7/5
Since breakfast was at 8:00, we had to wake up around 7:15. After we went through the breakfast buffet (which contained cereal, bagels, croissants, sausages, bacon, vegetarian sausages, and potato waffles every day), we had our first writing class around 9:00.
Creative Writing: Our class discussed very short stories (based off of a three-lined, six-word story by Ernest Hemingway). We wrote our own srories, and I came up with three:
Windowdrapes,
when opened:
false light
An empty bed-
A startled cry,
Never more.
The open door
had been left
locked.
Then, we were told to describe a picture of an attic with a man standing in the corner and a tiny bit of light streaming in through the ceiling in three words- the first three words we thought of. We shared the words as a class and found that most people put similar things- cliché things for someone turning away from the darkness, such as "light," "scared," "dark," "alone," "gone," "depressed," etc. However, our teacher told us to dig deeper- to find two new words; my words were "path" and "undecided."
Experimental Psychology: After our half-hour break, we resumed classes at 11:00. We learned about the definition of Experimental Psychology- researching (and therefore learning) topics of interest in psychology and using experiments to solve questions about human behavior and life in general.
Leadership & Teambuilding: Following lunch, we left for the Taylorian Institute, where we had our first workshop, mine being Leadership & Teambuilding. We played games about working together as well as listened to a lecture about communication, authorization, listening, and questioning.
Afternoon: The whole camp split up and took a tour around Oxford, learning about history and becoming familiar with the streets we'd be walking around on during the course.
Evening: We had an activity in small groups where we got to know each other more through a quiz-session about everyday things- such as, "Name at least 20 US States," or "Name at least 30 European countries." Then, we had sign-ups in the Marquee, a huge white tent, for the next day's activities. The Evening Shout also took place, a time when the camp director talked to us about the next day's schedule.
Before Nighttime: Before I went to bed, I finished my homework for writing class, the assignment being to write a one-page (in our journals) story from someone else's point of view, someone not heard from often in stories. I wrote the following:
Streetrat
I scrounge around the asphalt hurriedly, my paws scraping against the scratchy street. My fur, sticky and brown, bushes against the brick wall beside me as I scurry across a large circular gray surface. I sense something approaching me, so I leap away before it hits me. I land on a black plastic trash bag, scavenge, and find the remainders of a peculiar yellow crescent fruit, which I told myself I'd snack on later.
In the shadow of the alley, I peer up at my predator. Human, as I had thought. A human with long, curly, greasy hair carrying a wooden object with strings spanning its sides. He stood still nearby and drew his hand slowly against the strings and music started pouring out, vibrating into a cheerful tune. It was the most lively sound I had heard. I nibbled on the yellow fruit; though it was brown and squishy, it was still delicious.
As the song came to a slow closing, the human dropped two hairy features above his eyes, looked down at his dirty, torn overalls, the color of the sky, and petted the small Labrador puppy at his side. It barked and wagged its tail in delight and drooled on its owner's bare feet, but he didn't seem to mind. He opened his mouth, revealing his few yellow teeth, which were crooked and chipped and crossed each other in every unnatural way and contorted his lips into a smile.
I finished the fruit, including its strange crunchy exterior, and went to the pile of "trash." I crawled up to the top and tripped over a tin can, which came to a crashing fall. The sound echoed around me. I attempted to dive into the dump, but before I could dig deep enough, I was lifted...
That obviously needs some improvement, but I think it was fairly good for a near-midnight writing...
