Catching Up

A Quick Summary of Rachel's Week in London
             (With the Help of Visual Aids)

Monday: A trip to Stonehenge and Bath leaves this girl happy and exhausted. It began with an early, chilly bus ride to the ancient monuments themselves. Tucked away in the folds of Britain's countryside, these massive stones for some reason catch the fancy of tourists from thousands of miles away. How they got there, why they were there...I guess we will never know. However I did enjoy walking around them, taking pictures with them, looking at the cute little sheep surrounding them, and drinking a hot chocolate next to them.

Next was Bath, where we took a small amount of time to get lunch before our walking tour of the town. I just happened to go to Sally Lunn's, the oldest building in Bath still in use. I had some delicious vegetable soup, a Sally Lunn bun, and some tea. Delightful. Then we made our way back to the walking tour, getting a full history of the town and its former occupants from the Roman times to the 18th century. After the tour, we took a look at the Roman baths, which didn't look quite that appealing to bathe in, but held an incredible history. Before heading back after the baths we definitely took the time to acquire some homemade, gourmet fudge, and then took a lovely nap on the drive back. That night was low key and meant for laundry and a night in.

Tuesday: The day began with a lovely trip to the Orangery for tea with Karlie. We talked about our upcoming media tours, what we have left that we want to do, and dined on juice and scones. After that, we walked through the amazing Kensington gardens, looking particularly at the sunken gardens. Afterward it was off to Hyde park and a lovely bike ride around the park until it decided to rain a touch. Spirits un-dampened, we went onward to Leicester Square to buy tickets to Pygmalion that night. Dinner was at Wahaca for the best Mexican tapas I have ever had (or maybe this Texan just has been missing her Mexican fix). After dinner it was off to the show, and then back to Seething Wells.

 
Wednesday: Morning off with a trip to Greenwich that afternoon. I took a nice run for my morning, then hit the pavement to meet for our Greenwich tour. We walked the city a bit, talked some history and olympics, then went up the hill to the Meridian line itself. We took a look inside the museum to see how technology has progressed since the sundials, then admired the view of London from the heights of the observatory. We then traveled to the Globe theater and hit up some rockin' Turkish food before going to see Much Ado About Nothing. It was raining...a lot, and I did happen to be a groundling with only a cotton hoody to keep dry with, but although I was soaked by the end of the night, I will admit, that was the best Shakespeare show I have ever seen.

Thurs: The day before a trip to Paris...what do you do? Absolutely nothing but run, work on a paper, eat a PB&J, cook spaghetti, and watch My Fair Lady.

***teaser alert: soon to come...AN AMERICAN IN PARIS

Will Work to Live in London

   I realize that my reason for being in London might be a little unclear up to this point. I may have given the impression that it is all fun and games and I am simply enjoying fun trips along the city with know other motivation but to see great things and think deep thoughts. Well...I am doing both of those things, but the trip is founded on the basis of a British Media class I took (or rather, slipped into) last semester at OCU. So, with the class in mind, visiting different media venues has been one of the prime objectives of this trip, as well as having a good bit of fun.
   I also must add that this whole paragraph has been conveyed, in my head, with a British accent. 
  First, our media trips took us to the BBC headquarters. Last week we headed to a different avenue of media: advertising and PR. 
   Out first firm took us to a hip, white brick office building, complete with a hip, model-esque receptionist, who politely ushered us in to a haven of creativity. We were offered drinks with essence of orange, and chips that looked familiar, yet tasted unfamiliar, and listened intently to the employees of SAS advertising. They talked about how they are an agency that advertises companies--that is, they do not advertise consumer products, but a competitive work place, or a good investment. Also, we find out that this company plays in the big leagues--they have Coca-cola as one of their clients. It was extremely informative, and our tour of the work space made me wish that I had a cool Mac with obscure artists playing soulful, indie music, while casually sketching out the design model for a new campaign I just thought up for Dr. Pepper.
   The other agency we went to was also an elite firm, but something I could relate to even better! Wagner Edstrom is their name, and they are in the business of represented medical and technological companies, such as Microsoft...for 25 years. They were friendly and gave us coke and doughnuts! (They really know Americans, right?) The employees involved in the tour all introduced themselves and went around explaining what exactly they did in the company. One girl's job really fascinated me. She did a lot of international public relations for the various companies they represent, so that places (like America) wouldn't offend countries by saying or doing something that is culturally taboo. Now, I want that job!
   I learned so much about media, and not just British media, but what a media workplace really looks like. Granted, those were big league places that I probably couldn't touch for another decade, but then again...
   To top of this tour day, we went into Leicester Square to the Comedy Store, and roared with laughter for two and a half hours, all the while getting laughed at ourselves, because--being Americans in a foreign country--there are so many things they can laugh at us for.

   and because I want to get close to finishing last week, let me just jumble through Thursday and Friday (Wednesday was Oxford).
   Thursday began with a media tour of Radio Jackie (see movie Pirate Radio for full story of this station), took our group back to London for a short jaunt in Hyde Park, and then the greatest thing that has ever happened to me: tea time. We took tea in the Grosvenor hotel, and proceeded to be spoiled with little sandwiches, fresh scones, pastries, and our own personalized tea pots--as much as we wanted of anything. Delightful. After that, we took a quick trip to Abbey Road, annoyed various motorist, and called it a day.

    Friday=class, shopping in Kingston, HARRY POTTER. The first was necessary, the second a nice way to spend the afternoon, the third...I won't even begin.

A British Education: The Essay I Never Wrote

   A week later I am sitting at my desk trying to remember what the events of last Monday in Oxford involved. One thing I remember distinctly is that there was an essay I could have written over Oxford--quite a stimulating essay topic, in fact--but Monday eve I sat at my desk staring at what I had worked on so far for my essay...just the title, and decided instead to snuggle in my bed and read.
    Anyway, Oxford was one of the most delightful places I have been so far! We entered the town, and immediately I could feel pulsating brains at work, doctrines being written, and theses developed. The town is truly an academic's haven. And I did get the Harry Potter vibe as well. I think of Hogwarts as being an elite place for a wizard to receive and education, so I believe it is fitting that Oxford assisted in setting the mood of this epic film.
   Upon arrival in this quaint scholastic town, we pass by the Eagle and the Child, and are shortly informed that this is the very pub where C.S. Lewis and J.R. Tolkien--two of my favorite minds--came together to discuss things that most of the world couldn't even fathom. Mental note: going there.
    We assemble off the bus across from the Ashmolean Museum, and proceed down the hallowed walkways of Oxford town. I, for one, stand apart from the group a bit, hoping that my student demeanor might fool at least one person into believing that I am one of the privileged Oxford pupils. I liked to believe that this worked. Anyway, we walk along the roads and immediately head for the Sheldonian theater to take in more of Christopher Wren's astounding architecture, and to climb up to the belfry tower for a bird's eye look of Oxford. We were also told that this theater is where students are first matriculated in their freshman year, and where previous commencement ceremonies were and are still held as well.

     After that, we were set free for a quick bit in order to fuel ourselves for the next couple of hours with some much needed caffeine. There was this cute little place called Cafe Creme, which had a pastry case I was drooling over, but I saved some money and remembered the PB&J I had packed for later. Next we were taken on a walking tour of Oxford, with a delightful tour guide. He showed us things such as the Bridge of Misery, which students crossed to go to the library, University College, small alleyways, all the while entertaining us with images of historical Oxford and student life in the college.
   Apparently at Oxford, it is normal to have one to three students per "tutor" and normally you study, read, and write essays for these tutors, graded by the oral reciting of sed paper. You then proceed to study again, read, and drink quite frequently until your final year. I must say, the process has an appeal to it. I guess my Ravenclaw nature was showing itself that day.

    After touring the different colleges and streets of Oxford, we had a short lunch break where I busted into my PB&J and people watched before heading over to Christ Church College: the famous site of Harry Potter sets...as well as other historic things.
   Christ Church is surrounded by the most breathtaking gardens and grounds that any college student would drool over. It also is the only college open to public access. All the others are a little to uppity about having tourists in their quads. We saw the beautiful architecture, the Queen's chapel, as well as references to Alice in Wonderland, due to Lewis Carrol (Charles Dodgson) being a professor at Christ Church.
   Of course, we also went into the room they filmed Harry Potter in, though it did not look quite as familiar as I thought it would. 

Harry Potter fans would recognize this hallway....

    the famous dining hall used in the first movie

    After finishing up with Christ Church, we were on the hunt for the one thing I had been waiting all day to see: the pub my two favorite authors had once collaborated in. And we found it. I also was able to meet up with Michael McAndrew, a fellow GCS alum, and hear how he was enjoying the Oxford system of learning. My impression of Oxford. Very proud, prestigious, exclusive. I want in!

A page from my journal

It's going down--journal time.
   Now we get to the thoughts beyond London again. The thoughts that search out the meaning behind traveling across the country. That wonder which people I pass on the street live fulfilling lives, let alone lives awakened to the plan created for them by Christ.
    This journal moment is brought to you by the beautiful Kingston park laying next to the river Thames. It is from the date July 11, 2011, a Monday, and it was inspired by all of Creation, which cries out to its creator.
    The context of this journal entree (I am really building this up aren't I?): I am laying across my slightly worn, fleece basketball blanket--comfortably resting my chin on my palm, my stomach on the ground. A high school rowing team is training on the river in front of me, and every so often I hear the faint instructions blasted from the mega-phone the trainer is holding. There is a line of trees just after the river and a circle of sunshine surrounding my head. Where else can a person expect to get inspiration?
   
   I am currently in a small meadow on my fleece basketball blanket, smelling the air drenched with lilac and listening to the alternating sounds of a breeze drifting though the trees and a motorboat passing by.
   In front of me I see little daisies and my green pencil--a little further on, an old couple is sitting on a bench--one reading a magazine the other a book. I'd like to think they reach over and grab each others hands from time to time.
    In front of them, the tranquil Thames, surging to the side as kayaks and other boats snip though its middle.
    This is beauty--but not quite heaven. How? Why?
    In a place like this, how can I not feel that sense of pleasure and accomplishment the world is so ardently searching for? Because I know true heaven. No matter what, I can cling to the hope I have found in Jesus Christ. Nothing fills. Nothing sustains. Nothing renews, but Him.
   For the things that are seen are temporary--but the things that are unseen are eternal.
   ...
   Jesus--today I simply want to cry out your name, to call on you, to be with you, to know you surround me, and live in me. I want to please you, live for you, glorify you. Jesus, grant me the knowledge to know how to do so.

   Some days we just need to be...still...and be. So that is what I got Monday--a day of simply watching , thinking, reading, napping, and praying that my time here in London is not a waste. That I am not living for selfish ambition, but that this is in some way furthering the kingdom of God. I know that if this is my mindset, nothing I do is meaningless or in vain.

    If I can do that in London, then surely you--whoever you are that is reading this--can take the time to do the same. Find a quite, or noisy place. Bring a journal, a book, and coffee. Watch. Write what you see. Take in others' lives. Pray for them. Pray for your life as well. Enjoy a book. Then do it again.
   

It Feels Like Home to Me

   I have been in London a little over two weeks now, and it really does seem like home. There are things that just seem natural now:
   I get up each morning around 8, and--depending on who gets up first--make the French press coffee or dive right into it. I eat my bowl of porridge and head out to a day in Kingston or London. I head to the local Sainsburys for my groceries, I frequent Pret A Manger for lunch or coffee needs, and know that pretty much anytime I am in London I head toward Embankment, get on the Northern line to Waterloo and catch a train back to Kingston.
   That doesn't mean that I have it down yet.
   Although some things seem familiar, there is still so much I want to see, and some things I have seen that...I really didn't want to.
   Things I have wanted to see: Hampton Court. Uh-Mazing. It's just so cool to see how things have been preserved through the years--to walk on cobblestones and wonder, "Did Henry VIII trip on this rock too?"
    It's also extraordinary to see the lengths people took to prove themselves as royalty--and how far they separated themselves to do so. Some things, such as the extensive gardens and ornate paintings were fascinating and made me wish I had been in Henry VIII's court...but then again, things such as the separate dining table for royalty, formality, and enslavement of everyone in the court to the king...well, God bless America.
   However, this palace was insane! So beautiful and well-preserved, I could have spent days exploring.

   I am also learning while here in London (though I often forget about that part) and part of the learning includes visiting various media venues in London--one being BBC.
   That tour was very interesting...though, it was a little out-shined by an afternoon at the Albert and Victoria museum and then a night walking the streets of the city of London on the Jack the Ripper walk. That day--I will never forget.

   Days of rest are much needed. I have realized that while London is exciting, fun, exhilarating, and never-ending, there is nothing wrong with spending the day back in the dorm, doing laundry, reading, chatting on FB and taking little cat naps. Then following all this with a spaghetti and meatball dinner, chocolate cake, a walk down the Thames, and The Deathly Hallows Part 1--that's a good day too.
   Don't be fooled by my flowery words and multiple uses of the exclamation point! I got smacked in the face by London one soggy Thursday at the Tower of London...or rather the back of my legs. We learned at the BBC that Londoners are very preoccupied with the weather, and now I know why. Regardless of weather, it is the Tower of London, and you can't not go! And once the weather changed for the better, we checked out West bank and little nuggets of history here and there, figured out modern art is weird, and then went to a recording of a BBC radio show Hot Gossip. Falafel at Gig's restaurant and one train ride back to Kingston, and that's a day folks!

 
Now, the past 3 days of this weekend have left me and Sonya to figure out the world of London on our own. Day 1 (Friday) we hang around Kingston, run, work on our paper, and eat a lovely dinner at the Vegetarian while figuring out the the Victorian is a rude pub that retorts things at you like, "Starbucks is around the corner"
   Day 2, Portobello market, where a leather purse is bought, dresses tried on, and a new realization grasped about London fashion: all dresses are very short--if you are tall, buy leggings. The day is ended with Pret A Manger and an incredible cast of Chicago.

  
   Day 3. St. Paul's church service in the morning, a discovery of the Inns of Court, a pretty park for lunch, a gravity defying display of art at the Barbican center, and then woahhh...where are we?
   Memories. Stories. There is always a silver lining. This country girl is growing her city skin. I might need to borrow someone else's for a while though...
   Again, there are things I don't want to see, but that is part of the world, is it not? Am I just supposed to wander through life like a tourist only looking for the posh, glossy, and high end? Or will I allow myself to face the grit sometime? Obviously that doesn't mean putting myself in compromising positions (mom, if you are reading this...) but it's almost like another revelation has hit me--aha! In this world, you can't hide the dirt, you have to face it.
   Now chew on that little gristle. Cheers!