It’s 7 AM, the usual morning lineup: pastries, cereal, and coffee in the St. John’s dining hall. In a very The Good Place-esque class today, Dr. Crick talked about ethics. We listened to him explain variations of the trolley problem, debating whether it’s better to kill one child, five workers, or our favorite childhood locomotive, Thomas the Tank Engine. Then, Anna Claire talked to us about mental health and balance in college, and Eric volun-told a few guys to reenact a scene from Kung Fu Panda 4 to show how voice inflections and facial expressions affect first impressions and communication. After class, we feasted on sandwiches, crisps (that’s chips for you normies), and hot coffee.
Then, we headed over to the Jorwick Viking Center, where we rode what felt like the slowest, most educational amusement park ride, which was like a creepy Viking version of It’s A Small World. There were hyper-realistic animatronics at every turn, including some modeled after real skeletons found in the area. A few of us played an old viking board game, while others looked around the other exhibits, including a fossilized piece of Viking stool.
As we were walking over to the Minster, George experienced an unfortunate nosebleed and had to take a detour to M&S, where a friendly foreigner handed him napkins. The rest of us explored The Shambles, a street overrun by Harry Potter fans due to its resemblance to the books’ Diagon Alley. At the Minster, our tour guide Sarah showed us the stained glass windows and wooden ceiling. A choir and organist started their rehearsal while we were there, adding to the ethereal atmosphere. Sarah explained that the Minster had multiple layers underneath (like a lasagna) due to older Viking and Roman architecture.
Back at the dorms, Derrick and some guys went out to play soccer, while a handful of girls headed out to a nearby pub. Adhithi and the rest of the group forced Rudolf to teach them two-step, swing, and the waltz, and over the next three hours most of the Brown Scholars filtered through the room to dance to the works of artists such as Chris Stapleton. Brooks and Dunn, and Midland. Rather than our usual midnight card games, we danced the night away. Cheers!
– Adhithi, George, and Derrick
