SO...
Thursday the 11th, we took a class trip to the British Museum. Oh man, is that place overwhelming. We only looked at a few of the galleries (49-51), which covered the early part of British history (from 4000 BC to 43 AD and Roman Britain). It took me about two hours for just those three galleries...it looks like there are close to 80 galleries. This place definitely deserves a second, third, or tenth visit.
Friday the 12th, our media class took a tour of the BBC. The tour guides were entertaining, and you could tell they had their coffee beforehand. We went through most of the BBC complex (it looks like a giant question mark from above), from the newsroom (where close to 2,000 reporters/journalists work at any one time), to the overhead stage viewing of So You Think You Can Dance rehearsals, on to the in-house production stages, to our own newsroom and game show stage. I got to strut my stuff as a news anchor while three of my classmates played a game show and won prizes. All in all, it was a great experience, and I can now say that I wouldn't mind working or interning for BBC. It's a great place for all types of media, from print news/magazines to radio, local and global news, TV series, and websites.
In front of the famous Police Call Box from Dr. Who
Saturday was pretty great as well. My friends and I went to Camden Market, a colorful gathering of Britain's punks. There are several shops with their doors thrown open, many selling the same items, hoping to out-compete the others. There's also an indoor area where the retailers each have a stall of sorts - those items seemed to be more unique to each company. One thing I would suggest: Camden market is CRAZY on Saturdays - try a different day to avoid the Black Friday effect.
Sunday was Valentine's Day, and I can honestly say that it was the best V-Day I've had in a long time. I went to Hillsong again -what an incredible experience. I love the music and the worship..the message is only so-so; I've been streaming my FL Pastor's sermons instead. Afterward the service, a bunch of my friends from church went out to lunch at Wagamama's - you can get a fairly good meal for about 8 pounds. A bit expensive for a student's taste, but I enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun to learn more about the people that I go to church with; some are locals, but more often than not, the students are international - one girl is from FSU, so that's pretty close to Eckerd. Others were from Holland, Russia, Australia, Capetown Africa, Korea...all over the place. It's amazing how God brings us all together. After lunch, we all headed out to a pub to catch the latest football game (soccer). It was a lot of fun, and I'm glad to have had this opportunity through the church.
The worship experience
Lindsey and I (Lindsey's from FSU)
And the boys
On Monday, we headed off to the Wallace collection, an art museum filled with portraits, landscapes, conversation pieces, and religious depictions. It was incredible, and I honestly wasn't expecting to be interested in that sort of art. Once the professor began to explain the symbolism behind certain trends in the paintings, I realized that so much thought is put into these pieces. If I would only take the time to appreciate the artist, something amazing could happen.
Tuesday was an individual day for me - I took advantage of not having class and headed out to Tate Modern. Again, I've been surprised by the newfound appreciation for the arts. Really, modern artists are actually philosophers who use paint, photography, or sculpture to convey their ideas. Through this, I've understood the importance of the artist statement. You really have to stop and read to take in exactly what the artist is intending. It was a beautiful day of understanding and thought-provoking pieces.
Wednesday was a full day - media class, theatre class, and the show Jerusalem, written by Jez Butterworth. The piece was inspired by poet William Blake's piece by the same name. Co-starring Mackenzie Crook (from Pirates of the Caribbean - the pirate with the wooden eye that always pops out), Jerusalem was an incredibly moving piece. The set featured an on-stage trailer in an extremely realistic woodsy area. The floor of the stage was built up with several layers of dirt and mud, tree stumps sat at varying intervals, and patchy grass dotting the stage. The actors were all extremely talented, and there was a point in the play when I became legitimately concerned for the character's safety. He had just been beaten up by several men and emerged from the trailer with blood streaming down his face. Of course, this was all stage makeup, and it was all part of the plot, but that sort of acting engages you in a way that a movie or film can't. The realism of the set helped to push the emotions further, and it was so incredibly moving. If you ever get the opportunity to see Jerusalem, do it!
The incredibly realistic set - photo taken from Wikipedia
Thursday was pretty incredible as well - we took a trip to the British Library, home of the Magna Carta, old Beatles music/lyrics, and classic Shakespeare pieces. None of that seemed to phase me after I heard about a photography exhibit - I spent all of my time there instead. The exhibit explained the beginning of the British photographic movement onward to today's technology. It was a great to learn more about certain darkroom/printing/negative making techniques including calotypes and daguerreotypes. I need to go back to the Brit Library to see the classics, so I'll hopefully do that this coming week.
Friday, my roommates and I went to the Cartoon Museum, located just south of the British Museum. They had lots of cartoons and political comics ranging from the 1700s onward to the present time. A few comic book pages were displayed, but it was mainly comic strips written for various British newspapers.
Today, a bunch of us got together to head to Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guards. In all honesty, it was a little bland; we waited for a good ten minutes before the parade of horses came through the square, then another twenty to thirty for the guards to march in formation. Then again, maybe it's not meant to be a show - it's just the guards coming on- and off-duty, nothing too terribly exciting...
We're all back at the house now, and I expect that I'll be staying in for the night, working on homework. Tomorrow's looking exciting. A few girls want to go with me to Hillsong, and then we'll be spending the rest of the day in Chinatown for the Chinese New Year Celebration. Definitely looking forward to it!
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