"But at my Back I ever Hear/Time's Winged Shadow Hurrying Near"

Happy Easter, all! I have had this past week off from work because of Eater (although I still had classes with CAPA) and I have next week off as well. I've taken advantage of it to see more of London and England...and this evening marks the end of my final weekend in London.

Last Monday I went to work even though there were no students, as I had to finish up data analysis following the group workshop sessions I co-led. It involved graphing the girls' various attendance, academic, and behavioural records. Although there's no way, with this kind of work, to provide any completely objective and thorough analysis (especially in such a short time span), we saw some promising trends. Nearly everyone's attendance had improved, and all of our participants had fewer behavioural sanctions while they were on our program than before they started. It surprised me, to be honest--while the group work was going, I never felt like we were getting anything through to them. But while I was doing my one-on-one meetings with the kids I noticed small signs of improvement as well, so I suppose something came out of it. While I was there Sherife showed me the reference letter she's working on for me. Considering I had not yet requested one, this made me very happy. I feel like I've lived up to Sherife's demanding work standards during my internship, and that makes me quite proud. I will be sorry to say good-bye to Hornsey, but I am definitely looking forward to working with the Gene Team kids this summer. It will be nice to have students who are motivated, enthusiastic, respectful, etc. Not that I haven't become attached to the buggers at Hornsey.

Classes at CAPA are wrapping up, too--all I have left are two final projects and in-class essay final. If I put some effort into them, I may be able to pull off a 4.0 for this semester. That would be icing on the cake for this semester, and would finally staunch the wounds organic chem ripped open in my GPA sophomore year.

This past Wednesday I went to Greenwich with AlanandRachel (referring to them as one word seems appropriate, and I trust they will find it entertaining and not offensive). Greenwich was a (free!) 8 minute train ride from central London, but it didn't feel like London at all. You could see Canary Wharf and the skyline from Greenwich, but Greenwich itself felt like a quaint, little, green town with an expansive park, small streets, and stately museums. It was a sunny, warm day and everything there was free, so it was really a win. We went to the Royal Observatory, where we stood on the Prime Meridian and learned all about the relationship between astronomy and time-keeping. Lovely and educational morning.

After leaving Greenwich I made my way to the Apollo Victoria theatre, where I was meeting Stacy to buy tickets for that night's Wicked performance. I'd seen Wicked before, but Stacy had not and it's one of my favourite shows so we decided to go. We got seats that were normally £60 for only 25 quid, and went off to class to kill time before the show. After Gov't and Politics (during which I got really annoyed by this girl who argued that the American government should not offer financial aid--but only after admitting that her parents were able to pay for her university education without incurring any debt, so what right had she to comment on how other people should handle funding their educations? She won't be graduating with $30,000 in debt to pursue a career where she'll make at best, maybe $40,000/yr. Anyway.) we splurged on some greasy American food--we gave in to the ubiquity of American culture and got Pizza Hut. And let me tell you, Pizza Hut never tasted so good. (Later in the week Rachel commented that one of the disappointing things about going home will be that American things will not be nearly as exciting to us as they are here, and I have to agree.)

Wicked was a great time. It's such a fun musical. I was not overly impressed with the girl playing Glinda, but Elphaba and Fearow were fantastic, so it wasn't that big of a deal. Our seats were quite good and I loved the show.

Thursday I made an excursion to Canterbury and Dover. Canterbury was a gorgeous little medieval town, highly reminiscent of Bayeux, France, and Kilkenny, Ireland. I visited the Canterbury Cathedral, seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Church of England. And while I was there the Archbishop was leading a service, so I actually got to see and hear him, which was quite exciting. The Cathedral itself was enormous and stunning, although I was disappointed that I did not get to see the shrine of St. Thomas Beckett, since it was in an area of the church occupied by the service. While wandering the crypts of the Cathedral, I wondered vaguely whether my semester here hasn't been sort of too much at once--that is, would I have appreciated Canterbury Cathedral more if I hadn't visited Notre-Dame de Paris and Sainte-Chappelle five days previous? I mean, I was awestruck by the awesome cathedral, but it still had me wondering.

I had my first encounter with clotted cream in Canterbury as well, as I treated myself to tea and scones at a little cafe in the town center. I've had my share of tea and scones here, but I am pretty sure this was the first time I got clotted cream with them (as opposed to other varieties of cream or just butter). It was tasty, I suppose, nothing too exciting, though the scones themselves were brilliant. I will miss decent scones when I get back to the US.

There was also a lovely remnant of a Norman castle in Canterbury, and a gorgeous park surrounded by the remnants of the city walls. If I had stayed in Canterbury all day, I would have been content. But I made the ill-fated decision to venture out to Dover, which was a bit of a fiasco.

I already had a return train ticket from London to Canterbury (at £26); a return ticket from Canterbury to Dover cost £6.50. On my way to the train station, I passed the bus station and figured a bus would be cheaper, so I got a bus to Dover instead. It wasn't cheaper, though--it was £4 one way. But it didn't take much longer than a train would have, and it wasn't a bad bus ride. I got off right at the famous white cliffs...which were a bit of a letdown, to put it mildly.

I blame Matthew Arnold entirely for my disappointment (see the poem "Dover Beach"). I'd always imagined these towering, austere, chalk-white cliffs rising dramatically from a deserted beach, etc. Maybe a cute little seaside village or something. But Dover the town is hideously ugly; it is an industrialized port city. I mean, I saw semi-trucks, which one never sees anywhere in Britain. The docks themselves are all modern--wide tracts of asphalt stretching into the sea, container ships belching black smoke, commercial ferries to France, the whole nine yards. And these docks go right up to the foot of the cliffs themselves. It's like, busy docks, buzzing motorway...then white cliffs.

You could walk up onto the cliffs and walk along a cliff-top path, which I did. The cliffs were pretty, I guess, they just weren't that great and their surroundings were ugly. Perhaps I was just spoiled by the Norman and Irish coasts. I then proceeded to get lost along the cliff-top path (a superb achievement, considering that I had been following a unidirectional path...) and in order to make up the lost time had to really power walk back down the cliffs and into the town centre (about a mile and a half, I'd guess) to the train station to catch a train to London (it was now past 5:00PM, and I was going to be late for dinner). I discovered upon arrival that a single to Canterbury cost the same as a return (£6.50). So, Dover in a nutshell: I wasted 4 quid, it was ugly, I got lost, and I was vaguely sore and exhausted by the time I got to my train home.

This weekend has actually been spectacularly boring; as it is a holiday weekend, everything interesting in London is shut down and the city is flooded with tourists who block up the Tube platforms. It's also been raining, so just going outside hasn't really been an option. I've stayed in and done homework, mostly. Last night I went out to see my host brother Adam's band (This Sweet Resonance, in case they ever make it big) play a pub in Ealing. I coaxed AlanandRachel out as well. Adam's band was decent; I couldn't understand a damn thing they said and they screamed a bit too much for my tastes, but they sounded pretty good. Adam was slightly drunk on stage, which struck me as a bit hilarious because I am used to seeing him get fawned over by his mother at home. His older brother Dan was there as well, who is always really friendly and talkative. AlanandRachel and I really only watched Adam's band; we then retreated to the more conversation-friendly garden, where there were speakers so you could hear the other bands playing inside. It was good to be out for a night.

This morning I was a good Unitarian Universalist and went to a Unitarian Easter service. The service was nice but I really miss First Unitarian in Pittsburgh; I can't wait to go back. I haven't been able to find a UU church in London, although there are a few Unitarian congregations, which has led me to believe that UUs are an American creation (I'll have to ask my minister at home about this when I get back). There's not much of a difference in mindset, except that the two Unitarian churches I have visited here both seemed to identify as Liberal Christian and to equate Unitarianism with Liberal Christianity. My UU church at home, on the other hand, is to the left (so to speak) of Liberal Christianity (although I'm sure there are plenty of liberal Christians in our fellowship). The upshot of all this is that while the Unitarian churches here are officially "non-creedal" and use the chalice, stress inclusiveness, humanism, and critical thought/debate, they are a bit more dogmatic than First Unitarian, taking for granted a theistic perspective and actively encouraging a Christian-centered spirituality. The sermon I heard today urged the congregation to accept the immortality of the soul--much more prescriptive language than would ever be used in a service at home. Anyway, I actually did really enjoy the service and it was nice to be among some Unitarians for a bit.

To end this on a lighter, less philosophical note...here's my list of top things I miss about my life in the US:
People (obviously I can't emphasize this enough; I miss everyone terribly)
All of the space in the US; I miss all the woods and farmland in Michigan, and even Pittsburgh feels more "open" than London
Peanut butter
Chipotle
Moose Tracks Ice Cream
Driving (although Mom thinks I'm going to crash as soon as I get behind the wheel at home)
Having my own kitchen space, grocery shopping, cooking, etc
Lying in the grass in Schenley Park with my friends at Pitt
Having all of my stuff (well, as much as it as I ever have)
First Unitarian and the campus ministry group
Science
the Cathedral of Learning

Mostly though, I just want to be back somewhere where I am not a stranger; back among people who know me well and love me.

Italy next weekend! I'm excited.