Mattie was one of 17 Wingate students who participated in the Fall
2006 Wingate-In-London program. The group of juniors and seniors
lived together in flats and studied art, history, theatre and
English literature with one Wingate faculty member and British
adjuncts. Mattie grew up in a small town in North Carolina not too
far from Wingate. She enjoys reading, watching movies, hanging out
with friends and family, and art (especially photography).
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| A Day of Awe |
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Posted by:
Mattie on 9/24/06 |
Yesterday was a great day and one
that I will remember for a long time. The whole group went to
Dover Castle and then to Canterbury to see the cathedral that
Thomas Becket was killed in and became a martyr. We started
very early in the morning for some of us – I know that I am not
a morning person – so an 8:20 bus was quite a big thing for me.
The ride was about two and a half hours so I was able to take a
nap and knock out a lot of my reading.
As we pulled up to
Dover castle all the girls were like, “Oh my goodness,
it’s a real castle!" It was breathtaking because it looked like the king
still visited there. It stood tall and very romantic on the
hill. We were all thinking how much we would all like to be a
princess and wait on our Prince Charming to rescue us from the
tower….I know all of the guys were thinking, “How sad are those
girls, they want to be princesses.”
The tour of the castle was
great because they had furnished a few of the rooms and made
them look like the king was coming to visit. There was the
throne chair and banners and trunks lying about making it look
real. There were winding staircases and towers and the view
from the roof was so beautiful even though it was a little
foggy. The only thing that made the day a little unpleasant was
that we finally got to see the English weather that we were
hearing about – it was cold and rainy. So, we all walked around
in the rain with jackets and umbrellas that were turning inside
out because the wind was blowing, it was quite funny.
After the
castle we were on our way to the famous town of Canterbury, the
location of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. We had this
sweet little tour guide that was very spunky and she also had
her own sense of humor but seemed to know everything that there
was to know about this little town. Walked around Canterbury
and saw lots of buildings and heard tales of the Romans and of
King Henry who cast the monks out of the cathedral. We were
taken into the church and I think that were all were struck with
a sense of awe. The ceilings were so lofty and the room was so
big and majestic. It had only been redone once in the last five
hundred years. Words can’t do it justice. The basement or crypt
was my favorite place. It was a place where many people were
buried but it wasn’t scary or anything like that. It was
peaceful and was a place that you could sit and pray or just
reflect on the day or remember a person that you have loved and
lost. I think that yesterday was the best day that I have
experienced here in the UK and I am thankful for my digital
camera and the company of friends to experience this great
adventure with. I know that I will have many more exciting and
memorable days and I look forward to tell you all about them! Oh…..and I’m sorry that this one is so long but I guess I just
had so much to say this time…