Illumination

I used to want to live in Seattle. I've always loved the days when it would rain and be all gloomy, and I knew Seattle was like that most of time. London has a similar climate, and much to my surprise I have missed the sun dearly! I mean to the point where not seeing the sun has affected my mood, which I thought I was immune to. HA! Well, this past week has been an absolute gift. The weather has warmed up to a degree I don't have to wear a coat every time I set foot outside, and there was a succession of days of beautiful, glowing sunshine!!! Oh, I was ecstatic! I'll continue on this rant in a moment. I've other things to tell you. 

I told you last time we would be seeing Billy Elliot. It was a talented and entertaining performance. The show we saw was the debut performance for the "new" Billy and also the debut performance for the girl who plays Debbie's daughter (for those who know who Debbie is). For some reason, the show was just okay for me. I wasn't blown away, but it was a pleasant evening. 

On Thursday we had our Jack the Ripper Walk with our tutor and Ripperologist, Mr. Donald Rumbelow.  It was fascinating! Mr. Rumbelow and his wife are our tutors for British Life & Culture, but Mr. Rumbelow is also THE expert on Jack the Ripper. Go search "Jack the Ripper" on Google and see whose name pops up continually. There's a movie about Jack the Ripper that Johnny Depp was a part of. Guess who was asked to take good 'ole Johnny on a Jack the Ripper walk...none other than Rumbelow himself. I digress. Mr. Rumbelow took us on his famous walk and went through all five confirmed Ripper murders. We were on the East End of London, and it VERY different from the West End, which is where we reside. The best way I could describe was like an empty movie lot for Nightmare on Elm St. The streets were deserted apart from a few interlopers here and there. Occasionally we would pass other Jack the Ripper walks. It was an enlightening night! 

So, as I said before, the sun decided to come visit for a bit. So a group of us went back to Primrose Hill.

SUN!

They missed the sun too :)

We sat on the hillside and basked in the sun along with hundreds of other sun-depraved people. There were couples, families, kids playing games and running around and loads of dogs jumping about. It was a lovely afternoon. 

We made a short stop in Camden Town on our way back from Primrose Hill. This was my first time in Camden Town, and I had heard it described as something like Austin, TX. Weird, downtown, lots of live music, made up of a younger crowd. It was absolutely packed when we arrived, and it was only about 4 or 5 in the evening. We stopped at an outdoor market, which is where I took the picture below. 

Weird fish tank right?

London is made up of so many different little areas! 

We also had dinner at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Pub, which is a pub Dickens would dine at. This pub was huge! I think there were four different levels, and we ate in the basement. It was a great experience! One thing about going out at night in London is you must leave for your destination at about 5 p.m. otherwise there will be no place for you to sit and possibly even stand. Once everyone gets off work it's like there's a beeline to every pub in the city and they are instantly packed. We left early enough to be guaranteed a table, but we just barely made it. Five minutes after we sat down the basement was full.

Anna and I at Cheshire Cheese :)

Sunday, a group of us went to Hillsong Church and got a surprise. Matt Redman was visiting! Ironically, I went to Passion a year ago when Matt Redman had been scheduled to be there, but for some reason couldn't make it. Here in London I just show up for church and BAM! He's there. The entire service was worship, and it was so great to worship on a large scale with so many other believers! It was a wonderful surprise!

I'll end this post with a little controversy ;) Last night, we went to the theatre, as we do every Tuesday night, to see 'Tis Pity She's A Wh*re. It's a Jacobean Revenge Tragedy and centuries old, but has always caused controversy. I won't give you a synopsis on the play, but it includes incest, lust and murder. Nasty things. And it was a hot topic amongst our group for days leading up to Tuesday night. I do not condone the content of the play in any way, but the show was innovative and cleverly done. 

Always learning here in London... :) 

To-Do List

Things have definitely picked up here in London...and moving fast. Assignments are beginning to catch-up with me, rushing from class to class, struggling to find the balance between socializing and studying..the normal challenges every semester brings. 

Everyday I'm completely amazed at the crazy things I get to partake in for class. Although I am not enrolled in the Rock & Roll Class, I did tag along to the Snow Patrol concert a little over a week ago at the O2 Arena. I love going to concerts, and Snow Patrol was amazing to see. The arena was packed out!

The Rock & Roll group outside the arena, before Snow Patrol.

SNOW PATROL

On Tuesday of last week, Ian, our theatre professor, arranged a tour at the National Theatre and a meeting with John Heffernan, who played Hastings in a production we saw at the National earlier, She Stoops to Conquer. There is a photo on Facebook of our group and Heffernan after talking with him, if you'd like to track it down. I was very excited to have a chance to hear from Heffernan, because I thought he performed so well! The theatre in London is just magnificent, and the respect it has in society is wonderful for me to see as a sort of outsider. Our tour at the National was great as well! We were able to go backstage at two of the three stages at the National and see props and set design. We were even able to see "Alice", which for those of you who know anything about War Horse know she is Joey's mum. That was so cool to see! Although Alice is made of gauze and bamboo the movements of the puppet were absolutely true to reality!

Thursday through Sunday was our spring break, and I was so blessed to have my family come visit me!

On the River Thames, and yes, that is the London Eye behind us.

While they were here, I took them to see all the big London spots. I've been here a month, and I still feel green when it comes to getting around at times, but compared to this bunch...I'm pretty good. At the very least, I know to stay out of the way of the cars, buses and cyclers...can't say the same for them. They were almost ran over! Seriously. I'm telling you the truth. Really, I'm quite lucky there were no injuries, considering cars were whizzing past on either side of them. In classic British fashion not a single driver honked at my trapped family members as the sped past within inches of their bodies. You know, they were probably hoping to hit one of them so they could get a little $$$. Anyway, they made it across unscathed. Lucky.

...Ok, maybe it was my fault they got caught in the middle of the road. I mean it was their first day...and they were probably jet-lagged...

My favorite place I took them (and somewhere I hadn't been yet) was Primrose Hill. It's located just North of the city above Regent's Park. It's a hill that overlooks London, and although I haven't rode the London Eye, I'm willing to bet the view from Primrose Hill is better. I'll let you know after I ride the Eye. Regardless, Primrose Hill won't cost you a dime ;)

Primrose Hill view of London

My family's stay was too short, but real life decided to poke it's unforgiving head and took them away! 

Monday, my archaeology class went to the Mortimer Wheeler Archaeological Archive...which is kind of intense. We received a tour of the archive, and we were given hands on experience of the archaeological process when it comes to finding artifacts. I saw real human bones. I saw human bones in perfect condition that had been sealed airtight in a roman vessel. We were even allowed to touch a few real artifacts, like pottery and dishes. As I said earlier, I get to do this kind of stuff for class. 

Monday afternoon for British Life & Culture we went to the Old Bailey and sat in on a court case. The Old Bailey is the equivalent to our Supreme Court, and it's the number one target for terrorists in the U.K. Something I didn't know, and I'll bet you didn't either, the lawyers and judges wear black robes and WIGS! Yes, the white curly rat-tail wigs you're picturing. Tradition I'm sure, but seriously. A murder case is kind of a serious thing, and it's ironic that wigs must be worn by the people defending you. 

Yesterday, my theatre class met at the Victoria & Albert museum to tour the Theatre & Performance section of the museum. First, the V & A is the coolest museum I've been in by far! If you ever come to London, you must visit. We were given a tour by curator of the Theatre & Performance collection, I apologize for not remembering his name. To start off our tour though, he took us to see Shakespeare's First Folio. A journalist had been looking at it, and since the museum had it out he thought we might like to see it...UHH YEAH!! 

Homework: if you have no clue what Shakespeare's First Folio is, look it up. You won't be disappointed. 

This is what I'm talking about though. I was standing a foot from this invaluable, centuries old jewel. And I get to do things like this for class. I don't want you to think I'm bragging...it probably sounds that way, but I'm not! I just can't believe it. 

The tour was amazing! He just had so much knowledge and information trying to get out of him...it's like he was about to burst. I loved it! I absolutely adore the circus. Loved going as a kid, and for my birthday this past year I asked my mum for tickets to the circus...and I went :) I love it. Well, on this tour of the V&A I learned that the circus started, had its beginnings in London, England. Of all places! I bet you wouldn't have thought that. I know I wouldn't. 

This is a bill for the first circus, which was not called a "circus" but Astley's Amphitheater. Astley was the guy who started all this wonderful entertainment.  

Unfortunately, Russians are the people to go to now when it comes to seeing a top-notch circus performance. The English have kind of let go of their circus heritage, and the Russians have perfected it. Needless to say, going to a Russian circus has now been added to my bucket list. 

And finally, last night we went to theatre at the Adelphi to see One Man, Two Guvnors. HILARIOUS. I'm not just throwing that word out there...the show is hilarious. Wonderful. The play was written for the National Theatre, and it won the Critic's Circle Award for Best New Show last year. Since then it has moved to the Adelphi, and the theatre was packed last night. This is a show to see people. If you ever have to opportunity to see it, you must. 

So many things you must do!! Primrose Hill, The Victoria & Albert Museum and One Man, Two Guvnors. I'd say it's been a good week so far. We've got Billy Elliot tonight, so hopefully it only gets better :)

Overwhelmed yet?

My apologies for not writing enough! It's been about a week since my last entry and there has been so much taking place!

Twice, it has snowed here in London. 

This was taken from our bus, on our latest day trip to Bath (which you will hear more about), of the snowy countryside.


This past week I visited the British Library with my Archaeology class in order to obtain a readers pass, which were all granted. This is the first time anyone in the history of this study-abroad program has done such. I'm very excited to spend more time there. There is currently a Charles Dickens exhibit up that we briefly walked through. Thankfully, I will be going back with my Dickens class to enjoy it further. Also, the library has a manuscript exhibit out, which I found absolutely astonishing! I was able to see one of the four remaining copies of the Magna Carta! The British Library posses two, Salisbury Cathedral has one (although it was traveling when we were there two weekends ago), and I'm not sure where the fourth lies. There were musical manuscripts, such as Beethoven and The Beatles, government documents, and religious documents. I also saw the Codex Sinaiticus, which is one of the first Greek manuscripts of the Bible. Needless to say, I was impressed. There were numerous, amazing documents...

Tuesday, my London Theatre class toured Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, and later that night watched one of his lesser known plays, King John. The play was performed at a very small fringe theatre in the Southwark area of London underneath a working railroad for trains. It was magnificent! I wish I had pictures of the 60 seat theatre. It was nothing like anything I've seen before.

Also! Tuesday was the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens. I'm sorry to inform you that one this day all I did in celebration was read Oliver Twist. But on Monday, I did visit his tomb in Westminster Abbey, which by the way, is not where he wanted to be buried.

I have also spent time in the British Museum, and I will spending many more hours there. Wednesday, I tagged along with the Islam & the West class to visit the London Central Mosque. It was my first visit to a mosque ever! Our guide was very informative. I learned so much about the religion as he spoke. The British Museum currently has an exhibition called, Hajj: Journey to the heart of Islam, and our guide was quick to let us know that the London Central Mosque was instrumental in making the happen.

Friday, our day trip was to Bath, my favorite place so far. Here you find the Roman Baths.

There are three hot springs found in Bath. The Romans came here and built a temple to the goddess Minerva and bathed here. Above is the Sacred Spring where the spirit of Minerva is said to have dwelt.

On a side note, I'd like to inform you that while our group was here enjoyed the steaming waters of the Roman Baths all the hot water and radiators decided to cease working in the hostel where we are staying. Even as I write this to you, we are still without both. Oh, we have running water...it's just FREEZING. Oh, and heat...from a small space heater placed in each of rooms. But you can bet the hallways, bathrooms, kitchen and common room are like igloos. I must thank the Thanet Hotel, which is next door, for kindly opening up a shower for us to use one at a time. Seriously, I'd be going crazy otherwise. Oh, the irony of it all. 

Bath is also home to the Jane Austen Centre. I'm a HUGE fan of Pride and Prejudice. Confession: I re-read the book over Christmas break and watched the Keira Knightley version of the movie about 10 times. 

The statue of Jane Austen outside the centre. 

Needless to say, I bought an "I <3 Mr. Darcy" sticker. Which I love! 

This little place was wonderful! I'm a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland! 

The home of the famed David Livingstone. "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" 

I'll try to be more vigilant in my writing. Hope all is well with everyone!

Oh, there's just so much...

It's been quite an eventful week! We had an outing planned for every night except Monday. 

Tuesday, we had the privilege of seeing an 18th century play written by Oliver Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer. It was a "comedy of errors" and different from any type of show I had ever watched before. The set design was absolute gorgeous! Wednesday, I tagged along with the Rock & Roll Class to Hard Rock Cafe. It was my first time ever being in a Hard Rock Cafe...it was so loud! What else could I have expected, right? Ha, I really enjoyed it though. After eating we had a chance to go down into the vault they have filled with all this great rock memorabilia! Thursday, we went to another show! We Will Rock You has been on stage for 10 years now. All of the music is Queen. Very rock & roll. It was entertaining, but I found myself wondering how the show has managed to stay alive for 10 years! The writing is terrible! 

Friday we went on our second day trip. This time it was Stonehenge and Salisbury. Pictures first!

Stonehenge. Ok, it was pretty awesome. Just a tad smaller than I thought it would be. 

Unfortunately, visitors are no longer allowed to walk amongst the rocks. This is as close as it gets.

The English countryside! I love it!

Old Sarem. We were only here for about 15 minutes, and this was as close as we got.

The local pub in Salisbury where I ate lunch with Anna, Courtney and Whitney (all fellow HPU students).  Very good food!

Salisbury Cathedral

Inside the cathedral. Everything was illuminated so beautifully, because the sun was streaming in through all the magnificent stained glass windows.

17th Century graffiti! 

The Cloisters. Absolutely breathtaking.

What I loved about this trip was how great the weather was! Unlike last week, the sun was out the whole day. Yes, it was bitterly cold, but as you can see from the above pictures, the sun just made things better. Our tour at the Salisbury Cathedral was not nearly as in depth as our tour we received at the Canterbury Cathedral, but there is still an insane amount of history at both! The day was pleasant, and I feel so blessed being able to take these day trips every week. This coming Friday we will be going to Bath.

Ok, one more picture for you. 

As you can see from the above photo, Stonehenge can be viewed from this highway as one drives by. For some reason that was crazy to me! All I can see in my mind is this mom with her kids in the backseat of the car on the way to visit grandma, and every time they drive past she says to her children, "Look kids, there is Stonhenge!" And her kids replying, "We know, mum." 

Last night, we were blessed with a fluffy blanket of snow powdering the streets and cars. It was a beautiful and calming sight. But you'll be surprised to know, by midday today most of it had turned to slush! 

Photographs & Commentary

Well my dear friends, I apologize for the lack of pictures I have shown you concerning the day trip to Dover and Canterbury. I have a few I would like to share with you now!

At Dover Beach...The White Cliffs of Dover. Also, the English Channel to my left, your right.

A view of the Dover Castle & the White Cliffs.

 The backside of the castle

This is the Roman Lighthouse, built by the Romans (obviously). It is the oldest working lighthouse in the world!

A view of Canterbury Cathedral

Tomorrow, we will be venturing to Salisbury & Stonehenge!! I am absolutely ecstatic about seeing Stonehenge...so many expectations. I hope I am not disappointed, as I find I often am upon seeing a great, iconic place/monument after seeing pictures and hearing romanticized stories about said place. 

Funny story: It's been a challenge for me understanding the money in England. They use Pounds, and their coins are immensely different than America's. They have a coin for 1 pound and a coin for 2 pounds, among many other odd amounts. Well, this past Tuesday night I went grocery shopping with my 60 pound stipend for the week and spent roughly 15 pounds. After paying I quickly placed my change in my wallet and left. Later, after unpacking my food, I went to check the money I had left. I had spent about 5 pounds earlier in the night on dinner, so I knew I should have at least 40 pounds left. I open my wallet and find only 30 pounds. I then proceed to kind of freak out. I look at my roommate, Anna, in astonishment and tell her I've lost 10 pounds. "I only have 30 pounds left for a whole entire week's worth of food! We've only been paid today and already I've squandered half of it!" Naturally, she tries to calm me down with the normal questions. "When did you use your money last?" I'm thinking what does that matter?! It's money! People pick that up and take it! She then says, "how much change do you have?" Ok, so I start counting all of my 2 pound coins...2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12. I have 12 pounds in coins. I look up in relief, she smiles at me. I then say, "I hate British Pounds."