Pudding in the Effort

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I am about one month in. I could say that it’s gone by really fast or really slowly, but neither of those are entirely true. It’s felt like a proper month, but I’m nonetheless sad to know that I’m one month closer to leaving. That said, I am grateful to have made the most of it. The past month has been jam-packed with all sorts of sights, foods, and experiences. Some of the highlights so far include:

1. A visit to Oxford, where I got to see shooting locations from Harry Potter, hear about vignettes from Tolkien and Lewis’ life there (if you were an English student there from the 20s to 40s, you could hear lectures from both of them in one day!), and attend a beautiful evensong service in the Christ Chapel.

2. A visit to the chalky white Seven Sister Cliffs and Brighton, whose seaside boardwalk gave me a little taste of America with its colorful carnival rides and fried food stands.

3. A visit from my parents, who treated me to, among other things, a tour of the immense St. Paul’s Cathedral, a look at the working model of William Drake’s ship (that actually circumnavigated twice to his once), and a West End night of theatre with Les Misérables, my favorite show!

 

In terms of my personal goals, I already blew one of them out of the water which was to meet 5 people from countries other than my own and to hear their background. I must’ve taken the diversity of not only Roehampton, the school I’m attending, but London as a whole. I have built close relationships with people from Greece, Germany, Ukraine, Australia, Iran, France, you name it! I have found that many Americans get along well with the Australians. Perhaps it is their tendency to share in the American outgoingness that can be overwhelming to others.

You can see also the diversity reflected in the vast amount of cultural foods across the city. So, let’s talk food for a bit. While I am a bit let down there are very minimal Mexican places, the popularity of Greek and South Asian food here certainly makes up for it. I know that I mentioned Five Guys in my last blog, but I have to point out that they have significantly more of them here than there are in America. They are around every corner and rightfully so. As for British food, I was at first wary because I had heard it is bland. While this may be true at times, I have definitely come around to it. The weirdest British food I have had so far was black pudding, or sausage made of blood. In this case, I was happy that its taste wasn’t very strong (it tastes slightly peppery). The highlight of British cuisine is definitely their baked goods and desserts, though. You have to try their toffee pudding! (boy, they really use that word pudding in like 4 different ways).

Anyway, back to relationships. One of my closest relationships is with a friend from Iran. He told me about the strict religious persecution in Iran. It was to the point where his own brother didn’t tell him he was a Christian. This past Sunday, he asked me if he could come to Christian church with me. There he got his first Bible and we have since gone to a Bible study, where he has asked many questions. This has been my most powerful connection so far. If there is any goal I can improve on, it is being even more open about my faith and the ministry opportunities provided abroad. This interaction has definitely inspired me to do so.

I Found Luther!!!!!

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I can’t believe I have reached the halfway point already; I feel like I just got here!

This last weekend, I had quite the interesting interaction. Since Wittenberg is maybe a half hour train ride away, I decided to visit on Saturday.  Midterm exams were coming up and I didn’t want to be out of town for a whole weekend. After a whole day of wandering around Lutherstadt, Wittenberg, the part of Wittenberg where Luther lived and taught, I was ready to go back to Berlin. Something I should also mention is that due to certain business decisions of Deutsche Bahn (The company in charge of mostly all the trains in Germany), the last few years the train reliability has gone down the drain. Many are delayed, late, or malfunctioning, similar to America’s issues with air travel. I found out that my train to Berlin was not stopping in Wittenberg, and I had to take another train back, but that train had technical problems and I had to wait about two hours before I finally left Wittenberg. to pass the time, I struck up a conversation with a lady who was from the area, and I talked to her for about an hour, all in German. She was very nice, and the time went by quite fast. I want to develop my German language skills, so this was perfect. This sort of thing is what I wanted to experience every day- meet new people, exchange life stories, really connect with them, you know? But something I noticed about Berlin, is that I cannot do that or else people will look at me funny. Even in larger cities in the U.S., people will look at you strangely if you asked them how their day is going. Unfortunately, this was one of my goals for this semester and it is very difficult to be able to talk to people due to social norms. I suppose I must adjust this goal and instead of connecting with people every day, I might be able to do it once a week.

But I also am meeting the goal of travel! I bought train tickets and a hotel room for Warsaw, as well as a flight to London! I am excited to travel alone. There are many different types of people who travel around Europe, such as backpackers and partiers. I prefer to just wander around, and if there is something that catches my eye, I’ll check it out. Guided tours are helpful. Most of them show the cool places to visit, then end with, “Okay, now go check out these places at your own leisure.” I really enjoy this way of sightseeing. There is no pressure of trying to fit everything in! I would strongly recommend the “wandering around” technique.

Left: The Theses Doors, Center: Castle Church, Right: The Luther Study

Here are some pictures from Prague as well!

Finding Luther

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The first time I visited central London was just days after I arrived. It was that day that I experienced a very strange phenomenon. I was standing right in the middle of Parliament Square, towered over on all sides by attractions of mass interest– Big Ben, the London Eye, the statue of Churchill, double-decker buses galore. I felt an overwhelming sense of awe and appreciation for the mass doses of culture I was taking in all at once. And yet, something crept in from the back of my head. A twinge of uneasiness. It was odd. I couldn’t understand what my own body was feeling. I am exactly where I want to be, so why should I feel any bit of unrest? Looking back on it later, I realized that what I was feeling was some brand of imposter syndrome. It stung to love a culture so much, but to feel I’d never truly be a part of it because of my heritage; like I would always just be an observer on the outside, a tourist in every sense of the word.

Three weeks later and I haven’t felt that feeling since. It’s come to the point where, at least when I’m on campus, I feel comfortably assimilated. I’ve made my one-person dorm room feel a bit more like home by fancying it up with posters and books and things of my interest. I’ve grown close enough to my flat mates that I (hardly) don’t even notice their British accents anymore. Though, they often remind me of my own background whenever I say phrases like “dude” and y’all.” I think their fascination towards American culture has actually fueled a pride for my country that I didn’t have before. I’ve walked around campus enough times to familiarize myself with its geography, which isn’t to say that I’m used to its beauty yet. Every time I walk to class, I get to take in all sorts of awesome sights. First, is the oldest artifact of campus: The Grove House (pictured left). It used to be a manor, but was repurposed as a classroom hall. Its Victorian-style pillars and statues make it stand apart from the rest of campus, and its centrality makes it a popular hang-out spot for students. Then, I pass from the manmade to the God-made through the lush green nature trail that wraps around a pond (pictured middle). This, on the other hand, is a popular hang-out spot for the local foxes and cranes of the campus.

Apart from campus (and Five Guys), I’ve found comfort in other places too. Namely, I got a taste of home when I visited Pastor Hartman’s mission church here. The congregation was so welcoming, which brought me hope for the future of the mission. It was also a very unique experience to sing “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” in St. George’s (pictured right), the oldest German church in Britain. I honestly didn’t think I hear that song during my trip. It’s during experiences like that that I’ve come to terms with the fact: I can be at the same time proud of where I came from and proud to be where I am. Those things don’t have to be mutually exclusive.