Ramblings on a Wednesday

There's a big group (500 kids) from BYU here at W and M, so today we got up extra early (6:30am) to get to breakfast at 7am before the Caf got too crowded. Today the Civil War group is visiting the "Hot Water" Free Black Settlement as well as the Wren Building, which is the oldest building on campus and where my seminar takes place. Yesterday we visited St. John's Church, where Patrick Henry gave his "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!" speech and where George Wythe, law professor to Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe, and Edgar Allan Poe's mother are buried. We had a lovely interpreter who was so enthusiastic about the material he was presenting that he practically became Patrick Henry.

Overall, I'm doing pretty good! I've been sleeping through the nights, an improvement on my first night, and haven't been feeling too exhausted. I've been eating oatmeal every morning and salads at lunch and have some great new friends to sit with. Also we watched Enchanted in our lounge last night and will probably be watching another movie tonight. It's going awesomely!

The readings and seminars haven't been too bad either; my goal is too speak up more, which I've been succeeding in, so that's good. For today, I had to read an article on Robert Carter III, who wrote a Deed of Gift in 1791 that freed over 500 slaves, as well as one on the institution of slavery in the South. Very interesting! Tonight's readings are mostly Jefferson-related, because tomorrow we visit Monticello and Highland (Ash Lawn). I'm really excited!

Now for some pictures!!

Edgar Allan Poe's mother's grave. She was an actress, so relatively low in society, therefore her grave isn't right next to the church.

Some of the inside of St. John's Church. 

George Wythe's grave. He was murdered by his nephew, but his nephew got away free because the one eyewitness who saw George Wythe Sweeney (the nephew) throw away the poison wrapping was a free black woman named Lydia, and she was not allowed to testify in court. This was due to laws that George Wythe had helped write. Irony. For more info, check this out.

My computer is running out of battery, so I'm going to stop here and get ahead one some of my reading for tomorrow! I'll try to post tonight, but if not, expect Monticello pictures tomorrow!!

-Tessa :D

PS. Yesterday was our first day of English Country Dancing lessons, and it was SO MUCH FUN!