Life is going by so quickly.
So there was a
project, 40% of my grade for one of my classes, which was due this past Thursday,
the 6th of December. So that took up a lot of my time this week. Yay
late night homework parties due to a refined procrastination-- I’ve had years
of experience, I’m pro.
The 3rd
of December, this past Monday, I went on my last walk! All twelve of them are
finished! It was along the South side of the Thames River. It went past a bunch of bridges (obviously,
we’re going along a river that is right in the middle of a big city) such as
the Millennium Bridge, Tower Bridge (often mistaken for London Bridge but they’re
actually different), and Hungerford Bridge. London as a whole has a lot of
glass buildings and they are so gorgeous. It was a rainy day so it looked even
cooler, in my opinion.
On the 4th,
as a program, we went to St. Paul’s Cathedral. It is the 5th
cathedral to be built in that same spot under the same name, the current one
having been designed by Sir Christopher Wren. Our tour guide was one of those
old, snarky British guys who know way more than three of us university students
would ever hope to know. It was terrifying climbing to the top of the cathedral
dome though—if you didn’t know that about me, I’m scared of heights. It didn’t
help that some of the stairs were metal and you could see how far you would be
falling down if you slipped. It was great. But really, the view was fantastic
and all 528 steps were worth it.
On the 5th,
a small group of us ventured out to Wesley’s Chapel, an LDS church history site
that our religion teacher asked us to go see. It’s not officially a church
history site I don’t think, but it does have significance in the British Isles
and the beginning of the church being established here. It’s where some of the
brethren first preached the Gospel, by invitation, taking the majority of the Methodist
congregation with them by the end of it because of what the brethren shared
with them.
Let’s see, the 6th
was really awesome! I didn’t do too much, Thursdays are mostly taken up by
classes BUT that was my last day of classes for this semester!! AND that night,
I went to an Eric Whitacre Christmas Concert at Union Chapel! He directed the
Eric Whitacre Singers, a group less than 20 singers, and I was able to hear one
of my favorite pieces that I’ve even performed, composed by him, Lux Arumque. Listen to it, it’s awesome.
Look, I even
made it super easy for you to get to. You’re welcome. It was crazy to see the
man who composed the music that I helped bring to life at one point in a
cathedral in San Francisco with my high school choir at a competition almost
two years ago. I love that song. But seeing the man behind the music was
surreal—he’s so young! And actually alive! I miss choir but seeing that made me feel
better about it. And plus, it got me really excited about Christmas! Only 17
more days, not that anyone is counting.
The 7th,
yesterday, we took our LAST day trip to Oxford!! Now that was a treat and a
half. We stopped at two other sites first. One of them was a Neo-Lithic site, a
white chalk drawing of a horse on a hillside. It was a super windy day in
general but walking around on top of a hill for almost a half an hour looking
for some chalk that we couldn’t even distinguish was a horse because it was huge
and we were above it, it got a little chilly. There were a lot of sheep roaming
around so when 40+ people are walking in all different directions, they tend to
get a little confused. We had fun with it though. And the view was spectacular.
Our next stop
was Blenheim Palace, a site known to be associated with Winston Churchill
because it is where he was born and near where he is buried. We didn’t have
much time there so the history of the estate was kind of thrown at us rapid
fire, so if you want to learn more about it don’t ask too much from me. It was
a very grandiose, beautiful palace and I enjoyed going through as much as we
did.
Once we got to
Oxford, we split into three groups and each had super awesome tour guides—except
my group had the best one. Ted East, who used to be the Marshall of Oxford! That’s
a big deal. Before that he was a superintendent of one of the colleges, and
before that was in the Scottish Regiment! Basically, the coolest old guy ever. The
best part was that after the tour was over and all the groups kind of ended up
in the same area, he went up to one of our professors and told him that we were
one of the best groups he’s ever taken around Oxford and that he loved us. That
really meant a lot and we were sad to say goodbye to him. Oxford itself was
ridiculous—I have no chance of ever going there myself, but how cool would that
be! Ted took us around to see different quads and colleges within the
university, showing us where different famous people lived, different movies
were shot (there were two Harry Potter spots that we got to see, just sayin’—embarrassingly
enough, I called which scenes they were before he even told us). The experience
was unforgettable.
What made it
even better was knowing that one of my high school English teachers somewhat
recently got accepted into a Master’s program at Oxford! She’s been a big
influence in my academic career and one of the reasons that I’m an English
major, that I love literature and art, and that I got into this Study Abroad!
So basically Ms. Duffy, you’re awesome.
Today, I went to
the Portobello market for the last time! Got breakfast, fought through the
thick crowds of Christmas shoppers, and enjoyed a clear, crisp morning! After that,
one of my peers and I made our way to the Tate Britain museum to see a
Pre-Raphaelite exhibition as part of one of our English classes. I really like
the Pre-Raphaelite art, probably another thing I picked up from Duffy’s English
classes. I got to see Ophelia, by Millias
(https://www.google.co.uk/search?num=10&hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=918&bih=872&q=ophelia+millais&oq=ophelia&gs_l=img.3.2.0l10.1166.2655.0.4585.7.5.0.2.2.0.84.389.5.5.0...0.0...1ac.1.-a5onQLxVrI)
, in real life! And a few other ones I really like, The Lady of Shalott, by Hunt, (https://www.google.co.uk/search?num=10&hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=918&bih=872&q=the+lady+of+shalott+holman+hunt&oq=the+lady+of+shalott&gs_l=img.1.5.0l10.665.3223.0.5760.19.14.0.5.5.0.144.1108.12j2.14.0...0.0...1ac.1._cviFiNX7_Q
) being one of them. We also got to
see a collection of Turner paintings, an artist we studied in our Music class.
We stopped by the Christmas Market on the South of the Thames, right under the Hungerford Bridge. Then, a couple
other girls joined up with us to go up on the LONDON EYE. It was so much fun!!
If you’re ever in London, go on the Eye, otherwise you don’t experience it
fully. It was so amazing. We went in the mid-afternoon, when the sun was beginning
to set, and the views—oh the views. Cameras do it no justice. And just so you
know, I am still scared of heights.
I spent my last Saturday
night at the Old Swan pub, across the street from the Notting Hill Gate Tube
stop, where I go on a daily basis. No worries, I just got a burger and chips. Well,
and water.
Sorry about the lack of pictures, the internet...I'll try to get some up next week!
This next week
is my last week here! Monday and Tuesday are our finals and one of those nights
I will be attending the Nutcracker! Wednesday is the program’s scheduled temple
trip that my friend and I are heading since we’ve already gone. Thursday will
basically be an all-day packing extravaganza. Friday, I’ll be heading to the
airport early in the morning to fly back home
for Christmas!
There ya go.
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