Well, I'm exhausted, but it was a really great day. I think I may have been the only American there, haha, because they asked who was there from overseas and only a handful of people raised their hands. :) So, I'm really too tired right now to do the subject justice, but I will give a full write up of everything tomorrow, including speakers notes and things like that.
The conference had a main session in the morning, then break for lunch, then workshops, a break, workshops repeated, another break, and then the final session went from 6:30-8:30. I got back to my flat around 9:30 because I had to take the tube back for quite a few stations and do some walking. The workshops that I chose to go to focused on vocal performance and developing one's technique so that one can focus better on leading in worship and less on how one sounds. It was a lot like a University Chorus class, actually, which was kind of fun.
The morning session speaker, Amy Ewing, spoke about the magnificence of Christ and His qualities as revealed through seven miracles in the book of John. The evening session speaker was Tim Hughes (surprise surprise :) not that I was complaining) and he spoke about worship and injustice. Very interesting.
I also got to know a really nice man named John who happened to sit next to me at the morning session and who had also come alone. He's a worship leader at a church near Windsor, but he lived in the States for some years as he works for Microsoft. Since we didn't really know anybody else there, we hung out for the day and had some really great discussions about worship, the church, USA vs UK, churches in both the US and the UK, politics (since I'm here for a politics class anyway, haha), college systems (he went to Cambridge), and fun things like that. It was really a blessing to have someone to talk to throughout the day and to have company during the lunch and other breaks. God knows what He's doing when He brings people places. :)
So, between doing a LOT of singing, talking, notetaking, walking, and listening, I'm really tired. It's only 10:00, but I think I might be headed to bed by 10:30 or 10:45. :-P Lame, I know. But there's no one here to entertain me (haha), we only get four channels on the television, and I don't have enough bandwidth to watch anything on my computer. I definitely don't have enough energy to be creative. :-P Perhaps I'll read a book. Anyway, there's my very brief report about the day. Sunny weather again! And we're supposed to have it tomorrow, too. Lovely.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Friday, May 18, 2007
Postscript
Brian pointed out that the reason my internet is working now is probably because the weather has been nice. There has been no rain interference. I think he's probably right, so pray for good weather and no rain! :)
Abri's Walking Tour of Beautiful Places
Hello all :)
Pictures added to Album II from Walkabout and of my dorm area:
http://wlu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012659&l=62f42&id=19000059
My photographic adventure: http://wlu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012903&l=a1992&id=19000059
Today was a lovely day. So lovely that I got to wear a tank top and flip flops and walk around the city taking pictures and embracing my creative side. I was in heaven. After sleeping in, I sadly woke up to an empty flat. Everyone else is gone this weekend to various locations around Europe, but I've decided to stay to see Caelah and to go to the worship conference tomorrow. Caelah arrived in London around 6 am, but she did not get to her flat until around 1:15 or so. I know because I went there to wait for her. :)
Caelah's flat is only about eight minutes walking distance from mine. I went around noon, figuring that they had to have arrived by then, but no. A plane was late, or something like that. So I ran some errands and then came back an hour later in time to meet her as soon as she arrived. :) And carry some of her stuff upstairs. She had to start her super busy orientation weekend pretty much right away, but we still managed to get four or five hugs in during the ten minutes we were together. As Rachel says, we are the "huggy family."
I spent the afternoon walking around London taking pictures. It was such a beautiful day that I knew I couldn't waste it. I decided to start in Russell Square, a park closer to Caelah's flat than mine that is really pretty. After that I took the tube one stop up to Kings Cross because I just had to find Platform 9 3/4. :) It's so close, but it's kind of confusing. There's a lot of construction around it. I did manage to find it, though, as the pictures will attest. :) After that, I took the tube all the way down to the Tower again because I wanted to get some pictures along the Thames. Along the way a musician hopped on my
I wasn't planning on walking all the way from the Tower Bridge to the Millenium Bridge, but I did. It took me about an hour. It's a pretty long walk, and parts of it are a little sketchy because of construction, but it was really pretty and I enjoyed it. What I did not realize was that the Millenium Bridge is literally right by St. Paul's Cathedral. I was very pleasantly surprised to see it when I turned around on the bridge!
It was around 4:40 by this point. I headed over to the church and took some pictures in the courtyard, and then made it inside for Evensong at 5:00, the evening service at the cathedral every day. It is a combination of Vespers and Compline written by Thomas Cranmer, the first Archbishop of Canterbury. It is a sung service, so it's more of a listening thing than a participation thing, but it was still really meaningful and I enjoyed it a lot. The ten or so men who sang the liturgies blended really well. I was one of forty-five people who got to sit in the front of the church near the choir, where everything was going on. :) So that was really cool. I also got to go into the church for free because I went for a service! Very exciting.
I was really hungry by that point so I came back to the flat, made some dinner, and then did picked up a bit. Talked to the family and Brian for a while, and now I'm going to get a good night's rest before my worship fun tomorrow! Wonderful day, sweet dreams to all...
Pictures added to Album II from Walkabout and of my dorm area:
http://wlu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012659&l=62f42&id=19000059
My photographic adventure: http://wlu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012903&l=a1992&id=19000059
Today was a lovely day. So lovely that I got to wear a tank top and flip flops and walk around the city taking pictures and embracing my creative side. I was in heaven. After sleeping in, I sadly woke up to an empty flat. Everyone else is gone this weekend to various locations around Europe, but I've decided to stay to see Caelah and to go to the worship conference tomorrow. Caelah arrived in London around 6 am, but she did not get to her flat until around 1:15 or so. I know because I went there to wait for her. :)
Caelah's flat is only about eight minutes walking distance from mine. I went around noon, figuring that they had to have arrived by then, but no. A plane was late, or something like that. So I ran some errands and then came back an hour later in time to meet her as soon as she arrived. :) And carry some of her stuff upstairs. She had to start her super busy orientation weekend pretty much right away, but we still managed to get four or five hugs in during the ten minutes we were together. As Rachel says, we are the "huggy family."
I spent the afternoon walking around London taking pictures. It was such a beautiful day that I knew I couldn't waste it. I decided to start in Russell Square, a park closer to Caelah's flat than mine that is really pretty. After that I took the tube one stop up to Kings Cross because I just had to find Platform 9 3/4. :) It's so close, but it's kind of confusing. There's a lot of construction around it. I did manage to find it, though, as the pictures will attest. :) After that, I took the tube all the way down to the Tower again because I wanted to get some pictures along the Thames. Along the way a musician hopped on my
I wasn't planning on walking all the way from the Tower Bridge to the Millenium Bridge, but I did. It took me about an hour. It's a pretty long walk, and parts of it are a little sketchy because of construction, but it was really pretty and I enjoyed it. What I did not realize was that the Millenium Bridge is literally right by St. Paul's Cathedral. I was very pleasantly surprised to see it when I turned around on the bridge!
It was around 4:40 by this point. I headed over to the church and took some pictures in the courtyard, and then made it inside for Evensong at 5:00, the evening service at the cathedral every day. It is a combination of Vespers and Compline written by Thomas Cranmer, the first Archbishop of Canterbury. It is a sung service, so it's more of a listening thing than a participation thing, but it was still really meaningful and I enjoyed it a lot. The ten or so men who sang the liturgies blended really well. I was one of forty-five people who got to sit in the front of the church near the choir, where everything was going on. :) So that was really cool. I also got to go into the church for free because I went for a service! Very exciting.
I was really hungry by that point so I came back to the flat, made some dinner, and then did picked up a bit. Talked to the family and Brian for a while, and now I'm going to get a good night's rest before my worship fun tomorrow! Wonderful day, sweet dreams to all...
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Lazy Day
Sorry for the lack of earlier update, but we didn't do much today. Probably because we all went out last night. The whole lot of us (ha British talk) went to a bar called Walkabout because it was their student night. The W&L Theater group was there, too, so we took over a section of the club for our own use. We had a really great time, and I was part of the early returning group that came back at 1 am, heh. The rest of them came back much later. So, we were all a bit tired today.
This morning we had a class with Lembit Opik, one of the leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party here in the UK. He has a strange name because his parents are from Estonia, though he was born in Northern Ireland. If you read the Wikipedia article he seems a bit...off-color? and maybe he is, but he was hilarious, and really smart. We talked about third parties and why they're important (he says to be the conscience of a country), why the Lib Dems are clearly the best party for the UK, UK and US politics, how he would like to see the country run, and the truth, politics, politicians, and the media. I wasn't in total agreement with, well, a good deal of what he said, but he was really engaging and it was a good way to spend a morning.
After that we all just kind of bummed around all afternoon. Lavinia and I went to some cell phone shops and found a very decently priced one for me, so if you feel like you'd like to have that number, let me know. Some kids ran errands or did laundry. Most of them are leaving at some point tonight to go to various European destinations (Paris, Brussells, and Edinburgh are the big contenders this weekend), so they spent the day getting ready to go. I'm staying here to play with Caelah (who arrives tomorrow morning at 6!) and to go to the worship conference at Holy Trinity Brompton.
I checked out HTB earlier this evening at a prayer/worship thing. It's a very pretty, old church and I really enjoyed by time there. I think the conference on Saturday is going to be great. After that, I watched LOST online (ohhhh goodness....) and I've been wasting time away on the internet in my flat for the past two hours. Yes! Internet! IN the flat! It randomly started working yesterday afternoon. I have no idea why, and I have no idea what I did or if I did anything at all to make it work, but I'm not complaining. I had been working on chapter 6 of my current fic for a couple hours and the internet was just randomly connected. I was ecstatic. And it hasn't gone out! Let's pray that it doesn't. :)
Okay, I think those are all the pertinent details. Can't wait to see my Caelah!
This morning we had a class with Lembit Opik, one of the leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party here in the UK. He has a strange name because his parents are from Estonia, though he was born in Northern Ireland. If you read the Wikipedia article he seems a bit...off-color? and maybe he is, but he was hilarious, and really smart. We talked about third parties and why they're important (he says to be the conscience of a country), why the Lib Dems are clearly the best party for the UK, UK and US politics, how he would like to see the country run, and the truth, politics, politicians, and the media. I wasn't in total agreement with, well, a good deal of what he said, but he was really engaging and it was a good way to spend a morning.
After that we all just kind of bummed around all afternoon. Lavinia and I went to some cell phone shops and found a very decently priced one for me, so if you feel like you'd like to have that number, let me know. Some kids ran errands or did laundry. Most of them are leaving at some point tonight to go to various European destinations (Paris, Brussells, and Edinburgh are the big contenders this weekend), so they spent the day getting ready to go. I'm staying here to play with Caelah (who arrives tomorrow morning at 6!) and to go to the worship conference at Holy Trinity Brompton.
I checked out HTB earlier this evening at a prayer/worship thing. It's a very pretty, old church and I really enjoyed by time there. I think the conference on Saturday is going to be great. After that, I watched LOST online (ohhhh goodness....) and I've been wasting time away on the internet in my flat for the past two hours. Yes! Internet! IN the flat! It randomly started working yesterday afternoon. I have no idea why, and I have no idea what I did or if I did anything at all to make it work, but I'm not complaining. I had been working on chapter 6 of my current fic for a couple hours and the internet was just randomly connected. I was ecstatic. And it hasn't gone out! Let's pray that it doesn't. :)
Okay, I think those are all the pertinent details. Can't wait to see my Caelah!
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Parliament and Westminster
First off, more pictures are up! From Stratford, St. James Park, Trafalgar Square, the Houses of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. Access here: http://wlu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012659&l=62f42&id=19000059
So, clearly, today we went to Parliament and Westminster Abbey. We had a tour of the House of Commons, House of Lords, the hallways in-between, and the oldest chapel part also that I forget the name of. But it's been around for a long time. It was cool learning about the political system again from British eyes and seeing how it worked in action. Then we had a class with Lord Geddes who was really interesting to listen to.
After that, Max, Michael, Lavinia, Becca, Robin, and I went to lunch at a Methodist church that has a cafe with really nicely priced, and very tasty, food. It was right across the street from Westminster Abbey, which is also across the street from Parliament, so it was perfectly placed. Westminster Abbey is AMAZING! It's really pretty, and it was fun seeing where all sorts of people are buried (Georg Friedrich Handel, Geoffrey Chaucer, David Livingstone, Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, Edward the Confessor...just to name a few...). No pictures allowed inside again. I'm beginning to think this is an awful English trend. Most places in Germany and Spain allowed photographs. I'm really sad. But, it was still really cool to see where every English monarch since 1066 has been crowned, and to see some really old church ruins from the 1000s. Quite intriguing.
I can't wait to see Caelah very soon. :) She comes to London on Friday. Not sure what the plans are for tonight. I'm going to go find some dinner. :) Hope all is well! Enjoy the pictures.
So, clearly, today we went to Parliament and Westminster Abbey. We had a tour of the House of Commons, House of Lords, the hallways in-between, and the oldest chapel part also that I forget the name of. But it's been around for a long time. It was cool learning about the political system again from British eyes and seeing how it worked in action. Then we had a class with Lord Geddes who was really interesting to listen to.
After that, Max, Michael, Lavinia, Becca, Robin, and I went to lunch at a Methodist church that has a cafe with really nicely priced, and very tasty, food. It was right across the street from Westminster Abbey, which is also across the street from Parliament, so it was perfectly placed. Westminster Abbey is AMAZING! It's really pretty, and it was fun seeing where all sorts of people are buried (Georg Friedrich Handel, Geoffrey Chaucer, David Livingstone, Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, Edward the Confessor...just to name a few...). No pictures allowed inside again. I'm beginning to think this is an awful English trend. Most places in Germany and Spain allowed photographs. I'm really sad. But, it was still really cool to see where every English monarch since 1066 has been crowned, and to see some really old church ruins from the 1000s. Quite intriguing.
I can't wait to see Caelah very soon. :) She comes to London on Friday. Not sure what the plans are for tonight. I'm going to go find some dinner. :) Hope all is well! Enjoy the pictures.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?
Brief summary of the awesome-ness of today:
Other than that, Churchill is pretty cool. The museum was very interactive and I learned a lot about Churchill. The people at Scotland Yard were really interesting, too. We asked them various questions, mostly focusing on different aspects of gun control, civil rights of prisoners, right to a fair trial vs. giving the media a chance to report on court proceedings, and where to draw the line for the actions of policemen, ie how much power they should have. Good morning debate. Robin, Lauren, and I also enjoyed a very nice English breakfast this morning that kept me pretty full throughout the rest of the day.
And, of course, Trafalgar Square. I was so excited when we looked on the map and saw how close we were to it. For those who don't know, I used it as a scene in a story I wrote in high school once, because of the fountains. A couple of friends and I had decided that it would be a wonderful idea to take a picture in a fountain at a town center nearby after enjoying a lovely dinner to celebrate the end of AP exams junior year of high school. Yeah...we got yelled at...by a rent-a-cop...but he let us take pictures with him, haha. The scene was kind of based on that.
So I got a picture of myself near a sign that said something about how the public isn't supposed to swim in the fountain. I couldn't resist. Oh, and I climbed up one of the blocks upon which the four lions sit around Nelson Column to take a picture. Well, Michael gave me a boost so that I could get up there. It was fun. :) Pictures will be up soon, I promise.
And clearly, any square dedicated to someone with the last name of Nelson is an awesome place. Period.
Oh, we're going to go try to see Equus tomorrow.
- interview with cool people at Scotland Yard, very interesting and engaging
- lunch in St. James Park
- Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum...I never realized he was so cool
- Visit to Trafalgar Square on the way back (who reading this remembers the fountain scene in "How Many Ways"? and/or the RTC fountain fiasco after the AP US History exam junior year that I based it on...there can't be many of you ;) but let me know if you do! cause that's where I was today)
- Les Miserables...seven rows back...oh...my....goodness...
Other than that, Churchill is pretty cool. The museum was very interactive and I learned a lot about Churchill. The people at Scotland Yard were really interesting, too. We asked them various questions, mostly focusing on different aspects of gun control, civil rights of prisoners, right to a fair trial vs. giving the media a chance to report on court proceedings, and where to draw the line for the actions of policemen, ie how much power they should have. Good morning debate. Robin, Lauren, and I also enjoyed a very nice English breakfast this morning that kept me pretty full throughout the rest of the day.
And, of course, Trafalgar Square. I was so excited when we looked on the map and saw how close we were to it. For those who don't know, I used it as a scene in a story I wrote in high school once, because of the fountains. A couple of friends and I had decided that it would be a wonderful idea to take a picture in a fountain at a town center nearby after enjoying a lovely dinner to celebrate the end of AP exams junior year of high school. Yeah...we got yelled at...by a rent-a-cop...but he let us take pictures with him, haha. The scene was kind of based on that.
So I got a picture of myself near a sign that said something about how the public isn't supposed to swim in the fountain. I couldn't resist. Oh, and I climbed up one of the blocks upon which the four lions sit around Nelson Column to take a picture. Well, Michael gave me a boost so that I could get up there. It was fun. :) Pictures will be up soon, I promise.
And clearly, any square dedicated to someone with the last name of Nelson is an awesome place. Period.
Oh, we're going to go try to see Equus tomorrow.
Do you hear the people sing
Lost in the valley of the night?
It is the music of a people
Who are climbing to the light.
For the wretched of the earth
There is a flame that never dies.
Even the darkest night will end
And the sun will rise.
They will live again in freedom
In the garden of the Lord.
They will walk behind the plough-share,
They will put away the sword.
The chain will be broken
And all men will have their reward.
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes!
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes...
Tomorrow comes!
Lost in the valley of the night?
It is the music of a people
Who are climbing to the light.
For the wretched of the earth
There is a flame that never dies.
Even the darkest night will end
And the sun will rise.
They will live again in freedom
In the garden of the Lord.
They will walk behind the plough-share,
They will put away the sword.
The chain will be broken
And all men will have their reward.
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes!
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes...
Tomorrow comes!
Monday, May 14, 2007
Much Ado About Nothing
Hello all!
Sorry about my hiatus. Yesterday was a rainy day, so we didn't do very much. :) Which was just fine. It was nice having a day to rest. Lindsey, Nicola, and I went to church right down the road from their house and it was really great. It was very similar to The Falls Church in pastoral preaching style and in music, I even knew several of the songs! The processional music was the guy-girl echo song "I Will Worship" and I was thinking...dude...we've sung this song at every church I've ever attended, this rocks. The pastor gave a sermon about the Holy Spirit, who he said has three main purposes: revealing Christ/teaching us, encouraging us, and showing us when we mess up, which he described as getting a brick thrown at us to jolt us back into reality. :) Sometimes it takes a brick to get us back to where we need to be.
So that was really cool. Tomorrow night I'm going to try to check out the college group at Holy Trinity Brompton. We spent yesterday afternoon at the cinema since it was raining really hard. I was struck by the fact that only American films were being shown. It really put in perspective how much the US affects the world, and the thought of, should we? I'm sure there are a lot of really good British screenwriters and directors out there, but they don't get as much of a chance because Hollywood is so pervasive...hmm...
After enjoying a lovely traditional English Sunday dinner (chicken, Yorkshire pudding...which I loved..., roast potatoes, various really good vegetables), Lindsey, Nicola, and I caught up on LOST from the past three weeks and watched last week's awesome (and really weird) episode which aired last night in the UK. SkyOne is the name of the channel I think. It's a satellite channel, so it only airs on select televisions (not including the one in my flat) and it shows the the episode at 10:00 on Sunday nights, so four days after it airs in the States. So much information in that episode. I don't really know what to make of it. I won't say more, though, for Rachel's sake. ;) Poor girl is stuck in India without any hope of seeing LOST until June. Don't worry, you can make it. :-P
Today we took Donna to Milton Keynes to get ready for her show, and then continued on to Stratford-upon-Avon to see the birthplace of William Shakespeare. It was pretty cool, though Lindsey, Nicola, and I decided that they're trying a bit too hard to make it cool. Pretty much everything that they could prove had a connection to Shakespeare, they mentioned. We joked in the gift shop that we were holding Shakespeare's quill and Shakespeare's eraser (or rubber :-P) and we went to Shakespeare's pub for lunch. :) We had fun, that's all that matters.
Now I am back on Great Russell Street. I've finished my first two journals and I'm set to turn them in tomorrow morning. Tomorrow we are going to Scotland Yard and the Cabinet War Rooms, so that should be really interesting. Hope all is well!
Oh, and when Mom and Dad are here, we're going to go see Wicked. I'm stoked.
Sorry about my hiatus. Yesterday was a rainy day, so we didn't do very much. :) Which was just fine. It was nice having a day to rest. Lindsey, Nicola, and I went to church right down the road from their house and it was really great. It was very similar to The Falls Church in pastoral preaching style and in music, I even knew several of the songs! The processional music was the guy-girl echo song "I Will Worship" and I was thinking...dude...we've sung this song at every church I've ever attended, this rocks. The pastor gave a sermon about the Holy Spirit, who he said has three main purposes: revealing Christ/teaching us, encouraging us, and showing us when we mess up, which he described as getting a brick thrown at us to jolt us back into reality. :) Sometimes it takes a brick to get us back to where we need to be.
So that was really cool. Tomorrow night I'm going to try to check out the college group at Holy Trinity Brompton. We spent yesterday afternoon at the cinema since it was raining really hard. I was struck by the fact that only American films were being shown. It really put in perspective how much the US affects the world, and the thought of, should we? I'm sure there are a lot of really good British screenwriters and directors out there, but they don't get as much of a chance because Hollywood is so pervasive...hmm...
After enjoying a lovely traditional English Sunday dinner (chicken, Yorkshire pudding...which I loved..., roast potatoes, various really good vegetables), Lindsey, Nicola, and I caught up on LOST from the past three weeks and watched last week's awesome (and really weird) episode which aired last night in the UK. SkyOne is the name of the channel I think. It's a satellite channel, so it only airs on select televisions (not including the one in my flat) and it shows the the episode at 10:00 on Sunday nights, so four days after it airs in the States. So much information in that episode. I don't really know what to make of it. I won't say more, though, for Rachel's sake. ;) Poor girl is stuck in India without any hope of seeing LOST until June. Don't worry, you can make it. :-P
Today we took Donna to Milton Keynes to get ready for her show, and then continued on to Stratford-upon-Avon to see the birthplace of William Shakespeare. It was pretty cool, though Lindsey, Nicola, and I decided that they're trying a bit too hard to make it cool. Pretty much everything that they could prove had a connection to Shakespeare, they mentioned. We joked in the gift shop that we were holding Shakespeare's quill and Shakespeare's eraser (or rubber :-P) and we went to Shakespeare's pub for lunch. :) We had fun, that's all that matters.
Now I am back on Great Russell Street. I've finished my first two journals and I'm set to turn them in tomorrow morning. Tomorrow we are going to Scotland Yard and the Cabinet War Rooms, so that should be really interesting. Hope all is well!
Oh, and when Mom and Dad are here, we're going to go see Wicked. I'm stoked.
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