west dean

I finally got the chance to go see Will at West Dean and though I missed some events, I'm really glad I went.  I left Friday afternoon and got to the train station in plenty of time.  But of course, I had some difficulties.  The kiosks weren't doing their job so I had to wait in line and have a real person print my tickets.  The line was not too long but it seemed everyone in front of me was trying to plan an extensive vacation which meant the half an hour I had at the station was nearly not enough.  I finally got up to the window about fifteen minutes before my train was scheduled to depart so I went as quickly as I could but by the time I was finished I had about five minutes.  So I walked quickly, hitting ankles as I attempted to roll my suitcase quickly through groups of people.  I jumped on the first car I got to and found a seat across from a lovely British lady.  Shortly after the train started rolling I heard an announcement that the train would be splitting and I figured out that I had gotten on the wrong car.  Luckily I was able to hop off and run up the platform and get into the correct train car before it split.  Then I caught the bus to the college and met up with Will!

He showed me around the campus before we went to a student dinner where we had crepes and pizza.  Kind of a random assortment of food but it was all delicious!  We went to bed early (both of us had late nights) and then Saturday we relaxed, watched a new TV show and later that evening Skyped with Miriam and Stephen for his birthday!  We ate Indian food in his honor and then made tasty jam thumbprint cookies.  It was a great day.

Sunday we went to Church where I got to meet several of the ward members in addition to the little kids that he teaches.  They were adorable and so fun to play with.  Unfortunately we had to leave pretty quickly.  I still missed the train I had planned to take so half-an-hour later I caught one and thus started my long journey back.  From that train I took a bus, then waited forty minutes, took another train, then the tube and then walked the last bit home.  I did meet a really cool girl while waiting for the second train and we chatted most of the way back into London.  The trip took about an hour and a half but it felt like half that with someone to talk with.  Definitely an adventurous few days for travelling but one that I would do again in a heartbeat.

shows

In the last two weeks since I last posted (sorry it's been so long) I have seen two plays and two movies.  I had not planned on seeing movies while here because it is quite pricey but I ended up going the first time just because I wanted to hang out with certain friends.  I saw "Argo" with friends and it was so well-done.  It is movies like these that make me proud to be an American.  The risks that they all took to rescue the others was inspiring and the chance to see behind the scenes of a clandestine operation was fascinating.  I really enjoyed it.






The second time was because Elder Holland needed use of the Center for the evening so we had to vacate for about five hours.  I went with a group to the movies but ended up seeing "Lincoln" by myself.  I, again, really enjoyed it.  It gave me a similar feeling as "Argo" probably because it is another movie about the American people.  Daniel Day-Lewis did an amazing job as Lincoln and I found him totally believable.  But, it was sort of anti-climatic, though I would still recommend it to everyone.

The two shows I saw were "Les Mis" and "Phantom" both of which were great nights.  I couldn't help but think about the movie versions while watching the performances on stage which made it harder for me to just enjoy it for what it was.  I've realized this trip how much I love movies, maybe more than plays.  The talent of the cast in theater is remarkable and it is altogether a different sort of experience from the movie.  One of the reasons I think I enjoyed the movie version of Les Mis was because it was the first version of it, but more importantly, because I didn't react emotionally to the play like I did the movie.  I cried when I saw the film but at the play I was strangely unmoved.  For Phantom it was a bit similar, I still got goosebumps in the theater, but not as much as when I watch the movie.  I also love the close ups in film and the way that even whispered conversations are audible to even me while in plays I sometimes struggle to hear and understand.  Maybe when I watch the film versions again I will realize how much better the live play is, but for now, I prefer film.

hard things

A while ago, well about a week and a half ago, I did two things that I never thought I would do.  A few weeks before this I was asked to teach Relief Society and so I, instead of actually "teaching," tried to lead a discussion about the topic which was the Holy Ghost.  Luckily I've had some experiences with it and was able to share them in hopes of coaxing participation from the other ladies.  There were about fifteen women there and most of them just stared at me.  A few graciously responded to my questions and volunteered but I was relieved when I finished.
As many of you know, I have a severe and nerve-wracking fear of public speaking, especially when I feel like I don't have anything to say.  I prepared for the lesson but mostly just prayed that I would be able to get through the lesson and keep them engaged.  When the time came to teach, as I stood up, I felt only peace and calm and I knew that Heavenly Father had heard my prayers and had the Holy Ghost help me in my time of need.  Those feelings of peace stayed with me throughout the entire lesson and kept me going the entire time.  Afterwards, several of the women, including some who had not spoken and who I've not seen before, thanked me for my lesson.  The calmness was a great testament to the very subject I had to speak on and I am so glad to know that I can in fact teach Relief Society though I am not going to be volunteering any time soon.

The other hard thing I did was that same day and involved more public appearances.  About a month or so ago one of our professors was asked to do a fireside in Brighton and asked to make it a musical fireside.  As always, it seems like most the girls on this trip can sing or play an instrument and though I wanted to participate I volunteered for the choir.  During one of three practices we went over hymns and arrangements and it was decided to do a quintet.  After some prevaricating on my part, I agreed to sing one of the alto parts, we had two sopranos and one girl sing a high tenor.  When it came time to sing, I was terrified; not only was I in front of a room full of people but I was also singing, one thing I have never been confident of.  The same professor's wife is wonderful and so supportive and through her and some other girls I had the confidence to sing and it turned out wonderfully.  These two experiences helped me to grow and learn more about myself than I learn in a month and I am so glad I forced myself to do both of them.

L-R: Me, Courtney, Maddy, Madeline (in the back)

I managed to find one photo from the Brighton trip.

harry potter

Gryffindor Common Room

Yeah, I really did go to the Leavesden Studios to do the Harry Potter tour. It was amazing and magical and wonderful and I had the best time with some friends. I thought, going into it, that seeing the behind the scenes and the costumes and props and the rigging for the spells would lessen the magic of the series but if anything, it only enhanced it.  I love the series even more now that I've been there.  It was such a cool experience!

The rest of this week passed by with delicious food, including a Brazilian dish, pancakes, a Mediterranean dish, and pizza; lots of homework, snapchatting Miriam (it's a fun photo app) and getting to know the girls a little bit better.  Wednesday we went to two separate galleries/museums.  My favorite was the first one, we went to Leighton House and I loved it.  My favorite room was easily the Arab Room which has tiles and other objects from the Middle East.  The room is absolutely amazing, and you can see a picture of it here (we weren't allowed to take photos): https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWVnp7IxiD7mJiydLEd4D1ngUp0WmuW73TTT8zLnByH9Pf-UwwMZiT3hGcC2BCQXXtbLUPdFjK60So9PMJELgD_NUsCn69equYZgGqzuuPI8qKmf6COS4IA5_3IIlHnFsJbyHYUTxHOrx_/s1600/leighton-house-museum-arab-hall.jpg.  The second museum was the William Morris Gallery based in the home of Morris.  His main philosophy was "beautiful and useful" with the emphasis on simple designs for ones home.  It was alright.

Valentine's Day was so fun!  The three boys in our program got up early and got roses for all the girls (yes, all forty girls) as well as a candy bar.  They strategically placed them on the staircase and each one had a note with our name on it.  One girl wrote everyone a short note and left a piece of candy for each of us, another girl also wrote somewhat longer notes to each person and Dr. Christenson's wife gave everyone a note and a candy bar as well.  So basically it was perfect.

On Friday we went to Hampton Court Palace which was perfect and spectacular.  We had beautiful weather, clear blue skies and the whole day to ourselves.  There were actors and actresses playing the parts of Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn and they acted out some fun scenes from history.  Then yesterday (Saturday) I went running, then on a two-hour walk for class and then went to Harry Potter.  The perfect end to a great week.

cambridge

I saw "Wicked" for the first time Tuesday night.  It was such an experience! I thoroughly enjoyed it despite the fact that some of the voices did not seem up to the challenge of the music.  All forty-six of us went to see "Wicked" and it was so fun to go out with everyone.  Some people stayed behind to try and get photos with the actors. They succeeded so now I'm thinking I'll try that for the next big show we see.  

So Wednesday we went to Cambridge.  It was kind of a miserable day, it was overcast and it rained on and off the entire time we were there.  However, I loved it despite all that.  It is smaller than Oxford and so less busy, which I appreciated.  We had lots of time there so we kept ducking into shops as soon as the rain started.  We did go to a musuem (the Fitzwilliam) and to King's College Chapel a couple times, the second time for Evensong which was fabulous though the choir did not seem that pious and it threw me off.  Especially when the kept sneaking glances at everyone, including behind them which is where some of us sat.  We got lunch at the Eagle Pub and then afternoon tea at Aunties, both of which were great.  We also found a delicious fudge shop where we got samples (of course) and got to see them making the fudge.  They did it by spreading it on the table (a marble slab, I think) and using a scraper/paddle thing to turn it onto itself.  It was super interesting.  Maybe I'll try making some fudge that way when I go home.

         

The other adventure this week was last night.  In honor of Valentine's Day, which I realize is not until this week but we are going to a play, we did a group date.  Since we're not supposed to date, a few girls organized it so that twenty-three people asked the other twenty-three in the group anonymously.  It was ridiculously fun.  Some people guessed who had asked them but most people had no clue.  We filmed the whole thing and took lots of pictures.  We had ordered pizza for dinner and then split up for a few hours.  My date and I (I was an asker) went to Snowflake with some other couples where we got delicious gelato - pistachio, chocolate hazelnut and, date and honey.  Then we hung out and played games before we said good night.  It was great.

I almost forgot! For our walk this week we went around to see the old Roman walls of Londinium.  It was so cool.  Probably my favorite walk of the semester so far.

stratford-upon-avon and warwick castle

Stratford, or the home of Shakespeare, is an adorable little town (emphasis on little).  We saw two plays while there, both interestingly done but enjoyable.  The first was "A Winter's Tale" (the costuming was interesting) and the next night we saw "The Life of Galileo" which was not very accurate to history and annoyed me throughout the entire play.  I unfortunately voiced my opinion of it and found out about ten minutes later that the director was sitting right behind me.  Dang it.

Anne Hathaway's Cottage

Shakespeare's House

The rest of our time in Stratford was spent at Anne Hathaway's Cottage which sits on some beautiful land a little ways outside the town.  We of course saw Shakespeare's house in addition to a museum which detailed his life and his resting place in the church near where his daughter and son-in-law lived.  It was cute, but there's only so much you can see and take pictures of.

So after the sight seeing we went shopping! We ended up in a cute little antique shop where I found some fantastic earrings and a simple gold necklace with a single pearl on it.  I have literally been wearing it ever since.









From Stratford we headed to Warwick Castle which is a beautiful medieval castle with lots of activities and wonderful views.  I could not stop taking pictures.  The best part was exploring the town for lunch and then watching a falconry demonstration.  It was amazing and I got some good video footage of the birds in flight.  There were two different birds, one was a peregrine falcon and I can't remember what the other one was.  I kept an eye on Dexter most of the time but of course the one time I take my eyes off to check my camera, the falconer brings out some food and Dexter flies straight for it.  Unfortunately I was standing right in the way but luckily looked up just in time.  I dropped to the ground and then never took my eye off the bird again.

The bird that nearly got me.

Our last stop was Coventry, a bigger city that was the target of German bombs during the second World War.  During what is known as the "Coventry Blitz," 515 German bombers attacked Coventry because it was an ammunitions site and also manufactured bicycles and cars.  The cathedral was burned down and all that remains is the shell which is beautiful and hauntingly sad.  It was a little depressing but a good reminder of what happened in November of 1940.

oxford

In Oxford, home of a delightful town and an impressive university, we spent an enjoyable day exploring the town and seeing the sights, perhaps most importantly, those that featured in Harry Potter.  Seeing the Great Hall in person was fantastic.  I loved it and I wish BYU had something similar.  While I realize BYU has not been around as long, I always pictured universities as big, old structures with lots of history and interesting stories and facts, all of which Oxford has.  It also has lots of green spaces which I think are lovely.

Our group was fortunate enough to meet up with a good family friend, Shelley Hoffmire, who gave us some maps and ideas of things to see and do while here, and accompanied us throughout the day.  After admiring Christ Church and the cathedral there, we made our way to the Ashmolean Museum.  There some of us had the opportunity to see, inches before us, drawings and sketches by three of the greatest Italian artists, namely Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo.  It was absolutely incredible and amazing to see them.  Definitely an experience I will never forget.

Preliminary drawing by Raphael for his
"Transfiguration" scene.

From there I hurried back to the university and met up with a group going on a guided tour by the missionary couple in Oxford.  We saw some great things, but those that stuck out most are the buildings where scenes from HP were filmed in addition to landmarks that inspired C.S. Lewis in his series, "The Chronicles of Narnia."  Following our tour, I walked around with Shelley and we went and got her favorite treat in a bakery/cafe.  It was a chocolate caramel square that is unlike anything I have ever eaten.  I am going to try and find the recipe but Shelley warned me that she has been looking and has not found one yet.  They were just too good.



Next on our agenda was to go to the Oxford Union Debate Hall Dome where we saw some Pre-Raphaelite murals that were incredible but also incredibly hard to see.  It was a really cool experience, nonetheless.  Then I caved and decided to buy an Oxford sweatshirt.  I opted for a simple crew-neck one that simply says "Oxford University" on it and is a navy blue.  I love it.  But the best part of this wonderfully sunny (and windy) day was easily catching up with Shelley and learning about the city from her.