New perspectives
The play last night was enjoyable. It was certainly aimed at a younger demographic, so it wasn't particularly subtle or thought-provoking. But it was a nice night nonetheless - and the fact that we got home after 11 meant it was the first time since we've been here that we didn't go out partying.
This morning we went to what I think was the most interesting place we've been. Westferry Printers are responsible for the vast majority of the newspapers in this country, and we got to tour the plant. I've never actually seen the process in action, and it was amazing to see how efficient it is. Westferry has to be, because they print 12 million papers a day. We got to take some new papers home as souvenirs, I chose the Star, possibly because there's a girl in a bikini on the front page. It's amazing what passes for news around here sometimes.
In the afternoon, we were spoken to by Abdel Bari Atwan, a writer for Al Quds, a major arabic newspaper. He's one of the few journalists to have interviewed Osama bin Laden, and at one point he made a reference to receiving an e-mail from bin Laden, which raised a couple of eyebrows.
His perspective was one you'd never hear in America. Compared to him, Michael Moore looks like Bill O'Reilly.
Much of the class found him offensive, even racist at points. But the point of this whole trip is to be exposed to viewpoints and perspectives that we might never see at home, and it's certainly an eye-opening experience.
The weekend is here! It's been a real long week, as far as class and activities go, but now we're free. Tonight, I'm sure everybody will be going out to celebrate, but the real fun starts tomorrow. Me, Deanna and four others are leaving in the afternoon for Amsterdam! We'll be back late Sunday, but I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures for ya.
This morning we went to what I think was the most interesting place we've been. Westferry Printers are responsible for the vast majority of the newspapers in this country, and we got to tour the plant. I've never actually seen the process in action, and it was amazing to see how efficient it is. Westferry has to be, because they print 12 million papers a day. We got to take some new papers home as souvenirs, I chose the Star, possibly because there's a girl in a bikini on the front page. It's amazing what passes for news around here sometimes.
In the afternoon, we were spoken to by Abdel Bari Atwan, a writer for Al Quds, a major arabic newspaper. He's one of the few journalists to have interviewed Osama bin Laden, and at one point he made a reference to receiving an e-mail from bin Laden, which raised a couple of eyebrows.
His perspective was one you'd never hear in America. Compared to him, Michael Moore looks like Bill O'Reilly.
Much of the class found him offensive, even racist at points. But the point of this whole trip is to be exposed to viewpoints and perspectives that we might never see at home, and it's certainly an eye-opening experience.
The weekend is here! It's been a real long week, as far as class and activities go, but now we're free. Tonight, I'm sure everybody will be going out to celebrate, but the real fun starts tomorrow. Me, Deanna and four others are leaving in the afternoon for Amsterdam! We'll be back late Sunday, but I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures for ya.
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