Thanks to the correct camera cord (all the way from Hong Kong - literally. a technology shop in Hong Kong), here are some pictures for you:
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Abtmblo2aMmTkY
if you go here and click on "View Album" and then "Detail View"...you'll see the pictures and my comments.
I'll try to keep them coming as I take them, but in my efforts to avoid being a tourist, they may be slow in coming.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Public transit
You know what I love? Public transportation. Yes, it's hot and miserable and often late, sporadic, or slow. But I love it.
And I especially love that when a bus' oyster scanner isn't working, the driver just tells you so, and you get a free ride. Way to go, Transport for London! You make lots of people happy with your generosity.
And I especially love that when a bus' oyster scanner isn't working, the driver just tells you so, and you get a free ride. Way to go, Transport for London! You make lots of people happy with your generosity.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Oh yes, I am still a student -
Well, I have certainly been remiss in my updating of this blog! This past week or so has been quite busy, as I have finally (mostly) established a schedule at the school, at City Gateway, and at the church. Just a few things to update on, I guess!
1- I love Thursdays. Really. This might be because I am most comfortable at Christ Church (of anyplace around here), but I love getting up for early morning prayer-song-bible discussion, I love brainstorming for kids' club and assembly, going visiting, cherishing lunchtime and teatime, knowing that all I have to wake up to is a great morning in the school and an afternoon off...
2- Ugh. I think I'm getting an illness parallel to the "I want to be at Houghton but not do schoolwork at Houghton"...except with the title "I want to be here working in London but not having to write papers about this unless they count as free journalling, and even that I'm not too keen on." Too bad neither of those illness-names will ever be clinically trustworthy; instead, I have a common cold and there is no chicken noodle soup in sight. Sainsbury's? If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my (culinary) trends...
3- Living in reality is hard sometimes, especially with a lingering case of culture shock. As much as I try to avoid the "little erin in the big city" wide-eyed innocence, it's somewhat inevitable...and indubitably frustrating! I think to escape this, I daydream when I ride the bus. This is good, except when it leads to afternoons of writing that lead nowhere near a handing-in-worthy essay.
4- Church vision day was Saturday; apparently, in my short afternoon jaunt to take Ben and Rachel to the park (I love those kids!), I missed Andy's attempt to embarass me...thank goodness :) I may have said this before, but it bears repeating: being here really helps to restore my faith in the church as an institution. Most who will read this know the doubts I have about organized Christianity - or organized religion in general - and its ability to do anything really good and effective in society. I guess I have long preferred to call 'faith' doing what I can in the situations I end up in to honor Jesus with my decisions.
But that's rather individualistic, no? And people by themselves can only be effective to a certain degree! I heard recently that Margaret Thatcher can be quoted in saying, "there is no community; there is only the individual." Even from a completely secular point of view in which I often find myself and my influences, how can that be true?
At any rate, being around a church that is active and passionate is contagious, and I love it. I only hope that I can honestly mature through what I do here.
5- Fall is here. Or Autumn, if you prefer. And it's lovely. I savor the chill in the air, even though I know that I'll probably first glimpse snow when I set down on the tarmac in GR on the 9th of December :)
There's much more I'd love to update you about, and will hopefully do so soon. Please badger me if you care to do so!
Much love-
1- I love Thursdays. Really. This might be because I am most comfortable at Christ Church (of anyplace around here), but I love getting up for early morning prayer-song-bible discussion, I love brainstorming for kids' club and assembly, going visiting, cherishing lunchtime and teatime, knowing that all I have to wake up to is a great morning in the school and an afternoon off...
2- Ugh. I think I'm getting an illness parallel to the "I want to be at Houghton but not do schoolwork at Houghton"...except with the title "I want to be here working in London but not having to write papers about this unless they count as free journalling, and even that I'm not too keen on." Too bad neither of those illness-names will ever be clinically trustworthy; instead, I have a common cold and there is no chicken noodle soup in sight. Sainsbury's? If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my (culinary) trends...
3- Living in reality is hard sometimes, especially with a lingering case of culture shock. As much as I try to avoid the "little erin in the big city" wide-eyed innocence, it's somewhat inevitable...and indubitably frustrating! I think to escape this, I daydream when I ride the bus. This is good, except when it leads to afternoons of writing that lead nowhere near a handing-in-worthy essay.
4- Church vision day was Saturday; apparently, in my short afternoon jaunt to take Ben and Rachel to the park (I love those kids!), I missed Andy's attempt to embarass me...thank goodness :) I may have said this before, but it bears repeating: being here really helps to restore my faith in the church as an institution. Most who will read this know the doubts I have about organized Christianity - or organized religion in general - and its ability to do anything really good and effective in society. I guess I have long preferred to call 'faith' doing what I can in the situations I end up in to honor Jesus with my decisions.
But that's rather individualistic, no? And people by themselves can only be effective to a certain degree! I heard recently that Margaret Thatcher can be quoted in saying, "there is no community; there is only the individual." Even from a completely secular point of view in which I often find myself and my influences, how can that be true?
At any rate, being around a church that is active and passionate is contagious, and I love it. I only hope that I can honestly mature through what I do here.
5- Fall is here. Or Autumn, if you prefer. And it's lovely. I savor the chill in the air, even though I know that I'll probably first glimpse snow when I set down on the tarmac in GR on the 9th of December :)
There's much more I'd love to update you about, and will hopefully do so soon. Please badger me if you care to do so!
Much love-
Friday, September 12, 2008
Ridiculous (let's STOP using that word)
Another week in London town, and some remarkable things:
1. A pub called "World's End." Yes. Like 'Pirates 3.' Ridiculous.
2. Officially have gotten on two wrong buses this week. Ridiculous.
3. Have no one to go learn Scottish country dancing with on Sunday. Ridiculous!
4. Have discovered that 'Iceland' is a budget grocery chain over here. Ridiculously AWESOME.
5. Broke fast w/a Muslim family yesterday - Ifta, the meal is called. There is a TV countdown like new year's eve, except this one is for 7:30 PM when they can officially break fast. Rediculously delicious food, but difficult to eat w/my hands, as I haven't done that for a while. Alice was tying to surreptitiously give me pointers, for which i was very grateful.
6. So apparently Michael Buble and Chris Martin own the world, because I cannot escape them! Not that I particularly mind...
At any rate, this week was my first at Limehouse Youth Centre, which is part of City Gateway. It's a good 50 minute walk down Commercial Road, but it takes practically that long (maybe 5 to 10 minutes less) to get there by bus b/c of the congested route/waiting for the bus...so I think I might make a habit of walking it whenever time and daylight permit, because I like the exercise. This week has been mostly calling for the door-knocking program and running the evening youth club, which varies from night to night.
At Christ Church this week, I sang with Alice for the lunchtime service on Tuesday, which was pretty great. Rod and Andy are starting a short series on 'the world we all want,' which I am just HOPING will somehow include the concept/word of a 'metanarrative,' a true blue Papa Shea-ism. On Thursday, I finished the flyer and handouts for the Kids' club that starts up after Ramadan, assisted with the afternoon assembly at the school (I'm planning the one for next week, which is all about interdependency with creation - any ideas, anyone?), and went visiting around the estates.
Met with Carol Rider at the school and am due to start Monday morning there volunteering as a TA to get to know the kids a bit better. I'll probably be with year 4s, 5s, because of a family that's just come from Bangladeshi with no English needing one of the ladies who is fluent in Siletti to be with them pretty much constantly. Such a hard transition!
Anyways, today was my day off and it was mostly spent wandering around Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens. No one at Speakers' Corner (sadness), got kicked out of a lawn chair (you have to pay for them by the hour!), got a bit lost near the Serpentine, eventually found Peter Pan and the sunken gardens. Then I went to Harrods and marveled at the fact that anyone could charge 650 pounds for a blouse, chilled out in the Egyptian elevator (amazing!) and then went to Camden to get lost and choke on all the incense.
Tomorrow, who knows? I hope to get up early to run and then plan the day from there. Greenwich, perhaps.
1. A pub called "World's End." Yes. Like 'Pirates 3.' Ridiculous.
2. Officially have gotten on two wrong buses this week. Ridiculous.
3. Have no one to go learn Scottish country dancing with on Sunday. Ridiculous!
4. Have discovered that 'Iceland' is a budget grocery chain over here. Ridiculously AWESOME.
5. Broke fast w/a Muslim family yesterday - Ifta, the meal is called. There is a TV countdown like new year's eve, except this one is for 7:30 PM when they can officially break fast. Rediculously delicious food, but difficult to eat w/my hands, as I haven't done that for a while. Alice was tying to surreptitiously give me pointers, for which i was very grateful.
6. So apparently Michael Buble and Chris Martin own the world, because I cannot escape them! Not that I particularly mind...
At any rate, this week was my first at Limehouse Youth Centre, which is part of City Gateway. It's a good 50 minute walk down Commercial Road, but it takes practically that long (maybe 5 to 10 minutes less) to get there by bus b/c of the congested route/waiting for the bus...so I think I might make a habit of walking it whenever time and daylight permit, because I like the exercise. This week has been mostly calling for the door-knocking program and running the evening youth club, which varies from night to night.
At Christ Church this week, I sang with Alice for the lunchtime service on Tuesday, which was pretty great. Rod and Andy are starting a short series on 'the world we all want,' which I am just HOPING will somehow include the concept/word of a 'metanarrative,' a true blue Papa Shea-ism. On Thursday, I finished the flyer and handouts for the Kids' club that starts up after Ramadan, assisted with the afternoon assembly at the school (I'm planning the one for next week, which is all about interdependency with creation - any ideas, anyone?), and went visiting around the estates.
Met with Carol Rider at the school and am due to start Monday morning there volunteering as a TA to get to know the kids a bit better. I'll probably be with year 4s, 5s, because of a family that's just come from Bangladeshi with no English needing one of the ladies who is fluent in Siletti to be with them pretty much constantly. Such a hard transition!
Anyways, today was my day off and it was mostly spent wandering around Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens. No one at Speakers' Corner (sadness), got kicked out of a lawn chair (you have to pay for them by the hour!), got a bit lost near the Serpentine, eventually found Peter Pan and the sunken gardens. Then I went to Harrods and marveled at the fact that anyone could charge 650 pounds for a blouse, chilled out in the Egyptian elevator (amazing!) and then went to Camden to get lost and choke on all the incense.
Tomorrow, who knows? I hope to get up early to run and then plan the day from there. Greenwich, perhaps.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
burning effigies...what IS an effigy?
oh, so Hannah reminded me the other day that I'll be here for "fireworks in November." I was confused for a moment, and then I realized:
BONFIRE NIGHT!! The FIFTH OF NOVEMBER!! GUY FAWKES DAY!!
A more traditional way to celebrate is to burn effigies of Guy Fawkes, but as the title indicates, I don't know what an effigy is. All Hail Merriam Webster!!
BONFIRE NIGHT!! The FIFTH OF NOVEMBER!! GUY FAWKES DAY!!
A more traditional way to celebrate is to burn effigies of Guy Fawkes, but as the title indicates, I don't know what an effigy is. All Hail Merriam Webster!!
- Main Entry:
- ef·fi·gy
- Pronunciation:
- \ˈe-fə-jē\
- Function:
- noun
- Inflected Form(s):
- plural ef·fi·gies
- Etymology:
- Middle French effigie, from Latin effigies, from effingere to form, from ex- + fingere to shape — more at dough
- Date:
- 1539
: an image or representation especially of a person; especially : a crude figure representing a hated person
O my heart I would dance and clap in place
You know how it is when you discover music that you haven't heard in a long time and really remember why you loved it in the first place? Or maybe it's not just music - but pursuits, activities, time-wasting devices, or even good friends. I feel like this past week has encompassed several of these moments of 'coming back.'
Item no. 1: Finally, some sort of plan is coming into formation for what I'll I'm doing while here. It's been so nice to be having time to get school work done and explore London these past two weeks, but I was very ready to have a more scheduled time! Below is my 'prospective week'
Monday: morning @ the school or off, afternoon-evening at City Gateway
Tuesday: morning at Christ Church/staff stuff, afternoon-evening at CG
Wednesday: same as Monday
Thursday: all day at CCS
Friday: morning & afternoon off, after school/evening at school
Saturday: morning w/ CCS kids club, afternoon/evening off
Sunday: rest!
I'm so excited! I made myself a diary today - here, a diary is a datebook - out of a recycled notebook that Lisa-Raine gave me. It will be nice to be slightly more organized :)
Oh, but I'm so happy to have met with people at City Gateway and the school - I only hope that I can be helpful in both areas to a sufficient degree!
Item no. 2: Tuesday night I went to Forum, one of the missional communities at CCS devoted to the art-world around here, and i must say that the discussion was fantastic; challenging, far-out-there, and absolutely wonderful. It was 'grill a clergyman' night, and so Rob did his best to stand up to our questions about the universe. Oh, but it was wonderful to have some truly challenging intellectual discussion!! I feel like I could just be an academic forever...well, that's somewhat false. I'd have to be an intellectual on the side, only, having neither the resources, motivation, nor calling to stay in academia forever.
Item no.3: Today I sort of rediscovered Sufjan Stevens, and am currently rather surprised how much I really love his music!
Item no. 4: Sunday I moved in with Will and Hannah Spiring, and their two children, Ben and Rachel. It's been so long since I've been around a 'family and children' that the rhythm that a family has to live its life in is blessed, comforting, slightly chaotic, and I love it. They're graciously allowing me to live in their loft for the remainder of my time here (who but amazing people have houseguests for months at a time, is what I am), and I've set up a little study station up here to read, write journals and essays, and generally enjoy the beautiful windows and soft glow of lamps by which to write.
This weekend should be relatively slow, but in a good way. I think I'll bop down to the west end to catch a cheap show, perhaps. Speaking of which, the Lorca play "Blood Wedding" was phenomenal beyond description and I didn't want it to end! Oh, I do love Lorca. Why did he only write 3 plays???
Item no. 1: Finally, some sort of plan is coming into formation for what I'll I'm doing while here. It's been so nice to be having time to get school work done and explore London these past two weeks, but I was very ready to have a more scheduled time! Below is my 'prospective week'
Monday: morning @ the school or off, afternoon-evening at City Gateway
Tuesday: morning at Christ Church/staff stuff, afternoon-evening at CG
Wednesday: same as Monday
Thursday: all day at CCS
Friday: morning & afternoon off, after school/evening at school
Saturday: morning w/ CCS kids club, afternoon/evening off
Sunday: rest!
I'm so excited! I made myself a diary today - here, a diary is a datebook - out of a recycled notebook that Lisa-Raine gave me. It will be nice to be slightly more organized :)
Oh, but I'm so happy to have met with people at City Gateway and the school - I only hope that I can be helpful in both areas to a sufficient degree!
Item no. 2: Tuesday night I went to Forum, one of the missional communities at CCS devoted to the art-world around here, and i must say that the discussion was fantastic; challenging, far-out-there, and absolutely wonderful. It was 'grill a clergyman' night, and so Rob did his best to stand up to our questions about the universe. Oh, but it was wonderful to have some truly challenging intellectual discussion!! I feel like I could just be an academic forever...well, that's somewhat false. I'd have to be an intellectual on the side, only, having neither the resources, motivation, nor calling to stay in academia forever.
Item no.3: Today I sort of rediscovered Sufjan Stevens, and am currently rather surprised how much I really love his music!
Item no. 4: Sunday I moved in with Will and Hannah Spiring, and their two children, Ben and Rachel. It's been so long since I've been around a 'family and children' that the rhythm that a family has to live its life in is blessed, comforting, slightly chaotic, and I love it. They're graciously allowing me to live in their loft for the remainder of my time here (who but amazing people have houseguests for months at a time, is what I am), and I've set up a little study station up here to read, write journals and essays, and generally enjoy the beautiful windows and soft glow of lamps by which to write.
This weekend should be relatively slow, but in a good way. I think I'll bop down to the west end to catch a cheap show, perhaps. Speaking of which, the Lorca play "Blood Wedding" was phenomenal beyond description and I didn't want it to end! Oh, I do love Lorca. Why did he only write 3 plays???
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