October 30 and 31st - 2 very busy days!

My birthday was so enjoyable, especially since I received birthday greetings from so many people I hold close to my heart. Thank you all so very, very much for your birthday wishes. It feels good to be 28 years old! :)


Today, October 31, as part of the service learning course I took the students to a group called Housing Justice to hear about housing issues in the UK. Housing is VERY expensive here! Many thanks to Alastair and Luke for sharing with us.

Some cars are small in Europe, but this one is REALLY, REALLY small! :)

Sarah and Ann pose for a photo while relaxing.

A bunch of folks chipped in to have a Halloween party in the courtyard behind the student apartments.

Drew (or is he Titus Andronicus?), Chelsea and Dana pose in their Halloween costumes.

Dublin Weekend

One of the advantages of having a home base in London is that it's relatively affordable to blast out of town for the weekend to see other places in Europe. This time, Dublin, Ireland.

I enjoyed Dublin. It's MUCH smaller than London, and the pace was more relaxed. Some definite things to see/do include going to:

Trinity College to see the Book of Kells (spectacular)
A pub crawl -- either a literary crawl or, as we did, a musical crawl
The Writers Museum (focuses quite a bit on the big names -- Samuel Beckett, George Bernard Shaw, Yeats, Wilde, Joyce, etc.)
Tour of the Guinness Brewery (very interesting even if you don't drink, and the view from the lounge on the top floor is fantastic).
Head out to a village on the Irish Sea for a relaxing day. The village of Howth (pronounced "Hoat") is quite nice.

Dublin is well-known for its "spike." Here it is:

The national symbol for Ireland is the harp and it is prominently displayed in statues all over the city.

James Joyce's statue

On a day trip through the Irish countryside, the tour bus stopped in Avoca, a small town famous for its weavers. Here's a demonstration of weaving.

Beautiful carved crosses dot the Irish landscape, many of them over a 1,000 years old.

The movie Braveheart, with Mel Gibson was about the Scots fighting the English. For some reason, Hollywood found Scotland scenery lacking, so some of the scenes were actually filmed in Ireland, as you can see below, near the Irish town of Glendalough. Note that the signs are in Gaelic on the top, and English on the bottom, which is typical.

The small town of Howth with some fishing boats.

There is an amazing abundance of fish in Howth -- Cod, Haddock, Flounder, Mackeral, Salmon, Sole, etc. The best fish and chips I've had was in Howth, with the fish incredibly fresh and tasty.

Pleasure boats in Howth. This town is also a vacation area, not just a place for fishing boats.

Some Reflections ....

With the break ending a few days ago, a number of the students mentioned to me how much they missed London. They even referred to coming back to London as "going home."

Don't worry, loved ones. You're still loved! Travelers go through stages as they adapt to a new country -- initial euphoria, sadness, longing for home, adaptation, and finally, acceptance. I get the sense that we have reached the acceptance stage, and a with it a much greater appreciation for what is in London.

I hope all of you are able to visit other countries. Travel stretches you, gets you out of your comfort zone, and teaches you about your own country. My understanding of how the world works has changed tremendously because of my traveling.

To all of you out there saying you will wait until you retire before you travel, I encourage you to not wait. Travel can be physically demanding, and health limitations that come with age can make it very difficult. That adage of "Just Do It," while simplistic, can be quite useful to remember.

So whether you dream about going to Amsterdam or Athens, Paris or Rome, Mexico City or Sao Paolo, try to treat yourself to wonderful experiences around the world. Remember, you're worth it, too! :)

Cheers,

Jim

Service Learning group visit to London Ecumenical AIDS Trust

An important objective of the service learning course is for the students to learn about issues and meet people they wouldn't normally do if they were simply taking classes in London. Today, we went to St. Paul's Church near Kennington (not St. Paul's Cathedral) to learn about HIV/AIDS issues in London and the UK with David Musendo and Steve Penrose from the London Ecumenical Aids Trust.

Naiara, Miranda, Ann and Sarah pose during a break in our activities.

Jocularity among the participants, and Elyse talking with Meredith and Rachel.

David speaks with the group, and Paige makes a point in the discussion. Drew is NOT dozing, just looking down for a second. :)


We broke off into smaller groups to talk about stigma and HIV.

More group brainstorming ...

Members of the group WAIT entertained and talked about HIV and abstinence.

After a long day, we head off to a nearby pub to relax.

The London Zoo

If you ever visit London and the weather is nice, you might consider going to the London Zoo, near Regent's Park. Growing up near Chicago, I was spoiled with some wonderful zoos, notably the Brookfield and Lincoln Park Zoos. I found the London Zoo a notch or two below, and at 14.5 pounds to get in, it's rather pricey. Still, if you have the time and the weather is cooperative, it's a nice place to visit.

Here are some pictures from the London Zoo.

Shot of a fish tank (note the beautiful corral)


Some more fish and corral


They have a nice butterfly building. You can't help but feel loved when a butterfly decides to land on you, so I was jealous of this guy. (Not shown is the soda he had in his right hand).


This odd sign was just outside the Lion area. Are they expecting the King of the jungle to get out from time to time?

Faculty leaders go to Istanbul on their own

With most of the students away, a trip to Istanbul seemed like a good change of pace. It was fun and exciting, and the first time I had spent in a predominantly Islamic country. The mosques are very beautiful, and I've included some pictures below. I would highly recommend a trip to Istanbul to anyone who is thinking about going.

Here are some of my experiences, broken down into:

The Good

Beautiful mosques
Great food (seafood, baklava, mezzas (Turkish appetizers))
Vibrant economy with busy shipping industry
Markets like the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market
Turkish baths (called Hamams)
Turkish kindness
Turkish coffee (thick and rich and velvety)

The Bad

Coffee that is WAY overpriced ($5 for a cappucino) :(
Meals that are surprisingly pricey, especially for what you get.
Rudeness towards strangers (I've been to many parts of world, and this isn't anything unique to Turkey)
Strangers who come up to you to talk. Later, you find out it's only because they own a carpet shop and want to try to sell you something.

The interesting factoids

Turks seem to like roasted foods, especially roasted corn and chestnuts, both of which they buy from street vendors.
The call to prayer is broadcast from various mosques around the city, with the first one normally starting around 6 a.m. This will wake you up if you live near it.
Turkish massages are relaxing, but quite painful. I can attest to that personally! :)

A spice vendor's table in the Spice Bazaar


The Blue Mosque - the most important mosque in Istanbul


There are stray cats all over Istanbul. Here's a cutie-pie I spotted near the Archeological Museum.


Mosaic work at Aya Sofia, a former Christian church converted to a mosque.

I love looking at wall tile, and the Harem at the Topkapi Palace has some excellent pieces.

From the Asian side of the Bosphorus Strait, looking north towards the Black Sea.

Some high-priced real estate along the water.

Salisbury and Charleston Farmhouse

Salisbury is a very charming town about 90 minutes by train from London. I would recommend Salisbury to anyone wanting to take a day trip from London. Its cathedral is incredibly beautiful, one of my favorite (and I've seen MANY over the years).

Spire at Salisbury Cathedral


Part of the old wall in Salisbury


When you want department store clothes on a budget in the U.S. you shop at stores like TJ Maxx. Salisbury has something similar, except it goes by the name, TK Maxx.


Charleston Farmhouse, about 12 miles from Brighton, was the home of Vanessa Bell, the sister of the famous writer Virginia Woolf. Along with other artists and writers, they came to be known as the Bloomsbury Group. Here is Vanessa Bell's home at Charleston.


The noted economist John Maynard Keynes, also part of the Bloomsbury Group, was a frequent visitor to Vanessa's home. He wrote The Economic Consequences of the Peace while staying here. The second floor window (below the attic windows) was the room Keynes stayed in when he visited.


A beautiful pond is right near the house.

Avebury and Stonehenge

Here are day trip photos from Avebury and Stonehenge. Stonehenge is much better known. I liked them both, although Stonehenge is much more convenient to get to since it is quite close to Salisbury. Avebury is much larger, although its collection of stones is more spread out and the stones were smaller.

Avebury, with its resident sheep grazing nearby.



Here's a big stone at Avebury, with yours truly holding it up.


Another view of Avebury. Here you can see some of the circular placement of the stones.


More Avebury, hold the sheep (and their, well, "you know" all over the place).

Stonehenge below. A very nice place.

The stones at Stonehenge from another angle.

A quiet day in London

With students on break, and most out of London, here are some pictures I took this evening.

On the Hungerford Foot Bridge going over the Thames, I noticed this plaque. It seems that being a member of royalty enables one to do very interesting things, like open bridges! Good job, Princess Alexandra! Sorry I missed it. :)



Here's a picture of Big Ben and Parliament from across the river, just as the sun was setting. London is a gorgeous city at night.

My hunt for football tickets

I thought it would be nice to catch a football (i.e. soccer) game while in London, but it's much more difficult than I imagined. It appears you have to have a membership to buy tickets for most of the teams, especially the bigger names such as Arsenal and Chelsea. Well, it takes a while to get a membership, and by then I'll be back home. It also appears that teams charge home fans slightly lower prices than "away" fans -- an open form of price discrimination that seems to be the norm.

Chelsea also has other restrictions, possibly to limit rioting in the stadium. What else could explain this rather unwelcoming note?

"Please be aware that non-members with German addresses buying tickets for the Schalke game will have their order cancelled."

I haven't given up yet, and will keep on trying. JP

Friday, midterm break and some students head out

Many in our group are starting their extended trips out of London, with some doing the "12 cities in 10 days" variety, while others spend more time in fewer places. The weather was so nice today, so a trip to Windsor for the teachers was eagerly anticipated!

Of course, a trip to Windsor has to include a tour of Windsor Castle, one of the homes for the Queen.




Here I am, Prince James of Simpsonshire, surveying Eton from Windsor Castle.




A view of Windsor Castle. The Queen, unfortunately, is still on holiday in Scotland.




Eton is across the Thames from Windsor. Here's a charming drive.



A view of the Thames during a lunch break. Windsor is a beautiful, day trip from London.

The train station in Windsor has some very nice shops.

Oh, here's a picture of one of our classrooms in Swedenborg Hall near Bloomsbury Square.