Life is winding down at Winchester...

---

It's been over four weeks since I returned from my spring break travels, and anyone who's kept up will see that I've finally caught up with the back-dated diary entries. Now that I've re-settled into Winchester life, I'm only looking forward to what promises to be the best part of my semester: my mom's visit and our 2-1/2 weeks of traveling. After that, it's home to the States, which I'm either dreading or anxiously awaiting, depending on the day. But for now, I'm getting through crunch-time with my essays, enjoying the last weeks with my Winchester friends, and sorting out the plans for the trip with my mother.

Here are some highlights since I last wrote about my Devon trip:

Church in London on May 6th
Pastor Michael Schroeder, the WELS chaplain for Europe, conducts a service in London on the first Sunday of every month. Anna and I hadn't been to real church since we'd gotten here -- though I attended in Czech Republic, it wasn't the same since I didn't understand the language -- so we decided to make the trip this particular week. It was such a hassle! But in the end, it was definitely worth the amount of money we spent and stress we endured, just to receive communion, attend the Bible study and socialize with fellow believers.

We planned to take the bus to London, since that's the cheapest, but the ticket office was closed and when the bus got to the stop, it was full. So we had to take the train -- which, incidently, was down part of the way, so we were had to take the replacement bus service halfway to London (Woking) and catch a couple different trains from there. Plus, we paid 26 pounds for the train ticket, which is $50 compared to half the price we would have paid for the bus!

Once in London, we grabbed food at Burger King in a queue that took longer than it should have and hurried to the Tube. Turns out that our stop was almost an hour from central London, in Zone 6 on the tube map. We were going to be late -- really late -- for the service, thanks to all these delays! I was upset, sitting there on the tube as the time ticked by, but Anna wasn't letting it bother her and I tried to do the same. We listened to A Cappella music (recordings from my high school choir) on the way, to get us in the mood for worship.

We got off at the Northwood stop (after having to back-track a little) and practically ran down the 2-3 blocks to the Methodist church where the Lutheran services are held. We slipped into the back at the very end of pastor's sermon, joining the dozen or so worshippers. It seemed to be a laid-back service, since there were so few people, and music was just played on the piano. But I got everything I could out of the remainder of the service, ESPECIALLY communion, which hadn't meant so much to me until that day, when I heard the words "you're forgiven."

After the service, we were approached by many of the people worshipping, including the pastor's brother and his wife, who serve the church in San Diego, Ca. and were visiting for a few weeks. A Bible study was organized soon after the service, and I really got a lot out of the Galatians study and tried to contribute where I could. It was an intimate group, probably ten of us at the table, and I felt really comfortable and happy to be studying God's Word with people who I knew believed the same thing I did. I didn't realize how much I missed this or took it for granted before I came here and haven't been able to participate in Bible studies with like-minded people.

After the Bible study, we were invited to stay for the potluck meal, which was just prepared by one of the ladies. It was DELICIOUS!! Home-cooked food in abundance, with interesting conversation to top it off. Anna and I made the inevitable "WELS connections" with the people at the table, who were all American and living in England except one couple, who was German, and the visiting pastor and wife. It was just such a nice, cozy feeling to be with WELS people. Even though we'd never met before, I felt like we knew each other. I didn't want the afternoon to end, and the dinner did go rather long, but everyone finally packed up to go and we relunctantly left also, with promises to return for the June service.

We came straight home afterwards, even though we had hoped to do something in London that day. We'll have to plan it out better for June 3!

Day trip to Oxford on May 12th
I'd planned to see this quaint university town with my mother, but since she's already been there and some of my friends were heading there one Saturday, I went along. I spent more money than I planned because the train tickets weren't half-price for groups of four as they usually are, but it was still worth the trip.

I was with a group that I normally don't hang out with, all Americans, but no one I've hung out with much. I was with Jay and Cassie most of the day, which actually turned out to be pretty nice, since I got to know them better and we were on the same page as far as sight-seeing. Even though I got along with the rest of the girls pretty well, some were only interested in shopping and a few I hadn't even met before.

First, we toured the Bodleian Library, which has a copy of every single book printed in England, going back centuries. The collection is up to 8-9 million books, now, and it also has a wealth of precious manuscripts. The tour cost 6 pounds but was well worth it for what we got to see and learn. Our tour guide was a middle-aged lady, who was a little awkward and used lots of "um's" and talked like she was giving a memorized speech, but she gave an informative tour.

The library has a long and rich history, going back centuries. I don't remember the specifcs, but found the timeline staggering and the university's legacy awe-inspiring. We began in the Divinity Room, which was used for teaching and testing theology students (the university's founding subject, divinity or theology) and was also the Infirmary in the Harry Potter films. We next looked into the old Convocation room, where they held university senate meetings. Next, up into the actual library, which was the coolest part of the tour, for me. We couldn't take pictures up there, so I just soaked in the atmosphere and breathed in the scent of so many ancient books. The setting was just like a movie -- rather unreal with the books going up the ladder and packed into the walls, the soft lighting and hushed atmosphere -- and has understandably been the site of some Harry Potter scenes. To check out a book from here -- which anyone can do, since it's open to everyone -- you have to request the book and it is brought to you in the library, and you can't remove it from the building. They are currently working on digitizing the entire 19th century's worth of books, which must be an incredibly huge task.

After the tour, the group split off to find lunch. Jay, Cassie and I had the "meal deal" from Boots (a drugstore chain in England) that was actually a great deal. The three of us then ended up spending the rest of the day together -- enduring the occasional shower and taking a ton of pictures of this neat little city.

We reserved in advance an indoor history tour of the city and university, and then set out to explore. We walked through the grounds of Christ Church, which is one of the university's colleges and also the site where Alice in Wonderland was inspired. The grounds there are really pretty, with the old, stately college buildings as a backdrop. We also walked down by the river and saw people "punting" -- rowing this funny-looking boats -- and a place where they could rent them. And while waiting for our tour time to arrive, we popped into some university bookstores and souvenir shops, and I ended up buying a cute, powder-blue hoodie with "Oxford University" written on it. A great purchase; I was really happy with it.

Our tour was not what I expected, but fascinating and informative at the same time. We sat in these little carts like a ride at Disneyland and wore headphone to hear the constant narration, special effects and music. Along the way and in time to the voice walking us through the timeline, we saw realistic-looking figures and artifacts representing the various stages in Oxford University history. I had no idea that in the beginning, the university was a rough place, and education was much different. But the only thing that hasn't changed throughout its history is the quality and prestige that the university's academics hold. Famous scholars were highlighted -- with all the women mentioned quickly at the end; I guess it's understandable since they've only been admitted for less than a century -- and important historical landmarks mentioned. Overall, I'm really glad we did the non-traditional tour, and it was well-worth the money.

The last stop of the day was the Ashmolian Museum -- a free city museum that holds things like Egyptian artifacts (I saw my first mummy!) and jewelry, paintings, English historical items like clocks and dishes, and a contemporary display with Impressionist-type work. It was a beautiful, well-put-together museum, but since we were there not long before it closed, we didn't spend a ton of time here. We met up with (most of) the other people and caught the next train back to Winchester soon after.

Essays for my classes
Without getting into boring detail, I should mention that my education in Winchester isn't is sometimes more than the travel experiences.

--- For my religion class (World Religions), I had to write an essay about how Islam is portrayed in the media and am now working on the second and final essay for that class. I'm either going to write about a contemporary Buddhist sect or how Hinduism relates to contemporary Indian society. That essay is due next week...

--- My most-dreaded class -- Print Media, ironic because that's my major -- only improved when I got to work with some cool people in my class on a group presentation. Earlier this semester, I completed an essay that was a textual analysis on Cosmo magazine (hey, I could pick any publication I wanted) and I now have to write a 3,000-word essay on the consequences of "making private lives public" for the print media in light of their "regulatory mechanisms." Yes, it's as boring as it sounds; I hate theory! That one's due next week, also.

--- My favorite class, Creative Non-Fiction, has a pretty easy marking system and there have been many interesting readings. The first graded piece was an in-class writing exam, which I did fine on. The second is due tomorrow, but I'm just about finished. It had to be a creative non-fiction piece on ANYTHING we wanted, and mine turned into an autobiographical/memoir/personal reflection piece. I read it aloud in class and got many positive responses, which I take as a compliment because my classmates are all creative writing majors, and I'm not used to writing non-fiction from a "creative" standpoint.

--- Finally, my history class (Early Modern Europe: 1500-1789) is finally over, since I handed in the second and final essay last week and didn't bother going to lecture this week, since it doesn't count anymore. I wrote on popular culture in that time period, which wasn't as interesting as I'd hoped when I picked the topic.

A busy social life
Despite the essays I have to work on, I have a lot of free time at Winchester, still. No job and very limited in-class time means I have a lot of free time! I still go out a couple nights a week, but am making a really big effort not to spend much money, and have hardly been drinking at all. We still go to Bop -- Wednesday night "dance party," basically -- and Thursday (and sometimes Monday) nights at the Porthouse. One Friday we had a dress-up night for someone's birthday, as whatever we wanted, and I borrowed clothes from various girls and ended up as a cowgirl... people thought it was cute.

We celebrated Anna's birthday two weeks ago with an American-style party. She had red plastic cups mailed from home (they don't sell them here!) and Ping Pong balls we we could set up beer pong tables and Flippy Cup races. We cleared Anna's room and had the party in there and in the hallway just outside. More people turned up than we expected (and not people we necessarily liked) but it was a lot of fun, anyway. The dress-up theme was "American" of course... which basically means CASUAL and not all perfectly-attired like the girls, especially, do around here! Sweatpants and T-shirts abounded, and it was nice to have it in the dorm and not have to walk home afterwards. We also started super early (4:30 p.m.!), like Eau Claire parties tend to run, so it was over before midnight -- probably a good thing for the non-partying people in the dorm, since sound carries up and down ALL the floors and through the walls. That hallway still smells of stale beer, even today, but it was well worth the fun!

Since many of the Americans -- besides the Eau Claire people -- are leaving this week, we had one last party at the Annex on Sunday night. EVERYONE turned out and it was so much fun to spend this one last night with my friends that will soon disperse to all corners of the country. So funny that I've met so many Americans in England! Anyway, we had tacos and ice cream, and just hung out talking for ages. I went down to O'Neills pub with some girls afterward and heard a guy sing that some of the girls know. I also brought my camera to this event -- for once, I have pictures of PEOPLE and not just scenery -- and got many compliments.

Walking Winchester
Finally, I've been making an effort to walk around and explore this great little city a lot more, lately. I took a beautiful walk with Jay and Cassie down behind Winchester College (not the same as my school -- this one is really historical and famous, too) along the river, and we even saw the house where Jane Austen died.

Anna and I walked up to the Great Hall museum, which is one of the remnants of the castle/fortress that used to stand here when Winchester was the capital of England. King Arthur's Round Table is preserved here, which was waaay bigger than I imagined -- too cool! There was also a garden -- Eleanor's Garden -- outside the Hall that is set up to look like a garden would have in the 1300s, when this castle was in use.

And on Sunday, I took a 2-1/2 hour walk with Cassie (I love that girl and am sad that I'm just getting to know her as she's about to leave on Saturday for home in New Hampshire) up to St. Catherine's Hill, which is a lovely look-out point where we could see all of Winchester and the surrounding countryside. It was a hike to get out there, and we accidently took an overgrown footpath instead of the pretty river walk on the way down, but made up for it on the way back. The hill was REALLY steep but well worth the great views and funny herd of sheep wandering around on the top.

-----

So, there's an update on my life! Enjoy the pictures, and I still love hearing from people back home, as I'm starting to get a bit antsy over here...

---

Photos

Oxford -- Cayce, Me, Cassie, Allison, Monique
(From Jay's camera)

Dress-up night
Me and Anna -- cute pic!
From Facebook.

American goodbye party
The whole group, minus just a few. I'm going to miss everyone!!!

American goodbye party
Me and Janice (from Missouri) -- I love this picture and am going to miss this girl!!!

Oxford
Bodleian Library

Oxford
Bodleian Library

Oxford
Divinity Room of the Bodleian Library

Oxford
Divinity Room of Boleian Library

Oxford -- Bodleian Library
Ceiling detail

Comments

[anonymous]

Yay for WELS!!!!!! That was kind of how it was for me last summer when I was working at camp. 3 months of no WELS services or people to talk to:( So glad you found one in London, even though it took a lot of work and patience on yours and Anna's part! Good luck on your huuuge essay about publicizing private life. With a little creativity I'm sure you could make it very interesting--but 3,000 words--that's insane! lol see you soon em