Halfway In: Learned So Much and Much More to Learn
The Union flag has a lot more meaning than as a symbol seen on the media and as a symbol used for fashion purposes. Prior to this program, the flag was my initial thought of Great Britain. Although, the flag represents countries of the United Kingdom, not Great Britain: it has a red cross called St. George’s cross to represent England, a white saltire to represent St. Andrew’s cross to represent Scotland, and a red cross of St. Patrick to represent Ireland. Interestingly, Wales, another country in the United Kingdom is not represented. The flag has great meaning and importance in the United Kingdom. For example, the flags are in front of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. One flag is placed on top of both these establishments when the Queen is not in residence.
Another British image I thought about was the Royal Family but have now learned that there is so much more to Great Britain. I asked Professor Highley if any people of Great Britain were annoyed by the family, and he claimed that some are. When the new royal baby was born, I only heard our tour guide in Scotland make a comment about it aside from the talk of it by other members in our program. To many, the history of the monarchy is important—it was portrayed in many buildings we went to. Parliament held many portraits and sculptures of the royal family because monarchs are the Head of State. Westminster Abbey contained the tombs of many members of the Royal Family because the monarch is the head of the Church of England. Eton College also had a great statue of Henry VI because he founded the college.
I was also under the impression that Britain’s culture was proper, elegant, and classy through their accents, mannerisms, and traditions. For example, I think of fine dining with white tablecloths, fine china, and sharp butlers in addition to people drinking tea with white gloves and their pinkies up. This impression does not speak to all Great Britain, though. To me, the English accent seems very proper, but England is not the only country to make up Great Britain. When we visited Scotland, their accents had similarities and differences to the English accent but did not sound as proper. They were rougher sounding and harder to understand. The front desk receptionist at our dorm was raised in London but lived in America for a short while and admitted the English accent is more proper. He even said that some accents are considered more proper than others in England because of many factors including the slurring of words. We asked him if he went to Eton, a prestigious school for boys aged 11-18, and he laughed and said, “Have you heard my accent?” He said that accents vary depending on social class, and generally, those in the higher social classes are easier to understand. Although, assuming all people in England have this proper accent is far from the truth. In London, it is very diverse and, on the streets and in the Tube, I hear a wide array of accents and languages. We visited a school, St. Paul’s Primary School, and an area around Brick Lane in London that is very diverse with a large immigrant population. Also, dining is a lot less classy than what I was expecting. I have eaten at many pubs in both Scotland and England because they are popular. Even “higher end” pubs are very casual, which contrasts to the dining scenes of Rose in The Titanic I think of when I think about British dining.
On tour in Edinburgh, our tour guide said that many citizens of Scotland wish to leave the rule of Great Britain. A voting referendum took place last year and failed just slightly. She said at that time, people were not as educated on the matter, though. She said people are more educated on the matter now and believe they get the short end of the stick in politics compared to England. For example, our tour guide said that the Scottish government is not as powerful as the English government, which people are becoming more knowledgeable about. She seemed to think that when a new voting referendum takes place, people will vote to leave Great Britain’s rule, which could take place as soon as 2020, surprising me. On the tour, the more I learned about Scotland under British rule, the more I felt like Scotland was treated unfairly and can understand why Scotland may want to be independent like the Republic of Ireland.
My experiences thus far in Great Britain have been amazing and eye-opening, teaching me many things I did not know previously, and I am looking forward to my final days here.
