What an incredible experience it was to travel to London with classmates who have the same passion and desire to gain knowledge as I do. The walking tours were very beneficial because they provided a visual and historical background to go along with the novels and short stories we read. I think Ali’s descriptions of Brick Lane ring true to the actual location. It was plain to see that it was a rougher side of London that is more diverse than the other areas we explored, and the Bengali culture was obviously present, but like Ali said, it’s nothing like real Bengali culture, but more like an imitation of it. However, the food was AMAZING, and I will crave Brick Lane curry until I can return again. It was interesting to see how that side of London is so contained, and what I mean by that, is that there is an obvious color-line going on, and it was interesting to see how little the streets are taken care of on that side of the city in terms of trash disposal and just overall cleanliness.

My favorite walking tour was the darker Victorian tour. I definitely learned the most about the history of London on this tour. I feel to understand the tone in novels set in London by authors who have lived there is impossible to understand until you know how horrible living conditions were. The city was and is entirely overpopulated. I noticed that after a full day of being outside on the walking tours that when I would blow my nose at the end of the day, there was a black substance that came out of my nose. My roommate experienced the same thing, and I definitely think it’s because of the pollution. And I thought Atlanta was bad.. Anyways, I learned that London was at one time the biggest, richest, most populated cities in the world, and that because of this, there were many lessons they had to learn the hard way–like how to maintain clean drinking water, how to prevent and combat disease, and many things about personal hygiene that would keep the people healthy. The darker Victorian tour was great because it helped me understand what type of conditions women had to overcome just to write.

One of my favorite stories we read was “The Mysterious Kor.” I loved the discussion we had about dreams. It was really nice to talk about what different life events (like war and death) can trigger certain types of dreams. Even though it led me to no conclusion as to why my dreams are so insane, I still felt like it could be a possible research paper topic. I would really like to research the dreams of people who have experienced war and suffered from PTSD. I feel like maybe somehow it could lead me to some sort of meaning behind my own dreams. I would say that the amount of trauma I have suffered in my life is very, very minimal, and I am very interested in what kind of dreams a person would have if he/she actually suffered from severe trauma of some kind. Since my own dreams are completely outlandish, I am sure I would be amazed at some of the things I could find about dreams of those who are victims of war.

This trip was more than just a line on my resumé. It was a glimpse into a different way of life. It was an opportunity to walk the same streets that several of my favorite authors have also walked. Getting to sit in a room that was anything like one that Woolf was talking about in A Room of One’s Own was surreal and made me feel inspired to use beauty and solitude to my creative advantage. I am so thankful for the invite for this trip, and I will never forget the daytime strolls and nighttime stumbles back to my hotel. I couldn’t have asked for better instructors or classmates. You are all in my heart.

Much Love,

Chelsey