Well, our trip has come to an end. We are all happy to be going home, but sad for our experience to end. This trip has been amazing. For anyone out there who is considering a domestic study trip, you should definitely do it! You can learn so much about the world, right here at home. Some of the things I have learned in this trip:
• Hostels are a great way to travel, especially on a budget.
• Whales are awesome!
• Life is more fun when you move your friends close to you.
• Salem is a tourist trap.
• I do not like boats. (I get sea-sick.)
• If you are standing up for what you believe in, it helps if you can get some people to stand with you.
• Harvard is not a huge college, but they have the greatest library in the world.
• Other people’s handwriting is hard to read.
• You don’t need grand surroundings to be inspired.
• Thinking in metaphors can give you a headache.
• When your feet start to hurt, just keep walking.
• Be brave and try something new. You’ll be surprised at what happens.

It is amazing the difference money can make. So far in this trip, we have seen homes of modest income. Mark Twain’s home showed us the extravagant side of being a famous writer. His house is huge. All of the rooms are beautifully detailed with expensive furnishings. We were very amazed. Even the visitor’s center was a multi-million-dollar complex.

But I was more impressed by the home of Twain’s neighbor, Harriet Beecher Stowe. The home was less ornate than Twain’s, but it left me with a greater impact than Twain’s house. Our tour guide did a marvelous job of showing the influence of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Throughout the house were figurines and dishes with the images of characters from the book painted on them. It proves how one person can change the world. Harriet Beecher Stowe put the brutality of slavery into the foreground of people’s minds and started a great change in American society. Her story is very inspiring.

Herman Melville wrote one of the greatest American classics: Moby-Dick. Some people would assume he wrote it in a grand place of great inspiration. Some people would be wrong. Melville wrote his famous novel on a tiny farm in Massachusetts. His inspiration was two mountains outside his study window. In his mind, the snow-covered peaks formed the shape of the vicious whale from his novel.

Melville’s Arrowhead farm was very humble. The house was average size with several acres surrounding it. It was ordinary. What makes the place a tourist site is what Melville did there. This gives me hope. It shows that you don’t need to have grand surroundings or great revelations to create a masterpiece. All Melville did was look out his window.

I have visited the Holy Land today. It is called the Houghton Library at Harvard University. Words cannot do justice to this place. Forget about the beautiful architecture and the furnishings. The value of this building is in the bookcases. The Houghton Library is home to original manuscripts of some of the world’s greatest authors. In the foyer alone, I saw first editions of Milton and Donne. And this Library is open to any student of college age or higher who wishes to come and study. Our entire group looked like catfish, our jaws about to hit the ground.

We came to view American authors’ manuscripts. Our tour guide showed us the Emily Dickinson room first. In there, the library displayed her book collection, family portraits, the piano she played, and the chest of drawers where all of her poems where found. In a glass case, original, hand-written copies of three of her poems were displayed. One of these poems was “After Great Pain,” which I had never read before. It is now one of my favorite Dickenson poems.

Next, we were showed to a study room where several manuscripts were laid out on a table, including Longfellow’s notes, Melville’s journal, Bronson Alcott’s notes on Walden, and the original manuscript of Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables. It was amazing. We were able to gently flip through the pages and read the handwritten lines. (The handwriting was very elegant and beautiful to look at, but very hard to read.) It really brought history into focus. These men were no longer vague figures who once wrote something. We were able to read what they wrote in their private journals in their own script. It made them real.

We were all awestruck by this experience. But my favorite part was a copy of the Bible translated into Native American by John Eliot. I nearly cried as I thumbed through the pages. I couldn’t understand a word, but I knew what it was saying. It was a very personal experience for me. To be able to see the words I have studied my entire life in another language so that other people could receive the same message left me speechless. For me, the John Eliot Bible was evidence of the Great Commission.

In my experience, tour guides in costumes are gimmicks. They exist purely to trap tourists. And the information they provide is often not accurate. The two 18th century gentlemen who guided us on our Pub Crawl solidified this opinion. It was terrible! We wandered to four different pubs, where the half of our group over 21 tasted beer and the rest of us stared at the coots in costumes who were trying to do 18th century stand-up comedy. For anyone who is tempted to go on a Boston Pub Crawl, my advice, don’t’ do it!

On the other hand, our Freedom Trail guide this morning was fabulous. Her pseudonym was Hannah Adams. She was a teacher, and she loved sharing information with us. To involve us in the Freedom Trail, instead of just lecture, she asked questions and rewarded with Blow Pops. (She was used to a younger crowd.) Hannah was very detailed in her tour. Thus, it was really fun. (Random piece of information I learned: Sam Adams’ picture is not on the beer. It is Paul Revere.)

Today we went to the Nantucket Whaling Museum. I really liked this museum. We received a presentation about the history of the Nantucket whaling business, then listened to the story of the Essex, upon which Melville based his novel. The whaling presentation was very interesting, and we learned many details about the crews and the actual process of harpooning a whale. But now, I cannot understand how any one could stand to be on a whaling voyage. It was absolutely disgusting! The video we watched was horrifying. They chase the whale, harpoon it, and get dragged on a “Nantucket sleigh-ride” until the whale is too tired to fight anymore. Then the crew peels all the blubber off the whale and melts it down on the boat! And if that isn’t gross enough, the smallest member of the crew is forced to crawl inside the head of the whale to retrieve the best oil! I can’t imagine a worse nightmare. The entire process is appalling. I am very glad the whaling business in the United States has ended. (Although, whales are still being hunted in Norway and Japan.)Not only for the sake of the whales, but so that no more little boys are scarred by climbing into the head of a whale.

Last night, we visited the Maria Mitchell Association Loines Observatory. Dr. Vladimir Strelnitski gave us a tour of the building next door, which held several displays and his office. He explained to our group the history of the MMA and how the summer program works. (Students all over the United States apply for six positions, and then come to Nantucket to study for the summer.) Then, we took a brisk ten-minute walk to the telescopes. Because it was cloudy, we were unable to view the stars. But Dr. Strelnitski showed us pictures of the sights we would have seen on his computer. The Maria Mitchell Association just received a grant to buy a new telescope that is more powerful and allows the students to see deeper into space. Dr. Strelnitski proudly showed it off.

I am not a good astronomy student. When I took Astronomy 104 last semester, I was bored to tears. But Dr. Strelnitski showed so much passion for his work that it was impossible not to be interested in what he was saying. I learned more about astronomy in one night than I did in an entire semester. This shows the importance of a good teacher. When an instructor is on fire for his subject, it transfers to the students. But when the teacher doesn’t care, neither do the students. Dr. Strelnitski is a superb teacher.

Visiting Plymouth, I expected to be treated to walk through history. Instead, we got torrential rain. But being the stout college students that we are, we opened our umbrellas and carried on, touring both Plimoth Plantation and the Mayflower II. Plimoth Plantation is a historical reproduction of the village the Pilgrim's built in the 1600's. It mainly highlights the two different cultures that were in the area and their relationship. After watching an educational video about what the people do at the plantation, we ventured out into the rain to visit the Wampanoag village. (We were asked to refrain from using the words "Indian" or "Native American" because they are disrespectful and offensive. Instead, we were to use the term "Native people" or "Wampanoag") In the village, we found two huts with roaring fires inside. All of the outdoor activities had been postponed due to the rain. In the first hut, a friendly man explained to use how the huts were built, using cedar and reed mats. Another man and woman showed us the crafts they were making, a bag and a spoon. In the second hut, four women told us more about how their homes were built and the food they ate. One woman was cooking a pot of deer meat and vegetables over the open fire. (It smelled so good!) There was also a woman with her little girl. The child did not speak any English, but she did sing us a song. In the Pilgrim town, we toured several homes, where the occupants wove tales of their voyage on the Mayflower and the settlement of the village. The point of Plimoth Plantations was to give insight into the lives of 1600 Pilgrims and Wampanoag. But it made me wonder more about the strange lives of the actors who portrayed the people. While the actors were in historical dress, they spoke modern English and obviously were familiar with American culture. But at the same time, they were completely at home in the fake Wampanoag village. It made me wonder what their daily life is really like when they are not working. How they integrate both cultures into their daily lives.

Okay, I know everyone else is probably writing about this, but I can't help myself. WHALES ARE AWESOME!!! We went with Capt. Bill's Whale Watching Tours, and it took us about an hour to get out to the whales. (We were about twenty miles out.) I saw a seal on the way and it was really cute bobbing up and down in the waves. We saw two kinds of whales, humpback and fin. There we about ten in total. I now understand the line from Moby-Dick, "The birds, the birds, they mark the spot." Because seagulls will circle the spot where the whales are feeding. You see this green patch of bubbles from where the whales are stirring up the fish and then the whale will surface in the center. It is so cool to watch. One time, they surfaced to feed right beside the boat. We could see all their teeth and the inside of their mouths. They are so huge! It's amazing to think about how big they are. One time, a mother and calf came to feed, and the baby got curious and swam beside the boat for a while. He was so cute. (If you can call a fifteen foot whale cute!) This was a really great experience and we were really lucky to see as many whales as we did. I would love to go whale watching again.

Today was Day 2 of touring in Concord. We toured the Concord Museum, Emerson's house, and Fruitlands. My favorite thing we did today was the Emerson house. It was so beautiful. Currently, the house is closed, but they opened it up just for us. Our tour guide, Marie, was very enthusiastic. This house was obviously more expensive than the Old Manse and the Orchard House. It has big, open rooms with high ceilings. All of the furniture is original to the house, and most of it is in the same spot as when Emerson lived there. (Except for his study, which is in the Concord Museum.) And we even got to sit on some of the furniture in the parlor, which is very unusual for museums. (I've sat on Emerson's couch! How cool is that?! It wasn't comfortable.) The house was full of family portraits and paintings, so we got to see what the family looked like. Our guide showed us several parts of the house that most people don't get to see, such as Emerson's silk robes that he taught in. The gardens in the back were also very pretty. We took pictures by the path that leads to Walden Pond. Our guide told us Emerson was an avid walker and would often walk the few miles to the Pond. Visiting this house, I really got the feel that this was where Emerson was at home. Like Rutledge said, you can almost imagine Emerson coming back today and fitting right in. This house is definitely my favorite place that we have visited so far.