Monday, June 2, 2008
Becky's Blog has MOVED
Hi all! I am safe and home if anybody reads this anymore. :) Just wanted you all to know that I have moved blog sites so if you want to catch up on my life back in the states... the web address is www.becky-talesfromthebeach.blogspot.com!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
More ancient ruins!!
After flying into Izmir, we visited the old sight of Pergamon. It was pouring down rain and so we were all soaking wet. Our group buddied up and had one umbrella between two people. Quite the sight. We even had to climb down the steep steps of the acropolis. In Pergamon we also saw the Asclepion and Archaeological museum. We stayed in Kusadasi for the last two nights. It was a gorgeous seaside town and home to many cruise ship ports. Fortunately, there were no cruise ships when we were there so it was not packed.
My favorite day was our trip to Ephesus. This city is one of the most stable and present ancient cities I have seen. There were lots of interesting pieces and I got to capture them all on my camera which was part of the fun. There was the medicine symbol in marble that caught my interest. Also a great picture of Medussa, which reminded me of Starbucks. The library there was two stories and it was beautiful. The theater there is still used for concerts and many well known artists perform there! After the ancient sight we also stopped at the Temple of Artemis which is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. From this stop we could see the Temple (Pagan), St. John Basilica (Christian), and a Mosque. St. John's Basilica was also an interesting stop. It was up on a hill and really windy. But they had the tomb of Saint John which was pretty incredible. For our final night in Turkey, we all went out to a 'karaoke bar" it was very interesting but really fun because our professors came with us!
Early the next morning we headed back to Greece. But first, of course, we had to fit in one more ancient ruin visit to the Agora of Smyrna. I really enjoyed my trip and it was really eye opening to be in such a drastically different country. I cannot wait to see you all soon. I am heading to London tomorrow to meet my parents and Daniel!! Opa!
My favorite day was our trip to Ephesus. This city is one of the most stable and present ancient cities I have seen. There were lots of interesting pieces and I got to capture them all on my camera which was part of the fun. There was the medicine symbol in marble that caught my interest. Also a great picture of Medussa, which reminded me of Starbucks. The library there was two stories and it was beautiful. The theater there is still used for concerts and many well known artists perform there! After the ancient sight we also stopped at the Temple of Artemis which is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. From this stop we could see the Temple (Pagan), St. John Basilica (Christian), and a Mosque. St. John's Basilica was also an interesting stop. It was up on a hill and really windy. But they had the tomb of Saint John which was pretty incredible. For our final night in Turkey, we all went out to a 'karaoke bar" it was very interesting but really fun because our professors came with us!
Early the next morning we headed back to Greece. But first, of course, we had to fit in one more ancient ruin visit to the Agora of Smyrna. I really enjoyed my trip and it was really eye opening to be in such a drastically different country. I cannot wait to see you all soon. I am heading to London tomorrow to meet my parents and Daniel!! Opa!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Istanbul!
Hot off the plane in Turkey, we headed straight for St. Saviour Church Chora Museum. This church, created in the Byzantine style, was converted into a mosque in the 16th century and then to a museum in the mid-20th century. Inside, there are several mosaics and frescoes. After our visit, we drove to our hotel. This place must have been hopping in the 80's but hadn't had a recent face lift. After a traditional Turkish dinner, consisting of weird salad, cheese pie, beef, french fries, vegetables, and bread soaked in honey, we explored the city of Istanbul. The main strip near our hotel was awesome. It had tons of people and showcased the western influences on this city. There were even 3 Starbucks!
The next morning we headed out into the city. Istanbul is known for their tulips and I was very impressed. They are beautiful and everywhere. We explored the Dolmabahce Palace. It was huge and tightly secured. We even had to wear little booties on our feet to protect the ancient carpets. A highlight of my trip was the Egyptian Spice Bazaar. It was an indoor market filled with tons of shops selling lots of spices, nuts, fruits, and random Turkish souvenirs. There were loads of samples, especially of Turkish delight. Istanbul is surrounded by water on three sides and we took a boat tour on the Bosphorus. We saw the Asian part of Istanbul and many other cool buildings and sites. After our boat trip, a group of us headed to a carpet store. We saw amazing wool, silk, and cotton rugs. The owner showed us how they make them and then gave us a 'show' on the different kinds, prices, and uniqueness of the rugs. Seriously, these things were gorgeous but ridiculously expensive. There was one locked in a closet that was priced at one million dollars!
Our first stop for day three was the Hippodrome. This was used as a chariot race arena in Roman times. There are four main monuments on its premise including the Obelisk of Theodosius, Constantine Column, Serpentine Column, and a German fountain. Blue Mosque is one of the many mosques we saw, it has tons of beautiful blue tile on the inside. The second religious building we visited was Saint Sophia Church Museum. Like other museums it was a church converted into a mosque and then into a museum. It mostly resembled the church except for huge wooden circles with Islamic sayings. The dome had to be supported with the highest scaffolding in the world, but you could still see the beauty of the place. Another stop we made was at the Underground Cistern. It held water for the palace originally but is now a creepy eerie underground experience. It has a wooden walkway and is a huge room/pool with many columns. The columns are lighted with orange and red lights and they showcase two columns with the head of Medussa. After four major monuments our day is only half over. Our next stop, Topkapi Palace, has several rooms/exhibits. One of the rooms claimed to have the staff of Moses, turban of Joseph, and hand of John...so weird. All and all we were getting tired of soaking in information, but we still had one last stop. The Archaeological museum which contained the Treaty of Kadesh and the Sarcophagi of Alexander the Great was a short stop. We were all pretty tired and Thomasina (our London assistant) and I got lost finding our way back to the bus!
More to come about Izmir!!
The next morning we headed out into the city. Istanbul is known for their tulips and I was very impressed. They are beautiful and everywhere. We explored the Dolmabahce Palace. It was huge and tightly secured. We even had to wear little booties on our feet to protect the ancient carpets. A highlight of my trip was the Egyptian Spice Bazaar. It was an indoor market filled with tons of shops selling lots of spices, nuts, fruits, and random Turkish souvenirs. There were loads of samples, especially of Turkish delight. Istanbul is surrounded by water on three sides and we took a boat tour on the Bosphorus. We saw the Asian part of Istanbul and many other cool buildings and sites. After our boat trip, a group of us headed to a carpet store. We saw amazing wool, silk, and cotton rugs. The owner showed us how they make them and then gave us a 'show' on the different kinds, prices, and uniqueness of the rugs. Seriously, these things were gorgeous but ridiculously expensive. There was one locked in a closet that was priced at one million dollars!
Our first stop for day three was the Hippodrome. This was used as a chariot race arena in Roman times. There are four main monuments on its premise including the Obelisk of Theodosius, Constantine Column, Serpentine Column, and a German fountain. Blue Mosque is one of the many mosques we saw, it has tons of beautiful blue tile on the inside. The second religious building we visited was Saint Sophia Church Museum. Like other museums it was a church converted into a mosque and then into a museum. It mostly resembled the church except for huge wooden circles with Islamic sayings. The dome had to be supported with the highest scaffolding in the world, but you could still see the beauty of the place. Another stop we made was at the Underground Cistern. It held water for the palace originally but is now a creepy eerie underground experience. It has a wooden walkway and is a huge room/pool with many columns. The columns are lighted with orange and red lights and they showcase two columns with the head of Medussa. After four major monuments our day is only half over. Our next stop, Topkapi Palace, has several rooms/exhibits. One of the rooms claimed to have the staff of Moses, turban of Joseph, and hand of John...so weird. All and all we were getting tired of soaking in information, but we still had one last stop. The Archaeological museum which contained the Treaty of Kadesh and the Sarcophagi of Alexander the Great was a short stop. We were all pretty tired and Thomasina (our London assistant) and I got lost finding our way back to the bus!
More to come about Izmir!!
Greece update
Sorry for the delay, it has been pretty hectic over here in this part of the world. My stay in Athens has really been enjoyable. I have visited several ancient sites including several in Athens. We also visited Corinth as a Pepperdine group. We stopped by the Corinth Canal and took lots of breathtaking pictures as well as heard the cries of people bungee jumping below. At the ancient site, we read from Corinthians as well as explored the museums. Unfortunately, the city is not very well preserved but they did have the original main road into the town as well as partial buildings and temples. Luckily for us, our director for the Greece part of our stay is a Bible professor and our tour guide is a minister. We also climbed to the ancient city/castle on top of the hill that gave us a panoramic view of the entire city and into the sea. Well, I will write you shortly about Turkey. Opa!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Santorini
Hello All. I just spent a wonderful and relaxing weekend on the Greek island of Santorini. It took 7 hours to get there. This long ferry ride was spent playing loads of cards and sleeping. There were six of us girls headed out, but also several others from our Pepperdine group traveling to Santorini. Our hotel was wonderful. It was simple but had balconies with beautiful views of the ocean. The black sand beach was only 5 minutes away and while the first day was rather windy, we made full use of the beach on day 2.
The trip embodied a peaceful vacation. We had no places to be and just enjoyed each others company. The breathtaking sunsets and views were unlike any other. This island had the typical white houses on the hills and it was so picturesque. We traveled to the different towns and beaches throughout the island. It is off season for the Greek isles so virtually nothing is open. The most inhabited part is the capital Fira where we spent the majority of our time. On Saturday, we went to the Volcano and hiked up to the top.
Back in Athens it has been a typical 'school' week. I have class for three hours in the morning and that is pretty much it. I have explored a lot of the city and am enjoying the weather immensely. I hope you all have a wonderful Easter. Opa!
The trip embodied a peaceful vacation. We had no places to be and just enjoyed each others company. The breathtaking sunsets and views were unlike any other. This island had the typical white houses on the hills and it was so picturesque. We traveled to the different towns and beaches throughout the island. It is off season for the Greek isles so virtually nothing is open. The most inhabited part is the capital Fira where we spent the majority of our time. On Saturday, we went to the Volcano and hiked up to the top.
Back in Athens it has been a typical 'school' week. I have class for three hours in the morning and that is pretty much it. I have explored a lot of the city and am enjoying the weather immensely. I hope you all have a wonderful Easter. Opa!
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Athens...it ain't so bad.
After getting to our hotel in Athens around midnight on Wednesday I was exhausted. We had a safe, late, and comfortable flight with a few creepy Greek men. Our hotel that we will be living in is literally right under the Acropolis. Pretty sweet. I am once again rooming with Elizabeth and we also have another roommate. The hotel is lovely, but a whole different experience than living in a house. We are all slowly adjusting to the change. On Thursday, we explored Mars Hill, the Acropolis, and the Plaka. Mars Hill was fun to climb up, but sad to hear that Paul probably didn't actually go up there. I loved the Acropolis. Not only did I write an essay on every structure in the Acropolis (HUM 111), but the Parthenon is possibly one of the most famous buildings throughout history. They are in the process of restoring it which was cool to see. I got lots of pictures of it so I will hopefully put them up soon.
The rest of the day we explored the Plaka which has tons of shops and restaurants. We also had our first REL 301 class. It is so much fun because we are learning to speak Greek among other things. We had to have the class because it is Carnival and Monday is a holiday so our professor wanted to take the day off with his family, since he is Greek. Carnival is crazy there are tons of people all dressed up and throwing confetti and streamers. Just a huge street party. They also hit people with these plastic bats.
Greek food is really really tasty. I had a Greek salad and it was excellent. Feta cheese, olive oil, green peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, and olives make the perfect combination. I also had a Gyro. Pretty delicious and cheap! It is a nice change, but I am definitely going to miss the food in London. Also, the gelato is a nice treat on these warm days. I have been wearing sandals, tank tops, skirts and it is just wonderful. The evenings get a little chilly but it is drastically different from the climate in London.
Yesterday we went to Delphi and toured/explored the ruins there. We also stopped by a Monastery. Greek Orthodox is an interesting religion, I am looking forward to learning about it in my religion class. Today, we went to an Anglican worship service, nothing like htb, but it was fun to hear things in English again. I hope everyone is doing well and I will write to you again soon. Opa!
The rest of the day we explored the Plaka which has tons of shops and restaurants. We also had our first REL 301 class. It is so much fun because we are learning to speak Greek among other things. We had to have the class because it is Carnival and Monday is a holiday so our professor wanted to take the day off with his family, since he is Greek. Carnival is crazy there are tons of people all dressed up and throwing confetti and streamers. Just a huge street party. They also hit people with these plastic bats.
Greek food is really really tasty. I had a Greek salad and it was excellent. Feta cheese, olive oil, green peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, and olives make the perfect combination. I also had a Gyro. Pretty delicious and cheap! It is a nice change, but I am definitely going to miss the food in London. Also, the gelato is a nice treat on these warm days. I have been wearing sandals, tank tops, skirts and it is just wonderful. The evenings get a little chilly but it is drastically different from the climate in London.
Yesterday we went to Delphi and toured/explored the ruins there. We also stopped by a Monastery. Greek Orthodox is an interesting religion, I am looking forward to learning about it in my religion class. Today, we went to an Anglican worship service, nothing like htb, but it was fun to hear things in English again. I hope everyone is doing well and I will write to you again soon. Opa!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Off to Greece
Finals are over and London time is over. Luckily for me, I will be back here in a month with my family, but sadly never in the same Pepperdine house again. This past week has been study central with everyone trying to fit their favorite things to do in London. On Sunday, we had our farewell banquet at this beautiful house and took millions of pictures. I am not going to lie, my face hurt after that day. We have been packing for what seems like forever and everyone is hoping they made it under that 50 lbs marker. We can only take one suitcase to Greece, so most of us are storing the other here and it is long gone by now. I want to thank you ahead of time for your prayers for the safety of my group. There are a little over forty of us traveling today. We are very excited, tired, and a little sad to leave London. I will write you once I am in Athens! Cheers.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Last Week in London
Time decided to fly away from me this semester. I cannot believe I have a week left until I leave. It is sad, but I am looking forward to experiencing the life in Greece and Turkey. This past weekend I stayed in London and had an enjoyable time of writing five papers and just hanging out in the city. We went to an amazing Indian restaurant on Thursday and I have decided I must find one in Marysville, because I love it so much. If I haven't mentioned this already, in South Ken we have the best cookie shop, Ben's Cookies. I have never had a better cookie in my life. I mean nothing can beat my mother's chocolate chip cookies, but they have like 20 kinds including triple chocolate with chunks of white and dark chocolate melted inside. So yummy.
Aside from eating, I did do other things this weekend. On Friday, I went to London Fashion Weekend. To our advantage it was about a block away in front of the Natural History Museum. It was INSANE. I have never seen so many designers, clothes, bags, shoes, jewelry, and models in one place. All the clothes are extremely new, nice, should be pricey, but discounted so I had to pick up a few things. We also got this really intense tote bag filled with random samples. All in all, my head was a little overwhelmed, but it was fun.
Another highlight of my weekend was Sunday. As I am sure you read, I attend Hillsong church which is a branch off of the Sydney Hillsong. This past Sunday was vision and album recording day. So we not only had the whole service professionally recorded, but we had to get there almost an hour early, just to get in. This church is huge and there are three services! There was a lot of energy and it was an intense feeling of worship and love for God all over. It was also fun to hear about the vision of the church from the overall head pastor in Sydney, Brian Houston. This church has been a huge blessing for me and encouraged me to grow spiritually while I am over here. I feel very fortunate to go every week and really sad to leave it.
Well, I must get back to work, since next week is finals! I hope you all are having a great week. Cheers!
Aside from eating, I did do other things this weekend. On Friday, I went to London Fashion Weekend. To our advantage it was about a block away in front of the Natural History Museum. It was INSANE. I have never seen so many designers, clothes, bags, shoes, jewelry, and models in one place. All the clothes are extremely new, nice, should be pricey, but discounted so I had to pick up a few things. We also got this really intense tote bag filled with random samples. All in all, my head was a little overwhelmed, but it was fun.
Another highlight of my weekend was Sunday. As I am sure you read, I attend Hillsong church which is a branch off of the Sydney Hillsong. This past Sunday was vision and album recording day. So we not only had the whole service professionally recorded, but we had to get there almost an hour early, just to get in. This church is huge and there are three services! There was a lot of energy and it was an intense feeling of worship and love for God all over. It was also fun to hear about the vision of the church from the overall head pastor in Sydney, Brian Houston. This church has been a huge blessing for me and encouraged me to grow spiritually while I am over here. I feel very fortunate to go every week and really sad to leave it.
Well, I must get back to work, since next week is finals! I hope you all are having a great week. Cheers!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
The city of love on the weekend of love!
Who misses their boyfriend? I do! :) Paris was amazing. I thought it was going to be grungy and filled with creepy men, but I was so wrong. It has become one of my favorite cities. Luckily for us, we took an overnight bus from London to Paris on Thursday night. It was long, but not too exhausting and we were in Paris, France the next morning. We stored our bags into our hotel. It was adorable about 3 blocks from the Eiffel Tower. Our breakfast was amazing and we loaded up on energy for the day. We had a 'typical' French breakfast? with two pieces of bread, ham and tomatoes in the middle, cheese melted on top, and a fried egg on top of that. Really delicious. We also tried some French coffee, pretty much a straight up shot and it was intense.
So after that we went to the Louvre. This place holds so many painting, sculptures, and other artifacts. You can really see history through art. It was also fun, because many of the paintings and sculptures we saw we recognized from discussing in our humanities class. Our next mission to complete brain overload was the d'Orsay. Because of time limits, we mostly looked at the paintings on the top floor but glanced through the sculptures. Another place that our brains and eyes were just exploded with color, light, and information. We completed both museums by 2 pm. Isn't that insane? Some people take multiple days for each one! We only had two however, and had many other things on our list.
After lunch we headed to the Notre Dam Cathedral. We actually got to go inside and listen to a Gregorian chant service thing. This church was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. The alter was so grand. We walked through the church around the alter and then walked around the outside. It was literally freezing. So, what do you do when you're freezing? Buy a crepe. I had the most scrumptious crepe ever. Duh...we're in France. But, anyway it was wonderful. We walked around that area for a while and then headed back to our hotel. We 'accidentally' took a 3 hour nap and then Elizabeth's friend from another Pepperdine program arrived and there were four of us! We went to dinner near the Eiffel Tower and took a short walk to see it at night. That is a must see if life! We crashed as soon as we got back.
Our second day began with breakfast and then a walk to the Eiffel Tower. We were thinking about climbing it but the lines were longer than the Finding Nemo line at Disneyland. So we opted out, took tons of pictures, and went to the Champs Elysees. This is a major shopping street which leads down toward the Arc de Triomphe. We also got Starbucks, a must in foreign cities. Just so you all know, it still tastes better in Seattle. Then we boarded the Metro for Versailles. We explored the castle, grounds, and Marie Antoinette smaller house and little village. It was huge. I will hopefully get pictures uploaded this week so you can see how large the grounds were.
We took the train back in and then went to the Moulin Rouge. Obviously, we did not go in but definitely got some pictures outside. Then we had a birthday dinner for Alexis. And sadly, we hurried back and Meredith and I got back on the bus and headed home. I hope you all get a chance to go to Paris, because it was a truly amazing city! Cheers!
So after that we went to the Louvre. This place holds so many painting, sculptures, and other artifacts. You can really see history through art. It was also fun, because many of the paintings and sculptures we saw we recognized from discussing in our humanities class. Our next mission to complete brain overload was the d'Orsay. Because of time limits, we mostly looked at the paintings on the top floor but glanced through the sculptures. Another place that our brains and eyes were just exploded with color, light, and information. We completed both museums by 2 pm. Isn't that insane? Some people take multiple days for each one! We only had two however, and had many other things on our list.
After lunch we headed to the Notre Dam Cathedral. We actually got to go inside and listen to a Gregorian chant service thing. This church was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. The alter was so grand. We walked through the church around the alter and then walked around the outside. It was literally freezing. So, what do you do when you're freezing? Buy a crepe. I had the most scrumptious crepe ever. Duh...we're in France. But, anyway it was wonderful. We walked around that area for a while and then headed back to our hotel. We 'accidentally' took a 3 hour nap and then Elizabeth's friend from another Pepperdine program arrived and there were four of us! We went to dinner near the Eiffel Tower and took a short walk to see it at night. That is a must see if life! We crashed as soon as we got back.
Our second day began with breakfast and then a walk to the Eiffel Tower. We were thinking about climbing it but the lines were longer than the Finding Nemo line at Disneyland. So we opted out, took tons of pictures, and went to the Champs Elysees. This is a major shopping street which leads down toward the Arc de Triomphe. We also got Starbucks, a must in foreign cities. Just so you all know, it still tastes better in Seattle. Then we boarded the Metro for Versailles. We explored the castle, grounds, and Marie Antoinette smaller house and little village. It was huge. I will hopefully get pictures uploaded this week so you can see how large the grounds were.
We took the train back in and then went to the Moulin Rouge. Obviously, we did not go in but definitely got some pictures outside. Then we had a birthday dinner for Alexis. And sadly, we hurried back and Meredith and I got back on the bus and headed home. I hope you all get a chance to go to Paris, because it was a truly amazing city! Cheers!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Yay Birthday!!!
I had a great birthday! Thank you to everyone who made it special. I was told to wake up at 7 AM on my birthday by my mother and I was pleasantly surprised to video skype with my family and Brian! Then I met up with Aunt Debbie's friend Froemke and we had coffee, climbed up St. Paul's, and had lunch! It was a great morning. Then class...not the best experience. Our music field trip was canceled so we went to dinner as a group and out to coffee after. We all had lots of homework to get done. Since this was my birthday week I should start with the beginning being last Saturday when ten of my girl friends took me out to tea at the Orangery which is in the Kensington Palace. I also got a lovely birthday cake in our convocation and serenaded by the usual happy birthday. Then the night before my birthday, I got sung to and a cake with rainbow chip frosting ($8 from the American grocery store!) Delicious. So I am a very lucky girl and now am headed off to Paris! Shout out to the new baby girl Kalea! Now, we're just waiting for the Rush baby. Cheers!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Catch-Up
Sorry for my lack of posts in the last week or so. I not only had busy weekends but I also had TONS of homework and exams. So for starters I would like to share about two weekends ago. We woke up at 4 AM, took a taxi to the airport, and flew to BARCELONA! There were 6 of us from Pep London and then a friend of another girl met us there. This group was fantastic. We had no drama only lots of fun and adventures. You can check out my Barcelona album below on facebook.
We walked down La Rambla. A main shopping street with lots of touristy things, which was near our hostel, Hello BCN. We also saw the Christopher Columbus monument that points toward the Americas, the harbor, and the beach!! We all realized how much we missed seeing the beach. The Mediterranean was beautiful and a few of us couldn't help but put our feet in the sea. Even though it was 5 pm, it didn't feel that cold. We ate tapas and drank sangria for dinner and enjoyed the company of one another in this amazing city. We walked all over and were exhausted by the end of the night.
The next day we went to Sagrada Familia. This unfinished cathedral had the most beautiful stained glass windows. I went inside and they use all of the money you pay to get in to help finish building it, since it has been under construction since 1882. Park Guell was our next stop. An incredible hike with escalators. They had them on the streets going up to the park that overlooked the entire city. Once at the top, it was a pleasant hike down to the street level with lots of fun architecture and trees. From there, we took the underground to the Picasso Museum. He was a very odd man, but painted brilliantly for most of his life. We relaxed in a little coffee shop near the museum. On Sunday morning we left, heading back to the UK.
This past weekend, Pepperdine organized and paid for a trip to Dover and Canterbury. At the Dover Castle we explored the underground war tunnels used throughout the world wars. Then we drove to the beach and got lovely pictures of the white cliffs of dover. We also put our hands in the English Channel. In Canterbury, we saw the cathedral and looked through the little shops. On Saturday, I saw Fiddler on the Roof...WONDERFUL. I loved it and look forward to seeing other shows in London. That is all I have for now. I hope you are all having a wonderful week and I will try and be better about updating. Remember to check out my pictures at the links below! Cheers.
We walked down La Rambla. A main shopping street with lots of touristy things, which was near our hostel, Hello BCN. We also saw the Christopher Columbus monument that points toward the Americas, the harbor, and the beach!! We all realized how much we missed seeing the beach. The Mediterranean was beautiful and a few of us couldn't help but put our feet in the sea. Even though it was 5 pm, it didn't feel that cold. We ate tapas and drank sangria for dinner and enjoyed the company of one another in this amazing city. We walked all over and were exhausted by the end of the night.
The next day we went to Sagrada Familia. This unfinished cathedral had the most beautiful stained glass windows. I went inside and they use all of the money you pay to get in to help finish building it, since it has been under construction since 1882. Park Guell was our next stop. An incredible hike with escalators. They had them on the streets going up to the park that overlooked the entire city. Once at the top, it was a pleasant hike down to the street level with lots of fun architecture and trees. From there, we took the underground to the Picasso Museum. He was a very odd man, but painted brilliantly for most of his life. We relaxed in a little coffee shop near the museum. On Sunday morning we left, heading back to the UK.
This past weekend, Pepperdine organized and paid for a trip to Dover and Canterbury. At the Dover Castle we explored the underground war tunnels used throughout the world wars. Then we drove to the beach and got lovely pictures of the white cliffs of dover. We also put our hands in the English Channel. In Canterbury, we saw the cathedral and looked through the little shops. On Saturday, I saw Fiddler on the Roof...WONDERFUL. I loved it and look forward to seeing other shows in London. That is all I have for now. I hope you are all having a wonderful week and I will try and be better about updating. Remember to check out my pictures at the links below! Cheers.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Pictures!
Hi all! I know I am running behind especially about my last two weekends. Barcelona, Dover, and Canterbury. I hopefully will write about them soon. After I write a paper and a speech. :) Anyway, I am giving you the links to my facebook photo albums.
Life in London: http://pepperdine.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045557&l=dd4d5&id=8506210
Oxford University: http://pepperdine.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045559&l=26aae&id=8506210
Wales: http://pepperdine.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045560&l=274d9&id=8506210
Barcelona: http://pepperdine.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045563&l=ec9d9&id=8506210
Just copy and paste these in your web browser and they should work to view my pictures. I hope to update you all soon! Cheers!
Life in London: http://pepperdine.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045557&l=dd4d5&id=8506210
Oxford University: http://pepperdine.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045559&l=26aae&id=8506210
Wales: http://pepperdine.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045560&l=274d9&id=8506210
Barcelona: http://pepperdine.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045563&l=ec9d9&id=8506210
Just copy and paste these in your web browser and they should work to view my pictures. I hope to update you all soon! Cheers!
Monday, January 21, 2008
My, what a weekend!
After the first week of classes overseas, I can safely say, it is going to be a hard semester. Luckily for me, I can take the pressure of school work and classes off, by going on day trips. First, however, let me explain my school week. I am taking four classes here in London. The first is only on Mondays, Humanities for three and a half hours, followed by an hour and half museum visit. Not a bad day. I am also taking a speech class that focuses on Greece and Turkey. My communications class encourages discussion on intercultral communication and then my other class is really hard, British Pop Music History. Okay, so it is not that bad. I am fortunate only to have classes four days a week, however the classes are much longer in length since we will be finishing them before we leave for Greece at the beginning of March. Overall, the classes are great, some are more interesting than others, but so far so good.
On Friday, two of my friends and I set off for an adventure. Our plan was to take a bus to Oxford and explore the city. So we took the tube to Victoria station, found the bus station, and found the bus. After an hour on the bus we arrived to the rain but beautiful architecture of Oxford. We went to the famous pub, The Eagle and Child, where CS Lewis and JR Tolkien famously met to chat. We explored Oxford Castle and even managed to find a Krispy Kreme right outside of it. I was delighted. Oxford castle was used as a prison until 1996 and just last year opened up for tours. We explored throughout the whole thing, even climbing on top of a large 'mound' of dirt and grass, taller than the castle, to take a look of the city. We walked through the many universities that fill the streets. Oxford was a great place to explore a city that has so much history and beauty where ever you turn.
Saturday, bright and early, several of us took a long bus ride into Cardiff, Wales. We decided on the one day affair because visiting my family that lives in Wales was a lot further and a great deal more expensive. So we headed for the capital and found ourselves exploring another castle. This one, however, was filled with the decor of a home and a palace. We took a tour of the castle and even had tea in the dungeon. We also explored the Bay and walked the streets of this Welsh city.
Sunday, I went to three church services (read the previous blog for the details) but in between I went to the Tower of London. I believe they were called beef eaters, which were the tour guides and they were hilarious. He started the tour by asking where everyone was from. When he called the United States, he stated that this history could have all been ours if we only paid our taxes. We saw the royal jewels...bling bling. Wow, one diamond in a crown was 530 carrots. Dang. We walked in the footsteps of queens and people who eventually got beheaded by some king. There was lots of death in the tour, but overall lots of history learned. I love living in a city that has so much wisdom behind it. England and especially London has so much history that everywhere you go, you learn about why things were created and how that may influence our modern culture, language, and life.
Now it is Monday and I hope you all have a great week. Myself, living in the UK, did not get the day off of school, but I hope you all enjoyed or are enjoying your day. Cheers!
P.S. Pictures coming soon!
On Friday, two of my friends and I set off for an adventure. Our plan was to take a bus to Oxford and explore the city. So we took the tube to Victoria station, found the bus station, and found the bus. After an hour on the bus we arrived to the rain but beautiful architecture of Oxford. We went to the famous pub, The Eagle and Child, where CS Lewis and JR Tolkien famously met to chat. We explored Oxford Castle and even managed to find a Krispy Kreme right outside of it. I was delighted. Oxford castle was used as a prison until 1996 and just last year opened up for tours. We explored throughout the whole thing, even climbing on top of a large 'mound' of dirt and grass, taller than the castle, to take a look of the city. We walked through the many universities that fill the streets. Oxford was a great place to explore a city that has so much history and beauty where ever you turn.
Saturday, bright and early, several of us took a long bus ride into Cardiff, Wales. We decided on the one day affair because visiting my family that lives in Wales was a lot further and a great deal more expensive. So we headed for the capital and found ourselves exploring another castle. This one, however, was filled with the decor of a home and a palace. We took a tour of the castle and even had tea in the dungeon. We also explored the Bay and walked the streets of this Welsh city.
Sunday, I went to three church services (read the previous blog for the details) but in between I went to the Tower of London. I believe they were called beef eaters, which were the tour guides and they were hilarious. He started the tour by asking where everyone was from. When he called the United States, he stated that this history could have all been ours if we only paid our taxes. We saw the royal jewels...bling bling. Wow, one diamond in a crown was 530 carrots. Dang. We walked in the footsteps of queens and people who eventually got beheaded by some king. There was lots of death in the tour, but overall lots of history learned. I love living in a city that has so much wisdom behind it. England and especially London has so much history that everywhere you go, you learn about why things were created and how that may influence our modern culture, language, and life.
Now it is Monday and I hope you all have a great week. Myself, living in the UK, did not get the day off of school, but I hope you all enjoyed or are enjoying your day. Cheers!
P.S. Pictures coming soon!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Learning to Live in the Big City
The weekend has been an exciting one. I experienced many firsts in my life and got to know a ton of new people. I am sad to report to you the Seahawks lost and are now out of the playoffs for the NFC Championship. Sad day, although, I am happy to report that the Cowboys lost and the Pats are taking it all the way. Back in the UK, however, life is not based on NFL football, shocking I know. This past weekend I went to the London Eye. This structure is almost 500 feet tall and is pretty much a giant ferris wheel, except that instead of the little swing seats it has these bubbles that can fit about 25 people. Luckily, no rain while we were on it, a very rare thing for London. The scenes were beautiful and lovely. I saw right down the Thames, many buildings I did not recognize, and Big Ben. After leaving the rather tall contraption, we headed down the road and walked all the way to Piccadilly Circus. Since we were in a tour, there was not much time for exploring, but I will be sure to do that in these coming weeks. I forgot to mention that I took my first trip on public transportation here, using the tube to get there and the bus to get back. Wonderful! Very clean and logical process. I am hoping I can get the hang of it.
The other highlight of my week was yesterday, Sunday. Every good Christian knows their favorite thing about Sunday is church, so I was excited to attend here in London. In the morning I went to Hillsong. The service is downtown London at the Dominion Theatre. HUGE! Hillsong comes from the Hillsong in Sydney, Australia. Lots and lots of worship music that people sing in church all over the world comes from both churches. Well it was wonderful, just a true blessing to be in London at their worship. Church #2 was an evening service at HTB, Holy Trinity Brompton which is less than five minutes away from our house. Another amazing service. The building was smaller but just as lively, we sat with all of the college students and it was wonderful fellowship. The worship leader for that church is Tim Hughes, another artist that has written the music that my church at home and in Malibu sing. What a huge blessing to attend this service. The pastor at htb was a great, very postmodern kind of preaching. Finally, Church #3 was house church. It is actually run by our faculty here at the Pepperdine house in the flat at the top of the stairs. This semester we are studying C.S. Lewis' book Mere Christianity. We sang, ate dessert, and discussed. So I was pretty churched out for the day but had lots of wonderful experiences.
I am starting classes this Monday morning. I'll let you all know how they go! Cheers!
The other highlight of my week was yesterday, Sunday. Every good Christian knows their favorite thing about Sunday is church, so I was excited to attend here in London. In the morning I went to Hillsong. The service is downtown London at the Dominion Theatre. HUGE! Hillsong comes from the Hillsong in Sydney, Australia. Lots and lots of worship music that people sing in church all over the world comes from both churches. Well it was wonderful, just a true blessing to be in London at their worship. Church #2 was an evening service at HTB, Holy Trinity Brompton which is less than five minutes away from our house. Another amazing service. The building was smaller but just as lively, we sat with all of the college students and it was wonderful fellowship. The worship leader for that church is Tim Hughes, another artist that has written the music that my church at home and in Malibu sing. What a huge blessing to attend this service. The pastor at htb was a great, very postmodern kind of preaching. Finally, Church #3 was house church. It is actually run by our faculty here at the Pepperdine house in the flat at the top of the stairs. This semester we are studying C.S. Lewis' book Mere Christianity. We sang, ate dessert, and discussed. So I was pretty churched out for the day but had lots of wonderful experiences.
I am starting classes this Monday morning. I'll let you all know how they go! Cheers!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
I'm here!
Wow, after a ten hour plane ride, a two and a half hour experience in baggage claim (luckily not at my expense), and a thirty minute car ride from Heathrow airport, I arrived at 56 Princes Gate. The streets are totally picturesque. Our house has a reception area and office once you walk in and then the 'basement' and four floors above it. My room is shared with luckily my closest friend here, Elizabeth. We are on the basement floor along with two other girl rooms, the kitchen, the student lounge, computer lab, and laundry facilities. The third floor has all of the classrooms, fourth has boy rooms, girl rooms on the fifth, and finally our visiting faculty on the sixth. A tall house, but I usually only go between the first two. Our room is spacious but you can tell it is very old and we luckily have our own bathroom with the smallest shower I have ever seen.
Not too many adventures in London so far. We are having orientation this week so today we went on a walk around our neighborhood, South Kensington, and later we're having lunch and a meeting. Last night we went to a local hang out spot for the Imperial College students. It has been very fun getting to know the new students here and some of the old ones. There are about 12 new students and the old ones are returning slowly. Classes start on Monday, so pretty soon they'll all be back. I look forward to updating you all again soon. Cheers!
Not too many adventures in London so far. We are having orientation this week so today we went on a walk around our neighborhood, South Kensington, and later we're having lunch and a meeting. Last night we went to a local hang out spot for the Imperial College students. It has been very fun getting to know the new students here and some of the old ones. There are about 12 new students and the old ones are returning slowly. Classes start on Monday, so pretty soon they'll all be back. I look forward to updating you all again soon. Cheers!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Anxious and Excited
Hi all! I hope you are all having a wonderful start to your new year 2008. I am very excited to leave in 4 days!! This blog is meant to keep you updated with my travels, life, etc. while I am abroad. Right now I have two very large suitcases, a list of what I think I need, a plane ticket to LAX, and not a whole lot of time left with family and friends. I will arrive in London on the 8th so hopefully you guys can all bookmark this page on your web browser and check it every so often. I love you all! Cheers!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
