Look back on London #2

5-16-04
I'm here! I left yesterday from Springfield. Both flights were nice. In Chicago we all ate at the Chili's in the airport and then when we got on the plane they served us dinner. :) We all went ahead and ate again. I had the chix & rice & w/ it came a salad & tiramisu. On the back of every chair we had our own person(al) screen & they came w/ a personal remote in the arm rest. You could pick from movies, TV shows, "radio" stations or watch the flight progress. I watched the Girl w/ the Pearl earring. It was a very nice movie. I slept a little but it was SO cold the last hour or so before sunrise was horrid b/c of that. Then we had b/fast on the plane too! It was blueberry yogurt, a crescent roll w/ strawberry jelly, raisins & orange juice. Then we landed. I didn't have that feeling of "I'm here!" as much. I was too tired.

Getting through the airport was not very exciting. We all met Nicole, our escort from Heathrow to hotel, the Royal National. It took about 30 min & I tried to pay attention, but my head would not stay up, nor would my eyes stay open. As it was, we got to the hotel.

I'm rooming w/ Allison and Danita. We took showers/baths & then naps. At 4 we all went out for a walk, no purpose or plan just get some dinner and see what there is. We found a lot!

We all enjoyed just walking around then we went to Bella Vista an Italian restaurant in the Leicester Square area (I think). Then we continued walking and went to Covent Gardens where we went in to the St. Paul's church there; they call it the actor's church. Inside there was a free concert by the Indiana Wesleyan choir. Wow, they were amazing. We sat in the balcony & had church which was totally cool b/c it was Sunday and we had not had a service or anything.

I was really grateful b/c you could tell that the director was a Christian. I didn't realize it but there are things I already miss about America. It could just be London, but I think Americans in general are friendlier and also Christianity is better received there I think.

Anyway, after the concert I went downstairs to tell them what a blessing it was and I met this really good looking guy, but I decided that it was a bad time to flirt. (A side note: The British on the whole are not very good looking & Hugh Grant must be a major exception to the rule.) As we walked out of the church we saw a crowd and went to investigate.

In front of the church a group of 6 Brits were performing. They were some sort of street performing troupe. [CT/SN: I think I stopped here and when I started writing again the next day, I didn't put in the date, hence weird tense usage.] That night they said, "We'eh sucking up to tha church." So they were raising money to support St. Paul's. It was very funny & entertaining, but after hearing the choir it seemed sacrilegious. Churches here are more of monuments than places of worship.

When we had gathered round to watch the show they said they wanted to hear us cheering but that we (the crowd) were too British so I let out a big American applause & whoop. They looked at me and asked if I was from America. I rather enjoyed that b/c those are the sort of things that really help you see the differences in cultures. Well we left there, walked back to the hotel, but we stopped at a Greek restaurant across the street first and ordered 10 desserts & shared them on the sidewalk. It was a lot of fun.

Look back on London

Well, from what I have gathered, blogs are supposed to be either on-line journals of current events, a newsletter to keep your friends updated on your life, or a way for people to get their voice out there (whether anyone is paying attention or not). I don't think that my next few posts will be that. See, a little less than 2 years ago, I was in England. I kept a journal through most of the trip, and I never showed it to anyone, although that was why I kept the journal. So for the next few posts, I will be typing in what I wrote during the trip. Just think of them as really old journal entries.

5-14-04 (Current thoughts/side note: I never realized, or had forgotten that it was Christopher's b-day)

I have decided that such a vast amount of time has elapsed between the last entry(CT/SN: Last entry was 1-24-04) and now that there can only be this brief acknowlegement of the gap. I will suffice to say that I have had a great semester and am now about to finish my work week. Tomorrow afternoon I leave for London. I am so delighted. I can't believe that I am actually going to go. I'm flying to North Carolina as soon as we get back. I wanted to copy down some stuff before I go. God is: "Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty. The Lord mighty in battle." Ps. 24:8 "Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Thine is the dominon, O Lord, and thou dost exal Thyself as head over all." I Chron. 29:11

#1

Take deep breath, squint eyes shut, hold nose, other hand high in the air, inch forward, check the bounce, yeah-it works, don't peek, too late, hear taunting voice from behing and below, 123 jump, freefall, weeeee....lcome to my new blog. Recently I have been involved with xanga, but thanks to my dear friend Elizabeth, I am branching out, trying new things. We'll see how it goes. ;)