One Magical Night...

Last night was magical.

I can't really think of any other way to describe my evening at the Royal Albert hall watching the ballet, Romeo & Juliet performed by the National English Ballet. The building was magnificent. It was opened by Queen Victoria in 1871 and sits in the South Kensington area of London. The building is quite inspiring with it's round Victorian architecture, high ceiling, and tier ceiling. The performance was spectacular in this venue. It contained a full orchestra and a huge company of dancers. Even though I was at the very top of the hall, the sound was as if I was sitting right next to the orchestra and it was really interesting sitting above the dancers. This provided the opportunity to witness the choreography as a whole. 

I started crying when the performance began because the overwhelming beauty of the hall, dancers and music. What an incredible experience!

I just have a few things to pack up and I'll be on my way to the airport. I'm ready to see my family and friends back in Iowa but I am going to miss London a lot. I have learned incredible lessons and experienced wonderful things. This place will always be a part of me.

Until next time,

Bethany Rose

The Last Few Days

The last few day are flying by. 

They have been mostly made up of studying for our huge final in our class. It's been overwhelming but I am pleasantly surprised at how much I have learned here. London history is amazing. There have been so many famous writers inspired by this city and I get to take part in that legacy and inspiration. It has been a great privilege. 

We read this poem in class today and I thought it was an accurate description of the city and what I think of it (make sure you read it in a British accent ;) 

The London Breed

by Benjamin Zephania

I love dis great polluted place

Where pop starts come to live their dreams

Here ravers come for drum and bass

And politicians plan their schemes,

The music of the world is here

Dis city can play any son

They came here from everywhere

Tis they that made dis city strong

A world of food displayed on streets 

Where all the world can come and dine

On means that end with bitter sweets

And cultures melt and intertwine, 

Two hundred languages give voice

To fifteen thousand changing years

And all religions can rejoice

With exiled souls and pioneers.

I love dis overcrowded place

Where old buildings mark men and time

And new buildings all seem to race

Up to a cloudy dank skyline,

Too many cars mean dire air

Too many guns mean danger

Too many drugs mean be aware

Of strange gifts from a stranger.

It's so cool when the heat is on 

And when it's cool it's so wicked

We just keep melting into one

Just like he tribes before us did, 

I love dis concrete jungle still

With all its sirens and its speed 

The people here united will

Create a kind of London Breed

Saying goodbye to this city is going to be hard.

I'm preparing myself now..

Until next time,

Bethany Rose

A Lovely Day

Yesterday was lovely. 

A day spent reflecting on my trip

and resting.

I went to a little French Café near my flat for brunch. I ate the most delicious poached egg on toast. I actually don't know how good the egg was because, well, I'm in London and everything is super great here. I'm gonna miss the slow pace of this culture. No hurry to order, no hurry to leave but all the time in the world to enjoy the sunshine and write a little bit.

In the afternoon I revisited Buckingham Palace. This time I was able to get closer to the gate and actually sat on the Victoria Monument. My favorite part was sticking my feet in the water of the Victoria Fountain. The water was cool and refreshing on a hot day like yesterday. 

Later in the day I stopped at my favorite Tesco express (basically like a Walmart BUT better) and bought some food for a picnic. Everybody else stayed at the flat but I wanted to get out and enjoy London. I packed up my bag and headed to St. James's Park. I sat under a huge tree facing the lake with the weeping willows, sparkling water and an assortment of ducks and swans. I am not ashamed to say I ate an entire carton of raspberries (best decision of my life). I read and I wrote for the second time in the day. 

It was a beautiful day. 

Blue skies and sunshine.

Couldn't ask for anything better.

Maybe someday I'll be able to process everything that I have learned here. Maybe some rainy day I will be able to write out every experience in detail and be able to catch the moment in a jar to keep forever, but for now, I can only live, breath, experience and hope that in the end I will be better for it.

Cheers!

Bethany Rose

Just Humans: Imperfection

I had a really interesting conversation with my professor yesterday about the humanity of all the different authors and people that we study.

The conversation stemmed from dialogue while in Oxford sitting in the pub that C.S. Lewis and the Inklings would meet in once a week. We talked about how C.S. Lewis is easily idolized, especially by the the Christian community. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of C.S. Lewis' work. He was a genius man, but I also realize his humanity. People often take offense when you talk about how Lewis suffered from PTSD from seeing men die right in front of him during the War, or the fact that he swore like a sailor and drank a little too much. He is in fact, in danger of being built up too high, and presiding over the Christian community with some sort of intellectual angelic status when he was just a man. He was brilliant but he suffered from the marring of sin just as much as any other human.

It got me thinking about how we are all humans (thank you, captain obvious) and that we all make mistakes, have successes, attempt, fail, break, celebrate, want, strive...

you get the picture.

WE ARE ALL HUMAN. 

It reminds me of...

"Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them."

From Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

Yet another genius very fallen man.

(I also, just wanted to quote him because we visited the Globe Theatre this week.) 

I want remember the people who have fought for what they believed to be right, had the courage to pen new ideas, and who lived life dangerously in order that I might have opportunity, but I also want to remember their humanity, that they weren't perfect and that it is ok that they weren't perfect. After all, it is the humanity that can allow us to be inspired to realize that we too can be great. It is not the perfection of the world that causes us to question the way we live it is, in fact,, the imperfection.

Thanks for listening to my ramblings.

Cheerio!

Bethany Rose

ps. 

Fun highlights of this week....

-The British Museum and the Rosetta Stone

-Seeing 39 Steps

-Taking a boat ride on the river Thames

-Seeing the Prime Meridian at Greenwich 

-Visiting Oxford

-Sitting in The Eagle and the Child, the pub that the Inklings used to meet in and have a pint.

-Seeing Anthony and Cleopatra at the Globe Theatre.

Reflections

"It will come sometime. Some beautiful morning she will just wake up and find that it is tomorrow. Not today but tomorrow. And things will happen...wonderful things."

Anne of the Island

It's hard to believe that I have been here for a week. It still feels like some sort of dream. I was looking back at some of my blog posts from last summer and reflecting on the last year. I would encourage you to do the same thing, take a moment and reflect on where you were a year ago.

Last summer I wanted to have adventures. I was anxious to get out of Ames, and be somewhere where I had never been with people I didn't know BUT instead of having grand adventures all summer, I stayed home and worked at the local coffee shop. I was bummed. As the summer progressed though, I started to really enjoy the peacefulness of home. I learned to enjoy the simple moments and treasure time that I had with my family and friends. This was such a valuable lesson for me.

Fast forward a year and I'm in London, England, exploring notable landmarks, sitting in beautiful gardens, wandering through countless museums and crying at God's faithfulness in my life.

I'm so glad I was given this opportunity this summer. I know that the this trip is even sweeter because I was taught patience and how to appreciate beauty even in the small, mundane every day tasks of life.

Saturday and Sunday of this week was full of enjoying sunshine, gardens and tea. A few of us walked around Hyde Park ate ice cream and enjoyed the water after visiting Buckingham Palace on Saturday and then on Sunday we visited Kensington Palace (current residence of Prince William and Princess Kate Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) and had tea at the fancy restaurant in the gardens. It was relaxing and much needed after a long week.

I am beyond thankful. 

Chip Chip!

Until next time,

Bethany Rose

If These Buildings Could Talk...

If these buildings could talk

What would they say? 

Today we revisited Westminster Abbey and took the tour of the cathedral. As we were walking around the area I was thinking about what the buildings would say if they could talk. It is mind boggling to think about how old some of these places are in London and all the people that have walked here and are buried here. This city is rich with greatness, it speaks of hard times, and revels in majesty. One can't be helped but inspired. 

“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring two aq`¡ß`pence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.”

― C.S. Lewis

I was thinking about what it means to be an artist and a writer (one can't help but think about these things in a culture so saturated with both of these types of people.) These thoughts were spurred when visited Poet's Corner in the Abbey and went to the British Tate Art Museum. I couldn't help but question this when I was standing in the presence of these great people and their art. It amazes me that some of writer's and artists that we praise the most were regarded as "crazies" back in their day. Sometimes I think that we have a false idea that putting forth new work or new ideas will somehow gain us fame and glamour.  In the end some of these people suffered a great deal for their ideas and what they did and they never saw the fruit of their work. Even if I don't agree with some of them, I do admire the courage in those that stand up for what they believe in despite controversy or other people's opinions. 

This was great lesson for me. 

Courage 

Boldness

Excellence

Truth

Integrity

The Good, the True and the Beautiful.

These are qualities that I want to characterize my work.

Until next time,

Bethany Rose

Seeing the World

“To see the world, things dangerous to come to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other and to feel, that is the meaning of life.” 

                                             The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

This quote has been on my mind for my entire adventure here to London. It’s from one of my favorite movies. Walter spends his days working for LIFE Magazine and in short, lives a very ordinary life. He hasn’t been anywhere or done anything. All of the sudden he gets the chance to go on a grand adventure and live out the motto of LIFE Magazine.

It seemed appropriate to me. 

Yesterday we went to the Victoria and Albert Museum and today we took a day visit to Stratford-upon-Avon. 

The Victoria and Albert Museum is the largest museum of decorative arts in the world. It was founded in 1852 and is in the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. We spent two hours in this museum and we barely scratched the surface. The building itself was magnificent. They have glass windows and altar pieces of Medieval Germany, sculptures that once stood in Florence, Italy, and Raphael paintings on loan from the Queen that once hung in the Vatican. It was breathtaking, to say the least. I couldn't help but say "wow!" out loud when I was walking around. 

Stratford-upon-Avon was a much different scene. It was a small village about two hours outside of London by train. When we arrived we ate at a tiny little pub called the Black Swan or as it was renamed by the American soldiers in World War II, The Dirty Duck. It's famous for its food and it was delicious! After we ate we went to the birthplace of Shakespeare, Shakespeare's home, and his daughter's house. A lot of it was reconstructed to look like what it did in Shakespeare's time but it was still an amazing experience. The garden's were my favorite part and although it was raining, we still managed some fun pictures. 

Despite the difference both of these places inspired me to think about who I am, what I want to be and how I need to remember the people who paved the way for me to have the opportunities that I have.

Two of my favorite moments:

i. Sitting in the room with the floor to ceiling, bigger than life, Raphael paintings depicting different stories of the Book of Acts and crying because they were so beautiful and I felt so small. It was one of those moments when you have a glimpse of clarity and you realize that you are part a bigger story somewhere, somehow and everything in you longs to jump into that river that will carry you on adventures farther than your imagination could roam.

ii. Smelling the sweet peonies in my favorite playwright's garden. One day I desire to write beautiful, potent words that inspire and infuse people with ideas long after my life is over.


London is grand.


Cheers!
Bethany Rose