I am writing one last post while I am here in London, partially because I am procrastinating doing the only work assigned to me while I was here, and because, unfortunately, my trip is coming to an end.
While here in London, I pretty much had a month to do as I pleased and explore this wonderful city. Yes, I was taking a class, but I really had just about no work to do here because we were given the opportunity to do it before we arrived in this lovely city. I had a total of 17 one page journals and one paper to write in 31 days...tough stuff, I know!
I honestly can't believe a month has flown by already. I really don't want to go home. I feel like I fit in here so well, and I know that I have to come back! I really feel drawn here for some reason, but I am not sure what it is yet. Anyway, I will they to keep this post short, so I am just going to post about my top three experiences here in London (not in any particular order.)
First, since I can't really pick one place I have visited as my favorite, were my visits to the Harry Potter Studio, and Westminster Abbey; completely different, I know! Harry Potter was awesome because it was like newscasters said after the last movie last summer, for many people the last movie was also a sign of their childhood coming to an end. This is very true for me because the first book came to the US in 98, then the last movie premiered when I was 18. This tour was like growing up, I finally saw how things worked behind the scenes and it wasn't just awe and wonder anymore like things are as a child. The tour really wrapped things up! Not that I am all grown up now, but the course of the Harry Potter empire has come and gone, just like the innocence of childhood. Now that I have finished that cliche, I will move on to Westminster Abbey. I really enjoyed our free tour there (thank you nice Canadian lady!) but my favorite thing is actually the Evensong. The Westminster Choir (all boys and men) sing and it is just absolutely beautiful; words cannot describe it! The surroundings of so much history and beauty in one abbey make the experience even richer.
My next favorite experience here was going to the US Women's Soccer game in Glasgow vs. France. Even though we had a train issue and were almost left there, this was an amazing night! The best part of the game was when, after the USA scored, the fans all started chanting USA, USA, USA. For the first time in a really long time, it felt like those three letters being yelled really meant something. Maybe it is because I was at the Olympics and everyone was really proud of our country. For once there was no political drama in the words, there was no teenage guy yelling it to be funny, but people from the US, and Britain and Scotland, were proud of the action taking place and really cheering for our women. It was an indescribable moment.
My last favorite thing that has happened here was seeing the Duchess of Cambridge (Kate Middleton). Honestly, yes it was really awesome to see her, but the experience of everything going on around was the best part. It was insane to see how many paparazzi were there to get a good picture of her. The things they were saying to each other and about her were really funny; none of them were mean, they were actually well mannered and new their limits, but it was just funny. I was genuinely surprised at how the paparazzi acted. The men were helping each other out with their cameras and what not while waiting, then when traffic stopped and her car arrived for her to enter or exit, intensity hit like I have never seen before. At this point you could really tell that for a lot of these people, their next paycheck, or even their job, depended on these pictures. I am not by any means condoning this career though because often times they are invading privacy. It was just an interesting experience. It was also interesting to see how many common Londoners walking down the street would stop to see what the commotion was, then finding out Catherine was coming they to would stop and wait to get a picture. Some of these people were even on their way to work, but still stopped. One many in a cafe even moved all of his belongings to a different seat along the window to be able to continue his work and maybe get a glimpse of her.
Well, I guess this is it. I will likely post more about the trip when I arrive home, but for now I am going to enjoy my last three days here and soak up the blessings God has sent me!
God is love,
Court
The Last Battle
7 years ago
