Second Star to the Right: Once in London

Today was quite an adventurous day, as I found myself exploring new parts of London and wandering about aimlessly at times. One thing I have noticed about this trip is that we have had a lot of free time compared to my previous adventure, which means more time to go out and about to see what London has to offer. This morning we had classes again, and once again they were great. We discussed King Lear in depth and it was amazing to see the different reactions we all had to the play. There are some great students in this class and there were a lot of ideas about the choices that were made by the director. One of the main points that we discussed was the choice to have Lear kill off the Fool in a fit of madness. In the text of the play, the Fool simply vanishes and we don't know what happens. They took some liberties with that, and I believe it worked really well and reflected the increasing insanity in Lear and the foil that the Fool was to his character. Fascinating stuff really!

After class a group of us went to the Phoenix Theatre to buy tickets to the musical Once. Several people had recommended it to me and it stars Arthur Darvill, a recurring character on Doctor Who! I knew that I had to see it! It's the story of an Irish man who is about to give up on his music (and perhaps his life) when a Czech woman stops him and encourages him to pursue music and reclaim his lost love. We returned to see the show in the evening and it was absolutely fantastic. Before the show began the performers were on stage playing songs on various instruments. They played guitars, violins, banjos, drums, accordions, and a number of other country/bluegrass/folk instruments. The main (and only) set for the stage was a bar that was actually open to the audience before the show to go and purchase drinks. The singing eventually led in to the show, which was inspiring. The singing blew my mind and I was so wrapped up in the performances. It is definitely a show that I would recommend seeing, despite some of the language. We attempted to meet Arthur Darvill at the Stage Door after the show, but were told that he had already left through a side entrance. Rude. To make up for it we went and got gelato.

Well BEFORE the show and the gelato, we went exploring through London. After we purchased the tickets we had some time to burn so a group of us broke off and went to see Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus. We even made our way over to briefly see Buckingham Palace! We had to run away pretty quickly so that we could make it back to the flats to receive our ward assignments. The Stake President of the London Hyde Park Stake came by and shared a message with us. He told us that though our cultures are different, we should not hide who we are or our personalities. Though many of the British might find us loud or our personalities a bit invasive, we should not stop smiling. Often our smiles help others to smile as well, and he firmly believes that if we share these smiles and our happy spirits with others, that they will be changed, even if just for a little while. It was a touching message and I hope to share my smile with others throughout this trip.

And then we received our assignments. For reasons unknown to me, they have assigned me to attend a Portuguese ward. Portuguese. As in the language that they speak in Brazil. As in the language that I don't actually have any knowledge of and cannot speak. I was a little shocked. And then a little anxious as I suddenly realized that my Sundays will be quite different from what I expected. I hope to make the best of the experience given to me, though I am still quite nervous, but I hope that good things will come from my time with this new ward.

Also, I got lost in London briefly. It bruised my pride a bit when I couldn't find the Phoenix Theatre. We had to miss out on dinner to avoid missing the show. That was a bummer. Oh well! We did, however, find the theaters that had Mamma Mia, Lion King, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the Woman in Black. So if anyone needs those, they can come to me!

Stopping in Piccadilly circus for a moment of rest