Hello, friends! I am so excited to tell you about this past week’s adventures here in England, which included a trip to Liverpool and our first class at the Globe Theatre in London. I have to say, going into our first class at the Globe was a little nerve-wracking for us. We were about to meet our acting professor, James Garnon, who has one of the most astounding resumes I have ever seen. Seriously, look him up.

To summarize, he’s been in several productions at the Globe Theatre and is known throughout England for his work. We were all very excited to meet him. Class began, and the only way I can describe it is as “fun.” For those of you who have ever taken Acting 1 with Alex Miller, our class with Garnon was very similar to the structure of the first few weeks of that class with Alex. While we ran through the games and exercises he had us doing, Garnon encouraged us to focus on what we were doing and think of how we could make it better and more focused. That was the key of that first class, to get us to focus and become more concentrated on what it was we were doing, even if it was just the simple task of standing up, saying your name, and sitting back down. Our two hours with Garnon seemed to fly by, and soon it was time to say goodbye until the next week. I have never been so excited for a class to continue in all my life, especially considering the fact that later in the course we will get to perform scenes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream on the stage of the Globe Theatre.

Once we finished our class with Garnon, class for the week was over. However, our learning was not done, for we had an overnight trip planned for Liverpool to visit the International Slavery Museum as part of our Anglo-American Slave Narrative course. Friday morning we all boarded a charter bus, or a coach as they are called here, and began a six hour drive to Liverpool, during which most of us slept.

That night we had free to ourselves to do whatever we wanted, so a big group of us went to dinner, which was then followed by a night of clubbing for me and a few others. It was my first time going out to a club, so it was definitely an interesting time for me. However, the club we went to was actually pretty awesome: they were playing Scott Pilgrim vs the World, and blasting everything from Blink-182 to Bon Jovi. I also made friends with some Liverpool natives who are honestly just so lovely and polite.

I’ve discovered in my short time here that the English are somewhat fascinated with American culture and accents. It’s quite entertaining to see people’s eyes light up when they realize I’m not from England, and they immediately bombard me with questions about life in America and the upcoming election. I never thought I would be thought of as exotic because of my being from America.

Saturday came and we got to the real reason why we were in Liverpool. The International Slavery Museum was honestly one of the most astonishing things I have ever experienced. We spent two hours immersed in a somewhat interactive exhibit that took us from the roots of cultures in Africa, to the journey across the Middle Passage, and ending in an exhibit that focused on how slavery and racism still plays an active role in our society today. I honestly can’t even put into words what the experience was like to go through that museum and being immersed in all of that history. Even just reflecting on what we saw is overwhelming due to the sheer volume of artifacts and information contained within the walls of the museum. Our heads were bursting with new knowledge about this integral part of global history.

Soon, Sunday was upon us and it was time to return to London via another six hour bus ride, which was followed by a well-deserved nap. Our days are so filled here, that sometimes we just need to take a break from it all.