Sunday, 1-7-96
12:16 AM Broughton/Chester, Wales
6:16 PM E-Town (1-6-96)
I am a bit homesick right now. Mostly because I am tired… I also have been drinking & the two don’t mix well. Dad would be glad to know I didn’t drink too much, knowing I wasn’t in the mood or up to it tonight. I think small town attitudes are universal. Though Broughton (a little village outside of Chester, Wales), where the Barnes live, may not be a small town in America, I have noticed similar traits of the citizens…
Today was great, but it began early & w/ only 6 hrs. sleep I was bound to tire out eventually.
I awoke about 8 AM & showered. It took me a good while to figure out how to get the shower to work & finally realized I had to pull a string hanging from the ceiling & then adjust the “power” & “temperature” on the white box attached to the shower head.
After I got dressed, Helen made me some toast & put out some orange juice & corn flakes cereal.
She took Simon to work & then dropped me off at some shops in Broughton where Hazel — our “tour guide & EIL coordinator” met us w/ the coach bus.
It was great fun comparing stories w/ all the other students! Though most ate well & had some interesting chats, I do believe I was the only one to smoke a cigar & sing karaoke style! ☺︎
The coach brought us to Chester where Hazel led us on a super tour of the city — incorporating much of its history & even some ghost stories! The city was awesome, all of the Roman ruins, the “Chester Rows” (tons of streets full of shops), & a yummy lunch at “the Boat House” on a river.
I also enjoyed shopping (well, at least “window shopping”) w/ Anne, Jill, & Courtney! Since we were given the afternoon off for ourselves to explore… We did just that, as well as stop for a long while for a rest & interesting chats at a café w/ tasty warm drinks! ☺︎ I feel I got to know Anne, Jill & Courtney a lot better! ☺︎
Anne goes to Boston College, Jill to UVA (University of Virginia), & Courtney goes w/ me to U of I, though we really just met…
Our conversations ranged from tattoos to religion & everything else under the sun, or in England… under the clouds! ☺︎
But to me, one of the highlights of the day in Chester was seeing Chester Cathedral & St. John the Baptist Cathedral! I took a ton of pics, bought post cards of & about each & really was taken in by their beauty & history honoring God! ☺︎
I especially enjoyed Chester Cathedral! Their were great tombstones on the walls & floors with epitaphs the likes of those mom & I saw back in May at a cemetery in Charleston, S.C. ☺︎
The stained glass was breathtaking! And one of the more interesting features was all of the carved wood decor & sculptures depicting Jesus on the cross & other creatures…
One staff member (possibly clergy), one of many open & friendly people at the cathedral to speak w/ us, told Anne, Jill & me about a wooden sculpture of an “elephant w/ a horse’s body!” He explained that the sculptor had never seen an elephant & sculpted it from his imagination… He used a horse’s body for that was the largest animal he knew! And the features, such as eyes (too big) & ears (too small) were distorted! ☺︎
I was truly touched & inspired by this church & its staff, so friendly & eager to share its stories w/ us…
After the Chester adventure, we braved a double-decker bus & found our way back to Broughton! Upon arrival, Helen’s close friend Tracy was shaving Simon’s head! ☺︎ When she finished his, he said, “Okay, Kath, your turn! Why don’t you let Tracy have a go at your hair?!” He was kidding… But, before I knew it I wet my hair & she was snipping away! ☺︎ She trimmed my split ends & gave it a few more “long layers” giving it new life! ☺︎ It looks great & I was truly grateful — but she would take no money…
Mom would be proud of my resourcefulness! Now I won’t need to get it cut in London at an expensive salon… Unless I chose to later, at least!
Dinner was yummy pasta shells w/ chicken & sauce. We chatted some & watched lots of TV shows, including a fun game show called “Generation _ _ _ ?!” It featured 2 family members doing silly things for pts. to ultimately get a chance to remember & win all the prizes they can name in 45 secs. that they see/watched go by on a conveyor belt! ☺︎ After that came on a great show called “_ _ _ House Party!”
Well, I am super tired, so I must round this up… We chatted s’more & then Helen & I were dropped off at Tracy’s house by Simon, where Julie, Tracy’s student visiting, was. We drank & chatted some & then went to the local pub… Though I asked Helen to go, by the end I was ready to leave before she was. All worked out though! Back to London tomorrow at half past noon!
— Later ☺︎
Sunday, 1-7-96
3:15 PM U.K. Motorway
9:15 AM E-Town “Where my ❤︎ lies”
CHORUS: The Open road, my open heart,
So far away from home
I look to you, for strength, for guidance,
So far away from home
I know not what the future holds,
nor where this path will take me
I see beauty like I’ve never known,
It fills me up, it wakes me
CHORUS
I’m learning what I take for granted,
How much I never knew
I’m growing to understand myself,
And feelings that are true
CHORUS
So many people touch our lives,
Find places in our hearts
Differences send us separate ways,
Love joins, as one, our parts
Sunday, 1-7-96
9:50 PM London
3:50 PM E-Town
I had a “lie-in” this morning! In other words, I got to sleep in! It was nice & relaxing. Then I had breakfast & a good chat with Helen & Simon before Helen took me to the couch bus to return to London. I really was a bit sad leaving them. It’s amazing how quickly people can touch our lives & find places in our heart…
The bus ride home was relaxing & the scenery breathtaking. I am really enjoying getting to know my housemates & classmates here in Britain! (some more than others) In a situation such as this, people’s values & true selves tend to show through, or shine, depending on the human being. I so enjoy observing others & making such conclusions.
Well, upon arrival in London, I unpacked, grocery shopped, made little pizzas for dinner & caught up w/ my roommate & other housemates about their weekends.
Well, classes being tomorrow…
I survived orientation & now:
“Kathy’s Real World Spring Semester `96: London” will begin! ☺︎
— Later
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Note from Present Day Kathy: It’s interesting to read about my early experiences with and impressions of some of my American classmates, who I met during my semester in London. I also appreciate how much I enjoyed seeing the city of Chester, especially the cathedrals.
As I’ve shared in other posts with my London Semester Journal entries, many of the snippets I share here I have little to no recollection of, so its nice to be able to revisit some of my adventures back then. I do recall be fascinated by British television shows and considering how they were similar and different to those I was used to watching in America. I didn’t always find things as funny on British TV as many Brits seemed to, which I was perplexed by, wondering how our sense of humor could vary.
The second entry is a poem/song that I was inspired to write on the bus ride back to London from Broughton, Wales. I haven’t written much in the way of poetry or song lyrics in my life, but do remember feeling proud of myself for capturing my emotions and observations, in that way, back then. In looking at how I wrote out the phrases of the poem/song lyrics in my journal, the chorus seemed to come fairly easily to me, however some of the verses, especially the last one, I did a lot of scratching out and re-writing of lines.
The third entry wraps up my first week abroad. We certainly seemed to pack a lot into those 7 days of orientation and adventures, before getting started with the studying part of being across the pond. I also find it amusing how I was starting to use British terminology in my entries, such as having a “lie in” and “half past noon.” To this day, I get a kick out of the different phrases Brits and Americans use to describe things, even though we technically speak the same language.
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Reminder: Unless I’ve been given permission to use people’s actual names, in most cases I’ve removed or replaced the names of the real people who were part of my journey/experience there, in effort to protect and respect their identities/privacy in my London Semester Journal entries. I will also not share details that I think and feel are too personal for anyone I interacted with, my loved ones, and me.
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Here’s the back story of My London Semester Journals from 1996, including what prompted me to revisit and decide to share them here in 2018. And here’s a list a list of the entries, which I will update as I share them.
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