Memories of Alnwick
Sara Johnson ’02, Duluth, Minn., Alnwick 2000
The first thought I had when walking out of the Glasgow
airport was that I had just entered a whole new world where
anything was possible. We had left a raging snowstorm, strong
enough to delay our flight by 4 hours, far behind us. Glasgow
by contrast was bright and sunny and the grass was a deep
green that you don't see in Minnesota until mid to late
June. This was just the beginning of the adventures.
That feeling of being in a new world deepened as I first
entered the castle. It was huge and I felt like I was going
to get lost. Then there were our classes. It was strange
after nearly 3 years at SCSU to suddenly know everyone in
your classes and to know that the teachers knew your names
and you knew theirs as well. The classroom was cozier, warmer,
and less technologically advanced. Even the library was
more homey and less overwhelming. This is one of the many
charms of the British Studies program. Everything is on
a much more personal basis.
Everyone who's lived in our castle will remember handwriting
their paper for Alan's class instead of frantically typing
away at a computer in the library or in a dorm room. This
difference in educational experiences made me realize that
I had missed truly feeling like I had a role to play in
my education. I wanted to learn while I was in Alnwick.
It was just one of the few very important lessons I learned
in our castle.
The other most important lesson I learned is that while
there were many times when being part of the group was important,
there were also times when it was more important to be alone.
The catalyst for this lesson was both the one week and two
week travel breaks. At those times I chose to pack up a
few things in a backpack and dash off to parts unknown.
First to Ireland for a week, and then later to Paris, Barcelona,
and Rome for two weeks. Thanks to my Alnwick experience
I learned that I am capable of being independent and that
there are times that I prefer to be able to get out by myself
and do what I want to do instead of what the group wants
to do. I finally learned to put my needs in front of the
needs of others. Although the spontaneous group trip to
Amsterdam was interesting and so was shopping in Edinburgh
with a few of the guys. Remember boys I didn't need to know
what you had really been doing in that place on Rose Street
for so long.
Six years later I still tell my friends stories about the
months I spent in Alnwick, especially all of the funny stories
of our pre and post pub Pottery Room parties and nights
of playing cards with the guys in Upper Fosse. The theme
for our group was "Look Around Choose Your Own Ground"
and I think that we all learned to do just that.
Thank you Christine and Alan for nurturing my love of history,
especially British history. I’ll never forget Christine’s
thoughts on Anne Boleyn and her special place for certain
architects.
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