Tuesday afternoon

I went to bed at 10 o'clock last night! It was glorious. After updating my planner, reading for my Islam and the West class, and general relaxation, I turned in and slept for a good ten hours, only waking up about 3 times, all very brief. I got up around 8 and showered. We have community bathrooms here, as I have aforementioned, and if you want to be sure to A)get hot water B)get an empty shower or C)be alone as you bathe, you have to get up earlier than everyone else. That was no problem today. The class that meets on Tuesday mornings has only one student in it, so naturally everyone slept in. I went with the class to the British Museum of Natural History at 9:30, so that is why I was up. It was very interesting. Some pictures:

Beautiful architecture! The exterior of the Natural History Museum.

Words of Charles Darwin.

The Solitary Potto. I think I may have descended from this particular primate...

The weather is still cold and overcast here in London. It is supposed to remain in the thirties the rest of the week. It's a type of cold that chills you to the bone. I have seen a few homeless men on the streets, and it is in weather like this that I worry for them. If I am freezing in my long underwear and leather/shearling coat, how much more so are they?
The homework load has already piled up. I am enrolled in 15 hours, and the courses I am taking are: Islam and the West (History credit), Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (History credit), British Life and Culture (History credit), Charles Dickens' England (English credit), and Music Appreciation (Fine Arts credit). I have lots to do as far as assignments in each of these courses! I am in the middle of reading for Islam and the West (I'll refer to it as "Islam" from here on) and reading Oliver Twist for the Dickens class. I also have three essays due this week, two for Islam and one for Music Appreciation. In Archaeology we will be spending a lot of time at the British Museum photographing the collections and compiling detailed presentations on them. As you can see from the photographs on the left, photographing through glass is not easy! I had some practice today at the Natural History museum, but it is very difficult to get a good picture with no glare and no distortion from the glass.

Life-size model of a whale.

The Allosaurus in the Dinosaur Exhibit.

In the Dickens class we will be reading three of this novels. Our assignment for Oliver Twist is 200 pages, or about half of the novel. 

Islam is going to be a very interesting class! I think it will be very useful knowledge to gain. Next week, the class is visiting the London Mosque. We will also be visiting several museums throughout the course, as well as the Holocaust Memorial exhibit.

I was originally in Art Appreciation, but I dropped that and picked up Music Appreciation. While I do enjoy looking at art, I must admit I do not find close examination/lectures of it interesting at all. I may visit the galleries of London on my own at some point. The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, as well as the Tate Modern on the South Bank, both seem compelling enough to make a trip out there! 

Tonight the group is headed to see "She Stoops to Conquer" at the National Theater. I am looking forward to it, though I do not know what to expect. In general, I find theater fascinating and I have always enjoyed plays when I have gone. On Thursday night, we are also going to see "We Will Rock You," which is a specific assignment for Music Appreciation, though everyone is going. This Friday will be a trip to Stonehenge and Salisbury. 

All in all, this is shaping up to be a very busy and activity-filled week. There isn't much "down" time here in London. Today is my off day from classes, and that has still been busy! I need to complete my reading for Islam first, as that class is in the mornings at 9 am. I am very glad I went to sleep early last night, because it may be a late one tonight!

Here are the promised pictures of the Tower of London:

The Tower of London

All Hallows Church, where William Penn was baptized and John Quincy Adams was married.

The jousting armor of Henry VIII in the Royal Armory

Bloody Tower, where Sir Walter Raleigh was imprisoned and the place where the boy princes were murdered by (alleged) order of Richard III. Their bodies were found in a box under stairs in the White Tower during the reign of Charles II (Restoration period, 1660s).

Post V

I am currently waiting for my laundry to finish. I was almost out of socks and underpants, so I coughed up the 5 pounds and did a load of laundry. Ouch. Living in a hostel has it's highs and lows. I do miss my living arrangements back in the states. I shall especially be glad to see my full-size bed and pillow again! 

On Saturday our group took a day trip out to Kent, to Dover and Canterbury. Here are some pictures: 

Dover Castle

On the beach of Dover with the castle behind me

 A moat! So cool.

The view of Dover from the gate of the castle.

Canterbury Cathedral.

 Stained glass that is 1000 years old.

Dover was sunny and cold, Canterbury was cloudy and cold. It was very nice to get out of the city for the day and enjoy another part of England. I didn't get to go inside the medieval castle, so I am thinking about taking a day trip up to Dover again so I can do that! I got my fill of the Cathedral while we were there. Very beautiful, and very old!

Classes are in full swing, and today was extremely busy. We toured the Tower of London with our British tour guide. We saw the crown jewels, the royal armory, torture chamber, Bloody Tower, and the places where people where executed. I've decided that the worst way to die would be to have my head removed by a "Jack Ketch," which is what they called the executioners. They were notorious for being terrible executioners. There was one specific person, the Duke of Monmouth, whose head was still not removed after four swings. So the executioner used the ax as a SAW and finished the job! Disgusting... The idea that people enjoyed going to executions just boggles my mind. Completely inhuman. Anne Boleyn, however, requested specifically for a French swordsman to be her executioner. He took her head off in one clean swing. Much better? I think yes.

I have lots of homework to do for class, which includes reading and essay writing. Tomorrow, I have an official "day off" but I am going to go the the Natural History Museum in the morning with the Natural History class. I'm not in that class, but we are welcome to go to sessions and outings if we like. 

Anyway, hope you all enjoy the pictures! Forgive the hastily and poorly written nature of this post. I shall redeem myself tomorrow!

Cheers!

Faith

:

This is just therapy

Hello.
Friday evening at 8:19 and I am sitting on my bed on the fourth floor of the Pickwick Hostel. I didn't get quite so breathless ascending tonight. This is good. This is progress.
I ran tonight by myself in Russell Square for about forty minutes, and it was wonderful. I listened to Josh Garrels' "Love & War & the Sea in Between." Not exactly music to "pump" oneself up, but for some reason it is just what I needed. His music is achingly human and longing. The intimacy with the Lord that he has is so evident within his music and that nearly brought me to tears as I was running. I got a hold on myself quickly. Crying while running is not the best idea, especially not in a city that seems so emotionally distant.
Being in London has been a great experience in terms of things to see and, for lack of a better word, experience. Emotionally, it has been very difficult. It is a city of millions and everyone is in their own world. It is almost oppressive how lonely I feel as I stand on the train, surrounded on all sides, bodies pressed up against me, yet no one is making eye contact. I find no reason to smile as I walk the streets of London alone. For those who balk at the idea of me being alone in a big city, please don't worry. With my personality, I have to be alone at least 3.87 hours per day or I go crazy. As far as safety goes, I keep to well-populated streets or extremely close to our hostel. Honestly, living in fear is no way to live. I can't be constantly afraid that I am going to be kidnapped, mugged, or raped all the time. I am vigilant and safe, just not paranoid. End of digression.
A song called "The Resistance" is playing in my earphones right now. Yes, it is a Josh Garrels original. He is my current musical obsession. (Check him out, all his music is FREE on NoiseTrade!) A line says "How do good men become a part of the regime? They don't believe in resistance." This speaks to me so strongly about not giving up in the face of a society that has been given over to the Prince of this World. As a believer in Christ, I truly feel the oppression of a post-Christian society. But I also feel oppressed in the Bible Belt. Spiritual warfare is everywhere. I would be a fool if I didn't accept the fact that my battle is not against fleshly foes, but in the mind, in the spirit, and of the unseen realms.
Being away from my spiritual community is very difficult. As I said in a previous post, church was attended by  tourists. I miss the Vista back in Belton, I miss John and Christi Barnes, I miss my small group of friends with whom I could discuss anything spiritual. Being away from that is a huge test, one that, to be true, I have been failing miserably as of late. I have been letting the spiritual atmosphere of London depress me and pull me in to my own mind, rather than pulling ever closer to the Lord. Those who are keeping up with this blog, please pray for me to be strong.
I am now listening to a beautiful song based upon the story of Ulysses. For those unfamiliar with this, Ulysses was away from home for over a decade fighting for the Greeks in the Trojan War. His journey home is chronicled in The Odyssey. I'll post the lyrics here:

I’m holding on to the hope that one day this could be made right. 
I’ve been shipwrecked, and left for dead, and I have seen the darkest sights. 
Everyone I’ve loved seems like a stranger in the night 
But Oh my heart still burns, tells me to return, and search the fading light. 

I’m sailing home to you I wont be long 
By the light of moon I will press on 
Until, I find, my love 

Trouble has beset my ways, and wicked winds have blown 
Sirens call my name, they say they’ll ease my pain, then break me on the stones 
But true love is the burden that will carry me back home 
Carry me with the, memories of the, beauty I have known 

I’m sailing home to you I wont be long 
By the light of moon I will press on 

So tie me to the mast of this old ship and point me home 
Before I lose the one I love, before my chance is gone 
I want to hold, her in, my arms


For me, this is a deeply spiritual song, a metaphor if you will. I feel as if I am Ulysses, and his Penelope is my Jesus. The longing in Josh's voice expresses the longing in my soul for just a glimpse of my Savior, for a chance to be held. Someday...


As I posted on my other blog (http://findingandalusia.blogspot.com) there was suicide the other day on the train tracks. Honestly, to think of it sickens me. I ride the Tube daily, and I cannot get the image of someone hurling themselves in front of the train out of my head when I am waiting for my train. What brings someone to that level of desperation? What causes someone to abandon all hope? For me, even when the moment seems like my own personal Hell on Earth, I have always retained a Hope of a better future, even a better tomorrow. That kept me going, and keeps me going still. I hurt for this person who was so deceived as to believe that there was no Hope and no Future. I do pray he has found his peace...


Tomorrow, we are going to Dover Castle and Canterbury. We leave at 7:45 AM. Which is 1:45 in the morning to all you lovely folks back home! I will be sure to take pictures and post. Here are some pictures from the last week:

A chapel near Westminster Abbey.

 The Banqueting House on Whitehall where Charles I lost his head. That is his effigy above the door.

St. Martin-in-the-Fields, the church that overlooks Trafalgar Square. 

Runners and Smokers

I just scared the daylights out of a poor young man coming out of the bathroom as he was going in. No single sex restrooms here in the Pickwick. I even went up an extra flight of stairs to avoid the "boys floor" but to no avail. If there is a restroom on your floor, you use it, bloke or bird (boy or girl, in translation). I am just thankful I was finished using the loo before he came in. That would have been awkward, at least on this American girl's end. Brits and Europeans in general are much less modest in terms of sexuality and gender roles. Everyone is equal here. I guess that means we have to use the same bathroom too.
I arose this morning around 7:30 and went running in Russell Square again. This time I added a lap, making that four rounds. It is much busier during a week day than on Sunday morning. Everyone sleeps in on the weekends. Someone told me that there is no reason to be awake before 11 AM on a Sunday. I jogged through a cloud of acrid cigarette smoke making my rounds. One thing is for sure, there are both more smokers and runners here in London than I have ever seen in the states. I can help but feeling the two are mutually exclusive. There are Runners, and there are Smokers. I don't believe that I have yet seen a Smoking Runner. I hope I won't. Most runners understand the health risks of smoking, not to mention those things do nothing good for your lung capacity.
Speaking of lung capacity, no matter how I try to control my breathing going up four flights of stairs to my hostel room, I still end up panting like an Old English bulldog by the time I reach the summit. It is quite ridiculous how out of shape I am. If ever I can reach my room without my breath speeding up, I'll be sure to let you know.
Classes have been good so far. I still have my English class tomorrow morning. As much reading as the class is going to be, I am always excited for a literature class. This one is solely over Charles Dickens and his novels Our Mutual Friend, Bleak House, and Oliver Twist. That is at 9 AM on Thursdays with a British professor. It is the 200th anniversary of Dickens' birth, so the whole of the UK is celebrating it. There is a special exhibit at the London Museum (located in the old City of London!) devoted to Dickens. Pretty cool huh?
I went exploring down to Covent Garden this afternoon to continue getting my bearings on the neighborhood streets. I paid £2.95 for English doughnuts. And they were completely worth it. Best doughnuts ever. Come to London and try some. They are definitely worth the money!
Tonight we are headed to the Lyric Theater on Hammersmith to see "Lovesong." We will be going to the theater at least once a week, and attendance is mandatory for the program participants. That doesn't bother me, of course! I love experiencing the theater. This is a play, not a musical, so it should be more interesting than Shrek was.
I applied for my reader's pass to the British Library yesterday. They only grant you access to their books in special circumstances, and you must order specific books a few days in advance! You can only read them in the reading room; you can't check them out to take with you. Hopefully I get approved for a reader's pass so I can complete my research for my projects at such a prestigious library :)
As much as I am loving London, I do miss home a little. Small aspects like my own bed, my own space, and my hairbows. I really want my hairbows. Oh, and the people of course. It's hard to believe I've already been here almost a week. Time flies when you're having fun!
Cheers,
Faith

Monday evening

It is just past 7pm here in the UK. It begins getting dark around 4pm because we are so far north. But it is only about as cold as a Texas winter because of the Gulf Stream. Pretty cool?
Today we toured the City of London for our British Life & Culture class. For those who don't know, London has two official cities: the City of London and the City of Westminster. The City of London is only one square mile and contains St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tate Modern, as well at the financial centers of the city. There are squatting protestors outside of St. Paul's in what my professor called "tent cities." Having been in Haiti however, and having seen real tent cities, these are really only tent "gaggles" (term supplied by Caleb Cruce lol). The City of Westminster is the political area, with the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben's Clock Tower, Westminster Abbey, etc. With the two cities, plus the surrounding 33 bouroughs, London is over 700 square miles! In the afternoon, we got a brief history of London beginning with the Romans. I find all of the history so fascinating. I suppose it is a good minor for me :)
Sunday morning at Westminster Abbey was beautiful. The choir was angelic, even though I had no idea what they were singing most of the time! It was very clear to me that most of the attendees were tourists, however. During the congregational response time, it seemed as if no one spoke, and the singing was almost nonexistent. I was surprised when most of them stood and went forward to partake in the Eucharist. As beautiful as the church is, and as much history is present there (I saw Sir Issac Newton!), it was not nearly as intimate as some high-church services I have attended previously. While I appreciate Anglican services and find them a moving and intimate worship experience, the tourist-y aspect of Westminster Abbey rather tainted that for me. Next Sunday, our group will be attending All Souls. I'm not sure what type of church that is, though I believe it is Anglican as well.
Well, I definitely have more to say, but a small group of us are going out to find some sweets! I'll be sure to post again soon!
Cheers,
Faith

Sunday morning

Good morning!
it is an absolutely beautiful morning here in the UK. I got up around 7:30 and went running in the local park. There are several blocks throughout the city that are made into gardens for a "green space" in the midst of the big city. The one right down the street from the Pickwick is Russell Sguare. We are attending Westminster Abbey this morning, which is the Queen's parish. We will be riding the Tube to get there! I must say, I rather love the city life. Riding the Tube and walking everywhere is just much more desirable than driving. Of course, everything is close together here, generally, so walking is much more feasible than in Texas. I love that about London!
Yesterday we split into groups and participated in a scavenger hunt in order to learn our way around the city. My knees were killing me after six straight hours of walking! But the Lord allowed me some good rest over the night and I was able to run about 1.5 miles with no pain!
I have discovered Pret a Manger (say it with a French accent), which isn't actually that difficult considering they are everywhere! It is a delicious place to eat! I have been trying to eat rather healthfully, and London makes it easy. The falafel and haloumi wrap has been my favorite! Of course, I have tried the obligatory fish and chips and some sticky toffee pudding (think ginger cake), which were not too bad. I think I prefer fresher food though. No ales have been tried yet ;) though I had a fabulous glass of wine last night at a pub called The Enterprise off of Theobold Street.
I am loving everything London has to offer so far. We start classes tomorrow morning! The Lord has been showing me a lot, as well as testing me already. I am looking forward to worshipping at the Abbey!
I love you all and thanks for reading!
There will definitely be many more posts to come. If anyone wants to email me personally, my address is sfforester@mail.umhb.edu.
Cheers,
Faith