Week in Review

It has been way too long since I’ve last posted. My apologies, because that means this is going to be a pretty darn long one. But it’s going to be filled with oodles of interesting stories! Let’s get started…

I spent last Monday morning wandering around the Natural History Museum, conveniently located right next to my residence. I am not a science person, so I wasn’t expecting to be terribly interested in the museum’s collections. I was very, very wrong. I walked into this massive 19^th century building and my mouth literally dropped open. The very architecture of the building bespoke the focus of the museum; stone monkeys climbed the arches, leaves and fossils stood out in relief from the stone moldings. I’ve never been in a museum where the building was truly part of the collection itself, that echoed the collections it held within its walls. It was marvelous.

I spent two hours meandering through its halls, and it wasn’t nearly long enough. When I got to the space and earth exhibits, I got a little tear in my eye, wishing my dad was there to see it all with me. There have been many things over here that made me wish I had one person or another to share in the experience with. But I’m making a list, keeping track of all of those places so that one day I can see it all again with the people I love.

The next day I went with a class to tour Parliament. While our tour guide seemed a bit amateur, turning his back to us while he was talking and not really projecting his voice, the building itself was beautiful enough to make up for it. The experience of standing in a building in which history itself happened is unique and marvelous. I stood in the room where England passed The Stamp Act, an action that had catastrophic consequences for the upstart colonies across the pond. Awesome.

Thursday Brittany and I woke up early to trek across the city to Fleet River Bakery, another spot on our long list of coffee shops. Oddly enough, I’m not going to tell you about it here. That day I became aware of how much space coffee takes up in my blog posts, and what a hobby it was all turning into. I therefore decided to start a new blog devoted entirely to this marvelous drink, and my continual quest to discover new places to find it. Check it out here: littlecupofheaven.blogspot.com.

Friday I went to the National Portrait Gallery with another one of my classes. It is such a marvelous museum and truly unique in its collections. All of its artwork is portraiture (duh), which may sound boring to some…but those portraits tell a wonderful story of centuries of history. Who were these people? Why were they important? Were they important? What does their portrait say about them? What does it not say? Ironically, this art museum has more history in it that some history museums.

Later that day I went to a Turkish mosque and restaurant with my Islam and the West class. It was a truly unique experience. All of the girls were asked to bring along a scarf in order to cover their heads upon entering the mosque. As I pulled the scarf over my hair, I realized it was the first time I’ve ever been treated differently for the sole reason of my gender. Instead of being angry, as I might have thought, it only made me very aware of myself, and the differences between myself the men around me. While I don’t think any woman should have to cover their head or face against their will, I think I have a new appreciation for it. Rather than hiding the fact that they are women, that action draws attention to it. It’s a situation that is now a little greyer in my eyes, and a little less black and white.

Saturday a group of us from Baylor spent the day in Oxford. It was absolutely marvelous. I am totally infatuated with the city now, with its winding streets, quiet college grounds, and beautiful architecture. It’s another one of those places that has a small town feel to it, even though it is a proper city. I want to go back and discover even more about it, because I’m sure there is plenty more to be found.

And so you are brought, pretty much, up to date with my life. Today I slept in and spent the morning working on the new coffee blog. Later tonight I’ll be taking an ‘espresso course’ at a coffee shop called Kaffiene…I’ll learn about tapping, pulling shots, latte art and who knows what else. I am so so excited for it. Check out Little Cup of Heaven to find out how it goes!

In other news, I now know where my internship will be! I’ll be working at the Museum of the Order of St. John; check out their website if you’ve got the time: museumstjohn.org.uk/. I think it will turn out to be a perfect fit, and that is just one more reason I’m so happy right now. God has been so incredibly good and faithful in giving me so many things to love and be excited about here. I prayed that I would come to the place where I truly wanted to be here, thinking it was hopeless. Somewhere along the way, without my really knowing it, He answered that prayer in a big, big way. It’s enough to make me wonder why I ever doubt Him…I know He is in my corner, that He is faithful in answering prayers, and yet I always find a reason to doubt whether or not He’ll come through.

This trip has already been an amazing thing. My relationship with God has become more dynamic and intimate, I’ve learned important lessons about myself, and I’ve had the opportunity to see and do so many fantastic things. And it has only been a month! What could the next two and half months have in store? I can’t wait to find out.