Dickinson College Humanities Program in Norwich

August 28, 2009 To start, I had my first authentic fish and chips experience in England the other day at a restaurant along the Thames. I’ve found that English restaurants are occasionally difficult to navigate because they’re separated into so many sections depending upon what you want and where you want to eat it. The complication turned out to be entirely worthwhile, though, because the food was delicious! I had no idea that choosing the type of fish is part of the meal (I had haddock). I was quite excited about it, to say the least. After that, we left for the Tate Modern. I normally try to appreciate modern art even if I don’t particularly like it, but I had a hard time enjoying this museum. Perhaps it was my state of mind or tiredness, but I really did not like any of the pieces I saw and couldn’t seem to get any meaning out of them. At one point, we stepped into an exhibit that was marked as containing explicit material. I completely understand that some art is meant to be controversial, but this was legitimately disturbing (I’ll refrain from description in case others haven’t yet seen it). After seeing the video and feeling uneasy, I decided to leave. I’d love to hear what sorts of reactions others had to that exhibit, and what they got out of the museum as a whole because I do feel like I’m missing something.