Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Happy Birthday America

Today we spent the entire day with the Brown I cohort! To commemorate America’s birthday the entire Brown cohort made our way to Plymouth, Massachusetts to visit the Plimoth Plantation.


When we first arrived we watched a movie beforehand to give us all an idea of what we would be experiencing. The first site we visited was the Wampanoag Homesite (Native people) where we learned how they built boats, how women chose their own husbands, and the homes they lived in. At the age of 20 women will prepare a dance where they place a blanket in front of a man she wishes to marry and if she no longer wants to be married then she just has to place his clothing outside of the hut. This relates to the Women and Leadership program we will be taking because Wampanoag women obviously were well in charge. In other places women are considered leaders, why not in America?
The homes of the British
during the 17th century
Making plaster for his home
Following this site we visited the 17th Century English Village.  We also got to see the homes they lived in. As a group we all drove 3 miles to visit Plymouth Rock and the last site from the Plimoth Plantation, the Mayflower II. The Mayflower II is a replica of the original Mayflower and really captured the scent and vibe of the 17th century.
The great thing about the 17th Century English Village was that the people portrayed the voices and characteristics of the time. 
For example:
Coming to the East coast and visiting a historical museum, I’ve realized that there’s more to July 4th than fireworks and barbecues. There's a significant amount of details we don't know about and today I'm glad I got to learn that. 

1 comment:

  1. Interesting stuff.

    I always worry when we send our young ladies back east for this Women & Leadership course. They come back with all kinds of wild ideas--leaving a man’s clothes by the front door? Sounds kind of cold to me.

    I hope we don’t have to deprogram any of you when you return.

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