Orientation And Liverpool

Checking in again. We've been in Manchester a little over a week now. Most of the culture shock has worn off and we're starting to settle in nicely. The weather took a cold turn yesterday and when we woke up this morning we found snow on the ground and its been snowing off and on since then.

On Monday and Tuesday of last week we had orientation for all of the study abroad and exchange students. They told us about all of the services available to us and what kinds of things we were going to have to get used to. In the States, it is customary to give pedestrians the right of way even if they are in the wrong. Here pedestrians become targets as soon as they step off the curb. We had a bit of a scare on the second day when there was a bit of confusion about traveling into Europe. As soon as there was some question as to the possibility of travel, it was clear that most people came to Manchester for significant reasons beyond the wonderful opportunity to study.

The rest of the week we got more accustomed to things and then on Saturday took a trip to Liverpool with the International Society. We started out our tour at Liverpool's Albert Docks. They told us about the battle of the Atlantic which was partially planned right there and showed us the buildings where that planning took place. Next we went by several buildings relating to the shipping industry that used to be quite large in Liverpool. And they showed us what a Liver bird, the symbol of the city, was. According to the story the original symbol for the city was an eagle and was lost during the English civil war. The artisan hired to remake the symbol went to work and when he finished it looked nothing like an eagle at all because he had never seen one. It looked much more like the cormorant's common to that area. It has remained the symbol ever since.

Next it was off through the city center to see lots of old buildings. Because of the boom and bust nature of the shipping industry in the city there has been a bit of on again off again depressions. This has left some buildings derelict but they have turned them into art. This building had a hole cut in it so that it could rotate for art's sake.

After this building the tour continued on to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Liverpool. Supposedly when it was begun it was going to rival St. Peter's in Rome but due to the bust of the economy in Liverpool they could not justify the grandeur and so it holds a rather urban look as opposed to the traditional Gothic. Next was the Anglican Cathedral which is the largest cathedral in England. It can be seen for miles around because of its location on a hill.

The next stop was Penny Lane made famous by the Beatles. (See picture above) From Penny Lane we moved through areas that the Beatles grew up in or sung about or something to that effect. We even saw a Papa John's. Then it was off to Anfield, Liverpool Football Club's home grounds. We weren't able to get inside the stadium but we saw the memorial to the spectators who lost their lives at the 1985 European Cup Finals due to a collapsing wall.

The rest of our time in Liverpool we explored the remade Albert Docks. They have a couple of museums there namely the International Slavery Museum and the Merseyside Maritime Museum. The Merseyside had an areas talking about customs, the Titantic, and the part of the Navy in WWII. The International Slavery Museum worked to educate the public about the evils of the slave trade and England's part in it. After this we headed back to Manchester.