This past week has been filled with ups and downs, joy
and grief, especially with the attacks on Paris. What happened was a horrible
tragedy, and the resulting love and solidarity for the people of Paris warms my
heart, as people across the world are uniting together to fight terrorism. This
came right around the time of Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday in the
United Kingdom. On Sunday morning, the entire country held two minutes of
silence for the fallen, and in the evening, Big Ben was lit up, and poppies
were projected on it, naming the fallen of the wars. The Cenotaph was
surrounded with poppies, and it was an incredible sight to be able to see this
remembrance of the fallen. Honoring the fallen of the wars here moved to
honoring and praying for the citizens of Paris, and I wish I had words to describe
everything that I am feeling, and I am grateful for the outpouring of love I have
received as well.
On Monday I went to the Natural History Museum after
classes, and it was so much fun! I loved seeing and learning more about
dinosaurs and about the Earth. The Earth section really interested me, and I liked
being able to see and learn more about the things that I learned in the geology
class I took a few semesters ago. It was all so neat and fun! I was able to get
more homework done Monday as well, which was really nice!
On Tuesday I had class, and really just tried to get
homework done before our day trip Wednesday.
Wednesday we had our day trip to Portsmouth and Chawton
Cottage, the last home of Jane Austen. Portsmouth was really cool! We toured
the HMS Victory, which was Admiral Nelson’s ship during the Battle of
Trafalgar, and where he died after learning about the victory in 1805. He is
memorialized in Trafalgar Square here. The tour was really fascinating, and as
it was Veteran’s Day, we held two minutes of silence at 11 am while on the
ship. It was just a unique experience. After the tour, we toured the Mary Rose,
Henry VIII’s ship. It sunk centuries ago, and a crew raised it and have been
working on slowly drying it out for quite a while now. It is essentially just
boards and such, there isn’t much of an actual ship left. But it was still fun
to see. Afterwards, a friend and I went into the action stations building, and
we were able to fly a simulator helicopter and rock climb. It was so fun!! We
then went to the Cadbury outlet at the mall just down the road, which was
awesome. The chocolate is so yummy!! We wandered around the mall until we had
to get back on the bus to travel to Chawton. I loved being able to tour Jane
Austen’s home, and see how she lived, and learn about how secret of a person
she was. It was fascinating to visit after reading Persuasion, which helped me to gain more of an appreciation for
Jane Austen’s works. The car park where our coach was just happened to be by a
playground, so naturally, all of us ended up playing on the playground,
laughing and giggling like 5 year olds. It was fun to swing and play on the teeter
totter, and then spin as well! It was a great way to end our day on our trip!
Thursday after class, I went to Hampstead Heath and
Highgate Cemetery. Once I found Parliament Hill and climbed up to the top, the
view of the city was astounding. You could see so much, and the fall colors
were gorgeous and everywhere! I went from the park to the cemetery, which took
a really long time to find, and was mostly uphill as well. I found it though,
and it was peaceful to walk through the graves and see the different people
buried there, like George Eliot and Karl Marx. After dinner that night, I went
with a few friends to the large Disney store on Oxford Circus! It was so neat
and fun! They had a speeder you could take pictures with, as well as Cinderella’s
carriage! It was so fun, and I loved it!
On Friday, we had the morning to ourselves, and then
we went to the Cabinet War Rooms in the afternoon. These rooms were where
Winston Churchill directed World War II, and it was so interesting and fascinating
to see them. From the War Rooms, a majority of the group went to the Harry
Potter Studio Tour, and I went a second time! I loved it even more! They had
just set up everything for Christmas, from a large tree in the entrance to the
Great Hall being all decked out with trees, decorations, and the Christmas
feast. It was so fun and so cool! And I was able to green screen myself on a
broomstick and in the Weasley’s car, and I loved it! It was an incredible
experience, and I loved going with more friends and just being able to bring
out my inner child and lover of Harry Potter again!
Saturday, I really just did homework and relaxed. The week
was just so busy and draining, that I wanted to just be able to recover. I was
skyping with my friend so I didn’t go to see Tower Bridge lit up in France’s
colors, and didn’t go to a vigil that was held, but skyping with my friend was
just what I needed last night, especially after coming home from the tour and
hearing the news. I am so grateful for my family, for my friends, and for this
opportunity, and for the love that I have felt throughout the experience! I am
excited for this upcoming week, time is really flying here, there is not much
time left. So crazy!
No comments:
Post a Comment