Dear Mom,
So I already told Michael and Abbie a lot of this, but you very kindly let me talk to them for a bit so I'll recap for you. This weekend I've done so much!
It all started with Thursday (the real beginning of the weekend here in London). I randomly overheard a conversation between a girl named Sam and Dr. Benfell about going to the opera; she wanted to go but no one wanted to go with her. So I decided that that would be a pleasant way to spend an evening, and we went. We got first row seats in the first balcony for only 10 quid (pounds/ $20) so we could see inside the orchestra pit and everything. The only problem was that they were limited leg room seats, so we had to come up with some creative sitting techniques (crossing legs, slouching, knees up on the ledge). But I've decided that while opera obviously requires a lot of skill, it is too long for me to sit through. I did enjoy it though.
The next night, I went to a performance of Chekhov's Ivanov, which was incredible! It had an all-star cast, too. I bought the playbill so I would remember. To start: Fanny from Mansfield Park, the lady with the prominent profile in The Forsyte Saga, the drunk first mate from
9.27.2008
9.25.2008
The Globe, ice cream, and other adventures
Dear Mom,
I'm so glad I got a hold of you today and that I got to talk to Abbie and Michael. I really miss you all and wish you were here with me, because England is waaay more fun than California. Well, the other day (Monday) the whole Centre went to the Globe Theatre, which is a replica of what we think Shakespeare's theatre looked like. We got to sit on the benches and look out at the thrusted stage (that means there is audience on three sides of the stage, not the picture frame kind we are used to). It's all made of wood, so it smells really good. But the people that built it had to get special permission from the city to give it a thatched roof like the original because thatching is flammable. Incredibly so. Actually, it's how the first Globe burned down. Somebody didn't clean out a cannon properly and it lit the roof on fire. Nowadays there are no cannons and plenty of fire exits, so we weren't in any danger.
On Wednesday we actually went to a play in the Globe. It was A Midsummer Night's Dream, which we actually saw in Tahoe, too, I recognized a lot of the scenes and things from then. Except I actually saw the end this time because I wasn't asleep. It was really good though. The part with the Mechanicals and the play within a play was really funny. At one point the man who plays the moon stalks off the stage because the duke has insulted his acting. And the Wall sounds like a fourth grader who had to memorize his lines. It's really funny. After the play a bunch of us went to Westminster Abbey, which was incredible. It was full of monuments to dead people and it had the coffin of Elizabeth II. I stood next to one of the most powerful women in the world! Well, her remains, but still. She once lived. All the kings and queens were crowned in Westminster Abbey, and a good number of them are buried there. There's a shrine to Edward the Confessor, who lived in the 1100s. The Abbey is so old!
Today I only had one class (yay!) and then a bunch of us went to St. Bartholomew's church. It is the oldest church in London, and has beautiful medieval arches and is all dark and mysterious. They still have weddings there, but you have to be a member of the parish or one of your parents has to have been married there. There's a wedding tomorrow that I may go to. Or I may see a matinee of something or go the London Museum, which is an assignment.
I rode home on the tube by myself the first time today. We had a class assignment to go to a crime fiction discussion by three popular authors. One of them was Anne Perry, who wrote one of the books for our mystery class. She was well-informed and interesting. And I found out that when she was 13 she and her friend actually killed her friend's mom. So it's ironic that she writes mystery novels today. Then again, this is all hearsay, and Perry actually converted to the Church about 40 years ago, so she must be all right now or she'd be excommunicated. Drama, though. And it was really interesting listening to how much they know about mysteries. All three of the ladies say that they create their plots by imagining what would cause someone to commit a murder, then work backwards and stick in clues like flags. One said she was kind of embarassed to admit that's how she wrote, and then Perry said she didn't know there was any other way. So I need to think of some conceivable reason someone would take another's life. I can imagine reasons real people would kill each other, but it's hard to imagine imaginary people and give them thoughts and feelings etc. But the authors all say that they base a lot of characters off people they know. And who would I insult by making them the murderer? It's a gherkin (pickle in British).
So I've been having a wonderful time and will try to put pictures here now for those who don't have facebook. But really they should just get facebook because I'll put far more pictures on that.
Love from
Lindsay
9.22.2008
Dear Mom,
Dear Mom,
So i've decided that i will write this as letters to you, and other people can eavesdrop. i don't like writing a blog, i like emailing, but i'm assuming other people want to know what i'm doing, so here goes. (ps. i also hate capitalization, that's why God invented word processing).
this last week we went to the cornish coast, devon etc. it's west. we stayed in hostels most of the time, but also the ymca one night. it was really clean and nice, but i got the bottom bunk both nights so i couldn't sit up all the way. but the breakfasts were really fun, we had full on english breakfasts most days. there was ham and beans and eggs and toast and cooked tomatoes and cereal and milk and juice. everything was good but the tomatoes.
the first day we went out to stourhead, the place where Elizabeth Bennet gets proposed to in the new Pride and Prejudice. i have great pictures... i'll put them on facebook later. all the pictures look like paintings, it was so beautiful. the next day we went to the cornish coast. the water was beautiful. i got stung by stinging nettles, which is, surprisingly, a plant. it feels like a thousand tiny beestings and it doesn't go away for hours. but that didn't make the beach any less awesome. we also went to an amazing castle called St. Michael's Mount. It's connected to land during low tide and you have to get there by a boat during high tide. we managed to walk both ways, but i kind of wanted to boat... or swim.
the last day we went to exeter cathedral, which was gorgeous. we spent most of the day driving home in a bus. our driver's name was tony, he was really cool. he told us what fly tipping means (dumping litter) and why the cabs are all black (in mourning for Prince Albert). and when some kid threw a rubber frog at the bus when we were in central london, he totally got out and chased the kids down. it was awesome.
church is interesting. they spread us all out into about 15 wards. i'm in the peckham ward with two other girls. it takes about 40 minutes to get there by the underground. i got put into nursery, which was surprising to say the least, but i think i'm going to like it. there are two other ladies in with me, and we're going to rotate going to classes so we don't completely miss out on gospel doctrine, which i already miss. i feel like i'm just babysitting for two hours, which is true i guess. but they're really sweet. this one little boy named cj who i thought was a girl because he had a ponytail but he was really a boy, kept giving me hugs, and he doesn't even know me. during drawing time i drew a picture of some of the kids, and cj wanted to draw on my picture, so i let him, even though my pictures were really good and he scribbles. ps. talking to missionaries is awkward in every country. there are about 4 sets of missionaries in our ward, not counting the couple missionaries. and they all seem to come from idaho. weird, huh?
so today i had a super fun day. we went on a tour of the globe theatre, a replica of Shakespeare's theatre. it's all made of wood and plaster, so it smells really good. and it's the only building in london to have a thatched roof, which is highly flammable. london has a problem with fires. it's burned down several times. then we went to westminster abbey, where i saw Queen Elizabeth I's tomb. i was inches from Queen Elizabeth's body. the lady who defeated the spanish armada and maintained peace in england for over fifty years. her tomb was fantastic. the whole abbey is covered in monuments to dead rich people and the monarchs. there was a shrine to edward the confessor, who died in the 12th century. that's almost a thousand years ago. the british have such a tradition, it's breathtaking. there are cloisters that have wall paintings that go back to the middle ages. and we were there for the minute of prayer that they have every hour; westminster is england's oldest working church. it was so cool.
then we came home for dinner and went to primark, which is this incredible english department store. it's like a classy walmart that only sells clothes. the clothes are really really cute and i bought four tops and wish i hadn't brought so many clothes with me. thanks for supporting my frivolousness, it's incorrigible, i know, but the styles here are so different from the states, and so attractive. the sizes here are different too. i'm a 12 in the states but a 16 here, which is confusing. but luckily everyone here is so stick thin there are always things in my size, which is a pleasant change of pace. in shoes, on the other hand, i'm a 9 instead of an 11, and there seems to be a much bigger selection of larger sized shoes. woohoo! but they're also expensive, 25 pounds ($50)... so i don't know if i should. if they're comfortable, maybe... basically i need to budget, since i'm going to two or three plays every week plus buying souvenirs and presents, which are really fun to shop for! i love trying to figure out what part of england would appeal to michael or abbie (don't tell them what i got them).
i'm having an amazing time here, and will keep up this blog so you can hear how i'm doing. i'll buy a phone card tomorrow when Ashley and i go buy some yarn. we want to be like those old ladies that knit on the tube, like Miss Marple!
love ya tons
lindsay
So i've decided that i will write this as letters to you, and other people can eavesdrop. i don't like writing a blog, i like emailing, but i'm assuming other people want to know what i'm doing, so here goes. (ps. i also hate capitalization, that's why God invented word processing).
this last week we went to the cornish coast, devon etc. it's west. we stayed in hostels most of the time, but also the ymca one night. it was really clean and nice, but i got the bottom bunk both nights so i couldn't sit up all the way. but the breakfasts were really fun, we had full on english breakfasts most days. there was ham and beans and eggs and toast and cooked tomatoes and cereal and milk and juice. everything was good but the tomatoes.
the first day we went out to stourhead, the place where Elizabeth Bennet gets proposed to in the new Pride and Prejudice. i have great pictures... i'll put them on facebook later. all the pictures look like paintings, it was so beautiful. the next day we went to the cornish coast. the water was beautiful. i got stung by stinging nettles, which is, surprisingly, a plant. it feels like a thousand tiny beestings and it doesn't go away for hours. but that didn't make the beach any less awesome. we also went to an amazing castle called St. Michael's Mount. It's connected to land during low tide and you have to get there by a boat during high tide. we managed to walk both ways, but i kind of wanted to boat... or swim.
the last day we went to exeter cathedral, which was gorgeous. we spent most of the day driving home in a bus. our driver's name was tony, he was really cool. he told us what fly tipping means (dumping litter) and why the cabs are all black (in mourning for Prince Albert). and when some kid threw a rubber frog at the bus when we were in central london, he totally got out and chased the kids down. it was awesome.
church is interesting. they spread us all out into about 15 wards. i'm in the peckham ward with two other girls. it takes about 40 minutes to get there by the underground. i got put into nursery, which was surprising to say the least, but i think i'm going to like it. there are two other ladies in with me, and we're going to rotate going to classes so we don't completely miss out on gospel doctrine, which i already miss. i feel like i'm just babysitting for two hours, which is true i guess. but they're really sweet. this one little boy named cj who i thought was a girl because he had a ponytail but he was really a boy, kept giving me hugs, and he doesn't even know me. during drawing time i drew a picture of some of the kids, and cj wanted to draw on my picture, so i let him, even though my pictures were really good and he scribbles. ps. talking to missionaries is awkward in every country. there are about 4 sets of missionaries in our ward, not counting the couple missionaries. and they all seem to come from idaho. weird, huh?
so today i had a super fun day. we went on a tour of the globe theatre, a replica of Shakespeare's theatre. it's all made of wood and plaster, so it smells really good. and it's the only building in london to have a thatched roof, which is highly flammable. london has a problem with fires. it's burned down several times. then we went to westminster abbey, where i saw Queen Elizabeth I's tomb. i was inches from Queen Elizabeth's body. the lady who defeated the spanish armada and maintained peace in england for over fifty years. her tomb was fantastic. the whole abbey is covered in monuments to dead rich people and the monarchs. there was a shrine to edward the confessor, who died in the 12th century. that's almost a thousand years ago. the british have such a tradition, it's breathtaking. there are cloisters that have wall paintings that go back to the middle ages. and we were there for the minute of prayer that they have every hour; westminster is england's oldest working church. it was so cool.
then we came home for dinner and went to primark, which is this incredible english department store. it's like a classy walmart that only sells clothes. the clothes are really really cute and i bought four tops and wish i hadn't brought so many clothes with me. thanks for supporting my frivolousness, it's incorrigible, i know, but the styles here are so different from the states, and so attractive. the sizes here are different too. i'm a 12 in the states but a 16 here, which is confusing. but luckily everyone here is so stick thin there are always things in my size, which is a pleasant change of pace. in shoes, on the other hand, i'm a 9 instead of an 11, and there seems to be a much bigger selection of larger sized shoes. woohoo! but they're also expensive, 25 pounds ($50)... so i don't know if i should. if they're comfortable, maybe... basically i need to budget, since i'm going to two or three plays every week plus buying souvenirs and presents, which are really fun to shop for! i love trying to figure out what part of england would appeal to michael or abbie (don't tell them what i got them).
i'm having an amazing time here, and will keep up this blog so you can hear how i'm doing. i'll buy a phone card tomorrow when Ashley and i go buy some yarn. we want to be like those old ladies that knit on the tube, like Miss Marple!
love ya tons
lindsay
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