London, 15/01/2012:

The world is a phenomenally small place. A friend of mine from high school just started a study abroad program at Oxford. She had the weekend free and had never seen London, so we got together yesterday and I showed her around a bit. It’s a bit weird (though also a lot of fun) to meet a friend from San Francisco in London and then make plans to go to Italy (!) together in April. 

We met at the Marble Arch and then walked down Oxford Street (see earlier photographs) to the British Museum, one of my favorite places in London. When I visited London for the first time, I told my dad that I wanted to live in the British Museum.

One of the reasons I love the British Museum so much is because as you walk from room to room, you are jumping into the past of different countries. It’s a remarkable collection of history from the most culturally and politically important eras of history.

I also enjoy the British Museum’s questionable history. My freshman seminar focused on art theft and grave robbery, so I wrote a paper on the Elgin Marbles and if they should be returned to Greece. It’s a difficult question, since both sides have valid arguments and the legality of Lord Elgin’s paperwork at the time was questionable. Yes, it is true that moving the marbles to England saved them from destruction in Greece but it is also true that they were damaged in the move and that they would be perfectly safe in Greece now (and would have been safe for a while). I ultimately decided (as the ever pragmatist) that it doesn’t really matter, since the British Museum (and the British government) will never give them up.

Image descriptions:

  1. A depiction of an Egyptian god from the Ancient Egypt exhibit on the ground floor. I was drawn to the number stamped on the carving, since it shows how museum practices have changed over the years.
  2. Three female statues from the Ancient Greece exhibit (though not a part of the Eglin Marbles). I loved the subtle portrayal of wind in the clothing carved in such an unrelenting medium.
  3. The Rosetta Stone. Enough said.

3 Notes/ Hide

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