Back in Juneau...

Made it back, safe and sound. Took me 14 hours of flying time, plus a couple hours in Seatac to get all the way back from London. I was exhausted when I got home, and crashed in my own lovely bed. It's a wonderful feeling to be home. Now, I just have to work on getting my body adjusted to being back on Alaska Time.
Pretty amazing experience, but I'm glad to be home in the Juneau rain.

Last two days in London- Finale.

The arctic cold has decided to descend upon London in the last couple of days. The temperature has more or less been freezing since Monday. I foolishly waited outside in Leister Square for 3 hours to say 'Hello' to Colin Firth (for those of you who don't know Mr.Firth, he's a very famous British actor... most famous as the original Mr. Darcy in the BBC Pride and Prejudice). I did manage to shake hands and say hello to him at his movie premiere, but at the cost of going into a mild stage of hypothermia. I also got to see Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian), but not before us girls in the crowd were rained on, sleeted on, hailed on, and then blow with freezing winds. Apparently that night was the first time it's snowed in London in October since 1938... of course it would snow on us waiting on the edge of the red carpet. Some of my friends waited for 11 hours yesterday to see Daniel Craig at the World Premiere of the new Bond movie. I decided not to go. There were way too many people, and it wasn't worth wasting the day in London waiting in line to get a spot on the side of the red carpet.
Luckily, after the snow episode, the clouds cleared the next day, and since then all we've had in cold, crisp days. Perfect for walking in Hyde Park. Our hostel is located right on the edge of Hyde Park, which is wonderful for walks, jogs and playing with all the geese that line the little body of water in the middle of the park.
Tomorrow, after our literature final, all the girls from the trip are going to a fancy tea together, followed by a walk in the park and preparing for a fancy dinner with the entire group. Many of the girls bought dresses for dinner (sort of our mini-prom, to celebrate), and I ended up buying a less expensive dress that I could wear to all the weddings I'm going to in the next year (I'm good about recycling dresses).
I'm very excited to make the journey home on Saturday. Hopefully I'll be home Saturday night, but I might have to wait over night in Seattle and fly home Sunday. Either way, I will be home, in my OWN bed (hooray!), by the end of this weekend.

Pictures to come...
Lots of love,
Giselle

I should do my own UK travel show... I could make good money.

Below are the Top 10 "Must-See" places in the UK, rated by myself on their beauty, inspirational quality and the sheer joy I felt in the moments spent in these areas. If you're planning a trip to anywhere in the UK... try and visit these:

#10: My first 'Wicked' performance in London was definitely a moment of joy...see it, it's amazing.
#9: Westminster Abbey Evensong- If you go to Westminster on a Wednesday night at 5pm, you will be greeted by the worshiping voices of an enormous boys choir... it's amazing worship.
#8: Walking along Hadrian's Wall- beautiful views and lots of sheep
#7: Hiking part of the Kerry Way- Mom and I walked a part of this trail the runs around the Ring of Kerry in Southern Ireland... very peaceful.
#6: Evening on the Thames- just go near the National Theatre on the Queen's walk, the sound of the waves and the pale blue lights in the trees make it incredibly romantic.
#5: Walking along the Aberystwyth beach, Wales.
#4: Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland.
#3: The Cliffs off of the Aran Islands... spectacular. I likes them a lot better than the Cliffs of Moher.
#2: Biking the Dingle Pennisula out to Slea Head (Ireland)- amazing day with beautiful views of the Irish coast.
and finally... drum roll...
my #1 spot is the Lake District, northern England... specfically the hills (fells) around Grasmere. The heart of this area has tons of great hikes and picture perfect villages... my dream come true.

Being collegiate at Oxford.

Just wanted to quickly reiterate how beautiful and fun Oxford it. I would love to go to school here... although I feel quite under dressed and not up-to-par intelligence wise. The college quads are just gorgeous, there are some great old second-hand book stores (including an enormous book shop called Blackwell's-- I dropped a bit of money there yesterday), fun old pubs, and great fast food in general, which is typical of a good college town. I purchased a lovely Magdalen College sweater yesterday (Magdalen is where C.S. Lewis taught and tutored), it also came with a free cap, which I wore yesterday.
I need to get rid of this awful cold and runny nose so I can go out tonight to all the great pubs (Thursday nights are when all the students go out), maybe I'll have a dramatic recovery-- I'm crossing my fingers.
Down to just about a week left!! That's amazing... it has gone by fast.

Oxford, students and bikes!

We made it to Oxford early this afternoon by train, and I the a revelation that I only have one more train ride before I head back to the homeland! These past three months have gone by incredibly past... particularly the last month or so. I'm excited at the prospect of not having to pack up all my clothing and books every few days. What a wonderful feeling to spread out once more (anyone who has seen my room at home knows that keeping my clothing confined to a small space is a challenge for me... I like to spread out). I have less than two weeks left now to wrap up my experience across the pond, and I know it will fly by, so I'll try to make the most of this last week and a half.
Oxford is very beautiful, definitely a college town. There are hundreds of bikes all over the place and an equal amount of students wondering the city centre. I never knew that Oxford University was made up of sooo many different colleges (my favorite being "Jesus College", I think I'm going to by their code of arms sweatshirt)!
I can't lie, I've been a little homesick recently. I've been looking forward more and more to coming home and relaxing. I'm also SUPER excited about visiting Whitworth (Novemeber 7th-11th for those of you Whitworthians) and I will be spending my 21st birthday with my best friend Kelsey at her school, Sonoma State, in California!
Not much time to relax, I know, but I'll be in Juneau from the 15th of November all the way through Christmas, hopefully substitute teaching.
Well, I will write more later... Lots of love!

Stratford: Land of Shakespeare... and tourists.

Our group traveled across England yesterday from Grasmere to Stratford upon Avon. Train rides are usually pleasent (at least this one was) and it gave me lots of time to catch up on reading and journaling. We arrived in Stratford and it seemed extremely flat compared to the beautiful terrain of the Lake District, tourists flooded the streets filled with Shakespeare toursit shops... not exactly what I had in mind. Our hostel is about a 35-40 minute walk from town, which is both fortunate and unfortunate. While the walk gives everyone a good dose of fresh air, it also is far enough that it's super hard to motivate ourselves to walk downtown. That also excludes any pub visits or evening activities... probably planned that way so we would read rather than run around town!
This morning our group went to the Holy Communion Service at the Holy Trinity Church, (the same church where Shakespeare is burried). The service was quite nice, and there were two baptisms! We were amazed at how many children they had running around the church. The English don't have the same urgency to rush their screaming toddlers our of the church like many Americans do. Usually when a baby starts to cry in an American church service, it's a race for the door, trying not to disturb the preacher. In contrast, this morning there were babies yelling, screaming, talking loudly everywhere, and the parents just gave a polite "shhh" (which did nothing) and continued trying to focus on the sermon. So, while I enjoyed seeing all the beautiful English babies running around, I wished that they could install some sort of temporary 'cry room' in these massive old churches.
I have two weeks left of living out of my backpack (hooray!), and two more destinations: Oxford and our last week in London. I'm beginning to miss home very much, and I'm craving a good spelt-banana waffle from the Waffle Co. in Juneau... that means I'm ready. ;)

In love with the Lake District!

I can now say with complete confidence I have found the most beautiful place in all of England! Our group boarded the train out of Manchester and headed North to this glorious piece of creation--- definitely a blessing to all who visit. I have absolutely fallen in love with Grasmere, the town we have stayed in for these last couple of days. Grasmere (one of the small towns nestled in the area) is surrounded by rugged green hills, tons of public footpaths, shimmering lakes fed by streams that are lined with moss and trees. The valleys are speckled with little gray stone cottages among the vibrant green pastures. It truly looks as if this little area came directly out of a Grimm's fairy tale.
The first afternoon we arrived, my friend Zach and I headed up the most epic hill we could find! We were giddy as children running through leaves, hopping rocks across steams, climbing as high as possible. Today I hiked with three other friends along the side of a beautiful waterfall that fell down into the main Grasmere valley. The trails are everywhere, and each one leads to an amazing view. This has definitely been the best point out of the whole semester.
We're heading into the last two weeks of the semester (crazy!)... I wish I could spend the rest of the time exploring all the little towns of the Lake District. But I will be back again, I know I will.

Understanding Northern Ireland.

I know it has seemed that the majority of this semester abroad has been a breeze academic wise, more exploring than actual class work, which is partially true, but this past week in Northern Ireland has stirred my heart, draw intense emotion out of me, and challenged me in more ways than I could've imagined.
Many students my age are virtually clueless of the political/religious issues of Northern Ireland, since the height of the conflict seemed to be right before my generation was born. But the conflict itself is still very present. The prejudice runs so deep, deeper than I have ever experienced or heard of. Many Catholic students do not actually meet any member of the protestant community until they are eighteen or nineteen, and vice versa for protestant students. The majority of children are educated in segregated schools (protestant vs. catholic) and are not informed of the issues that took place just in the past forty years. The knowledge of Ireland's history comes from family, and along with this comes deep prejudice and hatred--- possibly sorrow for a loved one killed in the conflict. High walls still divide up Belfast like a jigsaw puzzle, and still more walls separating communities are being built for genuine fear and terror. Children continue to throw stones and petrol bombs, purely because that is all they know: they are protestant (or catholic) and they hate anyone labeled with the opposite religion.
These issues are so complicated, I can not even begin to go into the political system here that is struggling to agree on any decisions and how the issue does not have to do with religion at all... it's just a label. I have been crammed with historical information about the conflict to allow me to comprehend just a small amount of what we were witnessing while staying in Belfast.
During my stay here, I visited Stormont, the center for the Northern Ireland government, and heard representatives from all 5 main political parties that come from both Unionist and Nationalist background. Like any new country they are struggling to make political decisions... let alone meet in person! In the last ten years, the Northern Ireland Assembly has only met for 4 years and is just now being able to come face to face with the opposite leaders.
Our group was fortunate enough to get three individual walking tours around different areas of Belfast, the first was from an American missionary working with the presbyterian church (who originally came to Northern Ireland through the UPC deputation-- a program at University of Washington), then our second tour was of the Shankill Road(original struggle area) given by a former Ulster Volunteer Force gunman. This man was in prison for 16 years until the Good Friday Agreement for being involved in several different murders of IRA members. Let me tell you, it is a surreal experience to watch and listen to a man who was a part of the conflict walk through the area where he lived an fought. He explained to us why he was so eager to join to cause and the loved ones he lost. Very stirring in itself.
The next morning we went on another walking tour through the Falls, a predominate Catholic area that was hit hard during the conflict. We walked and listened to a former IRA snipper, who was also sent to prison for 14 years, and is now giving tours to better inform tourists, such as ourselves, of why he did what he did--- why they did what they did... and how at the time there seemed to be no other option. He was moved to tears when he walked us across streets where some of his close friends were shot.
To complete that day, we watched a movie called H3 about the Hunger strikes in the prisons, led by IRA members who were imprisoned as political prisoners by the British Army. Following the movie, we actually interviewed two men who were a part of the hunger strike in the H-block prison. We listened to these men talk about their experiences and friends lost... sickening to think of the things they did to oppose the British in those prisons. But when those men spoke, there was no doubt for their cause... it was still fresh, still so real. They still heard Bobby Sands voice, still felt that pain--- and will always reach towards their goal of a united Ireland.
Today our group of Whitworth students took a trip to Derry, the site of Bloody Sunday, when there was open fire by British soldiers on a Catholic civil rights march. We spent the day walking with a man who was at the Bloody Sunday march and was actually friends with the men who died. He was able to point himself out in pictures in the museum, he stood in the places where each man died. He walked us through his thought process as the shots began to fire and where he ran. I couldn't even imagine what that man was going through in his heart as he pointed out the bullet holes in walls where he was shot at and escaped. I cried. I couldn't even believe what I was hearing.
I'm moved to tears now thinking about it, thinking about how fortunate I am to grow up in a place where I do not have to worry about making life or death decisions each day.
I am blessed. God has truly blessed me.
Well, I'm out of time on the computer, but I will suer to post more later.
In Christ's Love,
Giselle

Belfast

Our group arrived in Belfast day before yesterday (Saturday) and settled into out hostel. The city is quite dirty... mostly because the city council has much more important things to pay attention to and put their money into: conflict resolution. We attended a Presbyterian church on Sunday morning that was working towards a better relationship with near-by Catholic parishes. They prayed throughout their service for peace and talked of youth programs that invited both Catholic youth and protestant youth. I was so impressed by the steps this church was taking towards helping their youth grow into a new society: one without boundaries. Our group was fortunate enough in the afternoon to get a guided walk from a Presbyterian peace volunteer through some of they very segregated neighborhoods. A large portion of Belfast lives in areas where 90-100% of the residents around them are part of the same social political party. There may be virtually no killing anymore, but there is still very very deep roots of division. The man who lead our group actually went to college at UW in Seattle and he did the deputation program that UPC provided and ended up going to Northern Ireland... and now he's still here! He hosts about 8 young adults a year to work in childrens after-school programs and promote peace.
This afternoon our group will be splitting up into small group to work with after-school programs around Belfast. I will be leading an after school program for an hour and a half with my friends Jordan, Ashley, Elizabeth and Allison. It should be a great experience. We'll be playing lots of camp games I know and doing a couple skits, it should be a blast. I will definitely write more about the experience later.
This entire week we will be meeting important figures in Belfast who are working towards peace in the area, and this morning we will be meeting some members of city council, which should be very interesting.
More soon... miss you all, love, Giselle

Good old Galway...

Our group spent the last two days sight-seeing out of Galway, on the west coast of Ireland. We spent a day bus touring towards the Cliffs of Moher, with lots of great stops along the way, including a short hike and many, many great stories about The Fairies. The Cliffs were gorgeous, but it was freezing cold!! It's definitely October over here in Ireland... lots of chilly winds blowing off the Atlantic. Today's weather was much better, but still a bit cold. We took a ferry out the the Aran Islands off the coast and explored all day.
I had a short stint of homesickness last night, and I'm getting quite tired of sleeping in the same room with seven other girls... and unfortunately, I am sick... it had to happen sometime. Everyone on the trip has had a cold at one point or another, but I've been healthy all the way up until this week... bummer.
Anyway, I'm off to an early bed time, I need to get rid of this cold ASAP.
Lots of love,
Giselle

Music and good beer:

By far, the best part of coming to Ireland is the music. There are so many talented musicians over here, and the traditional music is intoxicated. Last night a group of us students listened to a great fiddle/guitar duo at a local pub and it definitely became a highlight of my time in Dublin. My friend Allison and I also spent a bit of time in the Temple Bar, one of the older pubs in Dublin, and we enjoyed our first half-pints of Guinness while listened to an Irish Rock band. I had my first whole pint of Guinness at the Brewery this afternoon in their "Gravity Bar" which is perched on top of the Storehouse of the Guinness Brewery.
If anyone is planning on coming over to Ireland, come for music, and plan on being out late to get the full advantage of the jam sessions that occur with local musicians in the less-touristy pubs... it's amazing. I was kicking myself the other night, wishing that I knew how to play the fiddle, the fiddle players over here are incredible.
We're off to the west tomorrow to see some beautiful country, then up to Belfast...
Learning tons about Irish history, it's very complex, but very intersting.
More soon, Cheers.

Dublin: Back in the Emerald Isle

Quite a different experience being in the city rather than the Irish country-side. I'd have to say I prefer the villages and towns to the cities of Ireland. But it's still Ireland, which means there's lots of pubs, street musicians, drunk Hen-Parties (what they call bachalorette parties), a slight haze of cigarette smoke coming from the majority of the local young adults, and did I mention great music! That's definitely a good reason to come over to Ireland: the music. Even the bands on the street at night are pretty good. Our group is staying in a hostel that is literally right next door to one of the most famous pubs in Dublin... and you can guess what that means: the lullaby of cheers, loud music, drunken yells and smashing bottles... not quite as romantic as one would hope, but somehow the dull roar of voices on the street lulled me to sleep... or else I was just exhausted.
I'm definitely hitting the "I wouldn't mind heading home now" stage. Like I said, I'm getting tired of living out of a backpack and wearing dirty t-shirts. In fact, last night, my friend Devin and I tried to go out for a bit and scout out some good pubs near our hostel. Instead, we got rejected from one because we weren't dressed nice enough! The bouncer was only letting in women that were wearing short, revealing dresses... not us Americans in jeans. We also ran into a bunch of pubs that were 21 and over, which was weird, because the drinking age in 18. Some pubs just don't want young adults destroying the atmosphere of their bar. We did go to one bar, but there was no live music... so we left, kind of bummed out about the result of our Saturday night. Next time we want to listen to live music in Dublin, we apparently need to wear dresses and high-heels.
We spend a couple more days here and then go over to the west coast, which will be wonderful!
More later...
Giselle

Preparing to go back over to Ireland.

Our group is headed over to Dublin tomorrow, so today is a free-day filled with laundry runs, post-office visits and re-packing. I have to say that I'm getting tired of re-packing my backpack all the time. It would be nice if I could just snap my figures and all the clothes that exploded out into the room would magically fold themselves and nicely configure themselves in my small pack. This morning I slept in, which was wonderful in itself, then ate some breakfast and took a long shower (knowing that there probably won't be many clean/good showers in the near future). We heard rumors that the Dublin and Belfast hostels are not clean, so many people are buying cheap Duvet covers to sleep in over there. I thankfully brought a sheet-liner that Grandma Maureen made (Thanks Grandma!), so I'll be safe from the gross beds. I'm sure I'll be writing about those hostels soon.

This week has been packed with tons of cool learning experiences. Our group went to the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, the Winston Churchill museum, the Imperial War Museum, the U.S. Embassy (interview with ambassadors), interview with several members of Parliament at their offices, and the tower of London. So I've been overloading with information about the UK government and UK-US relations. Good stuff!

I posted a bunch of photos on facebook, so if you have access to that you can see them. Otherwise, I will post a couple more on this page.
I miss everyone very much, Lots of love, Giselle.

War and Conflict... Politics in Britain

This afternoon I sat in the Imperial War Museum in London, after spending almost 2 hours making my way through the incredible Holocaust Exhibit they hold on two of their floors. While I've read of events, seen small images, and learned a little of the second World War, the amount of video footage, text, and images supplied in the Holocaust Exhibit at the Museum was shocking. After spending the entire day exploring the Winston Churchill Museum and the Imperial War Museum, I can truthfully say that there is so much that I don't know about the wars and conflict in the last century. There's so much that I don't know about the issues that contribute to the conflicts of today. So much terror, sadness, insecurity and destruction that I'm unaware of.
Also in the Imperial War Museum I saw a film on Genocide in the 20th century called 'Crimes of Humanity', with images that no human being can watch without feeling disturbed, uncomfortable, sorrowful and not being able to understand how such violence can occur. The film went into the questions of how genocide comes about and what are the patterns that have occurred in the last century to create so much violence and suffering. It's sickening and frustrating that I am happily traveling, supplied with food, shelter, comfort and security. It's also difficult to understand where God is in those places. Of course, that's the question everyone asks... where is God in all of this? It's a question that I imagine those who are under the threat of genocide ask as well. So much death, so many people who were mesmerized into thinking that violence was essential, and so many stories. The Holocaust Exhibit was full of stories... ones that were incredibly hard to believe, but true. I am amazed at how blessed I am with my family, friends, freedom to worship, freedom to live.

So after spending some nauseous minutes in the Imperial War Museum restroom following the Holocaust Exhibit (they had to give a warning at the entrance that children under 14 were not allowed because of the film and photographs), I was able to go have dinner and debrief with several friends about what we experienced in the museum. When we go over to Ireland on Saturday with the group we will be diving in the Northern Ireland Conflict, which should definitely open our eyes to more of the recent events in history that us Americans know so little of.

On a positive note, I did write a poem last night... so here it is:

Irish Mist.

None rise as early as the mist.
a blanket that embraces
the green hills.
Filling the twists and curves of each road
leading into one another.
A silent town enclosed in a cloud.
Its floating water enhancing
the color of the fields.
None rise as early as the mist
but the mist does rise,
and the town does wake.
Leaving the the air crisp,
the mist retreats,
allowing a new day to begin.

Misty mornings...

If I could take one thing back with me from this semester abroad, it would be the Irish mornings. The early mornings are cool, misty and the ground is covered in rain from the light drizzle the night before. Most shops don't open until 10 am, leaving plenty of time for morning tea, breakfast and soaking in the real Ireland before it wakes up. This morning mom and I woke up to low clouds out our window (we've been blessed with great sunny weather most of this week, so it was a little surprise to see the clouds). We had tea in the room and a nice breakfast at our B&B. I then packed all of the laundry that needed to be done into my backpack and began the trek down into Dingle. The road was quiet and a light mist fell. The night of rain seemed to intensify the green hills that I could see full well from the hill above the town centre. I walked along the rock wall that lined the road trying to breathe in as much Irish air as my lungs could hold. Half way down I was started by a group of four cows resting their heads on the rock wall above me, intrigued by this new-comer that was out before everyone else. I continued my journey down the hill and into the housing along main street. I saw a man drive up and park along the left side of the road to briefly drop off some package at a shop across the street. His son it seemed, stayed in his car seat patiently, and waved at me when I walked past-- his little 2-year-old wave. His "goodmorning" made me smile and melted my heart. When I reached town, only several shops had been opened, and Dingle was still relatively silent. I loved it. I soaked it in as much as possible before the hustle and bustle of tourists and locals began.

That is what I wish to take with me. Those misty mornings on the small country roads. I will definitely be back here again, sooner than later hopefully.

Mom and I are leaving Dingle tomorrow and going to Kinsale for one night, then flying out of Cork on Sunday to head back to London. It'll be quite the switch to get back into 'Londoner' mode, but I'll manage. I also haven't completed all the work for this upcoming class (UK Politics), so I'll need to get into homework mode as well.
Love... Giselle

Beautiful Southwest Ireland

I'm writing from a computer in an Internet cafe in Dingle, Ireland. Mom and I have been in Ireland for three full days now. Our first couple nights were in gorgeous Kenmare, which I absolutely loved. We took an amazing walk through the hills above Kenmare and along the Kerry way trail back down into the town center. I would love to come back to this area of Ireland again and backpack from town to town on these beautiful trails. The hills are green, the mornings are cool, there are tons of pubs all sporting the Guinness logo, and lots and lots of sheep! We lucked out weather wise and there has been sun almost everyday we've been on this gorgeous island, and supposedly the nice weather is going to continue.
Our B&B in Dingle has an incredible view of the Bay and the green hills beyond. We're a little walk out of the town center, but it's worth it for the view you get coming back down the hill into the town. Dingle is a little more "touristy" compared to Kenmare, but it has some great little shops, and it's definitely a fishing town which is always fun. Tomorrow mom and I are going to rent bikes hopefully and explore a little more of the area around the Dingle Peninsula, which should be lovely.
Love you all--- more soon from the Emerald Isle!

Shakespeare, Spamalot and Mom

The last week has flown by since the our group arrived in London once again. This time we were much more comfortable exploring and getting around town, which made the experience so much better! I just love all the little areas, wonderful restaurants and incredible theatre. As revealed in the title, I went to see Spamalot (for those who do not know, it's a crazy musical based off of Monty Python and the Holy Grail). Also, our class spent an entire day at the Globe theatre for a tour, an acting class and a show. The acting class was awesome-- taught by one of the company actors. He asked for several volunteers to read a couple different scenes, and my friend Kelly and I got to perform the scene from Romeo and Juliet when they first meet. The teacher coached us a bit and then used us as an example of what a real rehearsal would look like... etc. In the afternoon we saw Merry Wives of Windsor, which was excellent. At the end of the day all I could think was how much I would love to be in another Shakespeare show! I also went to the Globe the next afternoon and saw Midsummer Night's Dream... once again, very good. The very last night of our Arts in Culture course, our whole class had a fancy dinner and attended 'The War Horse' at the National Theatre, then walked back to our hotel together. It was a great way to end the three-week course and say good-bye to everyone before we left for our fall break.

In a short concluding sentence: London is wonderful, and I love it.

So now, it is officially fall break, our group has parted ways for a bit and my mother is here with me!! We're spending several days in London together before heading over to the south of Ireland for the week. I'm not sure what kind of internet opportunities I will have over there, but I will do my best to keep up my blog. It will be a wonderful and relaxing week of B&B's, green hills, reading and sketching.
More to follow...
Lots of love!

Cardiff, one of my favorite evenings...

So currently, I'm in London again. There was a mutual relief from the group when coming back to a city that we were somewhat familiar with. It gets slightly exhausting moving from new place to new place. You can imagine our group of tired, dirty, college-aged American backpackers strolling out of King's Cross station, smiles on our faces because of the recognizable city features. We're staying at the same St. Athan's Hotel (has it's positives and negatives), but overall we looked forward towards clean towels, nicer showers and breakfast that wasn't just toast!!

Between our stay in Aberystwyth and London we made a short stop in Cardiff, Wales. Unfortunately, if you've been in tune to any British news, you would know that Wales and most of Britain is experiencing extreme amounts of rain, causing flooding in citys... such as Cardiff. There was so much rain and wind, it really was difficult to motivate ourselves to leave our little backpackers hostel. But one of the evenings in Cardiff the rain let up and we actually experienced some sun right, which felt wonderful after our week of rain prior. After dinner I went up to the roof of our hostel to have some alone time, just to think and pray, and when I got up to the terrace I found one of my Whitworth friends, Kelly, had the same idea. The hostel terrace had a large hammock that was strung across a corner of the roof, so I sat down in it and listened to Kelly play the guitar he had picked up from the front desk. It was the perfect temperature, and oddly quiet, even though we were close to the city center. Kelly sat on a wooden picnic table while I sat back in the hammock and began to hum along. The song attracted our friend Nick who climbed the stairs up to the terrace and sat along side Kelly. We all traded the guitar around for a while, sharing songs and laughing about experiences that we're had in the last month. Kelly ended up leaving and giving the guitar to Nick, who began to play beautifully. I lay in the hammock curled up while Nick pushed the hammock so that I would rock back and forth. I was so full of peace up in that hammock. It was the first time I felt that I could really relax since we had arrived a month ago in London. A couple other guys from our group ended up sitting on the terrace with us, talking and singing. I asked my friend Jordan to play anything... and amazingly he began to play one of my favorite songs perfectly. He played "Lighthouse" by Nickel Creek, and he and I sang through the entire song in perfect blended harmony. It was amazing... I wish I could go back to that moment when we sang, as I swayed in the hammock (Nick still continuing to push me everytime it came close enough to him) and several other guys listening in to Jordan and I sing verse after verse of beautiful bluegrass. Such a pure moment, and an evening that will always stick out as one of the best evenings I've experienced on this trip.

Aberystwyth, Wales:

We arrived in on Welsh soil three days ago, and while it looks very similar to the rest of Britain's vibrant green hills, it has a wonderfully rich culture that makes Wales very unique. Aberystwyth is a gorgeous little town on the coast of the Irish Sea, surrounded by tall green hills and the beautiful shoreline. All of the buildings and houses are pretty pastel colors and make up a perfect little beach town. Most of the residents speak Welsh in general conversation, but they all know how to speak English, and do so when people like myself ask for directions or try and communicate. The first day we arrived in Aberystwyth the weather was sunny and beautiful, perfect for our hike along the rocky shore over to a neighbor beach village. I took tons of pictures, and unfortunately ended up slipping and falling into a tide pool. Everyone said it was a very graceful fall and looked more like a plee-ay (I have no idea how to spell that) or some ballet move, but I still got soaked. I saved my camera, but not my self of course! I laughed it off and had to deal with soaking wet jeans for the rest of the hike.

We spend another two fulls days in 'Aber' as the locals call it, and I'm so pleased. Although, I am excited to get back to London, which will be quite familiar and relaxing in that aspect. Can't wait to see some more shows and spend some more time in the National Gallery. For now, I will rest and relax! We're staying in campus housing at the University of Wales... which seems like luxury compared to our hostel in Edinburgh!! We all get single rooms with our own sinks (amazing!) and we have high-pressured, warm showers... I never thought I would appreciate such a wonderful shower so much.

I'm having a spell of homesickness right now... or rather whitworth-sickness, because all of my good friends are returning to Whitworth and I'm not! It's been really hard not being there, but I will see them in the spring... and it will come fast. So for those of you at whitworth, give everyone my love, I miss you all very much.

Sending you all my love from Wales--
Giselle

Glasgow... my last day in Scotland.

I'm now sitting in the library of the Glasgow Museum of Modern Art, located in the heart of the city of Glasgow. Our group is only in this large city for two nights--- but that's all I really need. I'm ready to get out in the country again!
I had the greatest morning today touring the Glasgow School of Art, which is a VERY prestigious art school- known world-wide. The school may not be in the greatest of cities (Glasgow is pretty gross city-wise), but the actual building is gorgeous!! It was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, a very famous Glasgow architect and artist. Each part of the building was specifically designed to inspire the art students, and it's just a beautiful building. I wish I could study art in a building like that! I just couldn't live in a city like Glasgow.
Anyway, the tour was very inspiring and got me excited to go back to Whitworth in the spring and paint in the NEW Whitworth art building which was designed to maximise the light-- so it should be wonderful! I can't wait.
We're headed to Wales tomorrow. We'll be spending time on the coast... a week or so, and then heading back in towards London for the last portion of our arts trip. I've been enjoying the arts portion of the trip very much. So much art work to see!
I'm off to enjoy my last day in Scotland!
Lots of love...

Last day in Edinburgh... which is growing on me.

My typical Edinburgh day during the fringe festival:
Wake up around 8:30, take a horribly uncomfortable shower in the Westend Toilet room--- the shower usually does not have the capability to be warm so it transitions between boiling hot and freezing cold. I would much prefer a cold shower to these hostel ones. But, I get clean... somehow... and go to class. Class lasts for about an hour a day (glorious!) and then we're free to explore arts and cultures!! I take a quick tour through an art museum (example: today I spent the late morning in the Scottish Modern Art Galleries of Edinburgh), then grab a yummy panini on the go for lunch. The Fringe Festival has plays going constantly all day long--- all young and upcoming actors/directors/scripts--- so I'm able to catch up to three plays a day, which I did yesterday, it was a lot of fun. In between plays I usually spend time exploring coffee shops (my favorite so far in Edinburgh is the Elephant House, the same coffee shop that J.K. Rowling wrote the first couple Harry Potter books in!). I sit and write in my journal, read, write postcards, check e-mail...etc. The evenings usually consist of some grand adventure to find some inexpensive yet healthy dinner options. Reoccurring dinners include Indian curry take-away (they say "take-away" instead of to-go) and smoothies from this organic juice place I found off of Princes St. If I'm up for it I might go out to a pub in the evening with friends, but I've been finding recently that sleeping is much more appealing to me. A lot of our group is getting sick, and I am determined not to do so. I haven't been really sick for a while (knock on wood)and I don't want it to happen in Scotland of all places!

Some random/exciting news:
- Mom and I are going to Ireland for my fall break!! I can't wait... we're flying into Cork and then going to do some fun exploring, possibly finding the area where my great-great grandpa's family (on my mom's side) lived/still lives. I've always been really interested in my family's history, and this is the one place that I really wanted to visit, so it should be wonderful... and Mom's coming too! We'll get back to our Celtic roots.
- I am OFFICIALLY the last female RA for the dorm I was living in last year at Whitworth! They decided this summer to make it an all-boys dorm instead of all-girls. The funny thing is my good friend Curt, who was an RA on my team last year, is taking my spot in Schumacher! So when I get back to Whitworth I can come and visit my old home... maybe bake cookies for the guys that are there and remember what a crazy year I had in there.
- We're on our way out of Scotland day after tomorrow and headed do to a little town in Wales (which name I can't remember how to spell) we'll be in Wales for a little over a week, then back to London for more theatre and art!
- I decided that I'm going to work hard to get a theatre minor at Whitworth... I need to, I miss it so much. I'm ready to be in another show... especially after seeing all this great theatre in Britain.

Love you all... Giselle

Little bit of homesickness...

We're making it into out 4th week here in Britain and I'm definitely feeling a little homesick. It feels like a good portion of our group are coming off of the adrenaline high we had coming into the trip, and now we're getting tired-- some members of the group are sick, and we're moving into a different course without much of a break in between. I'm really looking forward to my fall break when mom will be joining me over here across the pond! Mom and I finally decided that we will be going over to Southern Ireland. We'll be flying into Cork and maybe explore some of the area where my great-great grand father's family is from.

Traveling with a group can be very tiresome, and takes a lot of patience (which I pray for frequently... I'm not the most patient person), BUT it does have it's perks because if you get tired of hanging out with one group of friends you can always get to know other members of the group better. I've been doing that in the past couple of days since we got back to Edinburgh. Just trying to get to know some of the other girls better, and it's proved to be very refreshing!

For those who have access to facebook (probably mostly my peers), I put up a photo album with some pictures from the last three weeks, so those are there for you to enjoy. For those of you who don't have a facebook account, let alone know what facebook is, do not fret! I will try and set up a photo album that will be easier for you to access online... but that probably won't be for a while.

I'm going to be seeing a lot of theatre and art work this week, so that should help cure my homesickness a bit. I already took a trip to the National Gallery of Scotland and saw some gorgeous impressionism works (their featured exhibit). Some of my favorites that I saw were Monet's 'Poplars on the Epte', Degas 'The Rehearsal', and Corot's 'Pastorale- Souvenir d'Italie'. There were many others that I like, but they would be too many to mention on my blog. As for theatre, I'm going to see Titus Andronicus tonight, I saw a show called 'Our Final Hour' this afternoon and that was very good. Clairen will be excited to know that I will be going to The Last Five Years tomorrow afternoon as well!!
Lots of love,
Giselle

Time in the North: Rest, Reading and Exam.

It's been several days since I had Internet access because our group took a brief trip up to the very northern tip of Scotland. We stayed at one of the nicest ranked youth hostels in the country-- Carbisdale Castle (a Sutherland Castle converted into a youth hostel in the 50's). The castle is located in Culrain, which is a very small farming community... I'm convinced Culrain is just made up of those who work in the castle (cooks, maids...etc.). We were a little surprised at how remote we were (a 4.5 mile walk from the first market), but it proved to be a wonderfully relaxing couple of days without distractions. I managed to read through the rest of the Narnia Series (which Travis has been pushing me to finish all summer) and they were amazing. I spent most of my days in the library, curled up on a nice comfy leather couch reading Narnia or studying for the exam we had the day before yesterday. So, I am officially done with the first class of the four I will be taking over here! We meet up with our new professor tonight at dinner and so begins our British fine arts class... my realm of expertise ;)
I forgot to mention that we are back in Edinburgh now, and for the next 5 days or so, then we are headed down to Wales. Our tour of Scotland has been brief, but I'm hoping to come back someday and spend some more time hiking and exploring the highlands without a large group. For those of you that didn't hear the news, my mom will be joining me for 8 days during my fall break! We will probably be spending some time touring England, maybe go up into the Lake District and relax. It should be a lot of fun, and less stressful for Mom since I have been getting the hang of the train system and making my way around London and such.
Passing through the country side on the train the morning was wonderful, but made me a little homesick. Up in the highlands the hills are covered with green ferns, vibrant green grass, purple heather and fireweed. The blur of pink fireweed along the side of the train tracks reminded me of the fireweed running along the side of Egan Drive, and I longed to see the snow covered mountains of Juneau. But the Scottish Highlands are gorgeous, and are extremely beautiful in their own way.

I miss you and love you... and I need to go get ready for dinner tonight, our last dinner with our first professor, Keith. We're dressing up in our nicest clothes and having a fancy dinner in an expensive hotel!! ooo, I can't wait. Much love,
Giselle

West Highlands, Lochs,and Castles!

I found the real Scotland I was looking for today... you know, the scenery out of Braveheart... yes, I got to see some of that today and it was amazing. Ashley and I took a guided bus tour up into the West Highlands, out to the town of Oban (on the west coast of Scotland) and then back through the Loch Lomond National Park. Although we did spend a significant time in the bus, it was well worth it. We drove through all the cute little towns nestled in between green hills covered in heather and ferns. It was gorgeous. I frantically scribbled down names of towns I thought would be fun to explore someday. We pasted tons of B+B's, that definitely seems the way to go when visiting up in the highlands... and, Travis will be excited to know that I saw lots of fly fishing, in the rivers and lochs, and thought of how fun it would be to vacation in one of those fishing/hiking towns in the highlands. Anyway, the tour was great, but it just made me want to see more and spend some good time exploring more of the Northern Highlands.
Another highlight of the tour: Ashley and I saw a wedding party in this tiny town on Loch Lomond called Luss. It was a perfect little Scottish village, complete with church at the center and beautiful rose gardens in front of every tiny house. We felt like we were in a story book, it was truly fantasy wedding. The bride and groom walked down the little streets of Luss with their family and friends... it was beautiful. We felt that out Highlands tour was complete.

I'm going to post some more pictures up, so have fun scrolling down through all the new ones. Miss you all! Love, Giselle

Precious Time in a Thin Space.

Amazing day-trip today to Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, originally settled on by St. Aiden and his monks from Iona. The Lindisfarne island is very small, and can only be accessed at certain times of the day when the tides are low. It is known as a "thin space" to the Celts: a place where one is closer to God, where the game between God and man becomes thinner. It was an incredibly peaceful day, wondering around the little village of Lindisfarne that centers around the abbey ruins of the once great monastery. There's also a majestic castle placed high on a hill, overlooking the North sea. The time I spent in Lindisfarne this afternoon was some of the most peaceful and joyful time I've had in the trip thus far. I walked along the beach, listening to the waves, making my way towards the castle. I understand why the Celts felt so close to God here... it truly is a thin place.

Edinburgh...a learning experience.

Today was a much better day than yesterday, thankfully, because we were able to see some of the nicer areas of Edinburgh, including the famous Edinburgh Castle that is high above the city. We had class this morning in Edinburgh's large city park... although I admit I didn't learn much because Keith (our professor) planted us down right in front of the playground, which slowly filled up with more children while we sat there learning about the Scottish Reformation. The children here are absolutely adorable, shouting and yelling with their cute little accents, that is definitely a positive side of Edinburgh. I confess that during the lecture I sketched a little Scottish boy playing on a jungle-gym rather than take notes.

When we went up to the castle I was a bit overwhelmed. There were tourists everywhere... thousands of them. It made the Edinburgh castle not quite as pleasant as I hoped, but still beautiful. The rest of the afternoon was much better. I walked down the Royal Mile, which is the main drag of the older part of Edinburgh, and right now it is covered in street performers because of the fringe festival. I watched an African dance group for a while, then walked farther and watched a comedian, then continued on to hear a great guitar player. It was much more enjoyable because I was by myself and able to stop wherever I liked, not worrying about loosing the group among the crowds. They also had street artists displaying their work in one of the squares, and I finally broke down and bought myself something! I bought this awesome unique ring that was made out of a small silver fork. It sounds weird, but it's beautiful, and I will try and put a picture of it up so you don't think I'm crazy for purchasing it. Later on in the afternoon I met up with more girls from our group in a Celtic jewelry shop (yes, I can hear Travis saying..."uh-oh"). We tried on beautiful Celtic rings, and the woman working at the shop even let us try on the diamond rings she had. It was a blast! We felt rich... even though I'm sure the woman could tell we were poor college students just having a little fun.

As for the "learning experience" part of the title... that pertains to our youth hostel. Not only are all 16 girls in our group squished into one small rooms, but we have to share ONE bathroom with all the guests on our floor... that's FEMALE and MALE. Ah yes... I was shocked to hear a man's voice outside of my shower stall this morning, I don't know why I was so stunned... probably because it has never happened to me before, but I should've known since the front of the bathroom door is labeled with just a small pink sticky-note saying "toilet". There's nowhere to change after a shower, so you have to change into your full outfit in the shower stall!! It's awful. Usually Whitworth does better than this, but because of the fringe festival, and all the nicer youth hostel being occupied, we're stuck with the sketchy little Westend Hostel with co-ed shower/toilet rooms. The shower itself was an experience this morning, as it seemed to not be able to make up it's mind whether it wanted to be scalding hot or freezing cold. It's crazy... but makes awesome memories!

Miss you all, more on exciting Edinburgh tomorrow! Love, Giselle

Edinburgh, Scotland

Took a beautiful train ride along the Scottish coastline from Durham to Edinburgh this morning, and arrived, for the very first time, on Scottish soil! After being ecstatic about Scotland on the train, I was a little let down when I stepped off the train in Edinburgh. I'm not sure what I was thinking (probably something more along the lines of romantic and green), but Edinburgh is definitely a large, confusing, scary, eclectic, busy, CRAZY city. It just so happens that we're in Edinburgh during the time of the largest arts festivals in world (the Fringe festival), so the streets are PACKED with people... and I mean really packed with very interesting people, and the majority of them are shouting, yelling, and handing out fliers for their plays/performances. It was impossible for our group of 27 to stay together, but we managed to show up at the same place somehow. Just walking down one block was stressful. Edinburgh is interesting in that you can be walking in a touristy, semi-safe area one minute, and then you can turn one corner and be in an incredibly sketchy place the next. It's definitely not a place I would've picked to explore... but once again, I do love the country MUCH more than the city. I think the day trips we will be taking out of Edinburgh will be my saving grace.

Our group will be going up into the highlands for a couple days a week from now, and that should fulfill my romantic ideal of Scotland...
And Mom, you're right, I am an introvert at heart. I enjoy hanging out with friends, but I'm finding that the time I love the most on this trip is the time I spending exploring little towns by myself and the one-on-one conversations I have with locals and some of the members of the group.

Hopefully I won't go too crazy in this big city. I miss the little cobble-stone streets of York just a bit. Although, one positive perk to big cities is the great variety of food. I had amazing Indian curry tonight in a park with a smaller portion of our group... that definitely lifted all of our spirits.
Miss you all... lots of love, Giselle

Durham: Castle, Cathedral, and Hadrian's Wall

For the last two days my group has been in Durham, which is in the very north of England, right next to Scotland. We only spent two nights in Durham, but they were a lot of fun because we stayed in the castle (now converted dormitory)that the first Harry Potter movie was filmed in! Of course it wasn't as epic as the screen portrays, but we got to take pictures of ourselves in some of the famous scenes that you might recognize... hopefully later in the trip I can upload a picture and attach it to this blog post.

The first afternoon when we arrived, we took a tour of the Durham Cathedral-- a beautiful cathedral that is the resting place of St. Cuthbert, a saint known for healing. I spent some time in prayer and then began to explore the enormous cathedral and attached cloister. There was a courtyard outside of the cathedral that you Harry Potter fans would've recognized right away... yes, another site of a Harry Potter scene. Don't worry, I took lots of pictures.

The next day we spent walking Hadrian's wall, which is a roman wall that runs along the Scotland-England border. We were treated with amazing views of the countryside and a light drizzle of rain that slowly turned into a steady pour. By the end of our hike, we were all soaked and our jeans covered in mud (and more than likely, sheep poop...since it was everywhere). Once again, it was wonderful to get out of the city and into the middle of rolling fields of green... so relaxing and rejuvenating.
After getting back to the castle in the late afternoon, I dried off and mailed a bunch of postcards, so hopefully you'll be seeing those postcards sooner than later.

A Great Evening...

I had a great last evening in York tonight! The group went to a church service together at St. Michael le Belfrey and there was amazing prayer and worship. The speaker gave an amazing talk on St. Perpetua and Felicitas and the impact of their martyrdom. He gave a great historical background on Tertullian and the early church... I was hooked in the whole time. Just the martyrdom story alone gives a great impact.

After the service a small group of us went out to a pub, a little local one that was really fun. They had his older English guy there playing guitar and singing classic folk/country/rock songs. I heard him begin John Denver's "Country Road" while I was standing at the bar and I said, "I love this song!", so he invited me up to sing with him! I got up there and sang back-up/harmony with him and everyone clapped for me at the end. Later, the guy called me up again on the mic to sing "Leaving on a Jet Plane," and of course, I got up and sang that song with all my heart. I got a free cider out of that one!! He was such a character, an he gave me a big kiss on the cheek after I finished! I laughed for a while... what a great experience, and a good story. As our group walked out, random English locals cheered for me and told me good job. That will definitely be a memory I will always cherish.

In Case You Were Interested in English Fashion...

English Fashion Tips for the Traveling American...

The #1 necessary fashion item in a trendy English wardrobe is a cute umbrella. It's so true. Whenever the rain starts, all the trendy English girls pull out their adorable umbrellas and walk through the streets. So this morning on our day off in York, I went on a search for the cutest (and least expensive) umbrella I could find so I too could fit in. I managed to find one with stars on it and I used it all day while walking around downtown York (it was raining Juneau rain all day).

#2 necessary item to go along with your trendy English wardrobe is a boyfriend. Those girls that did have cute umbrellas also had boys carrying those umbrellas for them. it was actually quite funny to see these boys carrying around fruffy/frilly umbrellas!

#3 necessary item to wear in England is a huge, and I mean HUGE belt around your waist... it's all the rage. I bought one of those too... and I thought I looked pretty cute until one of my Whitworth friends laughed and asked what I was wearing! I replied in a sophisticated English accent, "You clearly don't know anything about English Fashion." We laughed about it for a while.

Also... (not a fashion tip), I think I'm adding to my long list of dreams, that I want to start up a little tea shop, complete with scones, baked goods, and proper English tea... it's such a wonderful thing-- afternoon tea that is. I love sitting down in the afternoon and having tea. Maybe I'll combine it with and art gallery! Sounds like a plan.

Miss you all!--- If you haven't noticed yet, I did post pictures farther down the page. I'll try and put some more up later. Cheers!

Nightlife...

So... quick story. About nine of us Whitworth students went clubbing last night in York, which apparently has a good nightlife scene (a little random I thought since it's a smaller town), but we went down to the area of town where there were tons of young Englsih people running around from club to club. This was my first experience clubbing in general, so not only did I feel out of place because we were so clearly American, but beacuse I was just so clueless on the nightlife scene. We were with four of our guys, so we were safe and all, it was just really funny to see how Whitworth students reacted in a bar...some of the girls just went crazy. I danced for a while in one of the clubs with the girls I went with, but ended up playing mom later on in the evening with those girls who decided to get drunk. I also know that any alcohol in my system just makes me exhausted... especially after I eat dinner, so I'm actually more fun after drinking just water. Good to know.

While clubbing in York was quite the experience, I probably won't be doing that very often... so...
Lesson #1: It's no fun to take care of Whitworth students when they're drunk.

Across the Pond...

Our group took a day trip to Whitby today, made famous by the Whitby Synod in AD 664... if you're really interested you can look it up, BUT the town of Whitby is gorgeous! It's right on the North Sea coast of England, complete with harbor, cliffs, crashing waves, amazing fish and chips, and a beautiful 800 year old Abbey (Whitby Abbey) now, unfortunately, in ruins because of bombing. But some of the grand stone walls still stand, and you can imagine how incredible the abbey would've been back in its glory. A couple of my friends and I walked down to the beach after visiting the abbey and rested, listening to the huges waves crash on the shore a ways off. The cliffs shot up into the sky right behind our backs, something I don't experience too often in Alaska!

I think just in the past couple of days I've reassured myself that I am a country girl at heart... and I could never live in a city for a prolonged period of time. There's just so much beauty in the country... and a stronger presence of God. I'm a true Celtic Christian: I feel the presence of God strongest in nature, away from the hustle and bustle of the city and our busy lives.

I journaled a bit today looking out across the ocean and truely did feel a little homesick... I think I was feeling more of the need to share that moment with a family or close friend. I'm still in the beginning stages of friendships with a lot of the students on the trip, so it can get a little lonely. Today I really wished Travis could've sat on that bench with me looking out to sea, he would've loved that.

As you can probably see, I uploaded some pictures!! I can't upload a bunch, but I just wanted to give you a taste of my trip. You can scroll down through the posts and see the others that I uploaded this evening. Enjoy! Cheers.

Beautiful York

Hey all--
I'm now in the beautiful York, towards the top of England. London was fun, but I am relieved to be in the country. York has now become one of my official favorite places in the world... it's absolutely gorgeous. York has an amazing history, a magnificent church (York Minster), tiny cobble stone streets lined with cute little shops, family-owned pubs, beautiful green parks and walks along the river. It is the little English town everyone dreams of... and it's been that way for a while! Some of the buildings that the shops were in were built in the 1600s, and are still standing. They hold so much history just within themselves. This afternoon I sat in a huge park, sketched, wrote some postcards, journaled a bit, enjoyed a nice afternoon tea and tried to get lost amidst the maze of cobble stone alleys. I did feel like I stuck out a bit in my Alaskan clothing... all the proper English girls are incredibly stylish and trendy. To make myself feel a little better about my attire, I bought a large belt to put around my waist (it's all the rage over here)... so maybe I won't stick out so bad next time I walk through a trendy shopping area in England. Tomorrow our group is spending the day on the coast in Whitby, and then the day after tomorrow we have free... no doubt will be another day of sketching, journaling and loosing myself in the beautiful street of york. York is definitely a destination that everyone should put on their lists of places to go in their life time. I certainly want to come back here again!
I do miss home a bit, but that's to be expected. My homesickness was helped by talking to Dad this evening... thanks Dad.
Love you all,
Giselle

Manuscripts, Paintings and Evensong...

I was floored today several times between our trips to the British Library, the National Gallery and the Evensong prayer service at Westminster Abbey. I brought my journal along and made a list of the incredible things I saw... there were too many to remember... Here's a few:
At the British Library I saw...
- The Magna Carta
- The Codex Sinaiticus (the oldest remaining copy of the Bible)
- The Gutenberg Bible
- Darwin's Notebook
- Several pages of da Vinci's notebook
- Original music scores by Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Hayden
- Original Beowolf manuscript
- Sir Thomas More's last letter to Henry VIII (before he was executed by Henry)
...and much more... all in this one Library Exhibit!
At the National Gallery I got to see...
- Monet's Lilies, and Japanese Bridge
- VanGogh's Sunflowers, and several others.
- Several Renoir's
- Degas 'Nude Woman Bathing', and assorted portraits (including Dancers)
and... to take the cake, I saw my absolute favorite painting, da Vinci's Virgin of the Rocks. Believe me, if you come face to face with this painting, you will understand why Leonardo da Vinci was so incredible. The painting is perfect, and much larger than I thought it would be. It stunned me. I'm definitely going to be taking a free day off in London and spending all day in the National Gallery.
Also, tonight, our group went to a beautiful Evensong worship service at Westminster Abbey with an amazing boys choir radiating throughout the cathedral walls.
We're headed off to York tomorrow, but our group will be going in and out of London a lot... so no rush to do everything! More later... Lots of Love.

Two Full Days in London...

I'm just finishing up my second full day in London, it's been busy, but fun. We walked around London yesterday and saw lots of the major sites... Big Ben, Parliment..etc. Then we were set free in the late afternoon to find dinner. A couple of us took the tube back to the area of our hotel (Russell Square) and grabbed a small dinner at a tesco mart (definitely the way to go for a cheaper meal option), we also found another pub to try out, but we didn't stay very long, I could tell the time change was catching up to me. This morning I gave a presentation on Charles Wesley at the Chapel where John Wesley preached... I actually got to sing one of Charles Wesley's hymns next to his very own pump organ, pretty cool. We also had a quick tour of John's Wesley's house. Afterwards we dashed over to St.Paul's Cathedral in London Town. It was beautiful. I completely forgot if my family went and visited this church while we were in London or not, but I couldn't help but thinking how much mom would love walking around the huge ornate cathedral. We actually climbed all the was to the tippy-top of the dome and got an incredible view of London, along with our very own stair-stepper work out... it was intense! We were free to do our own thing after visiting St.Paul's, so a couple of my tour buddies and I walked over to the Tate Modern Museum, which I'm definitely need to go back to later this month. I got myself lost among Picasso, Matisse, Edvard Munch, Paul Cezanne, and many others... it was wonderful. I need at least a full day to cover that whole museum.
Here comes the part where my sister Clairen is going to freak... I managed to get a stand-by student ticket to Wicked tonight, and it was incredible!! I thought of Clairen the whole time and how much I wished she could've been there with me. Definitely worth the 20 pounds I spent on a 10th row ticket! Heck yes-- I had a great view. So, one show down and so many to go... I can't wait!
After the show I had a little adventure trying to get home because I almost missed the last Victoria line of the evening, but I made it... so no trouble, just a racing pulse ;)
I miss you all... we're headed off to York day after tomorrow and I heard that's wonderful, as much as I love the life of the city, I'm really looking forward to getting out in the country. More later,
Love, Giselle

In London!

I finally made it to London this afternoon at 4:30pm London time... we were encouraged not to sleep on the plane so that we could sleep hard tonight and adjust to the time change. Once we finally made it out of the underground... that's when it hit me. It hasn't hit me until now! I'm in London, and it's amazing. I went out with a couple of friends for dinner at a nice local pub, and now I'm back at the hotel ready to crash. London is wonderful... I knew I loved it the first time I came with my family in 9th grade, but it's even more wonderful to just wonder aroudn with a couple of friends and look at the beautiful buildings and parks, it's just beautiful. We're going to spend the first couple days here and then move our way up to York.
Love you all... Giselle

Four more days!!

I've got three full days left in Juneau... which is a little difficult for me since I've felt like I haven't had much of a summer, so it's a little hard to get super excited about heading off to London on Friday (not to fear, I'm still really looking forward to getting over there... just feel like I need a little more time). Unfortunately, I still have a good chunk of homework that needs to get done. The next couple of days are going to be a little frantic, but I'm used to procrastinating and working well under pressure. It's hard to think that I won't be going back to Whitworth this fall and spending another semester with my wonderful friends there... I'll see you all next Spring!
Love,
Giselle
(p.s. The picture I attached is of my friend Dana and I on a little lake outside of Haines this last June.)

20 days until take off...

I'm sitting here in the SE Waffle Co. in Juneau, trying to focus on doing some politics research... it's finally hitting me that I'm leaving in three weeks and I have an incredible amount of work to do in that period of time. Travis is gone for a week in Petersburg (AK) for his internship with the Dept. of Transportation... I believe he's going to be on bear patrol while his partner surveys the areas for potential roads. So, I have a week to get as much homework done as possible!

It's been a busy summer... Travis and I both working full time 9-5 jobs. Unfortunately, we haven't had the best weather in Juneau, so there hasn't been any exciting adventures outside yet, besides a couple unsuccessful fishing trips. The fourth up here was wonderful, I always love the fourth of July in Juneau. Travis and I watched the Juneau parade with my family and then rode bikes over to Douglas for the mini-parade in Douglas and the Sandy Beach festivities. Our favorite thing to do is watch the soap-box races, which is always a treat. I also won a dollar for participating in the women's 60-yard dash... way to go me!

Anyway, more later. I'm off to get some research books from the UAS Library.
Lots of Love...

Preparing for the Fall...

This summer has been a constant challenge of trying to motivate myself to complete research assignments, papers and readings for the fall. Before I leave Juneau I have to complete three in-depth research papers, prepare several presentations and journal to get ready for the experience. How can the professors expect me to stay inside and research/write when I live in such a gorgeous place?! But, I know it will all get done somehow... and I will be off for London on August 1st.
This summer has gone by way too fast. I got home on May 23rd, began working at the Waffle Co. the next Monday and then went to Rainbow Glacier Camp (in Haines, AK), to be a camp counselor for two weeks. The picture to the right is from the first week of camp with the elementary schoolers-- it was a blast! I just returned from camp and have exactly a month to complete all of my assignments, so I'm definitely feeling the stress.
I will be over in the UK until November 1st, and then return home to do some substitute teaching before Juneau Schools' Christmas Break. It should be an amazing fall, and a crazy one at that for my family, considering my sister will be in Africa as well! So, my prayers go to her and her safety. I will try and keep this blog updated as much as possible while I'm away... I know I will miss you all a ton!
In Christ's Love...