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<title>Laura&#x27;s RSS Feed</title><link>http://www.wku.edu/~stephen.russell1/LitNE/index.html</link><description>Hot News&#x21;</description><dc:language>en</dc:language><dc:creator>laura.hess@wku.edu</dc:creator><dc:rights>Copyright 2007</dc:rights><dc:date>2007-05-26T18:39:46-05:00</dc:date><admin:generatorAgent rdf:resource="http://www.realmacsoftware.com/" />
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<lastBuildDate>Tue, 29 Jan 2008 13:22:29 -0600</lastBuildDate><item><title>What I&#x2019;ve Learned</title><dc:creator>laura.hess@wku.edu</dc:creator><dc:subject>New England Blog</dc:subject><dc:date>2007-05-26T18:39:46-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wku.edu/~stephen.russell1/LitNE/Blogs/Student%20Blogs/laura_files/c4a3a0c040449b0cab2ac31fc59a8a61-17.php#unique-entry-id-17</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wku.edu/~stephen.russell1/LitNE/Blogs/Student%20Blogs/laura_files/c4a3a0c040449b0cab2ac31fc59a8a61-17.php#unique-entry-id-17</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[We are all happy to be going home, but sad for our experience to end. ...  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:


...&bull;	Life is more fun when you move your friends close to you. 


...&bull;	If you are standing up for what you believe in, it helps if you can get some people to stand with you.


&bull;	Harvard is not a huge college, but they have the greatest library in the world.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The Power of One</title><dc:creator>laura.hess@wku.edu</dc:creator><dc:subject>New England Blog</dc:subject><dc:date>2007-05-24T18:39:05-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wku.edu/~stephen.russell1/LitNE/Blogs/Student%20Blogs/laura_files/9f90a35f14c819a46034f8ab51a61716-16.php#unique-entry-id-16</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wku.edu/~stephen.russell1/LitNE/Blogs/Student%20Blogs/laura_files/9f90a35f14c819a46034f8ab51a61716-16.php#unique-entry-id-16</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[So far in this trip, we have seen homes of modest income.   Mark Twain&rsquo;s home showed us the extravagant side of being a famous writer. 

...But I was more impressed by the home of Twain&rsquo;s neighbor, Harriet Beecher Stowe.   The home was less ornate than Twain&rsquo;s, but it left me with a greater impact than Twain&rsquo;s house.   Our tour guide did a marvelous job of showing the influence of Uncle Tom&rsquo;s Cabin.   Throughout the house were figurines and dishes with the images of characters from the book painted on them. ...  Harriet Beecher Stowe put the brutality of slavery into the foreground of people&rsquo;s minds and started a great change in American society. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Common Inspiration</title><dc:creator>laura.hess@wku.edu</dc:creator><dc:subject>New England Blog</dc:subject><dc:date>2007-05-23T18:38:25-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wku.edu/~stephen.russell1/LitNE/Blogs/Student%20Blogs/laura_files/a405dd91fa2f1d5a6466ea33b8f254f4-15.php#unique-entry-id-15</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wku.edu/~stephen.russell1/LitNE/Blogs/Student%20Blogs/laura_files/a405dd91fa2f1d5a6466ea33b8f254f4-15.php#unique-entry-id-15</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[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. ...  Melville wrote his famous novel on a tiny farm in Massachusetts. ...  In his mind, the snow-covered peaks formed the shape of the vicious whale from his novel.   


...The house was average size with several acres surrounding it. ...  What makes the place a tourist site is what Melville did there. ...  It shows that you don&rsquo;t need to have grand surroundings or great revelations to create a masterpiece. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>An English Major&#x2019;s Holy Grail</title><dc:creator>laura.hess@wku.edu</dc:creator><dc:subject>New England Blog</dc:subject><dc:date>2007-05-22T18:37:08-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wku.edu/~stephen.russell1/LitNE/Blogs/Student%20Blogs/laura_files/5bf3c8f01dd5b68081c1b3f20b2a259a-14.php#unique-entry-id-14</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wku.edu/~stephen.russell1/LitNE/Blogs/Student%20Blogs/laura_files/5bf3c8f01dd5b68081c1b3f20b2a259a-14.php#unique-entry-id-14</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The Houghton Library is home to original manuscripts of some of the world&rsquo;s greatest authors. ...  And this Library is open to any student of college age or higher who wishes to come and study. 

...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. 

...Next, we were showed to a study room where several manuscripts were laid out on a table, including Longfellow&rsquo;s notes, Melville&rsquo;s journal, Bronson Alcott&rsquo;s notes on Walden, and the original manuscript of Hawthorne&rsquo;s The House of the Seven Gables. ...  We were able to read what they wrote in their private journals in their own script. 

...But my favorite part was a copy of the Bible translated into Native American by John Eliot. ...  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. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Tour Guides in Costumes</title><dc:creator>laura.hess@wku.edu</dc:creator><dc:subject>New England Blog</dc:subject><dc:date>2007-05-21T18:34:00-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wku.edu/~stephen.russell1/LitNE/Blogs/Student%20Blogs/laura_files/214d6b71247dda91b0b3bb278ae466d1-13.php#unique-entry-id-13</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wku.edu/~stephen.russell1/LitNE/Blogs/Student%20Blogs/laura_files/214d6b71247dda91b0b3bb278ae466d1-13.php#unique-entry-id-13</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The two 18th century gentlemen who guided us on our Pub Crawl solidified this opinion. ...  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&rsquo;t&rsquo; do it!


On the other hand, our Freedom Trail guide this morning was fabulous. ...  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. ...  (Random piece of information I learned: Sam Adams&rsquo; picture is not on the beer. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The Nasty Details of Whaling</title><dc:creator>laura.hess@wku.edu</dc:creator><dc:subject>New England Blog</dc:subject><dc:date>2007-05-20T18:32:53-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wku.edu/~stephen.russell1/LitNE/Blogs/Student%20Blogs/laura_files/907d000d966beefb58a90a4cdd9dffd7-12.php#unique-entry-id-12</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wku.edu/~stephen.russell1/LitNE/Blogs/Student%20Blogs/laura_files/907d000d966beefb58a90a4cdd9dffd7-12.php#unique-entry-id-12</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[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. ...  They chase the whale, harpoon it, and get dragged on a &ldquo;Nantucket sleigh-ride&rdquo; 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&rsquo;t gross enough, the smallest member of the crew is forced to crawl inside the head of the whale to retrieve the best oil! ...  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. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Good Teachers</title><dc:creator>laura.hess@wku.edu</dc:creator><dc:subject>New England Blog</dc:subject><dc:date>2007-05-19T18:31:23-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wku.edu/~stephen.russell1/LitNE/Blogs/Student%20Blogs/laura_files/107ed28c2fad1d28dd7b0d345225a5fb-11.php#unique-entry-id-11</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wku.edu/~stephen.russell1/LitNE/Blogs/Student%20Blogs/laura_files/107ed28c2fad1d28dd7b0d345225a5fb-11.php#unique-entry-id-11</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Vladimir Strelnitski gave us a tour of the building next door, which held several displays and his office. ...  (Students all over the United States apply for six positions, and then come to Nantucket to study for the summer.) ...  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. 

...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. ...  When an instructor is on fire for his subject, it transfers to the students. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Plymouth</title><dc:creator>laura.hess@wku.edu</dc:creator><dc:subject>New England Blog</dc:subject><dc:date>2007-05-18T22:18:43-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wku.edu/~stephen.russell1/LitNE/Blogs/Student%20Blogs/laura_files/c99d35c56bd1c1f593ebe1a7af40a989-10.php#unique-entry-id-10</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wku.edu/~stephen.russell1/LitNE/Blogs/Student%20Blogs/laura_files/c99d35c56bd1c1f593ebe1a7af40a989-10.php#unique-entry-id-10</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[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. ...  After watching an educational video about what the people do at the plantation, we ventured out into the rain to visit the Wampanoag village. ...  Instead, we were to use the term "Native people" or "Wampanoag") In the village, we found two huts with roaring fires inside. ...  In the first hut, a friendly man explained to use how the huts were built, using cedar and reed mats. ...  In the second hut, four women told us more about how their homes were built and the food they ate. ...  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. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Whale Watching</title><dc:creator>laura.hess@wku.edu</dc:creator><dc:subject>New England Blog</dc:subject><dc:date>2007-05-16T18:11:59-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wku.edu/~stephen.russell1/LitNE/Blogs/Student%20Blogs/laura_files/a4f7c20544918477ec38334505159416-9.php#unique-entry-id-9</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wku.edu/~stephen.russell1/LitNE/Blogs/Student%20Blogs/laura_files/a4f7c20544918477ec38334505159416-9.php#unique-entry-id-9</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Okay, I know everyone else is probably writing about this, but I can't help myself. ...  Bill's Whale Watching Tours, and it took us about an hour to get out to the whales. ...  I saw a seal on the way and it was really cute bobbing up and down in the waves. ...  I now understand the line from Moby-Dick, "The birds, the birds, they mark the spot." ...  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. ...  One time, a mother and calf came to feed, and the baby got curious and swam beside the boat for a while. ...  This was a really great experience and we were really lucky to see as many whales as we did. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Emerson House</title><dc:creator>laura.hess@wku.edu</dc:creator><dc:subject>New England Blog</dc:subject><dc:date>2007-05-15T21:06:48-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wku.edu/~stephen.russell1/LitNE/Blogs/Student%20Blogs/laura_files/4d095878a229be5abc3aa6586dd0e2e3-8.php#unique-entry-id-8</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wku.edu/~stephen.russell1/LitNE/Blogs/Student%20Blogs/laura_files/4d095878a229be5abc3aa6586dd0e2e3-8.php#unique-entry-id-8</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[All of the furniture is original to the house, and most of it is in the same spot as when Emerson lived there. ...  And we even got to sit on some of the furniture in the parlor, which is very unusual for museums. ...  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. ...  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. ...  This house is definitely my favorite place that we have visited so far.]]></content:encoded></item></channel>
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