A year later ...

Hello to all of my faithful readers :) hopefully some of you will still check back.  Please leave me a comment if you do!

I was reading through my blogs from last year tonight and remembering the trip fondly, and realizing how much I miss being in London.  I really loved going to church at St. George's, seeing all the sights of the city, wandering around, randomly going to St. Paul's for Evensong, seeing the Hazeltons, meeting new friends ... everything.  Going to London for spring term last year was one of the best decisions I made in college.

Things I remember most sharply about the trip:

• hanging out with the kids in the flats
• our trip to the Tower
• my Thames River walk
• St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey
• Worship Central and enjoying the day with John
• pubs and Pizza Express :)
• my adventures with the Hazeltons, especially meeting Donna, Indian food, talking with Nicola in the den, our English dinner, Windsor, and Stratford-Upon-Avon
• playing with my family, and especially missing Caelah after she was in London for two more months than I was, and wishing I could be having fun with her there
• St. George's Holborn and how amazingly wonderful everyone was there
• Oxford and Cambridge
• Les Miserables and Wicked
• sitting in the dungeon of the computer labs at Great Russell Street typing up all of these entries :)

Things I learned:

• I can feel at home overseas
• childhood dreams are worth holding on to
• I can go to a church or a church conference without knowing anybody, and have a wonderful time worshipping God and meeting new brothers and sisters
• I love rainy weather
• experiencing history is so much better than reading about it, and I still love doing that, too :)
• a whole lot of British history, which I still remember
• a whole lot about how God loves and pursues us, and about worship
• I love London

I still listen to the Worship Central podcast faithfully.  Every time I see or read something about London or the UK I get so excited inside because of all these great things that I remember.  I miss it, and I do love the States more, I'll always be an American girl, but part of my heart is in London, too.

I've decided that I'm going to try to go over for the Summer Olympics in 2012.  Until then, faithful readers, keep safe, keep faith, and read my entries at http://wonderofnow.blogspot.com

Yours,

Abri

The Nelsons Go To London

Hello all :)

I had a great week with my parents here. My mom arrived last Thursday and my dad arrived on Friday, both very safely. Friday night we met up with the Hazeltons to go see "Wicked"...which was awesome!!!!!!!!! I loved it. I love "Wicked" and I've wanted to see it for two years now, so it was great to be able to see a show that I literally know every note and every word to, and also great to see the Hazeltons again. I also finished Chapter 6 on Friday! So the next installment on PhoenixSong went up on Saturday morning. Really exciting stuff for me as I hadn't posted a new chapter since December. Thanks to all who have left reviews so far. :)

On Saturday, we joined Caelah's group for a trip to Greenwich. We walked around for a while and we went to the Prime Meridian museum/observatory. We took a catamaran boat ride down the Thames to get there, which was really cool. It was nice seeing the area around the river. :) Mom, Dad, and I were really tired after that so we chilled out at my apartment with Whitney and Adam, and then I went down and hung out with with all the kids here for the weekend in the boys' apartment.

I showed the family St. George's on Sunday morning. They all really liked it, too. :) The whole church was really friendly and John Valentine did a sermon on Ephesians about experiencing the fullness of God...Sunday was Pentecost. Caelah had a class thing in the afternoon, and it was raining a lot, so I did lunch with the parents and then we went to the British Museum for a bit, then down to Covent Garden where we had afternoon tea. Mom and Dad were tired after that so they took naps while I did some more writing. We went to a late dinner at a French restaurant near their hotel.

We got out of London on Monday for a trip to Stonehenge and Avebury with the Hazeltons. Mom, Dad, and I took the train to Princes Risborough and then we drove 2 more hours to Stonehenge. It was kind of wet and cold and miserable outside, but we had a lot of fun hanging out and keeping one another warm and speculating about the purposes for the big rocks, since, as our wonderful audio guides informed us, they really have no idea about why Stonehenge exists. It was very enlightening. After a really nice lunch in Marlborough we drove to Avebury, a small town built literally inside of a henge (a circle of stones). It's the largest stone monument in the world in land area. It was really neat to see the various rocks scattered around the community, and see how the town was just literally built up inside of it. Caelah met us back in London for dinner in one of Dad's favorite locations, St. Christopher's Place. There are all kinds of different restaurants there, but we chose one specializing in Spanish Tapas. :)

Mom and I went with my class to Cambridge on Tuesday while Dad stayed in London to do work and prepare for his meeting on Wednesday. Another cold, wet, rainy, miserable day...but we still had fun. The early afternoon walking tour was a bit much, though the town is sooo nice. I preferred the size to Oxford's size. There was a lot more shopping than in Oxford, but less places to eat. Mom and I found a restaurant/student bar with Dima, Jenny, and Greg that specialized in wood fired pizza. They have all kinds of special meal deals...we each got a personal pizza and salad for four pounds! Definitely a student place, and there were a lot of kids studying as they're in exams right now. Tuesday night I went to a comedy show with Max, Lavinia, Becca, and Max's Uncle Eddie. It was hilarious! Mostly standup, political humor. We really enjoyed it.

Wednesday was Mom and Dad's last day in London, and Dad spent the whole day working. Mom and I met up with Caelah for a long lunch before she joined the class again for a tour of Shakespeare's Globe Theater. It took them 10 years to rebuild the Globe from 1987-1997 because they built it in exactly the same way it would have been built in the 1500s...which means they had to carve these huge nails by hand. Each one takes an hour and a half to make, and there are over a thousand of them. We couldn't take pictures because they're rehearsing for "The Merchant of Venice" which opens this Saturday, but we got to see the final blocking process, which was really cool. :) Mom and I got our fill of modern art at the Tate Modern afterwards, which is right next door. It was cool seeing a lot of the art that I got to study in world history in high school and also in some of my history classes at W&L. Mom went back to her hotel after that and I got ready to go back to the Globe that night to see "Othello" with the class. Max, Lavinia, Adam, Whitney, and I didn't quite leave enough time for us to enjoy a meal before the play, so we had to get take out and eat it really fast in front of the theater! The performance was alright, it kind of seemed like a read through, though the second half was better than the first. It was hard to understand what the actors were saying since Shakespearean language is so fancy and word-filled, they weren't miked, and the theater is open air. But, it was still really cool seeing the play the way in a similar setting to how it was originally performed.

We were supposed to have two speakers today, Thursday, but the one this morning on Northern Ireland cancelled because she was sick. I was really bummed cause I was interested in hearing her. Adam has had this semi-obsession with wanting to go see this guy, Jeremy Bentham, who was preserved after he died and whose body is on display at the College of London. So, he roped us (Whitney, Lavinia, Becca, Robin, Lauren, and me) into going and we did. We found Jeremy. It was kind of creepy, but still interesting. Google him and you can see what we saw. ;) After that, I went with Michael, Lavinia, and Mason to indulge Michael's fancy to see this pub called The Holly Bush in Hampstead. His father really wanted him to go there, and it was easily accessible on the Northern Line...though pretty far out. Lucky still in Zone 2 with our Oyster cards. The pub was really old and really nice, kind of tucked away at the top of this hill. We spent a while there and then walked around Hampstead for a bit before taking the tube back down to central London. In about an hour we have our second speaker on the European Union and tonight we're going to see a show called "Whipping It Up" which is apparently a political satire.

Time to do some more writing before class :)

Equus Report

For all those who are interested...

No, I didn't go to see Equus, but half of our group did. Here are some of their thoughts...

First of all, at least for me, it's not worth the money, mostly because they poke fun at religion. It's a good show, but no one would really think to go see it if Daniel Radcliffe weren't in it. Apparently it's very graphic, the whole premise is very disturbing, though still interesting.

The main character worships horses, though he doesn't ever "do" anything with them. Daniel is naked on stage for about five minutes, along with a naked woman...

The girls say that the girl in the show looked a lot taller than him. They think that Daniel is about 5'7" or 5'8". He just looked really tiny compared to the other actors...but he's been working out a lot. He's really scrawny, but really muscular.

Again, this is the other girls reporting, not me.

He's a really good actor in person, though. They say that it proves he's capable of doing more than Harry Potter and they really think that he's going to go a long way. And, for a seventeen year old to have done this show since February every night? That's pretty impressive.

The actor who plays Uncle Vernon in Harry Potter was also in the show. The girls say that he's really good, too. There was a very simple setting, mostly just with boxes. They say that the horses were creepy, especially when they come down from the ceiling, but really good actors...they really sounded and acted like horses. It was apparently a VERY weird show and they aren't so much fans.

And it got a standing ovation. But they think that that might just be standard now.

The Guardian......or, Abri's Views Are Validated

Making up for the silence of this week...

Mom arrived safely, and Dad is on his way, too. Caelah and I took Mom to a nice little deli near her hotel and ate a late lunch before I had to meet some of the guys to walk to The Guardian. It was really great just eating and talking with them. :) The three of us haven't had a meal just us in a while. At 3, I met up with Max, Michael, Mason, and Greg to be the navigator for The Guardian. I had written down the directions because I really wanted to walk since it was such a nice day out.

This was definitely one of my favorite classes. We didn't get a tour of the newsroom like they said we were going to, sadly, but we did get to talk to a cool guy, Martin Kettle. He writes a lot of their opinion columns. I really liked hearing his opinions because they echoed a lot of my own.

The Guardian, like any respectable paper, believes that fact and opinion should be kept separate. They even go so far as to create a distinct section of their paper, like most papers do for editorials and opinions...but they let their reporters write opinions that are contrary to what the editor feels. I thought that was cool. They think that every person in the newsroom should be able to have their own opinion and not have to subscribe to an overarching one.

Kettle explained more fully why the nature of UK papers as being national papers is important: they report less on local issues because they are reporting for a wide audience, also it's more typical for them to support parties because it's national politics that matters and not local elections. It also makes it easier for the government to regulate the broadcast media, but that means that they have to be more careful in their coverage. I was really happy that Kettle agreed with me that government regulation of media is a bad thing. :)

Kettle also thinks that privacy laws should be tightened. Now, I know that most journalists would say that a regulation on privacy is a bad idea, but I think that in the UK it would be a good thing because it would force certain papers (like The News of the World) to report on important issues and not create scandals to discredit politicians. Here, privacy laws would force real, investigative reporting rather than attempts at journalism by fake reporters trying to trick politicians into confessions.

Oh no, I don't have an opinion at all. :) I really don't like tabloid reporters giving journalists a bad name. I did think it was interesting, though, that Kettle said most UK journalists don't feel that journalism is a serious profession the way that US journalists do, so most of them don't make a big deal out of ethical and legal issues. Made sense to me with what I've seen so far with UK journalism. Kind of sad.

I went to dinner with Max and Lavinia after that. We found a restaurant specializing in Singaporean (is that a word?) food. It was reallllllly good, and I got to show off my chopstick skills. After that I watched the finale of LOST. Umm...yeah....ABC is pretty much destroying my life between LOST and Grey's. Even the finale of October Road was a little messed up. Perhaps when I watch season 3 of House, Fox will redeem my faith in television shows.

That said, I can't wait until fall when the shows resume.

Except LOST doesn't resume til 2008.

Sigh. Majorly.

Another Postscript

Not to worry, I have not exhibited any signs of the sickness that has been plaguing everyone else :) let's keep praying that I never do

Update :)

Hello all!

Sorry that I haven't been updating over the past couple days. The internet has been spotty in the flat, so I wouldn't have been able to update from the comfort of my living room, haha, but also we really haven't been doing a whole lot worth writing an essay about. Here is a summary:

Sunday I was told that the Sunday evening services were better for college aged people, so I didn't go to church in the morning. I spent most of the day doing laundry, writing, and relaxing, and then I went to St. George's Holborn just a few streets away. It's affiliated with HTB, it's a whole lot closer (8 minute walk), and I wasn't really in the mood for walking a bunch and taking the tube. :) The sermon was excellent, and so was the worship. I knew most of the songs! It was their monthly communion service as well...but they did it a bit differently (different for the people going there as well). They had everyone come up to the front and worship for a bit, then then we all took communion together up there. It was cool. :) The people there were very friendly. There were 30-40 people at the service, I'd say, and about a third of them were college students. After the service, a couple of them came up and asked me who I was and I sat and chatted with the students for about an hour or so. Whitney, Adam, Robin, Lauren, and Michael got back that night...all of them sick. I started to get a little worried.

Monday Since people were sick, we decided that hanging around the flats would probably be a good idea. I worked on my story some more (nearly done with chapter 6) and in the afternoon we called Caelah and she came to hang out with us, too. :) We sat and talked for a really long time, then went to a Japanese take out place that Caelah had found, and came back to catch up on Grey's Anatomy on my computer. ;) Then we sat and talked some more. Whitney and I were up really late and it was really fun to catch up with her, something we really hadn't done since freshman year. We agreed that we're getting a lot more sentimental since we're getting to be seniors, and this next year is going to be really interesting. Lots of thinking...but I love "life talks." Though I do miss having life talks with Rachel. You haven't been replaced, darling.

Tuesday At this point we discovered that almost everybody on the entire trip was sick. Some kind of flu. Only me and a couple others who hadn't gone away over the weekend were immune. I finished my journals in the morning and then we all trekked over to the Houses of Parliament again for another tour and a meeting with Kevan Jones, a Labour MP. He wasn't too spectacular, just kind of gave the answers we were expecting. No fun stories or anything. After that we waited in line for over an hour to see the House of Commons in session. Again, really interesting and cool, but nothing too spectacular. They were discussing health issues. We stayed for about half an hour and by then it was 3:30 so we were really hungry and went in search of food.

That night Robin and I went to St. George's again for their college group. About seven or so other college kids were there, a couple of whom I had met on Sunday night. We talked and ate for about an hour and a half or so, then we sang a couple songs and prayed for a while. It was really cool being able to talk with kids our age about God, life, school, politics, differences between the UK and US, all kinds of stuff. :) And to get to worship and pray with them was awesome as well. After that, Robin and I watched the finale for Grey's. All I have to say is...wow. I won't torture you, Rachel. That's the last Grey's comment, I promise.

I got my summer working schedule for USA Today also. It changes a couple times during the summer, and I sadly have to work on three Sundays (including Father's Day), but it's not too bad. I know it could be worse. :) And I'm still really excited for it.

Wednesday We met with Lord Alton in the morning and had a chat with him, and we met with Charles Pitt, a guy who works for Conservative MP Crispin Blunt, in the afternoon, so we didn't have a whole lot of time inbetween to do anything interesting. People took naps (many of them still sick) and others read books or wrote them ;) (like me). The W&L alumni reception was in the evening, and I got to see Ali Woodend! She is a lovely girl in my pledge class for Pi Phi who was an exchange student from St. Andrews in Scotland my freshman year (obviously, since she's in my pledge class). She is from High Wycombe, which is near where the Hazeltons live, and she works in London so she decided to stop by the reception, since she is an alumna. :) We had a really great time catching up on our lives and on everything going on back in Lexington.

After that, it got a little confusing. W&L receptions mean lots of wine, and not a lot of food, so some people had had a bit too much to drink, but a lot of them wanted to go to a pub to watch the end of the Liverpool v. Milan football (soccer :-P) game. Some others of us wanted to go back to the flats to change and THEN watch the game. We split up into two groups, and then four, and then we just couldn't find each other anymore, so I went to go get pizza (finally some food!) with Max, Robin, Whitney, and Adam. At 10:00. We met up with the rest of the kids around 11 to hang out for a bit, but then we were really tired so it was bedtime.

My parents were supposed to arrive yesterday, but they were delayed for a bit. Mom is on her way right now, and Dad will get here sometime this weekend, hopefully before tomorrow so that he can see Wicked!

So there's the update. Not too many plans for today. When Mom gets in, she and I are going to grab some lunch and hang out. The class is going to see the newsroom at The Guardian this afternoon which should be really interesting. Some kids are going to see shows tonight, but I'll probably hang out with Mom and Caelah. :) Another four day weekend coming up, so we have a lot to plan.

Happily, the weather has been very nice. We've all been in summer clothes. Sadly, it is going to get cold and rainy again before we leave. Oh well. We're going back to the sunny States!

Worship Central

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.