London: Spring 2010: This week..

This week has been absolutely incredible, and it continues to blow my mind how fast it flies by. Before I know it, I'll be shipped back off to the States...what a strange experience that'll be.
But alas, the here and the now are what matters. Reflecting is also good too. =)
So, the week in review:
A group of us went to the Chinese New Year celebration - apparently the second largest celebration in the world, aside from China (obviously). I went directly from Hillsong while others went directly from the house, so it was impossible to meet up; I was in the streets of Chinatown while the others were in the square to watch performances. The streets were insanely crowded, and there were several street drummers and elaborate dragon performances. Mobs with digital cameras in the air filled the streets, and when I realized that I wouldn't be able to get decent photos of the performance, I turned to the people instead. A few are below..

After the craziness, we headed back to the house, then back out to the square for the fireworks. Now, these weren't the fireworks of traditional American celebrations...it was LOUD and BRIGHT. We were really close, and the smoke got really intense; we even had what we think was ash fall into our eyes...strange, but the entire display was awesome.

Monday we headed out to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square with the Art History class. We are so blessed to have that class and a professor who is truly passionate about the subject. She really knows what she's talking about, and it's so interesting to learn about the symbolism employed in British paintings, as well as the techniques used by painters to describe a person's social class.. So cool.

Thomas Gainsborough's portrait of his two daughters
chasing a butterfly - notice how the girls themselves
form the shape of a butterfly.

Tuesday was also incredible. It's my day off, so my project for the day was going to the Victoria and Albert (V&A) to see some of the exhibits. One of the COOLEST exhibits I have EVER seen is called Decode. The basic idea of the exhibit is to make the intangible/invisible aspects of technology - algorithms, mathematical programs, data - tangible and visible. It's a series of many different artists and scientists getting together to display pieces that make awesome use of technology. Almost all of the pieces were interactive, whether through sound, touch, or motion. There were interactive 3D music videos, graphical representations of flights, Twitter subjects, and general data, an interactive digital tree that responds to wind outside the museum with leaves that shuffle when a viewer walks over them...SO many incredible pieces.

Flight Patterns by Aaron Koblin (a digital map of US flights
traced over a 24-hour period)

Last night, we saw the play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, featuring James Earl Jones (the voice of Darth Vader and Mufasa), Phylicia Rashad, Adrian Lester, and Sanaa Lathan. To be honest, the play was only so-so. The first act was difficult to get through due to Sanaa's acting..she was talking to - no, at - the audience, and it just reminded me too much of high school drama productions. I'm not sure why it seemed so off, but compared to last week's piece, Jerusalem, it was very difficult to be engaged. However, the rest of the cast seemed to do very well, especially James Earl Jones. His portfolio of work is busting at the seams, and it showed through his performance. A few girls and I waited at the stage door to meet the cast and get autographs and photos. I can now say that I met Darth Vader AND his son. No joke. After the excitement of autographs, there was a guy that came out to ask if anyone had taken a photo of James Earl Jones..he said that he wasn't going to make us delete it or anything; he just needed it for an article. It turns out that this guy was his son, Flynn, and we all talked for a while. It was pretty cool. =)

Photo credits to Production Photographer Nobby Clarke

Today was pretty amazing as well. After coffee, we headed out fairly early to the Westminster Pier for a ferry to Greenwich. It was really great to be on the Thames and learn more about the area we're living in. Once we got into Greenwich, we toured the Royal Naval College before stopping in a small market for lunch. We then trekked up the hill to the Royal Observatory and Prime Meridian! We all experienced the feeling of being in two places at once, and there was a time museum there as well. It was a pretty good day, all in all. Tonight has been spent just relaxing at the house, so it's been a chill time.