Update 1: Travels, Musicals, and Other Fun Stuff

Wow! The last month has been crazy! The third week here, we traveled around to the Lake District, Manchester, and Liverpool. It was AMAZING!! We went to 6 museums, 5 of which were art museums (the 6^th was the Beatles Museum, so cool). So it was a very high concentration of art in an itty bitty amount of time. To be honest, it became a little much. In the end, I would look at paintings for 30-45 minutes, and then find the “Learning Center” that every museum has, and color. I know, I know. I should be enjoying and taking advantage of these beautiful opportunities to learn, grow, and see art that I cannot see in real life anywhere else in the world. But sometimes, a girl’s got to color.

On the 25^th of January, we got to take a tour of the National Theater. It was incredible to be surrounded by theater again. I hadn’t realized just how much I had missed being involved in theater until I was experiencing it again. So far, I’ve seen five plays, Kiss Me Kate, Jersey Boys, Wicked, The Winter’s Tale, and The Life of Galileo. There have been good things and bad things about each play, but all have rekindled in me a love of acting, singing, and performing. It also really makes me miss working backstage as well. I’m so grateful for this opportunity to study and immerse myself in something that I really love.

At the end of January, we traveled to Oxford and Stratford-Upon-Avon. We drove for about an hour and a half to Oxford. We toured Christ Church College (one of the colleges of Oxford University) where some of the scenes from Harry Potter were filmed. Oh my gosh, I thought I was at Hogwarts. And I was a little giddy about it. The place was beautiful. We got to see the Great Hall where they have all the banquets in the movie (though I found out later that it was too small for their liking, and so they abandoned most of what they filmed there and built their own Great Hall). And the corridor that appears in many scenes with large windows that look out the courtyard, we walked down that. And the stair case where Tom Riddle talks with Dumbledore, yeah, I walked up those stairs. It was so fun. We also got to see one of the cathedrals on campus and it was gorgeous.

After that, about 8 of us were permitted to go down to the Ashmolean Museum and go to the print room and view original sketches by Michelangelo and Raphael. Yeah. I got to be a minimum of 8 inches away from uncovered cartoons drawn by two masters. And they let us take pictures. And if we had to sneeze or cough they asked us to kindly leave the room. And then they asked if we wanted to see some Da Vinci's, they're sorry they don't have very many, but if we'd like they could pull them out for us. So we kindly declined. Haha, yeah right, we were ecstatic to see some Da Vinci's. They were all beautiful. As we were leaving, I started to tear up as I realized that this was the greatest art experience I have or will ever have. I am so blessed to be in a place and position to be able to have these kinds of opportunities. It was overwhelming. And then my friend Josh suggested that we all go commit mass suicide because life doesn't get any better than that.

Or does it? Josh, Whitney, and I decided to make it our quest to find a pub. But not just any pub. We wanted to find The Eagle and The Child Pub. Which is basically the hang out place of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. And we found it. We sat in a little room that was essentially a shrine to them and had a nice pot of tea and delicious food. I got fried brie and ribs. Delicious. And I couldn't help but feel that I gained some kind of wisdom just from sitting in the same spot that greater minds once occupied. Or maybe it was gas. Who knows. But at this point, I really thought I had peaked. Life can only go downhill from here.

Alas, I was wrong again. We traveled by coach to Stratford Upon Avon where we went to The Swan Theater and watched A Winter's Tale in sixth row seats performed by The Royal Shakespeare Company. What a tremendous performance! So fabulous. So funny. And really innovative. They did some fantastic stuff. Like they had this huge tower rise out of the middle of the stage. And during intermission, the stage crew outfitted it with a pipe around the outside, and on the uncovered half, a spiral staircase going up the inside. I was thoroughly impressed.

The next night we watched The Life of Galileo, in which Galileo was played by Ian McDiarmid, they guy who played Senator Palpatine in Star Wars. The performance was beyond anything I could imagine. The director used interesting costumes and set pieces to make bold statements and evoke specific emotions. I’ve never seen anything like it.

We also got to tour the Anne Hathaway House, the place where Shakespeare’s wife grew up and where he courted her. And we got to visit the church where Shakespeare probably worshiped growing up, seeing how his house used to stand across the street from it, as did our hotel. In addition to that church, we saw the church where he is buried.

The last day of the trip was spent at Warwick Castle. It was a fun place to explore and discover. I went on a tour that was an overview of the entire history of the castle, which was honestly fascinating. I wish I had recorded the tour guide so that I could remember everything that he said. But some of the things I do remember were that for about 20 years, there was a zoo at the Castle. It had things like deer from Japan, an elephant, a bear, peacocks, and tigers. The zoo was promptly shut down, however, when the zoo keeper’s arm was ripped off and his face eaten. By the deer. Yeah. Also, the last resident who lived there sold it to Madame Tussaude’s because he was sick of being chastised for selling off items from the house to fund his partying. He sold the castle and all its grounds and contents for 1.5 million pounds. That’s it. He moved to Australia where his posterity currently lives and runs a very successful oil business. While at the castle we got to see a falcon/hawk show. It was very entertaining and the falconer was hilarious. It was quite a trip. Really, I am so grateful to be here. I am truly overwhelmed by all the opportunities I am granted and all that I am learning. I'm so happy.

On the sixth of February, we traveled to Cambridge for the day. We toured King’s College Chapel, which is absolutely astounding. The craftsmanship that went into that church is beautiful. Afterwards, we had the rest of the day to ourselves until 5 pm, when we would meet back at the church for Evensong. To fill our time, a few of us followed our friend Jonah who had lived in Cambridge for 5 years. He showed us his old house, his old school, and places he would hang out and play as a kid. He literally could not stop bouncing. Evensong was a beautiful experience. I had never seen or participated in any sort of church service of another faith until then. I was grateful to gain a little more knowledge of the  practices of other faiths.

One more exciting thing I was able to experience was the Warner Brother’s Harry Potter Studio Tour. Basically, you go to the set of Harry Potter and see EVERYTHING! Yeah, but no seriously, everything. There was the Great Hall (the one that they had to create after deciding the one at Oxford was too small), Diagon Alley (where I got to participate in a wands special effect presentation and wave a wand and half destroy a sign, yeah I know, I’m a witch [actually it was a guy with a button {kinda hate him for stealing my thunder}]), the Burrow, Gryffindor Common Room, Dumbledore’s office, and so many more. Outside there was Privet Drive, the Knight Bus, and a place to try butterbeer (SOOOO YUMMY!). All over the place were set pieces, props, costumes, wigs, prosthetic faces and hands, mechanical creatures and set design models. Crawling all over the place were death eaters that would literally try to scare you to death, and following close behind them were people equipped with wands so that you could get a proper picture of you dueling a death eater. Because we went during wand week, we got to see how wands were made and used, and how the characters learned to handle them. There was also a space where we could hop on a broomstick with a green screen behind us and we could go for a real, special effects broomstick ride. I loved it and yes, I bought the picture that they take. I mean, I was flying on a broomstick, how could I not? The final thing you see on the tour is the large model of Hogwarts, with inspiring music playing in the background, and the lights changing between night and day. It is an incredible piece of art. As I walked through all the sets and saw all the pieces that were involved, and by effect all the effort that went into the movies, it was hard to remember that this isn’t just some fun museum of sorts that has a bunch of cool things for you to look at that are related to Harry Potter, this is the place where they actually filmed and worked. Of course, it didn’t look as flashy as it does now, but those sets are where they acted and filmed and those props were the ones they were handling and using. I wasn’t just exploring a Harry Potter themed place; I was exploring a work environment. And I was a little bit jealous to be quite honest. While I’m certain I won’t ever become a movie star, I hope that with my career, my work environment becomes just as exciting and incredible to me, maybe not in a physical sense, but in a way that makes me excited to go to work and to enjoy what I do.

Look what I found!

On Thursday, we went to The National Gallery for a homework assignment, which was basically just to look at paintings. How much better does homework get? Well, if I didn’t have to write about the paintings that might be nice. But it’s still something I appreciate. I would rather be told to go to the National Gallery, see the actual artwork, and write about a painting that I love, than be told to go look it up online and try to imagine what it looks like. At the Gallery, I saw some fantastic Van Goghs, a roomful of Suerats,  beautiful Monets, and countless others. But our focus for the assignment was on J. M. W. Turner. His paintings are gorgeous.

After the National Gallery, we headed over to Harrods for some ice cream (in which I did not indulge, too pricey) and to look around. At one point we walked into a room full of interesting and beautiful sculptures and art pieces. A thought popped into my head and I went over to the base of one of the sculptures to check. Yep, there is was. A price tag for about £700,000.  No big deal, right? I did find one thing at Harrods that I want to buy. An adorable little sign.

Thursday night, five of us went to go see the Tragedy of Richard III. It was so well done. I’d never seen a Shakespeare play, so it was something entirely new. The man who played Richard did such a fantastic job. He portrayed Richard as an evil, kniving, older man, who thought he was a genius and a comedian and a wizard over women. The play was done traditionally with men playing the part of women. And there was a kiss. Let me tell you, there was total dedication and  full commitment to that kiss. I was impressed. They ended the performance with a dance that was so fun to watch. In all, it was an experience that I am so grateful to have.

At the Tower of London

Friday we all went to explore the Tower of London. What a place to visit! There was so much more there than I had expected there to be. The crown jewels were stunning. There was a diamond there that is not much smaller than my fist and a ruby about the size of my palm. And many, many, many other valuable, shiny rocks. And there were more than just jewels there. Also included were many gold plates, cups, and ceremonial dishes, some of them solid gold. One of my classmates casually said “A few of these plates would solve America’s deficit problem.” “Yeah,” another replied, “if we had all this, we probably would have sold it by now.” But would we really? I would like to think that if we had valuable similar to the crown jewels they would be such an integral part of our history that we would cling to them, like Britain has.

The rest of the Tower of London was great. Unfortunately there was a significant lack of chopping blocks where I could stage a decent photo. But there was other interesting stuff to see. Like where the two princes were probably kept and murdered. And the location where people’s heads were actually chopped off. And White Tower was full of interesting things on the history of weapons and war.

One of my favorite parts was when a few of us were walking around and saw a man dressed as a knight. As we were debating whether or not to talk to him, he saw our furtive glances in his direction and walked right over, making our decision for us.

“Hello,” said the knight. “How are you this day?”

“Good,” I replied, “And how are you?”

“I am well.”

“So what is your name?” He had to have some interesting name if he was dressed as a knight.

“I’m…ehh…well, uh,” he finally gave up on trying to find a more knightly name.  “I’m Mark.”

Me and Mark the Knight

We chatted for a bit, asking for good places to visit while at the Tower and any information we could get that wouldn’t be included in a tour. As the conversation came to an end, I asked for a picture. I’m working on a sort of photo project where I take pictures of a teddy bear named Wallace at well-known places. So I thought a photo with a knight would be great for Wallace.

“Would you hold my teddy bear?”

“Um, I can’t,” said Mark the Knight.

“Can’t or won’t?” I querried.

“I’m gonna say I’m not allowed,” Mark the Knight hesitantly responded.

“Well, alright then. Can I hold your sword?”

Found a place to sit.

“Uhhh…” He looked at me, then at his sword. Back at me, back at the sword. I suppose he felt guilty for not holding my teddy bear, because he decided to break whatever rule was preventing him from being totally okay with handing over his weapon. “Ok, sure.” Success.

A climbers paradise.

Saturday we went on a 12 mile hike around the country. It was nice. Rather cold and muddy, but it was very refreshing to be outside and away from the city. We saw some old castle ruins. It was a climbers paradise. All that was left was the foundation and the walls. But is was still fun to explore. We also visited a lavender field and farm where there was this cute little shop that sold all sorts of lavender products. I would have bought something, but I’m not fond of the smell of lavender.

Sunday we went back to our little ward in Micham. We left the house at 8:40 to try and make it there with some time to spare in case they wanted me to play the organ. Our train was half an hour late and knowing that it takes a little over an hour to get there, I knew we were going to be late. We just barely made it to the tram that would take us to the station outside the church building. On the tram we saw the sister that had originally helped us find the building and we didn’t feel so bad about being late. We walked into the church building with three minutes to spare. We have no idea how we could have made it there on time. But it’s a good thing we did, because the pianist was late and I ended up playing. Earlier that week, I had been talking with our professors about the possibility of staying in the ward. They said if we could make it back to dinner by 5:45, we could stay in the ward. The stake center where the Micham ward will be moving to takes about 45 minutes to travel to. But it’s unlikely that we would actually make the trip in 45 minutes and with church ending at 5, we knew we wouldn’t be back by then. On our train ride, we all agreed that we would still ask to stay, even if we missed dinner. We talked with our professor and he said that if we were willing to be late, then we could stay. I can’t tell you how happy I am that I will be able to stay and serve in this ward with the children.

Last night, we had a special treat. One of our professors, George Nelson, who teaches the theater classes, was in a movie that was an LDS version of Pride and Prejudice. The lead actor, Orlando Seale, became good friends with the Nelsons and even stayed with them for a time. He’s a British actor and has been in many films, TV shows, and plays both British and American. He came to visit the Nelsons last night. Of course, I’ve only seen the LDS Pride and Prejudice once, and I think I was deliriously sick, and I haven’t seen anything else that he’s been in. So I had no idea who he was. But he walked into the servery and I leaned over to my friend Allison and whispered, “He has messy hair and is wearing a sports jacket, he must be famous.” Allison looked up and grabbed my arm and said, “Emma! That’s Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice! Of course he’s famous!” I may or may not have then stood up and fist pumped while yelling “Winning!”

Jonah, looking very Sherlock.

Leslie, Geroge’s wife, had heard my comment repeated it to Orlando, and then invited me to come and sit with them while they ate dinner together. He’s a very nice man and very interesting. The Nelsons asked if he wouldn’t mind talking to some of us interested in theater for a bit, and he agreed. He said some very interesting and thought provoking things, and I wish I had recorded it because I can’t remember all of what he said anymore! But some of the points I do remember were that he encourage us to fine happiness in our careers and in our lives. He said , “Do you find joy in what you are doing? Are you really happy, even though it’s hard and doesn’t always pay well? If not, what are you doing here. Find happiness and joy in your work.” One of the things he said specifically on acting was that acting lets us explore the paths that are a part of us that we didn’t chose to follow without consequence. He also expressed that sometimes you just have to make money. Often times you don’t find fulfilling what you thought you would, and often times you find fulfillment in things you never thought you would. We are hoping that he will come back and do a workshop with him.

So. Here I am. In London. Fabulous, I know.

With a horse outside Houses of Parliament.

I arrived in London safe and sound, though I highly disagreed with the technique the shuttle driver used to apply his brakes. And my luggage arrived a day late. But I survived, and I'm doing splendidly.

Outside our house.

I finally got some pictures from some of the other girls. We've walked around London a bit and seen where the sights are, though we didn't actually visit them. I can't wait to go back and visit, and take more pictures of my own.

The National Gallery.

Fierce.

As we were walking around the courtyard to one of the old churches, someone in my group looked at the ground and commented "These cobblestones are probably older that our country." And she was probably right. It wasn't until just then that I realized that London is so packed with history that I was literally walking on it.

What's that? Oh yeah, it's Big Ben.

Hey look! Spacemen!

On our walk we encountered some people (we later discovered they were attractive men, though they weren't allowed to have their visors up) dressed as astronauts walking around London. We first saw them outside the National Gallery. They were waving to people as they walked in front of the Gallery, so I felt it was safe to approach them. Well, the first astronaut was so please with this that he embraced me in a big bear hug and lifted me into the air. When he set me down I was quickly surrounded by more astronauts wanting high fives and hugs. And one even grabbed me and danced me around. A very official photographer who had been following them took a few pictures of our dance. Soon though, our group had to move along on our walk, so we left them as they started to line up and make different posses.

Astronaut hug!

But! We saw them again in front of the Millennium Bridge. At first, I didn't think they recognized us, but then one pointed at me and made a dancing motion. Yes, they remembered us. But we couldn't stay long. And unfortunately, it wasn't till we were too far away that I thought that I should have given the photographer my email and asked him to send me that picture of me dancing with a spaceman. Oh well, I'll probably just end up in a magazine somewhere and never even know it.

Today we went to Kensington Palace. It was amazing. It's funny to think that it was once a home to royalty. Like, they really lived right there. Incredible. And Queen Victoria was SO tiny. Like, smaller than me! Hard to believe. But the Palace and gardens were absolutely beautiful.

Kensington Palace Gardens

The LDS ward that me and three other girls were assigned to attend is a little more than an hour away and meets at 10 am. Upon our arrival at the tram station, a kind woman of the ward correctly guessed that we were the new BYU students and helped us find the chapel. Thank heavens or we never would have found it.

The ward consists mostly of Africans, with a few white families. During the first hour, we discovered that the building is going to be partially demolished and rebuilt, and that in two weeks the ward was moving to a new location and the services wouldn't start until 2 pm. That means we would be missing our dinner. Uh oh. After sacrament meeting (the first hour service), the bishop of the ward welcomed us and informed us we would be serving in the Primary with the children ages 18 months to 11 years old. They are an energetic group. I was put in charge of the 18 months to 5 year olds. So sweet and so cute.

The woman in charge of the Primary has only been in the position a few weeks and had not yet been assigned helpers because they were expecting us. She told us the children have been so excited to meet us and we were never without at least one on our laps when were were sitting down. The little girls plaited (braided) our hair until it was so snarly they couldn't divide it into sections to be plaited.

When the Primary President learned I can play piano she eagerly asked me to please play for the children and help them learn songs because they've never been able to use the small electric piano due to the lack of a proficient piano player. Then she discovered I could play the organ, and told me their organ hadn't been played during church services in years and was almost pleading with me to play for the ward in Sacrament meeting because their pianist knew only a few hymns and only on the piano. I was more than happy to agree.

She asked what would happen when they moved locations and I told her that we would go with the ward. It wasn't  until we arrived back at the London Center, and told our program leaders about the location and time change of the ward that I found out that wouldn't be the case. We will have to attend a ward that is earlier in the day. I can't help but think how much we could do for that ward. And soon we will have to leave. How will I tell this dear sweet  woman that I can't be there any more to teach the children songs. Maybe there's a way I could stay. We'll see.