For todays adventure we started off with riding public transportation. We rode a double decker bus for the first time and sat on the top. Our destination was the Black Country Living Museum. We first went to the mines as a group. We had to all put on hard hats because the ceiling within the mines is very low with beams coming off of them as well. We also had to use lanterns to guide ourselves through the dark mines. We were separated into groups of 3-4 people for safety and began our treck into the deep coal mines. When in the mines it felt as though I was blind when adjusting to the darkness. We took stops as we made our way deeper and deeper in. Mannequins are stationed and staged throughout to display the different jobs within the mine. We learned about mining culture and the normal days that would continue for the workers.
After the mine, we made our way over the schoolhouse and were rushed inside. We had a male teacher who was very loud and intimidating. He dressed in a vest like outfit and had a cane. He first requested silence from his and class and told us that silence is golden. The teacher also told us that in his classroom he has to be called by sir. He then called on students to point to certain countries on the map and told us that it’s important to know your geography. I found it interesting that he made students who had nail polish on or tattoos come to the front of the class. He told the class to say “Shame on you” three times and make the students feel bad about their decisions. We went through the alphabet and times table in repetition multiple times and he enforced the idea that repetition is very important. He also disciplined students by telling them to face the wall and put their hands on their hands. At the end we had to learn a song for the queen and recite it and then we were dismissed from school.
After school we went to get fish and chips from a side store. Emily and I had to share a platter because they were huge!! We ended up comparing our fish and chips today to the one earlier in the week and decided the other one was better. After lunch we went to the little pop up carnival in the center of town and rode the swings together. We then ventured over to see the two telephone booths and played around in them for a little. We ended up sitting at a picnic table and saw many vintage pop up clothing shops. To kill time at the end of our day we walked around the shops and then decided to get some ice cream !!
After our day at the Black Country Living Museum, we took a break to work on our upcoming presentations for BCU and then decided to go to Digsbeth. I’m excited to go on more adventures tomorrow and see Oxford, England because I live in Oxford, Pennsylvania.
