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My Experience in London Overall

     Upon my arrival in London, it quickly became clear that our two cultures somewhat clashed.  My boisterous, individualistic American attitude was immediately an obvious foreign trait.  It was exciting to be thrust into the near center of the city and learn how to navigate around.  The city itself radiates character and charm; it has a clear historical context cemented in between every architectural brick.  Beyond the pure hypnotic tendencies a city may emit, London has a sort of historic charm that spreads throughout.

     Art is something I have always been intrigued by, but it has always been the creating of art that I enjoyed; rarely the creation.  As we were excavating the National Gallery, I found my appreciation for the story told within an art piece begin to grow.  The piece became more intriguing the more I attempted to decipher what it was trying to convey.  Suddenly, art was an entirely different language that could be learned.  Specific details within the piece, certain shades, various positioning of people, a lot more within the piece told a story that stemmed deeper than mere surface level.  Art truly became something to converse with rather than to simply observe.

     Noting the various cultural differences was interesting in regard to mental health due to the fact that I found myself pondering which culture would be more apt to seek treatment for mental issues.  Americans, being more individualistic, may be more likely to seek help since they are more centered around the self, but perhaps our culture, which idolizes eccentricity and promotes uniqueness, may cultivate people who recognize their potentially abnormal thoughts as part of their individuality as opposed to an illness. Europeans, having a more group oriented cultural view, may seek treatment before an American if they recognized their thoughts as being abnormal and against the grain; conversely, they may not want to individually stand out to seek treatment.  Although various other governmental and monetary factors come into play, I couldn’t help but play with this quandary.

     London has truly been an unforgettable experience.  The city is full of immersive charm and it is a historically modern contradiction.  I’ve discovered things about myself that I never knew, such as my ability to communicate with art as well as my deficit in navigational skills.  This experience is truly something I will take with me, especially on my journey to becoming an expressive arts therapist.

Anina Dall, Eckerd College 

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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

     Watching The Curious incident of the Dog in the Nighttime was truly an eye-opening and unique experience.  Before delving into the context of the play, the set and production itself is quite noteworthy.  The actors within the show were much more than mere characters, they became props, metaphors, and scenery throughout.  The stage engaged with the audience as lights danced across it, the walls closed in, the cabinets set within the walls opened to reveal various props, and the projections swept the audience into the mind of the main character truly aiding in their immersive understanding of his subjective reality in a way that was simply breathtaking.  Empathy was at the forefront of my emotions.

     I found myself in a contradictory reality both drawing closer to the main character, Christopher, and pushing farther away.  Mere moments into the show, it becomes clear that Christopher has some sort of mental disorder.  Personally, I entertained it as Asperger’s Syndrome; there were moments when Christopher would have a severe breakdown due to sensory overload.  In such moments, he would curl up into a fetal position on the ground and wail, or he would perform a similar action whilst standing up of hunching over, cupping both of his ears with his hands, and wailing as if in pain.  As an audience member, I found myself reacting strongly towards Christopher in this state; I wanted to hold him in my arms to reinforce that he was not alone.  With this being said, Christopher despises being touched.  If I were to try and comfort him by holding him in any way, the situation would only become worse for him.  The very emotion and desire I had to draw closer to him was exactly what pushed me further away.  Being within that frame of mind as a mere audience member truly forced me to empathize with Christopher’s parents who were undoubtedly yearning for the same thing only to have the exact same realization.  His parents, though vastly flawed, wanted the best for their son, but they did not know how to achieve that.  From their perspective, their child was trapped inside of an untouchable shell only penetrable by words.

     In contrast, Christopher seemed quite content with this fate.  His mind encapsulated a vast plane of imagery that was very factual yet quite ambitious.  The design and context of the performance was specifically made to immerse the audience into Christopher’s mind and help them see the world as he does.  In a sense, for the show’s duration, every person sitting in the audience had Asperger’s.  We were given such a beautiful, representational insight into what a person with said syndrome may experience daily as well as to some of the difficulties those interacting with a person who has the syndrome may feel.

     I can undoubtedly say that this was my favorite show I have seen whilst in London.  The story unfolded in such an organic manner; every character was relatable.  Though this was not in any way a musical, the choreographic dance of the actors helped thrust the audience into a realm entirely different from the one in which they began.  I could not help but notice my emotions shift from intrigue, curiosity, and empathy.  I also found myself veering away from my own emotions with a strong yearning to understand Christopher.  The show was factual, engaging, and, whether it meant to be or not, it was quite magical.   

Anina Dall, Eckerd College  

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The National Art Gallery

        Exploring the National Art Gallery may have been one of my favorite excursions thus far in London.  The art stemmed beyond the mere paintings, it poured out across the framing, architecture, and flooring as well.  Elegant scrolling danced across the thick, gold frames, the room bent and pirouetted around itself to create some eye-catching architecture, and the floor had mosaics embedded within it.  The eye had something to behold no matter which direction it was veering.

        My friend and I began to leisurely saunter around from room to room slowly admiring each picture that caught our attention.  We bounced ideas off of one another, and it was upon this mutual interaction that I realized this experience would not have been as enjoyable as it was had we not conversed about the paintings.  Each painting told its own story, and it was not solely meant to be viewed, it was meant to be experienced.  The way to turn a painted canvas from a two dimensional image into a three dimensional experience is by discussing the story behind the painting or the story within it.  Even if the ideas we were entertaining were not wholly the story the painter had in mind, their pieces began to take shape for us in a different way.

     One of the paintings that stuck with me was one done by Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun, and it was entitled Self Portrait in a Straw Hat.  The portrait, though beautiful, struck me as simple upon first glance, but once we observed it closer, a black shawl draped around her body could not escape my vision.  The rest of the painting was seemingly light and airy except for this particular, almost ominous, pure black shawl.  The color seemed to starkly contrast the rest of the painting too much for it not to have a meaning.  After researching the artist, I learned that she was one of the first women who had their paintings placed within art galleries.  This made me ponder if perhaps the black shawl draped around her was representative of the potential pressures she may have felt as a pioneering woman within a career field that was dominated by men.  Although I am uncertain as to whether or not this was the artist’s true intention, the conversation between the painting and I began to ensue once I began to try and decipher what it was yearning to tell me.

Anina Dall, Eckerd College 

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Kinky Boots

    It is admittedly difficult to begin writing this blog post about Kinky Boots, because I am not quite sure where to begin.  Admittedly, I have a weakness for musicals, and I was quite excited to witness the spectacle of lights and singing that would occur.  Immediately, the play began with a comedic reminder to turn cell phones off whilst the performance was in progress, setting the tone for the show.  With this being said, the show was quick to introduce some controversial topics as the first scene illustrated a male child jubilantly parading around in a pair of red, high heeled shoes.  Soon after the boy’s initial prance around the stage, his father appeared sternly and demanded he remove the footwear whilst exclaiming that his son was a “stupid boy”.

      One of the characters announced at one point that there was a difference between a transvestite and a drag queen.  This was an interesting line to note.  Later on in the show, the same main character, Lola, a cross-dressing man, stated that although he dresses as a woman, he loves women.  There was even a song to make the argument as to why a woman would want him over a specific womanizing, unaccepting male character within the show.  With both of those comments in mind, this leads me to believe that Lola is a heterosexual transvestite.  The reason I found this interesting is because Transvestic Disorder is technically within the DSM-5, which categorizes and specifies mental disorders.  When looking at the show within this light, it adds another layer of intrigue to it.  At the end of the day, the show was about unconditional acceptance toward everyone, but if the layer regarding mental health is added to the mix, I believe it adds an extra layer of beauty subtly hinting that mental disorders and culture very much have the ability to be woven together.  

    Besides the show being about acceptance, I also believe it was a show about confidence.  This confidence was evoked by the characters throughout, however it was also placed within an object: the high heeled, thigh high boots.  Throughout the show, these shoes were depicted as an object elucidating confidence, acceptance, and power.  The song “The Sex is in the Heel” even added to this message, saying that the heel of the shoe itself sends a message out to its audience.  In the show’s finale, all of the characters come out in heels and they are all portrayed as being the most accepting and confident as they have been in the show’s entirety, thus strengthening the message of confidence being found within the shoe.  Similar to that of a child’s security blanket, the shoe is depicted as a blanket of confidence.

Anina Dall, Eckerd College

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Conversing with a Local

     Last night as part of the group and I were conversing in the Ridgemount’s common room, a young man around our age that works at the hotel walked into the room to check something.  Upon seeing us, he asked if we were part of the student group from Florida.  Once we confirmed his query, conversation ensued.  We spoke with him for well over an hour, exchanging cultural norms, questioning our differences in culture, and getting to know each other in general.  He is a 21-year-old Parisian with his bachelor’s degree, and he is earning another bachelor’s degree in London.  He has lived in London for almost two years.

     Within our conversation we began speaking about our differences in culture.  He brought up the subject of volume and how one of our group members, although sweet, spoke quite loudly.  He also mentioned how he continually notices groups of Americans speaking loudly, and how it was not pleasurable in his mind.  I began to explain to him that this was a cultural difference that most of us noticed since being here: Americans are very individualistic, and we are taught to speak our mind and voice our opinion.  As a culture, we are generally boisterous, and that is certainly not the case in London.  Once we were finished explaining our cultural tendencies, he appeared surprised and confided in us by admitting that he had always just thought that Americans were being rude by speaking so loudly.  This was interesting to note.  Europeans coming to America may be judged by Americans as being stuffy, introverted, and quiet whilst Americans in Europe may be deemed loud, boisterous, and rude.  Individualistic Americans overlook the European’s group dynamic, and the Europeans mistake American’s individualism as disrespect.      

     For me, this truly emphasized the importance of understanding a variety of cultural differences across numerous cultures.  As someone who desires a career that is within the realm of therapy, it is important to realize that cultural tendencies can easily shape a person’s outlook of themselves, others, and their situations.  Something as simple as how loudly one speaks may drive an unintentional international barrier between people, thus shaping opinions of opposing cultures as a whole without realizing the potential fault imbedded within the situation.  Once we had an open conversation about culture, each party within the conversation had realizations as to the other’s culture and was able to appreciate how it differed from their own.   

Anina Dall, Eckerd College 

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A special exhibit of Louis Wain within the Bethlam Museum 1/11/17

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A brisk walk outside of the Bethlam Museum...we turned around, it was too cold. 1/11/17

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The artistic construction of what a patient drew and thought was a human influence contraption 1/11/17

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These were some of the most interesting pieces displayed within the Bethlam Museum that were done by the hospital's former patients. It truly shows the uniqueness and therapeutic nature of art. 1/11/17

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The grounds of Bethlam 1/11/17

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The Museum of Bedlam 1/11/17

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Saw the London Eye in passing whilst aboard the train. 1/11/17

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Kula 😍 1/10/17

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A wall of personal inquiries 1/10/17

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Some of the Bethlam pieces at the Wellcome Center. 1/10/17

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The world is but a great Bedlam, where those that are more mad, lock up those who are less.

Thomas Tyron (1689)

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Found these in the Wellcome Center gift shop. Interesting thoughts. 1/10/17