Entry 2: July 15, 2008

London is one of the busiest and most exciting places to be. I have been having the time of my life. There is so much history that makes London one of the most intriguing and spectacular cities in this world. I am currently in the British Parliament class and I have been enjoying the trips to parliament immensely. We have been meeting with members of parliament from all the parties and have had the opportunity to ask them intense and fun questions. It is an amazing feeling to be in the building and imagining what it is like to be one of those people who have to vote on world affecting decisions everyday. It has been fantastic!

We have been all over London. The program allows us to see everything we want to see and also see things we are just finding out. We have been to the National Gallery, which houses some of the most amazing artists that have shaped the art world over the years. The Tate Modern Museum was my favorite art museum. It has a collection of modern artists that I have enjoyed and learned about recently. We saw many of the famous paintings that are so much better to see in person. We really had time to enjoy and experience the art and the artist's emotions. We have been to many museums, my favorite being the Imperial War Museum. We got to interact with some of the exhibits and we saw WWI, WWII, and a Holocaust exhibition. They were moving and extremely educational.

The theatre circuit spans the entire city and everywhere else in this country. As a theatre major, I feel as though I am in the heart of theatre and it has helped me gain an understanding of many aspects of theatre. We have been to see some musicals: “Marguerite” (with Ruthie Henshall) and “The Lion King.” We have seen two straight plays at the National Theatre: “Major Barbara” and Vanessa Redgrave in “The Year Of Magical Thinking”. We have also seen “The Frontline” at Shakespeare's Globe. This is definitely one of the experiences that I have been waiting for what seems to be a lifetime, and my dream of seeing a show there has finally come true. I actually got to meet the actor who played Simba in “The Lion King” after the show. I also found out that he is from Durban, South Africa, which is about an hour away from the city I grew up in, Pietermaritzburg. It was amazing to meet someone who was from my country and clearly an amazing actor, singer and dancer who is on the stage performing something that is close to both our hearts. It was an experience that was extremely heart-warming.

Having tea with the nuns at Maria Assumpta Center is absolutely hilarious and exciting. They are funny, kind and have the best biscuits in the world. I really enjoyed talking to them and sharing my experience of Europe with them. I am pleased to know that I have a couple more weeks to share with them. Another exciting part of being in London is that we have met up with our friend Joanna Bunnell. She is an alum of Meredith College and a fantastic theatre degree holder. She lives in London and has helped us immensely with our travels, and getting around. It was extremely exciting getting to see her and go out to shows with her.

Oxford was our first day trip. We went to Christ Church, which was one of the highlights. We were all Harry Potter fans and got to see the dining room, staircase and library where the movies have been filmed. It was an amazing and surreal experience. This is also where “Alice in Wonderland” was written and there was a store that only Meredith ladies would go crazy over, because of our fabulous faculty performances. It was a fantastic day trip that was thoroughly enjoyable.

One of the great events we went to was the Gay Pride Parade. This was a spectacular parade of people who are homosexuals, transvestites, and people who just wanted to offer their support. It was an amazing display of the change that our world is finally making. It was a hopeful display of how accepting and nurturing the world has become. I really enjoyed being there, cheering and dancing along with the parade. It was also exciting to see Sir Ian McKellen in the parade. It was an amazing display of genuine support and love which gives one hope of a bright future for our world. I was really inspired by this parade and extremely grateful to get the opportunity to be there.

As you can tell we are quite busy, but loving every moment of it. There is so much to do and so much to see that I can't believe we aren't staying any longer. Our time seems to be slipping away but we are trying our hardest to squeeze every experience we can out of it. We have a list of shows that we still have to see, many day trips that we have to go on, and of course a ride on the London Eye to look forward to. I am thoroughly loving England! I am sure there will be plenty for me to share with you next time!

Entry 1: July 1, 2008

We had to leave Lugano, which became home base and comfortable for the week. But we had to move on and just the thought of Paris was more than enough to motivate us to pack up all our belongings, again.

Paris is beautiful! We had a fantastic time. The train ride was long but it was worth it. We got to Paris and we saw the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Notre Dame, and some other things. The main event was the engagement of one of our friends at the Eiffel Tower. It was magnificent! Wish you two all the luck!

We headed out to Caillas. It is on the border of France. We took the ferry over to Dover and my uncle picked us up. We rested and recharged in Beckenham for a couple of days, and then we headed to the Maria Assumpta Centre in Kensington. It is very nice. The accommodations are lovely and there are the nicest nuns and staff that live here. It was definitely heartwarming and quite special to get to sit and talk with them. We are located right in the hub that is London, so there is access to everything we could need. We have had orientation and classes so far, but we actually start sightseeing today. We are heading to a museum and possible a show at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre this evening. As you can imagine we are keeping relatively busy, and loving it. Until next time,
CHEERS!