Some Closing Thoughts

Having a pretty nostalgic night as we pack our things and get ready to kiss London goodbye tomorrow evening. I thought I would take this lovely opportunity to bore you all with some of my highlights, lowlights, and other observations I don't think I have discussed yet. 

So flying. I still hate flying. I still feel sick. I still get nervous. Medicine still only helps a little. Flights still get delayed for hours, and no matter how cool they make airplanes, altitude sickness still exists. So I'm not looking forward to tomorrow. (If anyone can explain how my 5 hr flight here is an 7 hr flight home I would appreciate that because it makes no sense to me). 

The moments I loved most in relation to taking children's lit and being an education major were:

Harry Potter - as I tiredly tried to explain in the Warner Bros post, I was able to see first hand children's literature and a marketable and lucradive marketplace, which sometimes gets forgotten. I also had my eyes opened the the intricate art that is children's literature from text, to page, to composition, to the big screen. 

The Story Museum - this place got me thinking about learning internationally and interculturally, and how countries separated by the Atlantic can be facing similar problems in literacy. This place was full of information and curiosity!

Some things about London that were funny to me that I still haven't posted:

There are no intersections. Okay there are. But there are a TON of rotaries. And the people love them! So it's funny that they are trying to get rid of the one singular one we have in Middleboro. 

Museums are free! I think that people in America might benefit and like the experience they can get from a museum if they didn't have to pinch their pockets to do so, free learning!

I've never actually seen anyone use a telephone booth. They're just for decoration now I suppose, and some have even been put in for wifi! The 21st century is a funny place. 

The options for take out are mostly boxed and bagged sandwiches, and if you don't like ham or tuna you're out of luck. The seemingly go to sand which take out was tuna and cucumber. How strange to me (plus tuna is gross!)

Now I am on the plane on the way home and looking forward to some (very short) time before the semester starts. I can't believe how real london made everything we studied in class and how fulfilling it was to travel internationally again. Here are some of the last pictures I took. 

You can see my group featured on this FSU Facebook page, and there has even been rumors of us making the FSU website!

https://www.facebook.com/FSUAcademicAffairs

Thank you so much to everyone who followed my blog! It was so motivating to post stuff about and for class and just be chatty with you all while I was over there. It meant so much to me that you all travelled with me through words, especially since I went on this trip with a group of English majors. I hope to get to fill each and every one of you in when I get home. I hope you enjoyed what I wrote as much as I enjoyed posting for you and hopefully, as my grade relies on, Dr. Holloway deemed appropriate for our Children's Literature course. Feel free to comment on my blog and tell her how great of a blogger I am, as it will encourage her grading on a jet lagged mind. LOL JUST KIDDING DR. HOLLOWAY (;

About 5 hours till Boston folks! That's all!

The Last Day (womp womp)

Today we were free to do whatever we wanted so naturally: we slept in. After I spent the day with my roommate Amanda. We started back at the natural portrait gallery so that I could buy a treasury of Paddington books set in London which I love and can't wait to read to kids! Then we visited St. James' park for Amanda's class which was surprisingly beautiful even though it's winter! There were a ton of ducks.

After that we went over to Harrod's to pick up some last minute souvenirs followed by visiting a lovely little place called The Love Shake which I pulled a picture off Pinterest for (where I found it) and it was so cute! The second pic is of the delicious milkshake I had!

We ended our day with fish and chips from the bar Night and Day at the end of the road we live on that we frequented while we were here, and "the last supper" was delicious. This evening we have been packing up our things and estimating what we spent for the duty cards (not so fun when reality hits you in the face lol) but here's an 'after' shot of my grown, fat, luggage. Good thing I have my dad and boyfriend coming to the airport to help move it when I am tired! ;) 

 

Museums and Matilda

We went to the Brittish Museum and the National Portrait Gallery yesterday. They were interesting for sure but it is definitely hard to stay engaged when you do back to back museums.

Seeing the Rosetta Stone was cool though! After that I came home and re packed all the things I had strewn about my room and found I even have extra room in my bags still! (I'm a great packer)!

Later that night we went to see Matilda the Musical and I have to say I was disappointed. We studied the book in Children's Lit so I was looking forward to reliving the story through music. However, the story got lost in an attempt to make it more theatrically pleasing. While I loved the grand set changes and musical numbers, it just wasn't Matilda enough for me to love it. I loved it as a theatre lover but not as a book lover. Here's the cool book covered stage:

Oxford and Jersey Boys

Today we visited Oxford University including The Story Museum, The Bodelian Library, with our one group lunch. I started off with some hot chocolate and a muffin (much better than the coffee):

The exhibits of the story museum were created by asking authors of children's books who their favorite character was when they were a child, and then dressing them up as it in a photograph. In every display of photograph, the room was decorated to look just like the setting of the book, a fun way to introduce kids to different genres and stories without them even knowing! It was a really creative way to introduce literacy which as a future teacher, I am always looking for! Here are some pictures from it (including me being crowned and going through the wardrobe to narnia):

Next we visited The Bear, our one group meal together. I had the fish and chips which disappointingly had bones in it and too much skin for my American taste buds, but was not bad. 

Last, we saw the second largest library in Great Britain, the Bodelian Library at Oxford. It has over 12 million items! Also it is where the hospital scenes in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone were filmed as well as the scenes in the library, as the books date back to some of the first dictionaries, copies of the Magna Carta (that's for you Collin 🙌 go Jay-Z) and even the last transmission of the Titanic before it sank which read something like "Please send assistance, the weather is well" but I can't remember exactly what the woman said now (Wayne Pittsley feel free to correct me, lol).

This is a famous reading room called the Radcliffe Camera:

I don't think I would be able to get any studying done there- it's too pretty and there's way too much to see. 

I ended off the night seeing jersey boys, and had to actually run from our apartments to the theatre to make it in time because our bus was late. After that, to our pleasant surprise, the theatre had upgraded our tickets because they didn't sell very many! I went from the second to last row of the section to just 10 rows from the stage. The show was incredible, and I had never seen it before! I thought they did a lovely job and would love to see it again sometime. It was so fun, we were dancing in our seats by the end! Oh what a night!

Also: today in London there was a major protest by the public bus drivers that was a big deal and caused a lot of traffic and public transit problems. Google it for more information, it is pretty interesting stuff (and exciting to see the process of protest in a foreign country first hand). 

The Globe Theatre and More!

We visited the Globe Theatre (where Shakespeare's plays were famously held) and took a tour. I learned a lot about Shakespeare, for example it was mostly an auditory experience, so the best seats in the house were not in front but behind the actors. Also, the area it was in was known as a red light district so the top floor was often used for prostitution when it was not sold out. The theatre was the best possible recreation of the original, as it had been torn down many times. I was able to learn a lot that I never knew I didn't know, and it was fun!

After I had a chocolate chip twist croissant that was very good! Just look!

Finally, later that night I had dinner and went to see Mamma Mia with my friend and roommate Amanda. As my family knows, this show holds a special place in my heart as it was beloved to my grandmother and just embodies her spirit, enthusiasm and fun-loving nature. We were in the very back of the theatre (the cheap seats, lol) but I still had a blast! The first selfie is in the taxi on the way there because the little black taxis are so darn cute. 

Oh Yeah, Other Things Exist

So I forgot to post what else I did besides Harry Potter because I'm a little obsessed. 

After we went to harrod's which come to find out is just a mall with less doors? I guess it is worth the hype if you're made of money, but I just took a picture and passed on through. 

After that we went to M&M world which was cute and fun, just like the one I have already been to in New York. It's in Piccadilly Circus which looks a lot like Manhattan with the lit up signs! 

Finally to round off everything Harry Potter we visited Kings Cross Station and had our pictures taken at platform 9 and 3/4. 

Tomorrow we are visiting the globe theatre and I have a free afternoon. I'm thinking shopping!? :) 

I also am starting a 3 day run seeing musicals- as London is known for their fabulous theaters. 

Tomorrow I am seeing Mama Mia, a personal fav, in honor of my Nanny as it was her personal favorite musical as well. In Italy I was able to light a candle for her in the duomo and in London I will be her dancing queen. 

Tuesday I am seeing Jersey Boys because I have never seen it before and have been dying to for years, what better place?!

Wednesday my group is going to see Matilda the Musical, as my children's lit class read Matilda this semester. Can't wait to see the fun translation to stage (and love finding new ways to get students more involved with reading). It hasn't hit the U.S. yet but is getting rave reviews in the U.K.

The Best Day of My Life

"The stories we love best do live in us forever, so whether you come back by page or the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home." -JK Rowling 

There are no words to describe the experience I had today at The Making of Harry Potter. I watched a world that made me so happy when I was young animate before my eyes. Everything became real as I stepped foot into the actual Great Hall, where the actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint etc filmed the story of Harry Potter for 10 years of their (and my) lives. We were in the actual building at the studio that was filled with hundreds of original sets, thousands of original costumes, hundreds of thousands original props and all the detailed amazement of makeup, hair, special effects, visual effects, music and scoring covered. I saw so many places and things today that were actually used in the making of the movie. From wigs, to the Triwizard cup, the griffindor common room, dumbledore's office, hagrid's hut, all of diagon alley, the knight bus, Privet Drive, countless costumes, the burrow, umbridge's office, the bassalisk, buckbeak, grawp, the ministry of magic, the Weasley clock, the hand painted portraits, the harp that puts fluffy to sleep, aragog, the potions classroom, life size models of the actors and the replica of the hogwarts castle that is used to film all the shots you see in the movie of it. 

Having such a connection to the actors and the place where the magic was made brought me to tears after they showed us a short intro featuring the three main characters and dramatically revealed the doors to the Great Hall. This is a selfie I took as I was shedding tears over my excitement for what was about to happen. 

 I was engaged the entire time and excited to see what was coming next,but I had to rush at the end and didn't have enough time to take it all in. However it was by far my favorite thing I did on the trip so far. Let's be honest, I was a total fan girl. The costumes were particularly beautiful. Here are some: 

I used to imagine prom being like Hermione's experience when she wore this purple dress to the Yule ball- the whole school noticed how beautiful she was. Lol no such luck, high school is cruel, hogwarts is not. 

Even plain costumes like snape's were just displayed to perfection!

The fan girling didn't end there. Here are some shots of me being so happy to see the series I know and love come to life before my eyes. 

The great hall!

The fat lady!

The door to the Chamber of Secrets!

Hagrid's Hut!

The Knight Bus!

The amazing giant castle model that made my jaw drop and my eyes well up- the dream is a reality!

This is one of the events that most directly ties to my children's literature course. While I was exploring, I couldn't help but think of two things in particular that connected to The Making of Harry Potter tour and our course:

1) Harry Potter vs Children's Literature in the Marketplace

2) Harry Potter vs Children's Literature as Art

1) Harry Potter, like Children's Lit in general is an industry.

£31 just to get in. 

£6 for an audio guide. 

£20-100 for a video/pictures riding a broom. 

£25 for a wand. 

£70 for a sweater. 

I don't even know what a cloak costs! 

7 books

8 movies

Video Games

Glassware, plushes, key chains, magnets, you name it they've got it!

If they can smack the words Harry Potter on it and sell it to you, they can and will. So it seems, buying into reading and getting a child involved in a series with as much popularity as Harry Potter (when they're probably gonna want to read it anyway because their friends are) is an investment. Publishing companies, when partnered with powerful entertainment companies like Warner Brothers, have the power to amaze us with exhibits while understatedly slamming our wallets, for the sake of the kids. This tour was a strong reminder of the emphasis on publishing, while yes, JK Rowling struggled to get published at first, I wonder how much pressure the abundance of her success is having on Children's fantasy authors who are expected to create the next Harry Potter, which has completely evolved from a book to brand (one that I am happy to buy into but others might frown at). 

2) In connection to the power Harry Potter has in the market, a lot is due to the artistry that we might overlook for the story. Would we still love Harry Potter the same if the special effects were different? Or the Gryffindor common room looked different? Or someone made a change in a costume or makeup decision. Why do we open our wallets as soon as the opportunity arises to get prints with new covers? This tour gave me the answer: Art. Harry Potter encompasses written, engineering, technological, special effects, costuming, makeup and prop artistry that I could never even begin to comprehend. We first fall in love with the beauty of it all in JK Rowlings novels, and when it is brought to life by the thousands of hard working artists, it just becomes purely and amazingly a beautiful art form. This should not be overlooked simply because it is for children, which so often happens. Art is for everyone, and can move you as a child and through adulthood, as it did for me revisiting Harry Potter in general today. Here are just a few of the shots I got of the emphasis of artistry:

Written art

Makeup/Hair with crazy wigs art!

Molding and creation of characters through makeup art!

Engineering art!

Graphic design art! 

Graphic design art!

Actual canvas art concepts

Actual canvas art concepts 

Actual canvas art concepts

Engineering/creation of the castle through models art

Going on this tour let me apply the concepts we learned in class about the market for children's lit and children's lit as art in a real world setting, a lens that I can and will view through for the rest of my life.