There are somedays where you just feel like life is perfect. Where you feel the kind of happy where you're giddy and yet serious, incandescently joyful in every way--physical, emotional, spiritual. That is today. It's been such an odd day, yet one full of the spirit and Zion and laughter and glee.
It started out with the walk to the church. We walked in right as the Branch president was welcoming everyone to Sacrament Meeting, due to a kind of late start, but as I look to my right as I walk in I see a familiar face. No, it was not one of my BYU friends. I would be expecting them. It was an Elder Arrington. As in, Travis Arrington who is from my home stake and graduated high school with me and had seminary with me a couple semesters and...yeah. So weird. We were probably the last people on earth the other person was expecting to see. Although we weren't good friends in high school, more like acquaintances who occaisionally did something together with a group or whatever, it was nice to see each other and chat. His companion was really great too and they had fun talking with the guys in our group. It was kind of nice to know someone that wasn't from our group. :) But wow, was it weird. I knew he had gone to England, but I didn't know which mission and I certainly wasn't looking for him or expecting to run into him. So it was just random, but fun. Hello to everyone from home in Twin from Elder Travis Arrington!
Sacrament meeting was lovely. The branch has stake conference next week and so it was their fast and testimony meeting. Sunday School and the combined RS/Preisthood lesson were kind of odd, but still great. The meeting was on Welfare. It ties in very well with our goal of forming a Zion community within our study abroad group. We're slowly getting there. Tonight on the beach I was thinking that. I'm not sure what I'm going to do without this "family" of mine, of these 30 people who I've grown to love.
Sundays are interesting because we spend most of the day in the church. It's a place where we can have choir practice, make and eat food, nap, meditate, write, laugh and have fun. Today some people wandered around outside a bit because it was a gorgeous day. The past few days here on the coast have been the most perfect weather imaginable. Not too hot, but definately hot and sunny and glorious.
The fireside tonight went well. I had the wonderful opportunity to sing "My Shepard Will Supply my Need." :) I love being able to share my testimony through music. And although I like to accompany the group on piano, being able to sing is a completely different experience. And we all know how much I love to sing. Everyone on this trip certainly does; they have to put up with me and Christine and others singing all the time.
After the fireside, most of us headed down to the beach for a night full of perfect moments. I love wading in the warm water here in Weymouth, dancing along the shore, splashing up the salty water into little droplets in the air that land on my legs. Of course there's singing involved. I think the choice of the night was "The Way You Look Tonight." I'm not sure whether I was singing to my friends or England. :) Sigh. Christine and I ran along the shore as the waves gently rolled in. I spun around and we waded in clear up to our thighs, which actually means you can go quite far, because the water is so shallow. The boys told awkward mission stories. And the whole time I was just thinking about how perfect those moments were. The way the water sprayed up. How soft the sand was. How blue the cliffs and the horizon and the ocean all joining together were, and how God made these creations just for me. And how I was in England with some of the best people ever laughing and smiling and dancing and spinning in the waves and singing hymns and Disney and Sinatra and throwing sand and doing the Crane Dance and snapping and whistling and running and playing and living life and loving it after a day full of music and God and the gospel and chicken alfredo and custard cremes (which are, in case I have not mentioned, my England addiction). Seriously. I just don't know how you can beat that.
And this is what every day of my life has been like for the past month. I mean, yes, there have been some ups and downs. Like the day after Styhead Pass, when my camera was broken (it still hasn't started working again, so sorry about the lack of pictures. I'm sharing Christine's camera--my memory card is currently in there, and we're just going in together, as will most of us I think, so you'll see pictures, you just don't have them right now, but I don't either, so you can't complain much) and I was just exhausted and cold and lonely. But for the most part, the overwhelming majority of the time, life has been wonderful and I cannot complain. You all know how excited I was for this trip. Just imagine all my expectations times a million and then completely blown out of the water. That's what it has been so far. And there's still 3 weeks left. I don't want to come home in 3 weeks. We just keep pretending that there's still another 8 when we're done. At least most of us are taking the class together in the fall. And although England is beautiful and amazing and I love it here, the best part is the people I am with. Hurrah for Israel. Although we have 30 of the most diverse people--in background, in political views, where we are on our journeys in life and our conversion process, etc--we're all united in our love of this gospel and of each other and are helping each other grow and love. I can't think of one person in this group without smiling and feeling overwhelmed with love for them. And that is what Zion is.
I feel like Lizzie and Darcy at the end of the Kiera Knightly Pride and Prejudice where they're "incandescantly happy" or something of the sort. I just cannot stop smiling. Life is perfect. I'm completely happy in every single way I can possibly think of (which is actually quite a lot). England + God, His creations, and His gospel + wonderful wonderful wonderful people + Love + being me + music and dance = perfection. That's all there is to it.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
These are the best days of our lives.
Thursday was one of the longest and best days EVER. We woke up horrendously early because we had to leave at 6 to get to Stonehenge. Glorious. Better than expected. I had heard that it was overrated, but that's because you couldn't go up around the stones and such. Whatever. You just need to go early before they actually open. We had tons of time to do yoga and take jumping pictures and sketch and write and try to do backflips (that was Bentley, and he almost landed on his head...ooops). And then we went to Stourhead which was beautiful and wonderful and we decided that that is what heaven looks like. And then we drove some more and then John Bennion surprised us with a muggy 8-mile hike that was actually quite fun. Then we stopped at Milton Abbey, which was an abbey-converted to house-converted back to church for a boy's school. We sang hymns and had a great time just sitting. John Bennion had Matt and I sing a duet. He's wanted that for a long time. We did sound really good together. When we finally got to the hostel we realized that somewhere along the line a date got switched and so we were booked in two places on Saturday and nowhere that night. So it was a scramble, but we got it all worked out. 6 of us ended up taking a cab to Swanage, which was an adventure. But really. Thursday was probably the best day ever.
Yesterday and today we've just hung out on the beach. Yesterday was Lulworth Cove, which is gorgeous, and today we've been at Weymouth. Not quite as pretty, and actually quite a dirty town, but the beach is wonderful. Softest sand ever and the water was warm and when we were all there later on it had cleared out and we basically had it all to ourselves to eat fish and chips and run along the sand as the tide came in and jump. I also bought really attractive sun glasses. And then we had a party in one of the tiniest rooms ever and watched the Britain's Got Talent finale. Diversity won, hooray! :D
So here I am, in my bed in our bed and breakfast, using Lauren's computer because she is a nice roommate. Yay for free wireless. Best thing ever. Seriously. I don't know Britain refuses to have free internet. But they do have really funny commericals, especially the Domino's Pizza ones. But we do have church tomorrow and I want to look nice because Janet is letting me borrow her red shirt that looks really good on me because she is nice like that and we all know how attractive I am in red. And now that I am all sunburned-soon-will-be-tan/tan, I really want to look good. Sigh. Life is wonderful. I am in England. And it seriously cannot get any better. Really. I keep saying that. And it changes, but although it's different, it's still wonderful. Wonderful. Wonderful.
Cheers!
Yesterday and today we've just hung out on the beach. Yesterday was Lulworth Cove, which is gorgeous, and today we've been at Weymouth. Not quite as pretty, and actually quite a dirty town, but the beach is wonderful. Softest sand ever and the water was warm and when we were all there later on it had cleared out and we basically had it all to ourselves to eat fish and chips and run along the sand as the tide came in and jump. I also bought really attractive sun glasses. And then we had a party in one of the tiniest rooms ever and watched the Britain's Got Talent finale. Diversity won, hooray! :D
So here I am, in my bed in our bed and breakfast, using Lauren's computer because she is a nice roommate. Yay for free wireless. Best thing ever. Seriously. I don't know Britain refuses to have free internet. But they do have really funny commericals, especially the Domino's Pizza ones. But we do have church tomorrow and I want to look nice because Janet is letting me borrow her red shirt that looks really good on me because she is nice like that and we all know how attractive I am in red. And now that I am all sunburned-soon-will-be-tan/tan, I really want to look good. Sigh. Life is wonderful. I am in England. And it seriously cannot get any better. Really. I keep saying that. And it changes, but although it's different, it's still wonderful. Wonderful. Wonderful.
Cheers!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Salisbury
Sigh. I love not being in a rush. I have plenty of time, because I split a huge internet thing with Emma, so now I have almost an hour. Not that I'm going to take it all to write the post, but no rush posting today! HA! TAKE THAT INTERNET SCUM!
So yesterday we left the Isle of Wight, which was sad. I think I talked about watching the "sunrise" in the rain and then hopping on the ferry. Then Christian left us, which was even sadder. We're used to leaving new favorite places by now. But not friends. Christian is wonderful. He was invited to come on the trip last minute when Cheryl, Rick's wife, couldn't come until halfway through. So he came, and we all got really close to him, and then after we got off the ferry, we just kinda left him on the side of the road in Portsmouth, and drove off as he walked to the train station. He's going to Italy to meet his parents who are doing a study there. He's just a great guy and we all really miss him.
It's so awesome. Before we left, John Bennion talked about how the goal for this trip was to form a Zion community. And it's really happening. I don't think I've ever been in a situation where 30 completely different people (well, 29 now until Cheryl gets here) can become the bestest friends ever and live together 24/7 for two months. It's not like there aren't challenges. There most certainly are. But we're all SO drastically different and we literally do spend every single second of every single day together. I think the last time it was really just me in a place was my hotel room in Edinburgh that very first night. These people are all so wonderful and I love them. I'm still not quite sure what I'm going to do without them when I get back to Idaho. Thank goodness for the writing class that most of us are taking in the fall.
Anyway, after we left Christian on the side of the road, we drove to Titchfield Abbey. We love ruined abbeys. Question: would you rather be a ruined abbey or a cathedral? Answer: Ruined Abbey. If you pick Cathedral, sorry, we must shun you (especially if it is Yorkminster and not Winchester or Salisbury). Titchfield is one of the places we know for sure Shakespeare actually wrote things. His patron lived there, after it was converted from an abbey into a house during the disolvement of the monastaries during the reign of Henry VIII. Then, during the Romantic era, it was purposely demolished to create romantic ruins. So. :) Sigh. We love the Romantic Era because they gave us one more ruined abbey to play in. We were able to have class there, because the weather was nice. I love it when we have class outside. I mean, I had class in a ruined abbey in England where Shakespeare wrote. Ka-ching.
Then we got back on the coach and drove to Old Sarum. It was the site of Salisbury until one day they just decided to move the city down the road a couple miles. That was nice, but I was just exhausted by this point. We're all reaching the point where we just need sleep. Case and point: I had a 4-hour giggle fit last night. No joke. As Lindsey would say, I was in rare form. Anyway, everyone else hiked from Old Sarum to the hostel, but since I was leader of the day, I took the van with John and Heather L to check into the hostel and wait for people with their luggage. For the rest of the night we just chilled and chatted and had tons of fun and everything. Woot.
Today we walked into town for Salisbury Cathedral. My favorite, just barely over Winchester. Then we quickly walked through a house across the square where they filmed some of Sense and Sensibility (the one with Snape, Snape, Severus Snape). And then we went to the little chapel where George Herbery preached. I LOVE Herbert and his poems. He was in such a high position academically and financially and gave it all up for God. His poems show a fantastic testimony and he was so humble. The parish church was tiny and the only memorial to him was a 5"ish square with a cross and "GH 1632."
Some of us then walked to Wilton House, where an incredibly attractice Earl of...I can't remember lives. It felt like just another house to me, but the people I was wish made it awesome. But they fimled more scenes in Sense and Sensibility there and it was also the inside of Pemberly in the Kiera Knightly version on Pride and Prejudice. Most of the day it was misting though, as England is wont to do, so...
Anyway, that's about it! I'm going to start making lists of quirky little things I love about England and then a list of things that I miss about the States. Hopefully the latter list will help me when it's time to go home. :) Love you all! Cheers!
So yesterday we left the Isle of Wight, which was sad. I think I talked about watching the "sunrise" in the rain and then hopping on the ferry. Then Christian left us, which was even sadder. We're used to leaving new favorite places by now. But not friends. Christian is wonderful. He was invited to come on the trip last minute when Cheryl, Rick's wife, couldn't come until halfway through. So he came, and we all got really close to him, and then after we got off the ferry, we just kinda left him on the side of the road in Portsmouth, and drove off as he walked to the train station. He's going to Italy to meet his parents who are doing a study there. He's just a great guy and we all really miss him.
It's so awesome. Before we left, John Bennion talked about how the goal for this trip was to form a Zion community. And it's really happening. I don't think I've ever been in a situation where 30 completely different people (well, 29 now until Cheryl gets here) can become the bestest friends ever and live together 24/7 for two months. It's not like there aren't challenges. There most certainly are. But we're all SO drastically different and we literally do spend every single second of every single day together. I think the last time it was really just me in a place was my hotel room in Edinburgh that very first night. These people are all so wonderful and I love them. I'm still not quite sure what I'm going to do without them when I get back to Idaho. Thank goodness for the writing class that most of us are taking in the fall.
Anyway, after we left Christian on the side of the road, we drove to Titchfield Abbey. We love ruined abbeys. Question: would you rather be a ruined abbey or a cathedral? Answer: Ruined Abbey. If you pick Cathedral, sorry, we must shun you (especially if it is Yorkminster and not Winchester or Salisbury). Titchfield is one of the places we know for sure Shakespeare actually wrote things. His patron lived there, after it was converted from an abbey into a house during the disolvement of the monastaries during the reign of Henry VIII. Then, during the Romantic era, it was purposely demolished to create romantic ruins. So. :) Sigh. We love the Romantic Era because they gave us one more ruined abbey to play in. We were able to have class there, because the weather was nice. I love it when we have class outside. I mean, I had class in a ruined abbey in England where Shakespeare wrote. Ka-ching.
Then we got back on the coach and drove to Old Sarum. It was the site of Salisbury until one day they just decided to move the city down the road a couple miles. That was nice, but I was just exhausted by this point. We're all reaching the point where we just need sleep. Case and point: I had a 4-hour giggle fit last night. No joke. As Lindsey would say, I was in rare form. Anyway, everyone else hiked from Old Sarum to the hostel, but since I was leader of the day, I took the van with John and Heather L to check into the hostel and wait for people with their luggage. For the rest of the night we just chilled and chatted and had tons of fun and everything. Woot.
Today we walked into town for Salisbury Cathedral. My favorite, just barely over Winchester. Then we quickly walked through a house across the square where they filmed some of Sense and Sensibility (the one with Snape, Snape, Severus Snape). And then we went to the little chapel where George Herbery preached. I LOVE Herbert and his poems. He was in such a high position academically and financially and gave it all up for God. His poems show a fantastic testimony and he was so humble. The parish church was tiny and the only memorial to him was a 5"ish square with a cross and "GH 1632."
Some of us then walked to Wilton House, where an incredibly attractice Earl of...I can't remember lives. It felt like just another house to me, but the people I was wish made it awesome. But they fimled more scenes in Sense and Sensibility there and it was also the inside of Pemberly in the Kiera Knightly version on Pride and Prejudice. Most of the day it was misting though, as England is wont to do, so...
Anyway, that's about it! I'm going to start making lists of quirky little things I love about England and then a list of things that I miss about the States. Hopefully the latter list will help me when it's time to go home. :) Love you all! Cheers!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Hello again
Sorry it's taken me so long. We haven't had very constant internet access. It makes me grateful to have 1 pound/15 minutes now so that I can actually keep in touch with people.
Oxford was great. A student there, who graduated from BYU, named Ruth Eldridge showed us around, so we got to go many places that we wouldn't have been able to, such as the Old Library. Like the one in St. Mary's that they used before the built Baudliean Library and that the public is no longer allowed into. Or Hertford College during non-visiting hours. And such. I fell in love with the University, the town, and lots of the colleges there. It's beautiful. And I bought a hoodie, which I have wanted ever since we first got here to the UK. I don't even know why I didn't pack one, but I would have bought one in Oxford anyway.
Our next journey was to Jane Austen's house in Chawton and then a hike across beautiful fields to Winchester.. Another 25ish miles in 2 days. BTW, maple syrup, ice cream, and waffles are a glorious combination. The food here is wonderful--we eat so much, and now that we're not hiking as much, it's a problem. :) A delicious problem. Yay Custard Cremes and Digestive Biscuts and Pasties. Winchester Cathedral was my favorite Cathedral so far. It was awesome--quite the mix of architectural designs.
Isle of Wight! Tennyson Down is my new favorite place in the world. It was fun being by the ocean, church was fabulous, although the fireside was Rachel-show. It was my turn to give a talk (the topic was temples, yay!) but then Juli got sick, so I played all the piano songs too. But we went to Queen Victoria's summer home and Carisbrooke Castle and acted out the Lady of Shalot.
This morning, some of us went to the Down one last time to watch the sunrise, which was really sitting for 40 minutes in the rain, watching it get slightly lighter. After we crossed the channel, Christian left us. But now I must go and fill you up more later because my time is quickly running out.
Oxford was great. A student there, who graduated from BYU, named Ruth Eldridge showed us around, so we got to go many places that we wouldn't have been able to, such as the Old Library. Like the one in St. Mary's that they used before the built Baudliean Library and that the public is no longer allowed into. Or Hertford College during non-visiting hours. And such. I fell in love with the University, the town, and lots of the colleges there. It's beautiful. And I bought a hoodie, which I have wanted ever since we first got here to the UK. I don't even know why I didn't pack one, but I would have bought one in Oxford anyway.
Our next journey was to Jane Austen's house in Chawton and then a hike across beautiful fields to Winchester.. Another 25ish miles in 2 days. BTW, maple syrup, ice cream, and waffles are a glorious combination. The food here is wonderful--we eat so much, and now that we're not hiking as much, it's a problem. :) A delicious problem. Yay Custard Cremes and Digestive Biscuts and Pasties. Winchester Cathedral was my favorite Cathedral so far. It was awesome--quite the mix of architectural designs.
Isle of Wight! Tennyson Down is my new favorite place in the world. It was fun being by the ocean, church was fabulous, although the fireside was Rachel-show. It was my turn to give a talk (the topic was temples, yay!) but then Juli got sick, so I played all the piano songs too. But we went to Queen Victoria's summer home and Carisbrooke Castle and acted out the Lady of Shalot.
This morning, some of us went to the Down one last time to watch the sunrise, which was really sitting for 40 minutes in the rain, watching it get slightly lighter. After we crossed the channel, Christian left us. But now I must go and fill you up more later because my time is quickly running out.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
One of the Best Weeks of my Life
This post was originally written in Oxford, but the internet logged me out before I could post it.
Sunday: Church was great. And then we hung out around the church, having fun, fireside prepping. Sunday is my play the piano all day day because I play most of the songs for the fireside. But it rocks. The members here are awesome. We also tend to run into the Elders a lot. One of them stalked out Sydney's stuff and left her a pass-along card with his name and an invitation to look him up on MySpace. So she promptly called her boyfriend, who did. John Bennion also suggested sending the pass-along card back via the mission president. :) The next day we once again ran into the same Elders in Stratford. Then we saw Elders again today in Oxford, but they were different ones this time.
Monday: Um...we went to Shakespeare's mommy's house. Her name was Mary Arden and I got to hold an owl on my arm after it flew to me. And then we hiked to Stratford. And saw Julius Caesar done by the...RSC! ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY! we either loved it or hated it. I was of the positive opinion, although it creeped me out, but that's kinda what the tragedies are supposed to do. Ah. Loved it loved it loved it. Can't wait to see As You Like It there later. It was also Bentley's birthday, so some of us went out for a nice meal before the play.
Tuesday: Shakespeare Day. Started out with the birthplace and then moved on to the other Shakespeare houses, except New Place, because it's not really a house anymore because some dumb guy got tired of the tourists in like the 1750s and tore it down. But you can see where it was and go into his granddaughter's husband's house. But I got to walk on the same ground Shakespeare did! Hooray! I was giggling all the way through his house. Also, we're in B&Bs there in Stratford and here in Oxford, so it was just Tina and me in a cute little pretty room. And yes, I no longer believed in commas for that sentence.
Wednesday: Class in the park (I think this was the first day that it didn't rain at all. Wonderful) followed by a coach ride to Blenheim Palace, during which I talked to John Bennion about my paper. Blenheim was beautiful. It's the birthplace of Winston Churchill and just this outrageous house. I wouldn't like to live there, except for the Beauty and the Beast library contained within. And the grounds. The gardens are beautiful. Christine, my best friend on the trip who is my soul mate and I love her so much, and I just wandered around for a long time until we had to hop on the bus to head to Oxford, where we went to Christ's Church, one of the 38 (I think) colleges here that form Oxford University and also where Harry Potter's Great Hall scenes were filmed/inspired by. We went to Evensong, which was a better experience than in York too.
Today we had an insider's view of Oxford getting into places like the Old Library in St. Mary's beacuse we had a student tour guide. I don't have much time left, so I'll say more later, but just know that I love you all.
Sunday: Church was great. And then we hung out around the church, having fun, fireside prepping. Sunday is my play the piano all day day because I play most of the songs for the fireside. But it rocks. The members here are awesome. We also tend to run into the Elders a lot. One of them stalked out Sydney's stuff and left her a pass-along card with his name and an invitation to look him up on MySpace. So she promptly called her boyfriend, who did. John Bennion also suggested sending the pass-along card back via the mission president. :) The next day we once again ran into the same Elders in Stratford. Then we saw Elders again today in Oxford, but they were different ones this time.
Monday: Um...we went to Shakespeare's mommy's house. Her name was Mary Arden and I got to hold an owl on my arm after it flew to me. And then we hiked to Stratford. And saw Julius Caesar done by the...RSC! ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY! we either loved it or hated it. I was of the positive opinion, although it creeped me out, but that's kinda what the tragedies are supposed to do. Ah. Loved it loved it loved it. Can't wait to see As You Like It there later. It was also Bentley's birthday, so some of us went out for a nice meal before the play.
Tuesday: Shakespeare Day. Started out with the birthplace and then moved on to the other Shakespeare houses, except New Place, because it's not really a house anymore because some dumb guy got tired of the tourists in like the 1750s and tore it down. But you can see where it was and go into his granddaughter's husband's house. But I got to walk on the same ground Shakespeare did! Hooray! I was giggling all the way through his house. Also, we're in B&Bs there in Stratford and here in Oxford, so it was just Tina and me in a cute little pretty room. And yes, I no longer believed in commas for that sentence.
Wednesday: Class in the park (I think this was the first day that it didn't rain at all. Wonderful) followed by a coach ride to Blenheim Palace, during which I talked to John Bennion about my paper. Blenheim was beautiful. It's the birthplace of Winston Churchill and just this outrageous house. I wouldn't like to live there, except for the Beauty and the Beast library contained within. And the grounds. The gardens are beautiful. Christine, my best friend on the trip who is my soul mate and I love her so much, and I just wandered around for a long time until we had to hop on the bus to head to Oxford, where we went to Christ's Church, one of the 38 (I think) colleges here that form Oxford University and also where Harry Potter's Great Hall scenes were filmed/inspired by. We went to Evensong, which was a better experience than in York too.
Today we had an insider's view of Oxford getting into places like the Old Library in St. Mary's beacuse we had a student tour guide. I don't have much time left, so I'll say more later, but just know that I love you all.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Warwick
Current city: Warwick. Pronounced War-ick. Ws tend to be silent here, such as in Warwick and Keswick.
Well, last I wrote was our first day in York. Yesterday (5/15) we had another day in York, which was very enjoyable and we all liked it a lot. We started out the day by walking around the medieval wall in York and then went to the Jorvick Viking Museum. If you didn't know (which you probably didn't, since I didn't until I was enlightened yesterday), York was raided and plundered and settled by Vikings, who named it Jorvick (Yor-vik) and the settlement has now been excavated and there's a museum. Which is actually a mix between a Disneyland ride (think Star Tours and then Peter Pan) and the Medieval Club. IT ROCKED. haha. I think everyone should have that experience when they go to York, simply because it was so awesome. Then after the ride, it actually turned into a real museum, but we all thought it was funny with weird wax animatronic people.
Then we had some free time for lunch, during which it rained. It's been fun to enjoy the rain since we never get any in ID or UT it seems. I mean, it gets a little cold sometimes, but for the most part we just like it. Then we went to Barley Hall, which is an excavated medieval home. That was pretty cool. John Bennion liked our guide a lot and laughed at all his only slightly funny jokes. John tells a lot of cheesy jokes, which remind me of Dad's. Yes. It's great.
We had some more free time then, during which we wandered shops. I bought a scarf off the street that I'm absolutely in love with for only a couple pounds, wandered Shambles (which was supposedly the inspiration for the movie interpretation of Diagon Alley), and bought flowers with Christine and Janet that we wore in our hair to the theater.
My free time was cut short by grocery shopping time. We all have assigned days to be leader, assistant leader, cook and assistant cook. They're spread out, but during these days you get to help cook. And when you're cook, you get to plan the meals and go shopping and everything. I was going to make mac and cheese, but I didn't have time due to the play, so we did chilli instead. I had lots of help from my helpers and other friends (everyone here is great and will just jump up and help with anything; they're all really great). We ended up putting together chili and salad for people very quickly. The shopping, travel time, prep, eating and clean up all got done in 2 hours. Why yes, we ARE that impressive.
Christine did my hair really simply for the play, with the flowers, but we all felt really ridiculously attractive (Lisa: insert my "I look good" face here) walking down the streets of York all gussied up. I wore my scarf. And it was awesome. AND THE PLAY! I love Twelfth Night. It was awesome. Olivia wasn't as good as I wanted her to be, but the Duke was ridiculously attractive, and Viola was a wonderful actress (Lis, I was also thinking of you during the entire play). I even enjoyed the Sir Toby scenes and Malvolio--who was fantastic, probably the best--which is odd because I don't enjoy reading those as much, but they were very well done.
Today we woke up early and drove here to Warwick, about 3 hours in the coach, during which we mostly slept. THat's what we tend to do on the coaches, because we're always up really late, and up really early, and spend the days constantly moving. So whenever we see our friend Terry, the coach driver, we enjoy his company with a snooze. FYI, Terry has a really odd earring.
Then we explored Warwick Castle, which is like Madam Tussad's and full of freaky wax figures and stone spiral staircases (which are cool going up and terrifying to go down). I hung out with Christine (who is like my soul mate), Bentley and Katy A. We almost winked at a cute archer and Bentley briefly dated a peacock (don't worry, we made sure it was female). We dressed up in Victorian garb, wandered, put on armor helmets...basically Disneyland again. but without the rides this time. :)
For lunch, we fulfilled Bentley's dream of eating in a pub and then we found the hotel. Yes, we're in a hotel here. It's kind of ironic. It's a life of luxury in some ways. BUt you think a hotel would imply a lift. Nope. Still had to lug the suitcase up 2 flights of stairs (which is more than we usually have to do in the hostels) and there isn't any internet but wireless. So Janet and I wandered around and found the only internet cafe in town, because the library was closing by the time we got there. It's actually a really cute little pub. There's sheets of music on the walls and old instruments and stuff. But yep! We talked to a very friendly lady about our trip in a shop and went into antique shops and such. Very fun, relaxed day.
This next week is going to rock. Church tomorrow (always grand), then Stratford (including a production of Julius Caesar), Oxford and Jane Austen's home. Also, no hostels. Only hotels and B&Bs. But I really don't mind the hostels. It's just nice to have a change from the blue comforters. :)
I think that's about it. It's been nice to actually be writing a long post for you all instead of just briefly trying to cram everything in. Um, if you want to see pics (not from me, since my camera is still dead) and read things from other people's perspectives, check out the group blog www.beowulf2virginiawoolf.blogspot.com. It's a little behind at the moment, but hey, we're in England. We're busy.
Ah. I love it here. So so so much. Everything we do is just fun and/or funny and/or educational and the people are great and I'll miss them so much and I'll miss this great country and just everything. England is wonderful. But Janet's waiting for me, so it's time to go now. Time to go catch-up on all the reading I'm really behind on before I need to write my paper that's due Wednesday. Eh, who does homework in England? :)
Love you all, and Cheers!
Well, last I wrote was our first day in York. Yesterday (5/15) we had another day in York, which was very enjoyable and we all liked it a lot. We started out the day by walking around the medieval wall in York and then went to the Jorvick Viking Museum. If you didn't know (which you probably didn't, since I didn't until I was enlightened yesterday), York was raided and plundered and settled by Vikings, who named it Jorvick (Yor-vik) and the settlement has now been excavated and there's a museum. Which is actually a mix between a Disneyland ride (think Star Tours and then Peter Pan) and the Medieval Club. IT ROCKED. haha. I think everyone should have that experience when they go to York, simply because it was so awesome. Then after the ride, it actually turned into a real museum, but we all thought it was funny with weird wax animatronic people.
Then we had some free time for lunch, during which it rained. It's been fun to enjoy the rain since we never get any in ID or UT it seems. I mean, it gets a little cold sometimes, but for the most part we just like it. Then we went to Barley Hall, which is an excavated medieval home. That was pretty cool. John Bennion liked our guide a lot and laughed at all his only slightly funny jokes. John tells a lot of cheesy jokes, which remind me of Dad's. Yes. It's great.
We had some more free time then, during which we wandered shops. I bought a scarf off the street that I'm absolutely in love with for only a couple pounds, wandered Shambles (which was supposedly the inspiration for the movie interpretation of Diagon Alley), and bought flowers with Christine and Janet that we wore in our hair to the theater.
My free time was cut short by grocery shopping time. We all have assigned days to be leader, assistant leader, cook and assistant cook. They're spread out, but during these days you get to help cook. And when you're cook, you get to plan the meals and go shopping and everything. I was going to make mac and cheese, but I didn't have time due to the play, so we did chilli instead. I had lots of help from my helpers and other friends (everyone here is great and will just jump up and help with anything; they're all really great). We ended up putting together chili and salad for people very quickly. The shopping, travel time, prep, eating and clean up all got done in 2 hours. Why yes, we ARE that impressive.
Christine did my hair really simply for the play, with the flowers, but we all felt really ridiculously attractive (Lisa: insert my "I look good" face here) walking down the streets of York all gussied up. I wore my scarf. And it was awesome. AND THE PLAY! I love Twelfth Night. It was awesome. Olivia wasn't as good as I wanted her to be, but the Duke was ridiculously attractive, and Viola was a wonderful actress (Lis, I was also thinking of you during the entire play). I even enjoyed the Sir Toby scenes and Malvolio--who was fantastic, probably the best--which is odd because I don't enjoy reading those as much, but they were very well done.
Today we woke up early and drove here to Warwick, about 3 hours in the coach, during which we mostly slept. THat's what we tend to do on the coaches, because we're always up really late, and up really early, and spend the days constantly moving. So whenever we see our friend Terry, the coach driver, we enjoy his company with a snooze. FYI, Terry has a really odd earring.
Then we explored Warwick Castle, which is like Madam Tussad's and full of freaky wax figures and stone spiral staircases (which are cool going up and terrifying to go down). I hung out with Christine (who is like my soul mate), Bentley and Katy A. We almost winked at a cute archer and Bentley briefly dated a peacock (don't worry, we made sure it was female). We dressed up in Victorian garb, wandered, put on armor helmets...basically Disneyland again. but without the rides this time. :)
For lunch, we fulfilled Bentley's dream of eating in a pub and then we found the hotel. Yes, we're in a hotel here. It's kind of ironic. It's a life of luxury in some ways. BUt you think a hotel would imply a lift. Nope. Still had to lug the suitcase up 2 flights of stairs (which is more than we usually have to do in the hostels) and there isn't any internet but wireless. So Janet and I wandered around and found the only internet cafe in town, because the library was closing by the time we got there. It's actually a really cute little pub. There's sheets of music on the walls and old instruments and stuff. But yep! We talked to a very friendly lady about our trip in a shop and went into antique shops and such. Very fun, relaxed day.
This next week is going to rock. Church tomorrow (always grand), then Stratford (including a production of Julius Caesar), Oxford and Jane Austen's home. Also, no hostels. Only hotels and B&Bs. But I really don't mind the hostels. It's just nice to have a change from the blue comforters. :)
I think that's about it. It's been nice to actually be writing a long post for you all instead of just briefly trying to cram everything in. Um, if you want to see pics (not from me, since my camera is still dead) and read things from other people's perspectives, check out the group blog www.beowulf2virginiawoolf.blogspot.com. It's a little behind at the moment, but hey, we're in England. We're busy.
Ah. I love it here. So so so much. Everything we do is just fun and/or funny and/or educational and the people are great and I'll miss them so much and I'll miss this great country and just everything. England is wonderful. But Janet's waiting for me, so it's time to go now. Time to go catch-up on all the reading I'm really behind on before I need to write my paper that's due Wednesday. Eh, who does homework in England? :)
Love you all, and Cheers!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Trying to Catch-up in under 7 minutes
Sunday was amazing. Church with the branch was wonderful and our fireside went well. I got in everything my piano-playing cravings could have asked for by playing piano almost the entire day for rehersal and the fireside. We then drove to Malham.
Monday was spent in Malham, a small town in the Yorkshire Dales. We hiked to Malham Cove and then had a free day. Christine and I got lost on our way back to the hostel, but eventually found it and then I wrote my thought paper, watched Robin Hood with Christian (and others who joined us throughout) and partied it up.
Tuesday we hiked 12 miles to Earby from Malham on the Pennine Way, a trail that runs through England through people's farmland. We stopped for class in a town called...oh, I forget, but we had candy and ice cream there too. 12 miles didn't really seem like all that much, surprisingly.
Wednesday was the longest day of the trip. We hiked 17 miles on the Pennine Way over the moors to Haworth before 3:30 in the afternoon. Then we Bronte-d it up at the Parsonage and the Museum. Definately can tell where Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights came from so much more. I loved the moors though. It was like someone painted Idaho black and stuck it in the middle of England, complete with wind. :) It was quite an exhausting day though. I got my first blister, and it wasn't even that big.
Today we drove (thank goodness) to York, stopping at Fountains Abbey/Studley Royal Gardens. And then we went to Yorkminster Cathedral and went to Evensong there. I'd write more about it, but my time is basically up. I'll try to catch-up in more detail about somethings tomorrow, but it's a crazy busy day and I have to cook AND internet is expensive. Yuck. I hate having to pay for internet, but I feel like it's important to stay in touch.
AH! ONLY 45 SECONDS LEFT! PANIC TIME!
Monday was spent in Malham, a small town in the Yorkshire Dales. We hiked to Malham Cove and then had a free day. Christine and I got lost on our way back to the hostel, but eventually found it and then I wrote my thought paper, watched Robin Hood with Christian (and others who joined us throughout) and partied it up.
Tuesday we hiked 12 miles to Earby from Malham on the Pennine Way, a trail that runs through England through people's farmland. We stopped for class in a town called...oh, I forget, but we had candy and ice cream there too. 12 miles didn't really seem like all that much, surprisingly.
Wednesday was the longest day of the trip. We hiked 17 miles on the Pennine Way over the moors to Haworth before 3:30 in the afternoon. Then we Bronte-d it up at the Parsonage and the Museum. Definately can tell where Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights came from so much more. I loved the moors though. It was like someone painted Idaho black and stuck it in the middle of England, complete with wind. :) It was quite an exhausting day though. I got my first blister, and it wasn't even that big.
Today we drove (thank goodness) to York, stopping at Fountains Abbey/Studley Royal Gardens. And then we went to Yorkminster Cathedral and went to Evensong there. I'd write more about it, but my time is basically up. I'll try to catch-up in more detail about somethings tomorrow, but it's a crazy busy day and I have to cook AND internet is expensive. Yuck. I hate having to pay for internet, but I feel like it's important to stay in touch.
AH! ONLY 45 SECONDS LEFT! PANIC TIME!
Saturday, May 9, 2009
SUNSHINE!
Today a miracle happened: the sun was shining all afternoon. :) We started out the day early--the earliest day yet, walking to the bus and then driving to Coniston, a town on Conistonwater (go figure...haha), and enjoyed a day of Ruskin. We met the branch president of the branch we're going to tomorrow, because he works at the Ruskin Museum there and we had class at Ruskin's grave and then went to the museum and then took a boat across the water (random fact: there is only one lake in the Lake District. the rest are waters or meres) to Ruskin's house, Brantwood. There is was rainy, until our three hours there were done and then it was sunny for our 4-mile hike through the woods to where the coach was picking us up again. We saw some really odd forest sculptures, got really yummy Toffee cake, and played on a playground, including an awesome game of tag with a really fun British boy named Oliver. He was nine and reminded me of Mikey.
Tomorrow is Sunday and I'm very excited. Hooray for Sundays! This is our first meeting with an actual branch here, since last Sunday was just us. The branch president is a wonderful man, and we're doing our first fireside that evening. I'm playing piano for most of the songs, but I'm happy that I get to sing a bit too. We also need to provide a rest hymn, so 3 other girls and I are singing "Our Savior's Love" as a quartet. I get to sing tenor up an octave. :) Hooray hooray! Then we're heading off to Malham, so this is our last night here in Grasmere.
So. That's about it. Today's been long. I need to go shower in our ghetto, electric shower and then pack my suitcase (aka probably getting fed up and just stuffing everything except my church clothes into it). Tomorrow is average wake-up time, rather than early.
I <3 England!
P.S. The piano at Brantwood in the drawing room is open for anyone to play, so us BYU kids kinda took it over. I was just sad that I don't have much music memorized. It's basically just the Ravel and even that is just the first 1-2 pages out of 8. Sadness. But I loved hearing Emma play Pride and Prejudice.
P.P.S. If you don't know Ruskin, wikipedia him. He was great at everything! Writing, painting, drawing, gardening, he even composed too...but time is out! Cheers!
Tomorrow is Sunday and I'm very excited. Hooray for Sundays! This is our first meeting with an actual branch here, since last Sunday was just us. The branch president is a wonderful man, and we're doing our first fireside that evening. I'm playing piano for most of the songs, but I'm happy that I get to sing a bit too. We also need to provide a rest hymn, so 3 other girls and I are singing "Our Savior's Love" as a quartet. I get to sing tenor up an octave. :) Hooray hooray! Then we're heading off to Malham, so this is our last night here in Grasmere.
So. That's about it. Today's been long. I need to go shower in our ghetto, electric shower and then pack my suitcase (aka probably getting fed up and just stuffing everything except my church clothes into it). Tomorrow is average wake-up time, rather than early.
I <3 England!
P.S. The piano at Brantwood in the drawing room is open for anyone to play, so us BYU kids kinda took it over. I was just sad that I don't have much music memorized. It's basically just the Ravel and even that is just the first 1-2 pages out of 8. Sadness. But I loved hearing Emma play Pride and Prejudice.
P.P.S. If you don't know Ruskin, wikipedia him. He was great at everything! Writing, painting, drawing, gardening, he even composed too...but time is out! Cheers!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Helvellyn and Wordsworth and Gingerbread, OH MY!
Yesterday we took a bus from our hostel to the trail head of Helvellyn, a mountain here in the Lake District and then hiked it. Woot. Very, very windy. At first we weren't sure if we'd be able to do it, because the winds were predicted to be around 75 mph at the top, but we got to the head and it wasn't as windy as predicted, so we decided to head up. One of the Englishmen John was talking to at breakfast said that to hike Helvellyn in that weather even, though, you had to have "balls of steel." And we did it! After we got past the 45 minutes of stone stairs at the beginning it was a piece of cake. Even though it was windy, we were basically all just glad that it was dry. We even had a dance party at the top. Good times. When we got to our hostel here, it's easily the most ghetto one we've been to, we had even more good times. Tiff couldn't figure out how to work the shower and then Kylie got stuck in the toilet at the same time and it was hilarious.
Today we hiked to town, Grasmere. There we went to Dove Cottage, where Wordsworth wrote his best poetry. I love Wordsworth. Then we hiked another 2-3ish miles to his larger, later house in Rydal, Rydal Mount, where we looked around and the gardens are fantastic. Then we went back to Grasmere to see Wordsworth and his family's graves and get really, really good gingerbread. We're all pretty exhausted now though, and are spending the rest of the night just chilling. I need to catch up on all my reading and then we have an essay due Monday that I need to start writing. Well, it's not an essay, just a thought paper. It's just so hard to actually sit down and focus on homework when you are in England!
The weather has dried a bit. It was even sunny while we hiked Helvellyn and a little bit in between random rain showers today. Hooray! But I love it here anyway. This trip just can't really be not awesome. If that makes sense. Because it does in my head. Woot. Hooray hooray! I LOVE ENGLAND!
Today we hiked to town, Grasmere. There we went to Dove Cottage, where Wordsworth wrote his best poetry. I love Wordsworth. Then we hiked another 2-3ish miles to his larger, later house in Rydal, Rydal Mount, where we looked around and the gardens are fantastic. Then we went back to Grasmere to see Wordsworth and his family's graves and get really, really good gingerbread. We're all pretty exhausted now though, and are spending the rest of the night just chilling. I need to catch up on all my reading and then we have an essay due Monday that I need to start writing. Well, it's not an essay, just a thought paper. It's just so hard to actually sit down and focus on homework when you are in England!
The weather has dried a bit. It was even sunny while we hiked Helvellyn and a little bit in between random rain showers today. Hooray! But I love it here anyway. This trip just can't really be not awesome. If that makes sense. Because it does in my head. Woot. Hooray hooray! I LOVE ENGLAND!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Round 2
Let's see how this goes this time. Dinner is over and now we're all just chilling here in the lounge before debriefing. No, that is not where we take off our pants (British for underwear, pants=trousers). It's our nightly meeting about how the day went and where we talk about plans for tomorrow. So back to the catch-up stuff.
Sat May 2 con:
On the way back from the top, some of us hiked down the back way, where it was even windier than the top. But it was a lot prettier. For the rest of the day (because by 3 in the afternoon we had already gotten back from hiking the mountain) we just chilled around. Our hostel was very cute and had a lovely view of the loch from the main lounge.
Sun May 3:
We had church in the lounge all together. It was probably the coolest fast and testimony meeting that I have ever been to. I love this group of people that I am with.
Mon May 4:
Coach to Wastwater. Stopped by the Ruthwell Cross and Hadrian's Wall. Favorite hostel ever.
Tues May 5:
Supposed to hike Scafell Pike, but it was too dangerous so we hiked over Styhead Pass instead. We all got soaked, even through our waterproof stuff. THat's what hiking through 4 waterfalls, a path overrun by the river and walking for 6 hours through a cloud will do to you. Pretty miserable afterwards, but fun during.
Today:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! It was a nice, slow day. Castlerigg Circle, a nap, shopping and a post office, etc. We had fun. :)
And now my time's basically up, so it's definately time to go!
Sat May 2 con:
On the way back from the top, some of us hiked down the back way, where it was even windier than the top. But it was a lot prettier. For the rest of the day (because by 3 in the afternoon we had already gotten back from hiking the mountain) we just chilled around. Our hostel was very cute and had a lovely view of the loch from the main lounge.
Sun May 3:
We had church in the lounge all together. It was probably the coolest fast and testimony meeting that I have ever been to. I love this group of people that I am with.
Mon May 4:
Coach to Wastwater. Stopped by the Ruthwell Cross and Hadrian's Wall. Favorite hostel ever.
Tues May 5:
Supposed to hike Scafell Pike, but it was too dangerous so we hiked over Styhead Pass instead. We all got soaked, even through our waterproof stuff. THat's what hiking through 4 waterfalls, a path overrun by the river and walking for 6 hours through a cloud will do to you. Pretty miserable afterwards, but fun during.
Today:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! It was a nice, slow day. Castlerigg Circle, a nap, shopping and a post office, etc. We had fun. :)
And now my time's basically up, so it's definately time to go!
Catch-up
So because we didn't have any internet up at Loch Lomond and in Wastwater, now I have some here in Keswick (pronounced Kes-ick). Sorry I didn't write last night. It was an interesting night and right as I sat down to write a blog post, dinner finished and it was time to eat.
Friday May 1:
Rode a coach from Edinburgh to Balmaha and then walked along the shore of Loch Lomond for 8 miles up to Rowardennan. Took all day and rained a bit, but was very beautiful, even if it was exhausting.
Saturday May 2:
Very productive day. Hiked 8 miles up Ben Lomond, the highest point in the UK. Very windy, very pretty.
Um. Dinner time again. I'll post this and come back and finish later. Love!
Friday May 1:
Rode a coach from Edinburgh to Balmaha and then walked along the shore of Loch Lomond for 8 miles up to Rowardennan. Took all day and rained a bit, but was very beautiful, even if it was exhausting.
Saturday May 2:
Very productive day. Hiked 8 miles up Ben Lomond, the highest point in the UK. Very windy, very pretty.
Um. Dinner time again. I'll post this and come back and finish later. Love!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)