New Blog

Hey everyone!
In case anyone still checks this, which they probably don't, I have a new blog. Just click on the thing that says New Blog and it should take you there. If it doesn't work, go to www.xanga.com/dreamingoffireflies.

I'm Home!

Well, for two days, that is. Sorry I never updated again. Backpacking was awesome, though! We went to Paris, Interlaken and Murren (Switzerland), Florence, and Rome! It was great. There are pics you can see of the whole trip at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/boofunkmele/my_photos. Let me know what you think! Home has been good too, though I missed my London friends a lot. But I do get to see them back at IWU, even though it won't be quite the same. I get to live with Lindsey Irwin, though! And see all my IWU buddies! And InterVarsity! And APO! Woohoo! Well, I better go pack. Hope you're all having a great new year!
Love, Jen

Don't worry, I'm still alive!

Hey! Sorry I havent updated in so long! Im not dead! But Ive been super busy! After Steve came, I spent a weekend in Venice (very cool!), then my family came the next day for a week and we did a ton of stuff. Then it was finals week and I refused to allow myself to go to the internet cafe because I had so many papers to write. Then the server was down, and then I began my travels around Europe! I've done so much awsome stuff! I will try to write about it when I come home. Otherwise you'll just have to see me and ask! And I want to here about all your stuff that went on while I've been gone! I'm off once again on my travels, but I'll be back before you know it!
Love, Jen

A Whirlwind Weekend in London

Steve came to visit this weekend! It was really good to see him, and to have a little taste of home. We only really had Friday and Saturday to do stuff, and we were both exhausted (after 4 hours of sleep for me and none for Steve), so we didn’t get to do everything we had planned, but we still had fun! We went to Harrod’s and got fancy chocolates from a giant chocolatier room, Covent Garden (not actually a garden- it’s a piazza), Leicester Square and had pizza with the pigeons, took a bus tour of London (Steve almost dozed off several times! Haha.), hung out at the flat, went with Liz, Liz, and Sam to Cookies & Cream (a restaurant full of cake!), had breakfast at a café, walked a little through Regent’s Park, went to Portabello Road market and bought each other presents, saw Big Ben (When we walked around the corner and it appeared, Steve was like "WOAH!" because he wasn’t expecting it to be so big!), went to the river as it was getting dark and saw Big Ben and the London Eye all lit up, watched the Lord Mayor’s Show fireworks from a bridge on the river, walked along the river at night and saw St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Millenium Bridge, had dinner at the Spaghetti House, saw The Lion King (It was excellent! The music, costumes, and set were amazing!), went to my church and introduced Steve to my British (and Swedish, Scottish, and Irish) friends, had lunch at a pub and bought Steve a drink a month early for his 21st birthday (since when I get back I won’t be old enough to anymore!), rode around on the buses and tube, and that’s mostly it. It’s actually quite a lot for two days. We never made it inside any of the buildings we planned to see (Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Big Ben, St. Paul’s, Westminster Abbey, etc.) and we didn’t get to Oxford Street, Primrose Hill, Buckingham Palace, or our boat cruise (they stopped them early for the fireworks). But it was definitely fun to have a weekend in London (since I’ve been away every weekend) and just to spend some time with Steve. Plus I think it was a good experience for him, and I’m glad he got to see some of what I’ve been doing over here. And he did very well on his first flight, which was 7 hours and across the Atlantic! So, it was a good weekend. It did make me miss home a little more, but my family is coming next week for Thanksgiving, and then I will be home before you know it! I can’t believe I’ve been here for 2 and a half months and will be home soon! I will miss a lot of the things here, I think, but it will be good to be home. I was thinking about it today, and made a little list!


Things I will miss about London:
My flatmates (they’ll be at IWU, but it won’t be quite the same)
British accents and hearing things like "Johnny, you are being quite naughty!"
Walks around London
Free museums
Awesome classes
Three of the coolest professors ever
The flat and little things like Corky Romano’s head in the fireplace
The tube and how easy it is to get around the city
Great theatre and getting to see lots of shows
Being able to easily hop on a train or plane for a weekend away
Big Ben and the other London sites
Lilt (like an intense version of Squirt)
Double Decker Nuts bars
Double decker buses
Roses Monday and trips to Cookies & Cream
My church
the diversity
Pubs
Indian food
And I’m sure there’s lots more!


Some things I’ll be glad to come home to:
Friends and family, of course
InterVarsity and APO
Pedestrian right-of-way!
A one-minute walk to class
Fun times in Magill
Sunshine
Real pizza
Money in dollars, and things costing less
Superstores
More than 5 TV stations
A dishwasher
Not sharing one teeny washing machine with 11 people
Internet access in my dorm and house
Mexican food (the Engmanns’, and restaurants too)
Taco Bell (despite that it usually upsets my stomach)
Non-frozen meals (yes, I actually miss Saga!)
Snow (although I might retract that one)
Christmas
Apple cider (not Scrumpy’s)
Cheese fries, snow crab, and chilli (don’t ask, I’ve just been wanting them)
Familiarity (though maybe things will seem foreign after 3 months)

Maybe I’ll add to them as I think of more, which I’m sure I will. I can’t really think of much more to tell you, though I’m pretty sure there must be. This week I’m going to do homework (I have a book, a quiz, two finals, a group of essays, a 10 page paper, a critique and two projects left to do in the next couple weeks!), meet up with Amanda, see Hamlet with my class, and go to Venice! I’m going with Liz S. and we have a hotel right on one of the main canals, possibly with a balcony overlooking it! And hopefully it will be warmer than London! I’m an icicle! Then a few days later the familia is coming, and then the semester is basically over! Aah! Well, I better go get on some of that stuff. Have a good week!!!

~Jen

"If your surname is Dumpty, don’t call your child Humpty. He probably jumped off that wall." (Haha.)

Hi! I got my classes today and promised some people I'd post my schedule for next semester, so here it is:

Practical Criticism T R 8-9:15 w/ Bray
Fencing M W 10-10:50 w/ Smith
Sexuality and Christianity M W 1-2:15 w/ DeConick
Social Problems T R 9:25-10:40 w/ Sikora
Modern Spanish Lit T R 10:50-12:05 w/ Ferraddans

Anyone have any classes with me????

Today Jen and I got to meet with our dear friend Kayode's mom who lives in London! We went to the Nigerian Embassy, where she works as the personal assistant to the High Commissioner! It was pretty cool. She was very sweet and greeted us with hugs and everything! She took us to lunch at the Sherlock Holmes pub, and we talked about her job, raising kids, education, and Kayode, of course! :) So, that was awesome. We're gonna try to meet up with her again. Yay for Karunwis!

We also went to the Dali Museum today. It was quite different from the typical art museums. Weirder. But cool. And we saw Ray Liota! I actually didn't know who he was, but for those of you who do, maybe you'll be impressed. We also think we saw Uncle Vernon walking down the street by school, which is entirely possible, since he is in London. He looked skinnier, though.

Well, I should go. Gotta go eat dinner and get ready for Steve to come tomorrow! (Gotta leave for the airport at 5am!)
Bye all!
~Jen

"The only difference between a madman and me is that I'm not mad." -Salvador Dali

I went to Bristol, but where was the Rennaissance Faire?

Hiya! (That's what the British students say when they greet you.)
I'm in London and doing well. I have emerged from the post-election week unharmed by Bush haters, and the train accident that happened in England on Saturday. The 12 of us took a train to Bristol on Friday, and on Saturday there was a bad train wreck on a line that I thought was the same as the one we were on the day before, but it was a slightly different one. We're all ok, but it's sad for the people who weren't. Don't worry about me, though- I am in good hands! As far as Bush haters, I actually haven't really seen anything negative from people over here following the election, though beforehand it seemed there would be. The strongest Bush haters I've encountered seem to be living in my flat, and teaching my religion class! Last night I went to church with Jon for a college-age youth group (which was so good after not being at InterVarsity, DRL, the Wonderland, small group, and especially the Annex for so long!) and afterwards we got to talk to a lot of the people, who are from all over the world, just like us: Brazil, Japan, India, Ireland, Sweden, England, Spain, etc. They asked us about the election a little bit and especially wanted to know who we voted for! (All we told them was that we didn't really want to talk about it, but we were pretty sure that Jon and I each voted for different people, and that it was a hard choice because there are big things about each candidate we don't like.) The two we were mostly talking to, Chris from Brazil and a girl from Japan, said that they don't really have strong opinions about it, they're mostly just curious. We got to ask them about the general feeling towards Americans abroad, which was very interesting. We tend to get the feeling (maybe from classes or the media or something) that most of the world doesn't like Americans, but they didn't think that was true. They said that in their countries Americans are joked about sometimes as being pretty ignorant about geography (which both Jon and I agreed with) and arrogant, thinking we run the world (though it's basically true, Chris said). And the girl (I don't know how to spell her name, but it starts with a K!) said she worked in a cinema in London and at the concession stand, whenever someone came up and ordered a large coke and a large popcorn, the employees said, "Oh, they must be Americans." We have found that we do drink a lot more than they do in England, not just pop but even water. We're always asking for more when we eat out, because they give us such tiny glasses, and the large soda at McDonalds is like our medium. (Yes, I used both 'pop' and 'soda' to please you all!)Anyway, they said even though they make fun of us sometimes, they each thought that under that, Americans are really admired. K said that in Japan if her friends see one of us, they get all giddy and tell everyone they just saw an American! :) Chris said that though Brazilians put us down, everyone would probably love to come to America, but not everyone can. So, it was very interesting to get different perspectives on what people around the world think of us, though I'm sure other people have views different from theirs. It was comforting to know that people don't hate us, and some even admire us.

Anyway, Bristol! We had our final class trip to Bristol this weekend. Bristol was alright, sort of just another English city. On Friday we checked into our hotel. I think it was the first hotel we've stayed at so far, and I appreciated the comfort as opposed to a hostel with creaky bunk beds, 10-20 people to a room, and people coming in drunk at all hours of the night! I don't mind hostels, but a few people do, and we had a bit of a fiasco in York when Dr. Hatcher didn't tell us we were staying at a hostel and some of us had brought laptops and things. Anyway, the hotel was nice, and I shared a room with Jen, just like at the flat. We were pretty much free to do what we wanted all day, so she and I walked quite a ways up a steep hill (no, not both ways) to the Clifton Suspension Bridge. It was a beautiful view from up there. We could see the whole city, which, like the river, was not very pretty, but there were lots of trees near the bridge that were just changing colours, which I love! As we were about to head back, a hot air balloon appeared and went across above the bridge. We also found some pretty spots to take pictures. So, it was worth the hike, and we had much better weather than the people who went on Saturday. In the evening, Jen went to see a play and I couldn't find anyone else, so I made Ramen (well, the British version.) in the room, using a gladware type sandwhich container, an electric tea kettle, and a teaspoon. Haha. I sat there with my innovative dinner and watched a special about an upcoming ballroom dance competition! What a funny night in England. I thought everyone else had gone out and I didn't want to sit in the hotel by myself all night, so I got my discman and went for a nice walk around the city (don't worry, it's not a Chicago or New York type city). I found a bench in the city centre where I could see some fireworks (a day early for Guy Fawkes Day), so I enjoyed those for a while. Then I saw some boys with ice skates and remembered seeing an ice rink on the map. I thought it would be fun to go ice skating, especially if it was an outdoor rink, so I went in search of it. I found it, and it was indoors, and I didn't think it would be fun in there by myself, so I kept walking. I had just gotten to a place where I figured it wouldn't be good to walk around in alone, so I was going to go back to the hotel, when I saw there were missed calls on my phone. It was Pat, Sam, Liz H., Matt, and Allison, wanting to know if I wanted to go ice skating! How about that! So, we went ice skating (and Jen came too after the play). It was so much fun! The rink wasn't that impressive, and they don't clear the ice halfway through like we do, but I like to ice skate and haven't done it in a while. It was fun to just sail across the ice, and I was better than I remembered, so I kind of surprised myself. I didn't fall at all, though it was close once when I was being silly and trying to run in place, when the front of my skate caught on the ice, and I flew forward. But good ol' Jon caught me! It was good to just have fun with a bunch of people! We hung out in the hotel bar for a bit, watched some TV in the boys' room, and that was pretty much it. Saturday we had a fabulous breakfast included in our stay, which was a nice surprise when we're buying our own meals. We went as a class to John Wesley's meeting hall in Bristol, and there was an actor who came and played the part of John Wesley (founder of the Methodist church). It was funny and good. Then we went to the house of his brother Charles Wesley (world's greatest hymn writer, I'm told). He wrote thousands of hymns and songs. The only one I can think of right now is the Christmas song 'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing'. We took a tour of his house and learned about him. In the afternoon we all went to University of Bristol. We didn't really see the college, we just met with a professor, Gavin DeCosta. He is an Indian Catholic Christian, along with other things that make him unique and interesting to talk to. We talked, as usual, about pluralism, this time relating to Christianity. It was an intense conversation, to say the least. They have been lately. That can definitely be good and a place for new learning experiences, except that the only ones Dr. Hatcher seems to want us to have are ones that line up with his opinions, so that is frustrating. I have been having some problems with him, in and out of the classroom. A lot of people have, actually. But they may not be the kinds of things to write about online, so I'll keep them to myself for now. Anyway, some of us went to a pub after the talk to get some dinner and watch the 'football' game, and then we walked around at night looking for fireworks. It was rainy, but even so, I don't think Guy Fawkes Day fireworks are quite what we Americans expect, being used to 4th of July. It was still fun, though. More hanging out in the room and at the bar watching more football, and the next day was just a museum about Empire, shopping with Jen, and going back to London!

So, that was my weekend. What are you all up to out there?

~Jen



"I lift up my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord , the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip- he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you- the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm- he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. " Psalm 121

Hi.

Hello out there in the great big internet void! I don't really know who reads this, so I don't know who I am writing to, but HI and I hope you are doing well!

I'm still in one piece over here on the other side of the ocean, even though most of the world is probably pretty angry at us for re-electing GWB. I haven't been attacked or anything! There was a lot of coverage of the election, which was cool, though I wonder if I got a much different perspective on it from what you guys got over there. We watched Wednesday morning before class and Bush was the projected winner, but they didn't know for sure, and then in the evening, we watched Kerry's concession speech and Cheney's speech too, though they didn't show Bush's when I was watching! It was kind of fun to hang out at the Hatchers and have chili and watch. I was surrounded by almost all passionate Kerry supporters (well, more like Bush haters) and the minority who supported Bush kept quiet. :-/ I'll refrain from posting my stance online, though. I did vote, though. I almost didn't, but then I suddenly decided to and I ran to the post office, ballot in hand, and paid £5 to send it in some speedy service that would hopefully get it there on time. I don't know if it did or not. I'll pretend it did. Though, it wouldn't really matter much either way for the outcome, no matter who I voted for.

School is going ok. There was an intense discussion in class today when I did the chapter scouting. It was actually just me trying to do my job and Hatcher twisting my words and other people's too, but I won't get into that right now. It could have been frustrating, but I was totally calm about it, and in some odd way, I think it went very well.

That's about it, I think. Class is over for the week. I might go out in London tonight and do something fun, since it seems we're always sitting in the flat doing homework or pretending to. Tomorrow we leave for our final class trip to Bristol. I'm out of internet time, so I'll talk to you later!

-Jen

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." Jim Elliot

No, Pat, not whales the animal, Wales the country!

It’s November already?! Where is the time going? I’ve been here for two months, and have one and a half left, which I’m sure will fly by!

So, the elections… I don’t watch much TV and I only look at the newspaper occasionally, so I don’t really know what is going on (except that it is super close), and what I hear I hear from a foreign perspective. I don’t know what is going to happen. Personally, I don’t really trust Kerry to lead our country and I strongly disagree with some of his policy, but the rest of the world is going to be furious with us if we re-elect Bush. It seems to be the general feeling in just about every country. In the Metro there have been letters Britons have written to Americans asking them not to re-elect Bush, and American responses, and British responses again. Some were intelligent, some were not (particularly some rude American responses), but it is weird to think about how most of the world cares about our election more than a lot of us even do. Stuff about the election has been on TV all day today, and I saw a sticker on a telephone pole on Thursday that said "Dump Bush 2004." We don’t typically know anything about elections in other countries, but there are movements over here to influence the American election. There is a lot riding on it, and it’s going to be messy either way. My guess is that Bush will stay in office, and I don’t know what would happen, but I think lots of problems will follow. We were actually just told today by Professor Fosdal that we should be careful after the elections if we’re out somewhere and people know we’re Americans, especially if Bush wins. Yikes. I’m sure it will be fine, but isn’t it crazy that it’s such a big deal? The Hatcher's invited us over for a little post-election party on Wed. night (Wednesday morning/afternoon your time), so hopefully there will be results by then. Either way, we'll have fun hanging out and eating homemade chili (though probably not as good as yours, mom!)

Well, my weekend in Wales was FABULOUS! By far my favourite thing I’ve done so far. It was just Jen and me, which ended up being good because it was more relaxing, we could get away from the flat and everyone for a couple days, and we didn’t have to go through the hassles of getting a big group on trains and buses and everything. We got to Swansea, the main city, took a couple buses to the front of a little shop in the middle of who knows where, and were picked up by someone from Parc Le Breos. It was a cozy little Bed and Breakfast run by a cute little woman named Olive. I got to sleep in a big bed! J We had a room with 4 beds and a bathroom for the two of us, and a little pot to make tea and coffee. It was nice. The rest of the place had a couple of fireplaces, lots of wood and lots of horse stuff! Olive made our meals and they were good! On Friday after we settled into our room, we took a walk in search of the beach and Pennard Castle. We found it! The castle was just ruins on top of a hill, which looked neat from far away, but we didn’t hike up to it. The beach was amazing! It was Three Cliffs Bay, and it was a beautiful mix of rocky cliffs, green, beach, and ocean! The day was cool and overcast, which you’d think is not good at a beach, but it was perfect. There were only about 4 other people walking around, so we pretty much had the Bay to ourselves to explore. We decided to get over to the three cliffs, which had a hole that made a passage to the beach. After making our way over little rivers, part of the mountain, and a couple great photo ops, we got to the passage and went through to the beach. We were about 30 feet away from the water as the waves rolled in, but within about 3 minutes, the tide had come in and captured us! We were about to be trapped on the wrong side of the cliffs, so we had to make a run for it back under the passage, stomping through the water which soaked our shoes and pants! It was crazy! And that is why you bring an extra pair of socks! (Luckily we both did.)

After a delicious dinner, a hot shower, and a relaxing night in the room writing postcards, journaling, and doing homework, I went to bed early! It was grand. :)

Saturday was our first day of riding- so much fun! I had only ridden a couple times, probably about 12 years ago (Wow, it’s funny that I’m old enough to say I did something 12 years ago). They showed us how do to everything we needed to do, like brush the horses, put on the bridle and saddle, mount the horses and what to do when we rode. About half the people were like me and had only ridden a few times a long time ago, so I wasn’t the only beginner. The horses were very nice, and beautiful! The first day I rode Raschal- I liked him a lot (Though he was still not Sunny.)! We all went slow most of the time, but Raschal liked to trot and would whenever I didn’t stop him. It was funny. It was fun, until that night and the next day when I could hardly sit down! The first day there were about 25 of us, and the second about 10. Three young girls, Lindsey, Sheena, and Josie, led us. They were probably about 25, 16, and 13. They were really good! The second day I rode Brandy, who was also good but didn’t have quite as much spirit as Raschal. Raschal came over to me, looking like he thought I was going to ride him again! It was so cute! I liked Brandy, though she felt the need to walk right at the edge of every path so that I got hit with just about every branch and thorny vine! I also liked two horses we saw in a nearby pasture, whom Jen and I named Ice Cream and Cone. Haha. So, it was really fun to ride, and we rode through beautiful countryside! The second day we rode down by the beach for a little while. Most of it was up on the cliffs though, with amazing views. I think I’ll have some great pictures (which I skillfully took from the top of a horse on the top of the cliffs!).

Oh, and we didn’t know they did the time change here, so I woke up really early on Sunday and showed up to breakfast an hour early! Oops!

So, it was a really great weekend! I did kind of miss Halloween at home, though. We saw people dressed up in Swansea, mostly high schoolers, and the people back at the flat dressed up and carved a pumpkin and baked pumpkin seeds and everything, but I didn’t. Jen and I had to take a series of buses and trains to get back to London, and we spent a few hours in an empty train station. I decided I couldn’t not have candy on Halloween, so I got a Mars bar because it reminded me of when Cary and I trick-or-treated at the Mars Factory and they gave us giant candy bars. J I don’t think they have Mars bars at home, but oh well! I sat there and thought how I would rather be at home than in a train station in Wales. I missed handing out Reese’s peanut butter cups to the kids I babysat for who come over to show me their costumes, and apple cider, and stuff like that. It also kind of made me think about how I’m not a kid anymore. So, it was a little bit of a downer Halloween night, but it was worth it (and the money and the travel time) to ride horses on the coast of Wales! (Besides, I don’t really even like Halloween!) And the next day, Sam gave me a Reese’s since he knew I missed them. :) What a pal!

Well, I think that’s it for now. Classes are going ok. I’m doing well in Shakespeare and History of London (I got an A on that paper I wrote at 6am!), average in Hatcher’s class, and we don’t have any grades in Art until the very end. We’re going to Bristol this weekend and I don’t really know what the plan is, but hopefully it will be a good trip. Steve is coming in 10 days, and my family is coming in 21, I think, for a yummy Thanksgiving dinner made by Liz Schroeder and the gang! In between is a weekend in Venice with Liz! :) Well, I better get to an internet café so I can send this and check my email before class! Cheers! ~Jen

P.S. I will indeed be living in Magill 211, for those of you who were awaiting the word. It’s sad that Lindsey and I won’t be in the house with Jen and Abby, but yay for the good ol’ movie nights with Jack and Kevin and dance parties with Amy and Kelly! Hehe.


"Saddle up your horses, we’ve got a trail to blaze (Woooah-OH!) into the wild blue yonder and God’s amazing grace. Let’s follow our leader into the glorious unknown. This is a life like no other- This is the Great Adventure!" ~Steven Curtis Chapman

Celebs and Horses

The History Boys was a weird play. Some of it was very good, and some was just weird. I can't decide if I liked it or not. Most people liked it, but some hated it. I have no idea how to describe what it was about. Short version: a group of boys trying to get into Oxford and Cambrigde. But you know who starred in it? Uncle Vernon from Harry Potter! Haha. And today Nathan Lane walked right by us on the street! (I didn't see him, but Liz did.) He is in The Producers right now, replacing Richard Dreyfus who got injured.

Anyway, tomorrow Jen and I go to Wales for a wonderful weekend of sleep, nature, and horses! :) I'm excited! But now I am going to meet Amanda back at the flat (another IWUer who is studying somewhere else in London. She's really nice!)
Toodles!
-Jen

A wee las goes to Ireland

Hello! I'm back from Ireland! It was definitely fun, though not completely all I expected. I went with 9 other people, and we flew to Dublin on Thursday night. We pretty much just went to the hostel and went to bed because everything was closed. In the morning I went with Sam, Jon, and Jen on a bus tour around the city. It was one that you could hop on and off to see what you wanted to see, and then get back on a different one. We stopped at St. Patrick's Cathedral. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go because we've seen so many cathedrals, but I'm glad I did because it was my favorite one. It had a really neat ambiance, and cool historical documents, plaques, and artifacts along the walls. There were some beautiful stained glass windows, too. Not as big or as many as the other cathedrals, but prettier, I thought. We also stopped at Trinity College to see the Book of Kells, a 9th century Bible with lots of intricate paintings and designs. It was really neat, and interesting to think about how Bibles used to be so rare, having to be copied by hand, and that we're lucky that today we can have our own, and that we are able to read them as well! We also saw the great room, which was huge and beautiful, filled with books to the ceiling and busts of famous thinkers and writers, like Plato, Aristotle, Shakespeare, and lots more. That was one of the best things. Then we went to the Guiness Factory and took a self-guided tour that told us about how they make it and all sorts of stuff. It was 7 huge floors of stuff and at the top there was a bar in a big room with a panoramic view of Dublin! It was really neat, although Dublin isn't exactly a pretty city. We also saw O'Connell Street, Grafton Street, Dawson Street (Jen Dawson liked that one), the Molly Malone Statue, the Bank of Ireland/House of Lords, and the River Liffey. We trekked through the rain to find a place for dinner, and then we went to a pub in the basement of a hotel where they had live Irish music and dancing. That was fabulous! (And the best part-it was free!) The music was just like what Fergal and Breda King play at Wine & Roses on St. Patrick's Day, only it was actually in Ireland. I even knew some of the songs, like Wild Rover ("And it's no, nay, never- clap clap clap clap- no, nay never no more..."). And the Irish dancers were great too. It was the ultimate Irish experience.

The following day I spent with Jon, Jen, and Sam again because we were the 4 who wanted to go to Galway. It is a town on the opposite coast from Dublin, where some of my family and Jon's were from. It was about a 4 hour bus ride, and we saw a lot of rural countryside, but it actually looked a lot like England (some of the others saw some cliffs, waterfalls, and more Irish landscape in other parts of Ireland though). We got there and found a pub to eat at called O'Flaherty's, which was great because Jon's last name is Flaherty! Then we started in search of Galway Bay. We saw it and crossed over a big footbridge along the train tracks to get to it, and someone told us where to go to get a good view. We followed his instructions and found ourselves at an Irish military base! We were trying to decide if we could take the path around the base or not, when a guy in uniform came out (seemingly the only one on duty) and told us we could take it. So, we walked around and got a nice view of the Bay, seeing a few guys golfing on the way. Then we went back to find the town to do some shopping, and then Jen left to take the 6:30 bus back to Dublin (the last one of the night), but Jon, Sam, and I decided to stay and take the 2:15am bus back! After Jen left we realized that unfortunately all the shops close at 6pm. So, there was nothing to do but go to pubs! Funny enough, Jon loved going to all the pubs (he's the one of us who is the biggest non-drinker!) He liked getting the Irish experience, particularly the music. It is really neat that they have traditional music in a lot of the pubs. But seeing as they were the only places open and it was then pouring outside, they were very crowded, some requiring you to force your way through a sea of people to even breathe. Needless to say, I got some sort of strong smelling alcohol spilled all over my pants and backpack (which went nicely with the Guinness someone spilled all over my shirt the day before)! It was a fun night, though. We looked for a place to eat dinner and couldn't find one that was cheap enough or traditional enough for us, so we asked some girls, and they said, "Oh, there's a nice little place called O'Fla-Herty's you could try!" Haha. We actually did end up going back there, because it was good, warm, uncrowded, and had a rugby match on a big screen. I had Irish stew. :) We had lots of laughs and good memories that night, and went to a few more pubs, wherever we could get a seat and get dry. In the last one we were in, it was 2am and we were about to leave to catch our bus, when a song came on the radio that I didn't know, but it sounded very familiar. All of a sudden I said, "Wait, guys, it's Dance the Night Away!" This is an incredibly corny song that somehow got popular, and William Radice (the poet we met at Riding Mill) and Dr. and Mrs. Hatcher all got up and danced to in the middle of the chapel the night we heard him speak. It was completely ridiculous, and hilarious to see our professor, his wife, and a poet all dancing crazily for about 5 minutes and trying to get us to dance. So it's a funny thing with the 12 of us. Hence why we had to stay and listen to it! And yes, we danced! In honor of Dr. Hatcher and William Radice! Even Sam, who always refuses, danced, though he now won't admit it! So, it was pretty funny, and we told Dr. Hatcher today! After that crazy stunt, we went to find our bus, and all of a sudden weren't completely sure that there was a 2:15 bus! Uh oh. We started to get a bit worried, and it didn't help that since midnight Jon had been saying, "Hey, guys! We're on the wrong side of the country, and our plane leaves today!" Ha! Well, after a while of standing in the cold rain, there was a bus and we did get on it, and they did accept our tickets even though they expired at midnight. So, we got back ok, although we arrived in Dublin at 6:30am, had to check out of the hostel at 10:30, and leave for the airport at 1! Kind of a crazy night/day! But somehow I stayed awake and had a good last few hours in Dublin. All in all, it was a good trip, though I wish I could have stayed longer and seen other parts of Ireland. Maybe I'll get to go back someday...

It's London life again for a few days. We've been writing papers, and tonight we're going to see The History Boys. I don't really know what it's about, but I've heard it's good. We're also picking classes for next semester and May term. IWU has made some poor choices about which classes to offer (like no Analysis of Values or Contemporary Social Institutions gen. ed. classes offered in May term, which many of us need). It looks like I will have to take my last two gen. eds and a class in each of my minors (I'm thinking I will go for the English minor after all), so no classes in my major! That's fine, though, because I've taken a lot of psych classes already and I need all the ones I am taking. It looks like I will be taking Social Problems, Sexuality and Christianity, Spanish Lit, and Practical Criticism. Oh, and Fencing, for fun! My schedule will be Monday/Wednesday 10-2 (2 classes with a lunch break), and a rough 8-12 (3 classes) on Tues/Thurs. But that will leave Fridays off and completely free afternoons 2 days a week! Not too shabby! (Though it will be filled with work, studying, a possible internship, and tons of activities!) May Term I plan to take Helping Skills, a psychology class that doesn't count for anything except a credit, but is one of the few psych classes offered that actually relates to what I want to do. So, if all goes well with registration, it'll be good. I better go work on my paper now, since we have to leave for the play soon! I'm working on getting postcards out, but it's pretty busy, so sorry to those of you I promised one and haven't sent yet! Feel free to write to me too and tell me what's going on at home!
~Jen

"Alive, alive-O! Alive, alive-O! It's cockels and mussels, alive, alive-O!" -'Molly Malone'

A week in Northern England

October 17
Well, I’m finally back in London after 10 days of going all over! 3 days in Barcelona, 5 hours in London, 5 days in Riding Mill, and 2 in York. I’m exhausted! But at least I’m almost over my cold or whatever it was. I gave it to Pat and Sam, though. Oops.

Barcelona was fabulous! I don’t remember what I wrote about it, but here are some highlights of the trip:
- Parc Guell
- La Sagrada Familia
- The beach!
- Experiencing a hostel
- Trying to speak Spanish
- Meeting people from all over the world
- Trying Spanish food (some good, some not)
- Walking along La Rambla
- The cable car ride over the city and beach
- And lots more neat experiences and memories with Pat, Jen, and Liz

Riding Mill was also fabulous! The whole group went for our mid-semester break. Aside from the travel, some speakers, and reading, it was a break, which was really nice. Riding Mill is a tiny town outside of Newcastle in northern England, one of those towns that has more cows than people. We stayed at Shepherds Dene, a beautiful retreat center about a mile away from town, which basically consists of a pub and a post office. Everything else was pastures with sheep, cows, and horses. It was very pretty and looked just how I pictured English countryside. We had single and double rooms which were very cute and quaint, like a bed and breakfast, and the center made some of our meals for us. I wasn’t used to some of the food, but some of it was very good and it was so nice to have home-cooked meals that weren’t microwaveable. Our speakers were for Dr. Hatcher’s class, Religion After Empire. I think they were some old acquaintances of his. One was a vicar (I think that is like an Anglican priest?), one was a poet, and one was a professor of religious education (which is mandatory in British schools from age 5-18!) The poet read and explained some of his poetry, which was pretty neat. The vicar talked mostly about pluralism. The professor explained what religious education is like in Britain (it includes many religions, and students’ own non-religious worldviews and other things). Some of what we heard and read this week was interesting and good, but some of it I just didn’t buy. I’ve been reading articles and books and hearing from professors and even a vicar about how you shouldn’t hold any "absolutist claims", but I think they are teaching me their own absolutist claims. I believe, and think logically, that there is an absolute truth (something must be true, after all), and to say there cannot be is itself an absolute truth. There is a difference between that and claiming complete truth, because there’s no way as a human to know everything in the universe, but I think there is truth and that we can seek it out and learn some of it, and that God shows some of it to us. I don’t like being told that believing exclusively in something is necessarily going to lead to nuclear world destruction. I know that some people take their beliefs to negative extremes, like suicide bombings and beheading innocent people, like I’m taught and I see in the news. But believing in something strongly can be admirable and does not mean that you are going to violate the rights of others like that. The things we have been exposed to in that class, specifically from the Postcolonialism book, have been teaching us to think critically, so I am applying that principle to what we are learning now, and not just accepting everything I am taught as true, which I think is a good thing, and one of the goals of the course, even if Dr. Hatcher would prefer I subscribe to his views. Overall, I think it’s a good learning experience.

Anyway, on Tuesday we went to Hadrian’s Wall, a 73 mile long stone wall (about 5 feet high, maybe) built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian to show where Roman territory stopped when the Romans occupied England. We hiked about 3 miles along it, though I think it was more than that because it was up and down a lot of big, rocky hills! It was fun, and beautiful to look out over the countryside and see so much green, and sheep and lakes and trees. I was originally disappointed that we were going there instead of Allihies in Ireland like last year’s group did, but now I am glad we did it. It was a great experience, and a side of England I would not have otherwise gotten to see. It was definitely the highlight of the week. We also took a day trip to Durham to see the cathedral and the town. I didn’t particularly like Durham, though. It was probably partially because I was feeling very sick that day (as were most of us), it was rainy, and we just wanted to be in bed back at Shepherds Dene. Oh well. It was one more place I got to see, and I’m not sick anymore!

Thursday was Jon’s birthday, and we all pitched in to pay for a round of golf (he is a golf maniac!). He loved it. I also got him a bunch of little things he likes, like a golf keychain, IRN-BRU (a funny kind of soda here), Frosties (Frosted Flakes), and stuff like that. It was funny, because we all associate him with all those things. He really liked it. We all went to the Wellington (the Riding Mill pub) for dinner. It was a really cool place, with fireplaces, candles on every table, and a very cozy English atmosphere, especially when it was raining outside. We had to walk back to SD with a flashlight, because without it it was pitch black out there on the country road. It was actually kind of refreshing to be away from all the city lights. But we still didn’t get to see any stars. Oh well.

Most of my nights there consisted of playing crazy eights in Sam and Pat’s room with Sam, Pat, and Allison or Jon or Jen. Pat sang us camp songs in a Sean Connery accent (it was hilarious!) and made up silly sonnets about Sam. It was a lot of fun. During the days I took some walks and made friends with a horse who was so cute! I named him Sunny (not like Jen’s dog Sonny) because he was brown but had a blond mane that made him look like a male model from California. And because he was very friendly! He was nuzzling me and lifted up the side of my shirt and licked me! I jumped, he got scared, Pat freaked out and told me not to do that, and we all went a little crazy. It was funny. I’ll never get to see Sunny again, but we had a wonderful two day friendship. He said goodbye to Sam and Pat, but wouldn’t even look at me. I think it was because he couldn’t bear such a sad goodbye. Parting is such sweet sorrow…

I’m sure there was more I’m forgetting about Riding Mill, but that’s all I can think of right now. We spent Friday night and Saturday inYork, which was not very fun because it was very rainy. We stayed in a hostel, so we hung out there a lot and had some funny moments and card matches. I also tried Indian food and Turkish food! (and Korean food today!) They were both good, but I especially liked the Indian food. I’m glad some of the people with me like Indian food a lot and like to try different types of food, because I’m not too picky but I probably would never have just gone to an Indian or Turkish restaurant on my own. It just wouldn’t have occurred to me because I tend to stick with what’s familiar. Variety is good sometimes, though. Still, I do miss things about home, and food is one of them. I mean, we’re not famous for incredible American cuisine or anything, but sometimes a girl just wants some cheese fries…

Anyway, now I’m back in London for a short week of writing papers and studying for a quiz and preparing for Thursday’s trip to Ireland! I can’t believe I have crazy trips planned for every weekend! And I can’t believe my time here is just about halfway through! It’s been good so far, though. It’s a little bit of a daze since I’ve done so much and the time is going by so fast, but I know I’m learning and having great experiences and making memories. It’s definitely been worth it. But now, I need to focus on the first half of "study abroad" for a few hours. History paper, here I come!
-Jen


"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things- and the things that are not- to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him." -2 Corinthians 1:27-29

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." -Hebrews 11:1

Adios a Espana

Hi again! It's Sunday, our last day in Barcelona. I think we're mostly going to hang out at the beach. Yesterday was really cool, though. Jen and I walked down the street to a pattiserie and I had a croissant with chocolate inside. Yum! We then went the Picasso museum. I didn't realize he had painted so many "normal" paintings. There were only a few funky ones. It was good, and I got a couple postcards of paintings to put in the journal I am making for art class. After that, Pat went on a bike tour of the city, which sounded awesome, but I didn't know if I could last 4.5 hours, and there were some other things I wanted to see. So, Jen, Liz and I went to the Parc Guell (designed by Antonio Gaudi), which is probably right up there with Oxford for my favorite things about the trip so far. It isn't a typical park as we would think of it. It has palm trees, other types of trees, lots of stone steps, funky designs, a few crazy looking buildings, and mosaic type pieces all over. It's hard to explain, but you can look it up or wait for pictures. At the top you can see over the city. It was great. I actually got a lot of arial views of Barcelona, between the Gaudi park, the cable car, and the national art museum steps last night. Anyway, after Gaudi, we met up with Pat at the beach and I swam in the Mediterranean! I didn't go too far out, but it was fun, warm, and there was a pretty sunset behind us over the city. Muy bueno. Then we walked around looking for a place to eat dinner, but they dont eat the kind of dinner we do, and nothing opened til 8:30. We finally found a place and got a bunch of appetizery things. I had a vegetable omlet, which was sorta like green keish, and a three cheese hot sandwich (grilled cheese with lots of different strong cheeses). It was a bit too intense. Yikes. Then we had gelato again. Pistacio, tira misu, and dutch chocolate. Yumm. Then we went to the place where they had some of the Olympic stuff in ..1992(?) because there was supposed to be a laser light show and the turning on of a big fountain. We sat there til almost midnight, but didn't find it. There was a little carnival but it was kind of creepy. So we hiked up the really tall steps of the art museum and looked out over the night skyline and talked. It was cool. The weather is very nice. Very mild. But I am getting sick. I've been a bit sneezy since we got here (Pat said Im allergic to Spain), but now it's turning into a cold. Plus I hadn't gotten much sleep cuz people in my room snore really really loudly. So, the good thing about being sick and a bit run down is that I was so tired I actually slept through most of the snoring last night. Yay! So, today it's to the Sagrada Familia, to get more churros, sit on the beach, have paella for dinner, and fly back to London. Hope you're all doing well. I must be off now!

Barcelona rocks!

Hello again! Liz and I did sleep on the roof last night! I didn't sleep much because the mattress was sorta damp, and I could hear cars going by, but it was still cool! We got up in the morning and took the metro into the main part of the city to Las Ramblas, the main pedestrian street, where they had a huge produce market, lots of flower, pet, jewelry, and art stands, and those funny frozen statue people that do things when you give them money. It was fun. I had juice from some fruit I had never seen or heard of. It was hot pink! I got a flower for myself and Liz, so we could feel pretty and foreign, or whatever flowers make you feel. It was fun. And I got one for Pat and Jen too, who came later in the day, and I said "Bienvenidos a Barcelona!" :) So, Liz and I had breakfast at a little restaurant- eggs, bacon, sausage, and churros con chocolate! The churros were excelente! One gambling guy on the street tried to pull Liz into a game, but she got out of there, which is a good thing, cuz I think it was a big scam with a lot of people involved. Yikes. After we met up with Pat and Jen, we went on a cable car that went to the hills and to the beach, so we got an ariel view of the city and the Mediterranean! Very cool! Then we waded in the water, Liz and I collected sea glass, and we tried to avoid the naked people! Then we walked around and found a restaurant, where I had a weird meal. Cold, white asparagus, salad, little fried fish with their heads still on (It freaked me out but I was brave and ate half), and weird vanilla mousse stuff. Eh. At least I tried it! Then I had amazing gelato, found a toothbrush cuz I forgot one, we got bathing suits, and made our way back! It's been an adventure trying to speak some Spanish. I better go cuz people are waiting for the computer!

Estoy en Barcelona!

Hola de Espana! It's Thursday night at 11:45 Spain time, and I just got to Barcelona a little while ago. It's crazy that I can just hop a plane and be in Spain in 2 hours! It's dark and late so we're not doing anything tonight (we being Liz S. and me. Jen and Pat come tomorrow). I got a cab here using my unpracticed Spanish, and we made it! Accomplishment #1! Well maybe not number one, but it was cool. We're staying at Home Guest House, which seems pretty neat. It looks very Spanish, and it's all new to me to be staying in a hostel. There are a few people in our room. One, Adrian from Zimbabwe, is very nice and showed us around. I think Liz and I are going to sleep on the roof (a big terrace like thing). It's dark so we can't see a whole lot, but we can see some, and the roof has a mural and a hammock and a sort of view of the city. I've just been informed by Susan that it is Survivor Day! No Survivor for me this season. :( It's ok. I'm sorta doing my own Survivor around the world! Well, I don't have much time left online. I just wanted to say hello and that I think Barcelona is going to be neat. I'll find out in the morning!
~Jen

A weekend in the flat

September 30th
Hello to all! How is good old America? Still there? England is good. I don’t have as many exciting things to write about this time, but it’s good to be a little more settled here. Classes are getting more interesting. Our art teacher took us to Kenwood House at Hampstead Heath on Tuesday to look at the landscape, and the paintings that were in Kenwood House. It was great to have a long walk in a sort-of forest, because London is not typically as green as you might picture England, and it’s so neat that we get to go to the places we learn about. Our history professor took us on a walk yesterday to where the Black Plague started and we were standing on plague pits where hundreds of bodies were buried! And we walked down a street called Frying Pan Alley. Haha. We also went to Brick Lane, which is where certain people groups often migrate to. It used to be a large Jewish community, but recently it has turned into an Indian area. We will actually be reading a book in Dr. Hatcher’s class called Brick Lane. We’ve moved from the Empire book onto A Very Short Introduction to Postcolonialism by Young. I like it better, because it is more interesting and I feel it is more understandable and applicable to our lives. It is, however, difficult to read at times, because it attacks the knowledge and way of life that is all we’ve really known as Americans/Europeans. It’s actually pretty offensive. But this kind of thing is one of the reasons I decided to study in another country- to see how other people view the world, and view America. So, I’m definitely getting that. It’s challenging some of the ways I think about things. The book is pretty one-sided, though. It’s basically the “third world” against the “western world,” and the third world opinion is the only one that really gets heard. But I think there are reasons for that. Those are the voices that often don’t get heard, and that we need to hear. In class today, Pat talked about being at Bush’s inauguration with his class, and being kind of upset by protesters who were burning flags and things. His teacher told him that that kind of thing can actually be something to celebrate, because even though it seems like they are being un-American, they are actually exercising the very rights that make us Americans. Sometimes we need voices that are hard to hear, if we want our thinking to be challenged, and not to become like a 1984 kind of society. So, Dr. Hatcher thinks we should look at Young like one of those flag burners, and be thankful that someone will write the things we wouldn’t otherwise hear about our way of life. So, that has been interesting. In Shakespeare & Others, we’ve been reading the Changeling and MacBeth. Last night we saw a production of the Changeling at the Barbican Theatre, and tonight we’re going back to see MacBeth. It’s really great to read a play and then see it performed that night! It makes it come alive, and each helps us to understand the other. Other than that, I’ve just been writing some papers. I finished one on Measure for Measure, where I looked at the theme of Justice vs. Mercy in the play. Neither one won out, if you were curious. I think Shakespeare was just trying to discuss the struggle between the two and the good and bad of each. I don’t think he really gave a clear answer to which is better, because both are necessary. But it was interesting to look at some concerns with the justice system (even though it was with a made-up monarch of Vienna in the 1600’s!). How can justice be administered fairly? Is it right for someone to enforce penalties on his subjects for laws that he himself has broken? When is mercy beneficial and when does it encourage lawlessness? Why do many criminals go unpunished for numerous, terrible actions, while others pay severely for making just one mistake? It was really interesting to think about, and Shakespeare had some good insight into it. Anyway, that’s what I’ve been up to academically.

On a more humorous note, I have come to have quite a complex relationship with the Cadbury Bunny…
Cadbury is the popular brand of chocolate here, and in almost all of the tube stations, there are Cadbury candy machines. One day, I decided I wanted to try a Double Decker Nuts bar. I put in the money, reached in, and two came out! I was with Jen, so we each got a candy bar! Then the next week, I decided to get one again, because I really had a craving for chocolate. It was in the morning before school, and I put my money in, but it wouldn’t take my money. Sam tried, and he couldn’t get it to work either. So, I didn’t get one. I tried again at a different machine, and again at another one, but they either wouldn’t take my money, or they were sold out. The next day, Liz went to get one and I was waiting with her, so I decided to try one more time. She got a D.D.N. bar, which she didn’t like, and which I wanted, but when I put my money in, it was sold out! There was one right next to it, so I put the money in there. It said “Vending, please wait.” I waited. And waited, and waited. It sounded like something was going to come out, but it kept clicking and nothing came. The train came and we had to get on, but I couldn’t get my money back, and the candy bar wasn’t coming. Picture the train pulling out of the station, and me looking back at the Cadbury machine out the window with a sad look on my face, longing for my candy bar… it was a sad sight. (Haha.) Aside from the time when I got an extra, this was about the 6th time that the machine didn’t work for me. I started to think the Cadbury Bunny had it out for me. Liz told me there was a phone number you could call if it ate your money, so I dialled up 0800-CADBURY and they said they’d send me my 50p refund along with a little extra for the inconvenience. Score! Then, on the way back from Oxford with Jen and Jon, I tried once more to get my Double Decker Nuts bar. I put the money in and it was sold out. It wouldn’t give me my change back, so I had to make another selection. I picked a Flake bar, and when I reached in to grab it, Jen saw my eyes bulge out- there were two Double Decker Nuts bars and a Flake bar inside! One for each of us! What luck! We thoroughly enjoyed our chocolate delights on the tube ride back. Mmm. Then a couple days ago, Jen was going to get a candy bar after class. I went with her over to the machine, and just as she was going to put her money in for her Double Decker Nuts bar, I realized it said “Please take your selection.” I reached in, and lo and behold, there was a Flake bar inside! She didn’t want it, so I got my fourth free Cadbury bar! And I still have a refund coming in the mail! Hehe. (Just to let you know, I really don’t eat as much junk food as it sounds like! I’ve only actually eaten about 3 candy bars the whole time I’ve been here!) Anyway, I just thought you’d enjoy hearing about my run-ins with the Cadbury Bunny. I think we have a love-hate relationship. But it all works out in the end! J
Signing off,
~Jen


“Best men are moulded out of faults, and, for the most, become much more the better for being a little bad” Measure for Measure (5.1.436-438)

October 3rd
Happy Birthday to Dad! Hope the Bears win!

October 4th
It’s Monday again! We don’t really associate that with dreariness here because our weekdays are not too bad, and we get three day weekends. (Though the weather was incredibly dreary this morning and none of us had gotten much sleep.) It’s just food stipend day, and Sainsbury’s (grocery shopping) day! I’m not really getting any groceries this week, though, since I leave in three days for Barcelona!
The weekend was good. Probably the least exciting of all of them so far, but I really enjoyed hanging around the flat for three and a half days (our Thurs. afternoon class was cancelled), relaxing and hanging out with Jon, Sam, Liz, and Jen while everyone else was in Paris or Edinburgh. We went to McDonalds for McFlurries (not as good as home), the Sports Café to watch the Cubs game L, shopping on Oxford Street, did homework, played cards, listened to music, wrote some poetry, etc. Oh, and the Hatchers took Jon and me to the Houses of Parliament for a tour, but we couldn’t get it, so we went to an Evensong at Westminster Abbey and then to Harrods for tea! I’ve been starting to write some poetry here, which I used to really enjoy when I was younger, but haven’t done much of for a while. So that has been fun to do when we’re just sitting around the flat. I got a lot of homework done, too. I finished my chapter scouting paper, and two cultural site/event/performance reports, all for Hatcher’s class (we’ve affectionately dubbed him “the old Hatch Master Flash”! I have no idea why.) So, all I have to write for his class now is one more chapter scouting paper, but I can’t do that until it’s my turn. So it feels good to have that and the Shakespeare paper done. But now it’s on to start more papers- another Shakespeare one and one for History of London. I think I will try to do that in Newcastle (which we are heading to the morning after I come back from Barcelona) where we will be for a week. Well, it’s 2:30 already and I must be heading back to Birkbeck for class #2! Hope all is going well in the good ol’ U.S. of A., with the exception of you Cubs fans- my condolences to you!
~Jen
P.S. There's a candy bar here called Yorkie that says "It's not for girls!" and "Don't feed the birds" (a reference to women), with a big no girls symbol on the package! Of course, I ate one, simply because it said I couldn't! How weird.

A weekend in the City of Dreaming Spires

Good day! I just got back from a weekend in Oxford, at the University. It was incredible! My favorite thing about the trip so far. We got down there on Friday and stayed at Balliol College (the University is made up of 39 colleges!). Balliol was founded in 1263! It's amazing for Americans to see things that old, because we don't have any! It was so pretty, all stone buildings, big rounded wooden doors, and little gardens that reminded me of the Secret Garden book. There were trees and flowering bushes, and really green grass. We each got our own room in a little tower.

At night we had a speaker who was an old teaching fellow of Dr. Hatcher. He talked to us about the college and about India, Imperialism, and the book we've been reading in class. It was interesting to get a little different perspective on the book and things than we've gotten in class. It wasn't very long or intense, though. Pat was the only one who really asked questions because he's the only one who knows a lot about Indian studies. It's actually kind of funny, sometimes when we talk about Indians, I have to remind myself we're not talking about native Americans. Haha. Way to be a typical American. It's been interesting to read and hear about people who feel America needs to be warned about the way we're interacting with the world. The book we read, Niall Ferguson's "Empire", is mainly about the rise and fall of the British Empire, its effect on the world, and what lessons can be learned from it. In the introduction, it mentioned America being referred to as "an empire in denial". It's also interesting to hear people talk about Bush and the presidential election, though I don't completely understand the common foreign opinions yet. It looks like Blair is under some scrutiny lately too. I don't watch the news, and I'm often too late to get the free newspaper, so my knowledge is mostly from glimpses of other people's newspapers over their shoulders on the tube. But it is interesting to be exposed to new ideas and views about the US, at least new to me.

Anyway... back to Oxford! After the talk, we went to have dinner at The Crown pub (where Othello was first performed), but the kitchen was closed, so we went to The Beefeater. I had chicken strips (the best I've ever had) and chips (fries). Yummm. Then we got ice cream at a little ice cream parlour. My cone of chocolate was huge, rich, and creamy. I kept licking and licking and it wasn't getting any smaller! Those of us who didn't want to spend the night drinking hung out in Jon's room (he had a big one), and somehow we ended up playing baseball with a crumpled up plastic bag as the ball and our arms as bats. The four corners of the room were the bases, but Jen D. liked to make up her own rules and run to 3rd first, and insist she wasn't out when she was. It was Jen's version of baseball! That turned into a game of horse with the garbage can as the net, and then Jon, Sam and I stayed up talking until 4 am! That's late, especially when breakfast is at 8! We had breakfast in the hall of the Balliol, which looked like a smaller version of the great hall in Harry Potter. It was really cool. Actually, the h.p. great hall, among other things from the movie, was filmed at Oxford! We didn't get to see it, but I saw where Harry's bed was when he was in the infermary in the first movie. Kind of neat. The buildings were all beautiful and looked almost like Hogwarts if you can picture that. And with 39 colleges (though they are each small), you can imagine what it would look like to have that many beautiful old buildings in one place. One of the requirements for the trip was that we take a walking tour of the college, and I'm really glad we did. We definitely didn't see everything, but we were able to go into a few of the colleges, which most visitors usually aren't allowed to do. Each college pretty much had buildings that were connected to form a square if you're looking from an arial view, and they had gardens in the middle. Some had flowers and some were just grass, but they were true quadrangles. I liked it. Each college has a chapel, a dining hall, residential rooms, and a quad, I think. On some of the buildings around Oxford there are little faces that look like gargoyles, and each one has a different facial expression. It's really funny. I don't know how to describe everything we saw on the tour, but it was all big and magnificent looking. It feels like you've stepped into the past, and it feels like an old, well-known college in England should! There are a lot of things about it that make it a place I would love to study at, and it sort of makes me want to look into their graduate programs. But there are also some things that would be very different and difficult. It is intense, I'm sure, to study there, and hard to get in. Most people don't have regular classes, just one hour a week with their tutor who gives them assignments and discusses their work with them. I was told it's a learn-by-writing approach, which sounds like it may also be a teach-yourself approach, which I have trouble with, as you read from my last entry (I've calmed down a bit about that class, f.i.y. Just needed to vent!) But it is definitely fun to picture myself living there! We'll see what happens after graduation (which is only 3 semesters away!!!) Oh, by the way, to attend Oxford as an undergrad and with living expenses and everything, I was told it costs about £17,000 for people outside the European Union, which is about $31,000. The cost of IWU! The tour guide said that Americans are the only ones whose jaws don't drop at the cost, because our private universities are so expensive. I could be going to Oxford! :)

One of the well-known buildings at Oxford is the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, which has a tall tower that you can climb up for £1.50, and Jen and I did! We went up a veeery narrow, steep stone stairway that was barely wide enough for one person to go up, but some people were also coming down! So we had to climb onto a little ledge with an open slit looking out over the city, and once Jen and I both had to get onto the same one to let people by. So, there we were on a little ledge in a tall stone spiral stairwell, with me pressed up against the wall and hanging onto Jen so she didnt fall backwards down the stairs, both of us squooshed together and looking through the little slit in the stone over Oxford. It was kinda scary and kinda fun. We got to the top and there was a ledge almost all the way around the top of the square tower, with a stone rail so you didn't fall. We could see the whole University and the fields beyond it. It was amazing. We definitely got some pictures, so you can all see what it looked like from up there (and a scary close up of my head with the top of the tower behind me- yikes!). Then we went to the front section of the Oxford Botannical Gardens and got some more beautiful pictures. Along the way we saw two rugby matches going on in a field with some of those old buildings in the background, and a meadow behind us. It was unreal! Sorry for the Harry Potter references, but I felt like I was at a place like Hogwarts, with a bit of a Jane Austen feel to it too. It was majestic, I think that's a good word to describe it.

The other requirement was to go to either the Ashmolean or the Pitt Rivers museum. I went to the Ashmolean, a museum of Art and Archaeology. I didn't make it around to see everything, and I missed some paintings by some great artists we've been learning about in Art class, but I did look at the Asian Art section. We needed to find something we could talk or write about that relates to British Imperialism and/or South Asia, which we've been learning about in Dr. Hatcher's class. I found a stone carving of the Vishnu which is thought to be the first Indian piece to enter a Western museum. And it was brought to England by one of the governors of the East India Company, which we've learned about in class. So it was very relevant to the Empire book. Another cool thing was when Pat and I saw an Indian woman with her two children. They were looking at little brass toy soldiers from India, and she was telling them that that is where their grandfather was from. It was the perfect picture of where the Empire has brought Britain, in terms of the South Asian presence, to see second- and third-generation Indian immigrants in a museum in England, looking at an exhibit of objects from India brought over by English colonizers. The people and the situation, more than the exhibit, ended up demonstrating the things Dr. Hatcher wanted us to learn. So that was neat.

After the museum, we all went to dinner at Shay and Bruce Mason's house. We didn't know them, but Shay went to IWU and they both moved here in July to study at Oxford. They had emailed us inviting us to dinner, so we went, and it was really nice. It was good to be in someone's home, instead of the flat, and Jen, Jon and I had a really good conversation with Bruce. They had two little kids, and their daugher Abigail gave me a picture she drew of an alien named John. It was so cute! It was definitely good to spend time with them and to be with other Americans. I went to bed pretty soon after that, having been going on 3.5 hours of sleep all day.

In the morning, Jen and I went with Jon to a church he thought was Lutheran because he's been looking for one in England, but it turned out that there is just a Lutheran service once a month, and it wasn't today. It was Anglican (actually the church Jen and I climbed to the top of!), and it was interesting to see what that was like. I don't know about their specific beliefs, but the service was very similar to Catholic, and I knew most of the prayers and responses, and sometimes what the reverend was going to say next. The differences I noticed from Catholicism were a communion rail (which I've seen in Lutheran churches, though maybe some Catholic churches have them, I don't know), not believing in the physical presence of Christ in the communion, it being open to "anyone who seeks to follow Christ", and two female reverends, who seemed to be sort of assistants to the male reverend. It felt neat to be in an Anglican church in a beautiful building and aware that I was in Oxford and in England. Sometimes it doesn't particularly feel like I am in another country, but right then it did. One of the women who gave the sermon seemed very educated and knew a lot of detailed background information about the passage we read. That was kind of cool.

So, after a stop at McDonalds (yes, we're still American!), we made our way back to the train station, only to find out that all trains to London were cancelled! They had arrangements for buses instead, so we took a bus to Reading and then got on the train there. I ended up appreciating the detour, because I got to see some beautiful English countryside that was difficult to see from the train. And now we are back in London! It felt strange to be coming "home" to London!

Well, I better stop before your eyes get tired from reading. And my essay is probably not going to write itself, I'm afraid. I just wanted to tell you about my weekend in Oxford because I loved it so much. I don't know if I would say it's my favorite place in the world, but I definitely fell in love with it and it was my favorite thing about this trip so far! Can't wait to show you pictures!
Cheers!
~Jen

Amor Vincit Omnia. (Love conquers all.)

Dance galore

Last night Jen, Allison, Liz H., and I went to see the San Francisco Ballet. It was very good! After we had ordered the tickets, Dr. Hatcher told us we had a visit to a mosque that night, but the 4 of us didn't have to go. I heard it was interesting, but most of the others, after not wanting tickets to the ballet, wished they had gone with us! My favorite part of the ballet (there were 4 separate parts) was the last, where there were about 8 couples on stage, each pair in a different shade of the same costume. It was really cool to watch, and the dancers are very skilled!

The night before, Alison Hatcher took Pat, Jen, and I to a modern dance competition called The Place Prize for Dance. (It was at a place called "The Place"- haha!) Competitors came from all over the world, and on the night we went, the 40 had already been narrowed down to 5. We got to vote on little keypads for our favorite, who would win a large chunk of money, though all 5 would still be in the competition. The dances were..."on the edge" as Alison said. Basically, they were weird. One was a girl in a red jumpsuit moving back and forth in basically the same motion for 20 minutes, with voices mixed in with the music. It must have taken her a lot of concentration and she seemed to be talented, but after 15 minutes, I was just irritated and wanted her to do something else! Maybe if I knew there was some sort of symbolism, but I couldn't figure it out if there was. The other dances were different, though still weird. One was kind of cool- the whole place would go black, and then there'd be a chair on the stage, then black, then a stool, then black, then a person sitting in it, black, two people, black, two people in different poses... I kind of liked that one. There was more to it than that, but it's hard to describe. The only one I can say I really liked was the last one, which had 6 dancers doing a very beautiful dance to African music inspired by the death of a loved one. I didn't completely understand everything in that one either, but at least I got some of it, and it was more aesthetically and mentally pleasing than jumpsuit girl! So, those were my outings this week!

Today was our first quiz... it was horrible. :(
At least I think it was horrible for everyone, instead of just me. It was Dr. Hatcher's religion class (we haven't talked about religion yet, for starters). This class is basically us reading 100 pages a night, then one student leading a class discussion about each chapter. (Not to mention that two weeks after I, and a few others, led the discussions, which was supposed to be a major part of our grade, he decided it wouldnt be for a grade, but instead we'd write a paper about our chapter. Grr.) So when he was telling us what the quiz would be on, we realized it wouldn't be about what we talked about in class. He said we should know key dates and places, so we study study studied these endless dates. Guess what WASN'T on the quiz? A single date! So, after studying the dates, studying the class notes, and trying to get all the important concepts out of the book, I looked at the quiz only to realize that none of what I studied was on there. I think to have a more effective and enjoyable learning experience, there should be less reading and more teaching, instead of leaving us to teach the class, and then testing us on things we weren't taught. So, what was my least favorite class already, today became a target of extreme annoyance and frustration. All the other classes are going well though. We haven't really had any graded assignments yet, so we'll see. I'm going to try to write my first Shakespeare essay tonight, after we go out for Mexican food (and maybe write that paper on the first chapter of the book we finished!) In the words of Winnie the Pooh, "Oh bother!" Hope classes at IWU/NIU/Carthage/etc. are going better than Religion After Empire! :) Miss ya!
~Jen

"Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt." -Shakespeare (Measure for Measure 1.4.77-79)

a chilly dip in the channel

Hello out there!
Guess who swam in the English Channel yesterday? ‘Twas me! We all went down to Brighton, a town on the southern coast of England (it looked like a British Lake Geneva, for those of you who’ve been there). We saw the Royal Pavilion where King George lived for a while, and then a few of us jumped in the ocean! It was very cold, very salty, and very rocky! Imagine us dashing over the rocks into the cold water (like the crazy Americans we were said to have been), and me being perpetually knocked down by the big waves, while trying to make sure the waves don’t steal my bathing suit! I was only in the Channel for about two crazy minutes, but it was fun, and it’s neat to say I’ve swum in the English Channel.
The rest of Brighton wasn’t particularly interesting or fun. We just sat at a café drinking hot chocolate to warm us up, and then had a seafood dinner, which was very, shall we say, fresh. It was fun, though, to get out of London for a while and take a train ride.
It has been requested that I talk more about what I am doing academically. A lot of our schooling consists of reading about things and then going to see them. We saw the Royal Pavilion yesterday, but I didn’t find it very interesting. It was neat to see Asian inspired architecture in a little English town, though. In my History of London class, we’re getting past the Roman period into the Saxons. We went to an art gallery last week that was built on the site of a Roman amphitheatre from 70 AD. In the basement there is an exhibit with some of the remains of it, and a recreation of it. It was pretty neat. In Theatre we just finished reading Measure for Measure, and then saw it at the Globe Theatre, which was really cool. I’m writing an essay about Justice vs. Mercy in Measure for Measure. Now we’re onto The Changeling and MacBeth. In Religion After Empire, we mostly just read a lot, and then a different student leads a class discussion about each chapter. We haven’t really talked about religion at all yet. We’re learning about how/why the British Empire was created and the effect it had on the world. (Did you know the British call the American Revolution their second civil war?) Our Art class takes us around to different museums and galleries to learn about specific works of art and their significance. The professor is very knowledgeable. Our main assignment is to create a journal full of drawings, postcards, and explanations of what we’ve seen and make it into a mini textbook we could take home and use to teach someone else what we learned in the course. We really don’t have a whole lot of work to do, but we’re always busy, between outings and reading. So, even if it sounds like it’s all fun, we are learning, and the program is using the idea of London being our classroom very effectively.
Tonight is Leslie’s birthday, so I don’t know if we will go out to celebrate or not. I wanted to give her a group picture of us in a frame, but I couldn’t get the printer to work, so I had to draw one. It’s really funny. It’s got 12 little stick figures at a birthday party, and you can tell who everyone is (Jon with his golf club, Liz S. with the pink streaks in her hair, Pat with a book, Leslie with the party hat, etc.) I hope she will overlook the simplicity and poor artistic skill to see the humor and good wishes! I think she will. Well, we’re off to our afternoon class, and then to grocery shop! Sayonara!

more plays, and under the weather

17 Sept.
Happy mid-September! I can’t believe it’s going to be October soon. I’m looking forward to fall. It’s my favourite season. I hope the trees are colourful and the air crisp here, without too much rain. If not, it’ll just give me something else to look forward to about going home. Yesterday I realized I miss Walmart. Weird, I know. But there aren’t big stores like that here, where you can go and get everything at once. Everything is very small and specialized. So when you go to Walmart, Target, or your neighbourhood superstore, think of me!
Last night we all went to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre to see Measure for Measure. It was a very good production, with great acting and costumes, and the theatre is really neat. You can probably look it up online. It’s a big circle, mostly made out of wood, but marble pillars and stuff on the stage, and several levels of seats on top of each other, and there’s a big circle opening in the ceiling, so you can see the sky. Kind of like a really tiny football stadium, I guess. It was cool to see it. Something else neat was that the guy who played Barnardine, one of the smallest roles, had the biggest smile at the end. He looked like he was so excited just to be acting and that we enjoyed the show. So that can be a reminder for my acting friends (Krystal and Julia) and for everyone in whatever we do to be joyful and enjoy the moment even if you’re not the star, and that sometimes the smaller parts are what can really make a play, a project, etc. really good. It’s really nice that a bunch of plays are included on the programme. So is a trip to Brighton on Sunday, and a seafood dinner! I don’t really know what else is in Brighton, but I’ll let you know. In a little bit I’m going to see Ae Fond Kiss, a movie that Jen and I are going to write about for our class, because it’s about Indian culture. Then we’re going to look at shops at Covent Garden because we still haven’t, and have dinner, and then meet Allison to see Phantom of the Opera. It’s been playing in London at Her Majesty’s Theatre since I was 2! So it’s pretty popular. The number one musical in London is Lion King, though, and in the world, it’s Mamma Mia. Steve and I are going to see the Lion King, but I don’t know if I’ll see Mamma Mia or not.
This week being here finally started to seem not so perfect, with a stomach ache, way too much reading to do, some roommate conflict, etc. But it’s all working out, and I still like it here a lot. I better go get some stuff done before the movie and play, though. Talk to you later!~Jen
Ok, now it’s later! I went to see Ae Fond Kiss with Jen for our cultural evaluation report. For my own personal entertainment preferences, I didn’t really like it, but for the purposes of the assignment, it was perfect. So, I justify the 11 dollars because ultimately it was for school. After that, we shopped a little, but I was good and didn’t buy anything. We went to McDonald’s for dinner, but I couldn’t bring myself to eat anything greasy after seeing all these advertisements for the movie Super Size Me, about a guy who eats nothing but McDonald’s for 30 days and travels America interviewing fast food experts. (Are they showing it in the states?) The ads have all sorts of random facts, such as "It would take 7 hours straight of walking to burn off a BigMac, fries, and a Coke." So after having just read those at the theatre, there was no way I was eating McDonald’s food. I just spent £4.58 (about 9 dollars) for a salad and a drink! Sheesh! If they don’t want us to eat junk food, they should make the healthy options affordable, don’t you think? Anyway, after that, Jen and I met Allison at Her Majesty’s Theater to see Phantom of the Opera, which has been playing for 18 years. Despite a bad seating arrangement and overpriced snacks (I refused to pay the equivalent of 6 dollars for a tiny cup of ice cream!), it was a very good show. The music, costumes, and sets were amazing. They had really cool effects, like a boat floating in a sea of mist and candles right on stage, and a giant chandelier falling from the ceiling. The cheapest seats were about 28 dollars, most were more, but if you can afford it, I’d recommend the show. I think I won’t see any more movies or plays for a while, though, other than the ones I already have tickets to, because I’m seeing a lot and I don’t want to go broke! I saw a t-shirt with the Visa logo on it the other day, only instead of saying VISA, it said BROKE. Haha.

18 Sept.
Today was not much of a day. I woke up at 8 when Jen got up to go to Bath, but I was tired, so I went back to bed, Then I woke up around 11 with a horrible migraine. After closing the curtain and turning off the a.c. so I could sleep in the dark and quiet, I slept for another 3-4 hours! I woke up feeling better than before, but I’m still a little shaky. I read a sixth of the Empire reading for Tuesday, which was still 20 pages, ate dinner, and just wrote my cultural event evaluation report. So at least the day hasn’t been totally wasted. I think now I am going to the internet café and to find a birthday present for Leslie. Then I’ll try to get some more work done tonight, and tomorrow we go to Brighton! Then it’s back to school!
"Sometimes it rains all over your parade. It’s like you’re reaching for the sun and you’re landing in the shade. But it’s not the end, not the end of the world. It’s just another day, depending on grace." -Matthew West

school, trips, and Batman

September 13
Hi! I’m sitting in my cold room recovering from 42 pages of Empire! How are you? I got some pictures today from Jen’s digital camera and I emailed them to a few of you. If I didn’t send them to you and you’d like them, send me an email at jmele@iwu.edu. I wasn’t sure who’d want them and who’d have enough room in their email account. There are 6 sets of them, each with 3-5 pictures. I don’t remember how much space they take up, sorry. They’re only a select few, and not even of the major stuff we’ve done. I’ve taken lots of good pictures, but I’m one of two people here whose camera is not digital, so you’ll have to wait until December for mine!
Today after Shakespeare class, I went over to the University of London Union for the 3 hour break, to eat my lunch and read for History of London because I still haven’t gotten most of my books in the mail, so I have to borrow them when people aren’t using them. Anyway, it was kind of fun, just to sit on a big window sill, watching people go to their classes and thinking about how I am going to college in London. I spent some time in the gift shop, too, getting some school supplies and a University of London t-shirt. I had to get A-4 sized computer paper, which is what they use here and it is different from our standard paper. There are lots of little things like that throughout the day that are different from home. The toilets flush differently. They have funny handles and you have to push them down fast. The water doesn’t circle clockwise or counter-clockwise, it just sort of goes straight down. The favoured soft drink here is Lilt, a pineapple and grapefruit soda, sort of like an intense version of Squirt. The laundry detergent comes in pellets that you put in a little net bag. I just wash mine in the sink, though. The rain here, I hear, is rarely a huge downpour. It usually rains lightly. And since I’ve been here, whenever it rains, it stops pretty soon afterward.
So that was my afternoon, and this evening I got my food stipend from the Hatchers, went to the Internet café to download (upload?) the pictures, bought my groceries, ate a quick dinner of ravioli and Nesquick cereal (it’s like Coco-puffs), read Empire, and now here I am!Some of you were confused about all the trips we’re going to take, so here’s a less confusing list:
Sept. 17 Greenwich? (optional)
19 Brighton (w/ class)
24-26 Oxford (w/ class)
Oct. 11-16 Newcastle/Sheperd’s Dene/ Hadrian’s Wall (w/ class)
21-24 Ireland (for fun, with 9 of my flatmates)
29-31 Wales- Parc Le Breos riding and holiday centre (for fun w/ 5 of the other girls)
Nov. 5-7 Bristol (w/ class)
12-14 Steve visits J
23-29 Family visits J
Dec. 4 Begin European backpacking trip to France, Switzerland, and Italy! (w/ Jen, Leslie, Sam, and Ryan)
"I’ll be home for Christmas…"
I’m most likely not going to go to Scotland or Spain anymore, because I’m running out of free weekends and would rather not put myself into debt either. Plus, it will be good to have a weekend or two to explore London more and to work on papers for classes.
All else interesting is that I got a phone call at 3:30am today! It was none other than the other half of Jen Squared! (It was the only time she could get to a phone, and I did say to call any time!) It was nice to talk to her, and it reminded me of a time sophomore year of high school when I called her on a payphone from a camp I was at, and then I realized that was 5 years ago! I also realized that after this, I only have 3 semesters left of college! Woah. Well, I think I’ll stop there. If anyone else would like to call or write, email me and I will give you my phone numbers and address, since it’s probably not a good idea to post them on the internet. Or you could just email! I’d love to hear about what’s going on back in the states. All I know is that the Bears lost, because all the parents who called the flat mentioned it! Other than that, I’m a bit cut off from the continent!
P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY (2 days ago) TO LINDSEY!!! (Lindsey is my super-sweet, tennis star, Spanish speaking, alpha omega sister, future roommate in good ol’ Magill, for those of you who don’t know her!)
Sept. 14
If anyone gets a chance, see if you can find a website for London’s "Metro", a free
morning newspaper. Get this, today’s headline is: "Batman stunt exposes royal security
sham. Laughing at the Law: Jason Hatch, dressed as Batman, points at police and a
security officer as he perches on a Buckingham palace ledge." Haha! I heard it was on
American news, so maybe you saw it last night. Apparently he was up there with a
banner for the Fathers 4 Justice campaign. The picture on the front page is hilarious. And
who was his partner in ‘crime’? Robin, of course! Oh, brother. Another exciting
day in London!

Cool churches and the like

Well, hello. Last night I went by myself to an Evensong at St. Paul's Cathedral. It was a neat experience. It was a service almost entirely sung, by a boys and mens choir. The music was really pretty and so was the cathedral. It reminded me of being in heaven someday and singing with all God's people and angels. :)
After that, Jen and I went to see Before Sunset at a little movie theater in Leicester Square. It was fun. The theater was different and so was the movie. There were a few fireworks outside, I don't know why, but they were pretty. On the tube Jen and I made up names for ourselves based on names of tube stops. She was Kensington Paul, and I was Berkeley Farringdon. We each thought the other's name sounded better reversed! Haha.
This morning Jen, Jon, and I went back to the church on Abbey Road, and at the end we all went outside on the steps with the drums and guitar and everything and sang on the steps for the people passing by. It was really fun. They do it every month or so, I think. People watched as they walked or drove by, and some came over and stayed till the end and we brought out coffee and muffins, and there was a gathering of people outside on Abbey Road. It was a neat experience. A lady named Beverley from South Africa who sang with us took a picture and I asked her to email it to me, so if I get it I'll pass it along! Hopefully I'll be able to send some more pictures too, but I need Jen's flash disk thing. Don't tell him I said this, but sometimes when the pastor is speaking I picture Shrek standing up there, cuz he sounds just like him! :-P
Better not use up all my internet time on one day! Ciao!

Interesting encounters

Yesterday some of the group went to Madame Tussauds, where they have the wax look alikes of lots of famous people. I wasn't there, but Pat took a picture of Patrick Stewart. Then later he went to see a play, and guess who was sitting two rows in front of him? Patrick Stewart! He went over to him and showed him the picture on his digital camera. Patrick said, "Bug off, where'd you get that?" thinking he snuck the picture that night. Pat explained about the wax figure and he thought it was really funny! So, another interesting encounter for the London Program class of 04! A few minutes ago I went with Jon to have lunch at a pub (the New Inn, Mom and Dad- fish and chips, not bad!) and we were sitting there about to eat when a woman at the bar said, "They're playing your song!" We listened, and it was "Kids in America". Haha. She said how appropriate, us Americans in a British pub eating fish and chips and listening to that song. Haha. So, those are my interesting tidbits for today. Jen and I went to see the changing of the guard, but it wasn't today. :( I'm sure we'll catch it another day. It rained a little bit and I got some use out of the really cool umbrella Jen and Keith gave me! Tonight I'll probably read for class and/or go to Hyde Park. I'll write again in a few days! ~Jen

Shopping in London

Good day to all of you back in the States! How’s the weather? It’s been very nice here. The only time it rained was this morning when Jen and I were going to go to the park to take pictures! But today has still been a fun day so far. The two of us went to Leicester Square to look for ½ price theatre tickets, but we didn’t find any we wanted. We got some pizza at a little restaurant for £1 per slice, but if you wanted to eat there at a table, the pizza cost £2.50! How odd. So, we took our pizza and Fanta (I got it just for you, Swanifer!) and ate on a bench in the square. Then we decided to treat ourselves to some ice cream because we’ve been craving ice cream and/or chocolate chip cookies. The square had a frozen yogurt place, Ben & Jerry’s, Baskin Robbins, and Haagen Daas (along with 3 Pizza Huts, and 4 movie theatres!). We opted for the Ben & Jerry’s. And what a fine choice it was! Then we headed off to Harrod’s to shop! We found some cute stores on the way, especially our favourite chain here called Accessorize, and we got matching silk scarves, and I got a purse, since my clunky khaki one is not very good for nicer occasions. Anyway, Jen tied my scarf around my neck in a big bow (which I bet none of you have ever seen me wear!) and took my picture in front of Harrod’s. It will be a funny one. I took her picture coming down a fancy escalator! So, Harrod’s was huge, fancy, and expensive, if I had to describe it in 3 words. They have a lot of stuff there, and lots of fancy, incredibly expensive name brands, like Christian Dior, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Tiffany & Co. Yeah, a little out of my price range. I did manage to find a few Christmas presents for the fam. (Note to family: you’re not getting any of the aforementioned brands! Sorry!) If not for the Ben & Jerry’s, I would have gotten some Godiva chocolate, but I’ll save that for another day. So, that was my day so far. I was going to see a classical concert with three of the girls, but it was sold out. So, I’m off to the library to post this and try to find a plane ticket from Rome to Heathrow that’s not $500! Then I don’t know what we’ll do. Maybe go to Covent Garden, or just relax here and watch a movie. It’s nice to finally have a day where I don’t have to be anywhere! It’s been go go go since we got here! And I think it mostly will be until we leave!
Classes are good so far, and my first week is finished! There’s not a whole lot to say about them yet, except we visited the National Gallery, the British Museum, and the Museum of London, and I have a lot of reading to do this weekend. Each person is in charge of a day’s reading and leading class discussion about it two times during the semester for Religion After Empire, and guess who has the first one? It’s a pretty long chapter, too. Oh well. We also have to go to two different cultural or religious events having to do with India/south Asia, and write about them, and I plan to go to one event on Sunday, and another in two weeks, so it will be nice if I can have those two assignments out of the way in the first month! For Art, we are supposed to keep a journal and buy postcards and things of the works we see in museums. It is supposed to turn out like a sort of text book that we could use to teach someone else what we learned in the course. Other than that, we have a few big papers and we have 3 quizzes in only one class. And lots of reading. It shouldn’t be too difficult of a semester, as long as I can keep on top of things, with all the events and trips we’re taking. This weekend I’ll be here, next weekend here except a trip to Brighton on Sunday, then Oxford, then here, then here, then a week long trip to Sheperd’s Dene near Hadrian’s Wall, then Ireland, then Wales, then Bristol, then Steve visits, then here, then family visits for Thanksgiving, then finals and then I leave to backpack across Europe (or at least part of it)! So I will only be here for a few weekends. And I might end up going to Scotland or Spain on one or two of them. Busy, busy, busy. Well, off to the library to post this, and to get a new phone card! 112 minutes don’t go very far, do they?
-Jen


"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm, and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open." –Jawaharlal Nehru

An evening in a cafe

Hi! I’m sitting in the Richoux Café right now, drinking coffee and writing to you on "my" laptop. How European! Well, actually, that’s pretty American too, isn’t it? There is a Starbucks next door! It was too crowded though. Jen’s across from me, responsibly reading Shakespeare, while I sit here avoiding the religion reading I need to finish by morning. At least I already read the Shakespeare! We’re reading Measure for Measure, and we get to see it performed on Thursday! We get to see 6 plays as part of the course! And they’re already paid for! Plus, I’ve seen Singin’ in the Rain with Jen, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream with everyone. I hope to see the San Francisco Ballet Co. next week, and also the Lion King. Thank goodness for the half price ticket booth! London is such a great city for theatre (the spell check made me spell it that way! This computer is apparently British!) Today our History of London Professor took us to the Museum of London, which, appropriately, shows the history of London! It was sort of interesting. In 1665 they had the Great Plague that killed over a hundred thousand people in a half year, and then the following year there was the Great Fire! What awful luck! You know, I may not come back with a British accent, but I do notice myself speaking differently. I’m becoming aware of how awfully American I sound, and even though I usually write fairly professionally, I speak pretty improperly. "Like" and "um" are beginning to make me cringe, even though I say them often. Oh, at the museum today, I met some Americans on a programme (my History professor insists that’s how it’s spelled!) based out of Naperville! One guy was from Hinsdale, one from Atlanta, and one from Tennessee. I’ve also seen people from Utah, California, and Florida. It’s kind of neat. And I’ve heard lots of familiar music. Not to mention Starbucks, McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, H&M, Gap, Virgin Records, and Safeway! It’s nice to see familiar things. Still, they aren’t quite the same as at home. Peanut butter here is not the same (thicker and less sugar), the Ramen isn’t the same (Heinz Brand), Cinnamon Toast Crunch (or the closest thing to it) is called Cinnamon Grahams (like Golden Grahams, which they have), Diet Pepsi tastes like regular, and my Oreo box tells me that Oreos are the world’s #1 biscuit! It’s always strange to look at a car and to see empty what I expect to be the driver’s seat! Once there was a baby in a car seat there (maybe it’s legal here), and it looked like the baby was supposed to be driving! It’s still a bit difficult to cross the street, because I don’t know where to look. I’m getting used to the money. Here, have a pound: £! On the keyboards, the @ is where the quotation marks should be, so I always type messed up. The boys were at a pub to eat dinner, and they waited and waited for the waiter, until the bar tender finally asked them if they would order at the counter like everyone else! (I think he said it more nicely than that.) Those are many of the things that are different here. There are lots more, but maybe I’m starting to get used to it. The yield signs say "Give Way." Maybe you’ll notice more when I show you pictures. Well, I think this is enough procrastination for one night. Hope you are enjoying a starry night, which we don’t have here. We do have pretty purple, pink, or red slightly lit skies into the late night, though. It’s neat to see out our big window when I’m in bed. Anyway, have a great September day!Signing Off! Jen