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How Does Sarah Feel About Flying? (Window Seat Photos)

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  Prior to our study abroad trip, I had a few experiences with airplanes. We flew to Florida as a family when I was fairly young. I was four or five years old if I remember correctly. The airplane trip is a blurry memory at this point. My aunt and uncle lived in Houston, Texas for many years during my childhood, and they also spent a few years in Dallas. We flew to visit them a few times during summer vacation. My farthest airplan trip was meeting up with dad in Ireland, which I breifly mentioned in my introduction post. I have some pretty clear memories of that long flight. My sister and I were seven and nine years old, so it was already one of our first trips out of Pennsylvania/Ohio. My mom says Kathleen and I had just fallen asleep when we were preparing for landing. The time change was hard on all of us, but I think we handled the plane well!  (Left Photo: departing from Ireland on our last day. I love how lush and green everything looks!)     When preparing for this trip to capit
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The Tate Modern

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         One of my favorite memories in London was during our free day. Dr. Reed and I went to the Tate Modern art museum to appreciate some paintings and sculptures. Personally, I love art musuems. I prefer paintings to physical art/sculptures. As far as modern art goes, I'm attracted to interesting abstract pieces with striking colors. The surrealist art is also very interesting to me. Abstract art is my personal favorite to make myself, though I haven't painted or drawn in quite some time. Walking around the museum was inspiring me to get back into my hobbies. It was so much fun!      The Tate Modern was colossal on the inside. It was free admission but donations were encouraged. Our tour guide Stuart told us earlier all the museums in London would be free to enter, which I thought was awesome. The museum was once an old factory or some sort of industrial building. The entire ground floor was a giant open space with cement floors and blank walls. All of the art was upstairs.
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Memories of Edinburgh

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                I can't stop reflecting on the few days we spent in Edinburgh, Scotland! The whole Fashion and Fiction trip was exciting and extremely memorable. Our first stop has left the most significant impression on me. Edinburgh felt surreal at times. Everywhere we looked, the views were stunning and the architecture was gorgeous. It felt like a historical city and a modern city all wrapped up in one. Our hotel was quaint and unique but very lovely! We even walked the Royal Mile with a tour guide. It was not entirely effortless, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been! Edinburgh Castle at the end of the Royal Mile was also an amazing experience.      Of course, lots of us in Dr. Reed's class found many Waverly references around the city. We stumbled upon Waverly Bridge on accident during one of our free days. Waverly Station was another major attraction. On another free day, we saw Greyfriar's Bobby and ate at a nearby restaurant. Many of the places near
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Thoughts So Far: Waverley

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     We've begun our first novel for the course, Waverly by Sir Walter Scott. This covers the Scottish representation of literature, and it features many important historical figures and events, such as the Jacobian uprising. To better understand the plot of the novel, we examined a complex web of royal families and their connections. It's possible that Waverly is a commentary on the relationship between England and Scotland. Readers are introduced to protagonist Edward Waverley, an unusual character who immediately strikes me as absent minded. To be fair to Edward, he has his reasons for being slightly odd.  His father and uncle have a tumultuous relationship due to their views on the uprising. Richard Waverly is a classic Whig, while uncle Everard sides with the Jacobites. In classic sibling fashion, the brothers are petty and refuse to let one or the other own the estate, which results in a split ownership. Edward spends time going back and forth between his uncle and father
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Introduction: Sarah Reed

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 Hi everyone! I'm Sarah, a junior/adult student at Mercyhurst. I'm so excited to go on this trip with you all and experience these wonderful capital cities. I'm 24 and have lived in Erie since I was 3. I briefly attended Hiram College, a very small school in Ohio. Now I've been at Mercyhurst for about three or four total years, desperately trying to figure out my path to graduation. I'm an English major and want to become a teacher.   I am slighly nervous to travel so far after so many years. We were meant to go on a study abroad trip in 2020, and I'm sure we all know what happened. The farthest trip I've taken is the past few years was a weekend trip to Cincinatti. The farthest trip I've taken in my life was Ireland when I was 7. My dad (Dr. Reed) was leading a study abroad program in Dungarven, so we used it as an opportunity to meet him there during the last week of their trip. What I remember of Ireland is extremely beautiful and I still brag about i
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