywhere! Maybe because it is summer, but the streets are always so congested—don’t these people have work?! I ran by Parker’s Piece, (an open field), and decided it would be fun to spend an afternoon people watching there. There are so many groups of teens hanging out, playing sports and just having fun, and I know I would enjoy spending time there. It really reminded me of summer time. It’s easy to forget that it’s summer when I am taking classes, but I need to remember to mix in some play with my work!

July 22