Quarter Eleven

Saturday morning after a refreshing shower and a round of bathroom cleaning, I headed out of the house with no sure plan as to what I would do. I called Levi to see what he was up to and he told me that he had just visited Parlaiment with Mindy and Tiffany. This sounded like a great idea. It was a nice day so I decided to walk to the tube station instead of taking the bus. I got off the tube at Westminster. I found on my map the direction I needed to go to find Parlaiment and when I looked up, Big Ben said, "Hey, idiot, I'm right here!" He chimed boldly at quarter past eleven. I walked around Parlaiment and passed Westminster Abbey. I cant wait to attend a service there! It was another very bright, sunny morning which made taking pictures somewhat difficult from my angle. I was meeting Gillian halfway across the city at one, so I decided to walk along the River Thames to get there. I waited at The Tower of London for about an hour because Gillian's tubes were having signal problems, and she just has a habit of being late. (sorry, dear. but it is true) I noticed there seemed to be a lot of tourists at the Tower, and by the time Gillian arrived we deiced food was more important that fighting off tourists for a guided tour through the Tower. We ate at the Tower Diner. Mmm. Best pizza I have ever had. On our way out of the diner Gillian caught her first glimpse of The London Bridge and almost cried. We walked along the Thames for a whie, taking pictures, and talking about how much we love London. We met with Levi and I took them on my "pilgrimage" walk. Then they went shopping and I went home to do homework.

Sunday afternoon I was riding on the top of a classic red double decker for the first time. It was a much better view of the architecture that stands above the modern shops. I noticed from this elevation that the street lights turn yellow between red and green both ways. My destination was to get to Tottenham Court Road for church. I heard that Hillsong Church had services in central London so I knew I had to go. When I got to TCR all I knew was that I was looking for the Dominion Theater. I stopped in the original YMCA building to ask a staff member where I could find it. He said "It's right around the corner. The building with the big gold statue." Big gold statue? That's where the musical We Will Rock You is playing. Surely they're not having church services there. Wrong. The theater is rented by Hillsong one day a week, while the other six days are dedicated to showing headlinging musicals. More than 1,000 volunteers from the Hillsong congregation set up all the lights and sound equipment every week! They also volunteer as hosts for visiters. The music was loud and inviting. Even though I didnt know the songs they were familiar and easy to follow along. I loved the atmosphere and I felt welcomed enough to try to get involved with their connect groups while I am in London.

Stonehenge and Salisbury

Last Friday we hopped on a charter bus in central London at 8:45am and two hours later we pulled up to Stonehenge. It was not as large and majestic as I had expected it to be, but the value of the monument was still powerful. Some sort of spiritual rightness ebbed from the stones. It created a pure joy in each of us which provided for lots of laughter. We are so lucky that the day was bright and sunny with gorgeous, heavenly clouds which provided for some great pictures. We didn't spend too much time at Stonehenge because we would be spending our afternoon at Salisbury. I urge you to research a little bit about the town of Salisbury. Very interesting. The most significant part of Salisbury is the magnificant cathedral. The architecture inside and out could make anyone believe there is a God. My neck was sore after spending the whole afternoon looking up. Some of the noteable things in Salisbury Cathedral were the tombs for significant people. One of the men buried there had the most interesting story. He had been a soldier fighting abroad while his wife was getting involved with another man. The soldier's ship was lost at sea and the woman grievingly broke things off with her lover. A time later her husband shows up alive and well, and the whole town has a celebration for him. Two days later he died. Years after he was buried in Salisbury Cathedral his body was examined for cause of death. He had been poisoned. (sneaky wife, eh?) Sidenote.. they also found a rat in his skull that had eaten the soldiers brain and been poisened. The rat is in the Salisbury museum. (I forgot to go see it, shame on me) Another thing I must mention about Salisbury Cathedral is the beautiful stained glass windows. One of the windows was dedicated to one of my favorite Bible passages about the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) And the main window in the back was just gorgeous. Lots of blues and greens. I bought a cross necklace in the shop that has blue and green glass on it. Definetly a keepsake that will remind me of an important time in my life. I hope that my children's children will be able to visit Salisbury Cathedral, but I would pray that they wouldnt get crushed. Our guide showed us that the four main columns in the center of the church are bowing out. Yikes!

Leave it to the Americans

Sorry for the delay, folks! I have been busy and every time I have been on the internet (until now) the connection was slow. Last Wednesday after my pilgrimage I met at O'Neills with the gang. Tiffany and I had a deep conversation that lasted three hours. Although this O'Neills is a church converted into a pub, there is sill a strong spiritual atmosphere there which is very stimulating and homey for me. Tiffany and I stayed at the pub talking until it closed. Thursday didn't have any official class time but we were urged to come watch a movie called Passage to India with Miggs. It was an interesting movie about the English enculturation of India in the early 1900s. I wont go into details, but it was an enlightening way to show how the relationship between India and England began. That night we heard that the Duck and Dive pub (located one flight of stairs down from our classroom) would be hosting karaoke. I was so excited! We waited around for karaoke until (3 pitchers of mai tai's later) we found out karaoke had been cancelled. Then I was crushed and we had to walk a few blocks down to where someone told us there really would be karaoke. Gillian and I sang "Lady Marmelade". Levi and I were the DDs for the night. Here, a DD does not stand for "designated driver" but rather "double decker" look-out. We needed to make sure that the less-sober of the group didnt get hit by a bus. The most memorable moment of the night was when we got on the tube and Gillian noticed a guy sitting near us had McDonalds. She asked if she could eat his fries. For some reason he gave them to her. At one of the stops another man on our coach passed us on his way off and said "leave it to the Americans to want McDonalds no matter where they are". Ouch!

Pilgrimage

I got off the tube at Bank exit 8. Immediately I knew that I had encountered something wonderful. Starbucks! Then I turned the corner and in the near distance I could see the clock tower of St. Paul’s Cathedral. I was delighted because my destination was to find Millennium Bridge, but I could stop by St. Paul’s on my way. When I got there I sat for some quick reading reminders of the historical significance of the place and took some pictures. I looked at my map to decide how to get to Millennium from Paul’s. I saw that I was actually quite close and just around the corner would be the street that led right to where I needed to go. I walked to the front of Paul’s for pictures from another angle and when I turned around, I saw the Millennium a football field‘s distance away. As I walked toward the bridge I noticed that just beyond it was the Tate Museum of Modern Art. Halfway between the two land marks I paused to take turns looking at the two monuments. This is the moment when the outstanding balance between past and present struck me. I continued to walk and when I took my first steps onto the bridge I realized that I could see the infamous River Thames for the first time. When I was on the bridge and could see the horizon to the east and west I realized that the London Bridge was there to my left. The proximity of London landmarks astounds me. I dwelled in this moment and thought “I can never leave this city”. When I stepped onto the Museum grounds from the bridge I looked again at my map to see what was close. “Woah! The Globe Theater is right there!” I pointed myself in the right direction and began walking, thinking it would be a good ten minutes before I saw the Globe. Wrong again. Turn a corner and it’s right there! After a few pictures and turning back to retrace my steps I grinned and shook my head. I could not believe all of the things I could see in a short walk. Although I would have loved to share this experience with someone I was glad I had done it alone. It made me feel so big to be making these awesome discoveries on my own, yet so mall to remember what a tiny piece of the world and of history that I am. Cest La Vie. I feel so alive.

Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Boy(s)

For once in my life I feel that time is being a friend to me. We have been here a week but it feels like so much longer. The days go by slowly enough that I dont feel rushed and each day feels like an accomplishment. (even a day like today when I'm not out and about, just sitting around home doing homework) Here is a quick list of the things I have done since the previous post. Saturday was simply a rest and do homework day. Sunday afternoon was spent celebrating Chinese New Year in Chinatown. We were amongst the hustle and bustle of tourists, taking pictures of dragons and things. Found a great little place to eat called Noodle Stop. Delish! We are thinking of having Sundays in Chinatown as our little tradition while we are in London. After dinner we went home and dressed up a bit for a small celebration at O'neills. We had survived our first week in London! Hooray! Monday morning classes were a bit rough but we made up for it in the afternoon. Miggs had a small scavenger hunt prepared for us at the British Library. I saw original writings by Jane Austen and Leonardo Da Vinci. (backwards writing!) Then (brace yourselves) I saw lyrics for Beatles songs written by Paul and John themselves! This inspired Gillian and me so we decided to go find Abbey Road and Paul McCartney's house. On the way there we stopped at the Sherlock Holmes museum. This was a fun time. The museum is set up in an old Victorian house. It creaked and moaned as people walked up its aged steps. The entire house was set up as if Sherlock and Watson had lived there themselves. Wax figures of the criminals they were after were placed creepily all over. We took silly pictures with them. In one of the rooms we found an old "toilet" which was more like a bedpan in a box. We stood in the room with a sketchy-looking French couple. They looked at each other, looked at us, back at each other and nodded. The man pulled down his jeans and posed over the toilet so she could take a picture. I was shocked and strangely delighted. It was hilarious. Surely, we thought, this encounter could not be topped while we were in the museum so it was time to move on. We found Abbey Road but decided to come back for a picture when the weather was nicer. We mapped our way to the house where Sir Paul had lived for 40 years. Many of the bricks guarding the house had been defaced with permanent marker reading "I love you Paul!" and the like. A small side note before I depart for more adventures: London is chalk full of beautiful men. End.

Friday Daytrip to Bath

On the bus ride to Bath we passed Windsor Palace which was way off in the distance, but still a grand thing to see. Bob, our BLC guide, told us that the roadway we were on has a speed limit of 70mph “but don’t be surprised if somebody wanks past you”. When we pulled into bath we saw that some of the buildings were covered in soot still from before the Clean Air Act. Most of the buildings had been cleaned. Being in Bathed opened up the floodgate for my creative juices. My photos became much more thoughtful and artistically balanced. I tried to capture the irony in contrast between the ancient buildings and the modern culture that is incorporated in the same community. Gillian and I shared a glass of Bath water. I felt internally connected to history and Earth. After our walk around in the Roman Baths, Bob took many of us on a walking tour of the town of Bath. Pulteny Bridge had shops on both sides of it so when I was on the bridge I didn’t even realize it. Its only on either side of the bridge that you can see how beautiful it is. I loved learning about the culture of the 18th century. We stood outside a house that was the only one which still had an original lantern to it. We learned about these portable chair/coaches that people used to get around in after a late night out in the town. Strong soldier men would be hired to carry the partiers home in these boxes. Bob said “If it were peeing down rain the carriers would take the customer right into their house.” We visited a couple of ballrooms. Although we learned that they had been damaged in WWII and had been restored since then, it was still cool to be in the rooms and imagining what a ball would have been like. When we came to the Royal Crescent we learned that Johnny Depp lived there. We also learned about a thing called a “Haha”. This is a ditch that provides the Crescent grounds with privacy while maintaining the beautiful landscape view from inside the Crescent. Toward the end of our walk it began to rain and some people were complaining. I say rain is much more tolerable when there are beautiful things to look at.

Met My Favorite American Band in London. Go Figure.

Thursday Night: I am currently recovering from what could very well be one of the best nights of my life. I just returned from an exclusive Myspace concert for Family Force 5. I got the ticket from a fan named Del who had an extra and saw on Facebook that I was hoping to get one. Thanks Del! The concert was in a recording studio. There were about 50 members or less in the audience. I was front and center!! I set my jacket down right in front of Soul Glow’s microphone stand. Del had been talking with a girl named Gemma before the show. Gemma and I got acquainted and bonded over favorite FF5 Really Real Show moments. When the show started my face illuminated with a permanent smile. I could not believe that my favorite musicians, the men who wrote and perform my favorite songs, were literally feet in front of me. Right away when Soul Glow introduced the band and invited the audience to loosen up and dance.. I let go of my inhibitions and committed to having a fun time. The music played into my ears, pulsed into my heart, and pumped my body into motion. The band and I were playing off each other’s energy. My eyes met with Crouton’s several times as we communicated our inner joy with one another. As the last song was playing I absorbed every joyful ray of energy to be stored in my super-sonic soaker. The show was over, and the guys began to make their rounds entertaining the fans with conversation. ChapStique approached Del and I and we introduced ourselves. He was very grounded and open to discussing favorite Chap Stick flavors. He graciously obliged to having his picture taken with me. Del and I walked on and ran into Fatty. We had a brief conversation with him and he turned to sneeze. Fatty pretty much sneezed on me and I didn’t mind at all. Next we found Crouton. When I introduced myself to him he said, “you’re not from around here are you?” I replied, of course, that I am not. I told him I was from Des Moines. Crouton, Del and I had a longish conversation about their music and their tours. NaDaddy stopped by and introduced himself to us. I got another picture with Crouton and NaDaddy. A bit later before we separated I asked Crouton how I could be praying for them. He said they had a hard time being away from their families, so prayers in support for that would be nice. Next we found Chappy again because Del needed to get a picture with him. ChapStique offered more generous conversation. I talked with him about being from Des Moines and The House of Bricks. He said they had filmed much of their Dance or Die video at the HOB. :) COOOOL!

Starbucks Win: Free WiFi

Tuesday night at O'neils was a great bonding experience for us. We all got a bit saucy and we opened up to each other about a lot of things. Many laughs. Good times! Wednesday we had our first creative writing class. We each had to write a haiku about our "romantic lives". We also had seven minutes to develop a story that began with "This room is a mess." It was fun to hear everyone's stories. Again, I love being in a class of 5. Our messy room stories will become our first paper due for the class. We were able to get online at the AIFS building after class. There we learned about our opportunity to meet the other AIFS students who are studying here from California and Colorado. On Thursday night we will be meeting at a pub to get acquainted. After getting our internet fix Gillian, Levi, and I hopped on the tube to go to exploring before buying our Family Force 5 (cobra starship) tickets. We got off at Queensway and explored the Kensington Palace area for a while. I cant wait for the weather to get warmer so we can picnic there. Got back on the tube to Shepherds Bush and bought our tickets, then went back home for a bit to eat and get ready for the show. FF5 only played for about a half-hour but it was very exciting. Tried some McDonalds after the show! I had a Cadbury McFlurry. :) When we got off the tube at our home spot Levi and I decided to try the bus system for the first time. We weren't sure which stop to get on at so we got lost trying to find it. The KFC guy was helpful though and pointed the way to Muswell Hill. We will explore the bus system more thoroughly soon.

Today is Thursday the 11th. I slept in and started researching for my humanities presentation on Monday. I will be presenting about the art of architecture. I learned a lot already just reading through the chapter. I began to appreciate the creativity of incorporating inside and outside space for a functional purpose. (nerd) Nonetheless, I am excited for this presentation and being in this city full of beautiful architecture. Tonight I am going to a small, exclusive FF5 concert and heading to the pub afterward to meet some new people. Tomorrow is our day trip to Bath. I look forward to sharing more with you this weekend!

Starbucks Fail

Tuesday - Same as yesterday, we all met at Gill and Tiff’s before heading to the tube. This time we had more specific instructions from their host as to how we can get to school without messing up. It was a straight shot! Super easy. We were at the school 30 minutes early so we tried to find a Starbucks. Unfortunately, when 20 minutes had passed and we still hadn’t found one we settle on getting something at Costa Coffee. We had “homeroom” with Dr. Hubbard, also known as Miggs, at 9:30. Then Miggs began our first lecture for our Interpersonal Communications class. I loved it! It’s nice to just have 5 people in the class. Miggs is hilarious. The lecture was over around lunchtime. Tomorrow we plan to go see the Cobra Starship/ FAMILY FORCE 5 concert in Shepherd’s Bush, so we venture over there to find tickets. (We saw about ten Starbucks on the way. Go figure.) The tickets wont be available until 4pm tomorrow so I will go down after class tomorrow to purchase them for us. Can Not Wait For That Show!!!!! Tubed back to Muswell to grab laptops and finally hit up Starbucks for some free internet. Now off to buy a few things at the 99 pent store. Then possibly meeting at the Pub O’neils for some drinks! Cheers!

Wait for the Green Man

Last night before bed I got out my prayer journal and turned to the next available page. At the top of the page is written, “9-25-08 I’m excited to see what will be written on this page! Yay future!” So more than a year ago I picked a page, wondering what I would be up to a hundred pages later. Little did I know that page would hold details about my first day in London! How perfect is God’s timing?! It’s amazing to me that throughout all my documented conversations with God he had this planned all along. What a divine reminder that He knows all His plans for me. Today (Monday) we all met at Gillian and Tiffany’s home and ventured through the Tube system for our first time together. We missed the change so we had to get off a bit earlier than planned, but we were a good walking distance from our school. The five of us arrived early enough that we had time to hang out at the ULU café before class. The first class was a mini-lecture about the program and student services. For our lunch break we found a great little sandwich shop and had some decent paninis. (mine had pineapple and tomatoes on it, which were by far the most flavorful thing I have had in London thus far) After lunch we had our first British Life and Culture class with our British teacher, Bob. The class covered a brief history of the place, followed by a guided walking tour of our area. The streets are quite busy so at the cross walks there is a button to push that illuminates a green man across the street to tell you when to go. Bob said "wait for the green man!" and I thought it was adorable. Chinatown and the red light district are fairly near to us, and the British Museum is right down the street. There we saw the Rosetta Stone and Cleopatra’s mummy. The tube ride home was messed up again by a missed change, but we made it back. Our next adventure was to find an internet café in Muswell Hill. We went to our homes to get a laptop and then found a restaurant called The Giraffe which had free WiFi. I had a leftover pb&j from my packed lunch so I didn’t order anything but a glass of white wine. I was finally able to get online to post the previous blog and update my face book status. Now it is again time for bed so I can be rested for our first of ten Tuesdays in London. LONDON!!

"Are We There Yet?!"

The fun began around 11am in the Des Moines airport when all 6 of our travelers had arrived. Already we were exchanging hopes and dreams for the trip, along with anxieties. Mostly we were just ready for it to start! We had a three hour layover in Chicago which was spent by the youngest four of our group walking around. Now might be the necessary time for introductions. Levi is the only young man traveling in our group. Gillian (not like Jillian, more like Gilligan) is just the same age as me. Mindy is a year younger and my roommate in Muswell Hill. Tiffany is our 29 year old travel newbie. (this trip was her first time on an airplane) And Dr. Hubbard is the professor for the majority of our classes this semester. Levi, Gillian, Mindy, and I bonded quickly over our excitement to be going overseas. As our 777 airplane took off from Chicago headed straight for England, we were all grinning from ear to ear. Gillian whispered to Levi, “Hey, we’re going to London” which was followed by giggles and jitters. Somehow Dr. Hubbard managed to sleep the entire way through the flight, while the rest of us endured extreme turbulence through hour 5 of our 8-hour flight. When the turbulence was cleared we each took a short nap until the screens in front of us showed that were no longer flying over the Atlantic.. we were flying over Ireland. The next couple of hours were a broken-record of giddy smiles, winks, and finally “we’re here!” It was hard to believe that our dreams had come true until we had been piled into a van that took us to where we would drop off Gillian and Tiffany at their home stay. As we waved good-bye to them and saw them introducing themselves to their host family, it finally hit me. I was about to go move into my London quarters where I will be staying for ten weeks. Ten Weeks!!! Mindy and I were dropped off in Muswell Hill and introduced to our host-dad, Roy. (yes.. If you’re wondering.. It IS the Roy that I googled. ) Roy is a cute little old man who has made himself known as a music journalist in the UK. Very cool. He showed us around our downstairs apartment and gave us a few minutes to freshen up. (video on face book to come.. Great accommodations!) Then Roy took us for a tour of Muswell Hill. We found internet cafés, patisseries, pizza pubs, and probably my favorite in the Hill… the 99 pent store. (basically the Dollar Tree of London) Roy led us back to the house because he figured we would be needing a rest. Mindy and I decided to go out to get ourselves some groceries and mobile devices. (no, friends and family, this does not mean that you can call my celly. It’s just so our little group can keep up with each other) By the time we were at the grocery store my mind and body were so shot that I could hardly make up my mind about what groceries I would need. We were already provided with milk, bread and cereal. I bought some bananas, apples, grainola bars, peanut butter, and two frozen pizzas. That should get me through two weeks. Probably more considering how I am a sucker for the patisseries. After groceries were stocked in our kitchen Mindy and I took a short nap. Then we met Gillian, Levi, and Tiffany in Muswell to get Gill a phone and to fix the problems Mindy and I were having with ours. Levi decided to get one too so now we all have cute little phones to contact each other with. We took the long way to find how to walk to Gill and Tiff’s place. Tiffany decided to stay in to sleep instead of find some dinner with us. We couldn’t believe it was only 4pm. We were so tired! I got out my map to find the short way from their place to mine. Through some alley ways!! I’m so proud of my map-reading skills. From our place we walked back up to the Hill (the high point of London.. Literally) and settled on some pastries for dinner. I had a cinnamon roll with raisins and a pistachio cupcake. We said good-bye to Levi as he ventured out on his own to walk back to his place. Gill and I dropped Mindy off at our place and I walked Gill halfway back to her place, through the allies so she wouldn’t have to face them alone. Then I walked home right as it got dark and rainy. It got cold FAST! But at least it’s not as cold as Iowa.. And there is LOTS of green!

London Eve

Towel, check. Winter coat, check. School books, check. Random Iowa junk to give to Europeans who might think it's cool, check. What do all of these have in common? They are the things in my suitcase that have a one-way ticket to London. This means I will have LOTS of room for wonderful European junk that I will think is really cool to bring home with me! Hooray!
I am a little surprised at how painless the packing experience has been. I think the only possible complication might be the weight of my suitcase. If this is the case I will re-pack some school books into my carry-on. No big deal. I am also surprised at how ready I feel to be leaving the country for the first time. I'm not scared, I'm not nervous, I'm just anxious to get out of Iowa! Not much else to say here except thank you to my family and friends who have supported me in my preparations for this trip. You have all done a great job of getting me excited by asking me over and over for the last month "Are you getting excited?!" To which I replied "Of course I'm excited!". That is, until this past week when I probably replied sarcastically, "No, not at all." No offense to anyone.. but I am so tired of talking about the trip... I'm ready to GO!! Trust me, there will be much more to talk about when I return. :D

I don't think I will have any trouble falling asleep tonight.. even though this is probably way better than Christmas Eve. There will be visions of tea and crumpets dancing in my head. Night all! Expect an update early next week for how the flights went and what my first impressions of London are.

5 Days and Counting

It is 12:35pm on February 1, 2010. In 5 days I will be flying from Des Moines to Chicago, then on to London, England. One week from today I will be starting my fourth semester of DMACC classes at the University of London. My semester will end when I am back in Des Moines on April, 17. That gives me 11 weeks to get as much out of my European experience as possible! This is my first time flying overseas to a different country. It is sure to be an adventure. I will try to update this blog at least once every week, probably more often. Please feel free to check back here for fun stories about my adventures abroad. Leave comments! Or you can e-mail me. caitlinpalar@gmail.com