Week Eight: London

Monday 18 October 2010
 
Lots of homework catching up this morning! But, Liverpool was completely worth it. Our class schedule was all turned around today because instead of having religion class, we all walked over to the Hyde Park Chapel to get a crash course in Family History. I've always been fairly apprehensive about this topic before, but after this talk I am beginning to realize what a marvelous work it is. I have the opportunity to go back through my relatives and find those who need their temple work done, and may in fact be waiting for it to be done.

Funny side note: a casting director from Provo was at the building. The Church is making a New Testament movie and she looked over our group, picking out those with dark hair and eyes to audition for the part of Mary! Crazy, but true. Maybe one of our girls will one day be famous? I just hope she remembers that she knew me before she hit the big time.

Dinner was early today because we attended the ballet at the Royal Opera House. Actually, it was four one act ballets. They were all very good. One of the story lines was incredibly confusing, but the dancing is so remarkably incredible that this wasn't really a problem. They make it look so easy: all the extensions and lifts and being on point for so long. How do they do it?!? In my dream world I am a world class ballerina (in case anyone was wondering).

Tomorrow classes are again a little crazy because some of the students are going on a country walk. But, after all the hiking in the North and being in Liverpool I'm going to stay behind and catch up on work. After the lake district I don't think I'll miss anything scenery-wise. Maybe I'll do something exciting to make up for it...like my laundry...

Tuesday 19 October 2010

HOMEWORK!!! That is literally all I did today. Well, I guess I also ate. And went to class in the morning. But, other than that: homework! Actually, I got a good amount of work done and fulfilled my homework "quota" that I had set myself. All in all it was actually pretty decent. Just, after a day like that I want to go out and do something. I think I'll take a field trip tomorrow. In fact, I'm thinking Stonehenge. Yeah. Maybe I can get some people to go with me? We could hire a coach. Make sack lunches. Have breakfast at 5:45. Perfect. I'll see you there.

Wednesday 20 October 2010

Today is 20-10-2010. Awesome. That is one of the benefits of how they write the date over here. First stop on the field trip: Sandham Memorial Chapel. This is a small memorial chapel full of paintings done by Stanley Spencer to commemorate the First World War. Loads and loads of religious symbolism. Luckily we had brilliant lighting and the paintings were astounding. Side note--across from the chapel are the fields that are the setting for the book Watership Down. I did not see a single bunny. They must all be going crazy elsewhere...

From here we went the Chawton. After Jane Austen's father died her rich brother allowed her mother, her sister, a family friend, and Jane to stay in a rather large cottage on his Chawton estate. We got to tour this house. The dresses were beautiful. We saw her writing table (her writing desk that she would place on it is at the British library). We enjoyed the gardens. But, the coolest part: you can play the piano forte. Yeah, you really can. Lauren played the main themes from both versions of Pride and Prejudice. Some people played Chopin. I dinked around on it after everyone was gone so that no one could hear me. It was pretty cool.

Third stop: Salisbury Cathedral. The tallest spire in the country. The largest cathedral close in the country. The subject of one of my favorite John Constable paintings. The location of an actual copy of the Magna Carta (in the chapter house). Suffice it to say, this place is neat. And so beautiful. There were many modern art pieces throughout the nave, transepts, and ambulatory. The baptismal font is right in the center of the nave's main aisle and is a huge smooth collection of water with four fountains on the side. Whoa. My favorite part of this cathedral is a small sculpture in one of the side aisles of the east end. There is a tiny sculpture of a monkey preparing to hurl a nut down at passers-by. So cool.

Our last stop today was Stonehedge. As per usual it was frigid and windy (fall has officially arrived in the South), but there was a remarkable blue sky. We got some really fabulous pictures. I think my favorite is one of all the Seelys and me. We did a nice picture, very family like (go figure) and then Uncle Dave said, "Alright, now a jumping one." All the students crowded around to watch. Ben got one where Katy, Beno, and I are all high in the air while Aunt Jo Ann and Uncle Dave are still on the ground. Marvelous.

All in all a very good day. Yes, it was cold. Very cold. But I loved it none the less. Tomorrow will be so boring. Just classes. I have to be a responsible student. What is this? Oh, speaking of cold. Last night, the boiler stopped working. No hot water to do dishes. No hot water to wash hands or do laundry. But, more importantly--no hot water to shower! But I hate not showering every day. So, this morning I bit the bullet. I tied my hair back and kept it dry because that seems like just an unnecessary amount of cold. But, it was so so so so cold!! I have never taken a cold shower (that I can remember) and it was quite the experience. You know that sensation when you step into the pool and get stiff and suck in your breath against the cold? Well, this was so much worse. I couldn't breath while I was under the water--it was such a shock to the system. That was quite possibly the fastest shower of my life. But, the Seelys have opened up their flat to those interested in taking a shower tonight. The Schulers (resident director) also opened up their flat and people signed up on a list to shower there. I was the only one who went up to the Seelys and took a nice, long, blissful shower. Yay! No cold shower for me tomorrow.

Thursday 21 October 2010

This place is freezing!! The heat works with hot water in this place so we're all running around freezing our tails off. After classes today Mandy, Amanda, and I decided to go out. Because it's warmer outside than in the centre. No joke.

First we went to Sir John Soane's Museum. This is the private collection of an architect. His house is so cool--he being an architect and all--with secret passages, crazy hallways, awesome domes, and excellent use of natural lighting. There are hardly any light fixtures in the whole place. In his painting room there are multiple hidden panels that you can open up to reveal even more paintings. My favorite paintings were the Hogarth series of the Rake's Progress. So funny.

After that we headed to the British Museum and did the highlight tour for Bible class. It was pretty neat to see how some artifacts relate to the Bible--like the seal of the king that knew David and threw him in the Lion's Den. Pretty cool.

After dinner Mandy, Amanda, Kaitlyn, and I all went to Institute at the Hyde Park chapel. Lots of single adults with accents and it was so warm! It was fun so we may go again some time. We can't feel guilty if we don't do our homework because we're there--we are participating in church activities and growing our testimonies.

Friday 22 October 2010

Today we did a day trip in lieu of a London study. No complaints here. Our first port of call (that's British train speak) was Portsmouth (actually it also works for ships--which is fitting for a Port like Portsmouth--get it). Here we walked through the national navy museum and then got to see some very awesome artifacts from the Battle of Trafalgar. First, was the mainsail from Lord Nelson's ship during that battle (the H. M. S. Victory--how appropriate). This is the largest piece of cloth to survive from so far back in history. It has ninety bullet holes in it. Very cool.

After that we got to actually tour the H. M. S. Victory. I walked the same decks as Lord Admiral Nelson. That was a cool feeling. Did you know that Lord Nelson died during the Battle of Trafalgar? I didn't. But I've now stood on that spot (slightly creepy but neat all the same). Our tour was so good. Our guide was a little nervous because he's actually still learning the tour and a more experienced guide switched with him halfway through. But I think he did an excellent job. I finally learned all those things I've always wanted to know about life and a ship like why a cannon is called a 24-pound gun (the cannonballs weigh 24 pounds), and several things that I didn't actually want to know like the fact that officers slept in their coffins for space reasons (but they were usually decorated so that they're only mildly recognizable) and that the amputation of a limb would only take about 90 seconds. Still, it was awesome. Far up on my list of "way cool" days (I'm working on a better title for that list).

After Portsmouth we stopped at Brighton ("I'm sure I should love to go to Brighton!"). I loved the beach. It was all rocks and pebbles and I tried to imagine the sea song from Persuasion in my head--such amazing piano. I touched the water. That's the farthest East that I've touched the Atlantic. No big deal. The weather for us here was unheard of! Bright and sunny and practically warm! Amazing! We walked along the beach and the Brighton Pier. However, we didn't go sea bathing, so I am not yet quite set up forever. But this water was cold--as in my cold shower of a few days ago cold--so perhaps this is a good thing. On our way driving out of Brighton we passed by John Nash's Royal Pavilion which has Turkish pointed domes and is all white and is basically one of the coolest buildings ever.

Our final stop was at the London Temple. It has a very similar design to the Preston Temple, though with a bronze steeple. Interesting. The gardens were beautiful, with lovely fall colors.

Essentially, today was a banner day. I even got to see a movie that I have wanted to see forever. In preparation for Portsmouth we watched Master and Commander. Russel Crowe, Paul Bettany, Billy Boyd, wonderful music, astounding cinematography. I don't care that it was slow, I loved it. The ending was a little odd. But the rest was so good I think I'll allow it.

Saturday 23 October 2010

Today started out with a Jane Austen midterm. I think I did quite well, especially considering I did no studying at all (seeing as how I had no idea what to study for). I only guessed on one or two quote IDs--thanks to the movies and Dad for those memorizing skills--and I also feel like I did well on the essays.

To celebrate our great success Julie, Katy (who took this test over the summer, she is so on top of things!), and I spent some time at Portabello Road. I just window shopped today--it's just fun to be there. At a cheap store on Queensway I finally got my final sibling souvenir! Now each brother and sister will still love me when I get home because I bought them something.

The rest of the day was homework. Lots of it. But, I made a good amount of progress. My roommates Claire and Bethany convinced me to take a study break to go out with them (Jenna too, but she was heading to Thriller and so didn't come with us) and we went to Whole Foods. It was really nice to get away from homework for a little bit and on top of that, I had a smoothie. I also tried some gelato made from buffalo's milk. Odd.

And tonight we watched the first two hours of the new Emma for Austen class. I tried to be open--Mom can attest that I was not last time--and I did laugh at times. The actors are good, but sometimes I do not agree. It's nice that it is so close to the book, but when it is not and the other version was that seems odd to me. My biggest struggle is Mr. Knightley. I laugh at his facial expressions. But, you're not supposed to laugh like that at Mr. Knightley, at least I don't think so. I miss Jeremy Northam.  And I don't really like Harriet in this one either, or Mr. Weston. I just need to stop talking about movies--I only make people angry.

Sunday 24 October 2010

I haven't had dinner yet, but I feel like this day is done! This morning I got up early to practice my hymns and get ready for church. Then I had quite the three-hour block. In the first hour the Primary president and her councilors were gone so I was helping the substitutes get the hang of things and go in an order that the kids were used to. I also played the piano. Second hour I taught my Primary class. I think I'm finally getting the hang of it. We had a good chat about how school is going for everyone--I'm learning so much--and then learned about Daniel and the king's food and talked about the Word of Wisdom. It wasn't out-of-this-world fun but I think the kids are getting used to me. They were worried that I would be leaving soon (like the Summer girls had) but were pleased to learn that I would be sticking around until December.

Sacrament Meeting was crazy. I let my Primary kids go a bit early because I was so nervous about it. Today in addition to playing all they hymns I was also one of two speakers. I cannot believe I did so much today! My topic was The Family: A Proclamation to the World and I was worried that it was very dry, with me just reading what I had written the day before, but many people came up to me afterward to say that they liked my talk and they were impressed it came from such a young person.