Breathing an ancient life

Before I go to the UK, I always think that I am a city girl. Just like

every normal Hong Konger, I  grow up in an environment without much

exposure to clean air, spacious area, and pleasant sunlight. Not to

mention that I didn't even know how to ride a bicycle. This trip to UK

, though not as mind provoking the way I expected it to be, was in

some way a relief and was a month of inner tranquility that enabled me

to calm myself.



I remember clearly my reason of joining this class: a chance to get

close to the "real", origin of theatre art. The setting the scene by

the professor from the University of Warwick is awesome, he led me not

only to pay attention to the acting, and witty wordplay but also the

flow and smoothness of how audience also gets a role in that play. And

this breaking of the forth wall was so real, unlike the canned

laughter we used to get in tv shows or even live drama in Hong Kong.

Because Hong Kong people are not letting go of their sense of "self",

for we are very aware of how we present affect how others judge us.

That is the first time I recognize my feeling of comfort that got to

me after a few days we landed. That comfort was unknown, but then

revealed. It was being "real", truthful and natural.



Then I started to relate every feelings of comfort to this genuineness : a genuineness of staying alive.

I am so amazed by the sun that I used to avoid because I didn't want

to get tanned; I looked to the sky and suddenly I realized how

spacious it was for me to see a whole sky of blue . Every note I

listened was performed by a street musician. That melody came out not

from the combination of one and zero that arranged to make your

earphone faking a sound. But a lively vibration from that string flung

by a passionate hand. I started to try to feel every step that I

walked, because I suddenly realized the distinctiveness of me walking

in a foreign space. You can say that I am just thrilled by the fact

that I was out of the familiar, but I found tranquility in me. This

tranquility soothed the uneasiness and undercurrent  of something that

I am feared of. It was if I got a focus, and retained the energy that

used to be in me.



The UK tour is fruitful. The museum impressed me, the stage amused me,

some places and the realization of the "war really happened" still

haunts me. Yet the best thing about the trip is how I first get a

glimpse of feeling myself when i am out of the familiar, when it

seemed to me that every thing contains life that vibrates and lives.

Museum More Than Meets the Eyes

The United Kingdom has the widest collection of world famous museums. As I flew to London, I took with me a zealous ambition to absorb all that the museums offer. However, daily encounter with museums eventually transformed me from the passive reader of museums to an active criticizer of the things shown in the museum. Museum is generally acknowledged as the objective portrayal of the past. The trip to the UK, however, made me question the objectivity and the nature of museums, and what a museum should be like.



A Collector’s treasure box?

The British museum is renowned as a world class museum. However, I found it very imperialistic. Although it has all the regions covered, but I do not think that they had done justice to the historical past of these countries. Rather, with well preserved and beautified artifacts of bare explanations endorsed by British historians and rough chronological order indicated by small fonts, it seems like it is telling the world: I am the protector and the collector of the world’s most valuable artifacts. In other words, it is no different from saying: I am the conqueror of the world. Such imperialistic, Victorian value is outdated in this time and age. As seen in the fact that the Egyptian united together to protect their ancient artifacts hands by hands during the Egyptian revolution early this year, we can see it is the time when people in post- colonial world make their effort for the preservation of individual culture and identity. It is only because of the political climate in the past prevent them from protecting their history from imperialistic endorsement. It is time for the museum to re-orient its purpose and accepted a greater variety of the interpretation of the past as told by the artifacts (such as inviting historians of all part of the world), if not returning them to their rightful owners. The same things happened in Cambridge. I am extremely confused by the name Fitzwilliam Museum, in which the artifacts around the globe are stored in the underground with no explanations at all. Even the paintings and scriptures on the upper floor offer no detailed explanations except the owners’ information. It is of course a pleasure to appreciate the beauty of art works, and to feel the magical imaginations offered by the artifacts. Yet I find such museums are, disturbingly, more like collectors’ treasure boxes.



Officially Endorsed Statement?

 Another interesting question on the objectivity of museum aroused from my visit to the Imperial War Museum in London. Right from the start we were asked by our tutors on the naming of the museum. Why was it called ‘Imperial War Museum’ instead of ‘War Museum’? I think this is a very interesting question indeed! If we see museum as a story told, the naming itself is the title of the story, which is the eye and the gist of the story and is therefore a point to pounder. I think the naming contain a paradox. On one hand you have the word ‘museum’ which gives a sense of unbiased objectivity of history; on the other hand you have the word ‘imperial’ which gives a sense of officially endorsed and consequently, biased subjectivity of the nation. Indeed, the museum itself is a statement of the official story of Britain in wartimes. In retrospect, more is emphasized on the allied powers and little justification is given to the axis powers. This can be seen in the exhibition of Holocaust. I am, just as my fellow classmate expressed, disappointed by their portrayal of the holocaust. As Iris said, it was a cliché telling of one of the darkest moment in human history. I think it is cliché in the sense that they still adopted the story framework of portraying Hitler as the ultimate provoker of the horrible crime, the one and only villain of the story; while the allied power is the rescuer of the world’s sufferings. This perception may work in the war times, but certainly not in this era. Is history that simple? I can’t help but wonder. Surely without national support Hitler, no matter how charismatic he was, could not rise and yield such influential power in the continent. What are the reasons that the let Germany, the nation where the world’s most sophisticated scientists and intelligentsias were produced, gave in to such scientifically and morally flawed racial ideology? What was the political, social and economic climate that account for it? What was the root- cause of the crime? The exhibition end with the execution of the death of Hitler and his officials, but such an ending is extremely questionable too. Right in the beginning they say that it is wrong to determine certain people do not have the right to live, then at the end the allied power decided they have the justified right to executed the ‘war criminals’. Is that a ‘happy-ending’ like those in the hero movies? Does that means the problem of holocaust is ended and well solved? Moreover, the fact that Hitler could obtain such influential status in the continent was because of French’s official support. The prime minister of the time was a champion of Hitler’s ‘mission’. Also, one of reason for the massive sufferings of the Jews in the continent was also because of the bar put against the Jewish immigration in Switzerland. Even in Britain, there were people who helped Hitler to advocate his words, and Prince Edward publically show support for Hitler. What made the people of these nations, once take pride in their ideological advancement, dared not to stand up against the harms of mankind or even take part in it? The scare mentioning of the above countries made me wonder if this was a deliberate effort in maintaining the Anglo- French relations in the post war era for the sake of the collective security in Europe.



The Passage of Time

However, I still find some museums in the UK admirably impressive. One of such is the Roman Bath Museum in Bath, which I think it is exactly what a world class museum should be. It is not built upon objects conquered, but found on the archeological objected founded - the objective study of ancient buildings and artifacts of one of the glorious chapters of Britain as a part of Pax Romana. Only to be in the reconstruction of the site made me marveled at the professionalism and imagination of the archeologists and the historians. With the detailed information provided along the way, I don’t feel like entering a museum full of endorsed and disturbing view-points. Rather, I felt like entering the passage of time in Roman Britain: I chat with the ‘Romans’ who told me about their work and their ‘boss’; I helped a mistress to curse the person who stole her slave; I made a solemn regret on the death on a young Roman soldier from Gaul in front of his tomb; I recollected my thoughts and make secret wish to Minerva Solis as I sat near the hot spring as the Romans did. All these made me realized that there is something universal in history, if not among mankind: the pursuit of material and spiritual comfort, the contemplation for the mystery in life, the struggle for people to make a living and mark their career… even the bitterness and hatred towards those who were wronged. Such sentiments and the desire of mankind are universal and can be felt by people of different era and region. This is what museum should be: a place where opinion of the past is formed by individuals, but not prescribed and definitely not endorsed by any authority. Its job is to present the past in the most accurate, animating and approachable manner.



Conclusion

In short, I think the tour of museums marks the growth of my critical thinking. I won’t say I make good criticism, but at least I know that things, no matter how objective they appeared to be, are more than meet the eyes. It become one of the enjoyment of myself, as a visitor to museum and other places, to contemplated the meanings of what I see, in other words, the hidden code beyond the human eyes. I can feel myself taking the first baby step to learn to think independently and critically, and beware of the endorsed viewpoint that may affect my own judgment. In Chinese society where authorities are highly valued, it may seem inappropriate for a young girl to challenge the established opinion. Still I value such skill and intend to develop it further. As Aristotle said: I think, therefore I am.

Cherry Lai Journal

This two-week study trip to the United Kingdom that we embarked on together has truly been one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. From the first moment I laid eyes on the red-bricked architecture that made up an abundant part of London, to the enchanting visits to many surrounding cities, until the very last meal at the authentic and comfy English pub, I have soaked up every minute of this trip with both wonder and gratitude. This trip allowed me to gain a much deeper understating of the country’s art, culture, literature, history and even cuisine, and there have been countless enjoyable moments and surprises along the way.



One of the most memorable experiences was no doubt watching the magnificent Shakespearean play Much Ado About Nothing at the Globe Theatre. I may not have watched many Shakespearean plays before, but to me, this was the art form presented at its highest. With minimal special effects and only inches separating the audience and the stage, the actors had to be completely confident, captivating and experienced in order to bring the Shakespearean comedy to life – and they exceeded that and so much more. The actors’ portrayals of the comedic characters, especially that of Benedick by the great Charles Edwards, were oozing with so much charm and charisma that one could not help but be completely mesmerized, yet they also did not lack the sensitivity and intensity when they needed to be. Moreover, the open-air stage setting, antique paintings on the cabin walls and the deep dark woods of the Globe Theatre instantly took me back to Shakespeare’s time when his peers would actually watch his plays at the same site, and standing on those grounds I felt so incredibly lucky to have been watching this excellent production at this special theatre.



Another thing that I really enjoyed about this trip, as haunting as it has been, was the visit to the Imperial War Museum. It was very memorable because it was my first experience coming face-to-face so vividly with something I have been studying for a long time in school. The trench warfare in the First World War and the bombing of London by Nazi Germany that resulted in the Blitz were events I was aware of but never fully comprehended just how traumatic they really were, but sitting on that wooden chair gripping my friend’s hand and listening to ear-splitting sirens and screams from above, and squinting my eyes through that dust-filled, fearful trench, the hopelessness and madness of war had never been felt more strongly. Moreover, looking at all the history, images and graphic videos of Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust, I was left questioning the ugliness and frailty of humanity, and most importantly the scary power of propaganda. How could the twisted, cold-blooded idea of one man come to brainwash the whole nation to collectively murder your closest neighbors? Human beings can be so weak and lost sometimes, that it is important to always remember this presentation in the Imperial War Museum that our world needs to always be united with compassion and love for one another, regardless of the many loud reasons that leaders may be spoon-feeding us to justify wars.



There were a few discoveries of England along the way that really surprised and impressed me, one of them being just how amazingly cultured the British people are. In all the museums that I was able to visit, I was astonished to find many local Londoners, from the older generation with their walking canes to young children with their parents, popping in to pay a visit and enjoy the art and history of their country. Even a personal friend from London that I met up with during this trip told me that she used to go take a walk in the National Gallery once every week just to keep herself inspired and at peace, and that a lot of people did the same. This was an entirely new idea to me and I think it is so impressive that the people of London could be so nurtured and educated in this aspect, whereas in Hong Kong where history and art are no doubt abundant as well, very little people take the time to appreciate them all. This realization has inspired me to not only aspire to visit some museums every once in a while, but also to simply take a deep breath, slow down, and take a look at all the beautiful and wonderful resources that we have around us that are often overlooked.



To say that this two-week trip to the United Kingdom has been rewarding and exciting is an understatement. I learned a great deal about this country and its people that I have come to adore and respect, and I am also happy to have embarked on this journey with the group of schoolmates that we had who shared my excitement but also at times, stress. I truly feel extremely lucky to have been a part of this trip, and the wonderful memories and experiences that I gained will stay with me forever.

Alice Chow Journal

Learning about the culture and the world was easily done by being observant during the trip with some knowledge learned in classes in advance. Visiting the UK did not only let me learn about the history and culture of the UK, but also allowed me to evaluate those of Hong Kong by comparing the different life styles in these two places.



People often compare London with Hong Kong because both of them are busy financial cities and Hong Kong was once ruled by the British government. Seeing something different was very inspiring because it provided an opportunity for me to pay attention to the details of my homeland. When I travelled and got stuck in the tube for half an hour; it allowed me to admire the efficiency in Hong Kong, which I had not noticed, at the first moment. Then, I started to admire the patience and calmness of Londoners. If any delay occurred in MTR, everyone in the train would be furious and maybe also swearing. It would be reported on TV news as well. Looking back into this incident when I got stuck in the tube now, I see the close relationship between the city and people. When a city is supported by an unreliable transportation without mobile network, the people in the city cannot complain and they are used to it. All they can do and would do is to read. On the other hand, when a city is fully equipped with efficient transportation, mobile network and staffs, people seem never satisfied and complaining. I would like to conclude that if London and Hong Kong have their main metro network exchanged, the attitudes and hobbies of people from each city will be altered. With the people affecting their cities at the same time, the cities will be changed too. Now I notice how every little part of a city or place affects its culture.



Furthermore, I found visiting the UK was more than seeing the British Empire. I was able to see a multi-racial city with features of globalization. I was amazed to see people of different races in the UK, especially in London because it means a city or a country does not depend on local people only nowadays. Immigrants are important in a sense that they bring in their cultures and make them local. In London, most of the restaurants that sold kebabs were run by Turkish people while groceries were run by people of Indian descent. This non-local food kebab has become one of the featured fast food in London. The Turkish people successfully localized kebabs, no matter they planned it or not. Besides, it seemed that people of different races had their own part of the city. When we visited Elephant and Castle, the great number of people of African descent surprised me. There were almost no people of other races apart from those visiting the Imperial War Museum. Although London is famous for how multi-racial it is, I could still see the gap among races to certain extent.



On top of that, some similarities of Hong Kong and the UK reflected some impacts of globalization. In different cities like London, Bath and Canterbury, it was not surprising for us to see signs of McDonald’s, selling same things that we had in Hong Kong. Shopping sometimes became less meaningful because shops are available all over the world or even online. For example, it is not hard to buy Kath Kidston’s shopping bags in Hong Kong, no matter genuine or fake ones. To make buying souvenirs worthwhile, I paid extra effort to see if things were local products like handmade postcards from Stratford Upon Avon.



These similarities meant familiarity on one hand and meant boring uniformity on another hand. Although some people may say travelling becomes boring in the age of globalization, I do not agree. I find the collision of globalization and the conservation of local history, culture, architecture, food etc. is interesting and unique.

Michelle Fung Journal

Although five weeks have already flown through since the first day we landed on the UK, the overwhelming moment of being “in” a real and natural English-speaking environment is still vivid in my head. It was the very first time that I truly feel the language which I have spent eighteen years learning is really living in such a vibrant way. All you heard and all you saw were real but not from the television or any books. It was as magical as being on a movie set. I never realised that I has such a distant feeling towards English though I use it every day.



“London is a city full of famous museums and local people are always reading in the Tube”, this can basically sum up my impression of the city before my visit. The statement about museums is an undeniably fact but I always doubt the description of the reading scene before my own witness during the trip, maybe because it is just rare for Hong Kong people reading anything other than newspaper and gossip magazines. It was also very surprising to see the dominant advertisement of newly published books all around the Tube station. Reading habits do reveal some qualities of a society. If people are willing to spend time in reading a book having more than a hundred pages, basically they have a longer span of concentration. Reading is also a slow process, even when you are chasing the plots of an exciting action story, you are always held back by words because your brain has to interpret them before the scenes are really grasped. This process of interpretation builds the habit of thinking and analysing in readers in the long run. Thus, a reading habit would be a strong force in the fighting against the dominant “instant culture” of the Internet Age. Probably, one of the crucial factors of the democratic development in a society is the habit of reading. This is definitely something Hong Kong lacks and therefore maybe a reason for her slow democratic progress. Only when citizens actively think and are willing to spend time in considering any issues can they be prepared to participate in a democratic system.



At this final concluding moment of the whole rewarding journey of the UK Study Tour, I take out the application form again and try to review if the doubts and curiosity that prompt me to join the tour are answered and well taken care of. One of my interests is to compare the political structure and democratic system between Hong Kong and the UK. Surely they were addressed in the course and observation was possible during the 2 weeks in the UK, but I eventually find myself still in the middle of the even thicker mist. The end of this tour is just a beginning. A lot more reading and thinking is needed to go with my observation and thus next time when I have the chance to go back and have a closer look, I will be equipped to carry on with the task.

Michael Choi Journal

I have been waiting for the UK tour for ages. That is the very only thing I looked forward to in the “hard times”. After having finished the taxing semester, I could finally head to London and enjoy my vacation. Though the tour is a learning tour, it is still very enjoyable. In this tour, I learnt a lot more about the history and culture of the UK through visiting different museums and, more importantly, getting a taste of life within these two weeks.



Museums are an integral part of our UK tour and I enjoyed visiting most of them very much. One of my favourites is the British Museum. It consists of a great variety of exhibitions, including artifacts collected from all over the world. Unlike some other museums, the British Museum is home to different sorts of exhibitions and people are really able to selectively go to different exhibition halls according their interests and know what they want to know. I spent most of my time on the ancient Egyptian halls. I have been fascinated by ancient Egypt since I watched the Hollywood blockbuster “The Mummy”. Watching Discovery Channel on Television and physically visiting the museum are two very different things. In this tour, I really had a chance to stand in front of the exhibits and study more about them. This was a wonderful experience to me. On one hand, I was totally surprised by the huge and extensive collection of the British Museum. On the other hand, it reminded me of the British imperialism. The name of the museum itself is already a sign of imperialism. It is not a secret that British “robbed” other countries, mainly those in Asia and Africa, of their previous artifacts and put them in the British Museum. It would make sense and less controversial if the Museum was named “ the World Museum ” instead of “the British Museum” when its collections were from all parts of the globe. The idea of British imperialism meant a lot to Chinese due to historical background. Lots of valuables from China were taken away during the war time so there are a lot of exhibits from Chinese in the Museum. When I was visiting the Chinese exhibition hall, I met a group of Chinese tourists. The tour guide used Mandarin with strong Beijing accent to introduce the exhibits to the group. It was ironic that Chinese have to travel to London and study our own history and culture in a foreign country owned museum. It left me speechless when I saw the crowd happily taking pictures in front of the Buddha, ignoring the cruel fact that why it was here. It would be more meaningful if we could think more and see how our own country was being portrayed through the arrangement of the exhibit display, rather than shallowly seeing the museum visit as a free entertainment.          



The way locals see or treat Chinese also surprise me. Rumor has it that British look down on Asians such as Chinese due to their “pride”. A friend of mine told me that she came up against racial discrimination when she stayed in Scotland for an exchange programme. But during my stay in London, I found that most of the people were nice. One day I could not find my way to the Natural History Museum when I got out of the South Kensington tube station. I felt completely lost and buried my head in the map. A gentleman kindly came over and asked me if I needed any assistance. I was impressed by his kindness. However, that is not necessarily the case for all British. An officer at the check-in counter of the Heathrow Airport had been very rude to me and my friend. When we demanded for changing seats, she looked annoyed and tried to drive us away by asking us to seek help from another department. Finding that other passengers could do the seat changing at the counters, we went to the lady and argued with her again. She stared at us for a few seconds and reluctantly did the seat changing with her face as long as a fiddle. I was dissatisfied with her unfriendly attitude. At that moment, I finally realized that you really had to use English to fight for your own justice when you were in today’s globalized world. The UK tour not only allowed me to explore London, but it also reminded me of the importance of being an English Major.

Cherry Chan - A Visit to the Imperial War Museum

Visiting the Imperial War Museum is one of my favorite parts in the study tour. In the past, I could only learn the causes and consequences of the two World Wars from History textbooks. However, I could understand how ordinary people especially children lived during hardship.





There was a caption of a poster in UK during the Second World War- Keep Calm and Carry On. This spirit was shown in different aspects in the exhibition such as advertisements and even letters from children and their parents. One of my most unforgettable moments was a sharing from an evacuee. He was an old gentleman. He did not talk about the pain he suffered but how he lived normally like how his mother baked bread in a hot summer day. It was hard to believe that the life he shared was in the World War period. When I asked him whether the children had to wear the gas mask every day in order to protect themselves from enemies’ attack, he said it was for drilling only. After that, he laughed and said: Sometimes I would feel itchy and stretched my face. When my teacher saw me, he would hit my palms. Ha-ha! ” I was very impressed in hearing and seeing how British people at that time kept living patiently and calmly.



From reading every letter written from the children who had to leave their parents and were sent to suburbs or foreign places, I was touched by every word they wrote to their parents. They might not have to chance to see the parents again and suffered from homesick and health sickness. Yet, they did not write their fear but their ordinary life or love to their parents. The capacity of love was seen in every single word. Those were written by the children who might suddenly become orphans in a second. By reading and seeing the exhibits about them, all those are hints telling how wars lead to separation of numbers of families.





Vulnerable children had no choice but were forced in participating in the War inevitably. Every photo and letter has shown their ordinary life in the wartime, creating their spirit of calmness in facing the War even though they were little and innocent. Still, I could imagine how they were tolerating the bitterness during the War. The words “the only time I write to you” in the letters became the last letter they have written. The smiles were captured in the daytime. But, how about in numerous silent nights? The destruction of the war shown in this exhibition was as powerful as the weapons shown in the museum.