Here's a link to my friend Dan's blog; he posts a lot more often and in much more detail than I do. Of course it's mainly about him and is meant for his family and friends back home, but he gives good descriptions of stuff we've done. If you come across anything offensive (and if you do it will only be mildly so), I apologize--he's Dan. Here it is: http://www.houghton26.blogspot.com/ Posts that I think you'll be most interested in are the ones about Chinatown, Bath, parts of the really long one with a line from a song by The Fray as the title (he mentions my wallet getting stolen), and Canterbury.
Also of interest is my 3rd London Facebook album: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014735&id=1449219994&l=a2c4a
Check out the 2nd one again too. And here's my Bath album: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015247&id=1449219994&l=8dcc1 I don't think I'll ever get around to posting on here about Bath, unfortunately, but the photos and captions should give you a good idea of what it was like.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Scraps
What follows are bits from e-mails that I've sent since I last posted. I know it's not much, but at least you'll get an idea of what's been going on.
Jan. 29: Last night some friends and I went to see Les Mis--it was amazing! Three of us were in the very front row (the cheap seats). The stage was right in front of us. It was scary when the actors came right up to the edge. But the music was so good. The cast did a wonderful job. It was so cool.
Feb 1: I got an A- on the first paper (about the individual and the state in Greco-Roman culture). I was surprised and happy. :) I only know of one other person who got an A-.
Feb. 21: London is so busy and so much fun. I've been staying up way too late and doing ridiculous things, like going on a walk at midnight and seeing some ghetto-looking kids frantically run by and then seeing the police with a big group of them (that was earlier tonight) and going on a walk in the evening at Canterbury and having drunk people swear at us (maybe these night time walks aren't such a good idea . . .) London is certainly a lot different from Houghton!
This weekend is wonderful because the professors surprised us by not giving us a paper! So we have a completely free weekend; it's great. I got A minuses on my first two papers, which was a surprise. I have gotten the others back yet. Tomorrow we're going to see Shakespeare's Twelfth Night; some people saw it tonight and said it was really good. So I'm looking forward to that.
Let's see . . . my favorite thing . . . it's so hard to pick. Going to Bath and Canterbury (they were overnight trips) was really fun because we stayed at nice hotels and had good food (unlike at the Highbury Centre) and had lots of free time, so those were probably what I liked best. My least favorite thing was all the trips to the British Museum, which we had to spend a lot of time at and we all got so sick of. Now we're done with it, though, fortunately. Another bad thing is the papers--they came be pretty stressful. >:(
Now let me update you on a few of the those things: I got my 3rd paper back today and got a B+, which isn't bad but is a little disappointing after doing better on my first two. Also, we didn't actually see Twelfth Night because it was sold out, but we're going to go another time instead. Yesterday was a beautiful day, practically like spring, and we went on a walk by the Thames. Utterly amazing. We've watched a lot of movies and just hung out. Tomorrow, though, it's back to school. :( But I'm still loving the whole experience.
Jan. 29: Last night some friends and I went to see Les Mis--it was amazing! Three of us were in the very front row (the cheap seats). The stage was right in front of us. It was scary when the actors came right up to the edge. But the music was so good. The cast did a wonderful job. It was so cool.
Feb 1: I got an A- on the first paper (about the individual and the state in Greco-Roman culture). I was surprised and happy. :) I only know of one other person who got an A-.
Feb. 21: London is so busy and so much fun. I've been staying up way too late and doing ridiculous things, like going on a walk at midnight and seeing some ghetto-looking kids frantically run by and then seeing the police with a big group of them (that was earlier tonight) and going on a walk in the evening at Canterbury and having drunk people swear at us (maybe these night time walks aren't such a good idea . . .) London is certainly a lot different from Houghton!
This weekend is wonderful because the professors surprised us by not giving us a paper! So we have a completely free weekend; it's great. I got A minuses on my first two papers, which was a surprise. I have gotten the others back yet. Tomorrow we're going to see Shakespeare's Twelfth Night; some people saw it tonight and said it was really good. So I'm looking forward to that.
Let's see . . . my favorite thing . . . it's so hard to pick. Going to Bath and Canterbury (they were overnight trips) was really fun because we stayed at nice hotels and had good food (unlike at the Highbury Centre) and had lots of free time, so those were probably what I liked best. My least favorite thing was all the trips to the British Museum, which we had to spend a lot of time at and we all got so sick of. Now we're done with it, though, fortunately. Another bad thing is the papers--they came be pretty stressful. >:(
Now let me update you on a few of the those things: I got my 3rd paper back today and got a B+, which isn't bad but is a little disappointing after doing better on my first two. Also, we didn't actually see Twelfth Night because it was sold out, but we're going to go another time instead. Yesterday was a beautiful day, practically like spring, and we went on a walk by the Thames. Utterly amazing. We've watched a lot of movies and just hung out. Tomorrow, though, it's back to school. :( But I'm still loving the whole experience.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
More photos
If you revisit the earlier link, there are some new photos there, and here's a link to my second London Facebook album.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2013027&l=51185&id=1449219994
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2013027&l=51185&id=1449219994
London alone
Monday, January 19
We were going to meet at 8:15 to head to the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC), where plenary is, with the TAs guiding. So I wake up to my alarm at 7:30 and turn it off—and promptly fall back asleep. I awake later to a knock on my door and scramble out of bed to see who it is. Laura, one of the TAs, is there, wearing her coat and hat. “What time is it?” I ask. “8:15,” she tells me.
At this point I remember the dream I was having when she woke me up. I wasn’t ready to go at 8:15, and it was 8:30 and everyone was standing outside waiting for me. The first part had come true—but the second part didn’t. Laura tells me that she and everyone else are going to leave now, and she shows me on a map how to get to the LICC. We’re supposed to be there by 9, but the lecture doesn’t start until 9:15. I have a chance.
I get ready as quickly as I can and then run down to the dining room to grab one of the awesome breakfast rolls. There are none in the basket, though, and when I ask someone she says they’re all gone. I leave at 8:30, hungry.
I stride down the street in what I think is the direction of the tube station, but I haven’t done the walk often enough yet and I accidentally take a long cut. I make it there okay, though, and I find the correct platform and wait for the train amidst a crowd of strangers. The train soon pulls in, packed full. As many people as possible squeeze on, but there’s no room for me.
So I wait for the next train, and when it comes the same thing happens. When this one leaves, though, I’m right in front of the tracks, ready to push my way into the third train. When it comes I do just that, jammed in with a bunch of strangers. And then there’s an announcement—there are delays on the line. So the train sits at the station. And keeps sitting. Wearing my coat, hat, and scarf and standing so close to so many other people, I get unbearably hot.
At last we leave only to stop again. After what feels like a terribly long time, I’m ready to scream and shove the surrounding people away. Instead I rest my head on my upraised holding-on arm and close my eyes.
Eventually the train does get to my station. I get out into the wonderful air, check my map, and head off—only to soon realize I’m going in the wrong direction. So I turn and go back. By now it’s past 9:15, and I slow down, my hope of getting there on time gone.
Some familiar sights come into view—a big building with blue shutters on the windows, the park where we ate lunch on Saturday. I know I’m close, but I don’t remember how exactly to get to the LICC from here. My mind was still foggy when Laura gave me the directions.
And then I see her—Laura, coming towards me out of the crowd. All I can do is grin with relief as she puts an arm around me and guides me the rest of the way to the LICC—which is actually straight down the street, no turns or anything.
At 9:30 we get to the front doors—and they won’t open. I pull and push them both, but they’re locked. Then Dr. Wardwell comes down the hallway and lets us in. When I step into the classroom, the other students, seated at two rows of tables, break into applause. My embarrassment is swallowed by utter relief and a feeling of triumph as I greet my friends and tell them the story.
I get a few surprises—one, they haven’t started without me (which is incredibly nice and unexpected of them) and two, I’m not the only one who didn’t leave with the group. Adam and Dan aren’t here. The professors decide to start, and just as Dr. Stewart is finishing the course introduction, the guys arrive. Everyone has made it to plenary safely and soundly—if not punctually.
We were going to meet at 8:15 to head to the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC), where plenary is, with the TAs guiding. So I wake up to my alarm at 7:30 and turn it off—and promptly fall back asleep. I awake later to a knock on my door and scramble out of bed to see who it is. Laura, one of the TAs, is there, wearing her coat and hat. “What time is it?” I ask. “8:15,” she tells me.
At this point I remember the dream I was having when she woke me up. I wasn’t ready to go at 8:15, and it was 8:30 and everyone was standing outside waiting for me. The first part had come true—but the second part didn’t. Laura tells me that she and everyone else are going to leave now, and she shows me on a map how to get to the LICC. We’re supposed to be there by 9, but the lecture doesn’t start until 9:15. I have a chance.
I get ready as quickly as I can and then run down to the dining room to grab one of the awesome breakfast rolls. There are none in the basket, though, and when I ask someone she says they’re all gone. I leave at 8:30, hungry.
I stride down the street in what I think is the direction of the tube station, but I haven’t done the walk often enough yet and I accidentally take a long cut. I make it there okay, though, and I find the correct platform and wait for the train amidst a crowd of strangers. The train soon pulls in, packed full. As many people as possible squeeze on, but there’s no room for me.
So I wait for the next train, and when it comes the same thing happens. When this one leaves, though, I’m right in front of the tracks, ready to push my way into the third train. When it comes I do just that, jammed in with a bunch of strangers. And then there’s an announcement—there are delays on the line. So the train sits at the station. And keeps sitting. Wearing my coat, hat, and scarf and standing so close to so many other people, I get unbearably hot.
At last we leave only to stop again. After what feels like a terribly long time, I’m ready to scream and shove the surrounding people away. Instead I rest my head on my upraised holding-on arm and close my eyes.
Eventually the train does get to my station. I get out into the wonderful air, check my map, and head off—only to soon realize I’m going in the wrong direction. So I turn and go back. By now it’s past 9:15, and I slow down, my hope of getting there on time gone.
Some familiar sights come into view—a big building with blue shutters on the windows, the park where we ate lunch on Saturday. I know I’m close, but I don’t remember how exactly to get to the LICC from here. My mind was still foggy when Laura gave me the directions.
And then I see her—Laura, coming towards me out of the crowd. All I can do is grin with relief as she puts an arm around me and guides me the rest of the way to the LICC—which is actually straight down the street, no turns or anything.
At 9:30 we get to the front doors—and they won’t open. I pull and push them both, but they’re locked. Then Dr. Wardwell comes down the hallway and lets us in. When I step into the classroom, the other students, seated at two rows of tables, break into applause. My embarrassment is swallowed by utter relief and a feeling of triumph as I greet my friends and tell them the story.
I get a few surprises—one, they haven’t started without me (which is incredibly nice and unexpected of them) and two, I’m not the only one who didn’t leave with the group. Adam and Dan aren’t here. The professors decide to start, and just as Dr. Stewart is finishing the course introduction, the guys arrive. Everyone has made it to plenary safely and soundly—if not punctually.
My last day of freedom . . .
Sunday, January 18
I wanted to take advantage of my last day before the schoolwork started, so I decided to go to Kensington to see the hotel where my mom, sisters and I stayed when we were here in 2005. I found a friend, Lizzy, to go with me, and we managed to navigate the tube on our own for the first time and make it to the hotel. After peering into the window and taking a photo, we and saw Kensington Palace, since we were in the area.
Somewhere else I’d been wanting to go to was the Tower Bridge, so next we went there, stopping at a thrift store on the way. We walked across the bridge and saw the Tower of London as well; it was evening then so it was closed, but it was cool to see it at night.
We were adventurous and bought a bag of roasted chestnuts by the Tower. They weren’t my favorite, but since I was hungry I ate them.
It was a fun last-day-of-freedom. The next morning we had our first plenary session . . .
I wanted to take advantage of my last day before the schoolwork started, so I decided to go to Kensington to see the hotel where my mom, sisters and I stayed when we were here in 2005. I found a friend, Lizzy, to go with me, and we managed to navigate the tube on our own for the first time and make it to the hotel. After peering into the window and taking a photo, we and saw Kensington Palace, since we were in the area.
Somewhere else I’d been wanting to go to was the Tower Bridge, so next we went there, stopping at a thrift store on the way. We walked across the bridge and saw the Tower of London as well; it was evening then so it was closed, but it was cool to see it at night.
We were adventurous and bought a bag of roasted chestnuts by the Tower. They weren’t my favorite, but since I was hungry I ate them.
It was a fun last-day-of-freedom. The next morning we had our first plenary session . . .
Sorry!
My explanation for not posting = bad internet + no time. I'm so busy with work, and when I have free time, well, I'm in London with a bunch of my friends! But I still love you guys, and I haven't forgotten you! The internet is just so inconvenient here. Anyway, I have two stories from last week, and I hope to get caught up soon. Right now I have my second paper to write (we haven't even gotten the first one back yet) so until Saturday at midnight I'm going to be busy with that. For now, enjoy the posts that I'm about to, uh, post. ;P
Monday, January 19, 2009
Photo link
You can see a selection of my photos so far at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012462&l=fc922&id=1449219994. School has started, so I'm busy. I'll write a real post when I get a chance.
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