Tomorrow ~ we go to York

Probably, the most exciting part of the day was the heated debate during our Contemporary Britain class. Several of us Americans tried to give our British professor a better understanding of why Americans hunt. 

He thinks the idea of hunting is completely barbaric and unnecessary. He thought a slaughter house was much more humane. Anyways. I really got into this one. I stated that anything you put on your plate you should have the will power to kill yourself. I asked David, the prof, if he could pull the trigger on an animal. He responded that he could never do that, because it cannot defend its self. Then, I told him he should be a vegetarian. If he can't handle where his food comes from than he shouldn't be eating a diet of meat. His argument was so frustrating, because I don't see how animals breed for slaughter have a fighting chance either. 

Emotions were quite high in this discussion. But, several other students and I argued that the act of killing an animal and taking its last breath of life from it, creates a deeper appreciation for life and the meat and resources provided by the animal. Most people just didn't understand this concept, which I can't really blame them for. It needs to be experienced in order to fully understand the impact it has on a person. 

Overall, the debate was riveting. I normally hate debates. But, I very much enjoyed this one and provided a lot of input. 

Later, I watched some British TV. Its part of our homework:) I watched the most fascinated show on dogs. They are incredible creatures and the more we learn about dogs the more we realize how smart they are. Its truly amazing what they are capable of with the right training. Following that show, I watched the news. The news is so much better here. Its more global based and less biased. The Brits really get a kick out of the American news channels and media in comparison to their BBC. 

Our field trip to York is bound to be exciting. (Our last field trip was rescheduled due to poor weather conditions. They really aren't prepared for more than 2 inches of snow here. The whole nation grinds to a halt. Its pretty amusing!) I look forward to exploring the ancient city and its violent past. Much of our time will be spent at York Minster cathedral. You can count on a blog post with lots of pictures soon!