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"Magical" Describes the Arthurian Travel Course at Westminster College

Posted on Monday, March 19, 2001

"Magical" was the one word that crept up in everyone's conversation about the Arthurian Travel Course at Westminster College.

For seven weeks prior to leaving for England on Dec. 28, the students were steeped in the legend of King Arthur by Dr. Frederick D. Horn, professor of English and Dr. Deborah C. Mitchell, assistant professor of English and public relations at Westminster College.

"We had to read several books, keep a journal, write two papers and give a final group presentation, so it's not an easy class," said Bryan Hooks, a senior biology major at Westminster College. "It's one thing to read about it, but it's another when you can actually see it. Merlin's cave was magical&it brought the legend back to life."

"I worked all summer long in a call center to make the money to pay for the trip," said Glynnis Armagost, a sophomore English major. "But the trip was worth every hour of that lousy job because it was the best experience of my life. There was something magical about the Tintagel ruins."

"Professor Mitchell is a great professor. She got me hooked on the legend before we left," said Allison Evans, a senior art major. "My favorite place was Tintagel the place where King Arthur was supposed to be born and the location of Merlin's cave on the cliffs of the ocean. I felt at peace there on that cliff. It was a magical place."

"There's a feeling of magic at Stonehenge," said Linda Travers, a non-traditional Westminster student who traveled with her husband and son. "I don't know who or why it was built, but legend has it Merlin moved the stones here. How else could people who hadn't even invented the wheel yet get those huge stones in a circle, carve them all the same shape, and then set another huge stone on top of the circle of stones?"

"Once I got there, I found that I liked the castles best. The queen was in residence there while we toured Windsor Castle," said Hooks. "The 24-carat gold ceilings were awesome, and the unusual rugs had pictures of lions woven into them. But the perfect setup for defense was Warwick Castle. The dungeons smelled like death, and I could see scratches where prisoners counted the days. If I were king, I would want a combination of the Windsor interior and the Warwick defense set up."

"The trip to Warwick Castle was inspiring," said Evans. "I could imagine myself back in time, climbing the over 500 steps up the spiral staircase to the top of the high towers. You could see for miles, which is how they protected themselves in the days of King Arthur."

"We spent New Year's Eve in a pub where the bartender learned all our names before the night was over. The people were friendly, talkative, and had an interesting dry sense of humor," said Evans. "I even met a lady from South Africa, and we talked a long time."

"On New Year's day, our bus driver, Steve, took us on a mystery tour to Whitby, a fishing village on the North Sea," continued Evans. "It was a beautiful day, and the sky was blue. The houses were weathered brown/black from the sea salt, and the air smelled like the ocean. After lunch we hiked to the top of the cliffs where we could see Scandinavia."

"There was a cemetery in Whitby where the tombstones were grayed by the salt air," said Hooks. "I learned a lot about the differences between the Gothic architecture, which has pointed archways and fluted support columns, versus Norman architecture, which has rounded plain columns."

"I really took advantage of every opportunity I had while on the trip," continued Hooks. "For example, I sat seven rows away from mid-stage and watched the Lion King on a London stage. There was some culture shock, though. Our first breakfast consisted of friend mushrooms, sheep's blood pudding, and haggis, which is ground sheep stomach and intestines that tastes a lot like spicy meatloaf."

"Dr. Mitchell gets me excited to learn," said Evans. "She loves it so much, you feel it. She makes you want to know more"

"This full semester study is so much better than our old J-term travel courses," said Mitchell. "Before we would have to teach on the run, while waiting for transportation or in a bus. But now the students know the importance of the artifact or place they are seeing."

"The trip taught me more than just the Arthurian legend," said Armagost. "Now I realize other people's view of Americans. They stereotype us as all rich, arrogant, and selfish. They only know what they see on television, but the good thing is after meeting with the Westminster group, their attitude changed."

"I'm happy I went," said Hooks. "I grow with each trip I take and each experience with different cultures. "I don't think you realize all that you don't know until you experience a trip like this one. You learn how different people look at life, and they learn from you."

"We saw a lot of what we were taught in class," said Evans. "We walked were King Arthur walked. If a student can, I don't think anyone should miss an opportunity like this one. I learned so much about myself."