Harlaxton Dreaming

I've been thinking more and more about my summer study abroad program. I have to say that taking young people on their first trip abroad ranks right up there on my list of favorite things to do. It's like Christmas morning in a houseful of little ones. This summer will mark my third study abroad trip as a part of the UCBA Summer British Study Abroad Program. Every year, our program is led by a different team of professors, but the one thing that remains the same is our home base: Harlaxton Manor in Lincolnshire, England. Here are a couple of shots of this remarkable place:






There's this moment when you're headed towards Harlaxton with a bus load of jet-lagged students. You come around a bend on the road leading you up towards the manor, and there, up in the distance, it sits up on a hill in all of its glory. Spectacular! I can remember that moment in 2007, and how in my jet-lagged state, I had the presence of mind to point it out to my group. They literally gasped.

It really is an astounding place. Our program director, Mike, calls it magical, and I think he's right. I'll write more about the manor this summer when I'm there, though, so I'll wait until then to describe its magic. The place is said to be haunted, too, and I know I'll feel that some this year--for personal reasons. In 2007, my trip co-leader was my friend, Lee. Lee died almost two years ago, but the time we shared with our group of 18 students remains among my favorite all-time memories. I suspect that I'll feel Lee's presence pretty frequently at Harlaxton. I'm actually looking forward to that, too. Sometimes bittersweet is just right.



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