Hello friends!
It’s Saturday night and most of the group is sitting in the hotel....studying. It’s becoming glaringly obvious that our lives in London are coming to an end soon. This week has been crazy and enjoyable at the same time.
As I mentioned before, we had our long “free” weekend starting last Friday! So Friday afternoon, I boarded a plane in Standsted Airport headed to Rome! Rome is nothing like I expected it. It was very tourist-oriented, which is not a bad thing always. I was armed with my Rome travel guide, and hit the Italian ground running. The first night there, I had real Italian ravioli. I can’t even explain how cool it was to see landmarks such as the Coliseum, the Sistine Chapel, and just the Italian atmosphere in person. No picture could capture the brilliance of the many (and do I mean MANY) churches that I went into over the weekend. I had several cool moments where I just walked into a random church, and just had really cool alone time with God surrounded by the overwhelming sculpture and architecture. In just three days, I hit all the major sights, but mostly, ate a lot of really good food. I think my feet still hurt from walking so much. I may never go back to Rome, and that’s okay, because I checked a lot off of my bucket list that weekend.
Despite having an amazing time in Rome, it was such a good feeling to be back in London late Monday night (my flight landed at midnight and I got back to the hotel at 2:30am). I had really taken for granted being in a country where everyone spoke English and the bus system actually made sense.
It was a calmer week on the school schedule, but only for one reason: it was the last week of class and finals start next week. It was also extra stressful because we turned in our huge art research paper at the end of the week. We had our final British literature classes on Tuesday and Thursday, and our last Art History on Friday. It’s weird to think that I may never take another English course again.
Tuesday night was a highlight because I woke up at 4:00am to Skype into a Shawreth meeting back at MC. I have missed my brothers so much and I can’t wait to get back to actually be at a meeting and make Hot Pocket runs with them.
On Wednesday, we boarded a coach and spent the entire day in Stratford, where Shakespeare lived when he wasn’t in London and is buried. We ended the night by seeing the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Richard III.
Thursday night, we saw the new hit West-End musical, Matilda. The playwright who adapted the show from Roald Dahl’s book came and spoke to our theatre class last week,so it was an extra special treat to get to see this show. It has been nominated for 10 Olivier Awards (British equivalent to the Tony’s) and is expected to premier on Broadway next year. I can see why! This was one of the best musicals I had ever seen and the kids were so talented!
Friday night, a friend and I got last minute tickets to Singin’ in the Rain, which is based on the movie. That was a fun night in the theater! While it didn’t break any ground for being original or extremely moving, the dance sequences were so cool, and it actually rained on the stage! They even handed out ponchos to the first few rows who got soaked.
Today, we started off by touring Parliament which was a BIG deal. That is the equivalent of touring the Capitol building in Washington DC. We then took a train to Windsor to see Windsor Castle, which is the home of Queen Elizabeth II. We were told that she was actually there today. I’m a little offended that she didn’t invite me to tea or something.
Tonight, it’s a study night. I will probably stay up late tonight because it is Shawreth Formal in Memphis. I really wish I could be with my brothers tonight, but if I’ve learned anything, it’s that God has us all in a specific place for a specific purpose. I hope they all have a blast. Tonight is extra special because Shawreth is announcing who our new freshmen sweetheart is! I know that she will be such a great addition to The Order!
I’ll get up early in the morning and go to the early service at All Souls church, and then I’m hitting the books...well, note cards, all day in preparation for finals starting Monday and every day until Friday. I will hopefully be able to update occasionally, but this will probably be my last detailed blog until I get back to the States!
Ciao!
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