Page 8
The Pendulum
Emphasis
Thursday, February 14,1995
Video-taped England trip to be used as series
Photo by Jay Massengill
ANYONE FOR A DIP? Elon students enjoy seeing the ancient baths in England, ponaering ,
the thoughts of divine in. o .r &
By Kami Brooks
Emphasis Editor
Elon students and professors
visited England during the
Winter Term while the rest of
us attended classes. Jay Mas
sengill went to England with
the Communications group
which was headed by Professor
Gerald Gibson. The Elon stu
dents and professors from
different departments visited
England from Jan. 3-24.
While weather in January
was one of the coldest ever re
corded, the weather in London,
according to Massengill, “was
not as bad as the rest of Eng
land, with the temperature
averaging 35 degrees.” They
got a chance to see snow while
they were there because it
snowed two to three inches for
several days.
Students were allowed to
take the last week off to take
optional trips to other coun
tries. Several students went to
Scotland for a week and en
joyed warm weather.
■The time difference between
American and England is five
hours. For example, when it
was 5 p.m. here, it was 10 p.m.
over there. “It was quite diffe
rent trying to adjust for the first
few days while there,” said
Massengill.
When asked if the people
were friendly, Massengill said,
“the older people were a lot
friendlier than the younger
people because their unem
ployment rate is so high and
tkey are jealous of the Amer
icans.”
Most of the students cashed
in their money here for English
pounds before going to Eng
land. When they got to England,
the rate dropped and their
money was worth more. Stu
dents took advantage of this
and purchased a variety of
souveniers and gifts for their
friends and families.
Massengill said, “clothing
was the best value,” and he
purchased a variety of clothes.
Massengill said, “The English
people dress about like we do;
however, we did see some punk
rockers with their hair
painted.” He added that you
can see that here too, so people
were not much different from
the Americans.
The students stayed in the
Kennedy Hotel in London
which catered to Americans.
Elon students were furnished a
“continental breakfast” that
consisted of bread and juice.
“Although most places in En
gland served drinks without
ice, the Kennedy Hotel did,”
said Massengill.
The itinerary allowed stu
dents to stay very busy while
there. The communications
group carried cameras with
them to videotape most every
thing they did. The purpose for
that was not only so they would
have what they did on tape but
also to show it to' future stu
dents who may be interested in
attending England. The Admis
sions Office will get a copy of
the tape to show to prospective
Elon students. The videotape
will also be shown on Cable
Channel 32 within a month on
the “Elon in Review” show,
which airs Thursdays from 7:30
to 8:00 p.m.
The students visited
Stonehenge, the City of Bath
and the Abbey on the first day.
The students also visited such
art museums as the Victoria
and Albert Museum and the
British Museum. They went to
where Geoffrey Chaucer based
his famous “Canterbury
Tales.” They saw other cathed
rals while there but were not
allowed to videotape inside
them.
The theater was a popular
activity among the students
and such plays and musicals
that were seen included
“CATS” (popular on Broadway
in New York), and “Run for
Your Wife.”
Massengill attended a
famous play, “Of Mice and
Men” and in his opinion, it
“■was bettern than the musi
cals .” The best seats were
eight pounds or less than $10.
Dover Castle and Windsor Cas
tle (the home of the Queen),
were also popular.
England had a variety of res
taurants including Indian,
Mexican, Chinese and Italian
food. Massengill said, “The
best food was at the Italian res
taurants and was not very ex
pensive.”
At night there were not a lot
of events scheduled for stu
dents but some visited pubs
and discos. The Pubs opened at
5 p.m. and closed at 11 p.m., so
the students didn’t stay out
very late. Massengill went to
The Camden Palace, where
Boy George once performed.
Night time allowed students
to “catch up on their home
work.” The various depart
ments made assignments to
their students that were due
when they returned. The Com
munications group had to keep
a log of all they watched on TV
or what they heard on the
radio. They had to write two
I short papers comparing and
contrasting England’s com
munication with the American
media. “The TV programs were
bad and they don’t even show
The Benny Hill Show in Eng
land,” said Massengill.
The students left on Jan. 3
and rode a bus to the Dulles,
Washington airport. Massen
gill said, “that was the worst
ipart of the trip.” They flew to
Heathrow Airport in London.
And after landing, Massengill
said, “I go to sit in the pilot’s
seat on the plane,” which high
lighted his trip. He said, “the
best part of the trip couldn’t be
narrowed down to one single
thing because everything was
so impressive.”
Their customs and traditions
are similar to ours,” Massengill
said. “And while theire, I set
tled down to living in London
and adapted to their lifestyle.”
When asked what advice he
could give to students planning
to go to England in the future
he said, “Pack lightly. Most 01
the students packed a small
suitcase inside a large one and
brought back souvenirs in the
empty suitcase.”
Photo by Jay Massengill
LET’S PLAY DOMINOES! Students weave their way through the Rocks of Stonehenge.