Life after fall break

So after a very full and fantastic 10 days of travel, I have made it back to London. It's funny, but as awesome as fall break was, I began to miss London and was really excited to get back! This city has begun to feel like a second home. Of course, I am also starting to miss my first home very much, only one month left! How crazy is that?! Time has flown by....There is so much I still want to do here!

Here is a brief recap of this last two weeks (after fall break):
On the 2nd, I went to a production called Ghost Stories which was actually pretty scary. I went into it pretty skeptical, I mean how do you really scare your audience from the stage? But actually they did a really good job! When you first walk in, the room is really dim, there is the sound of dripping water, and numbers are scrawled across the walls. Definitely eerie. Everyone had a fun time jumping out and scaring one another the rest of the night. :)

On the 3rd, I had afternoon tea at the Ritz! It was to celebrate my friend Kelsey's 21st birthday and it was such a treat! We all felt like we were in a movie or something. The walls are covered in ornate gold decorations and larger than life mirrors. There was live piano music playing, which made everything more magical. Don't be fooled by the title 'tea' because there was enough food for a full meal! They bring finger sandwiches and if they ever get low, the waiter brings more out! There was also little cakes and sweets, not to mention the tea and scones! whew. Makes me full just thinking about it. Every inch of our table was covered in delectable foods and drinks. There were times when I had to sit back in my gold rimmed chair and soak it all in. We had a fabulous time and felt like royalty for and hour and a half.

On the 4th the whole house had a 'show-n-tell' time where we shared pictures from fall break. It was so nice to see all the different places that everyone went! We were able to feel apart of their adventures and laugh together about all our mishaps.

 On the 5th, I attended my first 'teacher training day' at the school where I am interning. It was a really good learning experience, since I was able to see the other side of teaching. The day was a curriculum conference and the teachers spent the day brainstorming effective ways to improve the 'Key Stage 3 curriculum' (which for us is 7th, 8th, and 9th grade). They had so many great ideas and I hope that some of them actually get implemented at the school. I was also grateful for the chance to meet more of the teachers and continue to build relationship with the staff at Hornsey. The 5th was also Guy Fawkes day! If you don't know who he is, he was the man who attempted to blow up Parliament on November 5th, 1605. "Remember, remember, the fifth of November. Gunpowder treason and plot. I don't see a reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot." V for Vendetta, the movie, is about Guy Fawkes. A great movie I might add! Anyways, every fifth of November people in the UK make bonfires, in remembrance of Guy Fawkes getting caught and not blowing up Parliament. His effigy is often burned on the fire and then fireworks are shot off all over the city. We didn't get to see much of the fireworks and missed out on the bonfire, but were able to make up for it the next night!

That weekend we went out to Chipping Camden, a small village in the Cotswolds (English countryside) to stay with Hannah's grandmother, who lives in a cottage there four months out of the year. Lala (which is what we called her grandma) was such a sweet lady and took such good care of us the whole weekend! All five of us did not want to return to London to eat our pb&j's and have to do homework, rather than sit by a warm fire or look at the stars. Chipping Camden is the sweetest little town, with one street running through it and tons of fields, full of sheep. :) People ride their horses through the town and there is only one little grocery store. That first night, we were invited to a local Guy Fawkes bonfire and had a blast roasting marshmallows, teaching the British children how to make s'mores, and playing with sparklers. There was tons of good food and good fellowship. I much prefer the small town get-togethers. We also got to hang out with sheep during the day and had afternoon tea in one of the small tea rooms. The whole weekend was very relaxed and it was so nice to spend time with Lala, and the four girls I went with (Hannah, Elizabeth, Lindsey, and Lindy)! Oh and we also had the chance to go out to Gloucester Cathedral, where a lot of the scenes for Hogwarts were filmed for the Harry Potter movies. We have a lot of big Harry Potter fans in this group, so every opportunity we have to see something Hogwarts related, we go. haha. Gloucester is one of the oldest cathedrals I have been to and was by far the most unique! They were having a modern art exhibit while we were there and there were many strange, even disturbing, pieces that didn't really seem to fit the cathedral atmosphere.

I love my theatre appreciation class. Mark is a wonderful professor who is taking us to several theatres/museums all over the city. We even had a chance to dress up this week. ;) There is no better city to make theatre come alive than here in London.

On Tuesday, we went to the production Railway Children, which was a really fun kids show and had a real train pull onto the set! Talk about realistic. It was fun feeling a bit like a kid again, getting caught up in the steam, train noises, and bright colors.

This weekend has been really relaxed, which is exactly what I needed. I don't feel like I've stopped going since getting back from fall break, so I needed this weekend to get my head above water (aka: doing lots of homework and catching up on sleep). I even had a chance to do a little shopping! Regents street is all lit up with Christmas lights, and Hamley's (the three-story toy store) is bustling with people buying their gifts and children enjoying the endless supply of toys. I also had a chance to go back to Camden Market on Saturday, which is always so much fun! That place is full of amazing ethnic foods and funky, unique gifts. You can enjoy yourself by simply walking around and looking at the diversity that surrounds you.

Today I went to Hillsong and they were having a special Uganda-awareness day. Men, women, and children from Uganda that are apart of the 'Watoto Tour' came and performed for us. They began with fantastic,energetic tribal dances that displayed their amazing talent and the wonderful culture of their people. However, it quickly took a serious tone as they reenacted what happened when the rebels would come to their villages. Several stories were shared through a video and I pretty much spent the entire service crying. My heart is so broken for these amazing people. At the end, the people took turns telling us how they had forgiven the soldiers who had killed their parents or abducted them into the child army. There is nothing more powerful than forgiveness! All I could think about was the petty things that I hold onto and stay mad about. How stupid. Who am I to hold a grudge when these people, who have lost everything, can forgive such cruelty and rebuild their lives out of the ashes? I feel a bit wrecked today. But in a good way. I need to be reminded of the power of God's unfailing love and hope! And I need to reminded of the suffering of my brothers and sisters in Uganda (and so many other countries). If you feel led, please stop and pray for the people of Uganda right now.

Love and miss you all so much!